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3 Years From Now

P

pcuserx

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 12, 2003
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Will a 700/800 MHZ iBook with maxed out ram be fast enough to meet requirments for next OS?

Have graphics good enough to play even the least graphic intensive games?

Have a hard drive large enough to fit a modest collection of files? (You never know, a few years ago the largest hard drives couldn't handle a small MP3 colelction).

Be of any good for student use?
 
Re: 3 Years From Now

Originally posted by pcuserx
Will a 700/800 MHZ iBook with maxed out ram be fast enough to meet requirments for next OS?

Have graphics good enough to play even the least graphic intensive games?

Have a hard drive large enough to fit a modest collection of files? (You never know, a few years ago the largest hard drives couldn't handle a small MP3 colelction).

Be of any good for student use?
Click to expand...

Generally, any computer that is more than 18 months old is considered obsolete. Your iBook will probably be able to run the next Mac OS, but it is also likely that it will not run very well.

Take a look at this list of Apple computers on the right and their respective release dates:

http://www.apple-history.com/noframes/?

If you had purchased, say, an iBook SE at the beginning of 2000 and upgraded it to OS X, would it run well (if at all)? Perhaps other Macusers with older Macs can weigh in on this issue.

IMHO, get a computer for your current needs. Keep in mind the future upgrades that might be needed or how future OS upgrades might impact your computing, but don't let that be the determining factor in your purchase.

Good luck.
 
I've got a friend who's using an original iBook (300) with maxed out RAM and is running 10.2.5 (just updated this past week). He's got no problems and can still run almost everything except for a few things (games mostly). X actually runs faster than 9 on the machine - and the iBook is more stable. His original iMac doesn't do as well, but still runs X ok - just it can't expand much in RAM, that's the biggest problem. Still, the iBook is 4 years old and the iMac is 5, and both still work. He uses the iBook only in X. The iMac is in 9 most of the time.
 
Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
I've got a friend who's using an original iBook (300) with maxed out RAM and is running 10.2.5 (just updated this past week). He's got no problems and can still run almost everything except for a few things (games mostly). X actually runs faster than 9 on the machine - and the iBook is more stable. His original iMac doesn't do as well, but still runs X ok - just it can't expand much in RAM, that's the biggest problem. Still, the iBook is 4 years old and the iMac is 5, and both still work. He uses the iBook only in X. The iMac is in 9 most of the time.
Click to expand...

A very close friend of mine had the same experience. Her iBook SE didn't do so well on 10.0.x, so she stuck with OS 9. She upgraded to 10.2.5 this past weekend and the machine is actually faster under X. It's really amazing, actually.

As for my current machine, I've got a 450 Cube. It's been great, and is still a total workhorse under OS X. I've got no complaints with this nearly 3 year old machine. I say go for the new iBook, but wait for the pending update.
 
Re: 3 Years From Now

Originally posted by pcuserx
Will a 700/800 MHZ iBook with maxed out ram be fast enough to meet requirments for next OS?

Have graphics good enough to play even the least graphic intensive games?

Have a hard drive large enough to fit a modest collection of files? (You never know, a few years ago the largest hard drives couldn't handle a small MP3 colelction).

Be of any good for student use?
Click to expand...

what kind of student??

if you studied general ed or business like i did, then the ibook will suit you

but if you are an art major and need to work with maya, photoshop, and illustrator...i would then opt for the G4 powerbook and max that out

you should be able to run the next os and the current adobe programs of choice in three years with a powerbook of some sort
 
I currently use an iBook SE 366mhz 640mb RAM. The machine is running 10.2.5 and operates perfectly fine. The OS is far from snappy, but the machine is stable and does everything I need it to do. If you have any other questions, just let me know.
 
I've just got to ask you all one thing... what do you consider to be an "acceptable speed"? As a hybrid user, I enjoy my PC because upgrading processors is fun and easy, not to mention an affordable way to keep my current system.

I've got a 12" Powerbook and I can honestly say that I'm dissapointed with the speed sometimes. It's a hell of a lot faster than my iBook 500, but it's still not nearly as fast as an $1800 machine should be. I look past that for many reasons and very much enjoy using it.

Case point - when I'm typing in Word or AIM, there's a delay in the text showing up in the appropriate window. This is totally unacceptable. While it may be poor programming, the hardware has something to do with it. My Apple IIe performs better in that regard.

Anyway, I just don't know how you could even stand running X on a G3 266 or 300. I'd want to slit my wrists on a pretty regular basis.
 
The big thing to consider here is that the comparisson between the old iBook and the new iBook is unfair.

When the old iBook came out OS9 was the defacto standard. Now OSX is. What does this mean? Well look at the current trend in OSX. With each major release OSX is better optimized and runs faster on all machines. This trend is unlikely to end in the near future as I understand it OSX is less then 50% optimized. There's a lot of uneeded and old code in there for other machines (thank unix) and junk that still needs to be removed.

