clamshell iBook??

[AtiLaw]

Hi people,

I am seriously thinking of buying a Mac, but I have a problem, I dont like the new designs! lol

As sad as it is, I love the clamshell iBooks, but I dont love what looks like pretty low specs, and I wondered if anyone had any advice about either somewhere selling souped up versions somewhere, or just the highest spec versions!? Another option are the iMacs (I think thats them!). The CRT versions with coloured backs.

As you can probably tell, I know little about Mac history or functionality, so for the minute I want about a 1GHz processor, run the latest version of the mac OS (OS-X??). This is all really just a research system, as next year or the year later I might invest in a top level one, but for the minute I need a compact (all-in-one) unit so I can stick it on a desk, take little room and be able to play, program and work on.

1Ghz is my lowest threshold I think, because I have a 3GHz laptop and 3.2Ghz PC, running versions of Linux and Windows XP (I really need to ditch M$ badly!). The Mac has always interested me, I just dont want to take a massive gamble by selling my machines for a top level one until i have tried it and know I can do all the things I need to do on their systems as quick and easy as I can at present!!

Thanks people,
Law

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

Use this site as a refrence to model's specs

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

Based on what PC's you currently have you will want a G4 with 800MHz. or more (so probably no clamshell ibook or old imac)

On the other hand if ALL you want is email, web, music and light stuff just to get you introduced maybe a G3 with 366MHz - 500Mhz would be ok.

Just my thoughts.

 

[evil_santa]

I have both a original imac 233mhz & orange ibook 300mhz Both runing 10.3.4. the crt imacs se finished at 700mhz and clamshell ibook se finished at 466mhz. I have seen upgrades for the imac but not for the ibook. more info here http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/index.html

 

[mkrishnan]

Also look at:

http://www.macopinion.com/columns/roadwarrior/02/10/22/

But I don't think you're going to be able to get a clamshell anywhere *near* 1 GHz without some major modding going on in your basement. The G3 went up to 900 MHz I think in the second gen iBook, so I wouldn't see you getting much north of that. Then again, to ditto everyone else, where does that number come from? MHz #s are *not* comparable PC vs Mac. Depending on what you want to do, the slower G3 in the clamshell may or may not work for you, but it def. won't be fast unless you use a full complement of circa 1999 software.

 

[FightTheFuture]

i know that feeling. your hurting for a mac, but you don't want to lose that much performance. my first suggestion is the white eMac which looks a lot like the flavored imacs (your CRT colored versions), and are actually comparable to some of the G4 powermacs in speed. you can get a superdrive built in and have a lot of fun making videos and dvds. it would definitely stand in as your all-in-one digital hub. and they are at a reasonable price range.

my second suggestion is to just stick with what you have till your ready for a G5 (maybe iMac) in the future. in the meantime you can wait for the release of tiger and other cool things coming about

 

[Jigglelicious]

I would recommend you keep away from the clam shell ibooks. Their LCD is limited to 800x600, which is unacceptable for any work in OSX. If you want 1GHz or over, you're going to have to get something more modern than a G3 iMac or iBook.

 

[AtiLaw]

know that feeling. your hurting for a mac, but you don't want to lose that much performance. my first suggestion is the white eMac

Your probably right, I did go into a few places and look at the eMac, and its a nice looking machine, just not the same feel I wanted from my first Mac. I seems a little too, errr, clean?? lol - it seems to be the theme for the minute. I have a couple of cool computers already, but the screen resolution of the iBook I didnt even consider until Jigglelicious mentioned it, I defintely need better resolution.

Thanks for the help people, and thanks for some of the links too - they will help. I think I might decide on the eMac for this year, then if I do decide its the computer of choice I will head for a G5 next year, taking the full plunge and ditching my laptop or PC (or both?!). I like the build of the powermacs, but I need an all in one system for the minute, once I decide to upgrade I will most definately go for one of those (or equivelant)!

 

[netytan]

Dont like the 'i' range, the the eMac is just looking too damn clean.. but, like the PowerMac's. Then why not get on at the ground floor with a PowerBook. As you mentioned you're looking for a complete system and this is the only one that looks anything like the PowerMac right now - and for obvious reasons. Though, its not going to be too cheap , but worth looking at.

*shuders at the thought of the old neon colored macs* eeep.

Mark.

 

[abc123]

if i had the money, time and confidence in myself not to mess it up i'd be on ebay right now looking for a cube to mod and get a current cinema display to go along with it. they really are the nicest looking computers that i've ever seen can be upgraded to something more than adequate for my needs.

