Does the iBook cut the mustard?

[512ke]

Hi. I'm about to buy a 'book. I have the funds but I also have a family. I work in film/tv production. Any advice would be appreciated!

Here's what I do with my 1.25 17" 80GB HD iMac at home. It would be very helpful for me to be able to do all this stuff at work, at Starbucks, in the recording studio, on the beach or wherever!

See the screen. I hate to squint. It's gotta be 14 or 15".

iPhoto, 5,000 plus pix 500MB each, use it to update my .mac website weekly. I do simple stuff like rotating pix. But lotsa pix.

iMovie. I have a firewire digital video camera. Once or twice a month, I need to input a 1 hour tape, edit it and output to DVD.

Garageband. I like to record live music on 6 or 7 tracks. Here's the kind of stuff: http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/bands/405/music.php.

Mail, Safari, Final Draft, Word, iTunes.

iRoam. Or rather I'd like to roam if the range could be more than a room. I already bought a Netgear wireless router for my wife's Compaq laptop. Her reception is great as long as she's within 15 feet of the base unit!

I have a 20GB iPod. I use it for music and as a firewire drive.

Question: Will a pimped out 14" 1.2 iBook do all the stuff I'd love it to do without stuttering? Or would a Powerbook be a better choice?

(The cost isn't that different, loaded 1.2 14" vs. a superdriven 1.33 PB.)

By the way, in my work there are TONS of folks who use macs. Thanks!!!

[thehuncamunca]

both the 12" powerbook and all ibooks only have 1024 by 768 screens, so you might consider saving up for the 15 inch powerbook if you need a larger screen
sounds like a powerbook would be a better choice for you based on what you said you'd be doing with it


Hi. I'm about to buy a 'book. I have the funds but I also have a family. I work in film/tv production. Any advice would be appreciated!

Here's what I do with my 1.25 17" 80GB HD iMac at home. It would be very helpful for me to be able to do all this stuff at work, at Starbucks, in the recording studio, on the beach or wherever!

See the screen. I hate to squint. It's gotta be 14 or 15".

iPhoto, 5,000 plus pix 500MB each, use it to update my .mac website weekly. I do simple stuff like rotating pix. But lotsa pix.

iMovie. I have a firewire digital video camera. Once or twice a month, I need to input a 1 hour tape, edit it and output to DVD.

Garageband. I like to record live music on 6 or 7 tracks. Here's the kind of stuff: http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/bands/405/music.php.

Mail, Safari, Final Draft, Word, iTunes.

iRoam. Or rather I'd like to roam if the range could be more than a room. I already bought a Netgear wireless router for my wife's Compaq laptop. Her reception is great as long as she's within 15 feet of the base unit!

I have a 20GB iPod. I use it for music and as a firewire drive.

Question: Will a pimped out 14" 1.2 iBook do all the stuff I'd love it to do without stuttering? Or would a Powerbook be a better choice?

(The cost isn't that different, loaded 1.2 14" vs. a superdriven 1.33 PB.)

By the way, in my work there are TONS of folks who use macs. Thanks!!!

[zimv20]

Mail, Safari, Final Draft, Word, iTunes.
my g3/800 ibook handles all those just fine (though it's word98 via classic). in fact, i find some things, especially safari, faster on my ibook than on my 2x500 g4.


iMovie. I have a firewire digital video camera. Once or twice a month, I need to input a 1 hour tape, edit it and output to DVD.

Garageband. I like to record live music on 6 or 7 tracks. Here's the kind of stuff: http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/bands/405/music.php.

i'm thinking powerbook for these, especially if you want to use a lot of plug-ins.

btw, my first mac was a 512ke.

[michaelrjohnson]

i have one of these new-fangled iBooks, and they can handle the kind of power you want from it. these are amazing little machines. they're great and i LOVE mine... really glad i went for ibook instead of waiting longer to save up for PB.

search forums for other threads

[512ke]

Thanks for the input and suggestions. They're very helpful!

I still have my 512ke and it still works.

[zimv20]

I still have my 512ke and it still works.
awesome. i last booted mine about a year ago.

