12" PowerBook - First Impressions

[altair]

Re: Re: Re: DiskWarrior 3

Originally posted by i_b_joshua

A support guy once told me Unix drives didn't need to defrag. I had no reason to disbelieve him till now. Was he wrong?

i_b_joshua

I *think* I found the problem. I don't *think* these are unix drives. I just errased my HD and started over, and one of the options, besides Mac OS Extended and Mac OS Standard, was Unix. And of course I chose Mac OS Extended. So I don't think these are Unix drives. Hope I cleared some stuff up.

-altair

 

[markomarko]

iJon is misinformed. BEWARE

Originally posted by iJon
you guys also gotta remember, the ibook has double the l2 cache than the 12 inch powerbook. from the early tests, the powerbook barely beat out the ibook. and since you can do the spanning hack on the ibook, you really gotta think if the bluetooth, airport extreme, superdrive, slot load and looks is worth the extra cash. depends on how much a dollar is worth to some people. wait till the new ibooks come out, then we will really have to do some tests.

iJon

iJon, the ibook is SLOWER. xbench is still too new (just barely past beta) and doesn't demonstrate altivec advantages, so it shouldn't be considered the be-all of benchmarks.

PLUS, you should quit telling people to do the monitor-spanning hack on the iBook! That hack is unpredictable and has fuxored many an iBook as reported on xlr8yourmac. Try and be a little more responsible with these comments.

For those interested in hacking the iBook, read this page (http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/ibook_dual_display_mods.html) before proceeding or risk having to buy a new ibook from iJon...

 

[iJon]

Re: iJon is misinformed. BEWARE

Originally posted by markomarko


iJon, the ibook is SLOWER. xbench is still too new (just barely past beta) and doesn't demonstrate altivec advantages, so it shouldn't be considered the be-all of benchmarks.

PLUS, you should quit telling people to do the monitor-spanning hack on the iBook! That hack is unpredictable and has fuxored many an iBook as reported on xlr8yourmac. Try and be a little more responsible with these comments.

For those interested in hacking the iBook, read this page (http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/ibook_dual_display_mods.html) before proceeding or risk having to buy a new ibook from iJon...

first of all i never said the ibook was faster. i am not telling anyone to do the monitor spanning hack, i said it is possible. hell i even have people screw up their computers putting in ram but i dont tell them not to do it. I have NEVER told anyone to do the hack, i have always mentioned it as an option. and after all the comments to say about me, you turn around and post a DIRECT link on how to do it. so now your the one actually telling people how to do it. so why dont you be responsible and not talk that way to people.

iJon

 

[rebscb]

pb 12" lcd

I was in an Apple Store yesterday and compared the 12" pb with a 15" tibook and a 12" ibook.

The pb 12" lcd was by far the most dim and lackluster screen of the three. My first impression was one of disappointment. I use the display controls to try to brighten it, but it was already to the max. I would not buy this machine due to the comparison that I did in the store.

 

[Tom800]

Future iBooks

This 12" Al PB is essentially the new iBook G4 - they just can't call it that because the chips aren't fast enough for the PBs to go G5. I believe the iBook as it exists now will be gone in the next revision and replaced with a true sub-notebook (not with optical drives etc).

iBook needs to appeal to education and ultraportably essentials such as presentations, productivity tools (Word, Excels, etc), web, email, not much more. It needs a longer battery life and a smaller form factor, along with a cheaper price. They could sell some kind of docking station to add all the functionality they ditch from the machine itself; whatever, I believe this machine would be bliss for teachers and school kids, and would differentiate better between the iBook/PB lines. They can't continue crippling the iBook at G3 performance just to preserve PB sales: it will get a new form factor (and stay G3) in such a way that it is an alternative, not just a cheaper PB.

 

[Abstract]

I hate docking stations.


One year from now, when the 970's are in all Macs (hopefully), I'd rather see the PB's and PM's equipped with 1.8Ghz and up, and the iBook and iMac lines at 1.2 Ghz and up rather than see a docking station. The difference in cpu speed is enough of a divide between the pro and consumer lines for me. If they did this, I'd go for the iBook, but would definitely get a 12" PB if they were to add a docking station for the iBook.

Also, I believe that a docking station is expensive to implement, and that it may make the iBook extremely expensive to buy--- more expensive than a 12" PB.

 

[jadam]

i believe the ibook gets hot underneath the left side because thats where the battery is.

 

[macktheknife]

Re: 12" PowerBook - First Impressions

Originally posted by moby1
About the cost; I got the $1799 model bundled with a free battery, case & printer. I figure I got about $200 worth of free stuff, that brings the price down to $1599 - only $300 above the price of an iBook! Apple should have a hot seller here.

May I ask who you bought the PowerBook from? Which dealer gives away all this free stuff? Thanks.

