I was thinking about buying a 15" Powerbook but now I'm wondering if an iMac G5 might be a better option for me. I don't like being chained to my desk--sometimes I like to take my computer to the living room or the dining room, which is why I was leaning towards a Powerbook. But wouldn't moving an iMac from one room to another be a matter of moving just the cpu, power adapter and keyboard/mouse? I *know* that would get a lot of enjoyment out of the extra speed, better display and lower price tag of the iMac versus Powerbook. It doesn't seem that bad if I only want to move it around 3-4 days a week. I will utilize wireless internet and bluetooth keyboard/mouse, so that would eliminate any extra chords... Would the iMac suffer by moving it around like this? I mean, would it cause undue stress on the hardware (especially the stand/hinge thingie) or anything like that? What are your thoughts? (thanks)
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Casual transportation of an iMac G5--does anyone do it?
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No - but you would suffer.
An iBook or Powerbook plus Airport Express is what you need. An iMac is portable in the sense that it will not take an incredible amount of time and/or planning to move it. However, it is still a desktop and is designed to be used in one location for any period of time. For the mobility you seek, the laptop is definitely the way to go.
Good luck.
An iBook or Powerbook plus Airport Express is what you need. An iMac is portable in the sense that it will not take an incredible amount of time and/or planning to move it. However, it is still a desktop and is designed to be used in one location for any period of time. For the mobility you seek, the laptop is definitely the way to go.
Good luck.
I use a G4 iMac that way, even occasionally taking it for trips in the car (it likes to stick its head out the rolled-down window and grin). PowerBooks (and notebooks in general) being the ergonomic disasters they are, it's not a bad idea at all to seriously consider an all-in-one instead if portability is really a secondary concern.
I would find it to be more annoyance than it's worth, in your place. I'd just go for the laptop. But that's just me...
I think that the iMac is the perfect design for what you have described and fits that kind of functionality just right. Especially since you would get all of the wireless effectively eliminating all cords except for power, the power brick is even built in. I do not think that it would be too much of a pain to move and I'm sure you would appreciate the power/screen size.
it would probably be a hassle to do on a consistant basis, a laptop would be much more fitted to this than an iMac, if you were considering moving it say 2 or maybe 3 times a week, id consider saying go for it, but more than that is a lot of moving, its not like you will be able to carry the keyboard, mouse, and iMac all in one trip, it would be a pain, plus you have to turn it off and on every time you move it, would be much easier to get a powerbook in my opinion
Hi
this is exactly why I chose to purchase the iMac G5 17".
I was considering a pc notebook, but wanted to wait for pci-express.
I was also considering 12" PB (too small) or the largest iBook in the same price range, but wanted to wait for G5s.
Then the G5-- pretty portable (about 2.5 times the weight of a big laptop), and better yet, it has no outboard AC/DC brick or wallwart, and I can go bluetooth wireless on the keyboard and mouse.
Think about it, you get:
1) semi-portability
2) a G5 (even the 600Mhz FSB is fast compared to G4s).
3) The price range is basically the same as a top iBook or a bottom powerbook, and you get a full size hard drive.
4) Fullsize hard drive: I knew HD space would be a serious problem with any laptop, but now I ordered the iMac with a 250G drive (or you can plop in your own).
5) 17" monitor (budget wise i'd be limited to the 12" PB but I know I'd be unsatisfied with the 15", and the 17" PB price was way out of my budget)
6) uncramped keyboard
I felt *very* uncomfortable buying a G4-based unit at this late date (wary to be like those folks that bought G3 iBooks just before they were phased out, and are trying OS X on them). The iMac lets me let go this worry, and I get the 17" screen, which was not affordable in the PB line. Obviously if I wanted a tower, I'd easily go for the lower end PM G5s near the same price range, because you'd have expansion potential you would not have in a laptop or iMac (RAM ceiling, HDs, PCI, Graphics), and you forego FW800 & gigabit ethernet.
But for me, semi-portability trumped all of these compromises. To gain portability, I can live with 2G RAM & 250G internal HD, and the currently-passable graphics. The fan noise factor is a minor issue; Other than gaming or long computations, I always run with the CPU on "automatic" mode rather than "highest" because it is unbearably loud when it gets hot.
Note that the 20" version of the iMac G5 is simply too large and too heavy to move around even casually IMHO-- other 20" owners seem to agree in Apple Discussion Forums. Get the 17" if you want portability.
I move it back and forth from my living room to my bedroom several times a week. It's easy: I only unplug the AC, and that's it. I even prop it against the wall on the end of the bed sometimes. If I had a wired keyboard & mouse, this would be incrementally more inconvenient, but probably enough to tip the scale an dmake my iMac moves that much more infrequent. I certainly wouldn't move it from the table to the couch of the same room like I would a laptop.
I'm even considering making a case to take it to the local Starbucks, but I know that's a bit extreme. (But worth it just to blog the photo). However, I wouldn't think twice about bringing it into the car to work for the occasional presentation, although now we're getting more into laptop territory once we get out of the house, largely due to the unprotected monitor (no clamshell) and the fact that the foot & hinge assembly doesn't come off easily, nor does it fold flat. (It requires opening the unit and using a Torx 8). If a 3rd party made a case as well as a custom foot & hinge that comes apart or folds flat, I would buy it in a heartbeat...
Don't worry about the hinge-- it is rock solid, and won't fatigue. The only danger during moving is dropping, or perhaps hitting the monitor on some protruding obstacle, since the unit is more awkward to hold than a laptop.
