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Kesepton · Oct 24, 2004, 06:20 PM

Ive always used windows/PC based computers. But, they have been such a hassel and, then I saw this kid with a 17'' powerbook and i feel in love with it. He was showing me all these things he could do and so, i went home later and did some research. These things are EXPENSIVE. Nearly 50% more than a normal laptop equiped accordingly.

So, my question is. Why pay so much for it? I mean, it so sexy and clean but, that cant be all of it.

Also, suggestions as to where to buy one/look for one.

And one more. I was wondering how downloading things, such as music, uploading music from CDs and from my PC is? Also, finding software for these computers i am sure is a bitch however, i do mostl graphic stuff and, everyone in the industry but me uses mac so, i figure im okay there.

(i know downloading music is bad but... i download STRICTLY songs to listen to before i buy or live recordings because, live songs are awsome. Firm believer in pay for your music, why not? it isnt that much)

thanks. My AIM is TarakaSura, id love to hear from you guys and id love to have someone who is very competent with these computers to help me out.

Fusion · Oct 24, 2004, 06:56 PM

Welcome to MacNN!

They are really not THAT much more expensive. Apple's desktop machines, specifically the Power Mac is known to be very pricey, but I find their laptops are not that far out of range. The 17" of course is a little pricey because it is the top of the line powerbook, but I would really recommend a 12 or 15"

As to why we pay for them, that question could take hours to answer. Here are a couple reasons why I paid the price.

Never having to deal with spyware, adware, viri, etc..
General sense of better security with my information
Better looking / working
OS X is miles ahead of windows, and then some
I enjoy the company (Apple) because they are somewhat of a niche market, they cater to their customers better than someone like MS or Dell can.
The quality of software
The list goes on and on and on....

Getting stuff from your PC is not a problem at all. There are many ways to do it. If you have an external hard drive, that can help, otherwise there are many many options available.

Finding software is not a bitch whatsoever. Like I mentioned, the quality of the software is so amazing, I love it. If you are looking for something in particular, just ask here, otherwise seach macupdate.com or versiontracker.com.

P2P on Mac is another great thing. Since you don't have to worry about viri and crap malware, its pretty open. The applications for connecting to the networks is much more advanced as well. Acquisition, XFactor, Poisoned, etc... are all good P2P software. You can search the aforementioned sites for more information about them. The official Bit Torrent also has a client for OS X, so that works as well.

My AIM screen name is in my profile as well if you have any more questions.

Mafia · Oct 24, 2004, 07:37 PM

Originally posted by Fusion:

Never having to deal with spyware, adware, viri, etc..
General sense of better security with my information
Better looking / working
OS X is miles ahead of windows, and then some
I enjoy the company (Apple) because they are somewhat of a niche market, they cater to their customers better than someone like MS or Dell can.
The quality of software
The list goes on and on and on....

i also love the importance of independant software developers on the mac platform. partly because i am one but also you can find very professional level applications that are either freeware or shareware.

The mac community is also very strong and very helpful.

p2p is not a problem i actually like it better on the mac becuz of the no virus thing.

the only down thing is games, but the gaming industry is finally realizing the people who play games do own macs and many of the popular windoze games are coming to mac.

make the right decision and buy the mac, especially if you do graphics.

Kesepton · Oct 24, 2004, 08:20 PM

do you have to pay for these services? also, what kind of problems will i have ripping music from my PC to my mac? I have a huge library cause, i catagorize all my CDs on my computer for easier access to rip to my mini disk player. Plus, its neater.

And, how can there be no viruses if it is person 2 person? i mean, there is always the possibility.

V12 · Oct 24, 2004, 08:48 PM

i believe that a mac can have a pc virus, however it is immune to it, the only thing is that youll have a virus file on your computer.

Mafia · Oct 24, 2004, 08:52 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
do you have to pay for these services? also, what kind of problems will i have ripping music from my PC to my mac? I have a huge library cause, i catagorize all my CDs on my computer for easier access to rip to my mini disk player. Plus, its neater.

And, how can there be no viruses if it is person 2 person? i mean, there is always the possibility.

the virus code is written for a pc so it does not effect a the mac system. moving music from a pc to a mac is easy, burn music on a data cd, or connect to the pc with ethernet. dunno what services you are talking about but it doesn't cost to d/l freeware or to use p2p applications.

mgehman · Oct 24, 2004, 09:10 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
do you have to pay for these services? also, what kind of problems will i have ripping music from my PC to my mac? I have a huge library cause, i catagorize all my CDs on my computer for easier access to rip to my mini disk player. Plus, its neater.

