“With so much talk about the iPod these days, one could almost forget that Apple still makes peppy, eye-appealing computers. Fortunately, they still do, and I recently had the opportunity to coddle one of their new iBook G4 laptops,” Brett Burney writes for The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“Portable Apples come in two flavors – the affordable and friendly iBooks, and the higher-end PowerBooks. If you’re a student or average computer user, the iBook G4 provides plenty of power packed in an elegant, white, ultratough polycarbonate plastic shellm” Burney writes. “Apple’s operating system (Mac OS X) is extremely intuitive. Granted, it does take a bit of getting used to if you are a Windows user, but switching can be surprisingly smooth. Since I am a big ‘right-clicker’ in Windows, I did have to get used to the single button on the iBook. This wasn’t hard at all, but I eventually plugged in an external mouse with two buttons (and a wheel) that installed and worked perfectly.”
“The iBook G4 laptops ship with a tremendous amount of useful software, including Safari (Internet browser) and the incredible iLife suite, which includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand,” Burney writes. “If the iBook is the rocket, then iLife is the fuel that empowers you to organize, manipulate and create digital music, photos and movies. Without any training, I was able to comfortably combine images and music into an impressive QuickTime movie.”
Burney writes, “You’ve undoubtedly heard the interminable debate between Windows and Apple users. And while I’m not trying to take sides, I was thoroughly delighted with the iBook and Max OS X. The vast majority of computer users in today’s world work on Windows-based machines, but I see how an Apple can become your primary computer.”
Full article here.
More information about easily adding an Apple Mac OS X machine to your computing arsenal here.
“…I see how an Apple can become your primary computer.”
I’ve done it. I bought this here G3 PowerBook on the 20th anniversary in January, and I haven’t looked back.
Me too! Got an iMac for my rents’ first computer las Sept., loved it, got a PB 17 for myself and now am gradually switching the computers in my small business.
I still think the task based GUI for Windows is far superior blah blah blah Longhorn will blow away OS X blah blah blah Transcoding on Longhorn will be better blah blah blah Apple are going bankrupt anyway blah blah blah I’m a twat blah blah blah
heh heh heh, I love that quote too, Yak. In fact, I’m selling my PC setup right now in anticipation of my Dual 1.8Ghz G5 tower which is on the way right now. More than 2 years ago, you prolly would have heard me laughing at the Mac way of life. Here I am, firmly rooted in that very life. And loving every minute of it. 😀
I switched in 1984, before Windoze was born. Yeah, I’ve been forced to use Windoze in my various jobs since then, so I know what a real turd it can be.
congrats on those who’ve switched from the pain of windows, to a surprisingly affordable mac solution (I got an eMac here…)
what a delight to use
What I want to know is what did Brett Burney install to get his two button mouse running on OS X.
Mind you, I don’t use one but both my sons do. They never installed any drivers.
I switched a couple of years ago. I’m now happily running my G5 constantly, and supporting 4 other macs, including my wife, daughter, 80 year old father in law and his 85 year old brother. No major problems to report, the old folks send email and use Safari.
I’ve bought about a dozen PC’s for my software business over the years. I’m trying to make my house a Microsoft free zone. It depresses me that I have to use a PC for work.
My friends are all afraid of the Mac because they have so much invested in their PC’s, they think they will be trading one set of problems for another.
MacFinn, I use a Kensington Orbit 2-button trackball. No drivers were needed. I’ve never had an issue with it, except when my 1-year old crawls under the desk and grabs the cable
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Hey! What’s with pop up ads that circumvent my google toolbar?? I’m on my Winblows machine at work right now and I use IE because I design websites and have to see what the poor suckers on Wintendo see. God that’s annoying.
What I want to know is what did Brett Burney install to get his two button mouse running on OS X.
Mind you, I don’t use one but both my sons do. They never installed any drivers.
MacFinn: OS X supports two button mice and scroll wheels natively, just plug it in to the USB port and you are good to go. You can use the particular software for your particular multibutton mouse to add more features, but it is not necessary.
Zac
MacFinn,
I have Wacom Graphire and Intuos 2 tablets connected to all three of my Macs (iBook, PowerBook G4 and a dual G5 tower). I love the freedom that gives me to use either the cordless three button mouse with scroll wheel (included) or the cordless pen (included) on all of the machines. They work perfectly although one does have to install a driver to use all the features of the tablets.
Two things that jumped out at me when I switched a few months ago…a Mac is truly plug and play, not the plug and pray that you’re used to with Windows. And also “sleep” mode actually works. That blew me away because every Windows PC I ever had would be unstable as hell afterwards if it would even wake at all. Once you go Mac, you’ll never go back.
