Switching my iBook for a MacBook....

I am having the same thoughts. Just my two cents - Leopard is coming out in October and there could be a hardware upgrade in the meantime too. If, like me, you don't NEED to upgrade but just quite fancy it, I would recommend waiting the extra few months.

Don't do the Dell- by the time you pay for antivirus software, antispyware, antiadware, etc. you are edging closer to the same price- and the Mac will run so much smoother with very little maintance.

You have no idea how much maintance a Windows machine needs. If you compare computer maintance to math I would say doing maintance on a Mac is like doing two and three digit multiplication with an occasional long division thrown in. Doing maintance on a Windows machine is ALWAYS long division with algegbra, calculus, and solving things even Einstien would have struggled with.

I am really technologically literate and I even stay clear of the windows machines- too many horror stories from friends and families about their PC Windows running machines.

I have Dells (not my choice) in my current school (I am a school principal- luckily I get to use an iBook), but almost every one of the cheap Dells we have has had a major problem with it. We have all new Dells within two years, and they all run so painfully slow. Day 1 they were somewhat zippy, but over time they get bogged down with crappy software, etc.

As far as the iBook goes- I have one and will upgrade this late fall. I will probably wait until the Operating System upgrade gets updated once (just so some bugs might be worked out).

I am not sure if the Office software you have will run on a new Intel based Macbook? Can anyone speak to this?

Another option for your daughter is to give her the iBook. But if you do please get her a stand or something to place it on so her neck/back don't get too messed up slumping over the laptop. Of course, there is more liability with a laptop for her getting dropped, etc. But you could set it up on a stand at a desk and say don't use it as a laptop. They all you have to do is buy a stand, cheap keyboard and mouse. Much cheaper than an iMac.

Good luck.

Just upgraded myself...

KnuffleBunny said:

After 2 beautiful years of having my iBook G4, I have decided I should just sell it and upgrade to a MacBook. I feel a little left out with not having Intel and being unable to find one of those spiffy speck covers for my iBook. Ive taken such good care of my iBook that Im sure the upgrade will only cost me about 400 bucks out of pocket. But, I am not very computer lierate. In fact, the iBook was my 1st computer ever. I installed Mac Office a couple of months ago and I only had one license. Do I have to leave that on that computer or can I transfer it to another. I know this is probably a dumb question but oh well.
I am also going to buy a iMac for my daughter to use at home. I was looking to buy a cheap Dell ($599) but after comparing the prices I much rater get an iMac for the $899 they are offering it for. Any advice on the iMac would be appreciated.

Thanks

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Hi, I've just upgraded from a G4 iBook to a new MacBook. It's brilliant. The main thing I've noticed is the screen. It is much brighter and bigger that the iBook. Although it is only just over an inch bigger, I have really noticed.

I'm actually selling my old iBook on ebay at the moment and I'm hoping to get around £450 for it. It's been very well looked after so fingers crossed.

I was actually hoping to have my hands on a new iMac by now too, but it seems we may have to wait a little longer for those to arrive.

The only downside I've noticed so far to upgrading is that I have my notebook connected to an external amplifier and speakers. If the MacBook is plugged into the mains all is fine but if I unplug it to let the battery drain I find that my external speakers give off a low level hum which is really annoying. As soon as I plug the power adapter back into my MacBook, it goes away. It never did this on my iBook. Might give this it's own thread to get help.

Anyway, goodluck selling your iBook and enjoy your new MacBook (mine is the white one with a superdrive) when it arrives.

All the best!

KnuffleBunny said:

In fact, the iBook was my 1st computer ever.

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I'm glad you had an excellent computer and operating system for your first machine. It is so sad to see first-time computer owners (and even long time computer owners) struggling with Windows machines.

KnuffleBunny said:

I installed Mac Office a couple of months ago and I only had one license. Do I have to leave that on that computer or can I transfer it to another.

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All you need to do is uninstall it from the iBook and then you can legally install it on any other Mac. It will run on the new Intel-based Macs, but will run slower than the rest of the machine because it was designed for the older generation of Macs. There is supposed to be a new version of Office for Mac coming out later this year that will run full-speed on the new Macs.

to repeat what someone else mentioned, you can legally install office on the macbook, but you do have to get rid of the copy that's already on the ibook, either by deleting/uninstalling it, or you could also reformat the entire drive, which i imagine you'll do if you're selling your machine. good luck on the imac, too. if anything, i'd wait for the new imacs to be released with all the rumors flying about. it's been awhile since imacs were updated, so just hang in there.