Macbook, PowerBook or iBook?

Hi,

I have a question and I need to buy a new laptop in the spring for school.

I've seen people have Macbook or whatever.

Which one is good for me? Macbook or Powerbook or Ibook. I want your opinion on it.

Thanks.
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Comments

  • Get a new or used MacBook, being able to run Windows at full speed (natively through Boot Camp or virtualized through Parallels) definitely is worth it. If you are doing any games or graphics/video editing then you will want a MacBook Pro for the graphics chip. Typed on a 17" MacBook Pro image
  • I bought a macbook pro that I use for music and video editing and it was one of the best decisions i made
  • I agree with the above posts. If you're going for a laptop, the Macbook is the way to go.



    I do all my designing on a Mac Mini at home and a Powermac G4 at work. I commend you for going mac. image



    The newer macs with the intel chips are amazing. They run Windows just as well as any PC can.
  • What's a Mac? Isn't that a burger of some sort? image
  • If you're just doing basic school stuff, the MacBook is the way to go. If you're going to do stuff like a lot of video editing, serious Photoshop, games, etc., go with the MacBook Pro. By the way, the iBook is now the MacBook, PowerBook is now the MacBook Pro. Names changed when they switched over to the intel chips.
  • is the windows very good on the Macs now? I dont know anything about them but have been wanting to get one for some time... are all the bugs worked out of the windows software? thats been the only thing holding me back...
  • Hogie-


    From my experience, and as a former Apple employee, boot camp works great but the other options aren't as good. Boot camp runs windows just like any other computer would; you wouldn't know the difference except that the hardware has an Apple logo on it. The drawback is you have to reboot the computer to run windows. Since boot camp is included in the current operating system, all you have to have is your own Windows CD to get things going. The other stuff, like Parallels, lets you run windows at the same time (and it's pretty cool if you have dual monitors, you can set one as windows, the other as mac). Not all the drivers are 100% on Parallels, though, and I've heard of some other issues. Plus it's a huge memory hog.

  • There will never be any Windows software with "all the bugs worked out." image



    As far as it running on a Mac, it's as flawless as it would be running on a PC.
  • get a dell laptop. They are the best. And screw macos. put linux or freebsd on it or just stick with windows. If you want to photoshop shit then get a mac image
  • Thanks all!

    Now I've decided what to get.

    Thanks for the opinion and stuff,
  • Cool, what are you getting? Let us know when you've got it - I played around with Leopard (the new operating system, 10.5) a couple days ago and was really impressed. Also, if you're new to Macs, my experience has been that people will be pretty frustrated for a week or two until they get out of the Windows mindset, then they generally like it much better, so hang in there if you're annoyed at first image
  • I've been wanting to get a new laptop and am thinking of getting my first Mac in the form of the new aluminum Macbooks....I guess to have to spend around $1500. Anyone get one of these yet? Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated.
  • My advice would be to save a lot of money and not get sucked in by Apple's flashy marketing. There is nothing you can do on a Mac that you can't do on a PC, at least if you're computer literate.
  • ^ I think the same of their Ipod, Iphone and other slick merchandise. Anything they release, the imitators are always hot on their heels. And they're usually cheaper and more functional.
  • Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

    There is nothing you can do on a Mac that you can't do on a PC, at least if you're computer literate.

    I must be too computer illiterate to get a virus then  image

    No other company has a 17" laptop close to the small size and weight of the MacBook Pro (but that is much more than your $1500 range).  Other than the general ease of use from not having to deal with Windows, you really do get what you pay for with their laptop hardware.  I hate the new glossy screens everyone is using now tho!  
  • Well, from what I recall, after Apple used the lack of viruses as an advertising tool, a few spiteful hackers made sure that the Macs have a selection of viruses all their own.



    Personally, I hate 17" laptops. If I want a screen that size, I'm sitting at a desk, and will spring for 20"+. If I want to use a laptop I need something that is portable. To me a worthwhile laptop needs to be less than 5 lbs and preferably less than 3 lbs. Otherwise it's a luggable.
  • Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

    Well, from what I recall, after Apple used the lack of viruses as an advertising tool, a few spiteful hackers made sure that the Macs have a selection of viruses all their own.



    There are currently exactly zero MacOS X viruses in the wild.  There are a couple trojans, but all those require you manually opening the program then enter in your admin password.  No system can protect against that and they are not able to spread to other computers.
  • Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

    Well, from what I recall, after Apple used the lack of viruses as an advertising tool, a few spiteful hackers made sure that the Macs have a selection of viruses all their own.


    Please enlighten me on the selection of viruses that are exclusive to a Mac.
  • Apple makes designer electronics. Nothing wrong with buying them, just be prepared to pay a lot more for the name.
  • http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html



    here is one from 2006, that is considered a worm rather than a trojan horse.


