I'm currently in the process of shopping for my first laptop (And my first Apple if I do end up purchasing one, which I hope!) I will be bringing the laptop with me to college so I'm looking for a "desk top replacement". I recently purchased a Dell Dimension 4600 and have had nothing but problems with it and Windows XP.
I first started looking at Apples because I thought I might like something entirely different. For comfort sake, I'm only looking at laptops with a 15+ in. screen. This eliminates all apples except the 15' and 17' Powerbooks, which look really nice, but are incredibly expensive. I started looking at HPs only because I've always had good luck buying printers from them and have also looked at Compaqs, IBMs, and others.
After taking a little field trip to CompUSA to look at the HP model I was going to buy in person I passed the Apples and needless to say after seeing the Powerbooks, I wasn't too fond of the HP. So, now I'm back to looking at Apples, but price is still an issue.
Heres what Im looking at getting
PowerBook 1.33GHz (15.2" TFT)
512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM
AirPort Extreme Card
1.33GHz PowerPC G4 with 64MB Graphics Memory
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
60GB Ultra ATA drive @ 4200 rpm
APP for PowerBook (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit
Office 2004 for Mac - Student and Teacher Edition
Im getting $200.00 off with the student discount as well as money off the APP and Student Office.
I plan to use the Powerbook for running the Office software and web browsing, as well as some minimal photo editing (software is included as a part of iLife, right?). This photo editing is provided that my digital camera is compatible with the Mac (Minolta Dimage G500-anybody know for sure? I think it should be fine). I want a notebook that runs smoothly, and doesn't crash constantly, a company which has good technical support, and a notebook that's durable, attractive, and most of all has great performance. Screen comfort is also very important to me, but I also want to be able to bring it with me places so I decided on the 15 in Powerbook. Is there any need to update to the higher 15 in configuration? I dont think Id use the superdrive, but there is the faster processor and hard drive to consider. Do you think that would be overkill for what I plan to do with it? The computer will not be used for gaming at all.
Being a first time Mac buyer/user and coming from the PC/Windows World my concerns are
- file sharing is said to be seamless between PCs and Mac users. Will I have any problems sharing files with PC users via disk, IM or Network?
- will I have a problem with my Digital camera?
- I will be hooking up to a college network (fairly small school) and am not sure what kind of internet is going to be provided. I know Im covered for wireless, should that be available to me, but how would the Powerbook work with dialup (is there a spot to plug in a phone line?) or DSL.
-Im also a little concerned about having to use a whole new operating system (Very happy to say goodbye to Windows! But, Im worried about how hard Panther will be for me to pick up)
-And, of course, price (I am a student, after all)
I'm willing to make an investment here just so long as it's for a quality system. Also, are there any deals, promotions or anything new that Apple's coming out with that I should wait till later in the summer to buy?
Sorry for the extremely long post, I've got a lot of questions and Im hoping you Mac Geniuses can help a newcomer out.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
I first started looking at Apples because I thought I might like something entirely different. For comfort sake, I'm only looking at laptops with a 15+ in. screen. This eliminates all apples except the 15' and 17' Powerbooks, which look really nice, but are incredibly expensive. I started looking at HPs only because I've always had good luck buying printers from them and have also looked at Compaqs, IBMs, and others.
After taking a little field trip to CompUSA to look at the HP model I was going to buy in person I passed the Apples and needless to say after seeing the Powerbooks, I wasn't too fond of the HP. So, now I'm back to looking at Apples, but price is still an issue.
Heres what Im looking at getting
PowerBook 1.33GHz (15.2" TFT)
512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM
AirPort Extreme Card
1.33GHz PowerPC G4 with 64MB Graphics Memory
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
60GB Ultra ATA drive @ 4200 rpm
APP for PowerBook (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit
Office 2004 for Mac - Student and Teacher Edition
Im getting $200.00 off with the student discount as well as money off the APP and Student Office.
I plan to use the Powerbook for running the Office software and web browsing, as well as some minimal photo editing (software is included as a part of iLife, right?). This photo editing is provided that my digital camera is compatible with the Mac (Minolta Dimage G500-anybody know for sure? I think it should be fine). I want a notebook that runs smoothly, and doesn't crash constantly, a company which has good technical support, and a notebook that's durable, attractive, and most of all has great performance. Screen comfort is also very important to me, but I also want to be able to bring it with me places so I decided on the 15 in Powerbook. Is there any need to update to the higher 15 in configuration? I dont think Id use the superdrive, but there is the faster processor and hard drive to consider. Do you think that would be overkill for what I plan to do with it? The computer will not be used for gaming at all.
Being a first time Mac buyer/user and coming from the PC/Windows World my concerns are
- file sharing is said to be seamless between PCs and Mac users. Will I have any problems sharing files with PC users via disk, IM or Network?
- will I have a problem with my Digital camera?
- I will be hooking up to a college network (fairly small school) and am not sure what kind of internet is going to be provided. I know Im covered for wireless, should that be available to me, but how would the Powerbook work with dialup (is there a spot to plug in a phone line?) or DSL.
-Im also a little concerned about having to use a whole new operating system (Very happy to say goodbye to Windows! But, Im worried about how hard Panther will be for me to pick up)
-And, of course, price (I am a student, after all)
I'm willing to make an investment here just so long as it's for a quality system. Also, are there any deals, promotions or anything new that Apple's coming out with that I should wait till later in the summer to buy?
Sorry for the extremely long post, I've got a lot of questions and Im hoping you Mac Geniuses can help a newcomer out.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.