new computer
Posted by: woody on 31 December 2004
I finally succumbed and bought my first ever mac - a lowly ibook G4 (14") - instead of a windows laptop.
Wow! Fabulous machine both look wise (that white gloss polycarbonate casing is sweet) and MacOSX (10.3 "panther" in this case) is really very, very good. It's perfectly fast enough too (1.33GHz PPC G4) despite some things I've read.
Me happy
-- woody
Wow! Fabulous machine both look wise (that white gloss polycarbonate casing is sweet) and MacOSX (10.3 "panther" in this case) is really very, very good. It's perfectly fast enough too (1.33GHz PPC G4) despite some things I've read.
Me happy
-- woody
Posted on: 31 December 2004 by garyi
Excellent stuff!
Just get that itunes loaded with music and hook it up to the stereo, then you is laughing
Just get that itunes loaded with music and hook it up to the stereo, then you is laughing
Posted on: 31 December 2004 by calum scott
Hi Woody,
timely post for me as i'm doing some final thinking over the holidays and will probably get a 14" iBook. I've no Mac experience so it's good to hear that you've got on reallt well wit the change.
I'm thinking I'll get it direct from Apple and get the education discount and bump up the spec a bit the reviews suggest 512mb ram at the least.
Anybody know of any good offers out there on Apple gear then please post.
Cheers,
Calum
timely post for me as i'm doing some final thinking over the holidays and will probably get a 14" iBook. I've no Mac experience so it's good to hear that you've got on reallt well wit the change.
I'm thinking I'll get it direct from Apple and get the education discount and bump up the spec a bit the reviews suggest 512mb ram at the least.
Anybody know of any good offers out there on Apple gear then please post.
Cheers,
Calum
Posted on: 01 January 2005 by Hawk
Calum, its always worth checking out the refurbished deals on the apple website every wednesday at 10am... ive bought a couple of macs this way and they have always been spot on.... packaged and as new with full warranty etc and anything upto 45% off... you get ten days to return if your not happy with anything so there isnt much risk..
Woody, Enjoy!!!!
Woody, Enjoy!!!!
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by woody
What's the best way to hook it up to the stereo? Just using the mini RCA headphone out connector to a DIN? I'd rather it was wireless - as I already have a wireless DSL router can I just buy something like an Airtunes to plug into the stereo? Advice appreciated.
Just a few more things to add to my delight with the machine following more use - firstly Office 2004 is far better than the windows equivalent and all the tools but mainly Entourage and Project Centre are fabulous.
Secondly, how do apple make the display so good? I've used a number of windows based laptops and the quality of the mac display blows PCs away. Thirdly, battery life seems exceptional.
Calum, highly recommended!
-- woody
Just a few more things to add to my delight with the machine following more use - firstly Office 2004 is far better than the windows equivalent and all the tools but mainly Entourage and Project Centre are fabulous.
Secondly, how do apple make the display so good? I've used a number of windows based laptops and the quality of the mac display blows PCs away. Thirdly, battery life seems exceptional.
Calum, highly recommended!
-- woody
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by garyi
As I understand it you just need to get the airport express, assuming you already have the airport card installed in your computer.
I could be wrong but that should be it as you have the wireless hub already.
Once installed itunes has a pop up menu for where you want the music to play from, in your case the book or from your hifi.
I could be wrong but that should be it as you have the wireless hub already.
Once installed itunes has a pop up menu for where you want the music to play from, in your case the book or from your hifi.
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by Hawk
pretty much as Gary said....
You need an airport card in your iBook then the quickest and easiest (for a mac user) is an airport express plus the airtunes software..
another option is something like the slim devices squeeze box, this too can be added to an existing wireless network..
Both the above will give you either analogue or digital outputs if you want to add a DAC into the mix, the airport express is optical only though...
You need an airport card in your iBook then the quickest and easiest (for a mac user) is an airport express plus the airtunes software..
another option is something like the slim devices squeeze box, this too can be added to an existing wireless network..
Both the above will give you either analogue or digital outputs if you want to add a DAC into the mix, the airport express is optical only though...
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by calum scott
Thanks Woody. Good to hear that you're enjoying the iBook. I like all this positive reinforcement. I’ve actually been online to try and order today but the site is down for maintenance. I really will have to try and do it today, once I get back to work I expect to be too busy for the rest of the month to think about this as well.
Thanks,
Calum
Thanks,
Calum
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by matthewr
"Secondly, how do apple make the display so good?"
They buy them off LG/Philips.
If you want similar quality from a PC laptop look for an S-IPS panel with the same specs and it will be just as good as the Apple.
Matthew
They buy them off LG/Philips.
