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Powerbook 12" v. iBook 12"

Originally posted by tazo
for websurfing, word processing, email, chatting, etc, basic computing tasks, 12'' will be fine, and trust me you will appreciate the mobility when you are away from your desk. when you need to get some serious work done, or need to use a largely screen-dependent program, such as photoshop, plug in a CRT or LCD. Best of both worlds :)
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Yea, of course mobility is the only reason the 12" would be considerable.

One major problem though, is the fact that the 12" only has mirroring, not extended desktop (a feature my 1st edition PBG4 has).

So, for a highschool student... A 12" PB, 15" PB, or no laptop and take notes on paper?

Is taking notes on a PB better than paper (I can type faster than I write, the only problem being diagrams and symbols etc.)?

Any complaints of keyboard size?
 
Generally, though exceptions are numerous, those taking notes by hand on paper demonstrate much better recall of material and greater ability to synthesize it than those taking notes on a computer.

Please note that this should not be misinterpreted to suggest that there are no advantages to using a computer. But if you are attending a lecture-based class, you are usually better off closing the computer and listening.

elo
 
Originally posted by elo
Generally, though exceptions are numerous, those taking notes by hand on paper demonstrate much better recall of material and greater ability to synthesize it than those taking notes on a computer.

Please note that this should not be misinterpreted to suggest that there are no advantages to using a computer. But if you are attending a lecture-based class, you are usually better off closing the computer and listening.

elo
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I agree, i mean the lecture could be starting, you could have to boot your machine up, open up the software, open up a new doc, get into the proper settings, the teacher could be 5 minutes in and you would be left in the cold. Not to mention its kinda rude to be typing during a quiet class such as a lecture, where no one besides the prof. is talking.
 
I really can't imagine you needing a notebook computer for high school, at all. Unless there is some reason why you NEED a laptop, you'd be better off spending your money on a nice desktop. Having said that, in a high school environment, the ibook's durability and comparative lack of allure would, in my opinion, make it the better choice.
 
Originally posted by tazo
I agree, i mean the lecture could be starting, you could have to boot your machine up, open up the software, open up a new doc, get into the proper settings, the teacher could be 5 minutes in and you would be left in the cold. Not to mention its kinda rude to be typing during a quiet class such as a lecture, where no one besides the prof. is talking.
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Sleep mode takes 1 or 2 seconds to wake up, and you can have the necessary apps open already.

If there are others in class on the notebook, than you will be ok. If you are the only one, I would suggest against it.
 
Originally posted by maradong
right,
well, at least the pb 15 will be upgrade soon, if we follow recent rumors.
for the pb 12 and pb 17 it would take till november for the next update.
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dunno about that. 11 months for an update on the 12" and 17"? That's way more than apple usually does. I think we should see 12" updates well before november, even if not for a while yet.
 
Originally posted by yzedf
Sleep mode takes 1 or 2 seconds to wake up, and you can have the necessary apps open already.

If there are others in class on the notebook, than you will be ok. If you are the only one, I would suggest against it.
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Yeah, why shut it down? I use mine in class all the time, but none of the teachers mind, so its good to check. Only problem with notetaking is the battery life. If you have several classes in a row or some other situation where you can't charge up, you can be in trouble. Extra batteries are a pain to have to switch out at a bad time. I know my wife deals with this by using her palm pilot with a keyboard. Much faster and less obtrusive to set up and use than a laptop. Plus the battery lasts a full day typing, and its powering the keyboard. You could get something like this for a couple hundred and get a nice eMac with the rest of the money.
 
Go to any computer store. I know the dimensions on the Ti 15" is widescreen, but go compare any 12" and 15" screen and judge for yourself. Better yet, go look up the resolutions (12" PB is 1024 by 768, I think) and see if that's sufficient.

I've been using 12" PB for a while now. It's perfectly fine for normal uses. I've played with 17" PB and 23" Cinema Display and yeah, those are nicer, but who wouldn't find those to be nicer?
 
Thanks.