[rueyeet]

Y'know, back in the day of G3 iBooks, I'd have said go for the Powerbook. But now that iBooks are G4 too, it's harder to say. Word does seem to be that GarageBand is a huge resource hog, so the faster a system and the more memory you can run it on, the better. But aside of that and screen resolution, I don't see anything arguing the Powerbook for your needs.

And the iBook does have one other advantage for you: it's still got better wireless reception than the Powerbooks.

[rosalindavenue]

Those are some of the best garageband tracks I have ever heard-- what kind of mike are you using on the clarinet? And the drums sound great. Very nice tracks, 512.

[Mr. Anderson]

cut the mustard? Not very hard to do :p

the correct terminology would be "to cut the muster"

http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-cut1.htm

Weird that 'cut the mustard' is actually almost acceptable though :D



I'd get the powerbook for the super drive if you can swing it especially if you do video and want to burn to DVD and also for backing up work.

D

[512ke]

Interesting. "To cut the muster" is the correct expression. I didn't realize that. "To cut the mustard" sounds more fitting, no? However, I guess one can't really cut mustard. You could spread it. You could wait 'til it dries and then try to cut it. "To cut the grungy mustard". Hmmm. One learns all kinds of things from macrumors.com!

[DGFan]

cut the mustard? Not very hard to do :p

the correct terminology would be "to cut the muster"

http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-cut1.htm

Weird that 'cut the mustard' is actually almost acceptable though :D



What's even more weird is that the link you provided does not support that conclusion
:D

[Mr. Anderson]

What's even more weird is that the link you provided does not support that conclusion
:D

it implies that the roots of the phase most likely came from 'cut the muster' - but since 'cut the mustard' has been around so long and that there is some ambiguity due to the French definition - its a tough call.

I think its more reasonable that its 'muster' became 'mustard' by misunderstanding....

D

[rinseout]

Interesting. "To cut the muster" is the correct expression. I didn't realize that.
That is not the correct expression. That was an idea put out as to the origin of the phrase in this article (http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-cut1.htm), an idea that the author himself dismisses:
However, if you cut a muster, presumably you do not attend it, so how this can be connected with the idea of excellence is far from clear. The clinching argument for this not being the source is that nobody has found the supposedly original phrase cut the muster anywhere.
(emphasis mine). Everybody can keep saying "cut the mustard" if they like. It's recognised as American slang by none other than the OED. "Cut the muster", on the other hand, is not recognised as an expression, much less an expression with the same meaning, anywhere.
the correct terminology would be "to cut the muster"

http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-cut1.htm

Weird that 'cut the mustard' is actually almost acceptable though
Mr. Anderson must have misunderstood the article.

[Mr. Anderson]

Mr. Anderson must have misunderstood the article.

not really - I had always been told it was 'cut the muster' - but is seems that there are more than one source...

here's another link
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/mustard.html

I didn't plan on hijacking the thread...and it seems that 'cutting the mustard' is acceptable....so lets all go back and discuss whether or not the iBook will get the job done here :D

D

[512ke]

As part of my job I write a lot of dialogue. One of the important things about writing dialogue is that often you must imitate the way people speak instead of the way people should speak.

Isn't "pass muster" a known expression?

Speaking of iBooks (which we're not :) ) I really am going to buy one. Does anyone have any other thoughts? rueyeet kindly mentioned wireless reception. Does anyone happen to know if the difference in reception is dramatic? Many thanks!

[zimv20]

Isn't "pass muster" a known expression?

as is "pass the mustard"

:-)

[512ke]

"Those are some of the best garageband tracks I have ever heard-- what kind of mike are you using on the clarinet? And the drums sound great. Very nice tracks, 512."

Woah, thank you!!!!! Your compliment is hugely appreciated, particularly because you are now about 20% of my worldwide audience!!!!

To answer your question, I am using the built-in mic on my iMac. I'm clicking on "record" in Garageband and improvising one track on top of the other.

I hope the iBook and Powerbook share the same built-in mic as the iMac! I was pretty surprised when I first heard how warm the live clarinet sounds.

[nyprospect]

Did 512ke get the ibook? Im still waiting to switch from my p4 3.0g

[DGFan]

Everybody can keep saying "cut the mustard" if they like.

