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Do I sell my PowerBook to help pay for a MacBook Air?

dubhe

dubhe

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 1, 2007
1,304
10
Norwich, UK
I love my 12" PowerBook, after five years it still works fine (running Tiger) and currently lives under my sofa for spontaneous web browsing.

But, I want to replace it with a MacBook Air, in fact I will be replacing my Black MacBook 2.4 GHz as well, I don't need a powerful computer, I do want however, a well designed computer I will still enjoy in years to come, like I did with my PB12.

So, my thinking is £650 for my BlackBook + £250 for my PB12 = £900 towards my Air. I kind of feel sad to let the PB12 go though, is it worth selling for so little?

I am aware however, one day it will stop working, and then be worth nothing...

Anybody owned a PB12 and an Air? Will I move on or live in regret?!

(I also have a PowerMac G4 and an original iMac, really need to stop collecting these things...)
 
dubhe said:
I love my 12" PowerBook, after five years it still works fine (running Tiger) and currently lives under my sofa for spontaneous web browsing.

But, I want to replace it with a MacBook Air, in fact I will be replacing my Black MacBook 2.4 GHz as well, I don't need a powerful computer, I do want however, a well designed computer I will still enjoy in years to come, like I did with my PB12.

So, my thinking is £650 for my BlackBook + £250 for my PB12 = £900 towards my Air. I kind of feel sad to let the PB12 go though, is it worth selling for so little?

I am aware however, one day it will stop working, and then be worth nothing...

Anybody owned a PB12 and an Air? Will I move on or live in regret?!

(I also have a PowerMac G4 and an original iMac, really need to stop collecting these things...)
Click to expand...

When Apple hasn't come out with the MBA, I would say don't sell your PB12. But now that they has and you have the idea of replacing it with a MBA, I would say yes, just do it and you won't regret. Unless you want something _small_, MBA isnt small, it's thin.

If I were you, I would afraid that I will miss that BlackBook someday, just because I never have one :D
 
Heres an idea, why don't you get a Macbook?

The Macbook is about the same speed as the MBA, its cheaper, looks very nice, and is still very thin.
 
adamvk said:
Heres an idea, why don't you get a Macbook?

The Macbook is about the same speed as the MBA, its cheaper, looks very nice, and is still very thin.
Click to expand...

Well, the MacBook is faster than the Air, but I don't need the speed. The price isn't as important to me as the product. It looks Ok, but nothing on the Air. It is not that thin!

Thanks for your reply, but as I said before I want a computer that has something different, something special about it. I like to buy the best I can (within my reasonable budget) and the Air is just beautiful is so many ways.
 
dubhe said:
Well, the MacBook is faster than the Air, but I don't need the speed. The price isn't as important to me as the product. It looks Ok, but nothing on the Air. It is not that thin!

Thanks for your reply, but as I said before I want a computer that has something different, something special about it. I like to buy the best I can (within my reasonable budget) and the Air is just beautiful is so many ways.
Click to expand...

Ok sounds reasonable :)

Enjoy your Macbook Air, it is a very nice machine.
 
Oooh, I was in the same situation! We got a MacBook Air, and figured we didn't need the PB12 anymore so we got rid of it and regretted it big time. The MacBook Air IS nice, but nothing can completely replace the 12 inch PowerBook. The 12 inch PowerBook is just so nice and in a class of its own. I wouldn't feel bad about selling a BlackBook, but a PB12 would be a no. We eventually got the PowerBook back and now living happily ever after. Even with having a MBA we still pull out the PB and use it quite often! The difference between the lounging around in bed or on the sofa with a 12 inch and 13 inch is actually quite noticeable. The widescreen and thinness of the MBA seems awkward especially after moving from a 12 inch (this is nitpicking though!). All in all, keep the PowerBook - I know I regretted giving it up!
 
adamvk said:
Heres an idea, why don't you get a Macbook?

The Macbook is about the same speed as the MBA, its cheaper, looks very nice, and is still very thin.
Click to expand...

