[P1] Newbie question: iBook upgrades?

[Richard J Laue]

>Hello all,
>
>I am completely new to Apple (if you discount computer science in 
>grade 8 with apple ][e's) and have just this week purchased a G3 600 
>12.1" iBook (dual usb).


I also own this exact same iBook.  I have a different opinion about 
upgrading than has been offered so far.

I would definitely max out the RAM, because that will give you your 
biggest "bang for the buck."  And also, bring your OS as up-to-date 
as you can.

But I would suggest NOT upgrading the internal hard drive, nor the CD 
drive.  At least, not yet.  Here's my reasoning:

Jean-Paul is brand new to this whole Mac scene, as he says.  I think 
it would be smart for him to get some time and experience on his 
iBook before he sinks a lot of money into upgrading it.  The 600mhz 
is somewhat slow by today's standards, and as he gets some 
experience, he might discover that he would like to move up to 
something newer and faster.  Particularly if he's into graphics or 
into music composition and editing.

If he DOES decide to move up, better to put his money into the newer 
Mac than having it stuck in the older one.

If Jean-Paul decides that he likes his present iBook, and wants to 
keep it, then he has 2 ways to go:

1)  He can upgrade the hard drive (and the optical drive, if 
appropriate) at that time, or

2)  He can buy an  EXTERNAL hard drive and/or optical drive.

Personally, I would do #2 no matter what, because the external drive 
serves as a backup, and it is transferable to any new Mac Jean-Paul 
gets in the future.

Now, if Jean-Paul is a techie-kind-of-guy, and LIKES playing around 
with this stuff and doing his own upgrades -- well, that's a whole 
different ball game!

Cheers -
RJLaue