# Mac OSX stability



## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

I've been making serious inquiries into making my next laptop a mac. Probably an iBook, because they feel a little more sturdy than the powerbook. 

Now to the question. I've only ever found two opinions on mac stability, one being that since OSX they are the most stable consumer machine out there, 
and two, that they are buggy and crashy, and one should stay away.

Now I have to reference this with the fact that I'm not what one would consider a 'normal' user, I push my hardware to it's limits. I run lots of apps, and I would plan on installing either Fink or Gentoo MacOS. 

Anyone have an objective opinion here? Am I going to run into issues if I buy an iBook?


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## zoombini (Aug 18, 2003)

In my opinion 10.3 (Panther) is as stable an operating system as u can buy. 10.4 (Tiger) is due for release in the new year, so it might be worth waiting till then to buy ur notebook. I dont have much experience of running Unix/Linux apps on OS X, but do run some fairly intensive programs on an ibook at work and it copes ok. 

The early versions of OS X were buggy and slow and until Panther came out, Id rather run OS 9.2.2 on a mac. In my opinion, Panther was a big step forward in terms of stability and OS performance.

The difference in terms of performance between an ibook and powerbook are in my opinion, minimal. Just my opinion. Its worth boosting the memory in both models though to get the most out of OSX.


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

That was a though. I already have planned to wait to the release of tiger to buy anyhow. Thanks.


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## bmadsenbr (Nov 20, 2004)

Panther is fine, so as an iBook. In our office we use both Mac and PC (around 10 machines on each platform) running graphic applications and, as chief project manager, I can tell my choice would fall on increasing the number of Macs. The only reason we don't go that way is that Macs are quite expensive - at least here in Brazil...

Cheers


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Oh they're expensive everywhere, however they are nice machines.


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

bmadsenbr said:


> Panther is fine, so as an iBook. In our office we use both Mac and PC (around 10 machines on each platform) running graphic applications and, as chief project manager, I can tell my choice would fall on increasing the number of Macs. The only reason we don't go that way is that Macs are quite expensive - at least here in Brazil...
> 
> Cheers


Greetings! Do you mind if I inquire as to just how expensive an Apple is there? Just curious as to the price difference... thanks!


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## bmadsenbr (Nov 20, 2004)

Not at all, really. The list below reflects the prices of some Apple products I casually gathered a couple of months ago, just before the release of the new iMac.

Hope you'll find it useful.

product usa(US$) uk(£) brasil(R$) brasil(US$) brasil(£)

ibook 14" 1299 899 8990 3281,02 1712,38
pbook 15" 1999 1399 13490 4923,36 2569,52
Pmac G5 1,8	1999 1449 11890 4339,42 2264,76


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

I work with both Macs and PCs at the office. I use the Mac with intensive, memory-hog graphics applications. My only advice: get as much RAM as you can, and have the latest System software installed. 

I really don't have stability problems with the G4 and Panther OS. I do remember that with older systems, crashes most likely occurred because of memory issues (not enough RAM installed to load memory-hog programs) or extensions conflicts.

I love working with Macs and bought one for my personal use.


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

Whiteskin said:


> That was a though. I already have planned to wait to the release of tiger to buy anyhow. Thanks.


Hopefully, not too much longer... Apple still saying "first half of 2005". Fingers are crossed that sooner, not later. From the sneak peaks, some very attractive upgrades are coming! :up: 

Going back to your original query, and as others have mentioned too, since Mac OS X is built upon UNIX, which is a very stable system, and that since Apple builds both the majority of the hardware a person would use PLUS the softward that will go into the machine, it stands to good reason that yes, its a very stable, fast, robust, and performance-friendly computer.


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