For the kid....

[opusthe2nd]

My 19 yr old is moving out soon. He would like a Mac...he likes Dad's Powerbook. He cant afford a new PB or anything close to it. I think he would spend $1K on something.

Any suggestions on a laptop that will be nice to do the sorts of things that someone his age would do. He would like to watch a dvd or other multimedia related things.

He is way more Windows savvy, but did a few years on Freebsd. I think OS X would fit him nicely.

 

[katie ta achoo]

My 19 yr old is moving out soon. He would like a Mac...he likes Dad's Powerbook. He cant afford a new PB or anything close to it. I think he would spend $1K on something.

Any suggestions on a laptop that will be nice to do the sorts of things that someone his age would do. He would like to watch a dvd or other multimedia related things.

He is way more Windows savvy, but did a few years on Freebsd. I think OS X would fit him nicely.

12" iBook.

Or a refurb 12" PB if he wants one.

But, the way you described it, I think a 12" iBook and some extra RAM is the way to go.

 

[Heb1228]

Is an iBook too obvious of a suggestion to mention?

You may want to look on http://www.macofalltrades.com/ or http://www.dvwarehouse.com/categories/253.html for used powerbooks/ibooks. Also Apple has their refurb store and education store where he could get a discount in the regular prices.

 

[mad jew]

Is an iBook too obvious of a suggestion to mention?

Yeah.

It's like those people who say "I have a screen, a mouse and a keyboard and I want to try out OX but I don't need anything powerful. I just want to do some iLife stuff and maybe surf the 'net. What should I get?" If you didn't say a mini then you should leave these forums immediately and never return!

An iBook would be almost perfect.

 

[opusthe2nd]

But, but, but...what have I been reading about bad logic boards? Is this conducive of an iBook?

 

[nospleen]

But, but, but...what have I been reading about bad logic boards? Is this conducive of an iBook?

The older G3's, but not the G4's.

 

[opusthe2nd]

Ok, I checked out those few links....I think those people are silly. Ebay or here seems to be a better deal. Thanks for the input, regardless.

 

[i4k20c]

Ok, I checked out those few links....I think those people are silly. Ebay or here seems to be a better deal. Thanks for the input, regardless.

Altho a ibook would suite him fine, if he really wants a pwoerbook y not ask him to meet him half way, he pays half and you pay half or something.. this is what me n my parents did..

it also depends if he has money saved up and can use it.. but yah.

 

[FFTT]

You should consider if a portable is what he really needs.

If so, then I totally agree an iBook would more than cover general
on the go computing.

There are two other options you may want to consider though.

IF we see a new PowerBook release this week or over the next 30 days,
the current 12"PB will very likely be dropped a few hundred bucks.

With that small amount of difference I would stretch the budget to get the PowerBook. As long as he isn't prone to klutz attacks or losing things.

Some kids are just better off with a desktop.

The newest iMac G5 simply kicks ass for the price with far better features
across the board. 64 bit 1.9-2.1 GHz G5 Processor, 160-250 GB 7200 RPM HD, 128MB PCI-express VRAM, iCam, incredible display for$1199 education.

The iBooks are great but you seriously sacrifice performance and storage
for portability.

Go down to the AppleStore with him and make your decision after comparing the models side by side.

Good luck.

 

[aquajet]

I'd say took a look at a refurbished iBook from Apple's Special Deals page. Great deal can be had there, I've purchased a few myself and it was well worth it.

 

[opusthe2nd]

Hmmmm....maybe I should look at the Panasonic Toughbook.

He is paying for the whole thing. My only concern was the 'need' factor, which is why I was thinking iBook. We actually looked at an Inspiron 600m, which would fit the bill for him well. But then, in 2 yrs, it would be worth nothing. Plus, it would be windows.