If you want similar quality from a PC laptop look for an S-IPS panel with the same specs and it will be just as good as the Apple.
Matthew
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Cor !!!
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by garyi
Matthew, I looked at a monitor which I believe is the same as the apple 23 incher, sorry can't think of the name of it now. However it was deciedly duller and the resolution of text etc was really not up to the standard of the apple, (they were virtually side by side in the shop with brightness all the way up)
I am not flaming, but is there a software element involved as to how the displays function?
On a related note my 23 inch display is showing banding and a pink haze, something widly reported on the apple forum (until they delete them of course) Apple is ignorig the problem as they do, so not all apple rosy my end at the moment.
I am not flaming, but is there a software element involved as to how the displays function?
On a related note my 23 inch display is showing banding and a pink haze, something widly reported on the apple forum (until they delete them of course) Apple is ignorig the problem as they do, so not all apple rosy my end at the moment.
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by woody
matthewr,
I think maybe it's not so much the LCD panel but the way MacOSX renders fonts and graphics (is it called quartz?)
It certainly looks crisper to me than any windows PC I've ever used whether with LCD or CRT monitor.
On the Airport Express front, maybe I'm missing something. I already have an ADSL router with Wifi so I don't need another one which is exactly what Airport Express seems to be albeit it with the audio bits added.
(the ibook has Airport Extreme card built in which works fine on my Dlink DSL router/wireless access point)
-- woody
I think maybe it's not so much the LCD panel but the way MacOSX renders fonts and graphics (is it called quartz?)
It certainly looks crisper to me than any windows PC I've ever used whether with LCD or CRT monitor.
On the Airport Express front, maybe I'm missing something. I already have an ADSL router with Wifi so I don't need another one which is exactly what Airport Express seems to be albeit it with the audio bits added.
(the ibook has Airport Extreme card built in which works fine on my Dlink DSL router/wireless access point)
-- woody
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Joe Petrik
Gary,
Actually, it does seem that things are rosy at your end.
[ba-da-bump tsssssssssssst]
You should push Apple for repair or replacement. A monitor that expensive and that fresh out of the box ought be behaving better.
Joe
quote:
On a related note my 23 inch display is showing banding and a pink haze, something widly reported on the apple forum (until they delete them of course) Apple is ignorig the problem as they do, so not all apple rosy my end at the moment.
Actually, it does seem that things are rosy at your end.
[ba-da-bump tsssssssssssst]
You should push Apple for repair or replacement. A monitor that expensive and that fresh out of the box ought be behaving better.
Joe
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by matthewr
Different graphics will look different and that might well include fonts and the o/s GUI, and Apple claim that they spec a physical resolution (in terms of pixels poer inch) that provides the best compromise between displaying text and displying graphics, etc. etc.
But essentially 99% of a TFT display is the panel itself which basically Apple buys in and attaches a PSU, some control buttons and a case just like everyone else. Apple definitely spec the very best and have the nicest designs but you can get essentially the same device for a PC if you are prepared to pay for it. My Toshiba laptop has a high-end panel of similar performance to Apples previous generation -- which is why my laptop cost £2k instead of £1500.
Matthew
But essentially 99% of a TFT display is the panel itself which basically Apple buys in and attaches a PSU, some control buttons and a case just like everyone else. Apple definitely spec the very best and have the nicest designs but you can get essentially the same device for a PC if you are prepared to pay for it. My Toshiba laptop has a high-end panel of similar performance to Apples previous generation -- which is why my laptop cost £2k instead of £1500.
Matthew
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Paul Hutchings
For anyone interested Apple have dropped a lot of their prices today.
Bastards still screw you over by forcing you to buy from the UK store but hey who cares about the EC.. it's white and it looks pretty
Bastards still screw you over by forcing you to buy from the UK store but hey who cares about the EC.. it's white and it looks pretty
Posted on: 06 January 2005 by woody
Gotta love it!
-- woody
-- woody
Posted on: 06 January 2005 by woody
just gotta love it
-- woody
-- woody
Posted on: 06 January 2005 by Hawk
quote:
Originally posted by woody:
matthewr,
On the Airport Express front, maybe I'm missing something. I already have an ADSL router with Wifi so I don't need another one which is exactly what Airport Express seems to be albeit it with the audio bits added.
(the ibook has Airport Extreme card built in which works fine on my Dlink DSL router/wireless access point)
-- woody
I see where you are coming from, but if you want to beam wirelessly to your amp then you will need another wireless device. The airport express can be used either on its own or as part of an existing network so is an option. The alternative is to wire the laptop direct. If you chose that route then its either via the jack plug or taking a digital output and feeding it through a DAC etc..
cheers
Hawk