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Any iBook Regrets?

G

Groovsonic

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 4, 2002
209
0
Near Chicago, Illinois
Hi!
My (very nice and generous) sister is getting me a computer for college this weekend, and I was thinking that I would get a 12in 900mhz iBook. This fits her budget very nicely.
Anyone had any bad experiences with their iBook, or regret buying one?
Anyone think I should get the eMac instead? Is the speed that much diffrent? Portability is only semi-important, but I do like the idea of being able to carry it around.
How do you think it will compare speedwise to my 17in 800mhz FP iMac?
Any suggestions on good accessories for the iBook?
Any info you think would be useful to me would be mush appreciated...
 
if you already have an imac, then don't get another desktop, go for the ibook. it will probably run a little slower then your imac because of the G3, but it won't be that far off
 
I've had an ibook for 2 years now with no regrets. As noted the big difference will be the G3 processor. I agree that a portable is the business, but you might get more grunt for a little more money with the 12" powerbook. I have found the ibook to be very robust for surviving life in a backpack. The G3 is more than enough for day to day stuff.
 
My one regret about the iBook: Not waiting for the next faster model to come out. But that's a given when buying a new computer.

The only problem that I've had with the iBook is that, when using the battery, my iBook started going to sleep with 25% or more charge remaining. The first time this happened, Apple replaced the battery. The second time, Apple replaced the power manager. It hasn't happened since.
 
The only thing I really don't like about my iBook is the squishy keyboard...other than that, it's the best laptop I've owned.
 
The g3 doesn't have the "through-put" of a g4, let alone the g4's velocity engine.

When I bought a 500mhz iBook three days before 9/11, I had read that the tiBook easily dented -- and really did make a snap decision on that point alone, when I shouldn't have.

If I could only turn back the clock and buy that PB instead, I would.

Don't get the iBook; Apple's 12" PB is a much better machine.
 
Originally posted by pimentoLoaf
The g3 doesn't have the "through-put" of a g4, let alone the g4's velocity engine.

Don't get the iBook; Apple's 12" PB is a much better machine.
Click to expand...

the 12" powerbook is NOT a much better machine. It totally depends on what you're going to do with it. The 12" powerbook is only faster at altivec enabled tasks. The velocity engine will only make a difference in very select situations, and the ibook in fact outperforms the powerbook on some tasks. The PB offers other extras that the ibook doesn't, but you have to ask if you need those things...
There are lots of ibook vs. 12" powerbook threads out there, so do a search if you're interested...

anyway, I have a 14" ibook 900, and used to have a 12" ibook 600, and I really enjoyed and have been pleased with both of them (i'm in college also, btw). The speed will be pretty comparable to your FP imac 800 except when altivec is an issue. (my ibook is faster than my brother's imac FP 700 on most tasks)

I highly recommend an ibook. You could say I'm biased since I own one, but then again, I bought a second one because I liked the first one so much. The one problem I had was that the backlight died on my ibook 600's display after a year, so I was very glad I had applecare.
 
Re: Any iBook Regrets?

Originally posted by Groovsonic
Hi!
My (very nice and generous) sister is getting me a computer for college this weekend, and I was thinking that I would get a 12in 900mhz iBook. This fits her budget very nicely.
Anyone had any bad experiences with their iBook, or regret buying one?
Anyone think I should get the eMac instead? Is the speed that much diffrent? Portability is only semi-important, but I do like the idea of being able to carry it around.
How do you think it will compare speedwise to my 17in 800mhz FP iMac?
Any suggestions on good accessories for the iBook?
Any info you think would be useful to me would be mush appreciated...
Click to expand...

Whoa. My sister just bought me an iBook yesterday (900 MHz, 12"). (Actually, I'm paying her back in installments).

I just got mine, and based on my early experience, it's a very solid laptop. If all you're doing is schoolwork, e-mail/internet, some games, and even some light video editing or Photoshop work, the iBook is a great laptop. The screen is great for watching DVDs. It's very crisp. My only gripe is that the speakers aren't very loud.

I would reccomend that you get some more RAM, though.
 
I left out one beef I have with the iBook: the screen is rather a bit dimmer than those on PowerBooks. I have no idea why, but when I put my youth pastor's TiBook side-by-side with my iBook with backlighting on full blast, the difference is huge.
 
Get an iBook. The 12" PB is a ripoff, unless you believe the small difference in performance is worth hundreds of dollars. Until the 12" PB is updated to 1GHz, I'll continue to tell anybody who asks this question the same thing. :eek:
 
The 12in PB is hardly a ripoff compared to the cheaper iBook - airport extreme, built in bluetooth, more solid keyboard, doesn't scratch, slot loading drive - all of those things are worth the extra bucks to me
 
Originally posted by coolbreeze
The only thing I really don't like about my iBook is the squishy keyboard...other than that, it's the best laptop I've owned.
Click to expand...
coolbreeze,

Have you tightened down the keyboard screw between the F5 and F6 keys? This is the main cure for the squishy keyboard.
 
Get an iBook, i love mine. I also have an iMac and i use em together all the time.

I had a 15" PB and got rid of it.

I never saw an issue with the screen brightness, in fact on my PB it wasnt bright enuff and on the iBook i gotta turn it down,

my only word of warning go ahead and buy memory (not from apple it's too expensive) and max out ur iBook.

I have a 900Mhz Combo 12" and i love it...my boyfriend has a 700Mhz Combo 12" and loves it.

It's not slow at all and does everything I ask.

