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New PowerBooks - Finally

Originally posted by MacBandit
The 12" has one user upgradeable slot and one factory installed slot. If someone knows what they are doing they could replace the factory slot but you would be voiding your warranty.
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That's what I figured...I wonder why they did it that way though...probably so you had to get your RAM upgrades through them...who knows....
 
Originally posted by zync
That's what I figured...I wonder why they did it that way though...probably so you had to get your RAM upgrades through them...who knows....
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No, I don't think that's the reason. Because they only put 256MB in the internal slot even on the custom order. I think it's just a way of crippling it so that it's a lower line PowerBook also so the peak price can't get any higher then a certain level. Apple does things like that and it really doesn't make any sense. They should just build to order the way the customer wants it. It's not really a matter of agreeing with the customer it's a matter of selling product and making money so you can invest in R&D and build a better product that the customer will want so they buy another one down the road.
 
Originally posted by MacBandit
No, I don't think that's the reason. Because they only put 256MB in the internal slot even on the custom order. I think it's just a way of crippling it so that it's a lower line PowerBook also so the peak price can't get any higher then a certain level. Apple does things like that and it really doesn't make any sense. They should just build to order the way the customer wants it. It's not really a matter of agreeing with the customer it's a matter of selling product and making money so you can invest in R&D and build a better product that the customer will want so they buy another one down the road.
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I had a feeling about this being true too since the max was "1.256 GB"....ok....next time I will say what I "had a feeling" about instead of what I end up saying :)
 
PB 12" first impressions

PB 12" finally arrived, had it working 48 hours and it's just gorgeous. Anyone with an 800mhz G3 iBook who's tempted by one of these will find it whisper quiet, pleasantly cool even held in the lap and (subjectively at least) very, very fast. It drives a big external DVI monitor effortlessly. One tiny niggle. The reflective silver keys with slim grey letters are hard to see in dim light, tho keyboard itself is a joy to use.
 
I got mine 12" about an month ago - since then I encountered several probs: AirPort was gone and it wobbled - but after some nice treatment everythin is back in action ;) I formerly had the 800MHz iBook G3 and I gotta say - I never ever wanna go back, the PB is made of much higher quality and runs quieter and cooler then the iBook ;)...anyways - I can only recommend this little machine
 
Personally, I wish they would have stuck with the black keys, the gray looks cheap. Of course though, I like the look of the TiBooks over the Al.
 
Actually the black keys looked like **** compared to the all silver solution right now.

The design is excellent right now, hope they stay in that direction.
 
Originally posted by MacBandit
This is of course one persons opinion.
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True....the black keys were cool, but you have to admit, the all silver solution is much more aesthectically pleasing...the silver keys just fit more...
 
Personally, I wish they would have stuck with the black keys, the gray looks cheap. Of course though, I like the look of the TiBooks over the Al
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I loved the AL look, but the keys look raunchy... I am trying to implement the back lit keys in my Ti... with an El panel. I'll post pics as soon as I get something figured out....
 
for some reason I couldn't edit my post so I'll put this here...

ethernet76, the grey keys do not look cheap...do you actually own an Aluminum PowerBook? The "grey" keys look almost exactly like the rest of the computer....I mean they could've technically made them out of aluminum but the keys are nearly perfect the way they are...the black keys never fit...
 
I'm with Zync and Packetloss in their opinion that the keys LOOK great aesthetically. It's a fabulous machine. Also that the keyboard is great to use from a mechanical point of view. Nonetheless, the letters on the keys still haven't got any easier to see in dim light.

Back in the days of the Applemaster program we did feed back a suggestion that PB keys should have a backlighting option for situations like longhaul plane flights, tourbuses at night and typing in bed beside a sleeping partner... which is what I'm doing right now thanks to one of those little bendy USB lights.

The 15" was very tempting for that reason, but the 12" is simply too small and sexy to pass up.
 
Really? I think the 12" is too small...the 15" is perfect...and the BL keyboard makes it more sexy than the 12"....as you can imagine I don't have that problem :)
 
I liked the look of the grey keys until I saw then in real life.

Metallic looking paint on plastic never does it for me, it just looks cheap. They should have kept the keys semi trasparent or gone for real metal.

It's like the power button or the plastic popout eject button on my TiBook's PC card slot - a cheap plastic part that's made to look like metal but's actual chome effect plastic.

I hope the next major PB revision costs that little more but has better attention to detail.
 
Originally posted by teetoo
I liked the look of the grey keys until I saw then in real life.

