You CAN make the switch!

As a student, when my 4-year old Gateway desktop died, I had to act fast to get a new computer so I could finish my thesis and papers before the end of the semester. I'm thankful every day that I took the plunge and ordered and iBook G4 12" laptop from our friends over at Apple.

I'll first go over the specs of my laptop, I did make a few upgrades from the baseline settings. Also note that I bought with an educational discount, which knocks 10% off the total price (and helps to eliminate the stereotype of the too-expensive Mac).

~ 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4 processor - don't compare this speed to Windows laptops' Intel/Athlon speeds...this processor is WAY faster than 2+ GHz processors I've used on PC machines.

~ 512K L2 cache

~ 12" display - I know, I know, you think this is way too small! I was worried, but it has not been a problem, the display is very sharp, and in fact the 14" iBook has the same number of pixels (1024x768), they are just each larger and it doesn't truly let you see more on the screen.

~ 512 MB SDRAM - I upgraded from the standard 256, I think it is well worth the extra $75 or so for a great bump up in performance. NOTE- 512 MB will be required to effectively run Mac OS X Tiger (Which I missed out on by just a couple weeks...so sad).

~ 60 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive - Again, I upgraded from the standard 30 GB. If you don't play games or have a music or movie collection, you probably can stick with the 30 GB.

~ Combo Drive - In layman's terms, a DVD drive and a CD burner in one. You can also get a Super drive (DVD burner), but I couldn't really justify the cost for my needs. You'll be amazed, this drive is nothing but a slot in the right side of the laptop- no flimsy tray to break or jam!

~ Radeon 9200 graphics, 32 MB DDR video memory - This has been entirely sufficient for my typical student's needs. Clearly some of the powerbooks or high-end Windows laptops will have nicer. I have had great results using my iBook with a projector, though you don't have the option of displaying different things on the laptop and projector screen (need a Powerbook for that).

~ Airport Extreme wireless card - the most important component for me. This is a great card, I almost always can latch onto a free open network whereever I go, and I never get disconnected. Once again, the wireless card is built completely into the innards of the iBook- nothing projecting out of the case like on many laptops. The result is a better looking laptop with nothing to break!

~ All of the ports are along the left edge, with the combo drive on the right. In addition to the Airport Extreme, there is also:
- 56k modem
- 10/100 ethernet card
- video output (to connect to monitor or projector)
- 2 USB ports - I generally plug in a mouse and either a printer or USB flash drive
- Firewire - If you aren't familiar with this, think USB on steroids. Firewire ports allow you to transfer files lightning-quick. When I was leaving school, I transferred about 10 GB of files from my research laboratory computers in a matter of minutes.
- headphone/audio jack

In addition to the hardware, overall appearance, and engineering which I have quickly come to love and respect, the software and operating system (Mac OS X 10.3 Panther) have operated flawlessly thusfar.

Here's a rundown of the software included. I won't go into great depth, as I am sure they are reviewed individually elsewhere. Please, rest assured, you can find software that does ANYTHING that runs on Mac OS X. Microsoft Office for Mac is only just the tip of the iceberg. Don't let this misconception stop you from buying the iBook of your dreams.

~ Appleworks
~ iLife (iTunes and iPhoto are the two I use most often)
~ Safari web browser - has a few neat features. I use this and Firefox, and best of all, don't even have Internet Explorer installed!
~ Quicken - a great bonus, I am starting to learn to use this powerful program as well.
~ a variety of games, WorldBook encyclopedia, Quicktime media player, and a host of little but useful utilities.

I had used Macs a bit before buying my iBook, but I was still nervous about learning the in's and outs of the operating system and trouble-shooting. Once again, any fears are unwarranted! For 90% or more of what I do, with a two-button mouse plugged into a USB port, I could easily forget I am using OS X instead of Windows (except that everything works that is;) ). I keep my Dock (Macs equivalent of the Start menu) on the left side of the screen; it contains icons to the programs I use most (for me, Office, web browser, Quicken, iTunes, iPhoto, AIM, and statistical software), the trash can, and Finder.

Finder is sort of like "My Computer" in Windows. This is how you navigate thru the prgrams, documents, and other files on your hard drive. I found that after a week or two, it seemed faster and more intuitive that the Windows equivalent. There is also a system preferences icon on the dock, allowing you to adjust all the settings.

Navigating within and using programs is similar to Windows, no need for anguish there. I must share what is my FAVORITE feature of OS X - "Expose"

Expose defines simplicity and elegance. Picture it, you're working on a big project and stress levels are high. Here's what you have open

- AIM
- iTunes
- R statistical software
- 3 web browser windows
- 3 Word documents
- 4 Excel spreadsheets

What a pain in the behind to switch between all of these windows !?! Aha, Expose to the rescue. Hit the F9 key and you instantly see every open window, neatly arranged in minature on your screen. Simply click on the one you want, it comes to full-size in the forefront, and you're back in business. If you are using one Excel file, and you need to glance at a different one, hit F10 instead of F9, and just the windows from your current program are displayed. Need to open yet another document from the desktop? Just hit F11 and all the windows disappear. Hit it again and they come back. You will only appreciate just how much of a timesaver this is after using it yourself!

Well by now I'm sure you know how much I love this laptop. It would give me great pleasure if you got to experience this feeling of euphoria also! Don't delay, take the plunge now. You will never regret it.

A few closing comments if you're still reading:)

- go for the Applecare protection plan. It's about $250 to extend the 90 day warranty to 3 years. Apple has a great reputation for service (I haven't had to use it yet). I don't know many people with any kind of laptop that doesn't have some issue or another after a few years.

- the built in speakers are pretty good. Better than any laptop I've used before. For serious music/gaming/DVD-watching, you might want to connect to "real" speakers.

- this laptop is very light. Sometimes I'll carry it along in my backpack and freak out halfway to class thinking I've forgotten it! However, even those the case is beautiful and structurally durable, it does get a bit scratched up pretty easily if you carry it around alot without a proper bag.

- a word of warning. Be careful when buying a laptop bag/case...many of them are just too big for this 12" iBook and might not properly protect it.

Happy shopping and enjoy:)