PC user thinking about purchasing MAC Powerbook good idea or not?

shomz

shomz

Geek Trainee
Im not sure, if this is the right place to post this, but i am having trouble deciding on what laptop to purchase. I have a computer that I built a year ago that I use for Video editing, photoshop, webpage design and gaming. In the next couple of months I am going to purchase a laptop. I have been a windows user my whole life, but recently I have been drawn to the Apple Powerbook and Ibook computers. Ive been thinking about it what really draws me to them and its completly shallow, their looks. The sleek design, Silver or white color or could it be the fact that I want to be trendy, nevertheless I need help deciding if this is the right choice. I dont know much about Apple, hardware, or the OS. Anyway if you can persuade me why I shouldnt get an Apple or why I should your suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here is basically what my requirements: Also if you dont think i should get an Apple what other laptops would you suggest.

1 - Basic computing, word processing and web browsing.
2 - Under $1100 (way under if possible)
3 - Lightweight (if possible - My gf's weighs in at 12 lbs)
4 - Company or seller needs to have good customer support
5 - No HP models

Thanks
 
Your girlfriend weighs 12lbs eh?? Bet taking her out for a meal is really cheap :p

Well in terms of performance for money, you could get a very nice athlon 64 laptop for about 1000.

powerbooks from my experience, whilst look and are amazing, tend to be very expensive and they don't have a lot of grunt. Sure they are reliable though.

As you say if its only for the basics, then yeah, a powerbook would be a good idea, but you can get a much better laptop for similar prices. Depends how much you want the mac.
 
It comes down to preference. I haven't really delt with many laptops, but I'd say it's something you'd want to play with before you buy. One thing that increases cost is the weight of the laptop. Due to the smaller size available, you're going to find that the smaller units are generally higher than the bulkier ones. I think Macs are fine, and have been really excited about the upcoming Mini Mac, but I don't think I'd personally be jumping to the Mac over my current main box. OS X is unfamilar to me, so that'd take some getting used to. It's also different than past Mac OS version (9.x and below) both in the interface and what it's based off (it's very similar to *BSD, and related to the *nix OS's). I agree, the Mac laptops are pretty slick, but before shelling out that cash, I'd try it out first.

I haven't had issues with HP/Compaq when I've used there laptops, but that's very little experience. I've heard Dell has some decent laptops too, but I just haven't used them.
 
Im not 100% sold on the Mac's...A couple things ill definitly need to get used to the operating system(no right click) I basically just want something that is lightweight and wont overheat. My gf's Computer is an HP monster, I have had to fix it twice in the last year and it still has problems. Any experience with the Sony Vaio's, im told they overheat a lot, but are just as lightweight as the mac's. There is also the Dell inspirion(sp) they have one that is light weight...also Averatec makes a computer that looks like a mac silver design and all, but it looks like it was cheaply built...
 
shomz said:
Im not 100% sold on the Mac's...A couple things ill definitly need to get used to the operating system(no right click) I basically just want something that is lightweight and wont overheat. My gf's Computer is an HP monster, I have had to fix it twice in the last year and it still has problems. Any experience with the Sony Vaio's, im told they overheat a lot, but are just as lightweight as the mac's. There is also the Dell inspirion(sp) they have one that is light weight...also Averatec makes a computer that looks like a mac silver design and all, but it looks like it was cheaply built...
Click to expand...

I've got the silver Inspiron - the screen is better than expected... not the lightest version Dell makes, but so far no complaints. Just asked someone who works with both and gets annoyed at how often the Macs in the lab crash.... "They are different, both are probably good.... Mac people brag about theirs a lot, PC people don't" [not trying to start a Mac - PC flame war here, just passing on his experienced opinion]
 
I'm thinking about buying a MAC for my next PC very seriously for music recording and editing. I'm thinking of going laptop just because I want to carry it around and frankly I think the desktop verions are just flat out ugly. But money will be more of a factor than looks I guess. I want an iBook!
 
As far as operating systems go, I'll recommend any form of Unix over Windows. Since OSX, Mac's based on the Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD). Security and stability are much better than Windows, it can handle multi-tasking a lot better, and it's very simple to use.

Having said that, the hardware is costly since all of Apple's hardware is proprietary. For this reason, I personally prefer Linux. It has all the benefits of a Unix system, yet it's free and runs on inexpensive (PC-compatible) hardware. The only real downside is the learning curve. Still, my wife uses it, and she's not exactly a technophile. ;)

-AT
 
I'm leaning more towards the Mac, still not sure what the differences are between Powerbook (<---maybe its power!!) and Ibook but for basic word processing and internet, i dont need anything too crazy... I just want a stable system, that can do this. Im not sure of the speeds of the processor, but Im thinking I probably really only need less than 1ghtz. which im sure would cut my cost down. Does anybody know if the mac's work with linksys wireless?
 
Wireless is wireless, no matter who the hardware vendor is (in your case Linksys). It'll work fine with a Mac, as long as you get a Mac-compatible wireless adapter.
 
shomz said:
just thought i would add this to the discussion.

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/iProduct.gif

just for laughs...Dude your gettin a dell!!
Click to expand...
iProduct... :p reminds me of when everybody ran out & purchased Windows XP because it's the latest version, even though Windows 2000 is the same thing except cheaper and more stable. :rolleyes: Just like back in the ME days, when nobody seemed to notice it was just a horribly broken version of '98.

But back on topic... I do think Mac is a good way to go, and if all you're doing is Internet and word processing, you can get away with almost anything as far as hardware is concerned.
 
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