should I just buy a 17" PB

[zkmusa]

Originally posted by orangefoodie
I'm a switcher (been with PC's for... about 8 years?), and I'm with macrat.

Other than some gripes inherent in OS X (Where's the bloody show-desktop windows-d command? ), the 17" is more than I could ever have dreamed for in a laptop, and I would never regret switching. It's gorgeous!

I'm a previous Windows user of 10 years before I made the switch last August... macs are wonderful!

Anyway, the closest thing I've found to the windows-d command is this .... hold down the option and command/apple key and click on the finder in the dock... it hides all windows immediately. You can also do this with any other program if you just want that program's windows to show.

Something that is almost exactly like the show desktop icon in your quick lanch toolbar is this...

http://www.everydaysoftware.net/showdesktop/

You can add it to the menu extras on the OS X menu bar. When you click it, it automatically hides all windows and shows your desktop.

Those are the best solutions I've found! I can't wait for the expose feature to come, because that looks like the ultimate implementation of the "windows d" command!

 

[fjs08]

Hi,

Can anyone comment on the i-apps comment. I thought they were all top notch programs. Also the mention that you can't open hotmail in Safari?? Anyone have any difficulty with those????

Thanks.

The more I read, the more I want a 17"<g>. But they may upgrade it a bit and announce it at the next Apple meeting in mid-July. I surely can't hurt to wait a few more weeks. Plus it will toss my credit card into a new month<g>!!

Frank

 

[yzedf]

Originally posted by fjs08
Hi,

Can anyone comment on the i-apps comment. I thought they were all top notch programs. Also the mention that you can't open hotmail in Safari?? Anyone have any difficulty with those????

Thanks.

The more I read, the more I want a 17"<g>. But they may upgrade it a bit and announce it at the next Apple meeting in mid-July. I surely can't hurt to wait a few more weeks. Plus it will toss my credit card into a new month<g>!!

Frank

iPhoto and iTunes are notorious (amongst the OS X users I know personally) for their bad directory structures, slow load times when many files are present, and overall lack of features. They are free programs (with purchase of a Mac) so what can you expect? Mostly I only ever use iP or iT to grab pics off of my digital camera or rip cd's when put into optical drive (automatic). After that, I manipulate files (locations, editing etc) with other tools (GUI or CLI).

I have no experience with iMovie or iDVD so I can't really comment on those (have heard bad things regarding iMovie though).

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by fjs08
Hi,

Can anyone comment on the i-apps comment. I thought they were all top notch programs. Also the mention that you can't open hotmail in Safari?? Anyone have any difficulty with those????

Thanks.

The more I read, the more I want a 17"<g>. But they may upgrade it a bit and announce it at the next Apple meeting in mid-July. I surely can't hurt to wait a few more weeks. Plus it will toss my credit card into a new month<g>!!

Frank

iapps are great. you will find nothing like them on the windows platform. i use all of them and i think they are a key feature in what makes the mac special. i love itunes and its been my favorite music app ever since soundjam mp. its easy, pretty, has the itunes music store, you canat go wrong. iphoto is nice, but it is a memory hog and can bog down if you have many photos. but its never a problems because i dont spend much time in there. imovies is the best. it lets to take your boring videos you film and actually make them into something cool, then you can output them to idvd, which is also a great program. it has many themes to get you going and making cool dvds, but you can also customize it and make it any way you want. there is also ichat av which is 1 week old but very cool none the less. free videoconfrencing and free long distance phone calls. then there is all the others like ical, isync and the others. as to you hotmail problem. i would recommend downloading "httpmail plugin 1.20" to let you browse your hotmail in apple's mail program, which will be much better than any mail browsing on the web. let me know if you ahve any more questions.

iJon

 

[Pete_Hoover]

Some people think it is too big, some don't. You have to mae your own opinions about the 17" powerbook. I say go to a local Apple reseller and check it out.

 

[fjs08]

iJon,

>>httpmail plugin 1.20<<

Where would I find that? I searched the Apple OSX web site and came up empty.

Thanks in advance.

Frank

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by fjs08
iJon,

>>httpmail plugin 1.20<<

Where would I find that? I searched the Apple OSX web site and came up empty.

Thanks in advance.

Frank

sorry bout that. www.versiontracker.com. learn to live by this site, it may easily be the answer to any software problems.

iJon

 

[yzedf]

Originally posted by iJon
iapps are great. you will find nothing like them on the windows platform. i use all of them and i think they are a key feature in what makes the mac special. i love itunes and its been my favorite music app ever since soundjam mp. its easy, pretty, has the itunes music store, you canat go wrong. iphoto is nice, but it is a memory hog and can bog down if you have many photos. but its never a problems because i dont spend much time in there. imovies is the best. it lets to take your boring videos you film and actually make them into something cool, then you can output them to idvd, which is also a great program. it has many themes to get you going and making cool dvds, but you can also customize it and make it any way you want. there is also ichat av which is 1 week old but very cool none the less. free videoconfrencing and free long distance phone calls. then there is all the others like ical, isync and the others. as to you hotmail problem. i would recommend downloading "httpmail plugin 1.20" to let you browse your hotmail in apple's mail program, which will be much better than any mail browsing on the web. let me know if you ahve any more questions.

iJon

For something better than iPhoto (for Windows or linux or *BSD's) try CompuPic http://www.photodex.com/

iTunes only for access to the iTMS. There are many alternatives to this one, ranging from xmms (linux) to winamp (windows - very similar to xmms) and so on.

iMovie does seem unique. But it also a hobby I can not afford

iChat seems like it could be cool... but the only "new" thing is the smoother video.