And, how can there be no viruses if it is person 2 person? i mean, there is always the possibility.

Moving your music from PC to Mac is not a big deal. There is a program called Move to Mac which will do it for you. The categorizing is something I'm not sure about. You may need to re-categorize them by hand. Otherwise, you should be happy with a powerbook, barring gaming being a big priority. Gaming is improving, but the latest games are always PC first, then they get ported to Mac. Hope this helps.

Stradlater · Oct 24, 2004, 09:15 PM

Macs are more expensive, right? Wrong.

Do Macs really cost more than Windows PCs? No.

NYGEO18 · Oct 24, 2004, 11:43 PM

OS X
Thats the reason to switch!
yeah powerbooks are beautiful. Im reminded of that every time I take mine out to play or work. However, its the beauty and functionality of OS X that makes macs worth the money. Its better in every way (that I have encountered) than Windows. I have owned 3 windows machines. After my powerbook, I will never, ever, return.
Take the plunge!
Its worth it.

powermacj7 · Oct 25, 2004, 06:02 AM

I gladly pay the extra for a Mac. Even though the prices are competitive to the PC world. Everyone here said it best, MAC OSX is a superior more robust OS than Windows XP and we now know still ahead of Longhorn. I simply love it. I have to use a PC at work, and then using my MAC at home makes it clear which os and quality of computer is better.
I argue this all the time. Sure you can purchase a cheap laptop from dell or something. You get what you pay for. Video card integrated into the mother board which eats the processor up, etc. The iBooks are much improved and for the $$ a great value for a tight budget.
Lastly, most people that switch from pcs to MAC never switch back!!!!!

iPoder · Oct 25, 2004, 12:34 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
I saw this kid with a 17'' powerbook and i felt in love with it.

You already told yourself the reason.

When we see a powerbook, our heartbeats keep pounding. Our hands cannot resist caressing the smooth surface of the polished aluminum case. Our eyes widen when gazing into the beautiful wide screen. Our ears cannot resist the sweet sound coming out the iTunes. And our mouths won't stop chuckling when an icon is bouncing to get our attention.

Purchasing a beauty like powerbook is sometimes emotional. When was the last time that you feel the same way when you see a Windows machine?

'Nuff said. You know where your heart goes.

Kesepton · Oct 25, 2004, 12:48 PM

Another reason why i want one of these is cause, its got so many little things that are good that go with apple. Like their video cameras, blue tooth, ipod. Fun things that are all the diffrence.

Any recomended places to look guys? And thanks for the responses, im gonna try my luck with a 17'' powerbook. What do you suppose is the minimum power i should get. I see these things with 800mhz selling for the same price as a pclaptop at 1.4ghz. I figured its cause the way they are set up, its stronger. I dont know. if what i want to do for the most part is internet forums, AIM/MSN messenger, Music and Graphics, what do you think would be a minimum? And, how does buying used/off ebay been for you guys? I can find refirbished ones pretty readily, just, ebay is still cheaper by a little.

thanks guys. Please leave a few sites to find them.

Stradlater · Oct 25, 2004, 02:18 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
I see these things with 800mhz selling for the same price as a pclaptop at 1.4ghz.

mhz and ghz only matter when considering different speeds on the same chip. A G4 800mhz is not the same speed as a P4 800mhz.

Kesepton · Oct 25, 2004, 02:20 PM

another question, ram seems to be VERY important on these machines. I use to run a million things on my PC with 512mbs of pc3200 ram. why do you need like 1gig of ram on these things? is it more crucial or something for macs?

Stradlater · Oct 25, 2004, 02:24 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
another question, ram seems to be VERY important on these machines. I use to run a million things on my PC with 512mbs of pc3200 ram. why do you need like 1gig of ram on these things? is it more crucial or something for macs?

RAM is very beneficial to Macs; someone else can provide the details, but expect a significant efficient increase with a RAM upgrade (I think it's basically like this: the more RAM available, the more processes can run smoothly at the same time without bothering one another).

dennisbolt · Oct 25, 2004, 09:28 PM

Check out

http://macreviewzone.com/html/review...es/index.shtml

Good place to check prices. But it is hard to find macs at a discount, but the sales tax/shipping/free things can sway you in one direction or another.