I’ve also used two-button mice (with scroll wheels) with no problems, and no drivers required. Although my MacMice one did come with its own driver which supposedly gives the user more control over features. Frankly, I thought it was a bit too hyper and switched back to my cheapy Logitech one.
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Switcheroo: Good one!
Apple should switch finally to a two button mouse with scroll wheel. I know you can just hook one up and it will work but what about when you are just using the trackpad on a portable? People can argue that it keeps things simple for older users etc but I think anybody that can use a computer at all should be able to tell the difference from left and right.
Personally I use Sidetrack so I can use the trackpad for both scrolling and right clicking (I have it set for taps in the corners for a right click but you can set it for a tap anywhere to be a right click) but it would be nice to have two buttons. At the very least it would be nice if Apple had the Sidetrack functionality as an option. They could keep it off by default. For all you laptop users out there the link for Sidetrack is:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20854
I make use of it all the time.
Yes, a switch from Windows to Mac is very simple. Especialy when the replacement makes computing a joy again, and when everything “just works” as advertised. all software is available.
Read on at http://www.happymakinggames.com/switch.html
Have fun (and switch if you haven’t)!
Jeroen
Okay, so here’s a dilemma I’m facing, and a potential flamefest, but please, read through the whole thing before turning on the burners. My boss has agreed to replace my 3-year old pc at work with a Mac – but it can only be a top-o-the-line eMac, since she’s not willing to spend the extra buck, but at least I have gotten the “okay” to get one, finally, after three years of trying. The dilemma I’m facing is that one of the highest mission-critical tasks in our office is tied inexplicably to a MS Access database, and it isn’t going away any time soon, in addition to the luddite mentality the IT department has for supporting Macs and making sure that other mission-critical data programs integrate properly with OS X (yes, it’s Peoplesoft & Kronos – and yes, they’re browser-based, but some of the features only work on the pc for both, dammit). Aside from the obvious need for installing Virtual PC to get Access, um, access, how do I go about cajoling the IT department into making Peoplesoft and the payroll system (Kronos) work on my Mac, too? Or should I just hope that using Virtual PC for all of it will solve the dilemma from the outset and give it a go? Maybe I’ve just answered all of my questions and this was all just a big exercise in rhetoric – but it has certainly not been an easy road to travel getting to this point. Am I just getting cold feet, having gotten as efficient as possible using the pc at work? Probably. However, I certainly know that my stress levels will diminish once I’ve got a Mac at work, what with the fewer interruptions due to fewer virii, worms, crashes, etc…and being able to access my home iBook’s iTunes. And now the latest iPod commercial just came on the tele…must be a sign. Thanks for reading this far – can’t wait to let everyone know about the new addition to my office, whether you like it or not (sorry Enderle & Thurrott), it will be an eMac!
BC: FileMaker Pro users can access data from other ODBC-compliant databases, such as Microsoft Access and Oracle. Version 5.5 allows you to modify data in such databases, as well as search through them using structured query language, or SQL.
For Peoplesoft & Kronos look at Citrix
http://www.stanford.edu/services/citrix/
Kronos for OS X:
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/itss/services/citrix/kronos/index.html
Concerning switching – hence back on topic – people face a psycological problem common to a variety of similar issues.
Some of “us” have invested a lot of effort in learning about and struggling with the steaming heap of dung that is Windows in all its flavors, and I think that it can be very hard to accept that such a huge amount of suffering was almost completely pointless and avoidable … so “we” hold on to the belief that Windows is essential, in order to keep the illusion that our suffering has brought us to some position worth being in, so that we can maintain “our” sanity. In the meantime “we” drive others insane by forcing them to share “our” continued suffering.
I broke this vicious cycle, so I hope you had or you will too.
BC: another possibility is for your IT dept to supporn Windows Terminal Services to allow clients of other platforms (Linux, OS X, Unix) to access applications running on a Windows server.
Hurgh, used “Windows” too many times in this post.
switching to mac made me more adventurous as far as using computers are concerned… i wouldn’t have authored DVDs, edited video or organized my photos on my windows computer….
even though i used to use windows for my job as a composer, using Logic on a mac made me feel safe when trying new stuff likie soft synths because too much experimentation on windows usually causes it to crash ten minutes before your deadline.
plus, it made me love using a computer again.
god, we all sound like one of the switch ads
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i really enjoy switching from win me (worst os ever) and win xp to mac os panther