Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

mBurns · Jun 30, 2006, 10:18 AM

I'm thinking about maybe getting an iBook instead of a MacBook because of the heat issues. I'm also going this direction because I need to run office. Do you think I'm crazy? Is the iBook going to become outdated real quick? If I would be buying an iBook, I would get the last revision. Right now I have a 1.42 GHZ g4 eMac and everything I throw at it works very quick for me!

Also, where can I get an iBook for cheap? I would suspect that there are some places trying to dump their stock. It can be new or refurbished, I don't mind. I just want to be able to buy Applecare since I heard that is a MUST with any Apple laptop. Also, do the iBooks run much cooler in the way that if you put it on your lap or touch it you're not going to be burned?

Thanks for your help!

amazing · Jun 30, 2006, 11:52 AM

You should check the refurb prices at the Apple Store (click on the Special Deals button midway down on the right.) You'll see refurb MacBooks eg the 1.83 for $949 vs a 12" 1.2 iBook for $719 and a 12" 1.33 for $799.

No question in my mind, I'd be getting the refurbed MB. Bigger faster HD (5400 vs 4200) built-in iSight (hoorah!) and so many other advantages as to be no comparison.

Anyway, those are the comparison prices that everything else should refer to.

If you don't mind waiting for rebates, you should go to macintouch.com and click on the links to the $100 amazon.com rebates, where you'll get a brand-new 1.83 MB for $1000 after rebate (8 weeks wait...)

uicandrew · Jun 30, 2006, 01:15 PM

www.macprices.com is a place that lists the prices of all macs. they are a nice gauge.

alternatively. if you're looking for an older ibook 14" ibook 933mhz, maxed out. a good friend of mine is selling his on ebay. no one has bid on it yet. he's had it for 2-3 years or so, and he's never had any problems with it, and never had to send it in back to apple. his auction is here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

if you're interested, i'm sure i can get him to lower the price a bit for you if you don't want to bother with ebay and buy it from him directly. or if you have an offer in mind, let me know and i'll contact him. he got me to switch from mac to pc, so he's knowledgable about macs and stuff.

nredman · Jul 3, 2006, 07:36 PM

apple store or smalldog.com

imitchellg5 · Jul 3, 2006, 07:46 PM

www.shrevesystems.com

skybolt · Jul 5, 2006, 10:58 AM

If you are anywhere near Nashville, the MacAuthority is selling iBooks for $325 - 369. You might be able to buy them online from them. They are refurbs, I think.

jaydon34 · Jul 5, 2006, 11:33 AM

Man get a macbook. It will run office a lil slower than your g4 because of emulation but its ready for the future as most apps will become universal. Or fugg MS office and use http://www.writely.com/

azncreazion · Jul 5, 2006, 02:43 PM

Yup here is their website:
http://macauthority.com

mBurns · Jul 5, 2006, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by azncreazion

Yup here is their website:
http://macauthority.com

Is this a reputable Mac seller? Have you ever had problems buying from them? Does anyone have any experience in buying a used/refurbished machine from MacAuthority? I called them up today but am a little skeptical about if the machine will break down or not..

iranfromthezoo · Jul 5, 2006, 03:23 PM

mBurns I took one of the iBooks home with me...they are all 12 iBook's with ranging from 400 mhz-900mhz computers. I played with the one i bought and really liked it. I would of course wouldn't get it if you were going to do anything heavy duty but for random iTunes, internet stuff it would be good...This is a tray loading ibook and it's cd rom only... I had problem's viewing videos with this computer also...would freeze up...I don't know if it would piss you off or not...I will never buy from MacAuthority again but that was because the people were very un friendly and seemed to want to sell something to you rather than let you figure out what you wanted yourself....they were also not helpful when it came to buying because they could not provide good valid reasons to get this mac over the other one...it may be have been the guy I was with...but the iBook's were decent but the service was crap...

I hope this review helps

mBurns · Jul 5, 2006, 05:50 PM

iranfromthezoo,

Which iBook did you buy from them? Who did you work with? With regards to the freezing, do you think that is a mechanical defect or what?

iranfromthezoo · Jul 5, 2006, 05:56 PM

I bought one of the iBooks for $369...it was a 900 mhz g3...it's a good computer...I am not sure of the guy that I worked with but he was generally rude...he was a heavy set guy...not sure if that would help...

about the video I am really not sure...it has 32mb video memory so I'm really not sure...I haven't really looked into it because I rarely run it...I believe it could possibly be a transfer defect...but I did play the office it was sluggish, I restarted the computer and the video was still the same...but again I also have to remember this thing came with 256 mb of ram...I am guessing only but I'm thinkin of uping the ram to see if that will work...

