Im scared!

[mduser63]

The general consensus ive read on these boards is that Mail is a little lacking? Ill obviously try them both before deciding though of course.

In terms of updating the Ram - will it not invalidate my warranty to be unscrewing it? And is it difficult? Im pretty competent with PCs and putting them together etc so I wouldnt have thought so...

I find Mail entirely adequate, and like it better than Entourage. My friend (who I convinced to switch), however, likes Entourage better. It's really just whatever is your personal preference, but make sure you try Mail out before deciding you don't want to use it. You can also use Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora, and a few other Mac email clients if you want. Mail's integration with Spotlight is a huge plus for me.

As for adding RAM, it's very easy. The user manual includes instructions for doing it. It only takes about 5 minutes, and is something that just about anyone can do.

 

[milozauckerman]

FWIW, I'm very impressed with my 12" 1.33 iBook. I'm still waiting on my CS2 suite to arrive from AcademicSuperstore (oh wait I just ordered it on Friday, guess I shouldn't complain this early) so I haven't used it for importing any big files or anything, but it feels at least as quick as my old G4/933 Quicksilver desktop and running the basic OS/Safari/etc. not that much different from my dual G5. I was planning to use this for a few months and upgrade to a 15" PB after Christmas, but they're going to have to make the PB a bloody good deal to get me to upgrade now.

I did order a 1GB stick from OWC (macsales.com - they seem to be the cheapest bet for certified Mac RAM that I've dealt with) to give me 1.5GB total. RAM is cheap enough these days I favor maxing out whenever possible - it can't hurt.

My only minor regret is that I got a 30GB model (in-stock in the store), I forgot just how small that can be (my iTunes library on my desktop is 60GB), but it's good for everyday use and if/when I travel I'll pack along a little Firewire external drive for large file dumps. If you're getting it built-to-order, spring for the 60GB drive from Apple.

 

[pubwvj]

It will be fine for all the apps you list. I run a much slower machine (G3 500MHz) and do all of that plus video production, programming, database work and more without any issue. The new iBooks will do you right fine.

 

[Abstract]

The iBook is only slow for people who are trying to do tasks that should be done on a desktop on their notebook. Seriously, the current iBook is FASTER than my 12" PB (1GHz G4), and I can do more than what you said you wanted to do using my PowerBook.

The new iBook is fast. Don't worry, you can't always trust the word of fanatics. This is a Mac board, after all. We're just tough on Apple.

 

[greatdevourer]

Man, as is the situation for many others, im a PC nut who has decided to switch to Mac. However, im in a bit of a predicament.

Im a student, so my budget is around £700... this is about the price of a 12" iBook, which for a long time has been the Mac that I believe id get due to the obvious price constraints etc. People have suggested a Mini, but honestly I want something portable that I can use at Wifi hotspots, the library etc. I will still have my 3ghz Dell PC in my dorm room, so the Mac is to be looked at as a complimentary machine to it...

Basically though, I keep seeing posts about how the iBook is slow etc..

Im not going to be using it for resource heavy apps. Its going to be for the organiser features, such as iCal (I like to keep organised, so this will be on 24-7), as well as Entourage and the Office Suite etc. I also intend to use iTunes and Safari a lot. As I said before, I will be using my Dell for games, video editing etc.

My question is, will the 12" iBook be sufficient? I know the new versions come with 512mb ram which is a bonus. But for my level of use, would it be better to grab myself a 1gb stick?

I just want to buy a Mac so badly, and start to experience for myself what so m any people praise.... and the iBook is a beautiful machine aestetically... im just worried that it will run slow etc... and I cant afford a Powerbook.

Thoughts?

You can do practically all that in a 120Mhz 604e (yes, within X, and it has been tried - I've seen the results first hand, running off a PM7500). So, yes, your iBook will be sufficient...

 

[rinseout]

To the original poster

I do serious work on my iBook 12" (number crunching, application development, etc.) and I have never found it slow. I did add a 1 gig stick when I first bought the thing so that has something to do with it; you need to budget for a memory upgrade (go for the 512 or 1 gig if you can), but otherwise these computers are amazing. Go for it; you won't be disappointed.

I am also a student and price was a major factor for me too, so I know what it's like, but put it this way: even though I dropped several hundred quid on this machine and the memory I haven't yet regretted it.

Go for the iBook 12": they're way better than the 8 pound table-warmers that your friends are buying.

 

[Eluon]

i have an iBook

buy the iBook my friend. You can't and won't go wrong. for what you are doing - you will feel like the iBook is tearing it apart. I have a 12 inch 1 gigahertz with only 256mb ram and it is wonderful for all i use it for - and it seems like i use it for more intensive things than you.

go ahead!

 

[Project]

Thanks for all of the replies. Im pretty much decided that I will be getting one. I just have to hope that PC World stores get the new iBooks in stock (they still only have the previous rev. on their website at a discounted price).

I am going to get one of them LaCie drives too. Probably the 120gb. That way I could transfer my entire iTunes collection on my PC to it, and then attach it to my iBook via Firewire.

My only other concern is that I am a Reason user. Its a pretty intensive program but the recommended specs in the manual imply that an iBook is way more than adequate to do the job. Im seriously considering selling my PC as the only other use I have for it aside from Reason would be to play Pro Evolution Soccer lol, but i'll be getting an Xbox 360 at Xmas so the games side of things is sorted there. But do you guys thing an iBook could run Reason? The rec specs are:

G3, G4 or G5 processor, sufficiently fast to run Mac OS X 10.2.
• 256 MB RAM
• 2 GB free hard disk space.
• CD-ROM drive.
• Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

Obviously the iBook is more than a match for these guidelines, but the program made my P4 3.0ghz processor sluggish at times. Although that could be down to the fact that I only had 256mb ram (dont ask - Dell ****ed me over by making the motherboard rdram only)