Metallic looking paint on plastic never does it for me, it just looks cheap. They should have kept the keys semi trasparent or gone for real metal.

It's like the power button or the plastic popout eject button on my TiBook's PC card slot - a cheap plastic part that's made to look like metal but's actual chome effect plastic.

I hope the next major PB revision costs that little more but has better attention to detail.
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I disagree...my keys are the most metallic looking plastic pieces I've ever seen...maybe that's because they didn't use chrome paint? In either case the cheapest looking piece is the release for the PC slot, except it only looks fake for the brief second it's out, otherwise it's fine too...I mean sure I'd love real metal keys but the plastic ones work for me...and they're so soft...it's like typing on air or something...definitely a nice typing feel...I just wish the plastic around the seams of the metal pieces was more rounded because it can hurt your wrist somewhat depending on your angle to the computer....but you get used to it and it doesn't hurt anymore so I guess it really doesn't matter....
 
There is one thing that no-one seems to have covered. My Al 15 starts up pretty cold. The palm rest and the bottom are cold as they are made of metal. The keys on the other hand are quite a nice temperature from the start. If they were brushed alluminium they would feel cold. The PC Card eject button could be metal though.
 
I don't know what the heat issues are like with these new 12-inchers but I have R1 12-incher and the left palm rest was hot as hell...

I had the 60GB BTO one. I replaced it the other day with the Hitachi 7K60 7200RPM and the heat issue has all but dissapeared!! I'm really really shocked at how quiet and cool this new HD remains...

quite a sight and touch to behold!!

alos, it's so much faster!!! wow...

I hope on getting a 1GB RAM chip soon enough to really max out this little baby...
That should tide me over until REV 2 of a 15-inch G5 PB!

I really can't wait for that...

one interesting this is that my 12-inch PB 'FEELS' so much faster than my brothers 15-inch with 1.25Ghz, 512Ram, 5200RPM HD.

This laptop should last quite a while...

Oh man, I sound like I'm just trying to justify keeping this PB. Who Am I Kidding... I want a TRICKED OUT 15-incher! but I'll resist.

better take a cold shower
 
Originally posted by iChan
I don't know what the heat issues are like with these new 12-inchers but I have R1 12-incher and the left palm rest was hot as hell...

I had the 60GB BTO one. I replaced it the other day with the Hitachi 7K60 7200RPM and the heat issue has all but dissapeared!! I'm really really shocked at how quiet and cool this new HD remains...
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Are there instructions anywhere online for replacing the harddrive in the 12"? I want to do this down the road for my Rev B but have no idea how difficult it would be. Also, has battery life been affected at all? And does it really run cooler/quieter than the stock drive? I figured a 7200 rpm drive would have a lot more "whine" than a 4800 rpm drive. Cheers.
 
Upgrading the HD is not very easy, but otherwise it's also not impossible. Check out www.kodawarisan.com/ug/
They disassambeled an 12" PB, so u can get an idea what to do. Good luck

ps: one of the Keyboardskrews is hidden in the memory slot, just in case ;)
 
Life on a PB - 12"

Diatribe said:
Do any of those who have already gotten their 15" pbs have any insights regarding battery life on those?
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With the new models just released, I am sure the numbers have changed. My sister's PB (15") gets about 90 minutes to a fully charged battery under moderate use. My PB (12") does a little better with some where between 120-180 minutes depending on what I am doing. For normal internet surfing via Airport I get close to 180 minutes. For movie watching, its closer to the 120 minutes... (bumber since you cannot get through some of the longer movies without a recharge).
 
AllenPSU said:
With the new models just released, I am sure the numbers have changed. My sister's PB (15") gets about 90 minutes to a fully charged battery under moderate use. My PB (12") does a little better with some where between 120-180 minutes depending on what I am doing. For normal internet surfing via Airport I get close to 180 minutes. For movie watching, its closer to the 120 minutes... (bumber since you cannot get through some of the longer movies without a recharge).
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What are your power management settings for those two hours of movie playback?
 
AllenPSU said:
With the new models just released, I am sure the numbers have changed. My sister's PB (15") gets about 90 minutes to a fully charged battery under moderate use. My PB (12") does a little better with some where between 120-180 minutes depending on what I am doing. For normal internet surfing via Airport I get close to 180 minutes. For movie watching, its closer to the 120 minutes... (bumber since you cannot get through some of the longer movies without a recharge).
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Yeah, that's exactly what I'm wondering, because I heard of people getting close to 5 hrs. with the 12" pbs. I just haven't heard anything regarding the battery life on the 15". That should be a lot better also.
 
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