Advice on laptop & handheld to buy

[buster2cajun]

I type To Do lists with specific topics on my older iBook in MS Word.
Then I print them and carry them around in my backpack to remind me of
things I'd like to do or to take write brainstormed idea notes onto.
1) Do you have advice as to a more efficient/organized way to
accomplish?

I'm ready to get a new mac laptop.
2) a) Should I buy the new MacBook Pro when it makes it to an Apple
Store in Feb because of the latest Intel processor?
b)Or should I take the money savings and buy an older model? iBook or
Powerbook?
c) Do any Mac Laptops have a sunprotector so I could actually see my
screen while typing outdoors on a sunny day? Do any have light-up keys
for night typing?

3) What handheld is easiest to use and is there a way to get my 'Word'
To Do lists transferred right onto that handheld to carry around with
me, add new ideas to, etc? Do handhelds actually run MS Word? Or
simpletext?

A friend showed me his 'tablet' PC where he could draw and the drawing
would appear on his laptop's screen.
4) Does Mac sell a tablet accessory I could plug to my laptop and my
own sketch would then appear on my screen and also be emailable?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY/ALL ADVICE!!!!

 

[buster2cajun]

Help, Advice on this, Anyone??? I REALLY appreciate it!!!!!!!!!

 

[Michel Bintener]

Hi,
just a couple of suggestions before I'll start answering your many
questions: there's no need to create a new post when you've already bumped
your old post. Also, one of the reasons why no one has answered so far might
be the amount of questions you ask; you'd better split such a post into
smaller, related posts that are easier to answer. Anyway, see inline for
answers.

I type To Do lists with specific topics on my older iBook in MS Word.
Then I print them and carry them around in my backpack to remind me of
things I'd like to do or to take write brainstormed idea notes onto.
1) Do you have advice as to a more efficient/organized way to
accomplish?

Why not use Entourage's tasks? Also, you might find Word 2004's notebook
layout view quite useful.

I'm ready to get a new mac laptop.
2) a) Should I buy the new MacBook Pro when it makes it to an Apple
Store in Feb because of the latest Intel processor?
b)Or should I take the money savings and buy an older model? iBook or
Powerbook?

That really depends on you. There's no pressing need to get an Intel Mac
now, as we'll probably have universal binaries applications for many years
to come. That means these applications will run natively on both the older
PowerPCs and the newer Intel Macs. One argument against buying a MacBook Pro
right now would be the fact that some software publishers (such as Microsoft
and Adobe) have not released universal binaries for their applications,
which means that Photoshop and Co. will run more slowly because of the
Rosetta translation process. Also, their universal binaries versions are
most probably going to be payable upgrades, so if you really need as much
speed as you can get with non-UB apps and if you're reluctant to upgrade
your applications in a year or two, you'd probably be better off with a
PowerPC Mac. Also, if you need the Classic environment, it won't work on
Intel Macs. If, on the other hand, you mostly use Apple's applications, and
you don't really need Office to run at 100%, you should probably go for a
MacBook Pro. That being said, that very name is one other argument against
buying one of those.

c) Do any Mac Laptops have a sunprotector so I could actually see my
screen while typing outdoors on a sunny day? Do any have light-up keys
for night typing?

Don't know about the sun-protector. Just hide in the shadows; that way,
people will see the illuminated Apple symbol on the laptop lid from far. ;-)
And yes, MacBook Pros and the 15" and 17" PowerBooks have light-up
keyboards.

3) What handheld is easiest to use and is there a way to get my 'Word'
To Do lists transferred right onto that handheld to carry around with
me, add new ideas to, etc? Do handhelds actually run MS Word? Or
simpletext?

I'd recommend Palm handhelds, but you'll have to know that handheld support
on the Mac is not really what it should be, since Palm just won't upgrade
the Mac versions of their conduits. There is software available to display
and edit Word and Excel (and even PowerPoint) files on a Palm pilot, the
most famous one being Documents To Go, by Dataviz
(http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/standard/index.html). Again,
if you use Entourage and its task functionality, you might find it even
easier to get your data on a PDA, without having to buy any additional
software.

A friend showed me his 'tablet' PC where he could draw and the drawing
would appear on his laptop's screen.
4) Does Mac sell a tablet accessory I could plug to my laptop and my
own sketch would then appear on my screen and also be emailable?

<Minor, anally retentive comment: the company's actually called "Apple",
"Macintosh" is just the name of the brand.> Anyway, you can buy tablets for
the Mac, and Mac OS X includes what is called Inkwell, a handwriting
recognition technology. I've never used it, so I can't comment on it. But
yes, in theory, it should work.

Hope this was helpful!

Michel