If i were to use a laptop, i wouldnt be the only one...

And the problem is not $.

I think I'll goto HS first, see how many other ppl use laptops, then decide whether to use one or not.
 
12" does do extended desktop

Originally posted by Dougnet99
Yea, of course mobility is the only reason the 12" would be considerable.

One major problem though, is the fact that the 12" only has mirroring, not extended desktop (a feature my 1st edition PBG4 has).

So, for a highschool student... A 12" PB, 15" PB, or no laptop and take notes on paper?

Is taking notes on a PB better than paper (I can type faster than I write, the only problem being diagrams and symbols etc.)?

Any complaints of keyboard size?
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I pity the fool who posts before checking the facts. My 12" does in fact do extended desktop.
 
Go for the 12" powerbook!

I got mine with combo drive, 60gb and 640mb ram for some days ago, and I love it!

It's very fast, and in almost every task I feel that the 12" powerbook is faster than my pc! (2ghz, geforce 4 ti4800se, 512ddr ram, win2k)

12,1" is not too small at all, I just love the screen, and I'm used to 17" screens.

And by the way, the 12" DOES SUPPORT EXTENDED MONITORS!
From apple:
"dual display and video mirroring: simultaneously support up to 1024 by 768 pixels on the built-in display and up to 1600 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colours"

Check facts first!

I just love the 12", I play warcraft 3 smooth with everything on high settings!
And medal of honor runs smooth too.
I tested the unreal 2k3 demo and it actually played smooth too, but I have only tested with 800x600 and everything on low.
I don't know how to get down the consol, so I can check fps in unreal 2k3.

How do I get the consol in unreal 2k3?

And many people complain about the 12" getting hot, mine isn't.
My fathers dell latitude is warmer.
No problems with warping either.

Actually, I haven't experienced any problems at all with the 12" powerbook! :)

Anyway, I think you should go for the 12" powerbook instead of the ibook, if you want it, buy it now.
Or else you will just be sitting there forever, just waiting for the next thing.

Good luck!
 
Dude,
I have been considering exactly the same thing. I am a college student pondering the options...but mine is over the 12" or 15". However, you need to establish what you want to do with it first - e.g. are you into DJ, movie/DVD editing, and graphics - e.g. Photoshop becuase I found that an iMovie render and working with photoshop absolutely revoltingly slow on a 800mHz iBook so in this case I would recomed a powerbook - but if you are just doing word processing and listening to iTunes etc a 900mhz iBook would be sweet. If i was you I would wait atleast intill the WWDC is over and then re-assess then. But I personally would go for the powerbook because of the G4 chip making everything faster

good luck!
 
Originally posted by Dougnet99
but is it okay to work with?

Am i going to be wishing i had a bigger screen? or is it good enough for most uses?
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I've been using my 12" PowerBook for video editing with FCP for some time now, and it's more than enough when I can connect it to an external 17" CRT and do extended desktop on it.

When I hook up the keyboard, mouse and screen and close the lid on the PB, it almost feels as though I am using a PowerMac.

I'm also using it to take notes in class, and if you've got the right tools, then taking down diagrams and stuff like that is pretty easy. My PB came with OmniGraffle, and it's really helping me on that point.

Though it is quite hot, the fan only comes on when doing high-processor workload stuff like rendering video or DivX.

Bottom line: Go for the PowerBook!
 
Thanks! It seems a PB is the way to go... So, after WWDC, I'll get one.

Btw, in terms of external desktop - Apple needs to train their salespeople better (I was told that the 12" PB only supported mirroring, and mirroring had a max of 1024 x 768.
 
Dougnet99,

For what it's worth, I just went through this whole dilemna PB12 vs iBook12.

Asked alot of questions and did some heavy evaluations! I don't want to tell you what I think you should do but would like to tell you what I found...