MacBoyX
 
Originally posted by ftaok
coolbreeze,

Have you tightened down the keyboard screw between the F5 and F6 keys? This is the main cure for the squishy keyboard.
Click to expand...

sometimes the little magnet under the f6 key isout of place and it causes the squishy issue too. Also you may want to look at the iskin keyboard protector, for me it changed the way typing was on the ibook, its softer smoother and cleaner..


to groove make sure you look at the edu store. you said your going to college so at the very least you can get $50 off on that new ibook
 
Thanks everyone for the great replies.

I went to CompUsa to look at em tonight, and my only issue with the iBook is the looks. I mean, it looks good, but just not as cool as the 12pb. Oh well...I don't think we can afford it right now.
The ones they had sitting out had a sort of yellowish tinge to them. I am not a big fan of yellow.

Yah, I am gonna max out the ram from crucial. That should rock. 128 just wont cut it I think.

I was also looking at printers and the HP PSC1210 looks like it was built to sit next to an iBook, so I think that is what I will get.
 
the 12pb with edu discount (your a college student right) is 1499 and they have that ipod deal.
the iBook is 1249...when i bought my iBook there was no 12pb so so it was an easy option. For you its much harder especially since it looks like you want the 12pb. If you want the edu discount all you need to do is goto the apple store or order from apple.com I think its worth it for the extra $150 bucks
 
Originally posted by Groovsonic
Thanks everyone for the great replies.


Yah, I am gonna max out the ram from crucial. That should rock. 128 just wont cut it I think.

I .
Click to expand...

Here is what I did yesterday @ an Apple store. I just told them I was going to buy from MacWarehouse who had free max RAM, and other goodies... They honored the free extra RAM and discounted some items to make me buy from them. It worked.... I pick up my new 14" iBook later on today.... good luck!
 
I got myself the 800 combo and while i love the fact that it is very quite for a laptop and very lightweight, i am dissapointed with the cd burning speeds and not happy with the graphics card.

I cannot play warcraft (the only game a i have for it) unless i turn everything off in the background and even then i cannot have decent quality for the game, and personally i feel the cd writers should be faster, instead of writing cd's for backup i now just transfere them over to my iPod.

I've decided that i am to sell this machine once the new 15" PowerBooks arrive, i have a friend who wants it for simple emailing and typing, he can have it.
 
Originally posted by CrackedButter
I got myself the 800 combo and while i love the fact that it is very quite for a laptop and very lightweight, i am dissapointed with the cd burning speeds and not happy with the graphics card.

I cannot play warcraft (the only game a i have for it) unless i turn everything off in the background and even then i cannot have decent quality for the game, and personally i feel the cd writers should be faster, instead of writing cd's for backup i now just transfere them over to my iPod.

I've decided that i am to sell this machine once the new 15" PowerBooks arrive, i have a friend who wants it for simple emailing and typing, he can have it.
Click to expand...

hmm, I'm a bit surprised by your complaints... my ibook 900, with the same video card, plays war 3 pretty darn well (maybe not perfectly, but more than just "playable"), and as for the cd burner, well, now it's a 24x that I find to be quite zippy.
 
The writer on mine is x16 remember.

Anyway...i AM happy with the rest of the system, OSX is lush and its the reason why i'm still staying with Apple rather than going with linux or XP.

I'll just be wanting something quicker and more powerful, i thought the iBook was it but no, so i will plum for the PBook when its ready.
 
Originally posted by CrackedButter
I got myself the 800 combo and while i love the fact that it is very quite for a laptop and very lightweight, i am dissapointed with the cd burning speeds and not happy with the graphics card.

I cannot play warcraft (the only game a i have for it) unless i turn everything off in the background and even then i cannot have decent quality for the game, and personally i feel the cd writers should be faster, instead of writing cd's for backup i now just transfere them over to my iPod.

I've decided that i am to sell this machine once the new 15" PowerBooks arrive, i have a friend who wants it for simple emailing and typing, he can have it.
Click to expand...

I think that expecting good gaming from an older processor, and only a 32 meg video card on a 12'' screen no less is asking a bit much. If you want gaming capabilities you either buy a fairly recent
desktop, or a highend gaming laptop such as alienware.

I do not want to say something so cliched as 'I told you so', but honestly what lead you to believe the iBook was a powerhouse gaming machine?

Am I under the wrong impression that Apple markets this as a consumer daily task/on-the-go entertainment notebook?

-tazo
 
I think you misunderstood and i don't like your tone either, i sounds a bit negative Tazo and your partially jumping to a conclusion about what i think. I never thought of the iBook as a powerhouse gaming machine, but i would like to pass the time sometimes with a game.
Apple is marketing it properly, but i can still buy a game yes?

I bought the iBook 4 months ago and its been brilliant, it does everything i want it to do and more than what i have done with my old windows laptop, it isn't anything to do with speed either, its with this "user experience" thing other mac users keeping going on about. But i mainly edit photos and organise my music collection along with some flash animating and programming. But last week i bought my first game, knowing it wouldn't be brilliant, but i did expect better (even on low settings). I don't play alot of games anyway but i thought i would buy this game.

So anyway, i'm going to get another apple mac, i would keep the ibook if only for not playing games, but if i am getting something better i might as well sell it on and save myself some money on my next purchase. I'm simply upgrading.
 
Hey BBQ...thanks for that tip on MacWarehouse. I have to buy from the apple store (we are going to the one downtown chicago. The one at oakbrook is closer, but why not make a day of it, right?) because thats where we have credit, but I will mention it and ask if they are having any specials like that. I know they aren't officially, but maybe they will do something nice for me...ya never know.
 
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