Emac or iBook?

[garyb]

Hi all
I'm looking to replace my ageing PC with a Mac but can not make my mind up on which one.A laptop would be handy so I'm not tied to a desk but I guess I could manage without.I've heard reports of the 12" ibook being better than the 14".My only worry is that whist I can edit home video footage on the 12" ibook I then have no way of burning it to DVD(Ihave a DVD burner on my PC).
Is it easy to add memory to the ibook?
Is the emac now too out of date with the new mini mac now on the scene?
Any advice appreciated.
Gary

[Stoo]

I really wouldn't bother with an emac, the only downside to the ibook is as you said the lack of a dvd recorder, but you could always add an external one later (usb2 or firewire).

Ram is a doddle to upgrade, the slot is under the keyboard, actually, here's a guide:

http://developer.apple.com/documenta...section_2.html

[Nacrisa]

I'm not sure about the 12" being better than the 14"- the 14" has a bigger HDD and faster CPU (in addition to the screen).

I guess it depends on how important portability is to you- an eMac has higher specs for roughly the same price as a 12" (including that superdrive).

[garyb]

I think I,ve just had enough of being tied to one room in the house to work.
Is there a way to burn DVDs on my PC after I have done all the editing on the ibook?

[Stoo]

yup, save the file as a disc image (probably iso) and then burn it on the pc

[garyb]

Sorry to be so dim but what is ""disc image (probably iso) ""
Thanks
Gary

[Stoo]

well, instead of recording the dvd to disc, it saves the data to a special file format on your hard drive.

You can then copy this file to your pc over the network and burn it to a dvd

[daverobev]

I have heard that the TFT in the iBook 12 inch (and PB 12 inch) is a much better one than the one in the 14 inch iBook...better value IMO and remember you can increase the HDD size if you order from apple. Or, if you are brave, get a decent laptop hard drive (Seagate Momentus 8Mb cache, 5400 RPM, for example) and be much better off.

DVD burner? Buy a firewire enclosure and a Pioneer 107 or 108..it'll be faster than any internal one, and cheaper. Macs love firewire...

[garyb]

Thanks this info really is a great help. I was thinking of ordering 12" ibook,60GB with Bluetooth fitted.The plan is to add more memory bought from crucial.Any thoughts on this.Do people find the 12" screen big enough for most things?
Gary

[thet2]

i just got a 12"ibook and i love it, it's absolutely stunning and quite fast for only 256megs ram. if you need a bigger screen you could hook it up to an external monitor or if you want use the screen hack to extend the desktop to the external screen. either way it's nice, and a very nice change to windows, i almost forgot how good using osx was