I am in the market for a new/refurb notebook in the 6-700 dollar range... I have a friend pushing me to get a Mac but I have never used one. Im thinking I am leaning towards the IBM Thinkpad...what do you guys think...

pros cons warnings... am I just being a chicken with the apple...

first thing to do is ask yourself what you want it for. what are you going to do with it? what does it need to be capable of?

Do you need to run programs that only run in a windows environment? How much horsepower do you need to run the things you need to? What type of media does it need to be able to handle?

first figure out what you need it for, then find something that will fit those needs :)

it is primarily just for music download, storage, surfing and photo storage, personal finance, cd-r and would like it to have a dvd drive. It is gonna replace my sad compaq desk top.

I always have laptops foisted on me at various jobs; been using them for years but I stick with a tower at home. Here's what I would consider if I had to buy a laptop for myself:
How heavy is it? Gotta drag the beast around.
How likely is it that you'll want to upgrade it? It's kinda hard to slam more memory into a l-t.
Does it have the user features you want and need? I love a touchpad for a mouse; older IBMs don't have that. Do you need a floppy disk drive in addition to a CD drive? Do you want DVD support?
How long until you decide that you MUST be able to connect to the Internet while sitting on your porch, without the clutter of wires? If that could be this spring, think about a newer machine that supports a wireless connection with ease.
How much battery life do you think you'll need? My IBMs ate battery time fast.
And of course, there's the usual techie stuff to consider - hard drive, processor, memory. I think Yahoo has a good buying guide on its shopping site.
I've had both IBMs and Dells, and had trouble with them both. Dell actually fixed the problem by replacing the entire motherboard, foc. Neither IBM ever worked right for me, and nothing IBM did to fix it worked.

jjenisis wrote:it is primarily just for music download, storage, surfing and photo storage, personal finance, cd-r and would like it to have a dvd drive. It is gonna replace my sad compaq desk top.

2 words: Mac Mini.

Sure, it ain't a laptop, but it is a nicely powerful computer that's about the size of a stack of 5 cd cases and it's WELL within your price range. You won't even have to buy an new monitor. Hell, I'm thinking about getting one and relegating my main WindowsXP computer to strictly gaming.

If you are worried about never having used a Mac before, it's really not that big of a deal. Apple has gone through great pains to make it's operating systems some of the easiest, if not the easiest, to use. Plus, most of your typical software companies make Mac versions of their software, or there is an equivalent piece of software out there.

Got photos? iPhoto (comes with the machine)
Got music? iTunes (again, comes with the machine)
Got dates? iCal (very much like Outlook's calendar features, but better. ...and again, comes with the machine)
Got file sharing? http://www.mac-p2p.com
Got money? the most fetid evil in the known universe Money, Quicken, and Turbotax all have Mac versions.

Here's a good place to start for looking into the software available if you are curious about switching.

You also mentioned that you would like a cd-r and possibly a dvd drive? One of the options on the Mac Mini is Apple's superdrive. It's a CD-RW/DVD+-RW (it'll burn both CDs and DVDs).

Okay...enough of my Mac-vangelism.

As far as laptops go, I'd go with an Apple or a Dell (if you don't want to make the switch). Toshibas are a big no-no and IBMs....well...they're alright. Anything else in the laptop world is pretty much asking for trouble, in my experience.

Apple offers the superdrive on it's laptops as well, and I think Dell has an equivalent drive on their systems too. I can't really recall....even though I used to work for them.....shut up.....stupid memory

If you have any questions about switching to Apple or their software or systems or anything like that, I'd be happy to help. I also know that there are at least 2 certified (or is it certifiable) Mac Addicts in the Knox crowd. I'm sure they'd help you out too.

I LOVE my sony vaio.

Macs make me crazy, but 10 billion mac cult members can't be wrong. I think its the mac fans that keep me from liking Macs, just like tori amos fans kept me away for so long.

They are fucking rabid.

I have to say. I am an extreme PC fan. I love x86 hardware with all my body... But one of my co-workers brought in his Mac Mini last week, and I so fucking want one. It's so freaking cute. It's smaller than my Gamecube. It has a 1.25Ghz processor, wireless, 512MB RAM, and a combo drive. As far as OSX goes, it's nice looking. And since it's built on BSD, it's got some *nix stability. If you plan on buying a laptop just for internet, word processing, and image editing, a Mac or a PC should be able to fill your needs. It's really just a matter of preference as to what you want to work with.

