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Ibook vs Powerbook

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James D. Hindes

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I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40 digital camera.
 
Go for the G4, it is faster, uses DDR ram, a faster airport wireless system, photoshop and some other programs are optimised for the G4 chip (velocity engine), it also has an aluminium body which feels solid and quality, it is a powerbook which has speed and power together with great portability and rebustness.....
James D. Hindes said:
I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some
advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as
well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down
between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB
RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with
the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay
within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will
have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an
Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC
after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos
with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered
Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I
be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the
larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to
use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm
trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop
Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and
this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40
digital camera.
Click to expand...
--
Jay
 
Thanks so much for your reply to my post. I also posted in one of the MAC forums and got the same response, so I guess I'll order my Powerbook this week.

Jim
jase taylor said:
James D. Hindes said:
I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some
advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as
well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down
between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB
RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with
the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay
within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will
have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an
Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC
after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos
with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered
Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I
be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the
larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to
use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm
trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop
Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and
this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40
digital camera.
Click to expand...
--
Jay
Click to expand...
 
James D. Hindes said:
Jim
jase taylor said:
James D. Hindes said:
I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some
advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as
well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down
between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB
RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with
the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay
within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will
have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an
Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC
after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos
with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered
Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I
be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the
larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to
use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm
trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop
Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and
this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40
digital camera.
Click to expand...
--
Jay
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
hi james.

i want to buy me too a power book 12 " to carry with me every time, i just wanted to be sure it was not to small to work with, and i was thinking to wait for the 15 " but maybe this one is to big to carry, did you try one of those?

patrick
 
Unless price is super critical, I'd go for the 15". The 12" screen is too small IMO. The 15" is big, but is probably less cumbersome than a 14" iBook. The 15" also has features that the12" doesn't. For example I don't think the 12" has a PC card slot, which is great for using a SmartMedia or Compact Flash card reader to download digital images - much more efficient than downloading directly from the camera.

Check out http://www.smalldog.com - they have good prices and sometimes you can get a deal on a refurb, which is what I did last year. Got the full Apple one year warranty and saved about $400.
patrick111 said:
i want to buy me too a power book 12 " to carry with me every time,
i just wanted to be sure it was not to small to work with, and i
was thinking to wait for the 15 " but maybe this one is to big to
carry, did you try one of those?

patrick
Click to expand...
--
Olympus C2100 UZ, Canon D60, Macintosh
Powerbook G4 500Mhz, Epson 785 EPX
 
I love my 15 inch TiBook, but now that I've seen the 12 incher that's what I'd go for. Perfect for the road. At home or in the office, hook it up to a big screen monitor and you're all set. My TiBook is just a little too big and too delicate for my use. The titanium body is prone to ugly scratches and chipping. This seems to be solved with the sturdier 12 incher aluminum body.

--
Ron in Italy
 
Is there a Pcima adapter for memory stoick that will work on the Powerbook?
James D. Hindes said:
I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some
advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as
well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down
between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB
RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with
the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay
within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will
have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an
Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC
after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos
with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered
Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I
be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the
larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to
use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm
trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop
Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and
this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40
digital camera.
Click to expand...
--
Sony 707, Coolpix 4500, Sony dcr-trv27, Mac G 4 computer with PS7
 
Patrick:

I was staying away from the 15" Powerbook because of the price. I'm trying to stay within a certain price range. That's why I was comparing the 12" Powerbook to the 14" Ibook. Thanks.

Jim
patrick111 said:
hi james.

i want to buy me too a power book 12 " to carry with me every time,
i just wanted to be sure it was not to small to work with, and i
was thinking to wait for the 15 " but maybe this one is to big to
carry, did you try one of those?

patrick
Click to expand...
 
I don't know why you couldn't use a Compact Flash Card Reader that is USB???

Jim
Jerry Rosen said:
James D. Hindes said:
I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some
advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as
well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down
between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB
RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with
the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay
within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will
have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an
Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC
after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos
with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered
Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I
be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the
larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to
use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm
trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop
Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and
this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40
digital camera.
Click to expand...
--
Sony 707, Coolpix 4500, Sony dcr-trv27, Mac G 4 computer with PS7
Click to expand...
 
One thing you might want to do -

Get the 12" iBook - it's less expensive, smaller and lighter. The screen is plenty big for when you're not at home.

Then get an inexpensive 17" CRT for home, and use that monitor with the iBook when you're at your desk. The combined price will probably be less than the 14" iBook, for a lighter computer and a better screen when you're at home.
 
I just sold my ibook. The graphics card on the I book is not even close to the one on the PowerBook. Therefore, the image on the CRT would be close to cr*p.
Charles Bandes said:
One thing you might want to do -

Get the 12" iBook - it's less expensive, smaller and lighter. The
screen is plenty big for when you're not at home.

Then get an inexpensive 17" CRT for home, and use that monitor with
the iBook when you're at your desk. The combined price will
probably be less than the 14" iBook, for a lighter computer and a
better screen when you're at home.
Click to expand...
--
Sony 707, Coolpix 4500, Sony dcr-trv27, Mac G 4 computer with PS7
 
Get a G4. Anyone you can afford. I have a G3 desktop with a G4 upgrade, a Ti Book G4 667, wife's iMac G4 and just bought her a new 12" G3 book. The speed difference is staggering even when using Office X. Its been too long to remember the speed difference in Photoshop but I am assuming its huge also.

