IBook vs 12 inch Powerbook

[dlloyd]

You think the iBook is warm?
Any Powerbook is going to be about three times hotter!

[symphonix]

Hi Daniel, and welcome.

I bought an iBook 500 about 18 months ago when I was doing a little work for IBM. I have since gone back to university to study Information Technology.
The little iBook was my first, and so far my only Mac, and I love using it. Even now, when I have access to much faster PCs, I still use my iBook as my primary computer simply because it is so much more convenient. There is no point in having a PC that runs at 2ghz if you have to muck around for an hour to get simple tasks done, right?

The most important advice I can give is to get as much memory as you can afford. Mac OS X really needs 256mb minimum to be bearable, but once you get past about 350-400 mb it runs like a dream. It is well-built, light, and easy to live with. The screen is bright and clear, and the keyboard is the best I've seen on any laptop.

If I were buying a laptop now, I would go straight for the 12-inch powerbook for the superior processor and graphics chipset ... but if price is a factor, the iBook is still a sweet little machine.

As part of my university course, I study Java, HTML, XML, CSS, PHP, Perl, Bash, C and C++. I've never come across a project I wasn't able to do on my mac more easily than my PC wielding classmates. Where they needed to install software and fuss around for hours, my iBook was ready to dive straight into the work.

Whichever machine you choose, you will be very happy with the Mac. Don't dismiss the iBook too readily, but if you can afford a PowerBook, then that would be the better option.

[dlloyd]

Oh, one other thing:
Comparing the keyboards on the iBook and 12" Powerbook, they are similar but I think the Powerbook's is superior:
1) Slightly crisper
2) Keys are closer together, preventing as much hair and dust and stuff getting under the keys. Purely asthetic, but just a point.

Both have strong points and weak points, but you will be happy with either, I guarantee it!

[Urbansory]

Very interesting, I need a laptop for when i go out and talk to clients or when I just want to get out the house but still be able to do a little work.

1. Will a G4 iBook ever see the light of day? As in this summer.

2. Is it hard to read text on the screen? I noticed on the Apple LCD's if you switch the resolution, the text quality blurs when not in the default resolution. Does that apply to the iBook?

I'm looking at getting one next month, I don't need all the bonus software, this and that. i just need to be able to show what I'm working on to clients. I doubt if i will use it as much as my desktop, but if i can go chill on the porch in the shade and kick back and do a little work, this will be a great summer.

[symphonix]

1. Maybe, maybe not. It seems unlikely to be launched this (Northern hemisphere) summer, though, so soon after the launch of the new PowerBooks. And remember that when Apple does launch a new product, it can take a while to actually reach consumers.

2. You have to remember that the LCD display actually IS the default resolution ... that is to say that if you have a 1024x768 LCD display, that is the number of LCD pixels there.
With a CRT display, if you change resolution, the actual number of pixels on the screen more-or-less change. An LCD can't do that, though.
If you use the display in another mode, it has to resample the display onto the LCD screen, which will result in some blurring. Thats why you should stick to using only the recommended modes, and it works best in the maximum resolution. The lower resolutions are really only for games (and they work great for that, come to think of it).

[Urbansory]

I keep going over prices and features, and i know i want the DVD option, and the price gets closer to the lower end powerbook, but I don't want a 12" PB, if i would get one it would be the 15. Then I think what i can do with the money, i have a thing for muscle cars, i can get my Cutlass painted something crazy for the summer and get those 20 in rims i wanted for some time now.

These decisions are never easy.

[chabig]

This is an easy question. If you want to use iDVD, you need a superdrive--thus the Powerbook. iDVD won't run on any current iBook.

Chris

[Urbansory]

Not iDVD, standard DVD playback. The low end iBook doesn't have DVD, so you have to pay and addition $300. Which moves me closer to the lower end PB.