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rach · 06:22 AM

Hi i picked up an iBook G4 a few days ago i got it at a steal of a price at £300. The seller needed to sell it of quick in order to retrieve money to get their car from the compound as it had been towed away.
Anyway this model that i bought is about one year old and it is an iBook G4 14.1, 1.42,60GB, 1GB, DVD-RW model with in built wifi and Bluetooth.

I used to own a MacBook Pro C2D but i sold that of a few months ago and i was using a MBP that Apple left with me as they forgot to pick it up even though i had reminded them to. Anyway i gave them a final reminder and then TNT called to come and pick it up so i was left with using my mothers Windows laptop until last Wednesday and i had been using that for about 10 days. I sold of my mothers laptop for her and i was left with nothing to use. I thought that i could ride it out until Apple released new MBP’s but i just could not. I started looking around for an iBook in the local paper and i found one.

Anyway the plan was to get a cheap iBook and then sell it when the Santa Rosa MacBook Pro’s come out. Now i am not sure on this though. This laptop is really quite capable. This laptop has also got dedicated graphics which is something that the MacBook does not have. All i really use a laptop for mainly right now is web surfing, msn messenger, iWork 06 and that mainly is it. Occasionally i do play a few games but they are really not intensive games. This iBook does seem to work and function really well to me.

I am not sure if i should keep onto the iBook and forget about buying a Santa Rosa top spec MacBook Pro. If you was in my shoes what would you do? The prices of the Intel Mac’s are in my opinion not getting a great resale price especially when new product lines are introduced. The MacBook Pro's are lovely laptops though and even though right now i may not use it to its full capability i still like using them.

I also have some questions as well how does Virtual PC run on an iBook that i own? I occasionally do use Windows Media player for some media files that do not work with a Mac so if Virtual PC could operate Windows Media player ok i would consider buying it if it was a decent price.

Can anybody recommend any cheap webcams for the iBook? I am not interested in getting an iSight camera because the prices are inflated to me even for second hand goods. My youngest nephew in particular did have a lot of fun using the Photobooth so i am considering getting a cheap webcam plus i want to see for myself if an iBook G4 can run with Photobooth. However, for me having a webcam isn’t really essential. If anybody knows whether Photobooth definitely will not work with an iBook please let me know so i will not waste my money and time perusing this.

Also, how easy is it to swap out the hard drive in this model?

Does anybody have an iBook box that they could part with for this model then i would be interested in buying it i live in the UK.

Lastly what is the best way for removing a few light biro pen marks from the keyboard?

Thanks

mfbernstein · Apr 8, 2007, 08:09 AM

Virtual PC performance will be slow on the iBook. Think 300MHZ Pentium II-slow. Really depends on the sort of WMP files you're playing, but in most cases, I don't think it'll work acceptably (Macworld wasn't too impressed).

Hard drive removal is nontrivial. Much harder than the MacBook. It can be done, but it's a slow, somewhat painstaking process. iFixit has the instructions.

As of 10.4.9 'video class usb webcams' are supported natively, so you have some choices. A number of folks claim that the XBox Live Vision camera is compatible, and it's certainly cheap.

Dr. DDS · Apr 8, 2007, 10:52 AM

Man, i have the same ibook you have, but mine has 1,5Gig RAM. I use virtual PC for some apps and it is slow, but not painfull slow. I use my ibook for presentations, papers, web and for photoshop and I think it's fine for my needs, even working with photoshop!!. Of course a Core2Duo mac will be faster with ilife and other stuffs too, but you need to know how this will be important for your needs... I don't mind keeping this ibook for another 2 or 3 years and then think about buying a new laptop.

