Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yjo086]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this sort of thing. I think it may be okay because my power adapter reads: 45 W Input AC 100-240v 50-60 hz.

Will my one and only precious laptop be okay?

[ewok]

good god! you're bring that ancient dinosaur anywhere? sell it on ebay, and if you're lucky your get 170 bucks for it...

Seriously, its not worth the weight of carrying it on the plane. And your problem is not just the power adapter. (which you don't have and can't buy anyway ) your problem is the fact that that old piece of crap won't be able to handle the korean internet, not be compatible with any program worth having.

save a few hundred bucks and get a cheap netbook, or a used macbook.

[yjo086]

Well, I have to admit, that's not what I wanted to hear...

However, *sigh* I can't sell it right now, nor do I have the money to buy a used macbook. I would like to have something to connect to the internet while I'm there. My ibook is not that bad lol, I can use adobe CS2 software with a minimal of fuss and I use the internet with it it without any huge problems. I even had firefox installed on it for a time, but I needed more space so I had to get rid of it, but that even worked fine.

Er...what's wrong with my power adapter? specifically? Just for my information.

[climber159]

You'll be fine. Just don't expect to keep up with the Koreans in StarCraft. Get yourself a plug adapter at most any hardware store or in Yongsan for W500-W1000 and you'll be all set. You DON'T need a power converter; just the adapter.

[eamo]

[yjo086]

LOL. Well, I had other programs on it, while firefox was installed stuff, I thought I needed at the time, but then realized I didn't, heh, heh. I do a lot of graphic design work, but as the OP was correct in saying: It is a piece of junk, at least in regards to using adobe programs higher than CS2, its really SLOW and so I haven't been using it to create my artistic masterpieces as much.


But, I still can't knock my ibook, it has been very useful when I needed it for basic web browsing, video, document writing, things of that sort. Though yes, I desperately need to upgrade.

I have 40gb, which I know is more than enough room to reinstall firefox, now that I'm a little smarter ^_^v

[ewok]

that's a 40 GB hard drive!! less than most ipods. really, don't bother to bring that. especially if your not an apple fantard, you really should get a sub-400 dollar netbook. it has wireless, so if yuu get KT home internet service, for just 6 bucks extra you can have wireless internet in most areas of the city.

And the person who said all you need is an adapter obviously has no clue about how computer power handling works. you most definetely NEED a huge, 20 pound voltage transformer if you cant get the original apple power cable (and you can't, because apple never sold those old ibooks in korea).
if you use just a plug converter, the 220 volts coming out the wall will overload the apple power cable's transformer (which can only handle 110v), and burn it out, possibly frying your ridiculous excuse for a hard drive too. Why? because those old plug converters from apple are not like the newer ones that are rated for multiple voltages.

I know. I'm a fantard.

[blackjack]

[climber159]

[Chokse]

Don't listen to Ewok. He/she/it is talking out of his/her/its a$$. Your iBook g3 will work perfectly fine here in Korea. I had an iBook (G4) here several years ago and it was fine and another friend here had an iBook G3 (also fine). You can buy one of the world travel adapter kits from Apple, which comes with Apple adapters for each country, and it will plug right into your power brick. You can also buy a printer cable here in Korea ("Figure 8" cable) for about 1,000 won that will not only plug into your Apple power brick, but will extend its reach. Or, you could get the little 500 won plastic adapter that will allow you to plug in your existing US style blade prongs and convert them to the Korean style post prongs.

Anyway, your power unit will work fine here and you will have many options for connecting it to the outlets here in Korea.

As for the other things people have said, yes, you will have some problems because of the speed and smaller hard drive on your computer. Websites in Korea are heavily laden with flash animation, and this is processor and RAM intensive. I fear it will be painfully slow on your computer. Also, most Korean websites require an ActiveX plugin to work properly, which leaves out anyone not using Windows AND Internet Explorer. If you are only going to access foreign sites, you should be fine with what you have, but if you are going to do online banking in Korea, you might want to look into a MacBook or MacBook Pro so you can boot into Windows (or Parallels / VM Ware Fusion) when needed.

Finally, if you have an Airport card in your iBook, it will work just fine here in Korea and you will be able to access any non-password protected hotspot, as well as NESPOT.

I am a Mac user too and can tell you that you will have no issues with power or basic Internet here (foreign websites). However, I would suggest giving serious consideration to a newer MacBook or MacBook Pro, even if it is slightly used.[/u]

[eIn07912]

jeezuz krist man.

40gb hard drive??
900 Mhz..... i mean mega? at least a gig has been the standard for what, 5 years or more? how do u have that thing still running?

heres what u do. sell it to a collector. they like to tinker with them and make them do crazy stuff. u might get a hundred bucks for it at best. next, go to ur local apple store and pick up one of the new macbooks for $999. dont worry about upgrading the ram or hard disk or adding any software to it. the stock one they'll sell u for that grand will be a million times better than what ur using now. it will literally change ur life.... oh, what OS r running on that thing now too? i dont even remember what came before panther 10.3

but if u insist, all u need is a fifty cent plug adapter. computers going back a decade or more r built to change the voltage internally, so no worries there.

but as a heavy mac user and committed apple brand follower, i gotta say im rather offended ur still using that glorified paper weight. i expect more out of mac heads. we're supposed to know better. the macbook im on now ive had for just over 3 years. sure, its still better than most pc's u can buy now (with some minor upgrades ive made here and there) but im still getting ready to get a new one or a new macbook pro by the end of this year. even the .5 ghz upgrade in the processor and 2 more gigs of ram will make a world of difference to me. i can't imagine how u'd feel with another Ghz worth of processing power on a intel core duo (if u didnt know, core duo means the chip acts as two processors through hyper threading technology). i doubt ur running a gig of ram either. imagine what 4 would feel like??

[yjo086]

LOL Thanks everyone for your help

To all Mac User Out there: I know, its pitiful that I still lug this thing around, but, unfortunately, I don't have hundreds of dollars just yet to buy a MacBook Pro even a used one, its really hard when you have er...$100 dollars in your bank account and half of that goes just to pay for a bill. Trust me, I want one soooooooooooooooo bad!!!!! However, I can't get what I can't afford, hence why I need to work. All things in due time my friends, most likely in a couple of months I'll be back on here typing from my MacBook Pro