should I just buy a 17" PB

17" is a great notebook, but i have learned on thing about it. you like it or you dont. there is hardly any getting used to it. you need to go to your local reseller or apple store and play with it and pick it up. we all know it has powerful specs, but its the size that makes or breaks the deal. when you pick up, put it on your side, see if fits you well. if it does than you have one hell of a notebook. if it doesnt fit you well settle for a 15, not to small or too big.

iJon

I was in the same boat as you are.

When I decided to make my switch, the size of the 15" Powerbook was exactly what I was looking for (both size and price). I waited for Macworld SF to see what came out before making my purchase.

The integrated bluetooth, illuminated keyboard, airport extreme were very nice additions, but more importantly an improved antenna and redesigned case material made one of the two new Powerbooks (12 or 17) the logical choice. The 12 was just too small, as I don't carry it with me everyday. While the 17" was a little bigger than what I was looking for, it was closer than the 12" and I decided to make the plunge.

My Powerbook is more of a desktop replacement, with the benefit of being able to take it to the couch, bed, kitchen, garage, backyard, etc. and being able to take it to work when needed and on trips with me (about 4 times a year).

It's a little bigger than I was looking for...but not much at all. It's thinner than my Dell Inspiron 4100, about an inch wider and deeper - but it has a bigger screen.

I really couldn't be happier with my 17".

Originally posted by fjs08
Guys,

Thanks for the replies.

>>The integrated bluetooth,<<

The updated technology sounds great. I was leary of buying the 15" because I heard the wireless setup wasn't the greatest.

>>and on trips with me (about 4 times a year).<<

How does it fit on an airplane tray??? In the commercials, Mini-Me had it on his lap<g>!!

>>It's thinner than my Dell Inspiron 4100, about an inch wider and deeper - but it has a bigger screen.<<

I have a Dell 7500 currently. Monstrous in comparison to today's notebook. I have Thursday off. I'll have to make a trek to the Mac store.

btw, how much ram do you have in it. I'm notorious for getting sidetracked and opening up 4 or 5 programs at once. On my 3 yr old Dell with XP, it slooooows to a crawl. I've thought about getting a 17" with a gig of ram??

Also, what in the heck do you put the 17" to transport it?? Are bags fairly available??

Thanks again.

Frank

Click to expand...

im not sure about how it would fit on an airplane, but i do know what you can put it in. go to http://www.timbuk2.com and they make a sleve just for the 17". i have one for my 12" and I love it, fits right in with my timbuk2 bag.

iJon

There are plenty of good bags now, Brenthavens Pro17 backpack is excellent. I havent found the 17 too big in any respect, it is truly a desktop replacement, and not really a notebook, but it is eminantly portable.

Ive been using it as a video/DVD workstation lately, but the ability to run Logic/ProTools and Reason side-by-side is good enough for me.

One thing, you had better be tall, anything under about 5 foot 5 inches will leave the bottom of the bag banging on your hip bone

Go buy one.

Originally posted by fjs08

How does it fit on an airplane tray??? In the commercials, Mini-Me had it on his lap<g>!!

Click to expand...

Not sure. I got it the first week of April and haven't taken any airplane trips yet (two in the car, however).

btw, how much ram do you have in it. I'm notorious for getting sidetracked and opening up 4 or 5 programs at once. On my 3 yr old Dell with XP, it slooooows to a crawl. I've thought about getting a 17" with a gig of ram??

Click to expand...

I just bought the standard 512 (pre-ordered it and didn't want anything delaying delivery). Works fine for me, but extra RAM surely wouldn't hurt...so if you can afford it, and it doesn't otherwise impact purchase, I don't see why not.

(haven't tried iMovie yet, but 512 is suitable for what I do in Photoshop). Of course, 1Gig wouldn't hurt.

Also, what in the heck do you put the 17" to transport it?? Are bags fairly available??

Click to expand...

I'm using the same Samsonite bag that I used with my Dell. The 17" fits perfectly. About $80 at best buy a few years ago. Not sure if this is the exact one (BB site is down), but if not, it's damn close.

Just another POV. I don't know what's shaking at the MacWorld Creative Expo (July 16-18) Greg Joswiak, Vice President of Hardware Product Marketing is giving a keynote. I wouldn't be suprised to see the Alu 15" PowerBook show up on that day. It's nothing but an update but that would get you the machine you want probably.

I know you are most likely tired of waiting but it's only another coupla weeks.

if you can't wait...go check one out. I am a bad person to ask because I traded down to an iBook from my 15" PowerBook for reasons of size and durability. Then again I also own a 15" iMac

MacBoyX

The 17 fits quite nicely on the tray in a Jetblue aircraft (A320).

I watched a DVD (Old School) while flying to NY and was totally blown away with the large screen. People would walk by us on the way to the can and throw out compliments left and right about the screen size. The movies look beautiful on the screen...