The macbook is easier to upgrade the HD, i really don't recomend this on the ibook....

pat++ · Apr 8, 2007, 12:06 PM

PhotoBooth does work on my 1.2ghz iBook with iSight, but honestly is very very slow... (Not sure it would work with any other video camera, it probably requires iSight, not sure though). As for playing videos in Virutal PC, forget about it too. VPC is really too slow. If you want/need to use windows, get a MacBook. And btw, even the integrated video card in the MacBook will be faster than the old Radeon in the iBook. One last thing, if you need to play windows media videos, install Flip4Mac, much easier than using VPC.

rach · Apr 8, 2007, 02:55 PM

Mfbernstein, Dr. DDS and Pat ++ thank you all for your help. I think that i may stick with the iBook for a little while.
I have a genuine copy of Windows XP so that will save me a bit of money in regards to Virtual PC 7 all i will need is the Virtual PC 7 install CD but not the OS software.
I am going to upgrade the ram i think to 1.5GB also and see how that goes. I will lay of the hard drive upgrade for now i think. This iBook is only 13 months old and i got a very good deal. I don't want to to spend to much on it otherwise it will defeat the object really and my good deal will soon turn into a not so good deal lol.
mfbernstein i will look into getting a webcam. It is really good to read that Photobooth will work on an iBook. I will take a gamble and see if i can get it to work with a non standard Mac webcam.
I will download Flip4Mac but there are times that some media content will not work with that. Some companies like Channel 4 block anything other than Windows Media Player users from viewing their live feeds. This is the same for a few other companies as well.

rach · 09:21 PM

After looking around a bit at some of the models recommended in the link in the post that mfbernstein posted and a few other reviews i think that i am going to get the Image webcam. Ecamm Network: iMage Webcam - Driverless Webcam for Mac OS X, iChat, Skype and more
Based on what a reviewer wrote here it seems like it is a very good product. I just hope that i am not taxed to much to ship it over to the UK.-

I bought an iMage from Ecamm for my sister for christmas and it's great! Picture quality is as good as my iSight as far as I can tell and it works with iChat, iMovie, PhotoBooth etc. It hangs nicely on her iBook screen but she also uses the regular camera type of tripod screw hold in the bottom. There's no driver software to install. It worked right out of the box. Oh.. and Ecamm includes some other fun software too. Webcam Recommendations? - O'Reilly Mac DevCenter Blog

Edited to add:
Pat++ it is possible that your iBook could have been slow at handling Photobooth because the model of the graphic card that is used in your iBook does not support Core Image. I have found out that Photobooth needs Core Image to run smoothly so that could be a reason why it may run a bit slow on your iBook.

pat++ · Apr 9, 2007, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by rach

Edited to add:
Pat++ it is possible that your iBook could have been slow at handling Photobooth because the model of the graphic card that is used in your iBook does not support Core Image. I have found out that Photobooth needs Core Image to run smoothly so that could be a reason why it may run a bit slow on your iBook.

Indeed.... It might be the reason. I forgot the latest iBook revision does support Core Image.

Dr. DDS · Apr 9, 2007, 08:56 AM

one last thing, if you need more space you can always use an extrernal HD and if you buy another computer you can still use it. Buy one with FW and you can back-up your entire HD and if something goes wrong with your ibook's HD you can boot from the external FW drive!

Eug · Apr 9, 2007, 09:08 AM

Swapping out the hard drive on an iBook is not something I'd attempt personally, but YMMV.

VPC is excruiciatingly slow on that iBook.

The MacBook is faster in every way, including with GPU oriented stuff. Yes, the GPU on the MacBook is crap, but the dual-core high-GHz CPU more than makes up for it. That said, the 1.33 GHz is more than capable for what you need, and it should have all the necessary GPU features for Leopard's eye candy. Plus, Office runs quite OK on the iBook. It is very slow to load on the MacBook, because it goes through Rosetta.

peeb · Apr 9, 2007, 11:04 AM

What media files do you need that need WMP? I would be really surprised if there was anything that you could not read natively. My advice? You got a great deal on a 'book that should keep you in business for years - keep it till it doesn't do what you need any more - by then the new models will be faster and cheaper.

rach · 02:43 PM

Thank you all for your help

DR DDS i have an external small hard drive i have over 45GB left of space on my iBook hard drive i was thinking about maybe upping the RPM speed to 5,400RPM and maybe putting in an 80GB hard drive but there is no rush to do that really. It is fine as it is actually and i think that i have put that hard drive upgrade on the back burner for now.
Eug I hope that i may find the VPC passable for what i may need if i give it enough memory.

