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What are pb essentials?

sikkinixx

sikkinixx

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
2,062
0
Rocketing through the sky!
I go get my 12" pb today (yay! i can sleep tonight) but i dont know what i need to have since i have never had a laptop before. I have an old corded mouse and crappy keyboard that i can use as an external for a little while, but what cables/adaptors are good to have with an powerbook? I know i need a case but there are so freakin many i cant pick one! Any advice would be very appeciated!
 
beige matchbox said:
Apart from a good case, imo, theres not much more you need :)

And, if you look at the top of this very forum you'll see a thread called Looking for a carrying case / sleeves? Look in here!, theres also a few other scattered around, a quick search should turn up lots of advice :)
Click to expand...

iv'e looked at that post and a ton of the sites listed, thats what i mean about there being a million bloody things to choose from! :D
 
ok, well, decide what you want from the case, what kind of compartments do your want, rigid of soft, shoulder bag or backpack etc.

It's really not hard to whittle it down :)
 
sikkinixx said:
iv'e looked at that post and a ton of the sites listed, thats what i mean about there being a million bloody things to choose from! :D
Click to expand...

Very true! There are so many bags and it's all down to personal taste... also depends how often you're going to be carrying it around and what else you might throw into the bag. I would recommend a Tucano second skin, which is a neoprene sleeve and will provide extra protection, whichever bag you decide on.

Apart from that you don't really need anything else. I'm also using an iSkin keyboard protector. It doesn't look very pretty but as my PB is new I'm trying to keep it as clean and dust free as possible!
 
sikkinixx said:
I go get my 12" pb today (yay! i can sleep tonight) but i dont know what i need to have since i have never had a laptop before. I have an old corded mouse and crappy keyboard that i can use as an external for a little while, but what cables/adaptors are good to have with an powerbook? I know i need a case but there are so freakin many i cant pick one! Any advice would be very appeciated!
Click to expand...

on cases, you should search the forums there are tons and tons of threads on that topic.

i think other essentials would depend on what you do i.e. graphics artist, programmer, etc

WAP/bastation would be nice. a laptop stand/podium is also good to have (PB gets hot). ikear and a travel ethernet cord (the kind of that rolls up).
 
thanks everyone! I was thinking one of those ilap things byt Rain design after reading a guys review about it on here and i think bag wise i am going to go with the Maccase that have the sleave and the bag. i'll just surf the forums till the store opens!
 
I second the iKlear recommendation.

I got the Podium Pad from Roadtools. It makes typing a lot more comfortable when I'm at home and it is portable too.

A Shinza case is what I got to protect my 12" PB. I like it fine and just stuff it in my regular backpack which works, but, it slides around a lot so I think I'll get a computer backpack with a special pocket eventually one with pockets for cables, iPod etc. The best thing to do is take your computer with you and see how it fits, how it feels when you carry it, etc.

I haven't yet gotten a mouse. The two finger scrolling feature works great, try it before you upgrade.

Hmmm, can't think of anything else unless you have an older Mac that you're going to transfer your new files to, then you'll need a firewire cable unless the older Mac has an airport card.

Good luck, enjoy!
 
well those jerks at the university lied to mea nd they dont have an 12" w/ superdrives, they havent in months! but they do have lots of 12" combo drives and since i raised holy hell over the phone the dude said he would give me some added software for them lying about having 12" sd's in stock. So now i wonder if i should take the combo drive, use the 150 bucks i save and buy a big external harddrive on the side? can i upgrade the harddrive in my powerbook? or is that it? Can i add a superdrive in later if i really need one?
 
sikkinixx said:
well those jerks at the university lied to mea nd they dont have an 12" w/ superdrives, they havent in months! but they do have lots of 12" combo drives and since i raised holy hell over the phone the dude said he would give me some added software for them lying about having 12" sd's in stock. So now i wonder if i should take the combo drive, use the 150 bucks i save and buy a big external harddrive on the side? can i upgrade the harddrive in my powerbook? or is that it? Can i add a superdrive in later if i really need one?
Click to expand...

