Switching from a PC to a Pair of Macs

A PC using friend dropped by the house a few weeks ago to spend some hands on time with my Macintosh systems in preparation for a Christmas purchase. He spent a great deal of time using my new 17" iMac and my iBook 500.

His initial thought and budget was geared toward one of the new 1 GHz PowerBooks. His major concern with that course was moving to a laptop as his primary machine. Although he loves the capability of the current PowerBook, he does like the upgrade options of a tower machine. As we discussed his uses, I realized that he could easily compromise.

The portability of a laptop is important as he travels about 40% of his work time. During his travel, he uses his laptop for basic office work, including presentations using PowerPoint. The remainder of his computer work takes place from his home office. His budget had been set at $3,000 plus change for the new machine.

Over the course of a few hours, I recommended the following plan. Don't settle on a laptop or a tower - buy both. We spent some time confirming that he liked the form and function of the iBook 500. I mentioned that for the best balance of rugged build and portability, the iBook was the best choice.

We then headed to the local CompUSA to allow him to get some hands on time with the new 800 MHz iBook. We noted that OS X performance was much improved over my older model. The faster processor and updated video subsystem made OS X a joy to use.

The next trial was a new dual processor Power Mac. We worked with the 867 MHz and 1 GHz systems, and he made the determination that the 867 would be a good fit for his usage and his budget. Once we had validated this machine, we headed to the Internet to find the best deals.

I directed him to Small Dog and a few other well-known online dealers and said good-bye for the weekend. I received a call on Wednesday with an invitation to come over for a new machine setup party.

In the technology realm, I find nothing more fun than setting up a new Macintosh box. Setting up two was to good to pass up, and I did feel a sense of responsibility to making sure his initial setup went smoothly.

Over the course of a few hours, we had set up the Power Mac in his office and were completing a repartitioning of the default hard drive. After the drives were set, we began the software installs on the Power Mac adding Office:X and about 5 GB of additional applications. We then moved his important office documents and presentations to the new machine.

He was having so much fun, he almost forgot about the iBook. I took a turn driving the Power Mac while he spent some quality time with the new iBook. During the installation process, he asked about buying a switch to allow him to use one monitor with both the Power Mac and iBook. I asked him how often would he want to use the iBook at his desk with a Power Mac already in place. Assuming where my question was leading, he answered that it would probably be cheaper to simply exchange the files over the network and use the Power Mac.

At this point, I grabbed a FireWire cable from my bag to show him my favorite (and most underutilized) Macintosh feature. I asked him to turn the iBook off and restart holding down the "T" key during startup. This caused the iBook to boot into FireWire Target Disk Mode, changing the machine into one large FireWire drive.

I showed him that he could simply mount the iBook as a drive on the Power Mac and then use all of the peripherals connected to the Power Mac to run the 'Books applications and access its data. In this manner, he could effectively think of his iBook as a traveling hard drive.

I explained that I knew of users who plug a Mac laptop into a desktop while in the office, and then carry the work, apps, and files home in their laptop. This eliminates the difficulties in managing work/office information and provides a simple way to back up data at the end of each day.

I left him after a long day of setup and asked him to call if he had any questions. I heard nothing from him and dropped a follow up call a week later. He was absolutely smitten with his new Macintosh computers and was proudly using his iBook as his primary office machine.

No machine has the balance of cost, features, portability of the current iBook line. He mentioned that he uses the iBook the majority of the time based on the ability to walk around the house with a wireless connection.

After we left, I thought of a few of the main topics we discussed which would be a value to all switchers.

The top 5 list of interesting facts you need to know when switching to a Macintosh (focus on portables):

• FireWire Target Disk Mode. Your laptop acts as a hard drive (this also works with desktop Macs).
• iPod as a hard drive. You can store applications, documents, even an operating system on your iPod.
• Never turn off the machine. The sleep mode is great and allows for fast access to the machine.
• AppleWorks will read and write .doc files.
• Run at least two partitions. It is much easier to troubleshoot a machine with multiple partitions.

Kevin Webb spent the last seven years selling technology consulting services. Of that time, at least two years have been devoted to trying to convince the world that the Macintosh is the pinnacle of the computing experience. He is the proud owner of eight Macs, ranging from a new iBook to a Classic. You can read about his newest computer in Kevin Webb's PowerBook G4.

