It's gonna put me in BIG DEBT, but I'm getting that iBook

Flash should run well, Illustrator will probably be sluggish though. But then current Illustrator is sluggish on any computer.

 

maybe you should wait a bit, iBook could be updated really soon now

 

Re: It's gonna put me in BIG DEBT, but I'm getting that iBook

I'm a brit but £1150 (about what $AUD3000 is) still isn't the sort of money I have rolling in the floor of my car (in fact my car's not worth that much ). I know it's an extra thousand $A but a 12" G$ powerbook might suit you better. What ever you do put some more RAM in it. A 256MB stick should cost about A$150 tops. Do you really need a portable? If not eMacs are cheaper and more powerful than iBooks - the base model is less than $AUD 2000 and has a G4. Bear in mind the rumours that both emacs and ibooks are due a refresh so it may pay to wait a few weeks before rushing out right now.

 

Men, if I'm runing After Effects in a Powerbook G3 500 with 256MB of ram of course I can run Illustrator and Flash with no problem.

Actually, I'm not crazy about any other computer because my systems are way too fast for Photsho, Illustrator and all that stuff. Of course video and 3D will always be slow but do not get crazy buying computers when you do not need them (un less you are a teenager).

The iBook you wanna get is fast enough, the problem would be the screen, is way too small for me but hummans can leave under any circunstances.

 

I am such a dope. I never noticed the buyer's guide before! Cool page!

The release dates are definitely a good indicator of impending update. Too bad you couldn't graph one of the major resellers quanity levels. When their stock level dips and you are near a release date, you should be certain you have an update coming.....

 

mymemory,

Does AfterEffects run satisfactorily on your iBook? I tried rendering AfterEffects stuff on my friend's iBook 700 and it seemed slow. When I tried running full screen movie (640x480 24fps Sorenson 3) in QuickTime frame rate dropped quite a bit also. I'm wondering if something was wrong with that iBook when I did the test.

 

i feel your pain (check loc.).
look, wait. i got an MDD in october and never looked back. If you can wait, wait another two weeks after they release it (and people get it) to see about any complaints. otherwise go andother grand (if you can afford it) and get a 12" g4 pbook. you will thankyourself later for doing so.

 

when the first ibook came out, it was a disappointing 300 mhz and the graphics people i know were saying, "it's best to get the powerbook"

but at the time, the powerbook was 900 dollars (US) more and i still opted for the ibook for my wife, a graphic designer for nearly 20 years...she still uses the ibook for jobs and it gets the job done

she learned the newer trade of computer graphic design in the 90s when the field changed over nearly 100 percent and those machines she used were pre-power pc machines...so a mobile g3 chip running at 300 mhz was quite adequate for her in 1999

i suggest to get the ibook right now and use it...that's what it is for

there is always gong to be a better, cheaper, and faster ibook or powerbook right around the corner...but if you already have a mac, it's ok to wait out the long term where six months isn't a really big issue

but if you are doing graphics on a pc, then don't wait and get the best mac you can afford

but ask yourself, do you really need to be mobile?

you can get a considerably stronger desktop mac for the same price...though the gap in price and performance has dropped some and laptops are increasingly a better value than they used to be

 

also look at the pros and cons:

if you get the ibook, you will realize then how easy and compatible macs are for graphics and you will be happy...and you will never look at another pc again for graphics

if you opt for a powerbook, you likely won't be saying, "man, i wish i saved the money and got an ibook"

either way, powerbook or ibook, you are a winner

 

Re: It's gonna put me in BIG DEBT, but I'm getting that iBook

Hrm, I can see why you want an iBook. But the damned things don't cost 3 grand. I assume you're gonna be buying a tonne of peripherals?

Okay, do you really need them? I mean if you have all of the said items in the office or wherever then use them there and get less into debt over the comp itself.

Additionally, you might consider the 12'' Powerbook...

This comes from a Mac User who isn't rich and does own an iBook.

