Perceptions of my new 15 inch powerbook

[Ajmbc]

Perceptions of the 15" Powerbook

I just got my Powerbook in the mail today, 1.5 gHz, 128 mb vram, 5400 rpm drive, the works.

I opened the box, and to be honest, the packaging looked better than the pbook. ;) I turned it on, no dead pixels, and the screen is very very clear- especially coming from a 14" 1024x768 iBook display. I turned down the lights to see the backlit keyboard, which really helps to type in low-light situations (or is at least good enough to show off to your friends :cool: ). The aluminum finish looks and feels awesome, and feels 20 times more sturdy in my arms than my 14" iBook, and weighs the same. My only gripes are that the touchpad button is very shallow (although it should wear in), and that it rocks, like a chair that is uneven, even on a super-flat table. I've heard suggestions to run it hot for a while, and this should fix it, (but I don't want to melt my 'book :rolleyes:)

The 1.5 gHz G4 processor is really fast, and even faster having worked on a 700mHz iBook for so long, iTunes launches in one bounce, compared to 7 or 8 on my iBook. Expose and minimizing happen with even greater detail and precision, and 128mb vram is going to be a huge upgrade from 16. I don't hear the hard drive even spin up when doing heavy photoshop work or video editing, The only noise that I hear is when I am accessing a cd or dvd in the drive, and when the fan goes on.

Overall, I am really satisfied with the quality, design, and speed of my new powerbook, I would recommend this to any mobile professional, it's thin and light, and not a burden to carry around.

-aj

[Gymnut]

Glad to hear you're enjoying your purchase. I just placed an order for the exact same system not three days ago to take with me to Iraq and it still has yet to ship. :(

[Ajmbc]

Glad to hear you're enjoying your purchase. I just placed an order for the exact same system not three days ago to take with me to Iraq and it still has yet to ship. :(

Sorry its not shipped. I waited (what seemed like) forever, and the shipping process took its toll on my nerves ;), one of the most frustrating things is FedEx Ground not updating its scans often enough...

When do you leave for Iraq?

-aj

[Gymnut]

Yeah I have to admit FedEx doesn't do as good a job at updating their scans as UPS does. Well, my Army Nat'l Guard unit will be activated next month so we'll be spending the next 3-4 months conducting our train-up stateside and are slated to have boots on the ground early 2005. Literally I received the alert not even two weeks ago, walking out of the movie theatres after seeing Spiderman 2 and now my next 18 months have been turned upside down. Ah well, I've been in for over three years now and am surprised it hasn't happened sooner considering my MOS is 11B(Infantry). Gonna hand my Dual 1GHz MDD to my mom since she's been relegated to using my 1999 B&W G3 and take the PB with me. Just out of curiosity, how soon after ordering did your PB ship? I know I've been stricken with the plague of checking and rechecking my order status. Was kind of a torn between the 12" and the 15" but decided to forgo a little portability for a little more power and screen real estate.

[Ajmbc]

I ordered mine on the 9th, and it shipped on the 12th, it was originally set to ship on the 16th, but it ended up getting here on the 16th.

I definitely enjoy the crispness and increased resolution of the 15" display- and features like a pc card slot and a better memory card, and gigabit ethernet will keep it more up-to-date as it gets older.

-aj

[stoid]

I bought the Rev. A 15 inch PowerBook, and after getting the screen replaced to fix Mr. White Spots, I haven't anything but joy from my little Aluminum friend. It's chews through everything I throw at it! I'm still pleased 10 months later!

[Ajmbc]

Does your powerbook sit uneven and rock on flat surfaces, stoid?

[stoid]

Does your powerbook sit uneven and rock on flat surfaces, stoid?

Straight as an arrow. It came like that out of the box though. How uneven is it? Maybe just slip a note card folded over a few times under a back corner when it's on your desk if it's really bad and doesn't 'fix itself' as someone else suggested.

[Ajmbc]

Straight as an arrow. It came like that out of the box though. How uneven is it? Maybe just slip a note card folded over a few times under a back corner when it's on your desk if it's really bad and doesn't 'fix itself' as someone else suggested.

I'll try that- if it really bugs me, then I guess it is covered under applecare.

-aj

[jackieonasses]

I bought the Rev. A 15 inch PowerBook, and after getting the screen replaced to fix Mr. White Spots, I haven't anything but joy from my little Aluminum friend. It's chews through everything I throw at it! I'm still pleased 10 months later!
don't want to sound nitpicky. but, isn't the rev. A a titanium??

sorry in advance if i am wrong.

[OziMac]

Hmm, good question.

I think it seems generally to be agreed that the TiBooks were a different product to the 15" AlBooks. So the Rev A of the TiBook was the 400/500MHz and the Rev B was the 550MHz etc, whereas the AlBooks were a totally new line with the 1/1.25GHz the Rev A of the 15" (in the same way the 867MHz 12" and 1GHz 17" were the Rev A's of their respective lines) and thus the 1.33/1.5GHz models the Rev B's.

[pcproff]

My powerbook rocks also seems like the front right and the back left arent getting along. Eventually as per Apple it will warm up and even recommended running some benchmarks on it as it will make the powerbook superhot and get back into shape. I posted a forum on here a couple days back regarding this issue and they answered me the same way apple did. Yes, I am a new Mac user and I absolutely love it. Even though I still use my Alienware for gaming but in the field I am in I need a Mac.

[JzzTrump22]

I have the same system as well. I love it, it's great. I have the same problem with the touchpad button. I don't really use the pad because i have a mouse hooked up. So i'm not that annoyed by it. I hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

[edesignuk]

don't want to sound nitpicky. but, isn't the rev. A a titanium??

sorry in advance if i am wrong.He means Rev A of the AlBooks, not Rev A TiBook ;)

[stoid]

Want to get your laptop piping hot? Run folding for an hour or so! Or just play Halo on it a bit. :D

[Ajmbc]

Want to get your laptop piping hot? Run folding for an hour or so! Or just play Halo on it a bit. :D

I'm gonna set this machine up and do folding on it- I tried on my iBook but got frustrated after taking a day to complete about 1/16 of a work unit. :p