Recent articles by Kevin Webb

• How Macintel could spell trouble for Windows, 06.15. "Apple has been working to change the game from simply a hardware discussion to an integrated system approach - the digital hub."
• Tech junkie swears off new hardware for one year, 07.14. "This is the day of the big freeze. I am going to choose my personal infrastructure and freeze those products for one full year!"
• What a long strange trip back to Pismo, 03.29. The 15" and 12" G4 PowerBooks were nice, but the old Pismo is the PowerBook that seems just right.
• Switching from a PC to a pair of Macs, 01.23. Friend buys a Power Mac and an iBook -- and uses FireWire Disk Mode to tie them together.
• More in the Mac Webb index.

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: SuperMac S900, Aug. 1996 - This 6-slot tower supported dual CPUs and still has a following.
• List of the Day: Macintel List for discussion and support of Intel-based Macs.
  
• October 7 in LEM history: 98: Love that PowerBook G3 - 99: Troubleshooting 101 - Love at first sight - 02: Hot rodding a Power Mac for OS X - Beefing up Windows networking - 05: Choose FireWire 800 over USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 - Faster Mac minis shipping - Speedy 100 GB 7200 rpm notebook drives

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• New Apple Notebooks at Zero Minus One Week, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 10.07. It's widely anticipated that Apple will overhaul the MacBook Pro and MacBook lines next Tuesday. What should we expect?
• How to Clone Mac OS X to a New Hard Drive, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.07. Whether you want to put a bigger, faster drive in your Mac or clone OS X for use in another Mac, here's the simple process.
• Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.07. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1.33 GHz, $496; 1.5 GHz SuperDrive, $542.
• Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.07. Used 1.25 GHz G4 Combo, $399; 1.42 SuperDrive, $559; 1.66 Core Duo, $499; new 1.83 Core 2 Combo, $570 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $770 a/r.
• Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.07. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; 333, $198; blue & white 300, $49; 350, $55; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15.
• $19,800 Bentley Ego Laptop Remarkably Similar to 1999 Clamshell iBook, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.06. Granted, Apple's iBook didn't have white gold trim, a padded leather exterior, or come in colors to match your Bentley automobile.
• The Cost of Moving to Small Business Server vs. Moving to Leopard Server., Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.06. Upgrading the existing SBS 2003 Server would cost less, the the server will run up against hardware limitations long before a Mac Pro does.
• Use Your FileMaker Pro Databases on Your iPhone, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 10.06. Although there's no version of FileMaker Pro for the iPhone, FMTouch will let you use your data and layouts on it.
• Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 700 MHz CD, $110; CD-RW, $130; Combo, $170; 800 CD, $170; 1 GHz Combo, $250; SuperDrive, $280; 1.25 Combo, $290; SD, $360; 1.42 Combo, $359.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 1.6 HD, $1,299; refurb, $1,499; new, $1,669 after rebate; 1.8, $1,919 a/r; 1.6 SSD, $2,294 a/r; used 1.8 SSD, $1,997; refurb, $2,299; new, $2,349 a/r.
• Best iPod shuffle Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Refurb 3G/1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 1 GB (3G or 4G), $47; 2 GB (3G or 4G), $67. Prices include ground shipping.
• Mac Netbook Coming?, $179 64 GB SSD, Apple Owns 20% of US Notebook Market, and More, The 'Book Review, 10.03. Also head of Norton AntiVirus team uses a Mac, Toshiba demos new battery technology, 1 TB notebook drives due in 2010, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
• Getting the Most from Your G3 Mac, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.03. Most G3 Macs can be upgraded so they can run Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' quite nicely. Here's how.
• Apple Drops iPhone NDA, Defecting to Android, Auto Performance Apps for the iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 10.03. Also more research needed on cellphone cancer link, file sharing app for the iPhone, three new power accessories from Macally, several new iPhone apps, and more.
• Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 450 MHz, $75; 500, $99; 733, $150; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, C$349; 867 MHz dual, $225; 1 GHz, $349; 1.25, $499; 1.42, $600.
• OS X and Safari Shares Grow in September, Toxic Mac Pro?, Green Hard Drives, and More, Mac News Review, 10.03. Also Vista terrible as Mac market grows, CrossOver Mac Pro reviewed, SimpleTech Pro Drives, and a new toolkit for working on computers.
• Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 500 CD, $149; 800, $190; 600 CD-RW, $240; 800 Combo, $300; 900, $399; 14" 600, $360; 900, $469.
• Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $65; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
• More links in our archive.

<go to the Mac Webb index>

The Mac Webb begun Sept. 27, 2001. All Mac Webb articles ©2001-2005 by Kevin Webb. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.