Do I upgrade my iBook to a MacBook

[EvilHomer]

Hi all

I currently have an iBook G4, it has the combo drive, 512mb memory etc...

I also have a PC, its a bit old but it has a DVD writer that I require sometimes and also a few applications I need that use DRM (Digital Rights Management) that won't work on mac software.

I want to combine the two so Im considering a intel MacBook because it now comes with a superdrive as standard and also I "should" be able to dual boot it with windows (I say should I don't really know much about this).

So my main questions are:

1. How easy is it to Dual Boot.
2. Is windows fast enough to use for basic applications
3. Can Windows access the Superdrive for writing DVD's
4. Is the Intel MacBook much faster for Mac applications than the iBook G4 is, I find it a bit slow with Dreamweaver and Photoshop.

Any other thoughts on my situation are much appreciated.

 

[furious]

real easy
native speed
i would think so
universal apps are lightning PPC apps are about the same

 

[fivetoadsloth]

it is quite easy to set up the dual boot system and windows accesses the superdrive. THe reason photoshop and dreamweave are slow is becuase they are optaimized for PPC not intel. Once they are made for intel they will fly.Good luck with the macbook

 

[Scarlet Fever]

if you are going to dual boot it, i seriously recommend you buy the biggest HDD available. 60 just doesn't cut it. You might also want to do a fresh customised install when you get the machine.

I was using a 800MHz G4 iMac before i got my MacBook. It was like taking off in a rocket after using an old Corolla for years. The MacBooks are really fast

 

[dmw007]

So my main questions are:

1. How easy is it to Dual Boot.
2. Is windows fast enough to use for basic applications
3. Can Windows access the Superdrive for writing DVD's
4. Is the Intel MacBook much faster for Mac applications than the iBook G4 is, I find it a bit slow with Dreamweaver and Photoshop.

Any other thoughts on my situation are much appreciated.

1) Pretty easy, just make sure that you have Windows XPee Home/Pro with service pack 2 or greater.

2) Yep, Windows runs at native speed when using Boot Camp.

3) As far as I know it should be able to do so just fine.

4) Yes, the MacBook will be much faster than your iBook G4.

 

[andrewag]

Hi there!

Dual booting is simple as 1 2 3. Bootcamp partitions your HD (quite quickly too) and burns a hardware driver cd once you have windows installed. It also installs a startup disk control panel in Windows like there is in Mac OS X where you can select what OS to boot into. You can also hold down option and pick which OS at startup.

The dualboot solution works great. I highly recommend it.

The speed of Windows is fantastic. It feels much faster than any Windows built PC i've used and just kills the P4. I use an iMac at work mainly in Windows and it is very nice to use.



The only problem I have found with my MacBook is with PowerPC applications. I only have the base 512MB RAM and when you open something like Dreamweaver the entire computer bogs down. Once the universal binary arrives there will be huge increases but as it stands using dreamweaver is horrible (hell, it's even sluggish on my dual 2ghz PowerMac G5 with 2.5GB RAM).



I really do enjoy using my MacBook and I'm very happy with the purchases as I expect you would be too.

 

[woodenturkey]

well im in a model T, i just got a ibook G3. I wanted to test the apple waters b4 i jumped in

 

[IlluminatedSage]

it's time for you to update to macbook.

they are faster. get 2 gb of ram if you want to be able to use it for future. ie keep it for a long time. as ram is vital for system performance.

also, vip for vista if you ever want to run than clunker

 

[Willis]

well im in a model T, i just got a ibook G3. I wanted to test the apple waters b4 i jumped in

Welcome to Apple. I think buying older machines to try out is a great idea. That way, they get a new home and life. G4's are still good now for people who just need to word process and do web/email jobs.