Ok this seems to be in my budget but what I want to know is I know what I can do with the pc but what can I NOT do with the apple as far as programs..are most of them compatible...If I should want to play games on this machine will that be a problem.

Apple iBook Notebook M8602LL/A (700-MHz PowerPC G3, 128 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive)
Features:

700 MHz PowerPC G3
128 MB SRAM
20 GB Hard Disk
CD-RW: 24x (read), 8x (write); DVD-ROM: 8x;
Mac OS X
Mac OS X,Mac OS 9.2,Quick Time,iPhoto,iTunes 2,iMovie 2,AppleWorks,the most fetid evil in the known universe IE
12.1 inch active-matrix display
4.9 pounds
USB Ports: 2
FireWire Ports: 1
S-Video Out Ports: 1
NTSC/PAL Ports: 1
Modem: 56 Kbps
Network Connection: 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
VGA Video Out Ports: 1

Nephilim
thank you for all the info...the only problem I have with the mini is it isnt quite as mobile as ta conventional notebook. Although the fact that it comes with dvd rw is a major bonus.

Okay...enough of my Mac-vangelism

heh you sound like my friend...although if I go with a mac I cant give him a hard time anymore

How do I know if it has wireless internet capabilities...I guess that could be added later?

Buttercup wrote:I LOVE my sony vaio.

Macs make me crazy, but 10 billion mac cult members can't be wrong. I think its the mac fans that keep me from liking Macs, just like tori amos fans kept me away for so long.

They are fucking rabid.

hahaha I think that is where most of my hesitence is coming from ...I just cannot let myself go with the flow

If you plan on playing alot of games, you should definitely go PC. All games are pretty much made for PC, and if the developer feels there is enough market, they will port it to OSX.

An iBook, cool.

Alright, I guess I'll start from the bottom. For wireless, you will want to get an Airport card (that's what Apple calls their wireless cards). You can order iBooks with them pre-installed and they are compatible with any 802.11b wireless network. If I recall correctly, the Airport Extreme cards are 802.11b and 802.11g, but I'm not sure, you can check the Apple website if you want to know for sure.

As for games, well while not every PC game shows up for Mac there are an awful lot of games out for the Mac. Here's a place to start for that. You can always do a Google search for "Mac games" and find plethora of links.

Most of the major game releases usually come out with a Mac version. However you will want to keep in mind that any laptop (unless you are paying out the ass for a top of the line model) isn't going to be able to handle the cutting edge games very well at all.


Now for your programs. You will want to keep in mind that for some programs you will need to buy (or download an evaluation version *wink**wink*) the Mac version. For the most part you don't get both verions on the same CD (there are very few RARE exceptions). If you can give me some idea of what programs you use the most I can be more definitive with my answer.

Neph is doing a good job on selling the Mac.... I just wanted to add that if you do go the PC route, buy a DELL, and get the service plan....

Sir Diddimus wrote:Neph is doing a good job on selling the Mac.... I just wanted to add that if you do go the PC route, buy a DELL, and get the service plan....

Thanks

I agree. If you do get a Dell, get the LONGEST service plan they offer. If you can afford it, get the complete care plan. That way, if you (or a pet) dumps a drink on it, or you drop it out of a second story window, or it gets used in hand-to-hand combat, it will be covered.

jjenisis wrote:Ok this seems to be in my budget but what I want to know is I know what I can do with the pc but what can I NOT do with the apple as far as programs..are most of them compatible...If I should want to play games on this machine will that be a problem.

Apple iBook Notebook M8602LL/A (700-MHz PowerPC G3, 128 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive)
Features:

700 MHz PowerPC G3
128 MB SRAM
20 GB Hard Disk
CD-RW: 24x (read), 8x (write); DVD-ROM: 8x;
Mac OS X
Mac OS X,Mac OS 9.2,Quick Time,iPhoto,iTunes 2,iMovie 2,AppleWorks,the most fetid evil in the known universe IE
12.1 inch active-matrix display
4.9 pounds
USB Ports: 2
FireWire Ports: 1
S-Video Out Ports: 1
NTSC/PAL Ports: 1
Modem: 56 Kbps
Network Connection: 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
VGA Video Out Ports: 1

Nephilim
thank you for all the info...the only problem I have with the mini is it isnt quite as mobile as ta conventional notebook. Although the fact that it comes with dvd rw is a major bonus.