Peeb i don't need WMP right now but there have been times when i never had Bootcamp installed that i could not watch some things that i wanted to do.

This is directly from the Channel 4 website and may explain a bit why some things may not work. I tried it several times on my Mac side in the past and the software kept on quitting.

This service is only available for Windows 2000 and XP using Windows Media Player 10. Mac OS X is not supported.
Why can't I play videos on my Mac?
Currently, Channel4.com offers full support only for videos on PC. There are a number of reasons for this. One of the most important reasons is that the native Mac format (Quicktime) does not support Digital Rights Management (DRM). DRM is a system for controlling licensing of copyrighted material. You can tell if a video has DRM content if you see a message acquiring license before it starts to play. Some of our content is licensed to Channel 4 on the understanding that it will be protected in this way, including the full episodes of Lost. You should be able to view the reviews and previews, however, using Windows Media Player for Mac or Flip4Mac.

This is what they have on their website in regards to the current shows that they are airing.
4oD

Some sites like MSN will block things on a Mac as well even if you are using Flip4Mac you will not be able to access everything.

Some more info from another source why some small problems may occur. Most things will work though but maybe there maybe a tiny proportion of things that will have this problem. Some sites may have different reasons why some things may not work. It is not a big problem though and i do not need it for anything right now but in the past i have.

10.4 How do I obtain a DRM license on my Mac for this content?
Currently, the version of Microsoft DRM in use is not supported by the latest Macintosh version of Windows Media Player; therefore you cannot view this content on a Mac. Users who only have Macintosh computers are discouraged from registering with our service due to this limitation.

10.6 What media player do I have to use with your service?
Our new DRM license system will only work with Windows Media Player version 9 or higher. Older versions of Windows Media Player do not support our DRM license technology and are therefore incompatible. You can download the latest version of Windows Media Player for free from Microsoft at http:www.windowsmedia.com/download/.

mfbernstein · Apr 9, 2007, 03:05 PM

WMP on Mac doesn't support DRM at all. All the PC music services have the same problem: the music bought won't play on Macs.

If there's any way you can get ahold of an old PC (even 5 years old), running XP and WMP on it, and connecting to it from your iBook via Remote Desktop will be a much more pleasant experience than Virtual PC.

rach · Apr 12, 2007, 05:23 AM

mfbernstein thank you for your advice i will see how i get on things as it is for now and if i am not happy i will consider maybe remote desktop or selling it on but i don't think that i will sell it on.
I think that i would now prefer to try and keep my money in my pocket if i can.

I have Virtual PC 7 installed now and i have given it 512 of ram but it does not appear to be able to accept anymore ram which is a shame. I am glad that i never purchased a 1GB stick to upgrade to 1.5GB ram because i was thinking about doing so only because of VPC. It is not that fast that is a given but i don't think that is completely dreadful either. I was able to use Paint on it and I and tested a music video on it and it appeared to play ok. Windows Media Player seemed to function ok as well.
I had my own install XP disk so i don't know if that could have made a difference.
Does anybody know if i can give it more than 512ram or am i stuck with that?

Thanks

mfbernstein · Apr 12, 2007, 07:57 AM

No, the version of XP is irrelevant. This 512MB limit is an annoying VPC limitation, and seeing as how VPC on Mac is effectively discontinued, I'm afraid it's unlikely to be fixed. Sorry.

rach · Apr 13, 2007, 04:36 AM

mfbernstein i sent Microsoft a suggestion through their website about increasing the ram limit on VPC 7. if more people do that maybe they will work on improving VPC7 and releasing more updates.

