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12" Powerbook owners...

B

boiee

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 22, 2005
82
0
..(if you moved on) what computer replaced your beloved 12" Powerbook?

Got my G4 1.33 GHz in the Summer of '04. I am at a crossroad now, as it is starting to show its age (5 years later is pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. Haha.), but I don't know how well I can adjust to the footprint of the newer 13" Macs (but I'm sure the horsepower will more than make up for it ;).

Any feedback/stories about YOUR transition to the newer Macs (and maybe specify which one you got please?) will probably help ease my grip on my Powerbook and really start to think about a newer machine. Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing your input.
 
I have bought a MacBook Pro 17" old model, last version, but frequently I take the PB12" to the office in his place, because it's more confortable to carry if I have to go elsewhere.
 
I'm in the same boat. I've got a 1.5 12" PB that needs to be replaced. This one is extremely solid still, last year it had a new logic board, added RAM, and new HD put in, but it doesn't run Logic and many online videos the way I want it to.

I'm highly tempted by the new 13" MBPs...but also looking at a mac mini. If I can find a classic MBP (within the last year or so) I'll just buy one of those. Trying to keep it around $1000. Would love a 17", but I'm not counting on that.
 
I just replaced my 12" 1.5GHz PowerBook G4 with a 13" MBP. Mine was over 4 years old and it ran great for a computer its age. Maxed out the RAM when I bought it and had to replace the hard drive once. I've only been using the MBP for about a week but here are my opinions.

1. The footprint is larger than the G4 but it still feels small. I carry my laptop with me a lot and don't think I could deal with a 15" or larger. I took it on a plane and didn't feel cramped at all.

2. The screen on my 12" was aging. It wasn't very bright at full brightness. The new screen is awesome. Plus, it has a higher resolution which makes it much more usable when not connecting it to an external monitor.

3. The battery life is awesome. My old battery was old but still managed to get up to an hour and a half of charge. This new battery is awesome. I think I could get about 5 hours with normal use.

4. I live in Korea and a lot of Web sites here require IE. This was a problem for me and I couldn't do many things like online banking. I installed VMWare Fusion and Windows XP and am now able to do this. I don't run Windows often so I think this is a great solution.

My 12" PB ran great for a computer its age but I am really pleased with the upgrade. I think it's well worth it. I was also a little concerned about the footprint. I didn't think it would fit in my bag but it does. It's still extremely portable and I love the backlit keyboard.
 
I still have my 12" PBG4 1.5GHz. I still love the machine, although it's been demoted to light duty because it's painfully slow by today's standards, even with web surfing. I really do miss how light it is, though.

My 15" MBP 2.6GHz is my current road warrior. Before that, it was a 15" PBG4 1.67GHz - that one was sold to help pay for the MBP.
 
I was just thinking about my finally selling my 1.33 PB 12", thanks for putting up this thread.

I still use mine everyday at work (so I don't need to bring in my last generation blackbook, they're both portable but I'm lazy :)). Lately, I've been noticing the dim display and lack of speed in opening up iWork or Illustrator. But mostly it's the display that bothers me.

I have to say I don't mind the extra weight of the blackbook, so the lighter 13"MBPs would be fine. The larger footprint is worth the larger, brighter screen. But if I were to get another portable, I'd probably get an MBA, I just don't like the glass display.
 
i just upgraded to a 13"MBP from a 12" PB 1.33 yesterday.

I'll be sad to see the 12"PB go as it never let me down(I used it for Djing for four years) but the speed og the 2.53GHz MBP 13 is incredble everything opens up in the blink of an eye!

It's weird the shape having got so used to the 12" screen but as the migration assistant copied over 60Gb of music and Ableton Live it made the switch very easy.

I was thinking of selling my 12" PB to my father but I don't he's worthy of such a legendary machine!

Now that firewire is back 12"PB to 13"MBP is he logical path
 
I finally upgraded to a 13" MacBook, and then upgraded again to a MacBook aluminum (missed the aluminum case of the PowerBook).

At first it was awkward using something with a screen so big. I missed the small size of the PowerBook. Eventually I got used to the bigger screen, and now I think it would be awkward to try to use a smaller screen.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

I went from a 12" PB to a 13 Macbook aluminum in Oct 08. It took about 1 day to adjust to the size. The weight is the same if not a bit lighter.



The screen quality and overall speed will have you forgetting about the PB in no time.



The other thing is that the PB, by nature of its construction, was creaky and wobbly compared to the unibody models. The unibody feels light years more solid.
 
I tried a Blackbook and didn't like it. Then a uMB, last version and screen was horrid. Returned and got a 2nd Gen. MBA which I love. Also picked up a 15" MBP which I think is too big as a backup. I'm looking at ditching that and getting a 13"MBP w. a Touch on tax free day in August.

