Laptop for college: What's your advice?

[Phatpat]

I'm going to college in the fall and was planning on getting a laptop. I was hoping on getting a g5 15" powerbook...but that's not gonna happen. I don't really want to wait because I've never used a Mac as my main computer, and I would like to start off college with one. My idea was to get a 12" powerbook or even an iBook, use it for a year, sell it on ebay, and buy a g5 12" powerbook. Another option is to just buy the updated 15" powerbook when it comes out and suck it up not having a g5 for awhile. Keep in mind I want this to be a desktop replacement, but I have a PC Desktop for gaming at the last resort. It would be very nice to be able play games on it, but that's not a requirement at this point. What's your advice on what I should do? Thanks.

 

[tazo]

get the 12'' pb. its superlight, so you can take it everywhere on campus. if you need more space you can always hook it up to a 2nd monitor. but on the go you will really appreciate its 4lb weight.

 

[Phatpat]

I was planning on trying the 12" out next time I went to the Apple store. Do you think it has enough work space? My concern it I just won't be able to see enough... :-\

 

[Kwyjibo]

I think youll be fine and an external monitor is always an option if your having real estate problems. I have a 12in iBook for college and i'm all set, I would honestly go and get a feel for each of the machines and figure out which one you like best especialyl if it is your main computer.


where are you going to school?

 

[Abstract]

Here's a more important question: what are you going to do with it?

You're not going to play games on a Mac laptop. If you're going to play games on your PC, and you aren't going to do any Final Cut Pro, iMovie, or Photoshop work on your computer, then get a 12" iBook. If screen size is of concern, then get the 14" iBook. If you plan on using it for PS or FCP or anything that's resource hungry, go for the 12" PB.

 

[tazo]

Originally posted by Phatpat
I was planning on trying the 12" out next time I went to the Apple store. Do you think it has enough work space? My concern it I just won't be able to see enough... :-\

if you are at the age of going to college your eyes will have no problem acclimating to the 12'' screen size. besides, your back will thank you

 

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by tazo
if you are at the age of going to college your eyes will have no problem acclimating to the 12'' screen size. besides, your back will thank you

that's true that having the same resolution as the 14 inch iBook in a 12 inch screen can be more strain on the eyes, but i think when talking about work space on a monitor, one usually is referring to raw pixel count. so, by that standard, a 14 inch iBook has the same screen workspace as the 12 inch. so, rather than being an eye issue, it's a "screen real estate" issue. while the 12 inch pbook/ibook and 14 inch ibook have 1024x768 pixels on the screenm the 15 inch powerbook boasts 1280 x 854. back when the tiBook went from 1164x 768 to the current 1280 x 854, the screen size remained identical (in inches), but the screen real estate, the pixel count, increased pretty dramatically. so the issue at stake is really, "how many windows can you fit on a 1024 x 768 screen vs on a 1280 x 854 one? usually, the widescreen nature of the latter lets you add all kinds of toolbars to the right and top and so on and still have enough bare pixel space to front an image, or a page... on the 17 inch powerbook, you can of course fit 2 full pages side by side and read them. that's the kind of workspace we are talking about. but kwyjibo is right, if you do have problems with that, you can add a monitor, and put your toolbars and what not on one and the thing you are working on on the other screen.

but as a 15 inch powerbook owner, i can confirm there's much to be said for having that extra real estate with you on the road

 

[tazo]

I wish I had any laptop. lol. I am saving up for a combo ibook, or a 12'' pb. both are the coolest looking portables on any platform.

 

[MacFan25]

I think you should get the 12" PowerBook. If you are going to sell it within a year, it may have a bit more resell value then the iBook, since it has a G4. Also, don't forget about the education discount.

 

[macphoria]

If you are thinking about desktop replacement and want to be open for variety of usages (games, video editing, etc) then go for 12" PowerBook.

 

[jzieske]

If you don't have to make up your mind for a couple weeks wait and see what Apple announces @ MWNY. I would expect to see updates to the entire PB line.

I am in the same place as you what to get before August????

 

[Phatpat]

Right now I'm leaning toward the 12" Powerbook. I will be very surprised if they aren't updated by the time I need to buy. I'm gonna go test one out.

 

[Kwyjibo]

the problem with MWNY is that apple is not having a huge presence there, it won't be like a wwdc or a mwsf this year... it will probably be an apple both and maybe a press release at Create

 

[jzieske]

Originally posted by Kwyjibo
the problem with MWNY is that apple is not having a huge presence there, it won't be like a wwdc or a mwsf this year... it will probably be an apple both and maybe a press release at Create

I think Apple will have more of presence then that in fact Greg Joswiak, Vice President of Hardware Product Marketing for Apple is giving a keynote on Wednesday 7/16.