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12 super for me!

E

efoto

macrumors 68030
Original poster
I just clicked submit on my first Mac ever. I decided to go with a 12" w/ superdrive and throw in a free printer whilst I was at things too. Thank you all for the help you have provided over the past few months into helping me decide to go for this.

Now that it is a reality and I will finally be a Mac user instead of just a dreamer, are there any specific accessories I should look into getting?

Feel free to suggest any and all as this is my first so even the basics (whatever those might be) would be appreciated.

Thanks again all, I can hardly wait until it gets here!!!
 
Do a search for the free software threads. They have some good stuff in there.

"Welcome to the light side of computing!"
 
Nice!

Just decided to order a 15" powerbook after the update. Like you I am new to mac and been checking out this sight for a couple months doing research.

Accessories.....mmm...plan on buying some more ram down the road in a few months. A sturdy carrying case is a must...since I am sure you know powerbooks are subject to dings and dents more so then ibooks. Also recommend buying apple care......offcourse you have a year to do that......otherwise........enjoy!!!
 
I have spent the last couple of hours reading in the "Looking for a case/sleeve" sticky and it has been quite enlightening (with links to other forums to take the time too).

Too bad Booq's Vypers are sold out until April 15 (I leave for a three month trip on March 29 🙁 )

I just need a case, ordered iWork, comes with iLife....hmm, what else? I too will be getting more ram in a short while, although I want to try the thing out with 512 and just play with it for a bit first, that way I can truly appreciate it when I hop to 1.25Gb.

Any hardware accessories that one might not realize off the bat?
 
Try Raidius (in the UK) or Radtech (in the states) - they do a really nice cheap neoprene sleevewhich you can put inside the bag of your choice to keep your PB looking like brand new.
Then there's Crucial memory of course.
Oh yes, don't forget a Lacie FW drive.
And have you thought about a Griffin PowerMate?
How about a mouse?
Don't forget the iClear screen cleaner and screen wipes.
Did I mention extra memory???
You might want a USB hub as well, make sure its USB 2 of course.
Get a network patch cable as well - you never know when you might be able to connect to a network thats not wireless.
Thought about speakers? (for your desk at home)
Now, about software.
I've prepared a list........ (voice trails off into the distance)

SERIOUSLY - wait a little while, it'll soon become apparent what you really need and what might just be nice to have.
 
get external hard drives.

more memory.

as far as software goes, go to macupdate.com, chec out the weeks hot picks, usually everything i would recommends newest version is there.
 
Congrats! Welcome to mac!

I was looking at Powermacs, but considering I'm going to uni, maybe a Powerbook is what I should be going for... I just sold my revision B 12in, but I've got a 20in cinema display and LaCie 160gig drive to hook up to whatever new system I get.

Really, really want a 15in combo Powerbook, just not sure if I can stretch to it... grr!

I'd recommend a Tucano "Second Skin" case, FWIW - absolutely brilliant skin cases 🙂

andy.
 
Yeah, check out the tucano second skin product. It's great. Before I found out about it, I imagined the perfect thing to be exactly what the Tucano second skin is.

Some apps I can't live without:

OmniGraffle (Diagrams, Charting)
OmniDictionary (Dictionary app, great to have in your Services menu!)
OmniDisksweeper (Find out what occupies most of your HD space)
Tomato torrent (Bittorrent client)
VLC (Plays more video formats than Quicktime and WMP)
Transmit (Best FTP client you could wish for)

Have fun...
 
I purchased a 12" pb last friday and now I am waiting for my local store to get the revised pb so I can exchange mine for a 12" w/ superdrive. This also is my first mac. I wish I could just open the box now! (can't unless I want to pay 10% restocking fee)
 
Same here I got a 12 inch super. Cant wait! 🙂 But i got the memory from them I got 768m.
 
I'm in need of a new Mac and a 12" PowerBook is looking better, especially since I can buy a stock one at regular sticker price without having to upgrade the RAM. Now if they'd just update the rest of their line like that. Right now I'm torn between the PB and the iMac. The portability would be nice, but isn't a neccessity, and the iMac give you more for the money(except for portability of course). It'll probably still be a while(at least until Tiger arrives) so maybe the default RAM in teh iMacs will get bumped up in the next revisions, or maybe PB G5s will come out by the time I'm ready to buy 🙄
 
Not an accessory, but if you would like to go deeper in to OS X, I recommend the following book: "The Missing Manual-Mac OS X-Panther Edition" by David Pogue.
 
Congrats! The price of the PB 12" SDD model is the same (or there about as my PB 12" 1ghz, 40mb HDD, SDD, 32mb VRAM, without the AE/BT) that I bought in December of 2003. Gee, maybe I should have waited. 😀 (sorry couldn't resist)
 
efoto said:
I too will be getting more ram in a short while, although I want to try the thing out with 512 and just play with it for a bit first, that way I can truly appreciate it when I hop to 1.25Gb.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can go to 1.25 GB of ram if the base is 512. They don't make a 768 module. You would either go to 1Gb of 1.5 Gb. But I would recommend more ram. 512 is definitely enough for most people and will perform well. But I really notice the extra memory for programs like iPhoto and GarageBand. I can scroll right through all my photos (1500+) without a problem now because it can store them all in the ram.
 