It was a good suggestion about getting an external monitor for home. Get an external keyboard and hard drive for backup and you don't need a desktop. There is no PCMA card slot so you will have to get a firewire card reader and carry it with you on the road.

Had I realized about the speed difference I would have gotten the 12" G4. I guess I should have played more in the store. But it is just the forth computer so I figured it would be ok. Maybe you should play with both and see if the difference is worth the money.

BTW The Kensington Optical Pro wireless mouse is an awesome accessory for travel.
 
ronald louis said:
I love my 15 inch TiBook, but now that I've seen the 12 incher
that's what I'd go for. Perfect for the road. At home or in the
office, hook it up to a big screen monitor and you're all set. My
TiBook is just a little too big and too delicate for my use. The
titanium body is prone to ugly scratches and chipping. This seems
to be solved with the sturdier 12 incher aluminum body.

--
Ron in Italy
Click to expand...
hi ron,,
the new 15 inches will have the same bodi then the 12 " i suppose,.
 
Leonard Zaloga said:
Get a G4. Anyone you can afford. I have a G3 desktop with a G4
upgrade, a Ti Book G4 667, wife's iMac G4 and just bought her a new
12" G3 book. The speed difference is staggering even when using
Office X. Its been too long to remember the speed difference in
Photoshop but I am assuming its huge also.

It was a good suggestion about getting an external monitor for
home. Get an external keyboard and hard drive for backup and you
don't need a desktop. There is no PCMA card slot so you will have
to get a firewire card reader and carry it with you on the road.

Had I realized about the speed difference I would have gotten the
12" G4. I guess I should have played more in the store. But it is
just the forth computer so I figured it would be ok. Maybe you
should play with both and see if the difference is worth the money.

BTW The Kensington Optical Pro wireless mouse is an awesome
accessory for travel.
Click to expand...
--I mainly want to store, check and show pictures while I travel
plus some wireless internet at home. Don't plan to do much if any
Photoshop or Office on my laptop, just want something small and
sturdy for basic stuff.
How robust is the PowerBook compared to the iBook?
How mich will I suffer if I go for the G3?
Is the 20gig iPod a good alternative to a combo drive as backup?
How much RAM do I really need?

Robert T.
CP5000, CP2500, 17in iMac with super drive, 768meg RAM & 200gig HD
 
Apple will be releasing a matching 15" PowerBook to the 17" and 12" inthe next week or so. Wait for that anouncement, then contact Mac Mall, Mac Connection, etc. and try to get a clearance 15" Titanium. They will drop the price $200.00 or so. That is the only way I know of to beat Apple down on price. That way, you get the bigger screen and a G4 processor. i have the 867mHz model with 1 Gig of ram.

DON'T let them give you free memory!

1) It will crash your Mac or cause weird problems.

2) They charge you installation fees to cover the cost to them of the cheap chips.

Try getting brand name high quality memory like Techworks (www.techworks.com). Mac OS X is very sensitive to memory chips, and you don't want to cut corners there.
Richard
 
If you really want to use it as a storage/viewing device you can get by with either a G3 or G4. The bigger screen may not be necessary if all you want to do is see the pic and decide to save or delete.

I would still try to save money by getting used/refurbished and a faster processor but it seems you can get a less expensive machine and put any extra money into other equipment. Don't start with digital camera equipment. I always expect I'll need more in the future than I need now when buying equipment.

I just bought a new 12" G3 and returned it on Friday because it was too slow for me but my wife and I use both the desktops and books for Office as well as some other stuff.

I strongly suggest borrowing or finding another way to check if the cheaper machines fit your needs. Its a decision you may have to live with for a while and it sucks when you are not happy with what you have.
 
James,

Just going back on some of my threads, and wondered if you ever decided which way to go on your computer. I have been looking at the 12", and am curious as to whether or not you got it. If so, how is it working out?

Janice
James D. Hindes said:
I know this is a forum for digital photophaphy, but I need some
advice and I have always gotten good information from this forum as
well as the Canon forum.

Here's my dillema: I have narrowed my search for a MAC laptop down
between the 14" 800 Mhz (G3) Ibook with a 40 gig hard drive, 640MB
RAM, with combo drive or the 12" Powerbook wth 867 Mhz (G4) with
the same hard drive, combo drive and memory. I am trying to stay
within a certain price range, if you know what I mean. Both will
have airport cards in them.

I am switching from the PC to the MAC after Apple loaned me an
Ibook for about a week at my job. I fell in love with the MAC
after being a diehard PC'er for many years. I take digital photos
with a Canon S40 and enjoy photography very much. I have ordered
Photshop Elements 2.0, but it has not arrived yet. Anyway, would I
be better off with a faster processor of the Powerbook or the
larger screen of the Ibook. (This will be my personal computer to
use at home and traveling with my digital camera. Remember, I'm
trying to stay in a certain price range.

I will be running MS Office X for the MAC as well as Photoshop
Elements, Quicken, and Imovie, Iphoto. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated. I don't want to make a bad purchasing decision and
this site was so helpful wihen I got ready to purchase my S40
digital camera.
Click to expand...
--
Have camera, will travel :-)
http://homepage.mac.com/janice_legler/
 
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