I also would not use iCal as a glowing example of Apple's quality...

 

[iJon]

the windows photo program, does it automatically get your photos from your camera, if it does then its a winner.
i know there is winamp and so forth on windows, and thats the reason i like itunes. but its all about opinions, i just prefer itunes over anything else windows has to offer. imovie is one of a kind, until windows somewhat copied it. ichat is great and the audio and video over the net is already a great success and hopefully windows will pick up the tech so its not limited to just macs. i like ical, but i know many who don't and like entourage, and that very understandable. isync is great, especially if you have .mac, ipod, or a bluetooth phone. it takes one of all of those devices to understand the beauty of isync.

iJon

 

[BWhaler]

Re: should I just buy a 17" PB

Originally posted by fjs08
Hi,

Well, I'm getting to the point that I have to do something. I've been waiting for an upgrade to the 15" Powerbook, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen. I'd like to hear from any 17" owners and what they think about it as a mainstream notebook. To big??? etc, etc. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Frank

Hi Frank,

I was exactly in your position for the past 6 months. I wanted the size and price of the 15" but didn't want to buy a clearly dated machine.

The HP I has been using for work finally became beyond unusable a few weeks ago, and I was in one hell of a pickle. I didn't want the 17", and the 12" has too many issues from my tastes.

So, I went to the Apple store not sure what I was going to do, and walked out with the 17" PB.

I was very mixed on it at first, thinking I didn't need the extra screen space--needless to say the extra money spent.

Now, about a month later, I am beyond pleased. The mobility is fine, and I have grown to need the screen real estate. I would make the decision again in a heart beat, and my only regret was not getting it sooner.

It is the best machine I have ever owned.

I hope this is of some help.

 

[maradong]

Re: Re: should I just buy a 17" PB

Originally posted by BWhaler
Hi Frank,

I was exactly in your position for the past 6 months. I wanted the size and price of the 15" but didn't want to buy a clearly dated machine.

The HP I has been using for work finally became beyond unusable a few weeks ago, and I was in one hell of a pickle. I didn't want the 17", and the 12" has too many issues from my tastes.

So, I went to the Apple store not sure what I was going to do, and walked out with the 17" PB.

I was very mixed on it at first, thinking I didn't need the extra screen space--needless to say the extra money spent.

Now, about a month later, I am beyond pleased. The mobility is fine, and I have grown to need the screen real estate. I would make the decision again in a heart beat, and my only regret was not getting it sooner.

It is the best machine I have ever owned.

I hope this is of some help.

happy to hear it ;-)
A lucky man, i suppose

 

[orangefoodie]

Hehehe, I can't wait for Panther either... the F10 key looks rather promising.
Windows-d and windows-e are the two windoze functions I miss most. Now if only Sophie (my powerbook) would come back from the Apple repair ping-pong soon, so I can get the prebeta installed --- I'll be all set.

On a side note, yzedf or anyone else, do you know of a program like that CompuPic you just mentioned running on native OS X? I'm trying to manage well over a few hundred images scanned from books, and preview and/or iPhoto is a pain in the neck. I used to use ACDSee when I was on the PC, but now I'm clueless as to what options are available on the Mac; ACDSee for Mac is Classic only, and WAAAAAY too slow.

Oh, and I think the i-whatever program frenzy is getting a bit out of hand. Last I checked, my Applications folder had at least 10 different i-apps

 

[iJon]

you should get it, you know its a good machines when your ferrets like it. actually i have found one problem with the 17" powerbook and panther. there arent enough function keys to take full advatage of expose without moving to letters.

iJon

 

[orangefoodie]

Wow, that's disturbingly cute.

 

[iJon]

yeah you gotta watch out with the ferrets. they will walk all over your keyboard and youll come back with your hard drive named *&^DDDDDDDDDDDDD

iJon

 

[crenz]

Originally posted by orangefoodie
On a side note, yzedf or anyone else, do you know of a program like that CompuPic you just mentioned running on native OS X?

Take a look at iView MediaPro. Lets you mass annotate your pictures, create sets from them, do slideshows, create HTML files etc. Takes a bit to get used to all the functionality, but it's very powerful. I like it. (Although I use my own Perl scripts to export sets of images w/ annotations to my website.)

 

[Shiesl]

Waiting to get the 17" myself, but decided to wait until after MacWorld as I would expect an announcement then. The problem is that I leave for Denmark on July 15th for 2-3 months and I could really use it there. Hoping to have one shipped, but not sure how VAT works. Ah well.

 

[orangefoodie]

Originally posted by crenz
Take a look at iView MediaPro. Lets you mass annotate your pictures, create sets from them, do slideshows, create HTML files etc. Takes a bit to get used to all the functionality, but it's very powerful. I like it. (Although I use my own Perl scripts to export sets of images w/ annotations to my website.)

Oh wow, thank you so much! It's all I could have asked for and more!

/me does a happy dance

 

[crenz]

I'm always glad to help