It's definitely not to small to use on a [JetBlue] airplane...

As for the case, I use a Targus CBT300 (that's the model number). I didn't like the other cases on the market when I was looking for a case. I was forced to use the same Targus bag I used for the 15, and surprisingly, it fits the 17 perfectly and has a nice sized pouch for the AC adaptor plus misc junk. I love it...


Chad4Mac

The 17 is my first mac an I don't regret it at all. Trying to move around the os was a little strange at first but after 3 days I was comfortable. The size is no big deal at all. I'm sick of all the annoying comments about it size. Go to the store and actually try one if your worried. It's a great computer.
(((k)))

Booq

I use the PowerSleeve 17" from Booq:

http://www.booqbags.com/ps17.html

and I couldn't be happier with it.

M.

Couldn't hurt to wait just a few more weeks.

What Windows program do you need to run? Get yourself a copy of VirtualPC (or RealPC) and you might not need that Dell. Runs kinda slow depending on what you need it for, but it's still worth it.

Originally posted by fjs08

btw, how much ram do you have in it. I'm notorious for getting sidetracked and opening up 4 or 5 programs at once. On my 3 yr old Dell with XP, it slooooows to a crawl. I've thought about getting a 17" with a gig of ram??

Also, what in the heck do you put the 17" to transport it?? Are bags fairly available??

Thanks again.

Frank

Click to expand...

fj08: 1 Gig of RAM should be enough. I'm running on 768 MB of RAM, and I rarely have less than 10 Apps open, and it is even rarer that I lag.

solvs: Is RealPC available for OS X yet?

you could pay 3000 for a 17" powerbook, OR, you can duct tape training wheels on a 17" imac and save a few thousand. yeah, thats what you should do.

Originally posted by XnavxeMiyyep
solvs: Is RealPC available for OS X yet?

Click to expand...

Not yet. The company that makes it made an announcement, but then M$ (who bought VPC from Connectix) threatened them with legal action based on an old agreement between the people who made RealPC and Connectix. Confusing, isn't it? RealPC should be coming, it wasn't just a rumor. But with M$ and their legal tactics, who knows now?

The size of the PB17 is the easiest to get used to. Afterwards all other notebooks seem so tiny... It's like getting an exotic sports car. Anywhere you go, you are the center of attraction, specially from PC laptop owners!

Get the 1 meg ram.

I have a Brenthaven Shoulder bag. I use it to take my PB to heavy duty sessions some place and bring along all my accessories and file folders. But when I want to go really light and classy, I use my ultraslim "Incase" leather bag. Both these bags you can buy at the Apple store. They are not cheap $149 & $94

Go ahead and buy the PB17. I have yet to hear a PB17 owner complain that they made a mistake.

i m in the same situation as you are.
I ll probably get it in 2 days ;-)

I'm a switcher (been with PC's for... about 8 years?), and I'm with macrat.

Other than some gripes inherent in OS X (Where's the bloody show-desktop windows-d command? ), the 17" is more than I could ever have dreamed for in a laptop, and I would never regret switching. It's gorgeous!

Glad I did...

Upgraded from a G3 B&W and I am quite pleased. At first I just stared at it a lot and thought, "3300$?!?!?" (1G Ram, AirPort base, etc, bags, etc, etc...), but I've come to love it.
I'm backing up 220G of music, and I have some gripes with the DVD-R, but if you use decent media, you should be OK. Memorex and TDK have been the best, CompUSA and Verbatim the worst, but I've had nearly 1/4 fail, and at 1.50ish each, that's not cool.
The keyboard is a bit far from the edge and squared and my wrists get annoyed by it, but this forces me to use that hand posture I should've had for years now. Check it out at a store and see if this could be a big problem for you. there are probably rests that can be bought for this anyway.
The screen is beautiful, I bought an AC power adapter (70$ish at Best Buy) and went on a road trip camping with DVDs, edited photos, and recorded a live set with some musicians in the middle of nowhere.
It's big, friends who've used other laptops say massive, but it is my first. It's made every long trip with me in the Timbuktu sleeve/bag, and been great and continues to be.
Switch now, come to the light... I'm a Mac user for life, but have worked on PCs, and hope to never again. The one caution I have is dependence on iApps. iPhoto is slow and buggy (don't dream of editing with less than 1G free), iChat lacks many features still, Safari won't load hotmail... There are always problems with an OS and its apps. The G5 laptop is perhaps a year away, I say go for it. If you can handle the size, the 17" is really a thing of beauty and flies with ease.

--Sincere

I'm planning on grabbing a 17" too, but I'm waiting to see the updates as well

the 17" pb is just about as portable as the 16" gateway and compaq notebooks, but half as heavy. and twice as thin