Impulsively Bought iBook!

[JimmyDTU]

I think the original poster has decided to keep it but I would definitely have sold it simply because you are going to lose more money on this than you would normally buying a mac.

Say in a year's time you are selling this iBook and at that point every single machine Apple is selling is now an Intel. How much do you think people will be willing to pay for something they know is obsolete and, at that point, not going to be supported much in the near future?

If this was one year ago and you had an iBook then you'd know that in a year's time you would still have good resale value. If you waited a week or so and got an Intel iBook you would know that in a year's time your machine would have good resell value. However, buying right now is silly because...

1) It's almost certain that there will be a MUCH better machine within a month.
2) You're throwing money away when it comes to reselling.

Since when do you buy a computer based on its future resale value? If you buy a computer knowing that you're going to sell it in a year, isn't that a bad investment? Shouldn't you be looking into something a little more permanent than that?
If you're happy with your purchase now, and don't mind having a perfectly functioning computer that might not be the cream of the crop in a week or month's time (but what is these days? new computers are churned out all the time), I say stick with your impulsiveness.

 

[Abstract]

Who cares if you don't have the absolute best product out there, as long as what you do have does exactly what you bought it for??? There is nothing wrong with the current iBooks and the Intel Apples on the horizon shouldn't be held against the current iBooks.

You wouldn't be singing that tune if you were the one who (knowingly or unknowingly) paid a lot of money for something that will/might be updated in 4 days or so. Whether a product does what you want is one thing, but for the same amount of money, you want the best that you can get.

Price dropping on the exact same model you just bought is one good point. A few upgrades and better specs on the new model is another.

And the "rev A" iBook won't be that bad. The OS will work fine, and laptops with "Intel Inside" aren't exactly new. Other Wintel laptop makers use Intel all the time, so its not like Apple is delving into brand new hardware territory.

I wouldn't say buying a current PowerPC iBook is necessarily a bad idea, but I think it's a bad idea right now. If Intel iBooks are released next week, you can decide if you want one of those. If you decide you still want a PowerPC machine, you'll still buy one, and probably at a lot better price than they are right now. If you can, cancel the order or send it back. If you've already opened it though, don't worry too much, just enjoy your new Mac .

Best advice given in a long time.

 

[jblock]

And the "rev A" iBook won't be that bad. The OS will work fine, and laptops with "Intel Inside" aren't exactly new. Other Wintel laptop makers use Intel all the time, so its not like Apple is delving into brand new hardware territory.

The PowerPC chip isn't new either, but that hasn't stopped Apple from releasing new products with the chip that have problems.

 

[Shaun.P]

Thank you for all your help.

I have some further questions: I know iBooks are prone to logic board errors etc - is the specific model I have extremely susetible to this?

I have placed my eMac on eBay - tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions. I had to use my phone camera as my Nikon Coolpix is now malfunctioning (Coolpix 2100 - when I switch it on in any mode apart from Setup, the lens comes out, the screen stays black then it switches itself off ).

So - I used my phone camera (Sony Ericsson K608i and sent the files to my iBook via bluetooth!) Amazing!!!

Is my iBook able to connect to networks such of those found in Uni's? i.e. wireless? Most computers in my uni are dells so does that mean my iBook wouldn't be able to connect?

Edit 1: Whoops forgot eBay link! Here it is.

Edit 2: Forgot to mention - I went on Crucial today to buy 512mb of RAM for my iBook to bring it to 1GB however they don't have any in stock of the kind I need! I phoned them up and they won't have them in until the 16th of this month . Is there anywhere else I can buy good Mac memory in the UK?

 

[dan-o-mac]

IF IF IF . . . The current iBooks are a sure thing. The potential for a price drop is a good point, but a lot of people would rather have what they want NOW and not fret over $100 savings if they wait. Really, that amount of money just doesn't mean much to those who can afford it.

And you "definately" misspelled definitely!

I definitely suck at spelling! The thing is does he really WANT the iBook? If he did would he be posting this?

 

[maverick808]

The thing is does he really WANT the iBook? If he did would he be posting this?

Yeah, he really wants the iBook but when the new ones are announced he'll really really WANT one of the new ones.

 

[maverick808]

Since when do you buy a computer based on its future resale value?

Every time I buy a machine.

Actually, I find it's significantly cheaper to renew your machine every year than buy one say every three years. Say every year you sell your current machine for $1200 and buy a new one for $1500. Do that three years in a row and that means over the next three years you spend $900. Say, on the other hand you keep a machine for three years. Probably when you sell it you'll be lucky to get a couple of hundred for it as at that point it's a piece of junk so you're going to lose out overall.

So, by selling and rebuying every year you'll save money AND you'll always have a kick-ass machine instead of spending two out of every three years using something that is probably pretty slow.

I sell machines all the time and it's definitely cheaper this way and it's far more pleasurable using the latest machines than putting up with old ones.

 

[jblock]

Is my iBook able to connect to networks such of those found in Uni's? i.e. wireless? Most computers in my uni are dells so does that mean my iBook wouldn't be able to connect?

Yes. You can set up using Network Preferences whether the machine connects automatically to whatever open network it finds. You can also define a network as a preferred one and it will automatically connect to those, provided you've saved the passwords.

 

[Shaun.P]

I bought memory for my iBook through a place recommended as a Kingston reseller.

Kingston 512MB Memory Upgrade Apple PC2700 SODIMM M8995G/A
Manufacturer Component Number : KTA-PBG4333/512

Can someone please tell me if I have the correct stuff? I went through the details on the Kingston website - entiring manufacturer as Apple, model as iBook but on their website it says that memory is for PowerBooks? Hmm .

 

[Palad1]

You Don't Buy a Rev. A.

So your rev.d PPC iBook is a wise choice (provided that you can't wait 6 months for a laptop)

 

[plinkoman]

If you can cancel and wait a week then do it.

If you can, cancel the order or send it back.

I recommend cancelling the order if you can.

Majority vote says to "cancel the order." I would listen to that majority.

man, i love how everyone can reply without even reading the full post

...and has bluetooth etc built in (connected fantastically to my Sony Erikson phone)...

...I think my iBook had a dead pixel, but I softly rubbed it with my finger and it is now working...

^first post
it'd be pretty hard to rub out a dead pixel or connect to his bluetooth phone if it were still in a box in china

on a serious note, you've got a great machine. the existence of a newer or better one doesn't in any way make yours worse. especially when the newer better machine has no native software and is littered with rev.A bugs

 

[emotion]

Thanks for anyones' comments and advice .

What kind of comments and advice are you after?

What else can I say other than unless PCWorld knocked this out very cheap then I'd have waited. If you really needed one right away then you probably should have waited however.

 

[0098386]

Maybe a bad idea... what you just bought will be worth a lot less in the next few weeks, if new iBooks are out. if not then you lost nothing and you can play with your pretty and brilliant machine in peace

 

[Shaun.P]

Hi

Well, I'm glad new iBooks were not anounced. I am pretty happy with my machine and I have bought 512MB of Kingston RAM, so I now have 1GB of RAM .

I am going to start a new topic as I want advice on three products I want to buy for my iBook.