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ibook ok for lots of Photoshop and Dreamweaver??

florencevassy

florencevassy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 1, 2004
204
0
Princeton, NJ
Hi Everyone.

I know that someone posted a similar question, but I am also deciding between the powerbook and ibook and have specific needs.

The price of the powerbook is really slightly out of my budget, but I don't want to be unhappy with my purchase and would like something that would be good for at least four years. :confused:

I will be using Dreamweaver and Photoshop quite a lot (for my personal website - I am not a professional but it is a serious hobby and dream of doing it for a living someday..... and eventually would like to pick up Flash and Fireworks. I will connect to the internet through a wireless connection in my house and downloading music through itunes and burning CDs.

I also will be helping my boyfriend organize his digital photos.

Please give me your opinion. The ibook specs I am leaning towards are below. Thanks !!

iBook 1.2GHz Combo (14" TFT) Z0A1 1-3 bus.days Remove $2,099.00 $2,099.00
1.256GB DDR266 (256MB built-in & 1GB SO-DIMM) 065-5018
AirPort Extreme Card 065-5009
\ Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) 065-5006
60GB Ultra ATA drive 065-5004
Keyboard/Mac OS X - U.S. English 065-5013
Mobility 1 iBook 12"/14" Messenger Bag - Blue by Brenthaven T3881G/B 3-5 bus.days Remove $79.00 $79.00

APP for iBook - Enrollment Kit M8852LL/A 1-2 bus.days Remove $249.00 $249.00

.Mac Promotional Bundle B7769LL/A 3-5 bus.days Remove $69.95 $69.
 
Powerbook

For photoshop and dreamweaver work i really recommened a powerbook. If you get a powerbook you most likely dont need to spend $$ on the protection crap, since powerbooks are built so well and have a much lower failure rate than ibook. You are in the same thing i was in a month ago, deciding on ibook or powerbook and i to do photoshop and dreamweaver. i decided just to get a emac with 1 gig ram instead.
 
I think the iBook will serve you very well. I currently run Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks on my 3 year-old G3/400 Powerbook with 512mb RAM. Very rarely are there any noticeable slowdowns or 'hiccups' when I'm working.

As a matter of fact, I'm planning to get the same system you're getting in about a month.

In a perfect world, it would be nice to have the 15" Powerbook's extra screen space for pallets, etc., but I've managed without over the years and have a hard time justifying the extra $1000 or so.

Enjoy your new iBook.
 
The iBook shouldn't keep you away from things you like to do and I think that its probably a very good choice. The PB is for more highend users that want to get every drop of power out of their machine. The iBook is good for hobbies and serious work. The iBook should last quite a while, I mean look at the PowerMac G3's. People are still using them today. With the 1.25GB of RAM that you're putting in it. It'll run perfect for all those apps and more. Go with the iBook.
 
It will definately be fast enough for what you wish to do. A 12-inch PowerBook would not be that great of a performance increase (although you should really consider it, because you can get an awesome 12-inch or low-end 15-inch for about the same price.

Also, are you a student? If you are, you should definately use an Educational Discount and save $200. If you are not a student, you might as well try to get an Educational Discount...I don't think Apple checks their customers to make sure they are students very often.
 
wide said:
I don't think Apple checks their customers to make sure they are students very often.
Click to expand...

When I bought my last Apple (G4 iBook last year), the Apple store UK ran around all over the place trying to get a contact number for me - for proof. They called various departments at my Uni before they swallowed and emailed me for my mobile number. I then needed to fax them sufficient proof to say I was indeed on the course. I've also used edu discount before at a reseller, and needed exactly the same credentials.

So, as for lax security; don't count on it.
 
If you just need photoshop for web based stuff an iBook should be okay. If you wanted to use it for photo work or graphic design where files start getting into the 100+MB range then you'll start bringing the iBook to its knees.

And it's just a personal thing, but when I shop for computers I spec out what I want and then increase my budget by 10% or 15%. I do this because I have a habbit of "low balling" myself and ending up w/a machine that after a year I am no longer happy with because I cut too many corners.


Lethal
 
iBook!

Hrmm... yep, I'd agree with the majority and say that the iBook will do all you want just fine. Heck, I have a friend who uses a 266MHz PII box for digital artwork, and... well, manages. It only has a 2GB HD, though :rolleyes: She's pretty high on my 'move to Mac' advice list, the only problem being that she uses Deleter's CGIllust software and won't learn Photoshop, but that's for another thread.

(Looks up) Whoops, off topic, well... I'm going through the 'should I upgrade' thing, and really want a 'book of some kind. I was looking at the PB but this thread has made me decide that I don't need it. I'm gonna wait 'till next year, anyway.

Kirin.
 
iBooks are underrated

I am very new to Mac but we have several iBooks and a PowerBook. I think the iBooks are fantastic machines and are underrated by a lot of people. For photoshop I would definitely add more memory but the iBook will do fine and their price is great as is their durability. I know it's probably mostly psychological, but I just see and think of the iBooks as much more knockabout machines than I do my PB. The PB with its beautiful aluminum finish just makes me carry the thing around like a crystal ornament.

As far as dreamweaver goes I think you should hit google and read some of the discussion boards that talk about it. Frankly, a PB or an iBook won't make much difference as the app itself performs quite poorly in its latest versions for Mac. I switched to GoLive after being a long term DW user.

For what it's worth these are just my opinions havig used iBooks for the last 4 months or so and a PB for the last month or so.
 
The iBook should easily be powerful enough to run photoshop and dreamweaver, as long as you add another 512MB of RAM (total 768MB).

The only concern I would have is the display. Size isn't really a problem, but the colour accuracy is. Go to an apple store, and bring up some pretty pictures on the screen, then tilt the screen back and forth by about an inch and see how much the luminosity of the colours changes.

In general, because Macs use a default gamma of 1.8 (PC's use a gamma of 2.2), the colours which look fantastic on your webpage when viewed on a mac can look pretty crappy on a PC. You can easily change the gamma on your mac to 2.2, however I worry about the colour accuracy of the iBook screens when not viewed from the perfect viewing angle.

I would still say go with the iBook though, as you can always hook up an external CRT, and the stories I have heard attesting to the iBooks' ruggedness compared to the powerbooks are quite amazing.
 
Save yourself the $$$ by not buying AppleCare now. You DON'T have to - it is an extension of the 1 year service that is included. I waited 362 days and then purchased mine.

go powerbook!
 
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