I was hoping to get some advice from the mac users around here. I am thinking about geting a Powerbook G4 to replace my crappy HP notebook. I have been doing a little bit of research but cant really find out the practicle differences between using a mac vs. PC. After my experience with my current unstable notebook a powerbook is pretty attractive. 1) when they say windows compatable does it mean you can install windows based software or just that you can transfer files like word docs? 2) I have never used a Mac before after many years of using a PC. Are there any concerns i should have? Thanks
I have an ibook, and an older dell notebook. The only problem I used to have was printing from my ibook to a shared printer on the network, but that soon got cleared up. The transferring of files is not too bad of a process. Microsoft Office on Macs is pretty nice, Safari is a reason itself to switch. And you have to love the plug and play compatibility. I plug in my friends ipod/ camera and they all sync up within secs
I use PC's and Mac's both. My wife and I have a 15" powerbook. I like it a lot. As long as you have the MS Word package for Mac you'll be ok. Otherwise there won't be a word processing program for you to use. It will also come with I-life 04 which is a program that makes DVD's, stores photos, mp3's and even create your own music if you use Garage Band. The I-life programs are pretty simple to use and come out very decently. They aren't professional quality movies, like you would get with Final Cut Pro, but it's way easier and looks great.
1. The vast majority of major software packages - Office, Photoshop, etc - have Mac versions. The one's that don't usually have compatible options - Microsoft makes Entourage for Mac instead of Outlook. There are also tons of Mac software titles that replace basic PC tasks. For those you cannot run on OS X, you can run them on Virtual PC. It sets up an environment that allows you to run any version of Windows on a Mac. However, I rarely use it. 2. Mac's are MUCH easier to use and configure than PC's, particularly with OS X. And because OS X is built out of a Unix-based system, lots and lots of developers have begun creating software that works with Mac. Because of the Unix shell, you can even run MySQL and PHP directly on your machine which is handly for developers. Generally speaking, if you aren't doing something VERY specfic that requires the use of a PC (Auto-CAD for example), you should really love your Mac. You can get just about any piece of software for it you can for the PC and it is just a lot easier to use and far less buggy than Windows. The only thing that PC really has over Mac in terms of the average user is gaming. PC's make much better video game machines than Macs and there are more titles available. But, unless you are a really avid gamer, you'll never know the difference.
Thanks for the responses, It sounds like i could just get the mac version of Word/office and i wouldnt notice any problems with software copatability. I rarely play games and i have a fairly powerful desktop to do that anyways. However i just found a huge disadvantage for me. My school lets us take our finals on laptop and the exam software isnt compatable with Mac. Its one of those programs that locks out you computer so you cant cheat and doubt it could be run in virtual windows.
Just buy a Laptop for exam week and return it within 15 days... Worth it to get the MAC. If you have the money
Virtual PC does a VERY good job. It is literally virtual hardware, not just software emulation. You may have to get a separate IP address for the virtual machine, but otherwise it is indistinguishable from an actual PC. Having said that, for the ~$100 VPC costs, you could also get a junk PC which you would only use for the exam software
Thanks, If i end up geting one i will probally keep my old laptop around to take the tests. As of now im still debating about whether to make the investment. My old laptop isnt completly out of date it just that I dont really like it.
One last question. Is the office substitute (not sure of the name) that typically comes preinstalled compatable with PC based Word, excel and powerpoint documents?
I think AppleWorks comes installed and you can export to Word and Excel. The Mac version of Power Point is called Keynote and is not included with OS X. Personlly, I'd just get Office X. They have a new version coming out this year that looks killer. Entourage is a GREAT mail program that comes with Office and you just can't beat Word.
Thanks again Jeff, I think i will end up buying Office X if i end up geting one since word processing will be the primary use. I need to be able to access my notes i have taken in word XP so this seems to be the only route. Fortunatly since i am still a student it isnt as expensive. The only thing is I kind of hate buying a software package when one is comming out later this year. The more i read about the powerbooks the more i seems they are the best notebooks on the market. Very stable and very vast. Also how annoying is it to use a one button mouse /touchpad after many years of using 2 button. I seems like it would be really annoying at first.
It is. I still haven't gotten used to it. BTW, I'm looking for a laptop, too, but I can't do without a PC laptop - I love the platform too much and have mucho work-related stuff I need a PC for. I still thought about getting a Powerbook, but man those things are expensive. Did you try looking for any refurbished models from Apple's site? You may be able to save some bucks going that route. Good luck.
Apple works comes preinstalled on all macs. It sucks. It says it can read Word files, etc. Baloney, its crap. I have to save my files as .html, and open them on my PC, and vice versa. Get Office for your Mac, worth it. Keynote is decent, Apple works has a presentation software, but it is worse than the word processer in comparison to the Microsoft version DoD, The one button mice are annoying, but the right click is easily replicated by keeping control pressed while clicking.
Why are you guys still using one-button mice???? Macs can use mult-button mice now just like PC's. I have a Kensignton mouse with 4 buttons and a scroll wheel/button. I LOVE it. And, it is TOTALLY programmable, so I can have different click combinations do different things in different software. It's awesome and it only cost me $20. So, not to worry, you don't have to be stuck with a one-button mouse even on a laptop. Just grab you a cheap multi-button USB mouse and plug it into the laptop USB port and you are in business.
I forgot to add one problem I have with my Mac. On a PC keyboard there is a backspace, and then the delete key removes the character in front of the cursor. It's nice. Mac, only has the backspace function. Delete works that way. I know it's minor, but if you are use to using both keys it can be a pain. The other to watchout for with Macs are that they change their OS faster, and are quicker to have new programs not compatible with an older OS.
Sorry to keep pestering you guys with questions One last concern than i can think of is that the 1gig G4 seems like it would be extremly slow. My HP notebook has a 1gig athalon and i purchased it back in dec 01. I realize they probally benchmark better than P4's of equivalent speeds due to different archatecture but the low number is almost scaring me off. Does anyone have a guess as to how a 1gig G4 would compaire to modern intel P4's. Thanks,