 

[AtiLaw]

Dont like the 'i' range, the the eMac is just looking too damn clean.. but, like the PowerMac's. Then why not get on at the ground floor with a PowerBook. As you mentioned you're looking for a complete system and this is the only one that looks anything like the PowerMac right now - and for obvious reasons. Though, its not going to be too cheap , but worth looking at.

*shuders at the thought of the old neon colored macs* eeep.

Mark.

Im not sure at the minute, I am thinking the eMac is my safest option at the minute, if I buy into a powerbook its too much of an investment when i dont know much about Mac. I looked at them, but I was not completely sold on them, I saw a powerMac, had a different feel to it, not sure how, just did, and I liked it!

To sum it up, I think the older coloured systems had more individuality, which i always like, and the curvey iBooks of old are great! The current powerbooks looks too fragile (and too expensive for a test machine), the powermacs look like mean monsters (which i like, but too pricey again), the modern "hub" iMac is a little too strange for me at the minute, the eMac is good for testing, good to look at, and seems the best choice. Maybe there are mod'ing kits available for the eMac??

 

[AtiLaw]

if i had the money, time and confidence in myself not to mess it up i'd be on ebay right now looking for a cube to mod and get a current cinema display to go along with it. they really are the nicest looking computers that i've ever seen can be upgraded to something more than adequate for my needs.

I saw a blog from some guy, who took a powerMac case and pretended he had ripped out the internals (showing images of a full powerbook with side panel off), then then placed PC parts in the empty case and told people he had done it all on a full system and gave away the parts, people were horrified!

I was wondering if I could maybe get an eMac, and do a "dirty op" on it to mod it to an earlier iMac feel?

 

[netytan]

Maybe its just the age talking (still a teen) but looking at the PC notebooks of today and the Apple notebooks they also have a lot of class . I can't say i agree about the IBook looking fragile, being as its made of the same stuff bullet proof glass, and as the add goes "built to make an impact, and take one too" - very cool but each to his own. Possibly the more sturdy notebook computer eva'. Or here's hoping.

Good look with the switch, i'm currently going though the same kind of thing - i went with the IBook. Hopefully everything will go well

later,

Mark.

 

[netytan]

I was wondering if I could maybe get an eMac, and do a "dirty op" on it to mod it to an earlier iMac feel?

It wouldn't be too much of an op, more like a slight tuck since they already look very similar in shape.

 

[AtiLaw]

I dont think we have ever had that ad in the UK, but it sounds like a pretty sturdy machine.

I have issues with Laptops at the minute though, my previous one took a swim (dont ask), and the current one just decided to die a month ago, and now Im battling to get it repaired on the £350 5 year coverplan i bought! Hope your switch is going well, Im sure mine will when i take the plunge!

The more I look at the eMac, the more it grows on me, so maybe the powerbook would too. I am looking at the 45% off mac offers on refurbs from apple.com/uk... veeery tempting! But which one?!?!?

 

[netytan]

Appart for troubles placing an order with Apple because i'm traveling at the moment it's going well. Really looking forward to it.

If you can get 45% off then that makes the eMac roughly 400 pounds which is a really good deal for any computer, let alone a Mac! Although if you can i would definatly go with a notebook since the portability you never knew you needed really becomes adictive and is of great value in our, rapidly growing digital world!

Check out the tech specs page for the IBook also bearing the smart add.

http://www.apple.com/uk/ibook/specs.html

Mark.

 

[StrangeQuark]

Im not sure at the minute, I am thinking the eMac is my safest option at the minute, if I buy into a powerbook its too much of an investment when i dont know much about Mac.

You can pick up a refurb 12" PB Rev A for just under 1k at the Apple Store, touching 1.2k if you want a superdrive. I don't have any experience with the Rev A model, but I can tell you that the Rev C is *very* nice. And the word "fragile", does not apply. The aluminum gives it a very solid, industrial feel. Let me also add (assuming that you fit the typical BB demographic of teen-20's male), girls dig the 12".

 

[AtiLaw]

the specs are good! I can see the ad now!

I like the long battery life!! I only get about 2hours from my current one, this is 6 hours?!?! Not a fan of 14 inch screen tho, prefer 15+. Its worth the investment though!

