Like many Windows people, its time for me to buy a portable Mac. Though, like many Windows people, its all a bit of a mysterious world. So I need a bit of help if anyone would be so kind to take a few minutes for advice.
OK. I'll say what I need my Mac for. I'm doing a CS PhD and it's coming up to writing my thesis, and I want a nice speedy laptop so I'm not spending all my time waiting for window refreshes and hearing the hard drive spinning around all day long. So, I want to use Office 2004, listen to some music, browse the web wirelessly (it'll be summer after all and I want to be in the sunshine), and that's my requirements. And when I'm travelling, it would be cool to watch a DVD smoothly and store my photos. But that's all I want my laptop for: word processing, browsing, music. Not for games, serious editing with Photoshop etc., running in big resolutions...
So, my questions are. First, I can only afford an iBook realistically. How much RAM do I need for those tasks to be done at the same, at nice speed on a G4 iBook 1.33Ghz? I'm thinking 512Mb, but do I need anymore? Of course, I'd love to be able to buy the maximum, but I'm a student so its simply not feasible ;(
How much disk space is used up with Mac OS-X, iLife, and Office 2004 installed...roughly
Are we talking a few Gb, or 10s of Gbs?
Will the Powerbook give me enormous benefits in speed for these rather modest requirements? I might dig into my non-existant graduation fund (i.e. credit card) even more if only a Powerbook will suffice.
Will my current broadband (Tiscali UK, good old basic broadband) will work on Mac OS-X? The ADSL USB modem has Mac OS-X drivers, but there isn't some kind of conspiracy within ISPs that stops Mac's from connecting easily is there?
What's the performance of Virtual PC like? Its not essential to me, but I'd like to maybe shift back to some Windows apps if the going gets too tough!
Oh, and if anyone is still reading...Tiger will work on an iBook right? Dashboard looks simply too cool for words, and I'd sulk if I couldn't use it on my new Mac.
Cheers!
Phil
OK. I'll say what I need my Mac for. I'm doing a CS PhD and it's coming up to writing my thesis, and I want a nice speedy laptop so I'm not spending all my time waiting for window refreshes and hearing the hard drive spinning around all day long. So, I want to use Office 2004, listen to some music, browse the web wirelessly (it'll be summer after all and I want to be in the sunshine), and that's my requirements. And when I'm travelling, it would be cool to watch a DVD smoothly and store my photos. But that's all I want my laptop for: word processing, browsing, music. Not for games, serious editing with Photoshop etc., running in big resolutions...
So, my questions are. First, I can only afford an iBook realistically. How much RAM do I need for those tasks to be done at the same, at nice speed on a G4 iBook 1.33Ghz? I'm thinking 512Mb, but do I need anymore? Of course, I'd love to be able to buy the maximum, but I'm a student so its simply not feasible ;(
How much disk space is used up with Mac OS-X, iLife, and Office 2004 installed...roughly
Are we talking a few Gb, or 10s of Gbs?Will the Powerbook give me enormous benefits in speed for these rather modest requirements? I might dig into my non-existant graduation fund (i.e. credit card) even more if only a Powerbook will suffice.
Will my current broadband (Tiscali UK, good old basic broadband) will work on Mac OS-X? The ADSL USB modem has Mac OS-X drivers, but there isn't some kind of conspiracy within ISPs that stops Mac's from connecting easily is there?
What's the performance of Virtual PC like? Its not essential to me, but I'd like to maybe shift back to some Windows apps if the going gets too tough!
Oh, and if anyone is still reading...Tiger will work on an iBook right? Dashboard looks simply too cool for words, and I'd sulk if I couldn't use it on my new Mac.
Cheers!
Phil