    EDIT to add:  Also, if you run Windows on your x86 Mac then you are just as vulnerable to everything out there that targets PC users.  You're only secure using Mac OS because of its relative obscurity.
  • I guess thats getting into semantics, still requires the user to download/decompress/run the worm/trojan and then enter in the admin password. Certainly not a virus. Thanks for finding only one from almost 3 years ago image



    I run WinXP in Parallels, which means it is virtualized and runs in its own sandbox. A virus could take out the entire Win hard disk, but because that is just a file to the Mac side absolutely nothing will happen there. And because I run automated Time Machine backups I can just recopy that file from the hour/day/week before the virus hit instead of reinstalling everything. The Windows install only gets an internet connection when a business app needs it so I have mostly avoided that problem. Same can't be said for my physical Windows box... image For people who run Windows with BootCamp the Mac disk partition is unreadable by Windows, so a Windows virus cannot alter the Mac side.



    The obscurity explanation fails with the number of pre MacOS X viruses. With a similar or smaller market share there were some viruses for classic MacOS. There are also about the same number for Linux with its <1% market. Have the virus makers just decided to be nice and leave MacOS X completely alone, giving up ~10% when they successfully attacked MacOS before, or does the system design with things like privilege levels missing in Windows make it too hard to bother trying?
  • Well, I don't mean to get into a deep debate on this topic. Quite honestly, with adequate protection running in Windows I've never had a problem. The vast majority of people who get a virus are the low hanging fruit that is willing to do something stupid like download and install suspicious programs either from the web or through email.



    Regardless, I personally feel that Apple products are a waste of money. Their sleek product design is matched by other manufacturers, if that is what is important to you. I just can't justify the premium for anything else that their products offer.
  • macbook no question
  • save yourself some money and compatibility issues and get a PC. yeah apples are flashy and don't get viruses really, but if you don't do stupid crap on the net , you won't get viruses on a PC either, and you'll save yourself a ton of cash and be able to use just about any program easily.
  • If your scarred of viruses, you can always install Linux.. its free! Honestly though, I havent had a virus in years, and when I did get one, it was because I was at shady sites, downloading pirated stuff, my free AVG virus software caught it as soon as it appeared and healed it instantly. If your downloading from a source that has viruses, they also have other dangerous things such as key loggers. A mac doesnt make you safe from the dangers of the internet.. If your not using your PC responsibly, your taking risks no matter what OS you have, and its really an invalid argument. I wouldnt mind getting a mac to play a bunch of old mac games, though I used to do that on a mac emulator anyway.
  • Originally posted by: dragonlunch

    ...they also have other dangerous things such as key loggers. A mac doesnt make you safe from the dangers of the internet..

    Which also requires admin access to install on MacOS X.  Separating the user level from installing system level hooks solves an amazing number of problems.  Exactly why Microsoft added the UAC to Vista.  Got any actual dangers?
  • As you pointed out it can be stopped on Macs running OS X, as well as PCs running Vista and even XP if you set it up. But on older operating systems, not so much, on either platform.



    The same dangers as you would face on any PC, you could face on a mac, if your messing around in dangerous places. If your not being intelligent using your PC, there are a whole slew of ways bad people can get your credit cards or whatever they want. Example: you sign up for a Warez forum. The owners of that sight take your login information and do dirty things. Also im not sure exactly how things run on OS X, but key loggers dont have to be installed, they can simply be run. Macs can also be hacked just like a PC. The dangerous part about a computer is not the OS, its the person controlling it.. if your gonna be dumb, you can damage it all by yourself, by doing any number of things that you shouldnt. Same goes with getting viruses. Viruses dont just appear out of thin air, you have to do something dumb to contract them. Again there is alway Linux, which is free, and is compatible with the cheapest hardware.
  • I think the danger of Mac users creating deadly smug clouds is very real... image
  • Originally posted by: dragonlunch

    If your not being intelligent using your PC, there are a whole slew of ways bad people can get your credit cards or whatever they want. Example: you sign up for a Warez forum. The owners of that sight take your login information and do dirty things. 

    I signed up here, does Dain now have my credit card info?  image  Gonna have to be a bit more specific than "dirty things"...






    Originally posted by: dragonlunch

    Also im not sure exactly how things run on OS X, but key loggers dont have to be installed, they can simply be run. 

    In Windows they can simply be run because user apps have too much access to system processes.  A user level dll can be inserted to grab keyboard events before they hit the application layer.  In a securely designed system that cannot be done.  It isn't obscurity, it is thoughtful design.


  • Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

    I think the danger of Mac users creating deadly smug clouds is very real... image


    Just wait until someone makes an in dash Mac for the Prius!  image
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