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driven · Aug 1, 2005, 01:37 AM

I took advantage of Georgia's "tax-free weekend" today and purchased an iBook 1.33 12" for my wife unit. Total price $949. I also purchased a 4GB iPod Mini for her at $179 with a $179 rebate. (FREE!)

I think I now have 1 model from every mac line minus the mini ... (but I've got it's grandpappy, the G4 Cube). Kinda nuts. I'll have to start liquidating the older stuff. :-)

Anyway: Wife is happy.

Krusty · Aug 1, 2005, 02:24 AM

Great !! I hope to get one myself on my state's tax-free weekend coming up this weekend. How'd you manage $949 ? Somebody having a sale or do you get a edu discount for some reason ?

driven · Aug 1, 2005, 04:04 AM

I'm on the faculty of a local university, so I got the edu discounts as well. :-)

Good luck. It looks like a pretty nice machine. Also: I was going to buy Quicken, but since it came installed on this machine it is another $69 savings. <smile>

chris v · Aug 1, 2005, 11:48 AM

I'll join in the celebration-- just ordered an iBook 1.2 Ghz combo/airport from the refurb. page for $850.00. Daughter "needs" it for 8th grade.

Anybody have a suggestion for a good carry bag? It's gotta be stylish-- kids these days.

galarneau · Aug 1, 2005, 01:32 PM

I like the Spire Nova.

I have the big brother, the Spire Endo, but will likely be getting the Nova when I get an iBook.

http://www.spireusa.com

mitchell_pgh · Aug 1, 2005, 02:24 PM

I picked up the same thing in VA, but I had to pay the tax. My edu. discount basically paid for the tax (and I'm fine with that). I'm still thinking about the iPod. I don't like "buy now, we will pay later" coupons, but I'm starting to think I'm going to do it. Perhaps I'll sell the mini and try to get $150 for it.

tikki · Aug 1, 2005, 03:13 PM

I went for the student union promo as well. Sadly, the lady friend has both MY iBook and HER iPod in Nashville for the week. I didn't even get to open it up and look at it!

warra · Aug 1, 2005, 10:19 PM

Tax-Free Weekend? Are they frequent? Is one coming to Jersey or PA anytime soon?

driven · Aug 1, 2005, 10:22 PM

Once a year (maybe) before school starts.

I think New York state used to have one in a few counties a number of years back. I don't know about present day.

galarneau · Aug 1, 2005, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by driven

Once a year (maybe) before school starts.

I think New York state used to have one in a few counties a number of years back. I don't know about present day.

They do still have tax free weeks, but I think it only applies to clothing or such...

Kenneth · Aug 2, 2005, 02:45 AM

I got one this afternoon as well. The iBook is amazing.

Krusty · Aug 2, 2005, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by warra

Tax-Free Weekend? Are they frequent? Is one coming to Jersey or PA anytime soon?

In my state they have been having one, once per year on the first weekend of August for the last 5 or 6 years. It's supposed to be a back-to-school thing and usually covers anything that can be used for that .... clothes and fortunately, computers as well (up to a max of $3500 IIRC). It doesn't apply to stuff like food or furniture. Honestly, I forget about it and miss it most years but if you're talking about a grand or two's worth of computer gear, it can save a pretty penny.

mitchell_pgh · Aug 2, 2005, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by Kenneth

I got one this afternoon as well. The iBook is amazing.

Any complaints? I'm on day three now and am still completely happy. Naturally I wish it was a G5 with 4GB of ram "grin" but the reality is, I have yet to have any issues. It's exactly what I thought it would be... an amazing consumer laptop.

driven · Aug 2, 2005, 09:33 AM

Same impressions. It's probably a bit underpowered for my major Mac work (Video editing, development) but for e-mail, surfing the web, word processing, even database work and some simple games, it's fine.

I absolutely like the software bundle better than the pro models. (Quicken, nanosaur). <GRIN>

I think it's a far better value than anything Wintel has out there now.

Kenneth · Aug 2, 2005, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

Any complaints?

Well, I have a DP G4 on my desk, so the iBook is just a light-duty Mac here. The display is somewhat on the ok side. I may load the baby to 1.5GB of RAM later on.

mitchell_pgh · Aug 2, 2005, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by driven

Same impressions. It's probably a bit underpowered for my major Mac work (Video editing, development) but for e-mail, surfing the web, word processing, even database work and some simple games, it's fine.

I absolutely like the software bundle better than the pro models. (Quicken, nanosaur). <GRIN>

I think it's a far better value than anything Wintel has out there now.

Video... no way... but basic design is fine. I have Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator. And they preform well. Naturally they aren't at G5 speeds, but fine for a little update etc.

I like what the Wintel side has, but it's missing one critical part... Mac OS X

mitchell_pgh · Aug 2, 2005, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by Kenneth

Well, I have a DP G4 on my desk, so the iBook is just a light-duty Mac here. The display is somewhat on the ok side. I may load the baby to 1.5GB of RAM later on.

