confused about macbook/ibook

[potpie]

hi i am considering buying a laptop and was looking into switching to a mac. I went to the mac store the other day and think i want a powerbook 12"...Now i go onto this website and i hear rumors about a new macbook coming out. I am confused, is this going to replace the power book or the i book?

 

[khisayruou]

Macbook Pro replaced the Powerbook
Macbook is replacing the iBook

 

[neocell]

Rumors suggest that the new MacBook 13" will replace the iBooks and the 12" PowerBook, and will most likely be released in the next 2 weeks, maybe tomorrow but probably not

 

[potpie]

Rumors suggest that the new MacBook 13" will replace the iBooks and the 12" PowerBook, and will most likely be released in the next 2 weeks, maybe tomorrow but probably not

do you know if the macbook will be plastic or metal? and does anybody know how much the 13" will be?

 

[EricNau]

do you know if the macbook will be plastic or metal? and does anybody know how much the 13" will be?

Probably plastic. This way Apple can keep an obvious difference between the 'MacBook' and 'MacBook Pro' lines.

I'm guessing the lowest 13" MacBook will start at either $999 or $1099, but at this point it is just a guessing game.

 

[potpie]

Probably plastic. This way Apple can keep an obvious difference between the 'MacBook' and 'MacBook Pro' lines.

I'm guessing the lowest 13" MacBook will start at either $999 or $1099, but at this point it is just a guessing game.

I really like the metal on the powerbook i'm not gonna lie. Is the new macbook going to be significantly faster then the powerbook? would it be stupid of me to buy a powerbook right now?

 

[EricNau]

I really like the metal on the powerbook i'm not gonna lie. Is the new macbook going to be significantly faster then the powerbook? would it be stupid of me to buy a powerbook right now?

Yes, it will be (probably). We really don't know much (if anything) about this supposed MacBook.

 

[neocell]

I really like the metal on the powerbook i'm not gonna lie. Is the new macbook going to be significantly faster then the powerbook? would it be stupid of me to buy a powerbook right now?

I would say yes (to it being stupid), but then I'm not you and I don't know what you really need/want. The intel macs are the future, so no way I'd buy a PPC one unless I was going to may tonnes of money and have that pay it off, as it'll be pretty much dead in 2 years. The 12" PowerBooks are the least powerful of the old school PowerBooks, so you're buying something that was "weak" at the time and is also at least a year and a half old, and apple is moving away from them. So, if it was me I'd wait for the new MacBook, and if they're only in plastic and you really want the metal, go for the 15" MBP

 

[potpie]

I would say yes (to it being stupid), but then I'm not you and I don't know what you really need/want. The intel macs are the future, so no way I'd buy a PPC one unless I was going to may tonnes of money and have that pay it off, as it'll be pretty much dead in 2 years. The 12" PowerBooks are the least powerful of the old school PowerBooks, so you're buying something that was "weak" at the time and is also at least a year and a half old, and apple is moving away from them. So, if it was me I'd wait for the new MacBook, and if they're only in plastic and you really want the metal, go for the 15" MBP

cool man thanks alot.. Looks like i'll just wait then

 

[JFreak]

would it be stupid of me to buy a powerbook right now?

It depends. Some would say buying Powerbook right now would be the sanest thing ever as the PPC tech has now matured to be very reliable; as well as PPC apps working like a charm - fast and stable. Current products _will_ be fully supported for at least 3-5 years, which is more than enough.

Some fear that once all Macs are Intel, then developers would just drop PPC support in favor of Intel code. I wouldn't worry about that. The installed base of PPC Macs is so large that I doubt any software house want to be only selling to the minority of a minority.

The only negative I can think of would be that in the future PPC code will probably not be optimized as well as the Intel code, so that might some day favor Intel hardware; however, I cannot see that from happening very soon, so in my opinion it is likely to take year or two to get the Intel transition really completely done.

If you need something now, buy it now. Powerbook is very good hardware.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

Even if you want to buy a 12" Powerbook, it wouldn't be smart to buy it now. As soon as the new MacBooks are announced, the 12" Powerbooks should go down in price. I would suspect you could get a much better deal on a 12" G4 Powerbook after the MacBook is announced.

 

[JFreak]

The intel macs are the future

Yes, but in case you don't live in the future, the PPC code currently runs like crap on Intel hardware. For example, all Adobe software (photoshop, indesign, dreamweaver, flash) are PPC native for at least a year and everyone who uses them holds back all hardware purchases until the software runs natively on Intel.

So it really depends on what one does with the computer. For many people PPC is what you should buy now while you can.

Even if you want to buy a 12" Powerbook, it wouldn't be smart to buy it now. As soon as the new MacBooks are announced, the 12" Powerbooks should go down in price. I would suspect you could get a much better deal on a 12" G4 Powerbook after the MacBook is announced.

...or a 2nd hand one from the ebay point being, all tech lose its value insanely fast.

 

[neocell]

It depends. Some would say buying Powerbook right now would be the sanest thing ever as the PPC tech has now matured to be very reliable; as well as PPC apps working like a charm - fast and stable. Current products _will_ be fully supported for at least 3-5 years, which is more than enough.

Some fear that once all Macs are Intel, then developers would just drop PPC support in favor of Intel code. I wouldn't worry about that. The installed base of PPC Macs is so large that I doubt any software house want to be only selling to the minority of a minority.

The only negative I can think of would be that in the future PPC code will probably not be optimized as well as the Intel code, so that might some day favor Intel hardware; however, I cannot see that from happening very soon, so in my opinion it is likely to take year or two to get the Intel transition really completely done.

If you need something now, buy it now. Powerbook is very good hardware.

These are good points and I agree with them, but one thing that would make me want to wait and by a new intel based machine is the ability to run windows natively (I hope this doesn't start a war). It just opens up all the possibilities for any software app that is out there. Unless with PPC Leopard apple somehow manages a way for all apps (Windows or Mac) to run natively on a PPC machine, I would get an intel based Mac.
But everyone has to make the decision for one's self. As long as it's an informed one

**EDIT**

Yes, but in case you don't live in the future, the PPC code currently runs like crap on Intel hardware. For example, all Adobe software (photoshop, indesign, dreamweaver, flash) are PPC native for at least a year and everyone who uses them holds back all hardware purchases until the software runs natively on Intel.

Yeah, but this will change, and if you really need adobe fast you can use it in Windows until the UB is done.

So it really depends on what one does with the computer. For many people PPC is what you should buy now while you can.

I completely agree, I'm just guess that this isn't the case of the OP though as he/she didn't post anything about using it for work/business as a graphical designer etc. but more as an average joe wanting a cool looking kickass computer that works well and as a switcher, the individual may have windows apps that they'd like to still use. But I might be getting ahead of myself

 

[potpie]

yea i'm pretty much going to be using this computer for internet and word. Maybe photoshop.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

...or a 2nd hand one from the ebay point being, all tech lose its value insanely fast.

Maybe, but Macs in general hold their value pretty well. A 12" Powerbook is the same today as it was 6 months ago. But it won't be in a week or two.