Ouch!
That really stinks! I hate when I get disappointed like that!
Can't you order Edu online?

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
When I get my PB I plan on getting the following items.

iKlear cleaner
http://iklear.klearscreen.com/#

Radtech Notebook ScreensavRz
http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreensavrz.aspx

APC Notebook Surge Protector
Surge protection is very important
http://apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=173

Possibly Logitech MX 310 mouse
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2142,CONTENTID=6952

And of Course Office 2004 Professinal w/Virtual PC 7 for $63 from Wayne State University (my school).
 
sikkinixx said:
So now i wonder if i should take the combo drive, use the 150 bucks i save and buy a big external harddrive on the side? can i upgrade the harddrive in my powerbook? or is that it? Can i add a superdrive in later if i really need one?
Click to expand...

You can't upgrade the internal without voiding warranty unless Apple does it. Same with superdrive. I'd get an external one, IMO. Faster and you don't sacrifice CD read/write speeds. Plus you now have dual drives...
 
Case and buying your PB

As far as cases go... The most awesome thing I ever did was to buy a messenger bag and computer sleeve from Timbuk2. The bags are super cool - you can design your own colors, there are many options for the bags, many sizes, many colors and cool accessories like a cell phone pouch and maybe they have iPod accessories now too. It's a little more "hip" than getting some kind of attache case imo. (I'm not knocking attache cases, but the messenger bag has pockets and the like and more versatile than most computer cases.)

As far as buying your PB goes... Who buys a computer in a store? Especially a laptop? If you want exactly what you want you have to order it. So what if it takes two weeks to get the thing? Anyway, why don't you wait a few weeks for the updated PB? When the updates come out, I'm buying a current model when they slash the prices.

Mel
 
well it turns out that after i went there they DID have the 12" with a superdrive so their lie negated a lie! so now i have my new baby and im going to get a new bag etc on saturday! I used it tonight at class to take notes and my god it rules!!! I have one semi dead pixel... is about 2 inches down and two inches in from the top right corner. Sometimes it is always red and sometimes it works fine.... it seems to go back and forth when i turn it on and off so i dunno exactly what is going on but the powerbook still kicks !
 
take your finger where that damn pixel is and kind of massage it and put pressure (not to much, gentle now) and rub it out, and it'll most likely get it out ---- erasers work great too

just thought i'd throw that in ;)
 
thanks! ill give it a try next time it screws up on me. Here's a quicky, speaking of essentials i heard of this program on a mac board *dunno if it was this one* that will better calibrate your pb screen so you can adjust it to your liking. I searched all over and could only find onyx whihc isnt really a screen program. Anyone know what i mean?
 
It's not 100% essential but has been a wise investment for me and that was getting an Aiport Express. Not having to have cables coming out of the machine is wonderful! Otherwise I'd have Ethernet, Printer and Audio cables to Stereo for iTunes. Now nothing!
 
I got my first mac - a PB at the start of the year and this is what I have bought:
- Crumpler School Hymn case. Great review (with pics)
- STM Medium Loft bag. My review (with pics) [URL=https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/130245/[/URL] )
- Apple Bluetooth mouse
- Microsoft Office 2004 for mac
- 250MB JetFlash USB flash drive
- USB fan: I use it too cool my PB down. Stole idea from aussie_geek [URL=https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/106522/[/URL]
- Wireless router from D-Link. If I was you I would buy Apple's airport express/extreme. Better than D-Link. Its worth the extra money. Surfing the net wirelessly is awesome.

What I need to get:
- iKlear
- iLap: at the moment I prop PB up on two books. Great review (with pics) by Gordy [URL=https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/130291/[/URL].
- SuperDuper registration. Great backup software.
- Tiger
- extra powerbrick
 
get A case, i'd advise a hard one if u can find....i wish i had one i keep dropping mine :(

even though i don't have one, get something like an icurve if ur at a desk a lot

airport express is always a good idea

A MOUSE for those of us that can't STAND a trackpad

iklear of course

a rele cool battery widget...theres a couple out there lol
 
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