I expect that new iBook to run on 10.3 better then it did on 10.2.
 
Originally posted by wsteineker
A very close friend of mine had the same experience. Her iBook SE didn't do so well on 10.0.x, so she stuck with OS 9. She upgraded to 10.2.5 this past weekend and the machine is actually faster under X. It's really amazing, actually.

As for my current machine, I've got a 450 Cube. It's been great, and is still a total workhorse under OS X. I've got no complaints with this nearly 3 year old machine. I say go for the new iBook, but wait for the pending update.
Click to expand...

I bought an iBook 700 with Combo drive back in September - and it is easily the best machine I've ever owned. This little iBook is the first Mac I ever purchased, and it's 700MHZ G3 allows me to do more than I was able to do on my 2GHZ Pentium 4 machine because it doesn't crash and it never, ever complains.

Good idea to wait for the updates. I'm waiting for the purported eMac updates because I'd like to buy a desktop - although I'm thinking about waiting for the next generation in iMac or PM that has the 970. Were you going to get the 12" or 14" iBook?
 
Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
I bought an iBook 700 with Combo drive back in September - and it is easily the best machine I've ever owned. This little iBook is the first Mac I ever purchased, and it's 700MHZ G3 allows me to do more than I was able to do on my 2GHZ Pentium 4 machine because it doesn't crash and it never, ever complains.

Good idea to wait for the updates. I'm waiting for the purported eMac updates because I'd like to buy a desktop - although I'm thinking about waiting for the next generation in iMac or PM that has the 970. Were you going to get the 12" or 14" iBook?
Click to expand...

I'm using a new eMac now. I can trade it in still though.

I was thinking of getting a 12" iBook and an extra monitor.
 
In three years everything's going retro.

We're going to have computers that look like Atari game stations and we're going to have spreadsheets that look like Pong. :D

Actually if you see the third Animatrix, A Detective Story (http://intothematrix.com) I wouldn't mind a computer that typed like a typerwriter, was in a wooden radio-like box and had the same film noir look. :D
 
Re: In three years everything's going retro.

Originally posted by GeneR
Actually if you see the third Animatrix, A Detective Story (http://intothematrix.com) I wouldn't mind a computer that typed like a typerwriter, was in a wooden radio-like box and had the same film noir look. :D
Click to expand...

I saw one of these on tv very recently. It was done as a sort of modern art type thing. I can't seem to find it through google at the moment. Can't quite find the right search terms.
 
Re: Re: In three years everything's going retro.

Originally posted by MacBandit
I saw one of these on tv very recently. It was done as a sort of modern art type thing. I can't seem to find it through google at the moment. Can't quite find the right search terms.
Click to expand...

Really? A computer that types like a typerwriter? Coolness. :eek:
 
beige retro

i thought as an option, the ibook can come in a retro black plastic option with a rainbow apple logo

or the desktops can have a beige option

if done tastefully, i know apple can even make beige look cool...same curves as the current G4 tower, but done in beige

i also thought about, in the past, the original imac in a beige color option to go with the five fruit colors in 1999...super retro

as a musician, i see amps and guitars/basses done up in retro themes from time to time with some of the amps being made to look like 1930s radios with an art deco look and feel

danelectro guitars have these cool effects pedals done in a 30s erte like retro and they are the coolest i have ever seen as far as industrial design
 
Re: beige retro

Originally posted by jefhatfield
i thought as an option, the ibook can come in a retro black plastic option with a rainbow apple logo

or the desktops can have a beige option

if done tastefully, i know apple can even make beige look cool...same curves as the current G4 tower, but done in beige

i also thought about, in the past, the original imac in a beige color option to go with the five fruit colors in 1999...super retro

as a musician, i see amps and guitars/basses done up in retro themes from time to time with some of the amps being made to look like 1930s radios with an art deco look and feel

danelectro guitars have these cool effects pedals done in a 30s erte like retro and they are the coolest i have ever seen as far as industrial design
Click to expand...

That's very interesting.

I've always thought the Modernist sensibilities of the 1910's and 1920's would be an interesting bit of nostalgia to explore. Now we're seeing a lot of automobiles being influenced by older designs which striking results. It would be cool IMHO to see an Apple computer that had keyboards that were like old Smith Corona typerwriters, and which was encased in a wooden fixture that was designed like a 1930's radio -- art deco would definitely be applicable there.

Don't have a snapshot of that Animatrix short on hand, but it would be interesting in 3 years to see if we don't reinvent the wheel in terms of our design sensibilities. I recently bought an old Smith Corona typerwriter from a pawn shop and was typing away on the keyboard. How different! And yet, there is a very nice tactile sensation you get from using one of them as each keystroke creates a crips clicking sound as the hammer strikes the key type. click click click... click... click... PING! Yes, very nice indeed.

It's even more fun than an old electric typerwriter. I don't know why. I guess it's just different. :D
 
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