a switcher with a couple questions

[lifeisgood360]

hello all, im a student whos been using windows for his whole entire life but decided to switch now so
i ordered an 12 inch iBook
(a christmas gift/b-day gift from parents plus some of my money)

i would just like to ask some questions and advice but before i do this,

first i dont think i'll ever regret buying this over an intel mac because i think the G4 will b sufficient for me and i just dont feel like waiting a month =P
with that said, i have a couple of questions and wud b appreciated if i find some answers

1. the tiger os x, is it sufficient with 512 mb? or would it be better to add another 512mb stick to 1 gb
- i'll be playing warcraft 3 frozen throne (an ancient game but i love it ) and some music burning, and internet, word processing, and chatting .. i usually have 5-6 windows open and i have no clue how much memory tiger requires tho it says 512 at the apple site...

2. i bought the mighty mouse, i've heard it has right click.. does it really have right click? because that'd save my life

3. can the wireless thing on iBook connect to any wireless router?

4. are there any must need peripherals that i would need if im doing just word processing, chatting, internet, music burning, games etc? i think im gonna use adrium for chatting, den safari, iTunes etc i think im pretty much set
and plus iWork (no officemac for me cuz its too expensive and no open office for me because i just dont like it)

also, are there any guides that would make my switch fluidly?

thanks in advance

 

[OutThere]

hello all, im a student whos been using windows for his whole entire life but decided to switch now so
i ordered an 12 inch iBook
(a christmas gift/b-day gift from parents plus some of my money)

i would just like to ask some questions and advice but before i do this,

first i dont think i'll ever regret buying this over an intel mac because i think the G4 will b sufficient for me and i just dont feel like waiting a month =P
with that said, i have a couple of questions and wud b appreciated if i find some answers

1. the tiger os x, is it sufficient with 512 mb? or would it be better to add another 512mb stick to 1 gb
- i'll be playing warcraft 3 frozen throne (an ancient game but i love it ) and some music burning, and internet, word processing, and chatting .. i usually have 5-6 windows open and i have no clue how much memory tiger requires tho it says 512 at the apple site...

2. i bought the mighty mouse, i've heard it has right click.. does it really have right click? because that'd save my life

3. can the wireless thing on iBook connect to any wireless router?

4. are there any must need peripherals that i would need if im doing just word processing, chatting, internet, music burning, games etc? i think im gonna use adrium for chatting, den safari, iTunes etc i think im pretty much set
and plus iWork (no officemac for me cuz its too expensive and no open office for me because i just dont like it)

also, are there any guides that would make my switch fluidly?

thanks in advance

1) Yes. As long as you don't plan to do video editing or major gaming, 512 is fine. Anything more than web browsing you might want more.

2) Yes it has right click.

3) Yes.

4) Nothing you have to have. It should be fine right out of the box.

5) http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/

 

[mfacey]

1. Should be alright, although a step up to 1GB won't do any harm. It sort of depends on how many widgets you're using and how many programs you run at the same time. It'll run on 512 but 1gig willl be noticably smoother.

2. Yes it does!

3. If you have an airport (extreme) card installed it'll work with any 802.11b/g compatible router out there.

4. You say MS office is too expensive, but in my opinion its well worth the cash. iWork isn't very good (except for keynote) and lacks certain features like a good spreadsheet app. I'd recommend purchasing office.

There's a bunch of beginners advice in the guides section here at MR. Check it out for any info you might need on your switch.

Enjoy your new ibook!

EDIT: Crap, typed too slow

 

[Mhaddy]

Hi there, lifeisgood360, and welcome to the wonderful world of Mac! I'm a recent switcher myself and here is my take on your questions:

1) You're probably "ok" with 512MB, but I know WCIII can get pretty intense at times, and depending on how many apps you have open at once, it could get a little slow. Like yourself, I don't know how much memory OS X eats, but if you have the opportunity to get jump to 1GB, I'd say do it. I'm running 1.5GB DDR2 in my PowerMac G5 and I haven't had the thing chug yet.

2) Couldn't tell you. I got rid of that thing the day after I plugged it in -- replace it with my wireless MS Intellimouse (*hides*). Just works better, IMHO.

3) Yes, it will connect to your router just like any other wireless laptop would.

4) By "peripherals" I think you meant "programs", but whatever. For chatting, I'd use Adium, web browsing I'd use Firefox, and email I'd use Thunderbird. As for guides, check out the guides right here at Mac Rumours: http://guides.macrumors.com.

 

[iBS23]

I'll chime in here too . . . the answers you;ve already been given are correct. I'll add:

1. 512MB will get you by, but I would recommend bumping to 1GB. It will give you a better experience. However, I would not buy from Apple as they chage too much for thier RAM. Crucial and Ramjet seems to be the two most recommended brands.

