Switch to 12" G4 - ?'s

[SAMB]

I am looking for an ultraportable to do powerpoint and word on, and
take on the road for presentations,

It must work flawlessly with my desktop windows microsoft word and
ppt.

In powerpoint, I often have video clips

I am considering the G4, because I hear that doing video on it is
easy.

SIZE is a major concern

Any comments, can you see if this is a good ides (vs a sony tr1a or
fujitsu or dell ultraportable)

Also - can i plug in a USB 2 button mouse, and will it work right
away> One button mouse seems stupid

[Elliott Roper]

In article <83937d32.0309010741.1641ae53@posting.google.com >, SAMB
<sambhayani@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am looking for an ultraportable to do powerpoint and word on, and
> take on the road for presentations,
>
> It must work flawlessly with my desktop windows microsoft word and
> ppt.

Powerpoint shows on Mac are a bit lethargic, especially some of the
doofus dissolves and other cheesy effects.

Word is pretty good on Mac. Quite a few annoyances, but you will be
used to them by now. A quickish Powerbook makes it more palatable.

>
> In powerpoint, I often have video clips
>
> I am considering the G4, because I hear that doing video on it is
> easy.

Yes. iMovie (free) Final Cut Express (not bad price) or Final Cut Pro
(awesome- who cares how much it is?) will let you make stunning
movies. They will display on your projector or TV direct from Mac.

Also consider Flash and Apple's own Keynote if you want terrific
presentations. The whole Macromedia experience is not too bad on a
Powerbook, although Fireworks is a slug.

Powerbooks are ace for driving projectors with.

>
> SIZE is a major concern

Size isn't everything. It's what you do with it (sorry, wrong newsgroup)

>
> Any comments, can you see if this is a good ides (vs a sony tr1a or
> fujitsu or dell ultraportable)
>
> Also - can i plug in a USB 2 button mouse, and will it work right
> away> One button mouse seems stupid

Yes.

I'm waiting for the next generation. The 'imminent' rumours will have
to come true one day.

[Joseph B. Gurman]

In article <83937d32.0309010741.1641ae53@posting.google.com >,
[email]sambhayani@yahoo.com[/email] (SAMB) wrote:

> I am looking for an ultraportable to do powerpoint and word on, and
> take on the road for presentations,
>
> It must work flawlessly with my desktop windows microsoft word and
> ppt.
>
> In powerpoint, I often have video clips
>
> I am considering the G4, because I hear that doing video on it is
> easy.
>
> SIZE is a major concern
>
> Any comments, can you see if this is a good ides (vs a sony tr1a or
> fujitsu or dell ultraportable)
>
> Also - can i plug in a USB 2 button mouse, and will it work right
> away> One button mouse seems stupid

A post has already answered your substantive questions, but rest
assured: a one-button mouse is simpler, and a two-button mouse is only
really useful on a Mac for games. (A three-button mouse is helpful for X11
emulations.) If you're used to Windows, you're used to 2-button mice, just
as you're used to ctrl-alt-del. It's curable.

--
"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by."
- Douglas Adams, 1952 - 2001
Joseph B. Gurman, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar Physics
Branch, Greenbelt MD 20771 USA

[Bob Harris]

In article <joseph.b.gurman-0109031648150001@192.168.1.254>,
[email]joseph.b.gurman@nasa.gov[/email] (Joseph B. Gurman) wrote:

> In article <83937d32.0309010741.1641ae53@posting.google.com >,
> [email]sambhayani@yahoo.com[/email] (SAMB) wrote:
>

> > I am looking for an ultraportable to do powerpoint and word on, and
> > take on the road for presentations,
> >
> > It must work flawlessly with my desktop windows microsoft word and
> > ppt.
> >
> > In powerpoint, I often have video clips
> >
> > I am considering the G4, because I hear that doing video on it is
> > easy.
> >
> > SIZE is a major concern
> >
> > Any comments, can you see if this is a good ides (vs a sony tr1a or
> > fujitsu or dell ultraportable)
> >
> > Also - can i plug in a USB 2 button mouse, and will it work right
> > away> One button mouse seems stupid

>
> A post has already answered your substantive questions, but rest
> assured: a one-button mouse is simpler, and a two-button mouse is only
> really useful on a Mac for games. (A three-button mouse is helpful for X11
> emulations.) If you're used to Windows, you're used to 2-button mice, just
> as you're used to ctrl-alt-del. It's curable.

True, but a Wheel Mouse is just plain wonderful.

Bob Harris

[Lewin A.R.W. Edwards]

> A post has already answered your substantive questions, but rest

> assured: a one-button mouse is simpler, and a two-button mouse is only
> really useful on a Mac for games.

Why the supercilious attitude? It's much more efficient to have a
multi-button mouse, and not just for games. Downloading numerous
individual links from Web sites, for instance - having to Ctrl-click
on a link to get a context menu is a PITA. CAD work is much faster
with multiple buttons, as well. Binding the right button to "rotate"
and the left to "place", for instance, is a great productivity
enhancement.

There are many people who find multibutton mice much more ergonomic
than single-button mice, and dismissing them as some kind of addicts
is excessively cavalier.

[Scott]

In article <joseph.b.gurman-0109031648150001@192.168.1.254>,
[email]joseph.b.gurman@nasa.gov[/email] (Joseph B. Gurman) wrote:

> A post has already answered your substantive questions, but rest
> assured: a one-button mouse is simpler, and a two-button mouse is only
> really useful on a Mac for games. (A three-button mouse is helpful for X11
> emulations.) If you're used to Windows, you're used to 2-button mice, just
> as you're used to ctrl-alt-del. It's curable.

I disagree. I've been using 2+ button mice since I got USB, and using
the 2nd button to control-click is wonderful. Much easier to use
something right under my fingers--since they're already on the mouse
anyway--than having one finger on the mouse button and the other hand
having to look for the control key (or clicking and holding, waiting for
the contextual menu to come up). And the scroll wheel is handy, too.

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