1. The 12" PB was very limited for it's price. 1799 for a Mac that can only have 640MB of Memory (for now) was alot.
2. the 1024x768 resolution is identical on both PB and iBook. The external monitor driving is nice though in the PB.
3. The PB 12" gets HOT HOT HOT even hotter then the 900MHz iBook I have.
4. The iBook's case is WAY more durable and forgiving than the PB (my friend's has 2 dings in it already)
5. I found almost no difference in everyday tasks between the two, Safari, iChat, Word, Excel. Things took an extra SECOND or TWO in Photoshop on the iBook.
6. The Painted Keys of the PB worried me I don't want them to wear off, also I don't notice the flexing on the iBook's keyboard as others have said they have make sure when you install the AirPort Card you get the antenna back under the lip of the memory cover and you'll be ok.

I found that for just a touch more the price of the entry level PB 12" i got my iBook 900 maxxed out with 640MB of RAM, an airport card and a 15 GB iPod!

I infact traded DOWN from a PB G4 15" to the iBook because I wanted something more durable and portable (sounds like you might want that for school). I now take my iBook everywhere and worry less about it than I did with my 15" PB.

Just my two cents... enjoy what ever you get!

MacBoyX
 
Originally posted by Dougnet99
Thanks! It seems a PB is the way to go... So, after WWDC, I'll get one.

Btw, in terms of external desktop - Apple needs to train their salespeople better (I was told that the 12" PB only supported mirroring, and mirroring had a max of 1024 x 768.
Click to expand...

The 12" PowerBook does indeed support extended desktop/spannig whatever you call it, I'm using it right now and it's great. HOWEVER it will not connect easily to an Apple Studio Display just so you know. Unlike the 15" and 17" it only has a standard VGA output. You can hook this to any LCD or CRT but to use it with an Apple Display you'll need to buy a very expensive adapter from Gefen. This adapter will run the Apple Displays at their native resolutions only, which is still very good. Also, the max resolution for the 12" is indeed 1024 x 768 for the onboard screen. However, it can support displays of much higher resolution using the VGA out. Hope that clears it up a little.
*edit: spelling*
 
Originally posted by MacBoyX
[B4. The iBook's case is WAY more durable and forgiving than the PB (my friend's has 2 dings in it already)[/B]
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I'm not sure if I agree 100% on that matter:

After only two weeks of being in my backpack, my iBook was full of small scratches and fingermarks really stood out.

Same situation, different computer: The very few scratches I've got on my PB just seem to rub off! I just wet my thumb, and rub the scratch, and it dissapears! Magic.

If you ever need to do anything that requires the processing power (PhotoShop, Final Cut, Maya) - go with the PowerBook.
 
Originally posted by wilhelmd
I'm not sure if I agree 100% on that matter:

After only two weeks of being in my backpack, my iBook was full of small scratches and fingermarks really stood out.

Same situation, different computer: The very few scratches I've got on my PB just seem to rub off! I just wet my thumb, and rub the scratch, and it dissapears! Magic.

If you ever need to do anything that requires the processing power (PhotoShop, Final Cut, Maya) - go with the PowerBook.
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wilhelmd,

I have been knocking mine around for weeks as well and as I have a few nicks, they were easily repaired with Ice Cream from RADTech.

Also, for Dougnet99....I doubt at a HS student you'd be doing much with Final Cut or Maya, and the fraction of a difference that the Alitvec in the G4 will make in MOST Photoshop tasks you will not miss...

As a student I doubt you will be taxing the 900MHz G3.

Just my thoughts...

MacBoyX
 
Get the 12" Powerbook since you said that money isn't a problem. ;) If price is a serious consideration, then get the 12" iBook. It should be fast enough for a high school student for 90% of the stuff you would do on a computer. If the slowness of 10% of your tasks would really bother you, then go with the PB, but only do so after WWDC.
 
Originally posted by MacBoyX
I infact traded DOWN from a PB G4 15" to the iBook because I wanted something more durable and portable (sounds like you might want that for school). I now take my iBook everywhere and worry less about it than I did with my 15" PB.
Click to expand...

