[Game™]

I'm planning on purschasing a brand new iBook G4 around January 2006. I have a few questions;

Is it possible have skins without paying for ShapeShifter?
Will there be a update before January '06?
Will my Logitech Z-30 Sound System work with the iBook?


My current PC is hooked up to a modem, from what I know, I'd have to buy a PC Card/USB PC Card, and a router and a Apple Airport Express card for the iBook, correct?

Thanks.

[macaddict0001]

1. kind-of
2. definitely
3. probably.

[jamil5454]

-Yes there will be an update before January '06. In fact, there will probably be two.

-Your Z-30 speakers should work.

-It depends on the modem. Is your PC connected via internal (56k) modem or cable/dsl modem?

[pat++]

IBooks are updated in April/October. So there will be 2 updates before January 06.

[Game™]

Originally posted by jamil5454:
-Yes there will be an update before January '06. In fact, there will probably be two.

-Your Z-30 speakers should work.

-It depends on the modem. Is your PC connected via internal (56k) modem or cable/dsl modem?

Modem. I've recently read about USB PC Cards, from what I know the iBook comes with a built in card, so all I need is a card and a router?

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by Game™:
Modem. I've recently read about USB PC Cards, from what I know the iBook comes with a built in card, so all I need is a card and a router?

WHAT KIND of modem, DSL or 56k?

The iBook comes with a built in wireless card now as well as a 56k modem and ethernet port. It also does not have a slot for PC cards.

What would you need a router for if you are hardwired to your ISP connection? If you want to go wireless then yes, you will need some kind of router or basestation.

[Game™]

It's a cable, I'm also going to need internet on my pc.

[macaddict0001]

its router time.

[bimmerphile]

Originally posted by Game�:
It's a cable, I'm also going to need internet on my pc.

The ibook will come with airport. You can purchase an airport base station to have your pc wired into the internet and the ibook run wirelessly, or pick up a similar product from d-link/linksys for ~$50.

I recommend D-link and Linksys only. Belkin has been hit-and-miss. "the others" I've had nothing but trouble with (but then again, people dont call me to tell me how well their stuff is working...usually).

[jamil5454]

Originally posted by bimmerphile:
The ibook will come with airport. You can purchase an airport base station to have your pc wired into the internet and the ibook run wirelessly, or pick up a similar product from d-link/linksys for ~$50.

I recommend D-link and Linksys only. Belkin has been hit-and-miss. "the others" I've had nothing but trouble with (but then again, people dont call me to tell me how well their stuff is working...usually).

Wireless would be the most convenient, but wired routers are generally cheaper. Just hook the cable internet into the router (usually there's a WAN port for this) then hook the computer(s) into the LAN ports on the router.

[Game™]

Let's see so I do this; get a router, hook my modem cable to the router, since the ibook comes with a airport card it should automatically connect to the router, and then my PC; I should just get a PC Card, or a USB PC Card and everything should be fine?

[Mojo]

If your PC is close to the wireless router it would be simpler and less expensive to just use an Ethernet cable to connect the PC; otherwise you need a wireless card.

I have used two different Linksys routers and they were problematic, particularly if you intend on enabling wireless security measures (which everyone should do but most people don't.)

I bit the bullet and purchased an Airport Extreme Base Station. It can be a little hinky to set-up, but I have far fewer problems than I ever did with the Linksys routers and they were harder to configure. (Plus Linksys does not support Mac users, so why would you want too support Linksys?)

My two centavos...

[iDaver]

We use a D-Link wireless router at my office and have both a PC and a Mac talking to it wirelessly. Another Mac talks to it via ethernet. The router is connected to a DSL modem via ethernet. Everything works just peachy.