older mac laptop questions (techies welcome)

[DankStar]

yo techies!

I gotta get my kids a laptop per my wife's mandate. I guess it's going to be a mac laptop, probably an older one.

I don't know where to start, other than ibook seems to indicate "old" and macbook seems to indicate "newer."

not sure how old I can go and have it do what I want: basically boot up in a reasonable amount of time and be able to surf the net to some kids' sites where there's online learning tools they use in their school. I guess if they can use a mouse to paint or type in a word processing program that'll work too, but about any computer can do that.

prices seem to range from $200 (older ibooks) to $300-$400 (older/less powerful macbook).

any idears?

[H8Red442]

iMac only became the default indication for Apple's laptops in the last two years or so maybe. In 2006 the high end laptops were Powerbooks and the first generation latops after the switch to Intel processors they became Macbooks. The lower, even though still intel based laptops, were still called iBooks. They were plastic and such. Generally lower specs than the top of the line Macbook/Powerbook.

Once Apple did away with the plastic cases and went all aluminum/unibody, all laptops got the designation Macbook. The old Powerbook class became Macbook Pros while the iBooks became just Macbooks.

Currently I'm running a Macbook Pro from early 2006 and it runs everything fine. Its running the last OS update before the newest version (only reason I haven't updated to Lion is Apple decided not to support CPUs any further back than core 2 Duos and I have a Core Duo, FWIW I'm running Snow Leopard) and all current software without issues. I've got a 1.6 or 2 GHz CPU (I think) and 2GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD.

[Funkfingers]

Check the processor type before buying. The older machines will not support any OS after 9.? (*I need to look this up.)

Anything calling itself a MacBook or MacBook Pro should be okay - even with the very latest OS revision.

If you want to go leftfield, consider the MacMini. (Just add your own keyboard, mouse and screen.) Again, check the spec carefully.

[H8Red442]

OSX has been out for over ten years. Anything in the last decade will run OSX and not be limited to OS 9.

[Gamera]

Yeah, considering you're only looking to do some surfing, word processing and maybe light graphics I don't think there's a bad option. Personally I'd identify the software you want to use and make sure the computer is up to spec for it. I really don' think you'll have any issues though. Hell I have a 13 year old G3 that can still do all those things just fine. It's not OSX but it can handle all those apps.

[DankStar]

cool dudes, thanks

[ratherdashing]

Basically, the MacBook and MacBook Pro will run the latest versions of OS X (Snow Leopard and Lion). These are the Intel-based Macs.

The iBook and Powerbook models will only go up to Leopard. These are PowerPC-based.

Honestly, if your expectations aren't too high, the G4 Powerbooks are very good machines for cheap. I got a 15" Powerbook G4 to use as a beater notebook for travel and such. It cost me $100 plus a $30 replacement battery, and for simple tasks (web surfing, e-mail, documents, and photos) it gets the job done quite nicely.

[uOpt]

The problem here is that although Macs aren't under heavy attack there are still security problems in older versions of MacOS X. And older hardware quickly becomes unsupported by newer versions of OS X.

You can solve most of the problems by installing an updated browser, such as Google Chrome, but again there's the next step asking how old OS versions are supported by a new Chrome.

[Maz]

As a Mac user/Apple fanboy myself, I wouldn't exactly recommend going as far back as an ibook. If you check around Craigslist, without a doubt you'll find a good deal on a Macbook.

Specifically look for either a White Macbook, or a 2009 Macbook Pro. You can find either for pretty cheap if you just look around a bit. The 2009 Macbook Pro 13 is pretty powerful for what you might pay. If you're lucky you'll find one in your price range, or a little higher, but you will be happy. I have a friend who has a 2009 low end MBP13 and it runs faster then my new HP. It's worth it if you look, in my area I can find those for around $400-$800 depending on model and year of manufacture.

You can probably get a away with a 2007 as well, but cosmetically it isn't as attractive as a 2008-Present, but I assume most people don't care about that.

[DankStar]

thanks again - good recs; just need to fine tune what I need. this helps.

[That90'sGuy]

You certainly can't go wrong with a Macbook. I've had my MBP for about 8 years now and it's been amazing. I got something like 1 year out of a Toshiba Satellite and 3 years out of a Dell Inspiron, respectively.

[DankStar]

I went with a older Mackbook G4 (15") - found one around RatherDashing's price point (thanks, that dollar number helped me hone it in).

Arrived today - powers up just fine, surfs the web, recognized my wireless mouse and keyboard.

Just need a video monitor adapter and I'll be set.

Thanks doods.

What's funny is, it took my old PC laptop (about the same age, maybe younger) forever and a day just to get to the point after sleeping where I could shut it down. I think I heard it cough up some phlegm at one point.

[these_go211]

glad to see you are doing well with your macbook. that is what I was going to recommend as well. sounds like you will have just what you need.