No offense to this poster - but I am always amazed - that every single time someone posts that they want to buy a MBA on the MBA forum - someone always says 'why don't you buy the cheaper macbook?'

I don't understand why people try to push a different computer on people that want a MBA.

It is almost like if you want the MBA you MUST now state you can afford spending the extra money right away - otherwise you get these posts...

Sorry to interrupt.
 
McGilli said:
No offense to this poster - but I am always amazed - that every single time someone posts that they want to buy a MBA on the MBA forum - someone always says 'why don't you buy the cheaper macbook?'

I don't understand why people try to push a different computer on people that want a MBA.

It is almost like if you want the MBA you MUST now state you can afford spending the extra money right away - otherwise you get these posts...

Sorry to interrupt.
Click to expand...

Well then :)

To be honest, I don't see why someone would want to buy the Macbook Air. Its expensive, not that much thinner than the MB, doesn't even have a freaking optical drive, and is slower compared to the MB. I was just trying to save the OP some money.
 
adamvk said:
Well then :)

To be honest, I don't see why someone would want to buy the Macbook Air. Its expensive, not that much thinner than the MB, doesn't even have a freaking optical drive, and is slower compared to the MB. I was just trying to save the OP some money.
Click to expand...
Then you should call up Steve Jobs and tell him "I don't see why someone would want to buy the Macbook Air. Its expensive, not that much thinner than the MB, doesn't even have a freaking optical drive, and is slower compared to the MB."

Maybe he will tell you why.
 
I was in the Glasgow apple store today (buying some in-ear headphones) and had a quick play on the MacBook Air. People were looking at them with no understanding of what they were looking at. As far as I could tell there were only two types, those that thought it was a complete waste of money, and those that wanted it purely because it was the coolest thing in the store. Are there no people, other than those on MacRumors of course, that appreciate what the MacBook Air really is?
 
Whimsy said:
Oooh, I was in the same situation! We got a MacBook Air, and figured we didn't need the PB12 anymore so we got rid of it and regretted it big time. The MacBook Air IS nice, but nothing can completely replace the 12 inch PowerBook. The 12 inch PowerBook is just so nice and in a class of its own. I wouldn't feel bad about selling a BlackBook, but a PB12 would be a no. We eventually got the PowerBook back and now living happily ever after. Even with having a MBA we still pull out the PB and use it quite often! The difference between the lounging around in bed or on the sofa with a 12 inch and 13 inch is actually quite noticeable. The widescreen and thinness of the MBA seems awkward especially after moving from a 12 inch (this is nitpicking though!). All in all, keep the PowerBook - I know I regretted giving it up!
Click to expand...

Thank you for this post. This is exactly what I am thinking.
 
This thread makes me laugh, because my 12" Powerbook is completely surplus to requirements. I just can't bring myself to sell it though, it is my favorite computer I have EVER bought. And I have bought a lot of computers!

I hardly use it, but I keep it in the sitting room for occassional browsing. The screen is not as bright as it once was, the battery down to less than 90 minutes life, and probably only worth $300-400 on Craigslist. But I just can't sell the dang thing.
 
CalMin said:
This thread makes me laugh, because my 12" Powerbook is completely surplus to requirements. I just can't bring myself to sell it though, it is my favorite computer I have EVER bought. And I have bought a lot of computers!

I hardly use it, but I keep it in the sitting room for occassional browsing. The screen is not as bright as it once was, the battery down to less than 90 minutes life, and probably only worth $300-400 on Craigslist. But I just can't sell the dang thing.
Click to expand...

sentimental value :) do you mind telling me why it's your favorite computer you ever bought? I hear a lot of PB G4 users say that. I'm trying to understand the "love" is it because of its size? or its power?
 
zer0tails said:
I'm trying to understand the "love" is it because of its size? or its power?
Click to expand...

Its no longer about the power, but it can do the same things a netbook can.

