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Switch from iBook to Macbook?

nhcowboy1 said:
One piece of the puzzle I forgot to mention . . . He's learning to program and wants to work on a PC. So the possibility of dual environment on the Macbook might be interesting. But (and sorry I know nothing about programming!), would we have to install Windows? Is there any other OS we could use that might work for him?

I know when I needed a PC for work, I ended up just getting an old desktop. That was WAY easier than using Bootcamp or Parallels. But for programming I don't know .. . .
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Consider this. For about 500 bucks, he can get a brand new PC laptop, and you don't have to worry about having to buy a license to run Windows or even having to install windows yourself.

You could go to Dell and pick out the Inspiron 15 and get a 15.6" screen, a 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 2 gigs of RAM, Vista Home Premium, 160 gig hard drive, integrated graphics, all for under 500 dollars, and performance wise, it would be faster than the Macbook.

Of course, he may not even need a PC for his class, especially if he's doing Java. But before you do anything big or unnecessary, you should have your son find out first from his teacher as to what he would need.
 
nhcowboy1 said:
I'm with Macdawg on this . . please tell me what things make it better.

And for Macdawg and Cassie, can you tell me why you'd recommend staying with the ibook?
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mainly the iSight. Many 13 year olds that i know really like it, and they dont like it so they can "post inappropriate pictures" on the internet, or anything like that. If you dont trust your kid with a camera, then frankly how do you trust him with a computer all together?

just my 2 cents...
 
If he wants a webcam he can pick a separate one up for peanuts and plug it in. Come to think of it, thats not a bad idea as a present.

I would say that if he's going to program then a desktop is probably a good idea. Sitting at a computer for long stretches isn't so great at a laptop when you have to hunch over a keyboard. You could get a Mac mini if you were really intent on getting a Mac and thats small enough to be quite portable.
 
I say get him a macbook. Im 18 just a few years older than ur child and i would have loved to have a macbook at his age. Had to buy my first Macbook Pro myself a few weeks ago. But its ur call.
 
jay1118 said:
I say get him a macbook. Im 18 just a few years younger than ur child and i would have loved to have a macbook at his age. Had to buy my first Macbook Pro myself a few weeks ago. But its ur call.
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Hey if you're younger how would you have loved to have had a macbook when you were his age? Aren't you talking about the future? :p
 
if you're gonna buy him a computer, wait till the end of high school. then, you could get him a NEW or refurb computer as a graduation gift. by then, computers will easily be able to accomodate any app your son wants to use. if his ibook works, no point of buying him an old and used computer
 
Well, so here's the update . . .

While I was trying to do decide whether or not to take advantage of the Macbook deal that was available, I pondered just a little bit too long, didn't call back in time, and it was sold to someone else . . . (problem solved!)

Then, just in case I had any lingering doubts about whether or not the kid deserved an upgrade, I discovered (while searching his room for a sleeping bag he couldn't find yesterday evening) that he'd found an innovative way to bypass the parental controls I'd put on his iBook . . . he'd "borrowed" my 1.42 ibook G4 (which I basically just have as a back up, and rarely use) and had that hidden in his room. Well, "hidden" is rather misstating things, since that suggests it was cached away securely - it was open and on the floor, although behind a table and well out of view!

So, no need to worry about an upgrade or anything else right now, since he's about to experience a computer-free summer! If he survives the two months of deprivation (and household chores), he'll get his ibook back when school starts, with increased memory, perhaps, and Open Office so he can read those @$$% .docx files the school keeps sending him. And if he ends up needing a PC to do programming on, I'll help him find something used and cheap - that he can buy himself!

Thanks, all, for your advice and suggestions . . . :)
 
nhcowboy1 said:
Well, so here's the update . . .

While I was trying to do decide whether or not to take advantage of the Macbook deal that was available, I pondered just a little bit too long, didn't call back in time, and it was sold to someone else . . . (problem solved!)

Then, just in case I had any lingering doubts about whether or not the kid deserved an upgrade, I discovered (while searching his room for a sleeping bag he couldn't find yesterday evening) that he'd found an innovative way to bypass the parental controls I'd put on his iBook . . . he'd "borrowed" my 1.42 ibook G4 (which I basically just have as a back up, and rarely use) and had that hidden in his room. Well, "hidden" is rather misstating things, since that suggests it was cached away securely - it was open and on the floor, although behind a table and well out of view!

So, no need to worry about an upgrade or anything else right now, since he's about to experience a computer-free summer! If he survives the two months of deprivation (and household chores), he'll get his ibook back when school starts, with increased memory, perhaps, and Open Office so he can read those @$$% .docx files the school keeps sending him. And if he ends up needing a PC to do programming on, I'll help him find something used and cheap - that he can buy himself!

Thanks, all, for your advice and suggestions . . . :)
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Guess that's that.

Time to start using a password for wake-from-sleep on your iBook I guess :p
 
nhcowboy1 said:
Well, so here's the update . . .

While I was trying to do decide whether or not to take advantage of the Macbook deal that was available, I pondered just a little bit too long, didn't call back in time, and it was sold to someone else . . . (problem solved!)

Then, just in case I had any lingering doubts about whether or not the kid deserved an upgrade, I discovered (while searching his room for a sleeping bag he couldn't find yesterday evening) that he'd found an innovative way to bypass the parental controls I'd put on his iBook . . . he'd "borrowed" my 1.42 ibook G4 (which I basically just have as a back up, and rarely use) and had that hidden in his room. Well, "hidden" is rather misstating things, since that suggests it was cached away securely - it was open and on the floor, although behind a table and well out of view!

So, no need to worry about an upgrade or anything else right now, since he's about to experience a computer-free summer! If he survives the two months of deprivation (and household chores), he'll get his ibook back when school starts, with increased memory, perhaps, and Open Office so he can read those @$$% .docx files the school keeps sending him. And if he ends up needing a PC to do programming on, I'll help him find something used and cheap - that he can buy himself!

Thanks, all, for your advice and suggestions . . . :)
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Sucks for the kid. He didnt know how close he was to an upgrade. Too bad.

I was really pulling for him too.
 
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