How does Macbook compare to ibook?

I've worked with iBooks and MacBooks and both a really great machines! Obviously I use a MacBook now. Really, the only thing that was odd at first for me was the keyboard. The keys are spaced out a bit more compared to the iBook. You get some fun features on the MacBook like built-in iSight, PhotoBooth....okay, I guess that is one feature, but it's a great way to cheer yourself up when you have a bad day.

Don't worry about your MacBook having problems. All these problems on the board sound familiar because it's to get support. I'm sure if there was a board for MacBook users not having problems, it'd beat this one ten-fold. The only problem I had with my MacBook was a battery that wouldn't charge. And that happened after 6 months of use!

Just so you know, I am a teacher and my MacBook travels with me everywhere I go! My students use it from time to time (hey, if it can withstand them, that's saying a lot!), I use it constantly during the day and it works without missing a step. I use it for e-mail, internet access, making web sites, movies, writing notes, entering grades, music....and it always holds up. Every now and then the bottom gets hot, but that's expected.

So, if you're ready to get one, go get one! Oh, if you're not a part of Apple's Education program I don't think you can take advantage of the free iPod nano (or another iPod and pay the difference) with Mac purchase. So, if you're a teacher, student, administrator, you have to buy the Mac/iPod using your education discount otherwise you won't get your rebate.

I hope you get the MacBook! It's a great machine and I'm sure you'll love it!

We upgraded from an iBook to a MacBook.

The MacBook:
* is much faster
* supports up 3GB of memory
* has a much larger hard drive (and the hard drive can be upgraded by YOU in the future)
* has a slightly small screen (but, you won't notice)

The MacBook is highly recommended. (We own 2 now).

I have a 12" ibook and a 1st generation Core Duo Macbook. I bought the Macbook because my partner needed a notebook and was happy to get my iBook. In hindsight I think I should have bought the Macbook Pro, despite the extra expense, as this would probably have been a better upgrade from the iBook. However, the current version of the Macbook is a far better spec'd computer...faster, more hard drive space, more Ram, and I think that the problems that some early Macbooks were prone too have been ironed out. Mine had the random shutdown problem, but Apple fixed that under warranty and it has been very reliable since.
Plus points of the Macbook for me are:
-I like the glossy screen of the macbook, definitely superior to the iBook for photos.
-The keyboard took a few hours to get used to but I think I type faster on it now.
-The iSight camera is a huge benefit if you do any videochat (Skype, iChat), it is so nice to have such a good onboard camera.
-It is much faster for iMovie...no crashes or video drop outs. Could be that the extra Ram helps here.
- my iBook has Panther so obviously having Tiger is an improvement.
- Magnetic power supply is nice
-came with bluetooth and wireless as standard...I love using it for wireless internet in hotspots.

Negative points would be:
_ A BIG one for me is that the optical drive on the Macbook is far less reliable and stable than the ibook. It rejects a lot of my cd's that the iBook takes no problem, scratches cd's, cd's get stuck frequently. I often have to load a cd onto the ibook, then copy the file to my Macbook, and I am forever having to try to eject stuck cd's. Some brands of blank cd's/dvd's won't work at all.
-Heat...there is no doubt, the Macbook gets very hot compared to the iBook. It is uncomfortable if you use it on your lap, and I do wonder whether eventually sone internal componant will just melt one day and kill the Macbook, but so far that hasn't happened so maybe I am worrying for nothing.
- I don't think the general build quality is as good, it just doesn't feel as solid. I treat mine very carefully. However, I have a friend who takes his everywhere in a rucksack and has not suffered any ill effects.

As I said, if I was buying again I definitely would have opted for the Macbook Pro as this would have been a really nice jump up, but the Macbook is amazing value and if you need another computer you will enjoy owning it.
Have you thought about a new iMac...do you need a notebook because if you don't the iMac would be a good choice too? Much bigger hard drive, better graphics card, bigger screen.
Enjoy what ever you end up with.

Message was edited by: 12frets56

Good ..glad to be of assistance. I'm sure you will love your Macbook and getting a free iPod can't be bad either!
I don't think you need to worry about the heat, these things have been running hot since they switched to the Intel chips and there are ways of not getting burnt legs. If necessary you could buy one of those laptop heatproof pads...I've seen roll up ones at airport shops, I guess as a last minute purchase for people wishing to use their laptop on flights. I personally don't find the heat to much for using on my lap, and I stand it on a notebook stand at home, just to keep the ventilation flowing. The fans come on if I am doing some video editting but apart from that it's not that bad. I just checked StatPro, CPU is running at around 53C and the bottom enclosure is 34C...and mine is the 1st gen model that gets hotter anyway, so I think you will not have any problems.
As for ejecting stuck CD's, I first close down iTunes by force quitting, then try eject again, if that doesn't work I try the start up holding down the mouse or touchpad trick. If that doesn't work I very carefully push another cd a few centimetres into the slot until it makes contact with the stuck one to see if the slight pressure dislodges it...obviously do not use force...,and if that doesn't work the last resort is hold the macbook upside down and tilted slight down on the side of the slot and press the eject button. So far, one of these has always worked, but I wish it wasn't necessary.
And as for copying a cd from iBook to Macbook, I download the cd onto the ibook using iTunes, then connect up my portable hard drive to the firewire port and copy the file over to that in the finder, then connect the portable hard drive to my macbook and copy to that. Bit of a pain but as I said, the trusty old iBook never fails with a disc and at least it gets there in the end. Again, wish it wasn't necessary. Maybe the newer models have a better superdrive.
Enjoy your new Macbook