Need help deciding what to do please help

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THEMACER

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I can't seem to deciede which way i want to go. Either a 15" titanium with superdrive or a dual 2 G5. I would love to be able to surf wirelessly anywhere in my house and then again i would love the power of a g5.I will be starting college soon and im not sure on what would be most usefull a labtop with ok power or a very fast upgradable g5? I dont know yet whether or not i will be needing the speed of a g5 but i might so cant rule that out. AHhh pplease help me i cant seem to decide!!!All opinions welcomed.
 
What are your needs, if you dont need a G5 then don't get one. I f you need the power than do. If its for browsing the web and word processing than you'll probably be happy with a powerbook. After all it is more mobile and you can bring it to your classes. Just wait to see what steve has in store for us tomorrow before you make any decisions. Also if you into wardriving at all a cool app for you mac laptop is MacStumbler.
good luck,
mike
 
See the thing is i really dont need that much computing power now but down the line i may need it. This computer should last me well through college in whatever major i end up choosing. So as of now i dont need the power but in a year i might and with a g4 i would be screwed. Then again a labtop is better for carrying around through classes. They each have there positive points and negative points. I really want to hear from some college ppl and maybe see if there happy with there decision and go from there.
 
while a laptop is ideal for portability you may need the power...i hate to be the one to say this because i really do hate windows but i know some college ppl who have tablets, they love them...great for notes i guess just a thought though But maybe should play it safe with a G5
 
PowerBook G4 all the way. For a college student, being able to bring an envionment you're comfortable with to class is more benefit than the added power of a G5. Just think, no matter where you are, you have the power of your laptop wherever.

I'm in college, and if faced with the same dilemma, I would choose the laptop any day. The power of portability outweighs the added power of the G5. Plus, if your major is one that necessitates the need for a computer (be it laptop or tower), then I guarantee you'll get paid enough fresh out of college to be able to afford a base model G5.

Go PowerBook, my friend.
 
powerbook - hands down

Your need for real power at school won't kick in for at least 2 years at a minimum - and by then things will be over 3.5 gig and you'll be wishing you were just now ponying up for the power.

My son handles all his first year stuff on a g4 iBook - no problems yet.
 
Take a powerbook but not the tibook. The airport range is very poor and there is just 11mbit support (beside cardbus solutions). Once you will need more power, you can then look for a G5 which should be a lot cheaper..
And also take a closer look at the ibooks. They have the best performance/price relation.
 
Heh, and iBook G3 is fine here too. I'm a 2nd year PhD student working with neural networks. Now of course, some of my models take hours to run, but then that's what the UNIX workstations are for. Most of them take only a few seconds so I'm happy.
 
I have a new 15" Aluminum PowerBook and I love it. Not too small, not too big, and it's plenty fast for my needs. I'd say get the PowerBook instead of a G5, especially since you can take it to your classes with you. Also, this thread should probably be in The Cafe.
 
Wow thank you alll for helping me out. I have decided to go with the 1.5ghz 15'' powerbook, lets hope i can get that loan now. Another thing, is it worth it to upgrade it to 128mb video ram and up the hd from60 to 80gb? By the way those new imacs look wierd, but there priced pretty well ill have to see how they look in person, any chance there in the apple store already, or is apple going to take a couple years to ship like usual?
 
Well, I think the upgrade of 128mb vram was not that much. If so, I would take it. I would also pick the bigger disc if possible. Later it will be darn tough to change the disc, if you won't use an external solution. But if I recall right, the 128mb vram upgrade was just possible with the better 15'' model which was more expensive. If money is a concern, pick the very good 12'' model. It is unbelieveable portable and very snappy as well.
About the new iMac: they said the first iMacs will be shipped in the middle of september. I think that should be a good time to find some in the AppleStores.
 
Cool thanks man. Now that i have choosen the titanium instead of the g5, i have to wait to see how much apple will loan me. If its enough for the 15 then great if not ill get the 12. I hope those dam powerbook g5's come out anytime soon cause i would be so pissed. thanks again all
 
btw, the current powerbooks are not made of titanium. The older ones (just 15inch) were made of it but the current ones are aluminium. Never ask for a tibook, or you will end up with an old one which has max. G4 1Ghz and a really bad airport reception.
 
o yeah yeah sorry my mistake. Well thanks to everyone just waiting another couple weeks or so and then i will apply for a loan. Is apple stingy with there loans? im just a college student. Hopfully they can loan me at least 2-3 thousands. Anything i could do within the next month so that i have the best chance of getting the loan?Anything i shouldnt do?
 
Don't get an Apple loan. It's ridiculous. You could save yourself hundreds of dollars just by filling out and getting one of those Visa card applications you or your family gets in the mail every week. Apple's APR is ridiculously high, and for a college student like yourself, you will not get the low, advertised rate.

The Apple loan is a great way for a college student like yourself to start digging that debt hole VERY quickly. Read some other people's opinions on the Apple Loan:

http://www.macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44120

Trust me, and the others that have voiced their opinions on young people/students getting a loan from Apple: don't do it. You don't need that PowerBook badly enough to go into debt over it.. and, if you've never had a credit card or a line of credit or have no experience with credit, then it's a much better idea to get a credit card with a low limit than start your credit history with a big, $2000 debit that you couldn't possibly pay off over time. You will be paying for it for a lot longer than a couple months, and I would venture to say that it would take a college student more than two or three years to rid themselves of a $2000 debt (which, in actuality, over time, would be more like $3000).
 
Thanks for the heads up man. I spoke to my folks and there ganna get the loan under there name and i pay them off little by little. The other thing is that i dont think there credit is too great either. Anyway they can check there credit report online? lol any good credit cards you could recommened me? How long does it generally take to get one open up and ready to make purchases?
 
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