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iBook or Power Book??

I

insan56

macrumors member
Original poster
i have a PC and am looking into moving to a Mac and i dont know weather to get a iBook or a Power Book!

i dont know what i should spend my money on! i will be using it to change my VHS tapes to DVD , and i will be creating a wireless network in my house branching from my PC will the Mac exist nicely with my PC? and i will be used for school work, so does the Mac come with a good word editing software of should i get the Microsoft Office for Mac?

i was hoping someone here could help me make a decision
thanx
 
first, search the forum. there are lots of threads already.

Now...

The only ibook with DVD burner is the top of the line 14".

If you do think about an ibook, wait for a bit because updates are expected soon.

I think your needs would be best suited by the 12" powerbook with superdrive. Portable, fast, and only $1500 with academic discount. Don't forget about the $100 rebate coupon going on now as well. shop newegg.com for some extra memory if you need it.

As for word processor: office for mac is good but $. for less, apple works is nice i hear and i think it is $50 for academic. on the free end, you can get neo office which is the mac skinned open office version.
 
iBook updates are around the corner so i would hold off for awhile.
Macs can peacefully co-exist with PCs, my home is one example. If you are doing a lot more multimedia type stuff I would go for a Powerbook simply because they have more power and you can get a DVD burner at the low end.
 
i was wondering the same thing as you but since i want a Superdrive to Burn DVD's and ibook with that is 1,399 i will be getting powerbook better deal with specs all still up in air but am 90% sure with powerbook depends how or what they do with ibooks..
 
BKKloppenborg said:
i was wondering the same thing as you but since i want a Superdrive to Burn DVD's and ibook with that is 1,399 i will be getting powerbook better deal with specs all still up in air but am 90% sure with powerbook depends how or what they do with ibooks..
Click to expand...

same here
 
Hey insan,

I just recently switched myself and went through the ibook vs. powerbook question so I can tell you what I went through. I ended up buying a 14" ibook for a few reasons. The biggest being the cost (since I've only just graduated from being a poor student to becoming a poor teacher 😉 ).

Anyway, I did want the powerbook but since they're both G4's, the Ibook gives the Powerbook a pretty good run for its money. The powerbook does have some extra pluses though. Here are a few of the things the Powerbook has that the Ibook lacks:

1. A way better graphics card. It lets you plug in another monitor and use it as a seperate "work space". Think of it as a giant monitor split up in two. Really nice if you do video editing. But it might not interest you too much. The Ibook only supports another monitor that shows you what's already on your screen.
2. An audio input! Man, it sure was cheap of Apple not to include this on the Ibook. You'll have to buy an external device that'll run you around $100. But since you'll be transferring your VHS tapes you'll need something to get your video inputs anyway and the audio ins should be included in that.
3. A video ouput! Another cheap move by Apple on the Ibook. You'll have to buy special cables that'll run you around $20-30. I don't know if the Powerbooks have RCA outs or if the cable is included, but they'll be set to go.

Aside from that, I'm really happy with my Ibook. The Powerbook does have a nicer case and that widescreen though and that scrolling thing on the touchpad but it was a debate whether it was worth the extra cash. Oh, and the Powerbooks have better screen resolutions on the 15"+ models.

I didn't get the DVD burner because I was waiting for the dual-layer burners (the 8+ Gig burners--twice than regular). And I'd suggest you think about whether to get it installed on yours. Check the specs. I'm not sure if they have dual-layer burners on their laptops yet. And you can buy an external for cheaper that burns at 16x as opposed to the 8x you'd get with Apple.

As for the word processing software, I opened up the program that came with the OS once and didn't bother after that. I'm sure it works fine for simple papers but I'm used to WordPerfect and Microsoft's ripoff Word and I need all the extra features you get with those. I had an IT friend install Word for me and I'm fairly happy.

So I hope that's a bit of help for you. I say, if you can afford it, go for the Powerbook. But if money's a concern, the Ibook is a good choice. They're a little behind on upgrading the Powerbook anyway. It really should be a G5 by now and it probably will be later this year. And it'll cost the same as what you're paying now. So pound for pound, at the moment, it's an Ibook that's the better value. Not unless you need all those things listed above. Oh, and definitely wait for the new Ibooks to come out. Check the buyers guide; it's way overdue. Then decide.
 
hey thanx for all the info... i will probably get the iBook with the external burners, that just makes more sence lol thanx!
 
At this point, the biggest difference between the iBook and PB is the video card and hard-drive speed. Some people care about the ability to use an external monitor, but mirroring ain't that bad.

If you hook up your iBook to an external monitor, the external monitor will only be able to display things at 1024 x 768 resolution, even if the monitor itself can handle greater resolutions. That's why the iBook can only "mirror" what you see on your iBook display, while the PB allows you to see things at higher resolutions than that on your PB's own display if you hook up an external monitor that allows for higher resolutions.

HOWEVER, there's a hack that lets an iBook do what a PB does rather than "mirroring," so that benefit of the PB nonsense.

Again, the major difference for most people is the type of video card and the amount of video RAM it comes with, and the harddrives on the newest Powerbooks are faster (5400 rpm) than the ones in the iBooks (4200 rpm). Also, the resolution of the 15" and 17" PB is higher than on either the 12" or 14" Ibook, and the 12" PB.

But you might not need any of those benefits, so get an iBook when they get updated, hopefully to a 64 MB video card, plus an EXTERNAL DVD burner. The price difference between the 12" or 14" iBook, and the 12" Powerbook + combo drive may not be so great, but the difference in price if you get the 12" Powerbook with SUPERDRIVE is quite big.
 
tuartboy said:
first, search the forum. there are lots of threads already.

Now...

The only ibook with DVD burner is the top of the line 14".

If you do think about an ibook, wait for a bit because updates are expected soon.

I think your needs would be best suited by the 12" powerbook with superdrive. Portable, fast, and only $1500 with academic discount. Don't forget about the $100 rebate coupon going on now as well. shop newegg.com for some extra memory if you need it.

As for word processor: office for mac is good but $. for less, apple works is nice i hear and i think it is $50 for academic. on the free end, you can get neo office which is the mac skinned open office version.
Click to expand...

What 100$ rebate are you talking about? (link please)
 
My advice would be to go for the PowerBook. The keyboard is better IMHO and it comes with all the bells and whistles.

I just bought a 12" Powerbook last week and it is great. It compares favourably to the 14" ibook since that computer has the same screen res and it really doesn't make any difference.
 
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