I'm thinking about the same thing... I'm also considering the new Apple Mouse.

BigDaddy · Aug 2, 2005, 03:13 PM

Congrats

smileydub · Aug 2, 2005, 03:28 PM

Does anyone know whether California has a tax-free weekend. If so, when, and will it apply to laptop computers?

Spearmint · Aug 2, 2005, 03:57 PM

How did you manage the free ipod? My kind of deal.

driven · Aug 2, 2005, 04:50 PM

I think it was an EDU special (which I was happy my sales drone knew about!)

$949 for the laptop (EDU pricing, no tax)
$179 for the iPod (EDU pricing but add tax .... only pure educational items under $1500 are tax free)
- $179 rebate from Apple when you buy a laptop and iPod (non-shuffle version) together.

samk64 · Aug 3, 2005, 01:08 AM

here's a list of the states with tax free weekend:
http://singleparents.about.com/od/mo...staxfree04.htm
and i don't see california on the list... you would need to get a relative to buy it or something.

driven · Aug 3, 2005, 01:18 AM

Or buy in Delaware where there is no sales tax to start with. :-)

freudling · Aug 3, 2005, 02:16 AM

Great stuff guys!

ed phelan · Aug 3, 2005, 07:37 AM

Question: can a person entitled to EDU discount purchase a new iBook and give it to a relative in another state? If so, does the unit come with all of the software? Any problems registering same with Apple?
TIA/æ

Kenneth · Aug 3, 2005, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by ed phelan

Question: can a person entitled to EDU discount purchase a new iBook and give it to a relative in another state? If so, does the unit come with all of the software? Any problems registering same with Apple?
TIA/æ

I did the same thing here. I walked in to an Apple Store with my friend, who is a college student and lives in OR as well, he received edu. discount on the iBook, 6GB iPod mini (using the $179 iPod mail-in rebate), AppleCare (at edu. price), and a HP printer ($100 mail-in rebate). Since he is a resident of OR, he filled out a paper work and tax free. I paid him in cash for the iBook and AppleCare, then sold the iPod mini to my co-worker.

On the invoice, his name and address are printed since he's the one who paid it. However, I don't think there's any problem with that. The software is all the same.

warra · Aug 3, 2005, 08:55 PM

If you purchase a computer under 1500 for purely educational reasons will it be tax free no matter what state you are in?

mitchell_pgh · Aug 3, 2005, 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by warra

If you purchase a computer under 1500 for purely educational reasons will it be tax free no matter what state you are in?

It depends. You would need to buy it through the school and use their tax exempt status... but then it wouldn't be "your" computer. It would be the school's.

driven · Aug 3, 2005, 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by warra

If you purchase a computer under 1500 for purely educational reasons will it be tax free no matter what state you are in?

No ....

Tax free is something promoted by some states for a limited amount of time before the school season starts. Here in Georgia it was this past weekend. The tax free offer is limited to school related items under $1500.

And even then there are quirky rules:
- If you buy a PDA it's tax-free.
- If you buy a PDA that has a cellular phone built in (Treo, Blackberry) then it's not.
- If you buy a flat screen TV with a DVI port from a consumer electronics store it's NOT tax free.
- If you buy a flat screen TV with a DVI port from a computer store then it IS tax free. (It's a monitor in that case)

Each state has very different rules.

ed phelan · Aug 4, 2005, 07:18 AM

Thanks for your response Kenneth, appreciate. Gonna put my daughter to work! That's good news about the included software.
æ

tracemhunter · Aug 4, 2005, 11:39 AM

i called the apple store here in dallas because tx's no tax weekend is this weekend but they said it didnt cover apple computers...

alimunnik · Aug 4, 2005, 12:33 PM

Best place to buy an iBook? Somalia! I was there recently and there were terrific discounts on all the latest electronic devices. Thanks to a refreshing lack of government, there are no taxes of any kind (save for a few cartons of cigarettes to facilitate safe passage through a rather large number of impromptu "checkpoints") and a Free Market rules! I got a terrific deal on a Sony camcorder (for $300 less than I would have paid in Canada, although it did happen to be the PAL version.
So sign up at your local Peace Corps Recruitment Office and book your flight to sunny Mogadishu!

Kenneth · Aug 4, 2005, 07:55 PM

On more thing, my stock 12-inch iBook comes with a 40GB hard drive. However, there's only about 25GB available right out of the box.

MindFad · Aug 4, 2005, 08:39 PM

I GOT ONE TOO!111

cSurfr · Aug 4, 2005, 09:16 PM

Or you could just go to Delaware, which has tax free shopping all the time I believe. NJ Doesn't have sales tax on clothing, and I *think* PA is the same way, not 100% sure as I just moved here.