My iMage webcam came this morning and i have to say that it is excellent. The picture quality is very sharp i would say that is a little better picture quality than the picture that i got using my MBP and iSight.
It works just as well as it did on my MBP it is not slow at all it responds well. With just a simple click of my Photobooth icon i was up and away.

shifuimam · Apr 13, 2007, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by mfbernstein

Virtual PC performance will be slow on the iBook. Think 300MHZ Pentium II-slow. Really depends on the sort of WMP files you're playing, but in most cases, I don't think it'll work acceptably (Macworld wasn't too impressed).

You could use VLC Media Player, which is free and compatible with a ton of media types, including WMA and WMV...there is also a native Mac version.

To the OP - it seems like you got a really, really good deal on that iBook. I'd hang on to it if I were you. The MacBooks seem to have quality issues, as do the MacBook Pros. Those iBooks, however, are built like tanks (although probably not quite as sturdy as the original clamshells). I can't imagine any reason why you'd NEED a top-spec MBP unless you're doing 3D modeling or animation or something on it.

rach · Apr 14, 2007, 10:40 AM

shifuimam thank you for your advice. I have been thinking about this and i will keep onto the iBook. I just installed a fresh OS today and it feels really fast to me even faster than before.
I think that if i really do want to seriously use XP for anything that i may consider getting a second hand Mac Mini from the USA.
I could maybe pick up a second hand Mac Mini Core Solo for about £200 or less and then i would have spent about £500 in all still cheaper than a MacBook in the UK.
If i do this i will have 2 computers to hand and i will also be able to use BootCamp properly for all my video files.

I have downloaded VLC now thanks for the link. That may work for some files but some files would only work directly through the latest WMP.

rach · Apr 15, 2007, 06:05 PM

Well i just bought myself one of these and i just have to build it up now.
AOPEN 91.8EX10.I9M MINI PC MP915-B DVD-RW ALUMINUM SILVER RETAIL
It was cheaper than a Mac Mini and i have most of the stuff at home already that i need to build it up.

I can use it as a media center now when i need to and plug it into my TV/Monitor or i can use Remote desktop.

mBurns · Apr 16, 2007, 07:41 PM

Hi Rach. I thought I'd poke my nose in and congragulate you on your new iBook! It's hard to get away from them, isn't it? :-P

On a serious note, do you miss your clamshell? I am still as productive as ever with it. I tend to choose to take it on small trips instead of my MacBook Pro. Mainly because, the MacBook Pro isn't nearly as durable. Sorry your experience with the MacBook Pro didn't work out for you. I'm running a 2.16 Ghz CD 15" rig over here. How was the C2D model? I haven't spent too much time with it.

(Sorry for going a little off-topic!)

rach · 06:08 AM

Hi mBurns i miss the Clamshell sometimes as i liked the design and colour of the one i owned. When i was looking to buy the iBook i looked at some Clamshell's but i went with a G4 because it is faster and has more scope.
I am still fond of them though and in the future who knows i may buy one again. It is good to read that you are still having fun with your Clamshell.

I had a good experience with my MBP C2D but not so much with the CD MBP that i first bought in March 06. The only reason why i sold my MBP was because i was thinking about getting a Santa Rosa MBP. I sold my MBP 15 inch 2.33 for £1,550 nearly all of what i paid for it back in March 06 (I got a replacement from Apple in November) and if i had waited i would find it hard to get that on it now. When models are refreshed the MBP's some of them i have seen being sold for just over half price on EBay now so i wanted to sell early and put that money back into getting a new MBP.
It was not that i needed anymore power is it was just that i hate seeing my money go down if that makes sense.

Originally Posted by mBurns

Hi Rach. I thought I'd poke my nose in and congratulate you on your new iBook! It's hard to get away from them, isn't it? :-P

On a serious note, do you miss your clamshell? I am still as productive as ever with it. I tend to choose to take it on small trips instead of my MacBook Pro. Mainly because, the MacBook Pro isn't nearly as durable. Sorry your experience with the MacBook Pro didn't work out for you. I'm running a 2.16 Ghz CD 15" rig over here. How was the C2D model? I haven't spent too much time with it.

(Sorry for going a little off-topic!)