Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: We Make DIY Upgrading Easy! Maximize your Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro. Up to 8.0GB Memory, up to 1.0TB HD & More. Easy Guide + Free, Detailed Installation Videos. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

The Mac Webb

Switching from a PC to a Pair of Macs

- 2003.01.23

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.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based MacBook launched at 1.83-2.0 GHz, had several teething problems.
Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
November 22 in LEM history: 99: Gradebooks - 00: Leveraging Apple design - Quadra 630 to Power Mac 5200 - 02: Laptop or desktop? - 04: SuperDuper: Quick, easy, efficient backup - Cross-platform programming for the rest of us - 05: Mac video surveillance on the cheap - Which OS is best for my vintage Mac? - No 'best browser' for the Mac - Sorry state of browsers for classic Macs - 06: Core 2 means cooler running 'Books - 2.0 GHz G4 upgrade

Recent Deals

Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 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.