Go to a local Apple store to look and play-and buy if you want to pay sales tax, but walk out with it.

Many mail-order online places will upgrade RAM to 1 gig for free and maybe a free printer/case etc etc.

Love my 17" PB!!!

shabbasuraj · Oct 25, 2004, 10:00 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
Ive always used windows/PC based computers. But, they have been such a hassel and, then I saw this kid with a 17'' powerbook and i feel in love with it. He was showing me all these things he could do and so, i went home later and did some research. These things are EXPENSIVE. Nearly 50% more than a normal laptop equiped accordingly.

So, my question is. Why pay so much for it? I mean, it so sexy and clean but, that cant be all of it.

Also, suggestions as to where to buy one/look for one.

And one more. I was wondering how downloading things, such as music, uploading music from CDs and from my PC is? Also, finding software for these computers i am sure is a bitch however, i do mostl graphic stuff and, everyone in the industry but me uses mac so, i figure im okay there.

(i know downloading music is bad but... i download STRICTLY songs to listen to before i buy or live recordings because, live songs are awsome. Firm believer in pay for your music, why not? it isnt that much)

thanks. My AIM is TarakaSura, id love to hear from you guys and id love to have someone who is very competent with these computers to help me out.

Apple hardware will get you first interested...

But OS X and the related apps is what will make you a believer...

And then you will never go back and you will wonder what took you so long...

maxx9photo · Oct 26, 2004, 12:07 PM

Go for it, I switch from PC to Mac not long ago (less than 2 month) and never look back and never touch my PC anymore (but still keep it though for my evidence that I was one of PC victims). P2P is great with Mac as other said, I like XFactor, and softwares pretty much I have found no difficulties instead it's more easy than PC. Good luck on your decision and trust me it's worth every penny on your future PB (don't forget applecare if you plan to have it for more than a year).

cpac · Oct 26, 2004, 08:45 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
if what i want to do for the most part is internet forums, AIM/MSN messenger, Music and Graphics, what do you think would be a minimum?

Especially given the recent bump in iBook performance, I'd recommend going with one of them. The only thing challenging it seems you will be doing is graphics, and by all means, if you're really doing a lot of heavy editing, the PB's (better) graphics card will be a plus, but it might be worth saving a few hundred and having a machine that works just as well for everything else, but a little slower in the graphics department.

check out PowerBook Central(.com) to view a price/incentive comparison chart for all the major eRetailers and catalogues.

angelmb · Oct 27, 2004, 05:55 AM

I love these threads about guys coming from other platforms fall in love with the Mac

See, I have a PowerBook 17" and a SGI Octane2, the Silicon Graphics is the kind of computer not everyone can afford, but you know, I would love to be able to run Mac OS X on it !

Macs are awesome, but Mac OS X is... the saint grial

You are going to love it. BTW, we Mac guys are so nice

gator · Oct 27, 2004, 11:42 AM

Amazon has $150 mail in rebates on Powerbooks right now. No particularly great deals on old Powerbooks it appears outside of eBay, refurb at the Apple store is $2399.

512MB could be good enough for your purposes. OS X heavily caches memory for open applications, and since most Mac users tend to multitask heavily, that's usually where the 1 GB recommendation comes in. You could easily just get the PB, see how it feels with 512, then add if needed.

Things like macprices or dealmac may help in your search.

tooki · Oct 27, 2004, 01:47 PM

Sure, you can get cheap PC laptops with similar performance for cheap -- but they're huge and heavy. PC laptops of comparable performance and of comparable weight and thickness are generally more expensive than Mac laptops.

tooki

Kesepton · Oct 27, 2004, 01:47 PM

whats dealmac? and thanks again for all the replies. Your really buyin me into the mac movment.

gator · Oct 27, 2004, 06:24 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
whats dealmac? and thanks again for all the replies. Your really buyin me into the mac movment.

Dealmac (www.dealmac.com) lists deals on things related to Mac system/accessories.