In a nutshell: it IS a compromise, and almost the perfect one. Much as I like laptops, I have problems with them (monitor, keyboard, drive too small), and I also love desktops and have problems with them too (impossible to casually move). The iMac is in between-- not too small, not too hard to move-- at the same price range. If like me, you have to buy now, there is no question which machine to buy if semi-portability, buying a Mac, and budget are top priorities. If you can wait, then consider the G5 laptops of 2006.
this is exactly why I chose to purchase the iMac G5 17".
I was considering a pc notebook, but wanted to wait for pci-express.
I was also considering 12" PB (too small) or the largest iBook in the same price range, but wanted to wait for G5s.
Then the G5-- pretty portable (about 2.5 times the weight of a big laptop), and better yet, it has no outboard AC/DC brick or wallwart, and I can go bluetooth wireless on the keyboard and mouse.
Think about it, you get:
1) semi-portability
2) a G5 (even the 600Mhz FSB is fast compared to G4s).
3) The price range is basically the same as a top iBook or a bottom powerbook, and you get a full size hard drive.
4) Fullsize hard drive: I knew HD space would be a serious problem with any laptop, but now I ordered the iMac with a 250G drive (or you can plop in your own).
5) 17" monitor (budget wise i'd be limited to the 12" PB but I know I'd be unsatisfied with the 15", and the 17" PB price was way out of my budget)
6) uncramped keyboard
I felt *very* uncomfortable buying a G4-based unit at this late date (wary to be like those folks that bought G3 iBooks just before they were phased out, and are trying OS X on them). The iMac lets me let go this worry, and I get the 17" screen, which was not affordable in the PB line. Obviously if I wanted a tower, I'd easily go for the lower end PM G5s near the same price range, because you'd have expansion potential you would not have in a laptop or iMac (RAM ceiling, HDs, PCI, Graphics), and you forego FW800 & gigabit ethernet.
But for me, semi-portability trumped all of these compromises. To gain portability, I can live with 2G RAM & 250G internal HD, and the currently-passable graphics. The fan noise factor is a minor issue; Other than gaming or long computations, I always run with the CPU on "automatic" mode rather than "highest" because it is unbearably loud when it gets hot.
Note that the 20" version of the iMac G5 is simply too large and too heavy to move around even casually IMHO-- other 20" owners seem to agree in Apple Discussion Forums. Get the 17" if you want portability.
I move it back and forth from my living room to my bedroom several times a week. It's easy: I only unplug the AC, and that's it. I even prop it against the wall on the end of the bed sometimes. If I had a wired keyboard & mouse, this would be incrementally more inconvenient, but probably enough to tip the scale an dmake my iMac moves that much more infrequent. I certainly wouldn't move it from the table to the couch of the same room like I would a laptop.
I'm even considering making a case to take it to the local Starbucks, but I know that's a bit extreme. (But worth it just to blog the photo). However, I wouldn't think twice about bringing it into the car to work for the occasional presentation, although now we're getting more into laptop territory once we get out of the house, largely due to the unprotected monitor (no clamshell) and the fact that the foot & hinge assembly doesn't come off easily, nor does it fold flat. (It requires opening the unit and using a Torx 8). If a 3rd party made a case as well as a custom foot & hinge that comes apart or folds flat, I would buy it in a heartbeat...
Don't worry about the hinge-- it is rock solid, and won't fatigue. The only danger during moving is dropping, or perhaps hitting the monitor on some protruding obstacle, since the unit is more awkward to hold than a laptop.
In a nutshell: it IS a compromise, and almost the perfect one. Much as I like laptops, I have problems with them (monitor, keyboard, drive too small), and I also love desktops and have problems with them too (impossible to casually move). The iMac is in between-- not too small, not too hard to move-- at the same price range. If like me, you have to buy now, there is no question which machine to buy if semi-portability, buying a Mac, and budget are top priorities. If you can wait, then consider the G5 laptops of 2006.
Koodauw said:
REALLY I doubt you own an iMac Mr Wrong.
..........I own an iMac G5 which I use as a field monitor when shooting many of our X rated products. It is moved from location to location sometimes as often as 6 times a day. We run Dv camcorders into it with extra long firewire cables and record footage directly into Final Cut without ever needing to record to tape,,,,,The iMac G5 is a truely remarkable unit giving us freedom of mobility only previously associated with laptops.
The iMac is the most capable and truely portable desktop I've ever used.
People telling you to buy laptops are obviously envious of your upcoming purchase.............get the iMac and you'll b so happy.....
PS: The girls like it to........One girl said just looking at it makes her moister than grandmas fav fruitcake........go figure......
A good question to ask is if you would end up having to buy a keyboard and mouse, a riser, and maybe an external monitor to make working with the notebook comfortable. That's what I always ended up needing, and that made a notebook less convenient to move around than an all-in-one.
That is why there is more than one model of so many products, everyone has different requirements. A machine that was designed for portability at the expense of other considerations simply won't meet some people's requirements. In my case (and of quite a few other people), a PowerBook would cost more and offer less. That wouldn't be a good purchase at all.
That is why there is more than one model of so many products, everyone has different requirements. A machine that was designed for portability at the expense of other considerations simply won't meet some people's requirements. In my case (and of quite a few other people), a PowerBook would cost more and offer less. That wouldn't be a good purchase at all.