 

[moby1]

12" Al PB heat

It get's hot on the left palm rest area. That area sits above the hard drive. I don't know if the heat is from the drive or channeled from the CPU unit.

It does get unfomfortably hot but it's no more an issue than it is on the iBook.

 

[daniel77]

i just tried the 12'' at the local compusa and thre thing was so damn hot i couldnt even touch it-yeah that hot. i put out a litle sign right next to it that says HOT!!! has been on all day!! hopefully people got the idea. talk about cooking the eggs and the bacon on ur lap

 

[markomarko]

iJon is misinformed AND a poor loser!

Originally posted by iJon

first of all i never said the ibook was faster. i am not telling anyone to do the monitor spanning hack, i said it is possible. hell i even have people screw up their computers putting in ram but i dont tell them not to do it. I have NEVER told anyone to do the hack, i have always mentioned it as an option. and after all the comments to say about me, you turn around and post a DIRECT link on how to do it. so now your the one actually telling people how to do it. so why dont you be responsible and not talk that way to people.

iJon

I pointed out the page as a warning to those who considered the hack. I did not point it out as a feature. I'm the one actually telling people not to do it.

And I never said that you said the ibook was faster. I was just pointing out the fact that the benchmarks you refer to do not accurately represent the actual speed difference between the two machines.

Hhehehehe. Look at you getting all worked up.

 

[moby1]

Update on 12" Al PB fan.

The 12" Al PB does have a fan - it's on right now.

It came on last night - sounded very strange because it's loud but it runs slow so it makes an almost 'grinding' noise - scared me at first.

The fan came on again now when I got home so perhaps it has to do with recharging the battery?

I've been using the Al12PB for 3 days straight and the fan has only come on twice (least at the higher, noisy speed). Most of the time the Al is nearly completely silent.

Again, the heat issue (left palm rest area) is no more or less a problem than with iBooks I've used.

moby1

 

[bentmywookie]

Re: Future iBooks

Originally posted by Tom800
This 12" Al PB is essentially the new iBook G4 - they just can't call it that because the chips aren't fast enough for the PBs to go G5. I believe the iBook as it exists now will be gone in the next revision and replaced with a true sub-notebook (not with optical drives etc).

Oooooh, I would love this (currently) fictional machine you speak of.

And just imagine they make it a tablet as well. One can only dream . . .

 

[cb911]

hey moby1, thanks for telling us your impressions of the 12" PowerBook. i'm thinking of selling my rev. C TiBook and getting a 12" AI PB with 60GB HD & superdrive.

i still need to do some more research though. any other 12" PB users - could you post your thoughts? i'm especially interested to see how the video card handles...

also, are there any test/benchmarks on some sites out there for the 12" PB yet?

 

[Chuck]

What about some piccies?

I know specs are what's important, but I'd like to see some pictures of your machines, Moby1 and iJon! How about doing some lowres images of the things you've been talking about to show us what you mean... (ie cords on left side, rubber mounts etc...).

Sorry - I'm a visual learner.

Chuck.
http://www.madebydesign.net

 

[klapauzius]

moby1: Is it possible to change the battery in sleep mode like with the previous PowerBooks? Or do you have to connect the 'Book to AC power to swap them, as with the iBook?

If your second battery hasn't arrived yet, you can still try it out: Just close the lid, wait until the sleep LED lights up and remove the battery. If the sleep LED stays on, all is well.

You'd better save all documents and close all programs beforehand, in case the PowerBook powers off when you remove the battery.

I'm asking because I'll order a 12" myself this week and I'm not sure if it makes sense to get a second battery with it.

 

[moby1]

Doubts about 12" AlBook's NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go
.

Originally posted by cb911
hey moby1, thanks for telling us your impressions of the 12" PowerBook. i'm thinking of selling my rev. C TiBook and getting a 12" AI PB with 60GB HD & superdrive.

i still need to do some more research though. any other 12" PB users - could you post your thoughts? i'm especially interested to see how the video card handles...

also, are there any test/benchmarks on some sites out there for the 12" PB yet?

http://www.barefeats.com/pb17.html

Note that in my original post I'm basically comparing this 12" 867 to my last Ti 800. Obviously the 1GB Ti is going to be a bit faster.

The more I use this 12" AlBook, the more I like it. It's a dream come true as far as portability.

cb911, you may want to hold onto your current PB until we see the new 15" Al show up. I posted my doubts about the graphics chip in this thing earlier.

I am geting a new digital camera this week. I have a project in mind involving the 12" AlBook that should be fun.

Another small observation, I love the keyboard except for the right arrow key seems flimsy (the rest are OK).

I'll try the battery swap when I get the new battery.

moby1

 

[rt_brained]

I'm impressed with the size of the 12" AlBook. But I wishthey could've figured out how to throw in a PCMCIA slot. I shoot digital from time to time and would love it if I could upload photos via PCMCIA, rather than through a card reader.

