Women in Technology

Article:		iBooks Love Linux
Subject:		iBook is good 'as is' but what about expandability?
Date:		2002-04-02 23:55:48
From:		eliasbiris
I have also been an owner of an Apple iBook 2001(aka icebook) similar to the one mentioned in the article. I ran SuSE Linux on it while I had it. Great distro, easy installation, and knowledge-base support for any issues. While I do not disagree with the article itself, I should mention a couple of non-linux related issues from my experience: My verdict is that the iBook is a good solution 'as is' if you do not plan to manually expand it in any way. The only 'easy' thing that you can change on your own is memory, and for that you have to dig quite a bit under the keyboard. Other components, notably the HD, are almost out of reach unless you really know what you are doing... So for any new components (apart from memory), and to avoid voiding your warranty, you must ask for support by official Apple engineers, and to accept whatever HW Apple supports (you cannot add *any* HD or RAM modules for instance). This kind of dependability proved the reason that I got the iBook returned after 5 months, getting a refund. On this support aspect you should also be aware that quality of Apple support varies from country to country. In the UK, where I am, it was the worst nightmare: the machine went to Apple in perfect order but came back within 3 months (!) after the initial 'check-in' with Apple and horribly deformed (surface was scratched beyond expectation). A single case? I am not so sure about that. Check local newsgroups before making any move to get the iBook, no matter how 'sweet' is the pill that they offer.

Showing messages 1 through 2 of 2.

• iBook is good 'as is' but what about expandability?
  2002-04-19 14:04:21  lally [View]
  
  
  In defense of my new favorite platform:
  
  Firstly, it's about a 3 minute job to install new memory on an iBook. I added it to my TiBook in class while waiting for the teacher to start his lesson! (and he wasn't late).
  
  Secondly, adding other upgrades (like the disk, etc), won't void your warranty unless it's actually your fault. Apple support is pretty cool in this regard. For example, if your LCD dies, it's covered under warranty even if you've replaced your HDD.
  
  But, my experiences with Apple are from the US, so YMMV.

• iBook is good 'as is' but what about expandability?
  2002-04-03 12:21:59  Edd Dumbill | [View]
  
  
  Thanks for the heads-up and your support experiences. I agree that expandability isn't its prime asset (is it for any laptop?), but neither is it a prime concern for me as I do not use the laptop as my main machine. I might add that I never had cause to go inside my old Dell laptop apart from to fit memory either. Linux has a way of extending the life of hardware...
  
  I can't personally think of any way to fill the 30GB HD as it is, apart from video stuff, which I'd be tempted to buy an external Firewire HD for anyway.
  
  Perhaps the best thing I can do is promise to come back and write a followup one year down the line...
  
  -- Edd