iBook G4

I have an iBook G4, 1.33 ghz, 1.25 mb ram, 80gb disk. I still use it for browsing the net and iTunes. It works fine.

If you're familiar with computers, switching from Windows to OSx is easy.

I have 1.33GHz 1.5GB RAM iBook G4.


It's a great computer but it is showing its age. Wouldn't you be able to find one of the first 2006 Macbooks for not much more? It'd be a lot faster.

I also have a 1.33GHz 1.5GB RAM iBook G4 and agree with instaxgirl.

I will be different! I have a 1.07 GHz iBook G4 with 1.5 gig Ram... It works great for everything but watching internet movies! It just takes more time than my impatient self can allow. Other than that it is a great machine!

instaxgirl said:

Wouldn't you be able to find one of the first 2006 Macbook's for not much more? It'd be a lot faster.

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Yeah, OP, I would possibly consider trying to find a 2006 MacBook, because PowerPC machines are starting to show their age

Keep in the mind that Mac OS X has already said goodbye to PowerPC with Snow Leopard.

I have an ibook g4, I think I got it in 2005. It's a power pc which I hate because I can't get snow leopard But it's fine for my use which is internet browsing, email, and itunes. I don't do anything really intensive on it, and for these purposes, it's great

DannyDrama said:

I just had a look at the MacBooks, and the cheapest i could find was £400, i don't have that much of a budget with tuition fees etc. Is there any kind of Mac apart from the G4 i could get for under £350?

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Save up for a little longer and get the MacBook, you'll thank us later!

Pah, just go and trick some bank into letting you open a second overdraft and buy it with that, like a real student

Apart from anything else, with Snow Leopard dropping support for the PowerPC architecture you might find that certain programmes will require intel/Snow Leopard to run (some already do)

DannyDrama said:

Hey guys.

I'm currently on windows (don't shoot!) but i'm looking to get an iBook G4 in the next month or so. I'll be buying it on fleabay, since my budget is no more than £350. I know, that's not much to get a mac with, hence the low specs.

My questions are, what is the iBook like? I'll be using it mostly for music and internet. Also, if you switched from windows, how long did it take you to get used to Mac OS X?

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LOL what does "music" and "internet" mean? If by music, you mean multi-track audio recording and editing, and by "internet" you mean running a OLTP web server, then you've got the wrong machine altogether.

DannyDrama said:

But i'm stuck with windows! *cries*

Rather have a slow Mac than a non-working PC

I think i will save up for a bit though. Maybe i'll even eat like a student to save enough for a NEW mac! *shock*

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See, I'd rather stick with Windows than have a half-usable Mac. I had an 800mhz G4 iBook before I upgraded to the UMB. With the iBook, YouTube was barely usable, forget about Hulu or any online streaming with 480p settings, and video output was limited to 1024x768 with no widescreen option without a firmware hack.

Seriously, save up.

I would save up too. A Macbook would be a lot faster.

But £350 would also get you a Powerbook G4, which have typically higher specs than the iBook G4 line. I would look at those if you want a portable Mac right away.

DannyDrama said:

Are the low end PB G4s a higher spec than the high end iBooks?
Is there any overlap of specs?

Wotan31: I mean iTunes, Youtube, general browsing and WLM.

On another note, can you use iChat with a hotmail account, or is it just AIM?

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Especially towards the end, the PB and iBook lines were very similar. The PBs came with far better screens though, that was a biggie.

As far as iChat, it does not work with hotmail. Adium may, and then there's always aMSN/Mercury Messenger/MS Messenger, with the latter not supporting video chat on the Mac.

I got a 1.33ghz iBook G4 with 1gb Ram, and I love it. It still works fine, and it does everything I could want it to. I'm a casual user - Safari, Mail, iPhoto, iTunes, Address Book, GarageBand, and some other things here and there... It even runs Enigmo 2 very very smoothly.

My favorite part about the iBook is that it's PowerPC. Hear me out. The older the computer, the less it takes to run it - the resources and requirements are very low. Thus, it doesn't get as hot. That's why so many older computers - like my beige IBM tower from 1999 - are still kicking, and more than likely all original.

It's a great little laptop - literally - that is perfect for browsing, and the 12 inch screen is perfect for portability. I couldn't imagine bringing anything any bigger to classes and elsewhere. It's a great little size that I'm sad to say Apple probably won't bring back. Even the 13 inch widescreen isn't my taste.

I loves me my iBook.

I would go ahead and get the G4. Nothing says you can't get the MacBook later -- and it's less days on Windoze. Life's too short for that.

Mine only occasionally has problems playing vids on YouTube -- and half the time, I'll just download them and watch them on Quicktime. More than enough meat under the hood for that.

Switch now. You'll be a lot happier.

as your budget has increased somewhat..i would consider a imac..they go for a decent price,,but with you being a student..you could do with the portability incase you get bored in lectures and so on..but generally that can depend what subject you have decided to take up..if design or any creative fields are your subjects..then i would go laptop..but if your a academic course guy..then imac would be my choice...as they have a bigger screen..and the overall..system seems better value in the second hand market..alos something to consider..appple laptops hold their money pretty well..so if you was to buy and sell to later upgrade..i would buy the laptop,..,

as i have a ibook g4 which is my first mac..and paid £100 for it..i am really happy even though i have limited usage of what kinda software i can run on it.but either way i will be selling this soon to get me a macbook black or white..or even better a mbp unibody...so happy shopping kid

last suggestion
try using gumtree as they seem to have alot of good deals to be bought there,,but beware as there are alot of scammer..and try to pick up only from your house or my suggestion..a shopping mall of some sort as there are scammers that try to grab..and leave so you will be saddened to leave empty handed.....

I have a 1.42GHz 14" ibook g4 with 1.25gb ram. I've used it for everything throughout the past 4 years and it works very well. However, I would recommend looking at the 12" powerbook g4 because it has a DVI out connection which will allow you to hook up to a larger external monitor than the 12" ibook which only displays very low resolution on the external monitor. I don't know how important that is to you but it was always the one thing that bugged me about my ibook. The 12" powerbook could give you more of a desktop feel with an external monitor and then portability when you need it.
Also, if you do get a power pc notebook.. I would definitely use OSX Tiger and not upgrade to OSX Leopard.

DannyDrama said:

In all honesty, i'm only an animal care student, i just want a Mac so i don't have to put up with BSODd and error messages every minute

I'm looking at getting a iMac now, i mentioned this to my parents, and they kindly said they will make my budget up to £1000! How awesome is that?!

I'll likely get a well spec'd iMac, and get a slightly lower spec laptop for taking to classes etc. I would use my Inspiron 9400, but a few of you will know, it's a damn heavy laptop.

I can't wait to get stuck into mac

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Since your budget is near 1000, why not consider a 13" MacBook Pro? If screensize isn't an issue then it'll be a good choice i think. Its got all the power of a iMac (maybe not the higher end iMacs obv) but its also portable, and classy. You'll definitely be able to store lots of songs on there and the internet is of course going to work. Not only that but you'll have access to snow leopard and also your laptop will be more future proof. You can even do a little light gaming on there i bet, if that interests you of course.

Not to hijack this thread but I have a Eee PC netbook 1.66ghz, 2gb ram, 7200rpm hd that is slower than honey is dripping. All I want/expected to do with it was browse the internet and watch some youtube videos every once in awhile and its terrible. Do you guys think a iBook G4 12 inch would be better if I maxed out the ram?...what would you recommend, it must be 12inches or smaller though.