I agree completely about the durability and portability, and worrying less... With my PB 15", i feel that i could never 'toss' it into a bag without seriously damaging it.

Funny, since my laptop has had sooo many problems even though it has never left the house, I've asked if there was a trade-in program. The Apple Store guy replied with "eBay -- thats where i sold all my PCs"
 
Originally posted by Dougnet99
I agree completely about the durability and portability, and worrying less... With my PB 15", i feel that i could never 'toss' it into a bag without seriously damaging it.

Funny, since my laptop has had sooo many problems even though it has never left the house, I've asked if there was a trade-in program. The Apple Store guy replied with "eBay -- thats where i sold all my PCs"
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LOL that's funny!

Seriously... give the iBook some consideration for what you're doing and get ur self some other cool Mac Stuff!
 
Originally posted by MacBoyX
LOL that's funny!

Seriously... give the iBook some consideration for what you're doing and get ur self some other cool Mac Stuff!
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yea - have any gadgets in mind? (Always looking for new Mac stuff... ;-) )
 
I would go for the 12" powerbook hands down!

I don't take macboyx seriosly when he comes with all that crap about the 12" powerbook.

My 12" powerbook felt much more rugged than the 12" ibook at the store.
The buttons on the 12" ibook felt loose, and it felt much more like a plastic toy.
I'm not saying that the ibook isn't rugged, but it just feels so much more "cheap" than the 12" powerbook.

My 12" is NOT so hot as macboyx wants it to be, actually the 12" ibook at the store was much warmer than my powerbook 12".

And macboyx, when your talking about painting, the ibook is just painted on the outside, so if you scratch the ibook, the paint will go off...On the 12" powerbook, it's painted from the inside to the outside.

The keyboard on the 12" powerbook is MUCH better than the one in the ibook.

Stop trying convince yourself that your ibook is better than the 12" powerbook, because it isn't!
 
Originally posted by dennis88
I would go for the 12" powerbook hands down!

I don't take macboyx seriosly when he comes with all that crap about the 12" powerbook.

My 12" powerbook felt much more rugged than the 12" ibook at the store.
The buttons on the 12" ibook felt loose, and it felt much more like a plastic toy.
I'm not saying that the ibook isn't rugged, but it just feels so much more "cheap" than the 12" powerbook.

My 12" is NOT so hot as macboyx wants it to be, actually the 12" ibook at the store was much warmer than my powerbook 12".

And macboyx, when your talking about painting, the ibook is just painted on the outside, so if you scratch the ibook, the paint will go off...On the 12" powerbook, it's painted from the inside to the outside.

The keyboard on the 12" powerbook is MUCH better than the one in the ibook.

Stop trying convince yourself that your ibook is better than the 12" powerbook, because it isn't!
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Dennis,

First of all these forums are not at all a place to be so agressive. I was simply giving Dougnet99 my OPINIONS on the two 12" Mac Notebooks.

Since you had to go there, my iBook IS NOT PAINTED IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM. The outside of my iBook is made of a white acylic material and is not painted. My worry about the PAINTED KEYBOARD on the PowerBook is not unfounded as the keys will get quite a work out.

I do think that my iBook is better than a 12" PowerBook for WHAT I NEED TO DO WITH IT. I didn't know we had to compare which machine is better than another...

The one thing I can say I have learned since I switched from PCs to Macs is to look at what I need to do before I decide what hardware to buy.

I will state for the record my OPINON once again...the 12" PB and 12" iBook are both awesome Macs, but for ME...the iBook was a better fit. If you need durability and you do NOT need the Alitvec of the G4, there is nothing wrong with an iBook.

I am glad you like your PowerBook, but you won't make me feel like I have an "inferior" Mac because I decided I really didn't need a G4.
 
Originally posted by Dougnet99
yea - have any gadgets in mind? (Always looking for new Mac stuff... ;-) )
Click to expand...

Dougnet99,

I highly recommend a 15GB iPod and my other favorite toy...my Canon PowerShot 230. Great Point and Click Camera!

MacBoyX
 
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