Apple vs. IBM vs. Linux

The best parts about being a Mac user are: system stability, system appearance, system security; virus issues are a big part of that; the Mac community and of course the software integration.

The worst parts about being a Mac user: usually insufficient RAM with a base purchase, which system utilities to use for maintenance (not difficult actually), searching the Mac Help systems and online help.

I bought an iBook and really like it. It's better than any PC laptop that I've ever owned. You won't regret it

You may want to check out Brad Choate's list of software he recently posted concerning OS X:

http://bradchoate.com/weblog/2004/04/14/inventory

Good luck with the iBook.

Surfing the Net is a joy on my iBook and a friggin nightmare on my Dell Inspiron Laptop (Win Me). I don't even have a virus checker installed on the iBook. I actually use the iBook as a firewall for the Dell, searching for and downloading software, ect, to use on the Dell.

I've seen Linux, but never used it. From what I've seen it looks like a work in progress, if you like tinkering, it's probably what you are looking for. Windows works and while it's up and running, it's adequate. But it's rather like a MacDonald's hamburger or the music in airports, I just can't get enthusiastic about it. Mac - especially OSX is just really nice to use. It's also more flexible, you can use it at a "point and click" level or you can use it as a power user. It's also totally reliable and, in spite of CPU appearances, really fast. IMHO it's totally worth the 400 dollars.

John Davis

I would highly recommend an Apple laptop just for battery life alone. I HATE having to worry about batteries and it's much less of an issue with the iBooks and a bit less so with PBooks, but both of those are still waaay better than any PC laptop I've used. YMMV of course. Have fun in grad school! :-)

A friend is a security consultant for the Canadian Telcos and does Unix programming on his ibook. He likes the ruggedness of the plastic vs. the metal enclosures. It's his first Mac and he's looking forward to the G5 Powerbooks.

Add memory but be sure it's high grade and not a low-ball manufacturer. Apple's prices are too high.

You're going to be suprised to find yourself becoming a Mac advocate in the first few months!

Once you go Mac, I don't think you will go back :)

Hi there, I take care of a large number of faculty and graduate students and see more and more of them opting for Mac laptops. The Unix base is rock-solid. The recent OS updates make it work perfectly with a Windows network (a Mac can be a Windows PDC!). Even my Linux users are going Mac. One high-end prof dropped his massive AMD Linux box for a whacked-out G5 desktop and he is one happy camper. I think you're making the right choice. Enjoy!

writing from an iBook G4 12''. It's just wonderful, you made a very good choice. I carry it everywhere I go and the battery life really is great. I love my iBook.

As a member of our k-12 school district's technology advisory committee, I still maintain contact with many of our graduates in college. A huge number have now switched to Macs even though our district has been 100% Windows for more than 10 years. Some did it voluntarily and others were required to use Macs.

I have heard only rave reviews. So much so that I now have a new iBook and I have been thrilled. Next week the district will have several Macs in place for evaluation.

As far as cost, all the research with actual numbers from schools clearly shows that Macs are more cost effective. Even with slightly higher initial cost, Macs showed a cost advantage within the first semester and the advantage grew with time. AppleCare also showed to be cost effective and recommended for laptops.

In any regard, good luck with your studies.

I use an iBook these days as my primary machine - the old HP desktop was given to a grad student. Because I travel and work out of the office a lot, keeping desktop and laptop sync'ed was an unneeded pain.

iBook Good points.
1. Battery life. last week I was at the Institute Pasteur de Madagascar in Atananarivo. Our seminat room had only two free power sockets and the windows users started fighting for them almost on arrival - the two Mac users simply went straight to work.
2. Robustness. I've had this machine for 3 years (it was the first rev of the all-white iBooks). It's logged hundreds of thousands of miles by plane, train and 4-wheel drive. i've dropped it (off a restraurant table in Montreal while it was on, off a check-in counter in Copenhagen, off the hood of a 4WD in Ethiopia). I carry it everywhere without a protective case. It looks pretty banged up,but the damn thing's a brick. It's never had a problem
3. Reliabiliy. I never really switch it off any more. Crashes are rare, forced reboots average about 1 a year (really!)
4. Security - I often connect to other people's networks. Not having to worry about Malware is a big relief.
5. Compatibility. Hooking up to other networks is a breeze - right now I'm hooked (wirelessly, yet) into our institute's completely mac-unfriendly network (running Netware 6.5). Getting connected was a breeze.

iBook bad points.
1. Compared to other machines in this price range, the iBook is slow. if all you are doing is email/text/database work, there's no significant difference. But don't plan on gong to Lan parties to play Halo
2. Software incompatibility. Not a major problem, but there are one or two programs I'd like to use (STATA, SAS for example) that I have to use on another machine and then output the data in a format I can manipulate on the mac.

I'm thinking about a new laptop - this one works fine but at three years old, it's just slooow. My #1 choice would be a new iBook. After 3 Wintel laptops that had to be coddled like sickly babies on trips, it's a no-brainer.

cheers, Mark

I just bought the 12 in powerbook. The speed picks up if you add 512mb of RAM: plan on doing that. The academic version of Office is only 140. The I book 12 in is almost as fast but there is a max Ram limit of 768 mb.

Definitely get an Airport card. The Powerbook has Blue tooth built in, its an add-on for the I book.

You create an extra use account and then turn ftp access on and your windows machine can ftp to that account and the user folder opens as folder on your XP or W2000 desktop.

Just type ftp://acount:pwd@IPaddress of the laptop into any WIndows address bar. The make short cut of to that folder that opens and you can just click to reconnect at any time.

You can use that to move files back and forth very easily and because it is a separate account on the Mac a Win user can only get into THAT folder.

I own a bunch of Macs -- I even have a dual 2 GHz G5 at work. I really like Macs, but I can also use a PC. However, you may not love the Mac if you insist on using Office, so please try to use something different. -Ron

A brand-new version of MS Office (dubbed Office 2004) is coming out in May, and from early reviews, it's allegedly much better in terms of speed and stability.

I myself switched to a PowerBook 12" and a dual G5 from a ThinkPad T40 and a P4 2.4 gaming rig. I don't look back one bit.

Got me a 15" PB for law school. Amazon was selling "academic" Office X for $99. Might still be.

Macs have always been pricier, and remain so in the laptop arena, but the iBook is a good price cut. Personally I find the aesthetics on iBooks revolting, but hard plastic was an awesome idea. Make sure that your iBook doesn't have the PB design flaw: PBs' keyboards press on the screen when you close them, so without some padding the screen gets fucked up mighty quick. Mine's already a lost cause so I don't bother.

My biggest criticism of Macs is that OS X is clearly a work in progress. I simply do not like it, because I am not a tinkerer or developer. I am an end user. But I'm probably as sophisticated end-user as you can be on a Mac without switching sides and being a low-grade moron tinkerer. Mac OS X has managed to rub me exactly the wrong way- the stability it allegedly derives from UNIX simply makes navigating the actual OS a pain for me, and I'm noticing a lot of OS quirks that fucking WINDOWS has spent 10 years trying to eliminate in an effort to be more like Mac Classic. Example 1: roughly %50 of the time, for no reason, changing the directory of files will require hard disk-to-same-hard-disk copying that takes a loooong time. Example 2: I hooked up an older USB printer, got it working with virtually no effort, but the driver corrupted OS X completely and required a complete reinstall of the system software. Shit like that bothers me, especially since OS X never even HINTED that I was KILLING IT.

But, like I said, work in progress. Give it time and it will be the best OS out there.

And let's face it, putting more money in Gates' pocket is just wrong. I was forced into getting Office X and I fucking hate it. My blood is still boiling.