I'm also not a big fan of the plastic piece that runs around the base (keyboard) and the screen. I haven't seen the 17 in person, but the TiBook wasn't constructed that way. The iBook's old silver-colored keyboard frame looks much cleaner.

And I'm not a big fan of the new all-white look of the iBook. It's nasty. Perhaps they needed to cheapen it so it wouldn't bleed sales from the 12" PowerBook.

 

[cb911]

thanks for that link to Barefeats.

so you can use a adaptor to plug into a USB port and use a PC Card like that? that could be just what i'm looking for...

 

[drastik]

I'm curious about the RAM here. For instance, I still rock and old Pismo, but I might go for the 12 replacement. The Pismo is rated by apple, to this day, to only take 512 in RAM. I've had a gig in mine for over a year with no problem. Admittedly, there is no soldered ram in the PIsmo, so I got two 512 chips. So, theoretically, there will oneday be 1 gig DDR chips, couldn't you slap one of those in?

 

[nptski]

I picked up my 12" from my Apple store the day they arrived. I proudly pulled it out of my brief case at my office only to find a nice scratch on the case due to a paper clip I didn't know was there. Rats! New mercedes, first ding. So-o-o...I ran around looking for a nice sleeve, couldn't find somthing simple so I cafefully cleaned my brief case. Next morning, off I went only to hear a sickening clatter as my cool new machine hit the threshold of my door as my briefcase was unzipped from cleaning it, something I have never done before, so I didn't even look, double rats! Now I have a nice dent just where the battery meets the case and the lid doesn't close as tightly. Everything works fine, but so much for keeping it pristine. The case actuall bent a bit and it would rock on the desk. I put some palm pressure on the opposite corners and it now doesn't rock. Apple didn't know how much to fix it, I think I'll just punish myself and leave it alone. I couldn't be happier otherwise, lame battlescars and all.

 

[hariya]

My first impressions and gripe

I got my 12" PB this morning after spending an anxious weekend knowing that it was already at the FedEx center on Saturday.

It did not come with iLife so spent some time running software update and then putting it through its paces. Downloaded Safari, X11. Everything runs great. The only comparison I have is an old 400 PM (AGP Graphics) and all I can say is it feels 10 times faster. The accelerated X11 is nice since I run remote applications over SSH all the time. Then spent more time installing latex, emacs, ..., moving my mp3s over and generally getting rid of stuff I will never use (Office demo, Earthlink).

As I was listening to my music, I had to mute it which is when I encountered my first gripe. Through headphones, this sucker will pass every single noise into your ears. Not just the hard disk or the cd drive, even your fingers moving over the trackpad. It is very wierd, like listening to the internal workings of the machine with a stethoscope.

That is however minor. I dont plan to wear the headphones and not listen to music but if you want quiet, dont wear headphones.

I will be glad to run some tests if anyone is curious. We are also getting the new dual 1.25s at work and I can run some benches on that too.

 

[moby1]

RE: Headphones, PC Cards & Cases

Curious, I did notice noise when my headphone jack was pushed in as far as it would go. I was able to simply turn the jack a bit and no problem.

I do not usually get the noise you are talking about. I use the headphones quite often.

As far as a case goes, I bought one of the InCase iBook sleeves (weighs just a few oz.), seems to work quite well. This 12" is a joy to carry!

Digital photographers: why do you want a PC Card slot? Don't you use USB? Are you shooting in RAW mode then? Is USB too slow for you? I just use the USB cable - it saves the CF Card door on the Nikons I've used (a weak spot of the camera). I should have a new Nikon 4500 this week so pics ARE coming...

I'm still curious about how well the GeForce4 420 will work for serious photographers. Does anyone have access to one of those calibration devices, I seemed to be having a problem getting reds to look right (as in skin tones, etc).


moby1

 

[yoyogi]

headphone noise

hi,
i just read the posts about noise on the headphones.

I have a vaio505 and will purchase the 12 inch soon. The vaio sqeeks and hisses and makes all types of electical noises. Even if I mute the soundcard all weird stuff still comes out.

I was really looking forward to the powerbook have a decent sound output rather than the absolute crap on the vaio.

VAIO stands for Video Audio Input Output so you think it would have had something good... but the audio out was the absolute worst.

Can someone with a 12 inch elaborate more?

thanks
yoyogi

 

[ibjoshua]

Re: My first impressions and gripe

Originally posted by hariya
As I was listening to my music, I had to mute it which is when I encountered my first gripe. Through headphones, this sucker will pass every single noise into your ears. Not just the hard disk or the cd drive, even your fingers moving over the trackpad. It is very wierd, like listening to the internal workings of the machine with a stethoscope.

Do you think it's possible you're getting a feed from your internal mic?

i_b_joshua