[rezrez]

Hello everyone.

Just to start off, I am new to mac, and the Ibook 12" is actually my first mac. I have had many pc's but I think its time for a change.

That being said, I have read several posts about bad pixels in the LCD.

I have ordered the custom configuration with 512MB extra ram, and I heard that these custom ones have the pixel problem. Does this problem actually exist? And if it does, does apple exchange the computer because of the problem? I haven't bought apple cares, but am considering it.

Any software recomendations?? for anti virus? I will be purchasing Office, but that is all I have considered so far.

Thanks for all your suggestions!!!

[Leonard]

Stay away from Norton Antivirus or Utilities. It causes more problems then it solves. If you want antivirus software which really isn't necessary, get virex which is available free from .Mac.

[rezrez]

Does that mean I should buy .mac?? Sorry.. As I said, I'm new to all things Apple...

Thanks

[swichd]

Welcome!
The dead pixel problem happens evenly between build to order and stock. The problem is that the BTO ones cannot be returned to the store. I think you need 4+ to exchange it. AppleCare makes no difference, as this is an extended warranty, which extends your one year warranty for two extra years. I don't use anti virus software on my Macs, 'casue they don't get viruses. Enjoy your new iBook, and have a good posting experience @ MacNN!!

[rezrez]

I have personally never used Anti virus on my pc, because it just makes the system too slow. Thanks for that advice...

So, if I don't have 4 or more dead pixels I'm outa luck.. That kinda sucks...

[swichd]

Originally posted by rezrez:
Does that mean I should buy .mac?? Sorry.. As I said, I'm new to all things Apple...

Thanks

IMO, .mac is a huge ripoff. Other companies can give much better packages for 1/3 of the cost. If you want for free email, mymacmail.com has imap support which works with OS X Mail. 5gigs.com has good, ad free webhosting and email. Both services are free.

[rezrez]

Sounds Good.. Thanks for letting me know about .MAC!!

Last Question.. I hope!

I wanted to buy an external DVD burner, will it have to be a specific one made for the MAC?? OR do all burners work the same on PC or mac....

Thanks Again...
Rez

[swichd]

Most externals will work using the Patch Burn software if they are not Mac specific. Since you are new, I'd like to point out as friendly as possible the MAC mean Media Access Control, the hardware address of Ethernet card. Macintosh is abbrivated as Mac, not mac, MAC, or maC . We all do it when we are in a hurry, so it's no biggie.
Enjoy

[rezrez]

Originally posted by swichd:
Most externals will work using the Patch Burn software if they are not Mac specific. Since you are new, I'd like to point out as friendly as possible the MAC mean Media Access Control, the hardware address of Ethernet card. Macintosh is abbrivated as Mac, not mac, MAC, or maC . We all do it when we are in a hurry, so it's no biggie.
Enjoy

I will now refer to it as Mac, thanks for letting me know.

Okay, What does that mean?? I cannot use the Apple application like itunes to burn?? Or is it called Imovie??

Thanks!

REz

[nJm]

If you buy an external burner it won't work 'out of the box' with the programs that come on your iBook. You need the free little patch called 'Patch Burn' which tells Mac OS that your external DVD burner is compatible, so therefore lets you use it with the Apple programs.

You would use:

iTunes for burning music CDs
iMovie for editing movies
iDVD for making/burning DVD movies from home footage

You can drag and drop files onto a blank DVD and burn it within the Finder (the Mac version of Windows Explorer/My Computer).

If you want something a little more powerful consider a program called Toast. It does the same sort of stuff that Nero does on PCs.

I bought an LG external DVD dual layer burner and followed the above steps and it works great.

[D'Espice]

I honestly don't see no need for an AV program since Mac OS viruses are more than rare - I have never gotten any Mac OS viruses, lots of Windows stuff though. And these don't work anyway.

Other than that, your iBook comes with everything you need in everyday use:

iTunes for playing music
Quicktime for playing videos (no DivX though)
iPhoto for managing photos
iMovie for editing and creating movies
iDVD for creating and mastering DVDs
Safari for browsing the web
Mail.app for your emails
AppleWorks for word processing, spreadsheets, etc
DVD Player for playing DVDs
iChat for chatting via ICQ/AIM/MSN/etc
iSync for synching your contacts/calendars/whatever with your Palm or cell phone or iPod or ...

What you may wanna consider to download are these free applications:

RBrowser: FTP-Client
Windows Media Player: for playing .wmv and .asx files
Video LAN Client: for playing most other videos, including DivX, XviD, etc.
RealPlayer
X-Chat Aqua: IRC-Client
TinkerTool: additional hidden settings for OS X
NeoOffice/J: OpenOffice for Mac OS X

[rezrez]

Originally posted by nJm:
If you buy an external burner it won't work 'out of the box' with the programs that come on your iBook. You need the free little patch called 'Patch Burn' which tells Mac OS that your external DVD burner is compatible, so therefore lets you use it with the Apple programs.