Macprices (www.macprices.com) lists deals on Mac systems.

danbrew · Oct 28, 2004, 12:32 AM

ok, keep in mind that you're asking the question on a bus full of mac zealots... (and i mean that in the best possible way as a zealot myself)...

why? because they're cool.

are macs more expensive than a comparable pc? absolutely. anybody that tells you different or tries to prove it has an agenda. it's a simple supply & demand equation.

are there things you can do on the mac that you can't do on a windows machine? with very limited exceptions, nope. the old days it was all about music, photography, video, etc. windows more than meets the challenges these days. you might find something really esoteric that is only available on the mac - maybe something like Apple's Motion or Livetype or something like that.

are there viruses and/or security vulnerabilities on the mac? absolutely. as wide spread as windows? no - but see that supply/demand & marketshare stuff that I mentioned above.

i'm a huge windows guy. and a huge mac guy. i personally own more macs than windows machines. but i spend more time working on a windows machine. go figure. there's a message in there somewhere, I think.

realizing that most of us in a forum like this are technology geeks, i almost hesistate to say this - but for the average user (average - not a geek), either system will work equally well. just depends upon what you want and your sense of style.

jamil5454 · Oct 28, 2004, 08:24 AM

Originally posted by iPoder:
You already told yourself the reason.

When we see a powerbook, our heartbeats keep pounding. Our hands cannot resist caressing the smooth surface of the polished aluminum case. Our eyes widen when gazing into the beautiful wide screen. Our ears cannot resist the sweet sound coming out the iTunes. And our mouths won't stop chuckling when an icon is bouncing to get our attention.

Purchasing a beauty like powerbook is sometimes emotional. When was the last time that you feel the same way when you see a Windows machine?

'Nuff said. You know where your heart goes.

Do you write poems?

Powaqqatsi · Oct 28, 2004, 08:52 AM

Originally posted by cpac:
Especially given the recent bump in iBook performance, I'd recommend going with one of them. The only thing challenging it seems you will be doing is graphics, and by all means, if you're really doing a lot of heavy editing, the PB's (better) graphics card will be a plus, but it might be worth saving a few hundred and having a machine that works just as well for everything else, but a little slower in the graphics department.

check out PowerBook Central(.com) to view a price/incentive comparison chart for all the major eRetailers and catalogues.

Graphics cards do not offer more speed with 2D graphics.

cpac · Oct 28, 2004, 09:58 AM

Originally posted by Powaqqatsi:
Graphics cards do not offer more speed with 2D graphics.

well except to the extent that Quartz Extreme uses them in Panther (and QE2D or whatever it is in Tiger).

Powaqqatsi · Oct 28, 2004, 10:28 AM

Originally posted by cpac:
well except to the extent that Quartz Extreme uses them in Panther (and QE2D or whatever it is in Tiger).

Yeah but I meant that they do not speed up Photoshop or anything like that.

JKT · Oct 28, 2004, 10:35 AM

Originally posted by danbrew:
are there viruses and/or security vulnerabilities on the mac? absolutely. as wide spread as windows? no - but see that supply/demand & marketshare stuff that I mentioned above.

i'm a huge windows guy. and a huge mac guy. i personally own more macs than windows machines. but i spend more time working on a windows machine. go figure. there's a message in there somewhere, I think.

I'd like you to name a single virus on the Mac (not including viruses for the classic OS that the original poster is never likely to use or need, of which there are about 40) - and "Opener" is not a virus, fwiw.

But, yes, there are security vulnerabilities on the Mac as there are on any OS... just not any in the form of a virus (yet)... and it would be exceedingly foolish to behave as though there aren't.

Are there things that you can do on your Mac that you can't on a PC? You are right, there are very few exceptions, but you're asking the wrong question. The right question is are there things on the Mac that you can do better than on a PC and the answer to that is a resounding yes... it isn't the what, it is the how that is the major difference between the two platforms and as any mac zealot can tell you, Macs have always been far, far better at the how (generally speaking).

To the original poster - RAM is important for any OS. You can use MacOS X with 128MB of RAM if you really want to, but you are going to have a horrible experience as you will be paging virtual memory to your hard drive like nobody's business. 512MB of RAM will be good for general consumer level usage, but anything involving graphics work will perform far better with more RAM. In short, it isn't essential to have 1GB or more of RAM, but the system will be much more efficient if it does have it.

JKT · Oct 28, 2004, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
What do you suppose is the minimum power i should get. I see these things with 800mhz selling for the same price as a pclaptop at 1.4ghz. I figured its cause the way they are set up, its stronger. I dont know. if what i want to do for the most part is internet forums, AIM/MSN messenger, Music and Graphics, what do you think would be a minimum?

Personally, I wouldn't go for anything less than a 1GHz G4 in a portable if you want to experience any kind of longevity. However, rather than getting a 17" you should consider getting a 12" or 15" and buying yourself a cheap second monitor (or if you have a monitor already, you can simply use that). The PowerBooks all support video mirroring and spanning.

