I'm seriously considering getting a laptop. The main reason is for
presentations vi digital projectors at conferences often connecting
to the net and for working on websites. What should I consider ibook
or powerbook?
depends on needs and finances
for me, due to their compact size I would consider a 12" iBook for
presentations/travel if I had a large (17" +) external screen for
work at home or a second computer.
Someone suggested there's not a direct connector to a projector from
an ibook and the memory wasn't good enough to run a presentation.
Nor is there one on the PowerBook - both will require adaptors
(supplied) to hook up to the SVGA port/cable on the data-projector.
Powerbooks stopped having VGA plugs with the second iteration of the
G4 "Ti-Book")
The main thing is that Powerbooks will allow an the two monitors to
act as an extended desktop AND also mirror where as iBooks will ONLY
mirror their displays.
If you are used to extended desktops you will find it hard to go back
unless you have a sizable single monitor.
memory is cheap - simply add another 256MB or even max it out to
1.25 GB if you want - gone are the days of $1000 memory upgrades -
even with the base 256Mb install you will be able to run Powerpoint
no problems unless you have full screen video - and even then I'd say
you'd be fine 95% of the time. But still recommend upgrade to at
least half a GB
If I want to connect using ibook or powerbook to a windows network
with a mac machine, how difficult is it? Do I need extra hardware or
software?
Not all places are enlightened enough to have mac networks.
easy - it's actually harder to convince the Windows networking guys
that it can be done - after months of doing it I still have to
explain to our network administrator that "Yes I CAN log in to the
Windows domain" - If they use a domain setup (rather than a
workgroup) you'll need the IP number of the Primary Wins server - to
which your Network administrator will probably say (like mine did)
"You use a mac what could you possibly want the Wins sever IP number
for?".
Using OS X 10.3 I authenticate on to a windows domain mount shared
volumes and copy files backwards and forwards with Windows users and
even use NT shared printers without problems (well that's not true -
they used to work for me without problems then I got under the hood
and mucked around with it and stuffed it up - think I'll need to fix
that eh?)
Can I share my adsl connection through my imac to an ibook or
powerbook relatively easily? What extra stuff will I need to buy?
yes quite easy though the details depend on the physical
configuration you go with when you decide post back to the list and
myself or someone else will be able to give you the nitty-gritty.
By far the easiest option ins if your ADSL modem (router) handles
multiple users (and it should)- if not ADSL routers with multiple
ethernet ports are cheap (less than $70 if you look around) it's
plug and play - with the mac pretty much networking straight out of
the box. if your ADSL router has a single ethernet port but will
handle routing of multiple machines you can simply buy a small hub
(less than $50 shop around or s/h) and plug the ADSL router and your
macs in to that (note you plug the router in to the "uplink" port if
it has one)
If your macs are Airport equipped instead of a hub an Airport (or
compatible) base station can be plugged in to the router/hub or buy a
Airport compatible wireless ADSL router (modem) to replace your
current ADSL router.
if your ADSL router is USB only or doesn't do routing of multiple
clients then you use one mac to act as a router by turning on the
"share my internet connection" option in System Preferences/Sharing.
Theoretically (I haven't done exactly this) an Airport base station
should be able to be plugged in to your non-routing ADSL hub and
supply the same functions as the above "share my internet connection"
but with out requiring that mac stay on the network to service the
other machines.
Rosemary Horton
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