I'd just rather say "cut the cheese." It's much more clear cut

[512ke]

Mustard, cheese, chili and onions on fries tastes pretty good.

[Borg3of5]

I currently have a G3-based 800 MHz iBook. It's fine most of the time, but in the past 5 months I've gotten really tired of getting the spinning beachball a lot of times. Of course this is a G3 iBook. Although I like the silver-looking Powerbooks, the polycarbonate iBook is great. Doesn't ding like the Powerbooks either.

If I were to get a laptop again, I'd like to get at least a 15" screen. There are great deals on the "Save" part of the Apple Store online. You can get both new, unopened Powerbooks of all models, AND refurbished ones. Last time I checked you can get a new 17" PB for $2,599, and a refurbished one for $2,199. Great value, if you ask me! The difference between a 1.33 and 1.50 GHz PB is only 167 MHz, so why this is a GREAT leap-forward is beyond me. Go with a new, unopened 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz, AND it has the übercool backlit keyboard. Just don't put it on your lap, in case you're a guy! From what I've read, if you plan on breeding-it'll probably kill your buddies in about 5 minutes.

Good luck in deciding. I know I'm having a tough time between:


20" iMac, -and-
Dual 1.8 G5


I'll probably have to wait until my Stafford loan comes through for the Fall semester, to get the 23" HD Cinema display, so I'll have to rig it to a very undeserving, offbrand, 5+ year-old 17" CRT.

[512ke]

Ok, so in summary the advice I'm getting is this:

Some people think the iBook will be fine for the tasks I outlined.

Some people think it's better to get a Powerbook.

However, no one seems to be saying, the iBook _can't_ handle it.

Right?

Many thanks!

[Chip NoVaMac]

<snip>

Here's what I do with my 1.25 17" 80GB HD iMac at home. It would be very helpful for me to be able to do all this stuff at work, at Starbucks, in the recording studio, on the beach or wherever!

See the screen. I hate to squint. It's gotta be 14 or 15".


Given your current system any of the PB or iBooks would serve you well.

With respect to the screen, until you really use a 12" screen, you never will know about the "squint" factor. Only time I have a problem with my PB 12" is when I get a funky email with ultra small text. Most email is not like that, but just sometimes.

I am not sure how I ever lived without a small notebook like the 12" PB.



(The cost isn't that different, loaded 1.2 14" vs. a superdriven 1.33 PB.)

By the way, in my work there are TONS of folks who use macs. Thanks!!!

There are a few advantages with the PB over the iBook that may give better performance. The main thing for me and my PB is the official support of monitor spanning.

Good luck...

[ibjoshua]

Ok, so in summary the advice I'm getting is this:

Some people think the iBook will be fine for the tasks I outlined.

Some people think it's better to get a Powerbook.

However, no one seems to be saying, the iBook _can't_ handle it.

Right?

Many thanks!

That pretty much summarises the thread. But you missed one thing. It's been agreed that "cut the mustard" is acceptable usage. Pual Brian's excellent site also has this entry under 'non-errors' http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html#mustard

And I hope DGFan was joking because where I come from 'cut the cheese' means something completely different. As in, 'Eeeeeeeuw!! Foul!! Did somebody just cut the cheese? i.e. fart

i_b_joshua

[iKwak]

Off track but what exactly does "cut the mustar" mean? :confused: :o

[slooksterPSV]

Now, I've read some of the comments and I've read the original post. My opinion is.. unless you really need the 1.33 or 1.5GHz processing power, just go with the 1.2GHz iBook. If you have Firewire drives and an iPod and that with all of your stuff on it then hard drive space shouldn't be a problem. I think the iBooks are as powerful as the PowerBooks but not in processing speed and DDR SRAM speed. I would just get an iBook with at least 512MB of RAM. Thats my 2 cents and if you don't like it. Buy some candy with it that 2 cents.

[Chip NoVaMac]

Off track but what exactly does "cut the mustar" mean? :confused: :o

A quick Google search came up with this:

http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxcutthe.html

[Diatribe]

I am not sure how I ever lived with a small notebook like the 12" PB.


