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Best route out of Pismoville?

U

unregbaron

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 20, 2002
417
509
I have a G3 400 pb but realise I have to upgrade - although I work full-time I am getting more and more work as a freelancer plus I co-run a website which is getting busier and may now start to make money...

In the next couple of months I can see myself quitting fully or at least going part-time so my next machine will be used a lot prob 45+ hours per week.

Mostly using:
Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver..

Some may have seen my post about also getting a massive amount of work (2000+cd's) updating people's ipods for them so also be importing and converting loads of music over the next few weeks, prob

Where I live I don't have masses of space and I want to keep the portability so was thinking 15" PB but is a desktop really a lot better? (especially to do with the itunes work) Someone in another thread was saying powerbooks can never match the power of G5 ( which makes sense) and I am drawn to the idea of having a stable upgradable mother ship with massive storage...


... I am going to 'buy now pay in 6 months' for no extra cost so money not as important though lower always nice and can't afford to go crazy
 
Where I live I don't have masses of space and I want to keep the portability
Click to expand...

I think you've answered the question, "PowerBook or G5". The PowerBook will enable you to fit in minimal space and stay on the go. Would a G5 performance boost really make up for losing portability. I don't think so.

If you're freelancing and doing work on the side then having portability will make you more efficient at what you do... you'll be able to complete jobs wherever you are. That's a big plus in today's marketplace.

Have you thought of getting a maxed-out PowerBook now and then a G5 next year? If you have your own business you can write-off the cost of both (not sure why you didn't buy 3 weeks ago... would have been a great tax write off).

Notebook sales are surpassing desktop sales for a reason: People want to be able to do computing no matter where they are, and they expect you to do the same. And, with so many wireless hotspots out there it's hard to think of something you can't do while sipping a latté at Starbucks.

I'd think about buying a PowerBook now and then treating yourself for successfully going on your own by getting next year's version of the G5
 
Pismo

As a pismo owner in a similar situation (get a new powerbook or g5), I can sympathize. One thing to consider is to continue with your pismo as your portable machine, and have a g5 or other desktop as your home machine/main workhorse.

It's fairly easy to get increased performance from your pismo with the addition of more ram and/or a bigger hard drive.

If you were to just get a new powerbook, now you have a fairly useless old machine that you'd have to offload, and a new machine with limited upgrade and power. Of course, a new notebook would probably wind up being a little cheaper than a new desktop G5. But as your business grows, you're probably going to want an expandable workhorse at home - and who knows, your workspace may expand as well.

My two cents.

Dave
 
It all comes down to raw performance vs. portability/size.

If portability/size is more important ---> get the Powerbook.
If raw performance is more important ----> get the G5.

There are enough people doing professional work on the Powerbooks that it should be sufficient for your needs, even if the G5 is more powerful; but only you can decide which is more important to you.

Whichever you end up with, you'll have a new Mac, and that's a happy thing. :)
 
hmmm... my first thought on how to get out of pismoville was to give it to me...

but i suppose real advice is better (though i'd still love one of those babies).

if you're really close to doing this, go ahead and hop over to a comp usa or an apple store and try out the 12 inch ibooks - they've got good battery life, are relatively cheap, and can take the beating of being moved around a lot. like the above posters have said, doesn't sound like a desktop is really what you would need/really want right now.

matt
 
hell, you definatly dont want a 12! I have a 12 inch iBook, and while I love it, I wouldnt want it if I were doing hours upon hours of heavy-duty computing. Personally, I like the "get a G5/keep the pismo" idea
 
If you're not super-pressed for speed, which most people aren't, despite their claims about NEEDING a G5, any of the current PowerBooks will be leaps and bounds better than your Pismo.

The money saved can get you a nice monitor to keep at home and hook your new PowerBook up to, so you don't have to sacrifice screen size when you're working at home.
 
Originally posted by tiktokfx
If you're not super-pressed for speed, which most people aren't, despite their claims about NEEDING a G5, any of the current PowerBooks will be leaps and bounds better than your Pismo.

The money saved can get you a nice monitor to keep at home and hook your new PowerBook up to, so you don't have to sacrifice screen size when you're working at home.
Click to expand...

Normally I would agree with you, but when the guy is spending that much time doing something that he actually depends on for income, then every clock cylcle counts. As efficiant as panther can be, he will be using some pretty hardcore programs, and they can chug a bit on a G4..... One other concern is ergonomics....a desktop will be a lot easier on the wrists and neck, which really comes in handy when you are on it that much.
 
Originally posted by pinto32
Normally I would agree with you, but when the guy is spending that much time doing something that he actually depends on for income, then every clock cylcle counts. As efficiant as panther can be, he will be using some pretty hardcore programs, and they can chug a bit on a G4..... One other concern is ergonomics....a desktop will be a lot easier on the wrists and neck, which really comes in handy when you are on it that much.
Click to expand...

Web-related work is not going to make any PowerBook crack under the strain; For web-related work, any PowerBook will more than handle the load, and would be about 3 times faster than what he uses now.

People are drawn to the idea of "pro" level apps not possibly running smoothly enough on slower Macs; it's just not true. They're plenty up to the task, in nearly all cases (I wouldn't want to edit print res files on a PowerBook). Photoshop, for instance, is rarely limited by processor speed these days; it's limited by how fast the memory can be chunked into the processor.
 
Web-related work is not going to make any PowerBook crack under the strain; For web-related work, any PowerBook will more than handle the load, and would be about 3 times faster than what he uses now.
Click to expand...
I agree! While everything should work faster on a G5, it's important to make sure that the return you get for the added efficiency is worth the cost. With the apps listed by the original poster, it's doubtful that any increase in efficiency over a PowerBook would bring in extra revenue.

A 12" PB would do just fine. A 15" or 17" PB would do slightly better and offer more screen real-estate. A G5 would be overkill and would result in a loss of portability.

As for ergonomics, it's just as easy to use a desktop in an "un-ergonomic" position as with a PowerBook. Very inexpensive solutions are available for properly positioning a notebook.
 
Thanks for everyone's responses... like others I am waiting for the 2/3rd Feb to see what happens but looks like I will go for 12" PB SD with a display a week later or so.. then G5 I guess..


--

perhaps belongs in another thread but:...

for London/UK readers - just been investigating Wi-Fi - can't believe how expensive:

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/hotspot (starbucks)
£5.50 per hour/£16.50 day/£47 per month!!

Sip and surf (cafe nero)
seems better at £20 per month contract but still £5+ per hour...

BT openzone are doing a week free wi-fi starting this week if you sign up..

I kind of figure in London though you're never too far from someone's own network - isn't there supposed to be a secret code for scrawling on walls where best airport reception is in the west end?


--
 
Enjoy your PowerBook!

We have lots of free WiFi in Boston Free WiFi

As for markings indicating open WiFi, that's "war chalking". Don't see much over here these days. Besides, with a PowerBook you can easily see all the spots available, and with Macstumbler you can see which ones are unsecured and ready for surfing. The 12" PB gets excellent reception... you should have no problem picking up signals on the go :)
 
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