A few weeks ago, when I was getting ready to sell my PC for when I move overseas, I decided that it would be a good idea to get an iBook to take with me. The day the new G4 iBook’s came out, I ordered one.
I’ve owned PCs my entire computing life, but have used Macs a bit (I had a first generation iMac for a few months, kindly lent to me by my parents when I moved out of home, and I had a toilet seat iBook that I used for about two years), so I wasn’t completely unprepared. I had always been impressed with the hardware design, the software, and the accessories (I’ve owned an iPod for a little under two years), so I was pretty excited to finally own my own laptop, let alone a nicely designed iBook.
I ordered the 12″ G4 iBook, with the combo CD/DVD drive, and Airport Extreme wireless. The first thing I noticed was how small and light it was, as well as how nice it looked. The G4 iBooks are slightly whiter than their predecessors, and the keyboards look more like the Powerbook keyboards, but plastic instead of metal. Basically, they just look really nice.
They come with 1GHz or 1.2GHz processors, and can maxed out with 1.25GB of RAM. I didn’t add any RAM to my order because I was being cheap, but I definitely recommend doing so. It’s not that bad when I’m checking email, surfing the web, or using most programs, but when I’m using something slightly processor intensive like Photoshop it takes a while to chew through the tasks. That aside, I am totally 110% pleased with my new iBook.
For me, the best things about using a Mac are the programs. I have completely fallen in love with Safari, as a simple, clean-looking browser. The only thing that I wish I could do is set it to open all pages in new tabs, instead of new windows, by default.
I had used iTunes on my Windows computer to sync my iPod, but I never really liked it, probably because I was used to WinAmp classic. But now that I’ve used it on the Mac, I really, really love it. Once you have your music collection sorted and tagged nicely it is a really great program to use. The search feature is great, as are all the playlist options.
I just opened iCal for the first time today, and spent about 20 minutes adding birthdays, reminders, and appointments. You can set it up to not give you reminders when iCal is closed, but I think that’s one of the great things about it. Address Book works with iCal in some regards, and is also a great little application. And I can sync them both with my iPod!
Other applications I recommend:
Quicksilver: indexes your files to be easily accessed by pressing alt+space and the first few letters of the name of the file or application
iChat Status: sends the name of what’s playing in iTunes through iChat
Adium: a multi-protocol chat client, similar to Trillian for Windows, but in my opinion, better than Proteus and Fire
Konfabulator: adds “widgets” to your desktop, like weather, time, Airport status, etc.
NetNewsWire Lite: RSS news feed reader – very simple and lovely to use
Nicecast: streams your iTunes playlists from your computer, or to a Shoutchast or Icecast server
Meteorologist: a widget to add the weather to your status menu
MenuCalendarClock: another widget to use instead of the standard OSX clock. It comes with a nice dropdown calendar and works with iCal.
I really didn’t think I’d fall in love with my new laptop quite as much as I have. It is the best laptop I’ve ever used, and switching from Windows to OSX is nothing but wonderful. I seriously do not want to use a Windows PC again!
I think you’re making Bill Gates cry
Gary, I’d suggest using something with a barb for that purpose.
Congrats on the iBook Ani, I am still in the starving period…
You want to check out Carbon Copy Cloner, MacJanitor, TinkerTool & uControl. And iVolume.
congrats! i want to get a mac for college, osx is really sexy.
Goddamn you! I’m about to buy a laptop and am extremely torn between Windows and Mac. The only thing really holding me back is that there’s some programs I really need to use on Windows which don’t have Mac equivalents, but I could always use that Windows emulator, couldn’t I? … couldn’t I?
What programs are they?
No, do NOT use Virtual PC.. it has to be the slowest shit ever made. Just letting you know.
Welcome back from the dark side! I am surprised to hear the new toy struggles a tad with Photoshop….what version?
I think it’s CS. It just needs a bit more than 256MB RAM.
Actually, you know the major thing holding me back from Mac-dom? The fact that the OS is really mouse-driven. I’m so used to flying around Windows with keyboard shortcuts, I barely touch the mouse at all. Things like not being able to open and browse any of the menus on the OSX toolbar like you can with Windows would just get me frustrated. Ugh, and stupid things like Safari not highlighting the entire URL when you click on the address bar. Why else would you be clicking on it? Lo, I fear I’m condemned to Windows for life purely out of habit. Not that I’m necessarily happy about it.
Oh.. my other half just told me he can possibly get a Powerbook that fell from the back of a truck for au$500. Hmm! Well, when you put it that way..
Jeb…
You can do everything in Mac OS X from the keyboard by checking the box “Turn on full keyboard access” in the Keyboard & Mouse pref pane (under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.
To highlight the entire URL in safari, click the EDGE of the address field. Clicking the actual text of the url will put the cursor at that point which is handy when you need to modify the url by hand.
Jeb, I had that same thought but quickly learned that you can just as easily fly around OS X using just the keyboard. Some things are easier with OS X, and some things are easier with Windows. But on the whole, I am much happier using my Mac. And after using Expose for awhile, I find myself missing it and frustrated when I’m on XP at work.
Also, you can hit command-L to highlight the entire URL in Safari. If Safai gets ‘type-ahead find’ (like Firefox), it will become my default browser.
after you learn four or five different OS’s, it all looks about the same…. I personally avoid liking computers for one reason or another…I just use them..