[pointlessbanter]

Hello, I'm currently an XP user looking to buy an Apple iBook (probably with the 768ram, 80Gb hard drive, 14") and I've used mac's off and on for about a year now and find that they're suprisingly easy to get used to and to use. Now all I've heard are good things about the iBook and of Mac's in general and was just wondering if there are any negatives about the Mac. Basically what I'm asking is that despite all the good things about Apple/Mac what are somethings that aren't so great about it or that could be considered annoyances? Another thing is how hard is it to upgrade the ram on the iBook and would it be cheaper to buy the ram seperately and just install it myself? Finally, does anyone use an antivirus program or spyware program just for safety reasons or is that just pointless to use?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

-Rob

[ghoti]

Welcome, pointlessbanter! I hope you won't live up to your name

Originally Posted by pointlessbanter Basically what I'm asking is that despite all the good things about Apple/Mac what are somethings that aren't so great about it or that could be considered annoyances?

The Apple Zealots(tm)

Originally Posted by pointlessbanter Another thing is how hard is it to upgrade the ram on the iBook and would it be cheaper to buy the ram seperately and just install it myself?

It's certainly cheaper. You have to remove the keyboard to upgrade the RAM, but it should be very much doable.

Originally Posted by pointlessbanter Finally, does anyone use an antivirus program or spyware program just for safety reasons or is that just pointless to use?

It is pointless, and some antivirus programs are actually known to cause problems.

[curiousuburb]

The only other possible negative is the timing of the upgrade cycle...

the iBooks are overdue for a bump and will probably become intel Core Solo MacBooks before June.

If you can wait, you may have the option of a newer machine with more bells/whistles.

Otherwise, as ghoti said, AV/malware removers are generally unnecessary and may actually be malware themselves.

[pointlessbanter]

The intel cores bring up another question. Wouldn't the intel core make the mac at least partially suceptible to some viruses? Or is that just some crazy rumor/comment I heard.

[GWARREN]

Having intel won't make a difference on the virus front - this is an OS dependant issue, and all of those Windows viruses won't affect your mac even if it is intel. I've never had anti-virus software on my mac, but I'm not complacent - I know I might need to one day. I would definitely, definitely hold off for an intel iBook if you can - the current iBook is due an upgrade.

[Banana]

Just checking- does anyone how many are Intel hardware-specific viruses out there and whether it could penetrate Mac OS (assuming no Windows installation)?

[chucker]

Code can either be architecture-independent (such as bytecode in Java), or it depends on the ABI, i.e. the OS.

[Banana]

Hmmm. Not sure how that answer my question? I'm thinking of a firmware virus or something like that...

[chucker]

Well, firmware can only be overwritten/flashed in a secure environment. You can't change the firmware from within a modern OS.

So, short of phishing, I can't see a way for that to work. By phishing, I mean a site pretending to be "official" (i.e. Apple-/Intel-approved) providing a firmware update, tricking the user into downloading it and into rebooting to install it.

That would work.

But at that point, you might as well trick a user into rebooting, holding cmd-S and typing mount -rw /; rm -rf /.

[rminkler]

I just want to third the thought that potential ibook purchasers should hold off for a month or so. The current ibook is pretty outdated, and any intel ibook (or macbook) will probably wipe the floor with the current model.

[AsLan^]

Originally Posted by chucker But at that point, you might as well trick a user into rebooting, holding cmd-S and typing mount -rw /; rm -rf /.

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[chucker]

Originally Posted by AsLan^ FREE Live Sex - ALT-F4 to join !

[ghoti]

The scenario chucker describes above is still Mac-specific, and isn't easier at all for Intel chips than for PPCs. And besides, what would be the point? A firmware virus wouldn't be able to spread without cooperation from the operating system, every single machine would have to be infected by following a long list of instructions. That virus would be much less successful than those "manual" virus emails that say "I am a manual virus. Please send me to all your contacts and then format your harddrive, haha".

[chucker]

Originally Posted by ghoti And besides, what would be the point? A firmware virus wouldn't be able to spread without cooperation from the operating system, every single machine would have to be infected by following a long list of instructions.

A virus doesn't spread by itself anyway. A worm does.

[ghoti]

Whatever Okay, I should have said malware, but virus is usually used in that sense.

[wecallitfall]

wait until the intel 'book arrives

trust me on this one, check my reputation points if you dont trust me

[pointlessbanter]

Alright so any idea when the intel iBook's going to be out?

[Luca]

Well, it really should be out already judging by the pent-up demand for an update and the long period of time it's been since the iBook was updated... but the rumors have said anywhere from May to July. Rest assured, it won't be too long... I know you probably want a Mac right now, but trust me, you'll be kicking yourself if you buy an iBook now and the MacBooks come out in two weeks! I'm not saying they will be out in two weeks, but it's entirely possible.

The point is we don't know, but we can give you a ballpark. FYI, about the longest any Mac has gone without updates in recent memory was the iMac G4, which wasn't changed between its introduction in January 2002 and February 2003. That's really uncommon, though. The iBook was last updated in July 2005, so it really should get an update any time now.

[LudwigVan]

If rumor mongering is part of the timing equation, then consider that, based on speculation, the release date of the MacBook (Intel iBook) generally runs the gamut from May through June of this year.

[uypeterson]

Originally Posted by pointlessbanter Hello, I'm currently an XP user looking to buy an Apple iBook (probably with the 768ram, 80Gb hard drive, 14") and I've used mac's off and on for about a year now and find that they're suprisingly easy to get used to and to use. Now all I've heard are good things about the iBook and of Mac's in general and was just wondering if there are any negatives about the Mac. Basically what I'm asking is that despite all the good things about Apple/Mac what are somethings that aren't so great about it or that could be considered annoyances?

I purchased a MacBook Pro on February 27. I use both XP and OS X. Everything I have done with XP, I have done better with a Mac. The ONLY negative I have encountered is with file sharing -- choosing among the NTFS, HFS+ and FAT file systems on a network storage device with Photoshop, MS Office, Dreamweaver, iTunes and various cross-platform files saved over time. If you move everything to HFS+, this shouldn't be a problem. But, if you are considering sharing files among the two operating systems, this annoyance should be considered.

You can learn more info about each file system on Wikipedia.

File Allocation Table

NTFS

HFS Plus

I have files that are larger than 4GB. NTFS and HFS+ can handle them fine, FAT32 cannot.

FAT is a crappy file system because "when files are deleted and new files written to the media, their fragments tend to become scattered over the entire media making reading and writing a slow process. De-fragmentation is one solution to this, but is often a lengthy process in itself and has to be repeated regularly to keep the FAT file system clean." -- Wikipedia

OS X supports full read/write/format with FAT, but can only read NTFS files. Unlike FAT, the NTFS specification is a Microsoft "trade secret." HFS+ is fully documented. This is one of the reasons why I love Apple and have grown to dislike Microsoft so much

XP does not support HFS+ files at all.

To solve this file system issue, you have three choices:

1. Live with sharing files with FAT. This is great for using your USB drive on any computer with a USB port, but I don't want to use FAT anymore.
2. Move everything to HFS+ and use NTFS only when needed with XP.
3. Try a utility called MacDrive 6 that enables XP boxes to read, write and format HFS+ discs. This way, you can move all of your files to HFS+ and access them with XP as. The only disadvantage here is that any XP box you want to use to access your files must have this utility installed. This can be a problem is you need files in an emergency and all you've got is a PC. With Apple Stores popping up in many places, this is becoming less of a concern.