You meant to say without, right? Otherwise I'm confused now... :D

[Chip NoVaMac]

You meant to say without, right? Otherwise I'm confused now... :D

You are so totally right, i meant WITHOUT.

Thanks, original post corrected. Need to do a better job at proof reading before posting.

[512ke]

"Thats my 2 cents and if you don't like it. Buy some candy with it that 2 cents."

Thank you for your 2 cents! In fact I got a lot of good cents and sense from this post. 2 cents from each person...at least 28 cents total. With a free side order of mustard. :p

[ozimax]

1. Get an iBook, just up the ram to 640mb, it's a smooth worker and osX handles files somehow more efficiently than Windows.

2. Can't stand mustard, just plain old "dead horse" (tomato sauce) please, sorry, to translate for our American friends, ketchup (which in turn came from the word "cat-sup", presumably squashed and blended cats...)

Ozimax
President
Australian Cat Haters Association

Larry Fine - "I was stationed in Italy in 1942, eating hotdogs and waiting to be mustered out..."

[Diatribe]

You are so totally right, i meant WITHOUT.

Thanks, original post corrected. Need to do a better job at proof reading before posting.

Hehe, no problem. Happens to everyone. :D I was just making sure I understood you. What size notebook did you have before? I have a 12" ibook and although I love it to death I am thinking about switching to a 15"pb rather than a 12" pb. This is killing me I am so torn.
Basically it is am I rather going to be unhappy about a potential lack of power and screensize or the fact that the 15" is a bitch to carry around compared to my 12". I guess I cannot tell till I have either one which is seriously driving me nuts since I need to order it in 10 days.

[Diatribe]

1. Get an iBook, just up the ram to 640mb, it's a smooth worker and osX handles files somehow more efficiently than Windows.

2. Can't stand mustard, just plain old "dead horse" (tomato sauce) please, sorry, to translate for our American friends, ketchup (which in turn came from the word "cat-sup", presumably squashed and blended cats...)

Ozimax
President
Australian Cat Haters Association

Larry Fine - "I was stationed in Italy in 1942, eating hotdogs and waiting to be mustered out..."

I don't know... if you want to do some video editing etc. I wouldn't recommend the ibook. When I have my standard apps open it has about 20MB of RAM free. And whenever I want to copy/paste QT-Stuff it craps out on me. 786MB is the absolute minimun I'd recommend when doing video editing photoshop and alikes. That said 640MB of RAM lets my ibook cruise along nicely if I don't do editing.

[justin216]

If you view the iBook series and powerbook series strictly from the specifications, naturally the Powerbook is a better machine. What I'd like to point out is, down the line, if you wish to trade up to a newer 'book (Perhaps G5?), then the Powerbook will have a greater resale value specifically because "it's a powerbook". Resale value is important to some of us, like me whom gets a new computer every 4-6 months and doesn't want to lose much money. I've owned G3 and G4 iBooks, and now this is my second powerbook I have now in a row. The powerbook line is built much..much...better than the iBooks. The build quality is excellent, and the 15" Widescreen I have now is absolutely gorgeous. Although I will most likely replace this notebook in a few months, I am never..ever...going back to the iBook line again. It's not that they're bad machines, far from it. After owning a powerbook, why would anyone want to own anything else for portability?

[Godfather]

I have no experience with this, but I think I will have. I choose Powerbook to buy because I could always sell it for more $$ then I could with an iBook, simply because 'it's a powerbook'. It's weird, and not fair, but the truth. Offcourse I made the decision when I saw the €40 for 128MB ram instead of 64, and the ram capabilities.

[Chip NoVaMac]

Hehe, no problem. Happens to everyone. :D I was just making sure I understood you. What size notebook did you have before? I have a 12" ibook and although I love it to death I am thinking about switching to a 15"pb rather than a 12" pb. This is killing me I am so torn.
Basically it is am I rather going to be unhappy about a potential lack of power and screensize or the fact that the 15" is a bitch to carry around compared to my 12". I guess I cannot tell till I have either one which is seriously driving me nuts since I need to order it in 10 days.

I had a Toshiba 15" unit that is a monster when compared to the PB 12".

The only reason that I can see going with the 15 or 17 inch models is because of 2gb RAM capabilities.