The Air is definitely what I use the most. You get used to the footprint easy enough and the speed will really impress you. That extra horizontal screen real estate is sweet too. TBH, if the 12" PB could have taken more RAM, I may still be using it.
 
Recently I reluctantly went from a 1.5 ghz 12" pb to a 2.4 mb ce. I had gotten a killer deal on it June 1st (D'oh!) and it has the 9c8c screen.

The primary reasons were that the display had started to dim somewhat, and I had to use a windows program or two occasionally for work; virtual pc is just frakkin' painful to use.

Still love the form factor of the 12", period. Put an led screen and a core 2 duo in the exact same case, and I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

The uni 13" is not quite as 'totable' as the 12", but it's not too bad. Still lap usable. Love the solidity of the unibody design and the trackpad.

The screen is unbelievably crisp and bright compared to my 12". Took the mb ce to a meeting for the first type to bang out notes instead of my pb, and my reaction was 'holy $%^)!' , from how bright and clear word was on it.

Battery life on it is excellent (seems it takes it a bit longer to recharge) and unlike the pb, it will do processor intensive tasks easily. The 12" pb is a great, solid, almost iconic machine, but it's basically a netbook in 2009.

Okay, considering the 'they'll have to take my powerbook from my cold dead hands' signature, the line to throw crap at me begins here in five minutes.
 
I have to admit that I said I would never stop using my 12" PB either but I now find that I was lying to myself! My 12" PB was the 1.5ghz and 1.25 ram and was beginning to frustrate me a little loading certain sites and it seemed that I was seeing the spinning beach ball more and more. I had been waiting on Apple to release a smaller MBP since the switch to Intel. Long wait!

Anyway, I bought the 13" 2.53 MBP and could not be happier. The screen is amazing (9C9E properly calibrated) and just everything about it is so much better than my little PB. I will not be selling my PB but the MBP is a nice replacement. I agree that the footprint takes some getting used to and just the size of the screen seems huge to me after being on the PB but it is still quite portable.
 
I just gave my 12" powerbook from summer '04 to my best friend whose fiance is pregnant and got a 15" macbook pro. I was going to get the 13" but my brother talked me into the bigger screen. Glad he did that... :)
 
I got a 12" PBG4 right after Tiger came out. It saw me through the release of Leopard, and when they released the 15" Unibody MBP I knew it was time to upgrade. It was getting pretty slow -- especially flash video. I still have it sitting here and I want to find a use for it.

The 15" is amazing - the screen is wonderful and bright. Everyone wants my PB though because the 12" is a great form factor. :cool:
 
Still have mine!!!

As one poster says they will have to pry my 12" powerbook out of my cold dead hands. My ship must be coming in because as others have said it is starting to slow down on the web and some apps due to poor web design and large overhead update from Apple. I refuse to believe that it's the Powerbooks fault. But Hopefully they will fix the HDD issues with the Macbook Pro. Then I will buy one even with the crappy GLOSSY SCREEN!!! My 12" PB has truely been the best Mac/computer that I have ever owned, going on almost 20 years of computers. I also miss my ti99/a.

My wife bought the 13" unibody macbook back in March (she still can't stand the crappy GLOSSY SCREEN. I sneak a peak when she's not looking, as I joke with her about it being inferior to the PB. I have to say I like my Powerbook better for size but the unibody is sweat, fast and sturdy. It is the closest that you will get to the 12"PB. I actually love the features of the track pad, Don't even need a mouse.
 
Still Have Mine But Did Step Up to 15"MBP

My 12" Powerbook, one of the most amazing pieces of equipment I've ever owned, is still kicking strong. I bought it used and it was 4 years old and I had it driving a 22" external monitor, external apple keyboard, cellular internet access card, and a Wacom Pen Tablet, not to mention a high end HP printer, doing graphics and media production on heavy hitter programs like Photoshop, In Design, and Illustrator. without as much as a wimper. The thing is just fantastic. I did move to the bigger screen MBP for the bigger screen when off the external monitor. Those 12" Powerbooks are a hell of a piece of equipment and was my first Mac computer, and sold me on Apple quality. Then purchasing the MBP sold me on Apple's customer service. My whole Apple experience has been great. People looking for a small footprint portable computer should try to find these powerbooks on the used market, as opposed to buying one of those little micro computers that is the rage. :apple:
 
Two weeks ago I bought a refurb 15" 2.53ghz 4gb ram for 1449 (or something like that). I'd been looking for about six months to upgrade my 1.33ghz 1.25 gb ram 12" powerbook. As soon as I saw that the new model uMBPs lost the express card slots I decided the time to act was now as I shoot and edit video for a living and the card slot is a huge benefit. Anyway...I use the new 15" essentially as a desktop and to bring out on shoots to transfer footage from P2 and SxS cards. I gotta say I love the upgrade, much faster for work and play and the glossy screen doesn't bother me like I thought it would...in fact I think it looks great (though I also use an external monitor when stationary I use the MBP screen as the primary).

