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Baffled by cheap G5s

They won't run the up coming OS. They're technically obsolete in today's world (though they're still very capable). And as for the 12" PB, as TS said ... sorta ... they're just this amazing little notebook that rivals all netbooks as far as I am concerned.
 
I'd get it, mainly just to see how cool it would be on the wall. The :apple:TV uses a 1 GHz Pentium M and 256 MB RAM, so as long as you get specs higher than that, you should be good.

The 12'' PB G4, while a fine piece of technology and ingenuity, is not a competitor to netbooks. They still are going for ~$500 for 1.33 GHz.
 
The Power Mac's will I imagine still be used by educational outlets as there are some things they do beautifully. As for everyone's favorite notebook, Apple could be making a lot of money making a 12" machine. One of the most important things with the Powerbook was that it was clear that that machine was made specifically for Pro Users and was not a consumer machine that could double as a Pro machine.
 
Despite previous comments, it's amazing how many G3 and G4 Macs are still leading productive lives. The G5's will do the same, so if they go for cheap, all the better.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
In case you haven't noticed, Apple has a 13'' notebook now.
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OMG, are you serious. I though the MacBook my father owns was 14"?

I am not sure what your comment was directed to. But the 12" was made for Pro users. It had a matte screen, ran at speeds near the 17" and it was not a recased/rebranded iBook. Sure the 13" says "Pro" - but a couple of months ago it didn't. It has a glare screen and is not as portable, no where near.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
OMG, are you serious. I though the MacBook my father owns was 14"?

I am not sure what your comment was directed to. But the 12" was made for Pro users. It had a matte screen, ran at speeds near the 17" and it was not a recased/rebranded iBook. Sure the 13" says "Pro" - but a couple of months ago it didn't. It has a glare screen and is not as portable, no where near.
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I know, a whole inch makes a mammoth difference 🙄. It must be the transition to a widescreen aspect ratio.

Why would it matter if it were rebranded?

The 13'' runs at near-17'' speeds as well.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
I know, a whole inch makes a mammoth difference 🙄. It must be the transition to a widescreen aspect ratio.

Why would it matter if it were rebranded?

The 13'' runs at near-17'' speeds as well.
Click to expand...

The inch is a little different because the square nature of the screen makes it so that the notebook is significantly smaller.
 
MTI said:
Despite previous comments, it's amazing how many G3 and G4 Macs are still leading productive lives. The G5's will do the same, so if they go for cheap, all the better.
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The G3's are just nice to look at nothing left for them to do

Tallest Skil said:
Because that's a legendary machine.
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I think the average user would not notice if they had snow leopard or not plus why would they care until the software get so old its unusable like internet explorer for mac, if you dont do nuthin fancy you won't be able to tell the difference IMO
 
Lukeyboy01 said:
The G3's are just nice to look at nothing left for them to do
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Oh, I didn't realize that they couldn't run OS 9 apps, which are nearly freeware . . . or can't play DVD (well, at least the 400DV or better) . . . still have firewire and USB ports . . . and when the ram is max'd out, install OS X Panther, perhaps Tiger . . . yes, they're all boat anchors for sure . . . 😉
 
Lukeyboy01 said:
I think the average user would not notice if they had snow leopard or not plus why would they care until the software get so old its unusable like internet explorer for mac, if you dont do nuthin fancy you won't be able to tell the difference IMO
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Agreed but really, if you're buying now, if that is your ONLY machine, I'd say it's a bad buy. I think SL is worth a shot and I'd want at least one machine to be running it.
 
jessica. said:
Agreed but really, if you're buying now, if that is your ONLY machine, I'd say it's a bad buy. I think SL is worth a shot and I'd want at least one machine to be running it.
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but would your Mom care i know mine wounldnt.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
I'd get it, mainly just to see how cool it would be on the wall. The :apple:TV uses a 1 GHz Pentium M and 256 MB RAM, so as long as you get specs higher than that, you should be good.
Click to expand...
I have an :apple:TV and an old 17" iMac that I did at one time attempt to use as a media center. The main problem for me was the that G5 did ot have a remote, and adding a remote both cost money and was not well integrated with the apps that I wanted to use. I still have both however; I may someday try to get a remote for the G5 and use it that way.
 
danny_w said:
I have an :apple:TV and an old 17" iMac that I did at one time attempt to use as a media center. The main problem for me was the that G5 did ot have a remote, and adding a remote both cost money and was not well integrated with the apps that I wanted to use. I still have both however; I may someday try to get a remote for the G5 and use it that way.
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just get a usb ir reciever then your apple TV remote will work with ur imac
 
On the PowerBook 12" vs MacBook Pro 13" issue: the MBP is a tad higher than the MBP because of the thick screen edges. It's a lot wider. I personally don't mind it though, nor the glossy (I'm using it professionally, just not an imaging-related profession). And speed-wise, the MBP launches the PB out of the water right to the surface of Mars and back again. Seriously.

I also feel that the MacBook Pro 13" is more a real MacBook Pro than the PowerBook 12" was a PowerBook. The PowerBook had fewer ports, no FireWire 800, it lacked a SuperDrive for a lot of time, the screen was not as good, the graphics card was worse, and I remember it being not as fast. And starting at one point, the iBooks were actually faster (faster CPU, more memory)

Yet somehow, the PowerBook 12" was the best computer that I have ever owned. If there was a modern-day version, I'd buy it right away. And I'm not planning on selling mine anytime soon 😀
 
thegoldenmackid said:
The inch is a little different because the square nature of the screen makes it so that the notebook is significantly smaller.
Click to expand...

Just a note on the difference between a 13.3" MBP and the 12" PB.

The Powerbook's screen is very different because of the aspect ratio alone.

For writing, I found the PB screen contained more of the length of a screen page than the 13.3 MacBook Uni.

Add to that the considerably larger amount of sheer mass of the 13.3" lappies than the 12", the 12" Powerbook as well as iBooks are still a better computer to tote around.

Anyone that needs the width of the 13.3 screen for film editing or watching movies is kidding themselves unless it is a secondary computer.

Apple will probably never return to the 12" format unless it is the size of their upcoming tablet. The PB is about 10 plus inches by 8 plus inches, this is very small -- and I am just recalling the specs from memory while im looking at my new used fourth PB that I bought to replace my unibody.

As for the iBook 1.33 12" vs the Powerbook 12" 1.5, the only differences are that the iBook had 256mb more built in ram but only a 32mb Video card, while the PB had the better 64mb Vram and less built in ram on the board.

That said, I am able to run my 30" ACD vis a vis my 12" Powerbook at a reduced resolution, but pleased that it runs it at all when I need it.
 
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