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Finallly!!! Got a new iBook :)

absolut_mac

absolut_mac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 30, 2003
934
0
Dallas, Texas
Got a new iBook for my daughter yesterday.

Great help and service from the sales people at the Santa Monica store on the Third Street Promenade. Not pushy at all, so I highly recommend them to anyone thinking of going there.

Question. Recommendations for a book/books to ease my 14 year old daughter's transition from Windows to Panther? Keeping in mind, like most teenagers, she wants answers ASAP and as short as possible.

She obviously won't be interested in doing too many fancy or difficult things just yet, so she doesn't need anying showing her how to modify the UNIX kernel!

TIA, all advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Re: Finallly!!! Got a new iBook :)

Originally posted by absolut_mac
Got a new iBook for my daughter yesterday.

Great help and service from the sales people at the Santa Monica store on the Third Street Promenade. Not pushy at all, so I highly recommend them to anyone thinking of going there.

Question. Recommendations for a book/books to ease my 14 year old daughter's transition from Windows to Panther? Keeping in mind, like most teenagers, she wants answers ASAP and as short as possible.

She obviously won't be interested in doing too many fancy or difficult things just yet, so she doesn't need anying showing her how to modify the UNIX kernel!

TIA, all advice is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Was in B&N last week and saw a book. Was called something like, Switchers Guide for Windows Users. HTH
 
I don't know how good a book would be actually. I'd say just let her use it, and if she has problems with anything, then ask them here. There are always people on these boards and someone more than often knows the answer to any problem.
 
I don't know if there is a Panther version out yet, but the O'Reilly book on Jagwire has been a big help for me. I was only switching from OS8.6 to 10.2, so I was already familiar with the mac, but there was a ton of useful stuff in there.

Oh look, it's out already!
 
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To get back on topic...

I agree that just letting her take it for a spin will probably be the most effective way for her to learn a new system.

However, a book support is a good idea too. I bought Pogue's Missing Manual Switching to the Mac that I really enjoyed, and since then have bought the Panther edition just as a reference (that's probably too extreme for your daughter's needs). Both books are well written and humorous as well as getting the point across.
 
I suggested FH's grandmother get this book:

Teach Yourself Visually MAC OS X v.10.3 Panther: The Fast and Easy Way to Learn
Ruth_Maran, Kelleigh_Johnson, Adam_Giles_(Editor), Raquel_Scott_(Editor), Russ_Marini_(Illustrator)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=50QM6

It might not be the best, but it is colorful and easy to read. It covers all the basics that one needs to know. The rest she will pick up playing with the iBook.
 
Originally posted by latergator116
Congratulations. I'm sure she will love it.
What are the specs on it?
Click to expand...

Thanks, she's very excited about it.

Specs;

12" iBook with 800MHz G4 CPU
640 MB RAM
Combo Drive
Office for Mac

Anything else she wants, she can use her money earned from babysitting to buy.

But I will buy her a book or two to help her on her way :)

Seems like Pogue's books are the way to go. Any other comparable books out there, and how do they compare to Pogue's?
 
The Switcher's book someone else mentioned is "Mac OS X for Windows users : a switchers' guide," by David Coursey.

I got it from the library when I got my iBook, albeit a week after the computer came.

Pros:
- Written for Panther
- Focuses on a lot of the obvious similarities / differences

Cons:
- It's kinda an Apple sales pitch wrapped in a book -- every chapter is framed with these "Why I switched" articles by real individuals, which are nice, but don't add value for someone who's already switched.
- It's a bit light. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to know that wasn't in there.

My suggestion is to just google for help when you have trouble. Also, I did find one website that I think may be valuable.

It's http://www.xvsxp.com/ -- it's the opposite...a sheep in wolves' clothing. :)

Basically it's a site that scores XP vs Panther on how well it does a bunch of stuff. I think this is not too valuable, but OTOH, in the process, it explains how to do a lot of stuff in Panther that a Win user might be wondering about.
 
Originally posted by absolut_mac
Thanks, she's very excited about it.

Specs;

12" iBook with 800MHz G4 CPU
640 MB RAM
Combo Drive
Office for Mac

Anything else she wants, she can use her money earned from babysitting to buy.

But I will buy her a book or two to help her on her way :)

Seems like Pogue's books are the way to go. Any other comparable books out there, and how do they compare to Pogue's?
Click to expand...

Good move on the ram, I wish I had that much.

Yes, get the Pogue book. I have the iMovie one by him and it is absolutely excellent
 
Thanks!!

Originally posted by latergator116
Good move on the ram, I wish I had that much.

Yes, get he Pogue book.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I'll check them out from the library first. I'll end up buying her the one that she ends up using the most.

I'll probably need it myself in about 6 months time when I get myself a second generation G5. But then at least I'll have my daughter to help me.

As you can see, there's an ulterior motive to my kindness ;)
 
i would recocmend that you get rid of os x and go to linux. panther is hardly any better than jaguar when it comes to stability and usebilty. i experinced constant crashes and of course the twirling wheel of death. after using linux for almost 6 months, i can say that it is noticbly faster, more respnosove and more stable. plus, there are tons of programs and everything is free. youll never have to pay for software again.
 
Most people don't have the time or need for Linux, let alone a teenage girl (I don't mean to stereotype, but you know what I mean). Do you honestly beleive what you are saying maclover?
 
panther was released 3 months ago... so if you've been using linux on your mac for 6 months, how do you know panther is worse than jaguar? :rolleyes: :confused:

the spirit of iBook isn't very compatible with the use of linux. if you know enough to run linux on a Mac, why do you need a Mac to begin with? (this esp. for the orig. poster's question... i am not going to pass any judgement for a 14 year old computer user, but i think it's fairly clear from the orig. post that she's no "l337 hax0r" interested in putting linux on a Mac. i'm sure it's not as difficult as it's made out to be - but it's not really the o.p.'s question...)

back to the topic... i second recommending pogue's books. i read OS X and iPhoto books by him - quite excellent and got me up to speed on using OS X in no time.
 
what are you smoking jxyama? linux is the perfect match for the ibook. in my experience, especially with yellow dog linux, installation was a breeze, possibly easier than the panther installtion. i did'nt get my mac because of the software (os x, photoshop, etc.). i got it cause of the wicked cool hardware. admit it, os x sucks and is as slow as mollases in janurary. system 6 on my old mac plus is more responsive than os x. linux and ibook are the perfect marriage.

"panther was released 3 months ago... so if you've been using linux on your mac for 6 months, how do you know panther is worse than jaguar?"

did it ever occur to you that i had more than one mac?
 
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