That said...the computer doesn't feel nearly as portable as the 12" (though the weight seems pretty comparable). I continue to use my 12" to knock around with, for itunes, for airplane travel etc...I guess it's pretty much become a netbook. Me thinks the two will coexist nicely for quite some time. Oh, and my 12" only has a combo drive, not a super drive so it's nice not to have to use an external burner for making DVDs!

Good luck and long live all the 12 inchers!

DH
 
i love my 12" 1.5 but i had to upgrade recently to the MBP 13" and it's awesome.
Yes, it has a larger foot print and it does feel bigger but the thiness gives the it feeling that it's smaller and it is still very much portable. I carry this thing everywhere and i use it hand held and it feel so balanced where I am not sure I could do it with the 15".

The overall performance and battery make up for all its shortcomings. The back lit keyboard is also very nice.

my only gripe about it is the matte screen but that's a different can of worms
 
HarleyMan said:
My 12" Powerbook, one of the most amazing pieces of equipment I've ever owned, is still kicking strong. I bought it used and it was 4 years old and I had it driving a 22" external monitor, external apple keyboard, cellular internet access card, and a Wacom Pen Tablet, not to mention a high end HP printer, doing graphics and media production on heavy hitter programs like Photoshop, In Design, and Illustrator. without as much as a wimper. The thing is just fantastic. I did move to the bigger screen MBP for the bigger screen when off the external monitor. Those 12" Powerbooks are a hell of a piece of equipment and was my first Mac computer, and sold me on Apple quality. Then purchasing the MBP sold me on Apple's customer service. My whole Apple experience has been great. People looking for a small footprint portable computer should try to find these powerbooks on the used market, as opposed to buying one of those little micro computers that is the rage. :apple:
Click to expand...

I heartily second your endorsement of 12" powerbooks over netbooks save one caveat: a netbook hackintosh can be set up to run windows a hell of a lot quicker than Virtual PC. Otherwise, no contest.
 
I sold my 12" PowerBook on eBay last year for $800 and got the 15" MBP in my sig. I don't care that it's larger. I enjoy having a larger screen and it still fits nicely in my backpack.
 
Really Hard Decision

boiee said:
..(if you moved on) what computer replaced your beloved 12" Powerbook?
Click to expand...
This was a really tough decision I've been fretting with for over 1 1/2 years. (Not kidding!).
There really is no replacement. Apple just killed a perfect product, and replaced it with overall inferior systems.

The 13" MacBook Pro certainly comes close, but it is in fact quite a bit wider (by a whole inch!), so is actually larger. Granted it's slimmer too, but I'd rather have a smaller footprint than extra thinness.

What miffed me is the lack of a dedicated GPU. The 12" PowerBook had one and I don't see why a larger MacBook Pro cannot also have one.

Also the lack of a 3GHz option is not nice.

And no matte screen. Ugh.


I considered the 17" for a while. It has all the right features but it is way too big and heavy - for someone who comes from a 12" PB.


In the end I decided to:
a) get a new battery for the PB (original from Apple Store)
b) get a Mac Pro.
Yes, contrary to the worldwide trend towards portable machines I went back to a desktop! You just get so much more bang for your buck.

But I will keep my 12" PB and it will hopefully serve me a long time as my travel Mac or couch Internet browsing Mac.
The new battery gives me again about 2.5-4 hours depending on usage which is all I need.

The 12" (1.33GHz, 5 years and 1 month old) will tie me over until Apple hopefully finally comes out with a true travel Mac replacement.
A Mac Touch would be nice!
 
i just got my 15' unibody macbook pro 2.8 ghz to replace my beloved 12' powerbook g4 1.33. i never realized just how small in comparison to other computers that my powerbook really was. its a HUGE difference to me from carrying my macbook pro around to my powerbook. it just seems so small all of a sudden, lol

but ill still use my powerbook to surf the web, take notes in class, and watch movies and what not. this computer is great and there is no way that ill ever give it up. definitely one of apples best products they have produced...in my opinion of course, :D
 
I recently replaced my 12" 1.33Ghz G4 (purchased 10/2004) with a 13" 2.26Ghz MBP. some thoughts...

- I thought I'd hate the glossy screen but I'm surprised to say I don't.. I quite like it in fact, the screen & colors appear much brighter
- The machine runs a lot faster.. i don't have any lag when I load photos onto iphoto (which I did on the PB)
- The new computer doesnt randomly go to sleep when I try to watch videos on youtube (started having problems with my fan on the PB.. clogged with dust probably)
- Even though it's only 1 inch difference the 13" seems a lot bigger, and feels lighter. The unibody build is very nice too
- While the PB has a better keyboard, the MBP's trackpad kicks ass

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