This sounds pretty good to me right now. I just wonder how fast the Superdrive is. I hope it's 4x, but wouldn't be upset if they had to limit it to 2x on DVD-R burns as long as 4x media burns at 2x and not 1x. 2x media is getting harder to find.
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iBook, Powerbook Specs?
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alexandero said:
See its guestimate figures like this that make me worry a slightly buffed up 15 or 17 is going to look decidely old in just 5 months.
Not sure about 2GHz, but a 1.6Ghz G5 with 800MHz bus, 2 (maybe even 4) ram slots, better screen, better graphics card, better battery life, and a future using 64bit optomised code might well be worth the wait (risk)...
I've got a PowerBook 12" with 2x Superdrive. Contrary to what Apple says, Apple 4x DVD-R media burns at 2x in my drive, not 1x. I would definititely say that new PowerBooks will have 4x drives, with new PMs and iMacs having 8x to match the eMac.Bear said:
Odd that the Euro stores are now down but the US is still functional. This must be for updates. Maybe Europe will be getting updates first? It is almost noon BST, afterall.
thatwendigo said:
All that, and the mid-2002 iBook no longer resembled a toilet seat either
But seriously, if these rumours are true, I'll be looking to trade my current 1GHz 12" combo drive PowerBook for the new (alleged) 1GHz 12" iBook. With any luck, the second-hand price of a Rev. B 12" PowerBook will have dropped to something still more than a new iBook, and I can pick up an iBook system of the same speed, effectively extend my warranty by 6 months, and pocket a few hundred bucks as part of the deal (the current Australian pricing is $2999 for a combo drive 1GHz 12" PowerBook, versus $1899 for the 800MHz 12" iBook...quite a difference).
Of course that's dependent on Rev. B 12" PowerBook prices not falling through the floor after tomorrow.
That's good. I have one of the older 2x Superdrives in a system that does burn 4x media at 1x.johnnyjibbs said:
Actually I suspect, they took down the European stores to stem the number of orders for older systems.johnnyjibbs said:
What will probably happen is that the rest of the stores will get taken down as they have someone available to work on i and then everything will come up at about the same time.
Now that I have GarageBand, I could no longer survive without the audio in (iBook has none - unless they put it on for the update). Sure, I can buy an audio interface, but that's more ££$$ and then I have latency issues to contend with too. I also like the DVI-spanning (remember, iBooks will only be VGA-spanning with the hack). And then there's my superdrive, etc., etc. The iBooks scratch far more easily and are bigger than the PBs too. Other things to consider...oingoboingo said:All that, and the mid-2002 iBook no longer resembled a toilet seat either
But seriously, if these rumours are true, I'll be looking to trade my current 1GHz 12" combo drive PowerBook for the new (alleged) 1GHz 12" iBook. With any luck, the second-hand price of a Rev. B 12" PowerBook will have dropped to something still more than a new iBook, and I can pick up an iBook system of the same speed, effectively extend my warranty by 6 months, and pocket a few hundred bucks as part of the deal (the current Australian pricing is $2999 for a combo drive 1GHz 12" PowerBook, versus $1899 for the 800MHz 12" iBook...quite a difference).
Of course that's dependent on Rev. B 12" PowerBook prices not falling through the floor after tomorrow.
johnnyjibbs said:
I've not had that problem with an iMic on my old 500Mhz G3 iBook. There are a number of sources claiming you get better audio via with USB iMic input than from a regular audio-in. I couldn't say though not having both to compare. Lack of audio in isn't a big deal. Screen spanning without a hack or Bluetooth built in without a dongle is a bigger deal.
On the 12" the limiting factor is always going to be the 1 RAM slot for me unless 1GB SODIMMs come way down in price - unlikely for a while.
thatwendigo said:
But buying a G4 is a move that makes sure that your computers lifetime is significantly more limited than a G5s is, ireespective of clockspeed. A G5PB running at 1.25GHz would in my mind have at least an extra year's life or more over a similiar G4, even if most things (not bus and ram) were the same. Waiting a few more months to get an extra year or more would be hard but in a year I would be very happy I had done it I think...
I've already told you what I think you should do. Get a slightly older iBook off of eBay to play with. Learn OS X (not that it's hard, or anything
Meanwhile, you'll have a mac to play with!
Yep, I have been giving that some thought. Indeed I have been half thinking that the new High end iBook or possibly the 12"PB might be a better choice because they are looking like they are peeking (I dont see a G5 in the 12" PB real soon) and half the cost of the 17"...
But I do want to catch dvds on it if I can...
Lets see what happens in the next hour...
If someone needs* a new computer, having it now is bette rthan waiting an unknown number of months. Maybe people who are waiting for a G5 Powerbook don't need a new laptop yet.aswitcher said:
Also, grtting an extra year out of it comes partially from waiting several months to a year before you buy it. This again comes down to not necessarily needing a new laptop just yet.
*needs: Some people just wnat something new, some people actually need it. Need can be because some things won't run on their old laptop. Need could also be because their old laptop won't physically last much longer. In my case, strictly speaking, I don't need a new Powerbook just yet, I could upgrade the few components I need for what I us ethe Powerbook for. However, there upgrades will cost several hundred dollars. At this point, I'm better off buying a new laptop (with all the other improvements) amd selling my old one.
johnnyjibbs said:
Certainly all valid points. I originally went through the iBook vs. PowerBook decision making process in October last year, and if you check my signature, it'll be obvious I went for the PowerBook
However, when I bought the PowerBook I was working full-time in a decently paid biotech job, and I was able to get a good tax discount on the PowerBook through a salary sacrifice/packaging deal. However, now I'm back at university full-time doing a PhD and cash is a little tighter, so if these iBook update rumours are true, I'd prefer to trade off the desirable features of the PowerBook for the same processor speed in an iBook and a few hundred extra dollars in my back pocket (of course this all depends on what happens to Rev. B 12" PB eBay prices post-update).
My current 12" PB is the combo drive model, so the lack of a DVD burner in the iBook isn't an issue. The lack of audio-in is a bit of a bummer, but I usually use GarageBand on my G5 anyway. And for sure the PowerBook is a lot sexier looking, but at this stage if I can get the same level of performance out of a much cheaper notebook, then that sounds good for this particular poverty-bound postgrad student
T41, Powerbook benchmarks for patriotn11
if you're interested in latex or mathematica, pretty important for me:
http://www2.staff.fh-vorarlberg.ac.at/~ku/karl/timings50.html
http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/franz/latex-bench
but the powerbook has sex appeal, and that's difficult to measure
if you're interested in latex or mathematica, pretty important for me:
http://www2.staff.fh-vorarlberg.ac.at/~ku/karl/timings50.html
http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/franz/latex-bench
but the powerbook has sex appeal, and that's difficult to measure
US and Australian stores are still up!
Hmm... wish there would be some more action on the US and Australian fronts - their lack of being down is disturbing...
I wonder how long after the announcement on the store these updates will be available? In other territories? The combo eMac is already available in Australia, but not the superdrive because of the QA issue that they haven't resolved yet or whatever - but how long for the books?
I am beginning to wonder if tonight's the night after all... ahhh!
Whenever it will come, it will come
Hmm... wish there would be some more action on the US and Australian fronts - their lack of being down is disturbing...
I wonder how long after the announcement on the store these updates will be available? In other territories? The combo eMac is already available in Australia, but not the superdrive because of the QA issue that they haven't resolved yet or whatever - but how long for the books?
I am beginning to wonder if tonight's the night after all... ahhh!
Whenever it will come, it will come
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