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stevietheb

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2004
591
0
Houston
My friend and I bought laptops at the same time when we were students together. I got a 12" iBook (because I'm po') and he got a 15" powerbook.

The powerbook is of course much nicer than my iBook--but he always talks about what a hassle it is to carry it around. I can only imagine what a 17" would be like..

For student-use, I prefer the 12". Perhaps when I'm a professor and don't need to lug it around as much (just too and from work...not all of campus...I don't know) I'll go for the 15"...
 

faintember

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2005
1,362
0
the ruins of the Cherokee nation
ThatSoundAgain said:
Though what I usually say is I like the form factor better overall, not just the (debatable) extra portability. It's obviously a personal preference
Good point. I never took into account the idea of form factor. Eitherway you will be getting a great computer.

ph0rk said:
I can't really imagine ever needing that much screen real estate on the go, and the 15" is about as portly as I can stand - what good is it if it is so bulky you leave it at home?
I guess it depends on what you are doing. If you get used to using a certain size screen then you can (and usually will) fill it up. When i am running some of my audio programs i get by with my 15" but a 17" would be beneficial. That said a 17" Macintel rev b will probably be my next laptop.

To me a 17" isnt bulky, but i am a musician, so i am used to carrying my bookbag/laptop, alto sax and flute on a normal day. On a bad day i have my bookbag/laptop, bari sax, and my portable audio equipment. So the 17" does not really scare me. :p
 

themacman

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2004
412
0
kc
im a student and about to buy a powerbook. I am waiting for the new 12'' at the keynote in about a months time. The 12'' powerbook is so portable, and the 17'' screen is awesome. SO go for the best of both worlds if you can and get the 15
 

Heb1228

macrumors 68020
Feb 3, 2004
2,217
1
Virginia Beach, VA
ashon3611 said:
...and if you want to think about it this way... you could get a new ibook ever two years for 6 years or a new powerbook every 3 years for 6 years and have a newer more recent up date more often going with ibooks...
Not really. My PB is two years old and its still kicking the tail of brand new iBooks in benchmark testing.

Lets trace this logic out... We both buy a laptop at the same time, lets say two years ago when I bought this one.

August '03 - Me: PB with 1.33 GHz G4. You: iBook with 800-900 MHz G3.
Result: my machine is a far better computer for 2 years.

Today - Me: Same PB. You: New iBook
Result:my computer is still gets slightly better perfomance than your new iBook.

Next Year: Me:Upgrading to a brand new PB, you still with an iBook thats a year old, mine in far faster.

The following year: Me with 1 year old PB You: Brand new iBook thats still not as fast as my 1 year old PB.


End result: 6 years pass, I've gone through 2 computers, you've gone through three. At every step in the road, my computer has had better performance and (esp. if we're talking about 17") far better screen quality. I've had a superdrive for all 6 years, you've had it for maybe 4.

And considering we spent the same amount of money, I'd say the PB is a better choice. Sorry this ended up being so long.
 

Heb1228

macrumors 68020
Feb 3, 2004
2,217
1
Virginia Beach, VA
As for the original post, I have a 17" and take it to class. I don't think its that much trouble. And any amount of extra trouble that it my be is well worth it when you open up your computer in class and the people around you are like, "Wow..."

My advice.. go for the 17"
 

godbout

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2005
182
0
Montreal, Canada
raincoat said:
I think all Powerbooks come with bluetooth as standard. The 17" is the dogs bo@*+cks and has everything on it. did u mean to say that it would have all of those features? :confused:

No man, the reason was because the 17" is obviously a rev. C. because it is 1.5 GHz according to the OP. I forget in that rev whether it had bluetooth standard but I don't think that it had the other stuff that I mentioned. I was under the impression that those were new to the rev. D. Is that right? maybe I don't know what is going on :D
 

Heb1228

macrumors 68020
Feb 3, 2004
2,217
1
Virginia Beach, VA
godbout said:
No man, the reason was because the 17" is obviously a rev. C. because it is 1.5 GHz accourding to the OP. I forget in that rev whether it had bluetooth standard but I don't think that it had the other stuff that I mentioned. I was under the impression that those were new to the rev. D. Is that right? maybe I don't know what is going on :D
You're correct. The brand new PBs have Bluetooth 2.0, but every 17" PB has had Bluetooth 1.0. I wouldn't consider that a deal-breaker though.
 

godbout

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2005
182
0
Montreal, Canada
Heb1228 said:
You're correct. The brand new PBs have Bluetooth 2.0, but every 17" PB has had Bluetooth 1.0. I wouldn't consider that a deal-breaker though.

What about the rest of the improvements in the revision? SMS, 5400rpm HD and all that stuff. I am still all for the 17" don't get me wrong :D I was just saying that they have different specs... some of which you might want to take into consideration. In my eyes it is 17" all the way... they are just SO impressive! :eek:
 

Heb1228

macrumors 68020
Feb 3, 2004
2,217
1
Virginia Beach, VA
godbout said:
What about the rest of the improvements in the revision? SMS, 5400rpm HD and all that stuff. I am still all for the 17" don't get me wrong :D I was just saying that they have different specs... some of which you might want to take into consideration. In my eyes it is 17" all the way... they are just SO impressive! :eek:
I don't think SMS is that big of a deal. if you drop it hard enough to mess up data, (you should have a backup anyway) then data loss doesn't seem like its going to be the major concern. Hard drives can take like 80 Gs when they are spinning without affecting data (and 350 Gs when they are locked) wow thats pretty stinking amazing. anyways...

The 5400 RPM will make some difference but again, I don't think its enough to be a deal breaker.
 

stevietheb

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2004
591
0
Houston
faintember said:
On a bad day i have my bookbag/laptop, bari sax, and my portable audio equipment. So the 17" does not really scare me. :p
Ha...yeah...a "bad day" for me is a bookbag with a laptop, a spiral notebook, and a lexicon of some kind. Thus, I personally can't imagine lugging the 17" around.

Since I don't do anything TOO processor intensive on the laptop (no Final Cut, just occasional Photoshop...etc), mostly just web, mail, chat, blog, research, write, iTunes, iPhoto, the increased performance of the larger powerbooks is unimportant to me. As long as the hardware continues to work fine, I intend to use this iBook well after the release of Leopard--it does what it does, and it does it well!

That said, if you want a true desktop replacement, a 17" will go much further than a 12".
 

godbout

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2005
182
0
Montreal, Canada
Heb1228 said:
I don't think SMS is that big of a deal. if you drop it hard enough to mess up data, (you should have a backup anyway) then data loss doesn't seem like its going to be the major concern. Hard drives can take like 80 Gs when they are spinning without affecting data (and 350 Gs when they are locked) wow thats pretty stinking amazing. anyways...

The 5400 RPM will make some difference but again, I don't think its enough to be a deal breaker.

You are right about SMS, the HD and Especially about the back-ups!! everyone should have a script to do weekly and monthly backups (at least) and keep your backups in a different location then where your comp is typically located! And to the OP if/when you decide on the 17" ;) make sure that you get that little prog that allows your trackpad to scroll (I don't think that I could live without it) I don't know what it is called but i am sure that you can find out pretty easily.
 
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