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Loving My New iBook

A few weeks ago I realized that my valiant Dell Inspiron 2100 laptop, which I’ve used heavily for the last 4+ years, has seen better days. It’s looking worn, the display is getting funky, the letters have worn off some keys, the hard drive is buzzing, the battery doesn’t work, it overheats, the power cord keeps falling out, and the lack of a built-in CD drive is a recurring frustration.

So I bought a new Apple iBook G4. Yummy!…

I must say, it’s really nice to be back on a Mac. I was a longtime Mac user until I went independent in 1998 and had to buy my own computer. At that time, Macs cost far, far more than PCs, especially for laptops. Today the price difference has narrowed considerably – and Macs have gotten better. I like OS X, even though the swelling icons on the toolbar look a little like an acid flashback.

The main reason I got a Mac is that I simply don’t want to deal with the bloatware, headaches, and myriad flaws of Windows any longer. I like that OS X is based on Unix (more specifically, FreeBSD). The more I learn about how open-source software works, the more I believe that it’s a better way to achieve the goals of stability, security, and continuous improvement in computing. Using OS X brings me far closer to that open-source ideal.

The other reason I got a Mac is that I’m itching to start podcasting. Macs are definitely better multimedia machines.

I got a sweet deal on my iBook from Expercom.com. The only problem was that they didn’t ship all of the extra memory I ordered, so I’m still waiting for that, but their service has been pretty good.

The only downer was timing. Three days after I ordered the iBook, I had a car accident. I’m OK, totally uninjured, but my treasured Subaru Forrester is hurting.

I was driving home Sunday morning from my mountain cabin after a heavy snowfall. The road was plowed, and I was driving very slow and carefully. Despite being in second gear nearly the whole time, my car skidded as I went around a downhill curve and hit a concrete barrier. No other cars were involved, and at least I didn’t go off a cliff. It could have been much worse.

But the car is totaled – a major financial hit I don’t need right now. As much as I love this iBook, I wish I’d put off buying it for now.

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This entry was written by Amy Gahran and posted on December 2, 2004 at 2:22 pm and filed under Amy's Adventures. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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12 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

  1. Well, It’s been a while, and yes I sent the iBook back..After alot of hassle and a month or so of waiting my Powerbook has finally arrived. I must say, what a difference, the Powerbook really cooks. I love it, my new Powerbook does just what I thought it would, it rips through everything I throw at it. I don’t want to put the iBook down, but if you can afford it get the Powerbook there is a big difference. the keyboard is smoother and the whole thing is quite a bit snappier, so just for the sake of arguement, I will keep the Powerbook it seems to be a bit more stable than the iBook..Thanks for listening Joe Wilson.

    1. Joe Wilson on January 28th, 2005 at 10:50 pm

  2. I’ve jumped into here from yahoo search engine, seeking iBook article as I am thinking to get one for my machine always anywhere with me. Your iBook sounds so nice and you words push me to hop into the shop tomorrow… Thanks for nice tips anyway!!

    2. rika on January 4th, 2005 at 7:37 am

  3. Amy, I’m bummed!! I got my new iBook 14″, but it was hanging on the beachball all the time, so I sent it bak and now I am waiting on the new 12″ Powerbook.. Well, I would rather have the 12″ anyway because, it is a lot easier to pack around. I went for the 14″ iBook cause it was the only iBook with the Superdrive, (which I have to have). Since the iBook was broken I am going for the 12″ Powerbook w/Superdrive..hopefully, all will be ok when it gets her:( I will keep you poseted. Joe W., Oh- how does the iBook work for you?

    3. Joe Wilson on December 18th, 2004 at 12:42 am

  4. I am not tryng to be at all disrepectful and if it seems like I am I am very sorry, I have used and will continue to use both machines. I just like the Mac OS better, but there will always be a reason (like it or not) for me to use a Windows machine, speaking of which I do rather like my new 15.4″ Acer the wide screen is kinda cool for putting windows side by side..Anyway, I am glad to be getting my new iBook, I hope there is nothing wrong with it when I get it….J

    4. Joe Wilson on December 15th, 2004 at 12:33 am

  5. OK, look, that’s enough with the Mac/Windows religious wars. Chill, folks, please.

    5. Amy Gahran on December 13th, 2004 at 10:00 pm

  6. Not all opinions are valid? Their is no right or wrong opinion. Everyone is entitled to preference and not everyone has the same experiences. Some people like Macs some like PCs. I just think its nice to be a bit more respectful.

    6. Tara on December 13th, 2004 at 9:47 pm

  7. I think everyone is entitled to thier opinion, and not all opinions are vaild ones. I am using Windows laptop right now , but I don’t love it, it just does what it should and it’s not a bad machine. I personally am just saying, I love my Mac, and I use Windows machine..Thier is a big difference in Windows and the Mac OS….There is something about a Macintosh that for some reason I feel closer to it than the coldness of a Windows machine. The Mac is a more personal computer, I don’t know what makes me feel like that I just do. I am sure not everyone feels the same way, but I know for a fact there is a lot of Mac lovers out there because they say so. I just don’t hear the same about Windows machines. J.

    7. Joe Wilson on December 13th, 2004 at 7:15 pm

  8. So just because someone isn’t loving their Mac, their opinion isn’t valid?

    8. Tara on December 13th, 2004 at 4:20 am

  9. Don’t let the Winblows user get to you I have been using Windoze machines for years and they really do blow!! I bought a 12″ Powerbook a while back and was shocked at the way the thing handle all of my work, sadly I had to sell it to support my Internet Cafe, (which I am shutting down), Anyway I just ordered a new iBook and I can’t wait to get back to being productive without constantly fighting spyware, adware, viruses, etc..What a hassle, I suppose in a garbage world the trash bin called Windows fits right in….

    9. Joe Wilson on December 11th, 2004 at 4:08 am

  10. Perhaps I’m the only one in step here, but a year after getting my very first Mac, an iBook, I’m no closer to liking it and can’t wait to get back to PC laptops. I find the Mac less intuitive, clumsier, less customisable, less flexible, harder to operate and more tedious to maintain (I’ve had to do three complete reinstalls in a year). And the iBook is flimsier than the two Dell laptops I’ve had in five years.

    I now realise why I don’t hear PC users going on about how wonderful their computers are - they simply don’t have an inferiority complex about it.

    I’m sorry to be like this, but I was induced by the brave new world promised by these mac evangelists, and it’s turn out to be a great disappointment to me. It cost me so much to get a mac that I can’t afford to switch back as quickly as I’d like. But I can’t wait.

    10. Andrew Denny on December 6th, 2004 at 8:42 pm

  11. Glad you have seen the light ;-) My blood has run Apple colors since 1987, and all of my web design, graphics, programming, digital video editing is done on a G4 laptop, including every unix app that powers my web sites (A PC in the corner does the obligatory testing for IE freakouts).

    Too bad on the icy road accident…. hopefully the iBook was spared ;-)

    11. Alan Levine on December 3rd, 2004 at 8:03 pm

  12. I’ve been using a 15� PowerBook for ages now, and the thing still delights me on a daily basis.

    Safari, Apple’s browser, blocks 99.9% of popups. When I use a Windows machine I’m amazed at the hassle of popups. Also, Apple’s doing great things with Safari and RSS in the next OSX upgrade: http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/safari.html

    I got a big kick out of the magnification effect on the doc at first, but then it started bugging me. You can turn it off at System Preferences –> Dock.

    Welcome back to Mac!

    12. Mike Pugh on December 2nd, 2004 at 9:22 pm