Relatively new Mac user with question about MacBook Pro v. Powerbook v. iBook

norrina

Registered
I am probably jumping the gun a little here, but I will go ahead anyhow in case I can make a decision right now.

At the beginning of October (2005), I told my brother that as an early Christmas present I would buy him a new laptop, within my price range of course, on the condition that he would then give me his iBook G3 500 MHz. One might see that he was clearly getting the better end of the deal. :) He is my baby brother though, 11 1/2 years my junior, so I tend to spoil him just-a-leetle, and as a music major, he needed a new laptop while the older model would suit me fine. He had been looking at the iBook G4, which was right in line with what I could afford, the order was placed, and henceforth the great laptop exchange was commenced.

The G3 served me well, if a bit slowly, for just over three months. Last Friday evening though, the machine presented me with a monitor that was black in the bottom 3/4 of the screen. Research led me to suspect a logic board failure. I asked my brother, and he said the logic board had been replaced about a year ago, just before the March 2005 cutoff (the computer is from Oct. 2001), but had not failed prior to that. It hardly seems sound to put $200+ into a four-year-old computer though, even one that has been dependable.

Soooo... I just put $1000 down on a new laptop, and now I am looking at doing it again. I was initially going to get the iBook G4 1.42 GHz with Combo Drive, looking at $1199 plus tax and AppleCare, but then I was clued in that there were rumors of new systems being announced at MacWorld, and that I should not buy anything until after that.

With the announcement of the new MacBook Pro, I am now torn between the possibilities of:
(a) buying the iBook and saving money now but having a worthless product 6 months from now; or
(b) paying an extra $800 for a something that is going to be way more than I need but actually has a chance of retaining its value; or
(c) paying an extra $800 for a something that is going to be way more than I need and finding out that there are bugs or glitches or it just generally isn't quite 'right' yet so the earlier versions don't really retain their value either.

I am also wondering if the price of iBooks is likely to go down in February when the new MacBooks come out. Would it at least be safe to presume that the price of Powerbooks will go down? Under that presumption, would it be better, if I wasn't going to get the MacBook, to suck it up and deal with my busted G3 for another month until the prices do go down, and get the Powerbook instead of iBook?

My primary uses of the laptop will be browsing the internet, listening to music, novice level PSP, and research and doc prep for work using MS Word for Mac, Adobe Acrobat and websites requiring java.

I would appreciate any pros/cons regarding which laptop to go with and when to spend my money. :)

*Edited because I didn't proofread*
 
buying the iBook and saving money now but having a worthless product 6 months from now

Would only be worthless if you felt that way about it.

I wouldn't by a new Intel Mac until the second revision to see what problems they may have, if any.
 
bobw said:
Would only be worthless if you felt that way about it.

I was meaning more as far as its monetary resale worth.

You are not the first person to suggest waiting to see what problems the Intel Mac might have before buying. I tend to be of the same mind. With any new product, there is the possibility of bugs that didn't show up in the testing stage, and I would just as soon not have to deal with them.

That still leaves me deciding between iBook and Powerbook, and now or later. I want to think Powerbook prices will drop in February, but the MacBook Pro almost seems like it is a third line more than a replacement of the Powerbook line, so I may be all wet.
 
You'd probably be surprised at the resale values of Macs. They're often outrageousuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh I mean appropriately high! Yeah, that's it. So, though I wouldn't guarantee it, I'm not so sure if you bought an iBook it would be worthless in six months.

Also, I think buying a PowerPC Mac right now is certainly a valid decision. You're likely to be on your next computer before PowerPC support starts drying up.

Having said that, those new MacBooks are very pretty. I'm dying to (some day) get a pro Mac laptop (whatever they're called). I just don't like the price.

Doug
 
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