Looking to upgrade from a PowerBook G4 and wondering about MacBooks and MBPs

I have a 15" PowerBook G4 Titanium with 1GHz processor and 512 MB RAM. I'm a musician, and I use Digital Performer 5.1, Reason 3.0, and Finale 2007 for writing and recording music, and if possible, I'd like to not have to pay for new versions of each of these...It appears that these versions should run fine with an Intel Mac, so I should be ok with that, right?

I have an external HD that uses FW400, as well as a USB mouse, all-in-one printer, and then of course the USB cables for my phone and camera...so I need at least 2 USB ports.

I want to be able to record with better handling of large-ish numbers of tracks than I am now (that part should be easy), have built-in Airport (although I normally use the built-in ethernet), and burn to CDs and DVDs. I'm not crazy about downsizing from the already-somewhat-small 15" screen I have now, so that's one point against the current MacBook, but am I likely to really need to spend the additional $1000ish for a Pro?

I've gone to the Apple Store to get a look at the options in person, and I found that the 13" screen didn't seem like it would be a dealbreaker, but the fact that I use FireWire pretty much constantly (for recording, samples that get played back, and my iTunes library) makes it look like the best options for me are the new white MacBook, or the Pro...but I'm gonna be stretching a bit to even afford a base model white MB.

starmagic said:

Are you considering refurbished or used? Or desk-tops?
I'm in a similar position and I am considering the slightly older (when there were still black as a choice) macbook - it has firewire and up to 2.4 gHz, too. I've found a few on Craigslist...

Click to expand...

If I felt that it was practical to fix up my Powerbook so that it runs like it did when it was brand new (which would probably involve a new Superdrive and a new battery, and possibly reinstalling OSX), I might consider desktops, but I like the portability of the laptop format, and that's what I'd prefer to stick with.

I'm definitely considering refurbished and used, and while pretty much anything from the last couple years or so would be a big improvement over what I've got now, I think the later model is worth it if it's not too much more expensive.

iBookG4user said:

The white MacBook should be fine for you. If memory serves the Titanium PowerBooks had the same screen resolution as the MacBooks have now so you'll only be losing the physical 2" which isn't that bad. The speed should be plenty fast compared to what you are used to. And as for whether your programs will work well on the Intel Macs, see if you can check their websites to see if the apps are Universal. My advice would be to just purchase the white MacBook, the pro model isn't that much better. And if you do need to upgrade for some reason, if you do it within the 14 day return period you'll only be out $100 for the restocking fee.

Click to expand...

The maximum resolution on my PowerBook is 1280x854 pixels. When I checked out the white MacBook in person, I didn't feel like the screen was too small, so that's not too bad.