[Diatribe]

I had a Toshiba 15" unit that is a monster when compared to the PB 12".

The only reason that I can see going with the 15 or 17 inch models is because of 2gb RAM capabilities.

Yeah, I know those. Some people in my classes have those. Those are humongous. Oh well, screen size does matter to some people. Second you'd get 1GB of RAM without having to buy the expensive 1GB module like you'd have to with the 12". Another factor is gaming... some like to game on their pbs, although I admit buying this machine purely for gaming purposes is just nuts anyway. I agree that the 12" cannot be beaten in portability and it is quite fast now. The things that bother me are the graphics card, which sucks hard, and the screen size when I am gone for longer than a week. At home you can always plug in a bigger screen, but if you're away for a couple of months... that's when it starts to get annoying.

[512ke]

justin216, interesting point. Resale value. Hadn't thought about that one.

It's a hard choice but a good one, because all options seem to be valid.

From what I've read on this and other threads, it sounds like...

14" iBook: Longer battery life, cheaper, better airport, more rugged, ok screen, lower resale value, runs cooler (slightly).

15" Powerbook: More powerful, more expensive, cooler, so-so battery life, super screen, better speakers, higher resale value, runs hotter (slightly).

[Darius]

I keep seeing mention of higher resale value. But don't you guys think that could have something to do with the much higher sale price?

[zimv20]

I keep seeing mention of higher resale value. But don't you guys think that could have something to do with the much higher sale price?
yes, thank you. the resale value doesn't mean nearly as much as the rate of depreciation.

[Chip NoVaMac]

yes, thank you. the resale value doesn't mean nearly as much as the rate of depreciation.

I think that the rate of depreciation is lower than for Intel/AMD based PC's.

It also goes to the Mac systems having a longer life span of use for many people.

[Crikey]

Regards your question, I don't know. I'm not sure which I'd opt for myself. Prior to the last updates, it would have been a PowerBook, but the new iBooks seem to rock.

Before GarageBand, I wanted a PowerBook pretty bad. Since GarageBand, a dual G5 is looking pretty good.

That's all blathering. The real reason I posted was to agree that your tunes are some of the best GarageBand efforts I've heard. Hard to believe you got tone that good from the iMac's built-in microphone.

Cheers,

Crikey

[maclamb]

I had a 12 inch PB and thought it a bit small and upgraded through a 933 ibook then to my current 1G ibook. I even upgraded the hard drive to 7200RPM
However, the grpahics seem to slow to play a basic game like Lord of the Rings
I don't see much difference with the faster hard drive
Audio conversion seems to take a while. I found the patch on line for making the ibook do video spanning - but my Digital LCD is not happy with regular vga out.
I LOVE the large 14" screen.
All that said - I plan to sell it and upgrade(down?) to a 12 1.33 PB.
I spend most of my time it as my main mac and so screen size is not a great issue. I want the DVI out, Faster CPU/BUS and Graphics.
The smaller size and weight w/ be a bonus.

[512ke]

"Hard to believe you got tone that good from the iMac's built-in microphone."

Garageband is one of the coolest programs I have ever used.

Not that it really matters in the big scheme of things, but I decided to go with the iBook 1.2 w/ superdrive. Thanks again for all the helpful advice both pro iBook and pro PB. I truly appreciate it!!!

I found out today that my 4 year old son needs glasses. I'm sure he will appreciate seeing EVERYTHING with the $ I saved by getting the iBook!

As a side note, tonight a very helpful salesguy at the Apple Store in the Grove offered to sell me a display model 1.25 15" PB for $2000. It had a couple of scratches and two minor "bright spots" on the display. I said no thanks, but perhaps someone else might be interested. It's still there!

[maclamb]

I bought the PB 12/1.33 last night and am supremely happy.
Fast, Quick, Quiet, Cool, Kewl, DVI out - woo hoo!
I get an Ed Discount, so it was the same price as the iBook 1.2 - so no comparison there.
I mostly run an external montitor and the 12" screen is ok for me.
The keyboard IS the same size, but the extra room on the sides of the 14 ibook is nice .
but not worth the extra size/weight IMHO

:)