You would use:

iTunes for burning music CDs
iMovie for editing movies
iDVD for making/burning DVD movies from home footage

You can drag and drop files onto a blank DVD and burn it within the Finder (the Mac version of Windows Explorer/My Computer).

If you want something a little more powerful consider a program called Toast. It does the same sort of stuff that Nero does on PCs.

I bought an LG external DVD dual layer burner and followed the above steps and it works great.

Sorry but I have another question. If I buy toast do I still need to download the 'Patch Burn'? And where would I download it?? My Ibook will be arriving Monday, and I want to be ready.

Also, with that patch.. I can use any external DVD burner.. Right??

Thanks Again,

Rez

[rezrez]

Originally posted by D'Espice:
I honestly don't see no need for an AV program since Mac OS viruses are more than rare - I have never gotten any Mac OS viruses, lots of Windows stuff though. And these don't work anyway.

Other than that, your iBook comes with everything you need in everyday use:

iTunes for playing music
Quicktime for playing videos (no DivX though)
iPhoto for managing photos
iMovie for editing and creating movies
iDVD for creating and mastering DVDs
Safari for browsing the web
Mail.app for your emails
AppleWorks for word processing, spreadsheets, etc
DVD Player for playing DVDs
iChat for chatting via ICQ/AIM/MSN/etc
iSync for synching your contacts/calendars/whatever with your Palm or cell phone or iPod or ...

What you may wanna consider to download are these free applications:

RBrowser: FTP-Client
Windows Media Player: for playing .wmv and .asx files
Video LAN Client: for playing most other videos, including DivX, XviD, etc.
RealPlayer
X-Chat Aqua: IRC-Client
TinkerTool: additional hidden settings for OS X
NeoOffice/J: OpenOffice for Mac OS X

Thanks for all that info. Does the NeoOffice program work with Microsoft Office files??

Thanks...Rez

[D'Espice]

Sure, after all it's OpenOffice, only instead of the native widgets it has Aqua widgets

[swichd]

Originally posted by rezrez:
Sorry but I have another question. If I buy toast do I still need to download the 'Patch Burn'? And where would I download it?? My Ibook will be arriving Monday, and I want to be ready.

Also, with that patch.. I can use any external DVD burner.. Right??

Thanks Again,

Rez

From the PatchBurn FAQ

[historylme]

Try Patch Burn first, and if things don't work out, then consider Toast. But all you want is to burn and make copies... use patch burn, believe me, it's easy.

[rezrez]

Originally posted by history1me:
Try Patch Burn first, and if things don't work out, then consider Toast. But all you want is to burn and make copies... use patch burn, believe me, it's easy.

Will toast also recognize an external DVD burner? I just got my Ibook with the combo drive but I also want to burn DVD's... Is that possible?? Even with using the Idvd?

Thanks...

[swichd]

Originally posted by rezrez:
Will toast also recognize an external DVD burner? I just got my Ibook with the combo drive but I also want to burn DVD's... Is that possible?? Even with using the Idvd?

Thanks...

IIRC, Toast uses its own drivers to "talk" with the burner, so it should work with no sweat. Yes, you need to use patchburn if you want to use iDVD.

[rezrez]

Hey All,

I have another question! My Ibook has been on/sleeping for the last 2 days... And right now, its very slow. When I type, the words are way behind. Do I need to be turning the IBook off at night?? Or are there any other suggestions??? I normally don't have problems with it being slow. I am running:
1.2Ghz 512 Ram 30 Gig HD

The only programs I have running are Safari, MSN Messenger and Entourage!

Thanks Again!!!

Rez

[Hi I'm Ben]

Really? i run a new 1.2 768 ram, I don't use Entourage because i'm trying to get used to mail for 10.4 but I don't really experience those problems even when I do. The ibook is always good speed. The only thing yet to slow me down a little was displaying a book in iPhoto.

I've had Photoshop, MSN, Adium ( i dont use msn on adium ) word preview firefox and a bunch of other apps open at once and it was never really a problem.

[rezrez]

Can Anyone please help me with this. How often should I be shutting down my Ibook?? Should I be turning it off at night?? I am new to apple, and I am curious about when i should be turning it off.....

Thanks...
Rez

[swichd]

Originally posted by rezrez:
Can Anyone please help me with this. How often should I be shutting down my Ibook??

I never turn it off, anymore

Should I be turning it off at night??

Doesn't make any difference; it's up to you.

[HoOn]

same here...I never shut it off unless I have to because of maintenance.

- John