I just looked at the Apple website, I didn't realize that the 12" PB comes with 2 256mb sticks instead of one 512 like the 15" and 17". So you can have 1.25 GB.
 
Shipping Dates

efoto what's the shipping date on yours mine says on or before 2/8/05. I got the printer to and it says on or before 02/03/2005. Do you think that I will really receive the computer by next tuesday and the printer by this Thursday.
 
IDANNY said:
efoto what's the shipping date on yours mine says on or before 2/8/05. I got the printer to and it says on or before 02/03/2005. Do you think that I will really receive the computer by next tuesday and the printer by this Thursday.
Click to expand...

I ordered mine on Monday, around 1130 EST...somewhere around there. Everything went through quite quickly and the email I received from Apple said Printer shipping on/before Feb. 2, and PB shipping on/before Feb. 3. Either way I figured neither will be here before Tuesday of next week at the earliest as I just opted for the free ground and not expedited shipping.

Edit: IDANNY, when did you place your order? Did you change any options on the actual laptop from the Apple site or is it "stock"? I had configured PBs so many times before I thought I would know exactly what to do when I was ready to order, but with the revision I did not change a thing on the SuperDrive 12 (figured 80Gb is fine....iPod gives me 20 more). Other than the expanded HD I cannot see changing much to cause the ship time to go out....perhaps your RAM increase makes them take a little longer 😛
 
efoto said:
I ordered mine on Monday, around 1130 EST...somewhere around there. Everything went through quite quickly and the email I received from Apple said Printer shipping on/before Feb. 2, and PB shipping on/before Feb. 3. Either way I figured neither will be here before Tuesday of next week at the earliest as I just opted for the free ground and not expedited shipping.

Edit: IDANNY, when did you place your order? Did you change any options on the actual laptop from the Apple site or is it "stock"? I had configured PBs so many times before I thought I would know exactly what to do when I was ready to order, but with the revision I did not change a thing on the SuperDrive 12 (figured 80Gb is fine....iPod gives me 20 more). Other than the expanded HD I cannot see changing much to cause the ship time to go out....perhaps your RAM increase makes them take a little longer 😛
Click to expand...

Yah I thinks its cause I order mine at around 8 or nine.
I just got Shipment notification for the printer. on the
apple order status page does it say open in grey under
everything. O yah mine says that it has a back light
keyboard maybe yours is like that to. here is a link
to a thread that I started about
it https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=1250887#post1250887


I cant wait. 🙂
 
IDANNY said:
O yah mine says that it has a back light
keyboard maybe yours is like that to. here is a link
to a thread that I started about
it https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=1250887#post1250887


I cant wait. 🙂
Click to expand...

In the order status and the confirmation emails this is what is listed:

PBG4 12/1.5/512/80/SD/APX/BT-USA

So I do not see the backlit keyboard thing that you have. I was not terrbily interested in it, although I would take it if offered of course. Doesn't the screen illuminate the keys....and who actually looks at the keys to type?

I'm really just jealous...don't mind me 😛
 
wwooden said:
I just looked at the Apple website, I didn't realize that the 12" PB comes with 2 256mb sticks instead of one 512 like the 15" and 17". So you can have 1.25 GB.
Click to expand...

Apple is just sticking a 256MB SO-DIMM into the slot standard now. So there is 256MB on the motherboard itself, and then they add into the slot (the ONLY slot) 256MB of RAM. You can add a 1GB stick but then out goes the 256MB stick. Or one of those 2GB RAM sticks.... 🙂 🙄 😀
 
wwooden said:
I don't think you can go to 1.25 GB of ram if the base is 512. They don't make a 768 module. You would either go to 1Gb of 1.5 Gb. But I would recommend more ram. 512 is definitely enough for most people and will perform well. But I really notice the extra memory for programs like iPhoto and GarageBand. I can scroll right through all my photos (1500+) without a problem now because it can store them all in the ram.
Click to expand...




The PB's 512 is split into 2 256 modules

he got the 1.25 GB by replacing one 256 module with a 1 gig module

🙂
 
Best two accessories for my 12":

- the Tucano second skin (as has been mentioned above): has kept my PB scratch-free for 4 months and counting, if that matters. Simple, cheap, and effective. Two available custom-sized styles (there is a generic 12" laptop size that will work, but two designs specifically for the PB 12" that fit a little nicer). With this, almost any bag becomes a laptop bag.

- Griffin iCurve: I've reviewed it here in another post, but I'll repeat that if you're going to be using your PB at a desk for extended periods of time, this thing is great. Raises screen to a good level and allows for stuff underneath / small footprint. 2 downsides: you can use the keyboard while the PB is in the iCurve, in a pinch, but the iCurve has suspension-like qualities with the more pressure you apply. The light bouncing can bother. And personally, I like my PB's keyboard better than any other I have ever used, laptop or desktop, so whatever I plug in to use at my desk (in this case old Apple USB) just can't quite match it.
 
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