If you want a PowerMac G4 with a monitor, keyboard and mouse I can get it for you for $100...my company I work for is selling them...but I'm pretty sure you don't care

mBurns · Jul 5, 2006, 07:04 PM

Thanks for the offer. I'm just looking for a laptop though. Is using the internet very sluggish? Also, whenever you play a DVD it's sluggish?

RadarBob2 · Jul 5, 2006, 08:08 PM

got mine at www.macrestore.com. 6 mo guarantee and no questions asked return policy.

iranfromthezoo · Jul 6, 2006, 01:28 AM

internet is pretty swift...these computers do not come with a dvd player. not even a cd burner....

mBurns · Jul 6, 2006, 03:58 PM

RadarBob,

What condition was your iBook when you received it? Were the people good to deal with? I called MacAuthority and they were checking into some things for me and never called me back!

Dork. · Jul 6, 2006, 04:04 PM

It might be too late already, as the MacBooks have replaced the iBooks for quite some time. But Apple Stores usually have a low-key clearance sale on the last weekend of the month (but sometimes it's the first weekend, instead.) All they do is stack discontinued and refurbished items in a corner, and you have to ask if there's anything you want in the pile.

RadarBob2 · Jul 6, 2006, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by mBurns

RadarBob,

What condition was your iBook when you received it? Were the people good to deal with? I called MacAuthority and they were checking into some things for me and never called me back!

It was clearly used, but in very good condition. There is a bit of shinyness on the trackpad. Yes, they were very good to deal with. In fact I had a problem after 3 months and they fixed it very quickly - under warranty, so all I paid was shipping to them (not return).

skybolt · Jul 7, 2006, 10:51 AM

FWIW - I have bought all my macs and software, etc. from MacAuthority. I have NEVER had a bad experience there. Staff has always been friendly, and the one time I took my PB in for inspeciton, they did not even charge me. They are an authorized, exclusive mac reseller. They were the only game in Nashville until the Apple Store opened about a year ago. I would trust them completely. Of course, you need to be careful when buying refurbs so you know what you are getting. Know the specs you need, and what the specs are on the model you are thinking about buying.

mBurns · Jul 7, 2006, 03:58 PM

Thanks for the input skybolt. I may end up buying the iBook from them. I'm just a little dissapointed that they didn't call me back like they said the would. They seemed like nice people though. The other thing I'm worried about is the machine breaking down. I've never bought a used apple before and I heard the G3 iBook's had some major reliability problems. Should I make sure to go with a G4 or do you think they both have an equal chance of breaking down? I want a laptop that I can have for 3-4 years and it's only a second computer and doesn't have to be powerful. I just want to websurf, itunes, mail, and instant message on it. For any gaming, I'll use my eMac.

ChasingApple · Jul 8, 2006, 03:45 PM

head over to http://www.lowendmac.com and check the latest prices, they shop around for you and find the best prices. All the online retailers there can be trusted 100%.

Tarcat · Jul 8, 2006, 04:01 PM

I really wouldn't touch an iBook at this point. Much, much, much slower with a lesser screen and fewer features. And they haven't had that great a track record with logic boards, etc. I think the forum distorts your perception of problems. People with MacBook's that work aren't going to start threads about them and are a lot less likely to post or even look around the forum. Before buying each of my last several Mac's, these forums have had me paranoid about all kinds of problems. And they've all worked fine. My MacBook is no exception. It works perfectly and doesn't run hot.

Tarcat · Jul 8, 2006, 04:02 PM

Also, do the iBooks run much cooler in the way that if you put it on your lap or touch it you're not going to be burned?

That doesn't happen with a MacBook, or on my old iBook 600. The heat issues are really overblown on here.

mBurns · Jul 8, 2006, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by Tarcat

That doesn't happen with a MacBook, or on my old iBook 600. The heat issues are really overblown on here.

Thanks for the input Tarcat. I'm torn between the iBook and MacBook because I don't consider the MacBook that huge of an improvement to the iBook. I'm dissapointed with the integrated graphics. Also, I'm really only considering getting an iBook if I can get a good deal one one.

SLiMeX · Jul 8, 2006, 06:41 PM

Without sounding stupid about it, I have found some good deals on eBay as well as on craigslist.