I've had, and still have, Duos and a 2400C so I'm a fan of small Powerbooks. I had one and for me what made it cool was the keyboard extending to the edge of the case. That made it feel very minimal Combine that with the metal case and it had a very precision feel to it.
 
If your want something to last you for a couple of years you may want the extra power of a Macbook. Just something to consider.

If you do go with the Air, make sure you get a Rev. B, for the same reason as above.
 
I have the Rev B. And I am just thrilled with it. So if the AIR is what you desire, you should get that. Otherwise, you will always be wondering...

As for the powerbook-- If you want to keep it for sentimental reasons, by all means... However, I am usually not sentimental over computers. If they are not being used, then they just look like dusty equipment.
 
kinkster said:
If your want something to last you for a couple of years you may want the extra power of a Macbook. Just something to consider.

If you do go with the Air, make sure you get a Rev. B, for the same reason as above.
Click to expand...

I would only buy new, don't like to feel it has been used by someone else. Pointless I know, refurbs are arguably better as have been through QC twice, but I like to know it is brand new.

I will probably wait for Rev C, the rest of the money I have towards it is coming in April, although I could use my credit card, I don't need it that quickly.
 
Ok, so I keep the PowerBook, I sell the MacBook and I buy the Air.

How do I preserve the PowerBook? Say I am not going to use it, but keep it so I can bring it out every few years and remind myself of the good old days.

It already has a new HDD (well a year old) and battery (6 months). As far as I know the way to preserve a Li-Ion battery is to store it at half charge, and cycle it, maybe on those annual uses :)

Otherwise, clean install Tiger, or revert to Panther? and complete software updates.

Stick it in it's neoprene case and put it back in the original box it came in under the bed?

Do I leave the half charged battery in?
I suppose I should clean all the greasy finger prints off the case, but with what?

Any other thoughts?
 
For long term storage of your PB. Calibrate the battery, after it is fully charged. Store it in the cool cabinet and take it out and plug in the charger every month. You can do this for a whole 12 months without loosing much charge, it might add a cycle or two but it will be fine. you might want to pick up an eBay battery at some stage. Charge it up fully, remove and store it. Take that out every couple of months to charge it. This could get your batteries going for 4-5 years. Then a super-duper AIR with 1TB SSD will blow you away.

The PB is hard to replace. The MB is easy to replace and the AIR is an awesome machine once you got it. Believe me, it is a work of art every time you use it. It just wonderful.

The PB reminds me of an old Porsche 911. Every now and then, driving one of these puts a big smile on your face (yeah, that Tiffy smile!).:D

Oh, those greasy finger prints. Baby wipes does the job very well ...
 
I was in the same situation, but I decided to keep my 1.33ghz PB 12". Too much sentimental value :eek: I've taken that thing to several countries, and did all of my high school and freshman year of college work on it. It's never let me down!

Nowadays, I even prefer my 600mhz Snow iMac to the PB because the PB's screen is so dim. I still can't bring myself to get rid of it, though.
 
I have to say, Selling my G4 iMac, that was hard and I did regret it after a while. As I replaced it with a G5 iMac, the resolution was ALOT better and could actually play some games on it. That soon got chopped in for the Macbook I have now. I know its hard to let things go, but when you need to upgrade, it makes sense.

If you aren't going to use it, why not let someone have the chance to get some good use out of it for the remaining days it may have.

Live with the memories that you have with it and not drag it out. Because when it does completely die, you will think back to when you could sell it.

Heres a suggestion. Keep the Powerbook, buy the MBA. If after a few weeks you notice you dont use the Powerbook, then sell it :eek:
 
McGilli said:
....- someone always says 'why don't you buy the cheaper macbook?'
Click to expand...

That's because they are being practical thinking the poster can change their mind and come to reason.

The current whitebook is _the_ best value apple has ever sold with it's price point and capability. So it's hard for many outside this forum to understand why ppl want a 1.6/1.8 machine.

You can't blame them as they have been led to believe CPU speed is everything having not owned an MBA. :eek:
 
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