-cs

cSurfr · Aug 4, 2005, 09:16 PM

Or you could just go to Delaware, which has tax free shopping all the time I believe. NJ Doesn't have sales tax on clothing, and I *think* PA is the same way, not 100% sure as I just moved here.

-cs

driven · Aug 4, 2005, 09:19 PM

You moved *TO* NJ?

Wow ... I'm sorry.

I escaped nearly a decade ago.

Colonel Panic · Aug 6, 2005, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by driven

You moved *TO* NJ?

Wow ... I'm sorry.

I escaped nearly a decade ago.

"escaped", but to ... Atlanta???

freudling · Aug 6, 2005, 10:25 PM

This thread has stayed. Are current owners happy? I just got one and am very, very impressed.

Kenneth · Aug 6, 2005, 10:28 PM

I am happy as well. I went through original iBook 300, iBook 800 (32MB VRAM), and the current rev. of iBook 1.33.

driven · Aug 7, 2005, 03:45 AM

Originally Posted by Colonel Panic

"escaped", but to ... Atlanta???

Atlanta rocks. Great city. Can't think of a place I'd rather live.

gorotdi · Aug 7, 2005, 07:31 PM

I've been a MS/Wintel user since the days of the PC Jr. Yesterday I migrated to a mac. I picked up a new ibook in New Hampshire tax free and took advantage of the Student Union deal. I've been lurking on this forum since I got fed up with the wintel laptop market and discovered the ibook back in April. I've been anxiously awaiting the latest update, and I'm glad that I was able to remain patient. Even though I've never posted a word until now, I've learned much from you guys... I'm still an absolute raging idiot when it comes to this thing though. It seems that few of my Windows skills have migrated thus far.

Anyway, despite my own shortcomings in using Tiger, I am extremely impressed with this machine! I can't wait to get to learn it better. Look forward to a good deal of stupid questions from me.

freudling · Aug 7, 2005, 07:50 PM

Awsome, great to have you on site. You will love it. My advice would be to explore your home folders and get to know the directories. The one thing you will find with Mac compared to Winblows is that seamless integration of applications with your folders. Open up iMovie and your movie folder is there waiting. The finder window is far, far superior to anything in the windows world. The dock, expose, dashboard... all these things will SPEED up your tasks, and, if not for the gui, that will be your little secret when around winblows uers.

osxisfun · Aug 7, 2005, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by Colonel Panic

"escaped", but to ... Atlanta???

Nope. no tax free weekend here in california... auhnold blew $2billion on a dmv rebate so we are in even more debt...

would be handy around back to school times for the parents out there ...

driven · Aug 7, 2005, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by osxisfun

Nope. no tax free weekend here in california... auhnold blew $2billion on a dmv rebate so we are in even more debt...

would be handy around back to school times for the parents out there ...

Quite honestly you'll probably save more on your DMV savings than you would on a tax rebate. I know I'd gladly give up our tax-free weekend to get rid of our DMV tax. (Which is over $900 this year!)

driven · Aug 7, 2005, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by gorotdi

I've been a MS/Wintel user since the days of the PC Jr. Yesterday I migrated to a mac. I picked up a new ibook in New Hampshire tax free and took advantage of the Student Union deal. I've been lurking on this forum since I got fed up with the wintel laptop market and discovered the ibook back in April. I've been anxiously awaiting the latest update, and I'm glad that I was able to remain patient. Even though I've never posted a word until now, I've learned much from you guys... I'm still an absolute raging idiot when it comes to this thing though. It seems that few of my Windows skills have migrated thus far.

Anyway, despite my own shortcomings in using Tiger, I am extremely impressed with this machine! I can't wait to get to learn it better. Look forward to a good deal of stupid questions from me.

Congratulations! Welcome to the Mac universe.

Ask any questions you like .... we are a friendly group here (usually!) We love to help.

osxisfun · Aug 7, 2005, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by driven

Quite honestly you'll probably save more on your DMV savings than you would on a tax rebate. I know I'd gladly give up our tax-free weekend to get rid of our DMV tax. (Which is over $900 this year!)

nope.

btw: that's quite bit for your dmv. let's start a offshore car reg site. We will be rich!

Prodigy · Aug 7, 2005, 11:27 PM

Hey another mac os idiot here!!!
I'm moving to the dark side soon...(getting and ibook g4 12")
I did a search on antivirus in the forum and realise tat there are no such things for MAC...is it true??
I found tat they actually hav IE for mac..So i assume it's safe to use??

cheers!!!!

osxisfun · Aug 7, 2005, 11:32 PM

You are safe.

amazing · Aug 7, 2005, 11:32 PM

Prodigy: There are no viruses for OS X yet, the only reason to get virus software is if you exchange docs with Windows colleagues, etc. (don't get Norton or Virex. Perhaps Sophos?). Did you hear that the beta of Windows Vista is only a week old and that there are already viruses?

IE for Mac is old and MS isn't maintaining it, so most people use Safari or they download Firefox, etc.