Okay...enough of my Mac-vangelism

heh you sound like my friend...although if I go with a mac I cant give him a hard time anymore

How do I know if it has wireless internet capabilities...I guess that could be added later?

Okay I as most of you know am a rabid mac fan!
I had the computer you just listed until 2 weeks ago. I for one would not buy that particular puter... now heres why

During the time I owned that ibook i had the track pad go out no less than 5 times. Apple has a repair extension recall on that model for video logic board failure. I don't know how long they will continue to honor that recall. If it hasn't been done yet, (they won't fix it till it fails) I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot cattle prod. When mine was returned to me from the apple repair center when my logic board failed it came back with a new free upgraded CD-R drive that would not properly eject and track pad not working agin... back to apple for more repairs... back and everything worked for about 2 weeks and track pad out again....

Now the good part, when I called apple AGAIN about problems they offered to replace it with a BRAND NEW ibook G4 1.2gig hrtz. - NO COST TO ME! In fact ehy are refunding me the remainder of my extended warrenty off the old computer. The New iBook will have 1 year warrenty with the ability to purchase the 2 year extended warrenty any time in the next year! Which I WILL do!

Other than the repair issues I had I loved that ibook and am looking forward to having my new one which should be here in the next three days. Apple giving me a new computer has completely restored my faith in their customer service. How many computer compainies would OFFER to replace a 2 1/2 year old computer with a brand new one at no cost to me. If you buy an ibook get one you can still get the extended apple care on AND BUY IT! Apple takes care of it's customers. And the apple care will pay for itself if you have even one problem out of your computer.

as to airport cards the g3 ibook will not take the current airport extreme card. You would have to buy the older model airport card off e-bay, or buy it as a service part from an apple dealer, as apple no longer has them available through their website. The G4s currently come with the airport extreme card in the computer (another unexpected upgrade that is coming with my new iBook, YAY!)

Yes I will continue to buy exclusively mac. Despite the headaches I had with my last one. Apple has made it right for me, and customer service means a lot to me, aside from the fact that IMHO apple builds a superior computer to any other manfacturer out there. Hell, I have Macs that are almost 17 years old that still working perfectly.

As to games, there are plenty of great games that do run on OSX, but if I feel a huge need for games.... I'll buy a PS2

on a side note:
While tracking my new iBook from Apple I have decided to call it "TARDIS"
As I paid for a few upgrades (bigger Hard Drive and BlueTooth interal install) they custom built it for me in Shanghai. and shipped it from there. It seems that my new iBook has mastered time/space.

UPS tracking wrote:
Jan 27, 2005
11:30 P.M. ANCHORAGE, AK, US - DEPARTURE SCAN
10:10 P.M. SHANGHAI, CN - DEPARTURE SCAN
4:11 P.M. SHANGHAI, CN - EXPORT SCAN
12:37 P.M. ANCHORAGE, AK, US - ARRIVAL SCAN

In otherwords it arrived in Anchorage Alaska almost 9.5 hours before it left Shanghai China. Gotta Love datelines and time zones

Now if I can just find an english police booth icon to replace my hard drive desktop icon with.

So you gonna tell us what you got, or do we have to speculate?

heh yeah Im still playing the ebay game

The Macs are a bit pricier than I had planned on paying...but I am a patient grasshopper...am currently bidding for a G4, 256RAM 50 GIG

Well, you're going to get a MUCH better computer with the Mac.

If you want new, the base iBook starts at $999, but you're getting built in FireWire, wireless networking, ethernet, USB 2.0, and you're getting an operating system that combines the power of UNIX with the ease of use that has always defined Macintosh.

The Mac will hold its value longer, and just work better.

And remember, you can run your windoze software on the Mac - but you're not going to run Mac software on windoze. The few attempts to make it work have been garbage.

If you're going to be using it for music, iTunes is the industry standard, and it runs best on Macintosh.

For working with photos, iPhoto is included, and is better than ANYTHING in windoze for organizing photos, and PhotoShop has always worked better on the Mac.

The iBook includes Quicken for your personal finances.

The standard configuration includes a combo drive, which will burn CDs and read DVDs.

It also comes standard with AppleWorks, which includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, drawing utility, and presentation software. It can read and export word's .doc files, as well as several other formats.

I'm not sure if this is a Good Thing™, or a Bad Thing™ when considering a purchase... but as of this time, the vast majority of my 's are now hosted on a mac.