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Laptop questions

L

Liver

Senior member
Gents,

I would like something that is very portable and that has a wide screen for playing DVD on long flights. The smaller the package the better a 12.1 or 10 inch screen is fine.

I like the idea of having a wide screen (16:9) because of the movies.

I do not need something very powerful, but enough to play movies. Battery life is more important.

I do want something quite small so I will be more inclined to take it places.
I like the idea of a touchscreen, but I am not married to that idea either.

I believe that the iBook may be the best deal out there, but learning a new OS is making me scared. Much like Linux, but another story.

What do you think? I like the T series from Sony as it has everything (I believe) that I am looking for. However, it is pricey and unreliable (as posted here).

The Apple is still 1024x768.

The tablets are 1024x768 as well, but are quite portable.

I just don't know. I dont even know what my question is, any advice or where to look is appreciated.

Liver
 
on an intellectual level i know you are right, but the hestitation it immense. i mean, i am not a computer guy by profession, but by hobby. meaning, whatever i learn i have to teach myself, after work.

still i know you are right, just wanted to make sure.

 
OS X is excellent, and I seriously doubt you will regret the decision. I would suggest picking up one of David Pogue's "Missing Manual" books if you feel unsure, as it is a great resource if you get stuck or are looking for special functionaility, especially for switchers coming from Windows to OS X.
 
Do you gents know if the apple laptops come with and "installation" disk of Tiger? What I am getting at is I would like to replace the small hard drive with an aftermarket one (and save some cash). Of course I would like to load the OS on to that HD. Is that possible? I would also add some memory to it (aftermarket as well).

What do you think?

Liver
 
I like OS X as well, but if you'd like to stick with a Wintel machine, then I'd pick the Sony S series over the T series (newer chipset, option for a Geforce Go 6200 TC, which features PureVideo and will help keep CPU usage down when you're watching DVD's as long as you have a DVD decoder that supports hardware acceleration). Another option is the Asus W3V, although it's a bit pricey. Regardless, if you're really going to be watching a lot of DVD's, I'd get something with lower end discrete graphics (ATI Mobility Radeon X300, X600, or an nVIDIA Geforce Go 6200). Not only will your DVD playback look smoother, your CPU usage will be lowered thus saving you a bit on battery life (a bit b/c then your GPU will kick in). Note that Apple's software DVD player doesn't support hardware acceleration of any kind, whereas there are several Windows DVD decoders that do support hardware MPEG-2 (DVD) decoding (NVDVD, if you can find it, WMP w/nVIDIA's DVD decoder, PurePlayer, etc.). If you end up going with the iBook and you decide to replace the HDD, you might want to call Apple and make sure they provide some documentation on how to remove it. The last iBook I tried that on turned out to be quite a pain in the arse. I called Apple for advice and they said that since they don't recommend replacing the HDD on iBooks, they don't provide documentation or support (of course, the rep could have been full of sh*t). I eventually figured it out, but the Apple rep was unclear as to whether or not I had voided the warranty. Of course, this was over a year ago and the iBook was a 2 yr. old model, so all of this could have changed. Also, keep in mind that iBooks have 1 SODIMM integrated, meaning that you need to purchase memory with scalability in mind since you only have one slot available. Anyway, good hunting.
 
I doubt it's changed, but do a google search for ibg4.pdf which is the service manual for the 12" iBook G4. ibg4_14in.pdf is for the 14 inch. They show the steps to pulling them apart. It's quite a job though.

As to the Tiger installation disks coming with the iBook, yes, they do.
 
Originally posted by: Liver
Do you gents know if the apple laptops come with and "installation" disk of Tiger? What I am getting at is I would like to replace the small hard drive with an aftermarket one (and save some cash). Of course I would like to load the OS on to that HD. Is that possible? I would also add some memory to it (aftermarket as well).

What do you think?

Liver
Click to expand...

The iBook comes with installation disks, so aftermarket hard disk change should be no problem. Adding memory is dead easy (and recommended). Changing the hard disk may be somewhat difficult though. If you can live with the screen resolution, go for the iBook. Their battery life is fair.
 
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