Operating Systems > macOS
Buying an iBook (questions)
Pantso:
Indeed Zardoz they are shit hot. I just love my iBook :D
Calum, there is a long term benefit when buying an iBook and that has to do with the hardware. Remember that things hardware-wise are not what they seem when you come to compare a seemingly "slower" Mac to an x86-based computer. For example, I have used Linux on my 600MHz iBook and on a PIV and I can honestly say that Linux performed much better on the iBook.
Furthermore, the hardware works more harmoniously on any Mac. Now, when I wrote about Apple's upgrade cycles, I meant that Apple has the tendency of forcing its customers to upgrade every now and then. That's not bad of course as long as you don't have to pay for the updates. For example, inbetween major releases noone has to pay for any updates but then again when a major release comes out, like Panther in a few months time, one has to pay to get it.
Not only that, but Apple's software engineers tend to play a lot with the underlying BSD subsystem and change many things around, thus forcing those developers who port OSS and FS apps to OS X to adjust to that accordingly. Of course you can run other OSes on a Mac, like one of the BSDs like I mentioned, or a GNU/Linux distro. For example, I'll opt for OpenBSD since I'm a security paranoid but I could also run Debian GNU/Linux or Mandrake Linux (which btw supports the softmodem on the iBooks fully) just as easily.
All in all, the choice is yours to make Calum and I completely understand your worries about the cost, which compared to x86 computers is of course higher. Whatever you decision, I trust that it will a wise one
Calum:
i'm desperate to get a mac at some point but i think i will hold off till i can get a g4 as a secondhand machine in a year or two, and hopefully by then some more settling will have happened in the Darwin/OSX camp too.
In the meantime i think i've more or less decided to buy a compaq M300 with NO preinstalled OS (cheaper plus no pittance goes to you know who) and install the latest red hat or mandrake on it. the winmodem won't work though unless i install the linmodems driver or i can use a PC card modem like i did in the last laptop.
Thanks all round for your input guys, i think i'll wait till i want a desktop computer to buy a macintosh.
M51DPS:
My brother just got an iBook, works fine (900 Mhz, maxed out the ram to 640 MB). It came with Jaguar and the guy at the store said that if you buy AppleCare you can get the next three OS upgrades at, I think, either a large discount or free. He also got a Logitech optical mouse because he doesn't like trackpads. Of course there are rumors that all the laptops will be upgraded soon, but the iBook is still great.
billy_gates:
quote:Originally posted by Calum:
i'm desperate to get a mac at some point but i think i will hold off till i can get a g4 as a secondhand machine in a year or two, and hopefully by then some more settling will have happened in the Darwin/OSX camp too.
In the meantime i think i've more or less decided to buy a compaq M300 with NO preinstalled OS (cheaper plus no pittance goes to you know who) and install the latest red hat or mandrake on it. the winmodem won't work though unless i install the linmodems driver or i can use a PC card modem like i did in the last laptop.
Thanks all round for your input guys, i think i'll wait till i want a desktop computer to buy a macintosh.
--- End quote ---
I highly recommend waiting to get a G4. If you get a G4 you are guaranteed to be able to run OSX for at least the next 10 years. G3's may be phased out sooner. Now don't get me wrong... OSX keeps getting faster. Panther is screamin, the next OSX will probably be cheetah cus it will be so damn fast. But eventually the speed up thing will stop. As more and more people get G5's anf 4's. Apple will fade G3's out. So get a G4 and don't worry about software compatibility.
When it comes to running Linux apps on my mac I stick with Fink. However the only app I run is wget. Can't find any others that interest me. Good news about this. Panther has not changed the BSD enough so that fink does not work. I did not compile any source (all binaries) and it all works. I may look into darwin ports or the other one mentioned cus I want Gnome 2 and Fink doesn't have it yet.
So hold off until you can get a G4.... you can already get the old 15"er off ebay. But what I think I would do is wait for apple to upgrade their powerbooks (coming very soon). Run to a comp usa or something and see if they have any of the old ones left to sell on clearance. That is how I got my ibook.
You will never look back, I guarantee it.
jasonlane:
G4's are good, my everyday dev machine is a G4... There's some good deals to be had in London, If you're a student you might be able to shave more of the cost.....
Duh, I missed one of your posts. Good luck with the compaq M300, I'm sure it will serve you well for a year or two ;)
[ August 26, 2003: Message edited by: Zardoz ]
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version