Word of caution - the iBooks do support mirroring but don't support spanning (unless you apply a hack which will void the Apple warranty - not such a problem if you are buying something second hand perhaps?)

Kesepton · Oct 28, 2004, 03:02 PM

why not get a 17''? is there a perticular reason?

Stradlater · Oct 28, 2004, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
why not get a 17''? is there a perticular reason?

Higher resolution = more things on your screen.

Also, I believe the 17" is only $100 more than the higher-end 15" when you factor in RAM.

gator · Oct 28, 2004, 03:31 PM

Just depends on your preferences. Slightly less portable, $300 price diff between the 15/17 which could easily be spent towards an external LCD for spanning when at a desk. It basically comes down to if you want the extra screen space on the laptop. The high end 15" and 17" are the same in all other aspects AFAIK.

Strad: The high end 15 and the 17 both have 512MB standard.

Apfhex · Oct 28, 2004, 06:39 PM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
So, my question is. Why pay so much for it? I mean, it so sexy and clean but, that cant be all of it.

Because it's a Mac.

Really, other people already answered this with *real* answers, but I just wanted to say that. OS X is awesome, though. My Windows using friends are always envious.

And one more. I was wondering how downloading things, such as music, uploading music from CDs and from my PC is? Also, finding software for these computers i am sure is a bitch however, i do mostl graphic stuff and, everyone in the industry but me uses mac so, i figure im okay there.

If both computers are ethernet capable, that would probably be the simplest/cheapest solution. Go buy a cheap ethernet cable (on a newer Mac it shouldn't even need to be crossover, but it can't hurt to get crossover type cable anyway). Then just enable file sharing on your PC and then use the Mac to mount the shared volumes or directories, and copy the files to wherever you'd like, keeping your directory structure intact for your music and such. As long as your music is in one folder, you can tell iTunes to make that your music library and to NOT organize your music for you, if you want to keep it organized how it is. Ripping CD's in iTunes is extremely simple, too.

For graphics work and surfing the web (IM'ing included) Macs are very good. You shouldn't have any problems getting software. And remember not to use Internet Explorer, use Safari or download one of the many other good browsers (Shiira, Firefox, Camino, OmniWeb, even Opera if you really wanted).

I do graphic design work on my 800Mhz PowerBook and it works great, I don't even think I'll need to upgrade for another year or two (I have added a faster HDD and 1GB RAM to it though).

JKT · Oct 29, 2004, 06:47 AM

Originally posted by Kesepton:
why not get a 17''? is there a perticular reason?

From your posts I got the impression that you were looking to only spend as much money as you had too. I was just pointing out that a 17" screen is not necessarily a vital part of the equation - you can get more screen real estate by having a second monitor for less money. Obviously, this would depend on whether or not you need 17" of screen when on the move as well, or if you can tolerate a 12/15" screen instead. There is also the pro/con of having greater portability versus more screen resolution.

Stradlater · Oct 29, 2004, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by gator:
Strad: The high end 15 and the 17 both have 512MB standard.

High-end 15" has two 256MB cards. The 17" has 1 512MB card. The price difference is notable.

gator · Oct 29, 2004, 10:26 PM

Originally posted by Stradlater:
High-end 15" has two 256MB cards. The 17" has 1 512MB card. The price difference is notable.

Oops! Thanks for the clarification. Bad assumption on my part.

Kesepton · Oct 30, 2004, 03:47 PM

so, does anyone in san diego have one of these badboys to show me? Or, sell even?

danbrew · Oct 30, 2004, 05:13 PM

dude - it's not like you live in the middle of utah somewhere. run right down to your nearest Apple store and eyeball them all you want. or your nearest compusa and do your thing.

http://www.apple.com/retail/utc/

http://www.apple.com/retail/fashionvalley/

shabbasuraj · Oct 30, 2004, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by danbrew:
dude - it's not like you live in the middle of utah somewhere. run right down to your nearest Apple store and eyeball them all you want. or your nearest compusa and do your thing.

http://www.apple.com/retail/utc/

http://www.apple.com/retail/fashionvalley/

I agree. Go enjoy your local Apple stores as in the Dominion of Ontario where I am from we have NEITHER Apple Stores or ITMS for that matter (this will change very soon though, November as a matter in fact).