What to do?!

[jdstoddard]

Ok, so my thinking of I was sold on the 970 idea has gotten me more confused. I was thinking what if I had a laptop. I would love to have the portability of a laptop. My only problem is I have had a desktop all my life and am currently using a 15' flat panel VGA monitor. I have used a 12" Powerbook and felt that it was kinda small but didn't really get used to it. The 15 and 17 are way out of my budget as I would like to stay below 1,500 (using my educational discount). My question is being new to Macs and all is this. What would you all reccomend for a system in which I do light photoshop (design web pages) GoLive and the rest is all for the internet, working on papers, and listening to music. Thats it. I'm sorry I posted something like this earlier but this can all be very confusing as what to do. What is a more sound investment? Wait for the 970's or the Powerbook. Also, a rep from Apple called me today letting me know that if I buy a laptop I can get $200 off any iPod since its educational. What do to?!!!

[jimthorn]

It sounds like you would use your laptop for the same things I always use mine for. I have an iBook. A new 14" iBook fits your budget, and works great for "light Photoshop" (I use Photoshop all the time), listening to music, writing, and most anything you'd probably want to do. About the only thing I couldn't do with it is play the highest-end games, but I don't anyway. I would just recommend buying extra memory (I have 640MB), which makes OS X work more smoothly.

[scem0]

14" 900 MHz iBook sounds great for you.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71106/wo/124N6QKUkugs2consti3zUj3IwE/1.3.0.5.21.1.2.19.3.1.1.0?32,6

Good luck.

- scem0 http://www.blizzforums.com/images/smilies/twitch.gif

[Huked on Fonick]

12 inch pb, and plug it into ur monitor when u want a bigger screen, there alot faster than the ibooks...... alot better expessily for photoshop expessilty if u do lots of filters etc..go with a G4, plus the 12 inch has that extra speaker so the sound is REAL nice...not even the 17 inch has the speaker

[Nermal]

The top-end iBook sounds fine for what you want. I've got the previous (800 MHz) top-end model and it runs very well, so the new one should work even better!

[Les Kern]

I concur! The 14.1" iBook is a spectacular machine... I think it's better than my TiBook! Buy from a place like MacMall and get free ram, a free printer a free case for way less than 2K.

[DakotaGuy]

Originally posted by Huked on Fonick
12 inch pb, there alot faster than the ibooks......

I don't think I would say "a lot" faster. A 900Mhz G3 will run right with an 867Mhz G4 in most day to day tasks. 14" iBook is a great choice. I like my 12" but if you are looking for a little bigger screen, it is the one. Some say it's not worth it because it is the same resolution as the 12", but I have used both and sometimes I wish I had the 14" because it makes everything bigger and is easier to see if you sit back away from it.

[jxyama]

even if a 970 machine was to come out...

1) what are you going to need it for?
2) will it be in your budget?

i'd say a 970 machine would probably be an overkill and overpriced for what you want to do.

i'd go with the 14" iBook, as many others have suggested. the resolution is the same, but the screen is bigger. if you felt 12" was too small (physically) then 14" iBook would be great for you. if the screen real estate was what you felt was too small... then you should go with 12" PB because you should be able to run the external monitor at higher res.

for a budget of $1,500, if you want higher resolution and the best performance, you can get the cheapest PowerMac and recycle your monitor...

[QCassidy352]

Originally posted by Abercrombieboy
I don't think I would say "a lot" faster. A 900Mhz G3 will run right with an 867Mhz G4 in most day to day tasks. 14" iBook is a great choice. I like my 12" but if you are looking for a little bigger screen, it is the one. Some say it's not worth it because it is the same resolution as the 12", but I have used both and sometimes I wish I had the 14" because it makes everything bigger and is easier to see if you sit back away from it.

He's right, the 12" PB isn't a lot faster unless you're doing a lot of altivec tasks (some things in photoshop are altivec and some aren't). I have a 900 mhz 14" ibook. I used to have a 12" ibook, and I like the 14" better because it's my only computer. If I had a 20" display to look at on my desk maybe I would want the smaller size to travel with, but the 14" really is easier on the eyes.

I was in the same situation as you a little while ago, and the 14" ibook just made the most sense. You're not gonna stay under $1500 with a powerbook.

[zarathustra]

Yes, the 14" might appear as a better deal, but the 12" PB has the dual display support, which is priceless when you work in photoshop or other palette driven apps.

I used to have a pismo with an external keyboard, mouse and a 19" monitor - and when I was ready to go, unplugged and gone.

[mactastic]

If you are even considering an iBook with its G3 chip, you probably don't need a 970. I gotta tell you, I've really enjoyed the mobility of a laptop. Espescially for school, its much nicer to be able to use my computer for presentations, and general use. I like being able to sit outside and use the internet as well.

[Maclarny]

The first Mac I owned was a Powerbook G4 550 mhz but I acutally got rid of it for a Powermac G4 instead. I found that I didn't really take my laptop much of anywhere and I bought it thinking that I would. I also discovered that I needed the extra power for my games and the upgradeability to keep it up to date. It all depends upon your needs so it is a tough decision...

Of course those 12" powerbooks do look pretty sweet... hmmmm....