4. I would second the Mac Office recommendation. Plus, if you're buying the iBook now, you can save some big-time cash on office. Check here: http://tinyurl.com/9jl3p

 

[lifeisgood360]

thanks for all the input

i think i'll upgrade to 1 gig.. a 512 stick is on sale for 50 at bestbuy =)
about the office.. i seriously can't afford to shelll out that 30-40 dollars more cuz im literally broke now haha =P
iWork seems sufficient for me because i dont do much excel spreadsheet works
i'll use pages for term papers/ essays and keynote for ppt presentations

thanks for all the input again and the warm welcome

 

[balamw]

4. I would second the Mac Office recommendation. Plus, if you're buying the iBook now, you can save some big-time cash on office. Check here: http://tinyurl.com/9jl3p

Wow! Given that he's a student, with this deal, he can get Office 2004 for $99 after rebate. What a deal! Definitely more worth it than iWork at that price.

EDIT: Note that I am one of the few that doesn't hate Pages, and use it a fair amount, but need Excel or something similar

B

 

[h0e0h]

you may want to get you the mozilla suite (firefox for browsing, thunderbird for email, they both work pretty good)... and enjoy.

 

[bliner]

Openoffice.org, great free alternative to MS office...

 

[scan]

Oh My God, reading your post is so so funny to me. You literally are me like a month ago. Thats when I made a switch when I got a 12" pb (not ibook) with money that my parents gave me (as xmas AND b-day gift) and half of my money. also I play wc3 tft too!! Also I got the mighty mouse too! lol i just find it funny.

just a couple of notes: I opted to get extra 256 ram. Everything run great for me, which i'm sure would be for you too! lol

hello all, im a student whos been using windows for his whole entire life but decided to switch now so
i ordered an 12 inch iBook
(a christmas gift/b-day gift from parents plus some of my money)

i would just like to ask some questions and advice but before i do this,

first i dont think i'll ever regret buying this over an intel mac because i think the G4 will b sufficient for me and i just dont feel like waiting a month =P
with that said, i have a couple of questions and wud b appreciated if i find some answers

1. the tiger os x, is it sufficient with 512 mb? or would it be better to add another 512mb stick to 1 gb
- i'll be playing warcraft 3 frozen throne (an ancient game but i love it ) and some music burning, and internet, word processing, and chatting .. i usually have 5-6 windows open and i have no clue how much memory tiger requires tho it says 512 at the apple site...

2. i bought the mighty mouse, i've heard it has right click.. does it really have right click? because that'd save my life

3. can the wireless thing on iBook connect to any wireless router?

4. are there any must need peripherals that i would need if im doing just word processing, chatting, internet, music burning, games etc? i think im gonna use adrium for chatting, den safari, iTunes etc i think im pretty much set
and plus iWork (no officemac for me cuz its too expensive and no open office for me because i just dont like it)

also, are there any guides that would make my switch fluidly?

thanks in advance

 

[NewbieNerd]

Don't jump on Office yet unless you're big on using Excel, though note that Windows shortcuts are NOT the same for Excel unfortunately, or just need it now. Keep an eye out for iWork in early Jan and see what happens to it. Hopefully Excel-like app will emerge, i.e. Numbers or Cells as people predict.

I second the recommendations for upping the RAM. When fancy windows animations happen, like when opening a file, you want to see the window ''burp'' open, not ''belch.''

I'm not sure about others, and I'm on a laptop so I don't use the Mighty Mouse very often, but I don't think the right button is as great as you might think, coming from Windows. I don't imagine needing it. The thing to do is start learning shortcuts and get a little app called Quicksilver. Say you want to open program xxxxxx ... rather than taking your hand off the keyboard, just hit ctrl-space and type the name of the app you want. By the time you hit the second or third letter it has probably identified it correctly, at which point you just hit enter. Use Spotlight via Apple-Space to find files. Forget the mouse.

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

max da ram!
get officeX at univ. bookstore or apple edu store = mucho cheaper

iWork + Appleworks for most basic things works too & even less $$

 

[lifeisgood360]

you may want to get you the mozilla suite (firefox for browsing, thunderbird for email, they both work pretty good)... and enjoy.

i've heard about problems with firefox and mighty mouse together so i think i'll use safari.. as long as it has tabbed windows.. if it doesn't hav that i'll die =)

Openoffice.org, great free alternative to MS office...

i've tried it but i didn't find it to my liking =/ i think im going with iWork i tried it out at my friend's

Oh My God, reading your post is so so funny to me. You literally are me like a month ago. Thats when I made a switch when I got a 12" pb (not ibook) with money that my parents gave me (as xmas AND b-day gift) and half of my money. also I play wc3 tft too!! Also I got the mighty mouse too! lol i just find it funny.

just a couple of notes: I opted to get extra 256 ram. Everything run great for me, which i'm sure would be for you too! lol

lol that's hilarious.. i wish i cud get a pbook but.. meh lol i can't justify shelling out an extra 5 benjamins .. does wc3 tft run well on ur pbook? yes the mighty mouse is free after mail in rebate from amazon which is really good for me.. and haha i bought an extra 256 RAM from best buy 2 nights ago lol thanks for the tip tho =)

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i've decided getting iWork over Office.. i almost never use excel, only powerpoint and word so i think iWork will be adequate for me..