ChasingApple · Jul 9, 2006, 04:35 AM

Get whatever your budget will afford, you cant go wrong with any modern mac

RadarBob2 · Jul 9, 2006, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by Tarcat

I really wouldn't touch an iBook at this point. Much, much, much slower with a lesser screen and fewer features. And they haven't had that great a track record with logic boards, etc. I think the forum distorts your perception of problems. People with MacBook's that work aren't going to start threads about them and are a lot less likely to post or even look around the forum. Before buying each of my last several Mac's, these forums have had me paranoid about all kinds of problems. And they've all worked fine. My MacBook is no exception. It works perfectly and doesn't run hot.

You know, if you go to your local Porsche repair shop and see all the cars up on lifts, parts lying all over the place you come to one conclusion - Porsche is crap. But of course it's one of the very finest cars on the road.

Macintosh comes w/ a 1 year warranty, extendable thru applecare. Don't worry, be happy.

mBurns · Jul 9, 2006, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by RadarBob2

You know, if you go to your local Porsche repair shop and see all the cars up on lifts, parts lying all over the place you come to one conclusion - Porsche is crap. But of course it's one of the very finest cars on the road.

Macintosh comes w/ a 1 year warranty, extendable thru applecare. Don't worry, be happy.

Amen to that.

Tarcat · Jul 9, 2006, 08:42 PM

"I'm torn between the iBook and MacBook because I don't consider the MacBook that huge of an improvement to the i"

You kidding? Look at any tests of speed. One is very snappy. One is very slow. The MacBook is a tremendous improvement because the Core Duo is a tremendous step up from the outdated G4 chip. My MacBook blows the doors off my iMac 1.8 G5. Windows open faster. Processor intensive tasks fly by. Programs like Pages and Firefox go faster. And the MacBook can run 1080p video without a hitch. My G5 iMac can't pull that off.

mBurns · Jul 9, 2006, 11:38 PM

Tarcat, my G4 eMac is more then adequate for everything I do. I only want an extra machine for web surfing and chatting on iChat and AIM. I just don't know if the difference between the MacBook and iBook is worth the extra cost for me..

ChasingApple · Jul 10, 2006, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by mBurns

Tarcat, my G4 eMac is more then adequate for everything I do. I only want an extra machine for web surfing and chatting on iChat and AIM. I just don't know if the difference between the MacBook and iBook is worth the extra cost for me..

For those things any iBook will suit you, even the original clamshell

Cucucachoo · Jul 10, 2006, 10:21 AM

I bought my g4 1.33 iBook from the referb stock on the apple website. I had a few glitches like the right speaker being blown and the restore disks wouldn't boot. But Apple fixed both with no problems and no questions asked.

If all your going to do is the normal email, internet stuff. Then if i were in your shoes i would save the cash for apple care and go with the g4 iBook.

Ryknow215 · Jul 10, 2006, 04:58 PM

mBurns: if you live close to a university, you may want to check out the university bookstore. I bought a brand new G4 iBook for $600. Many uni bookstores will sell computers at their listed price to price to anyone who comes in and won't cut deals exclusively to students.

Or, check their website. Any computers they have on clearance will be listed there. It's worth a look.

-r

belfast-biker · Jul 11, 2006, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by ChasingApple

For those things any iBook will suit you, even the original clamshell

After dropping oh, a few quid on a G4 Dual 450 a few days ago, I've fallen in lust wit the OS and want the clamshell as my next Mac for out in the garden. Yes, I'm serious. clamshells are the sexiest macs out.

I mean, how sexy is this? Don't like the look o fthe new mac portables at all, compared to this....

ChasingApple · Jul 12, 2006, 01:44 AM

Aint it purdy! I had a G3 466Mhz SE Graphite (the fastest) clamshell ibook once, it was by far my favoriite. The only thing, ONLY THING I didnt like about it was the 800x600 res screen. If it were 1024x768 I would have kept it forever!

discotronic · Jul 12, 2006, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by ChasingApple

Aint it purdy! I had a G3 466Mhz SE Graphite (the fastest) clamshell ibook once, it was by far my favoriite. The only thing, ONLY THING I didnt like about it was the 800x600 res screen. If it were 1024x768 I would have kept it forever!

I am right there with you. I still have a 300MHz clamshell that I just can't seem to part with. If I could get 1024x768 it would get used much more than it does now.

ChasingApple · Jul 12, 2006, 04:38 PM

I still look at the Clamshells as the best designed Apple computers ever, at number 2 would be the original iMac. There is something personable about those 2 machines. I was never a fan of the metal looking Powerbooks which is why I have never cared to buy one. I really wish Apple would once again bring us something different and unique like those again. The new iMac is 'OK', but I am really getting tired of white and silver. Cmon Apple give us the colors again!