Chris

 

Re: Re: It's gonna put me in BIG DEBT, but I'm getting that iBook

3k in aussie dollars

their money is based on emu eggs and 'roo hides....where as our money in the usa, no longer based on gold...is based on promises made by gwb and his buddies at enron and worldcom

 

Considering what little bits of Photoshop are AltiVec-enhanced, I don't think there's a problem getting an iBook. Yes, Mac OS X is AltiVec-enhanced but I'm still not sure how much smoother that makes things. I would wait a few more weeks to see if upgraded iBooks are actually coming.

Illustrator 11 and Photoshop 8 are due late this year and both have performance enhancements since they've dropped Mac OS 9.x, so they might run quite well.

Other people have complained that Macromedia applications don't run as well on Mac OS as they do on Windows but I've no complaints, even on older machines.

I'll have to check my car to see if I've got that much cash rolling on the floor; though I suspect it's probably only 50 cents.

 

bousozoku is right about the update on the ibook coming

at this point in the game, the ibook is really due for an update and maybe even a price reduction

compaq/hp have sub-$800 dollar laptops on the entry level and apple may reduce their prices and up the features on their portables to keep competitive

 

unless one is rich, a laptop is still a major expense to shoulder

when you use your ibook, you will see where it is more than you need or less than you need in certain areas, depending on what you do

it should be able to do everything that is out there except for some crazy high end games to a gamer's true satisfaction...but that is why mac users who are serious gamers to that level build their own pc due to price, availability to parts, and availability in pc game titles

although now, in 2003, just buying a pre-configured machine and supersizing it with a larger hard drive and the best nvidia or ati card is just as cheap, if not cheaper, than building a machine

that is because the companies that are fairly large can buy in such amazing bulk that a few dollars saved here and a few dollars saved there ends up with a great gaming machine for less

they got the formula down

being a tech, certified, and having my own business, i have access to cheaper parts sometimes, but i can never get the volume discount of buying 1,000 of something

and the good parts companies have risen to the top, so what you may find available to you are the same parts that a major company is likely to use for their machines

 

Not to beat the point to death, but how long can one wait for the new computers? The ibook, powerbook 15", emac, and ipod are all badly in need of a revision. Every tuesday for a month now I've checked apple.com figuring that they *had* to have released something, and every week, no.

7 main hardware items- PB, PM, imac, ibook, emac, xserve, ipod. 6 month update cycle is what is usually quoted. That should mean a new hardware release a little more than once a month. I know there were a lot of back to back releases early in the year, but we are now at 2 months without a new hardware release.

So... to buy the ibook now or wait for updates? Well, the above data suggests that updates *have* to be eminent. But on the other hand, I've thought that for a month now. And what if the ibook is the last of those 4 to get an update? Then it's another month tops, even with a release every week (though I do know that PBs and ibooks were simultaneously released in novemeber). Just go for it!

 

In the UK it takes longer to get non-standard machines (like extra RAM) as they have to be shipped from Taiwan not Europe. The 2-3 weeks seems pretty long which suggests inventory levels are pretty low...perhaps they are being run down prior to release of the speed bumped ibooks. It's cheaper to get the extra RAM from online retailers and you'll get your ibook quicker if you buy a standard config. In the UK crucial are the cheapest decent supplier and don't charge S&H. I don't know who's best in Oz.

 

my advice: don't buy memory from Apple

 

looking at the numbers, 3000 AUD converts to 1850 USD. Which means you could get a 14.1" iBook for 1499 USD, or the one you're looking at for 1294 USD. Also, you could get a 12" powerbook with combo drive for 1799 USD. Now if someone here ordered these from say macmall, then there would be no tax, so that's excluded. only additional cost would be shipping. So why buy from the AUS Apple store? why not get someone in the US to buy, then punt it over to you?

 

trading illegally across international boundaries...that will give you 20 years in jail or a five year mandatory sentence of working for microsoft...you choose

 

i'm confused. why would that be illegal? i don't believe there is an export ban against Australia?

 

There is no export ban against Australia. Everyone's friendly there.

It's just that international trade agreements try to keep tariff-bypassing illegal so the various governments can keep a cut of what you buy.