 

[AtiLaw]

You can pick up a refurb 12" PB Rev A for just under 1k at the Apple Store, touching 1.2k if you want a superdrive. I don't have any experience with the Rev A model, but I can tell you that the Rev C is *very* nice. And the word "fragile", does not apply. The aluminum gives it a very solid, industrial feel. Let me also add (assuming that you fit the typical BB demographic of teen-20's male), girls dig the 12".

lol - good to know! I prefer a bigger screen though. Im checking out the 15 and 17 range... i dont think i saw a power book in the shops... it doesnt look how i remember it... 17 looks silghtly odd.. but the 15s are good

 

[netytan]

The 15" powerbooks are the notebook computer, there not cheep but they crap all over anything from the PC world in nearly every respect. And they are still very portable, the 17" i think is a bit of a handful for something you travel with but . I'm sure you've found the PowerBook page by now but just in case:

http://www.apple.com/uk/powerbook/

This is the computer i would be getting if i didn't have to save money to eat, and even then it was touch and go for a second. Can you pricture this "get food or go down to the apple store" Mmmmm. Needless to say in the end i had to settle since even starving students need to eat some time .

http://www.apple.com/uk/powerbook/index15.html

Can you think of a more perfect way to make the leap away from the buddy world of the PC than with these beauties?! The one thing i would carry over from the IBook would be the battery life, although the 4-5 hr the PowerBook offer is still better than any PC notebook i've looked at!

Let us know what you deside,

Mark.

 

[AtiLaw]

I will know within the week what I can afford actually. I might be able to get a powerbook... I sent my current laptop in for repair, and if they cannot fix it (like last time) I get like £1800, so it might be worth the investment, because after talking with you guys and looking online at tours and reviews, if I am getting another laptop i think it might have to be a mac! I will go into a store and have a play for a bit first too...

i need to know about programming and stuff since this is my final year project in uni is coming up, i will most likely have to program in C++, java, Matlab (i have a Mac version somewhere, but no mac!), etc etc... so if anyone knows if its a good or bad environment to code let me know.. its suprising the how platform independant languages behave in different operating systems!

lol - to think, last few weeks i was pondering a cheap mac to play with, and now im planning to spend £k's on a system!!

 

[netytan]

MacOS X is a great environment to code in and or for and comes with everything you could need. Plus you get the added advantage of it being a *nix like system which will serve you very well in future projects - especially if you do anything on the Sever-Side!

C/C++ - MacOS X includes the latest vers of gcc right out of the box where you would otherwise have to get the latest version available for Windows.

Java - Apple are the only company to package Java with there OS, which is why so may of the Java developers thought it was cool. And i read somwhere that MacOS X was fast becoming the platform of choice for Java .

Python/Perl - MacOS like alot of the other *nix comes with these handy little languages pre-isntalled, and being a heavy Python user myself i have to say i am looking forward to this!

Developers tools - you should really check out the developers tools, i dont think i can recall enough of the good things about them!

http://www.apple.com/macosx/developertools/
​

Where i havn't actually got my IBook yet i did take a lot of time to think about how the switch would impact on my work and the only area in which i found MacOS X lacking was in .NET which is a M$ technology so what could you expect .

Also worth noting that some of the gang over at devshed.com are using Mac, which really says a lot!

Hope this helps,

Mark.

P.S. feel free to get in touch with me if you have any other questions or just want to mull over some ideas - 'netytan at hotmail.com'

 

[AtiLaw]

wow - thanx, thats something I have never understood with M$, they have loads of money and could easily bundle a few free compilers with the OS, but they choose not to?! Its one of the reasons I use linux more often than not, the fact that almost everything you will ever need comes with the OS. Im guessing the mac os will have everything I love about linux, plus more (hardware compatibility, well developed UI to name a few!).

I will drop you a line sometime in the next few days to let you know how the research is developing! I'm seriously torn between the eMac (for price, value and looks), and now a 17" powerbook (power, taking the full plunge into mac!).

 

[parrothead]

Im not sure at the minute, I am thinking the eMac is my safest option at the minute, if I buy into a powerbook its too much of an investment when i dont know much about Mac. I looked at them, but I was not completely sold on them, I saw a powerMac, had a different feel to it, not sure how, just did, and I liked it!

To sum it up, I think the older coloured systems had more individuality, which i always like, and the curvey iBooks of old are great! The current powerbooks looks too fragile (and too expensive for a test machine), the powermacs look like mean monsters (which i like, but too pricey again), the modern "hub" iMac is a little too strange for me at the minute, the eMac is good for testing, good to look at, and seems the best choice. Maybe there are mod'ing kits available for the eMac??

I think you will be very happy with the emac, especially if you were to compare the performance of an emac with an old ibook or imac. Have fun and welcome to Mac.

 

[AtiLaw]

I think you will be very happy with the emac...

I have decided on the emac now. I have my emac order saved on apple-online, going to do some price checking but it looks like I might be going for this:

Emac - 1.25GHz/256DDR/40GB/Combo/Radeon9200/56K
Price: £515

Thats on the apple-uk website for student prices. If anyone knows of any cheaper places then let me know, but I think at this price it may as well be brand new!

Thanks for the welcome to Mac, Im sure once I own one I will be hooked!