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Powerbook 15.4" Details?

Re: Bad design change

Originally posted by stewartv
I hope they don't redesign the hinge...all the cords coming out both sides is LAME!!!
Click to expand...
It's pretty much a given that the hinge is going to be changed. I know that aesthetically it is not cool to have the wires on the side. But this is not a desktop, and for access it is way better to have the sockets on the side. You are supposed to carry a laptop around (at least be able to) and having the ports at the back is NOT convenient. Besides, wires or no wires, those machines are still beautiful.

NicoMan
 
Re: Re: Powerbook 15.4

Originally posted by iAndy
[/SIZE] OK call me a cynic folks, but the Macnews.net.tc item contained absolutely NOTHING that hasn't been discussed to death on this board a thousand times already. The one newsworthy thing that they might have contributed was an approximate date/guesstimate for the new release of the PB15.4, but instead they resorted to the lame title "Soon:powerbooks". Great reporting Macnews.net.tc, now I know why I never bothered bookmarking your website...
Click to expand...
Exactly. There is another thread (6 pages long) called '15.4 inch Powerbooks' where all this has been discussed extensively. For all I know that 'rumour' site could have been spitting back what is on that thread. What is the point?...

NicoMan
 
Re: Bad design change

Originally posted by stewartv
I hope they don't redesign the hinge...all the cords coming out both sides is LAME!!!
Click to expand...
I have a Powerbook with everything on the back, and I don't like it. The power entry is easy accessable, but the others are not. Ever tried to unplug the network while the powerbook is opened? It is almost not possible. And plugging in a mouse or something is always "searching in the dark" for the correct hole. I wished the slots are on the side for my pbook. But not on the right, on the left since I'm right handed and the connectors would be in my way indeed if they are on the right.
 
Decision

G'day everyone

Here goes my first post. I have a decision to make on a laptop.

I currently use Photoshop, Illustrator, Deamweaver
about 30-40% of the time on old faithful PM G3 MiniTower 300MHz.
Other software, Entourage, IE, Word, FileMaker etc.

I originally considered purchasing a desktop and the laptop
later on as I need the portability for customer visits.

But thought I should go with the laptop now,
while waiting for the 970 desktop units.

I cannot afford the PB 17" so that leaves me the PB 12"
and upcoming PB15.4" and the iBook line.

The laptop will be used with a VGA monitor now, and a
flat screen later on.

What issues would I run into with the video card?

Which laptop configuration do you see as best
for my needs?

A friend told me that i should wait for the G4 iBooks
as they will have a better price.


Appreciate your comments and advice.

Raymond
 
Re: Decision

Originally posted by recon
G'day everyone

Here goes my first post. I have a decision to make on a laptop.

...

I originally considered purchasing a desktop and the laptop
later on as I need the portability for customer visits.
Click to expand...

One slightly off-topic post deserves another. In future posts, let the text flow on its own - you don't have to hit return every time the line you are typing reaches the far side of the text box. I don't understand why people don't realize this; I find it terribly annoying.
 
Re: Decision

Originally posted by recon
But thought I should go with the laptop now,
while waiting for the 970 desktop units.
Click to expand...
Well as much as I would like to see a 970 on my desk (or under it...) right now, I think we are still a long way away from seeing these at reasonable prices in a Mac. Especially if you are using those Photshop, etc... apps intensively and make a living out of it, get yourself a power mac dual 1.25 or something. They are fast (especially compared to your old comp), reliable, and available NOW. That is a good year of productive use before the 970 become a viable option (if ever). Now for the laptop... I don't know what sort of use you want to make of it. And you can always buy it later.

Besides, if you buy a PowerMac with a 20" Apple or Formac screen, you can always resell the mac in a year's time for a 50% (or less) loss or so and get yourself the new 970, if you really can't live without its extra oomph, when it comes out to use with your beautiful 20"...

NicoMan
 
Re: Re: Decision

Originally posted by jg3


One slightly off-topic post deserves another. In future posts, let the text flow on its own - you don't have to hit return every time the line you are typing reaches the far side of the text box. I don't understand why people don't realize this; I find it terribly annoying.
Click to expand...

Agreed. But chill, it is his first post...

NicoMan
 
Originally posted by jg3

One slightly off-topic post deserves another. In future posts, let the text flow on its own - you don't have to hit return every time the line you are typing reaches the far side of the text box. I don't understand why people don't realize this; I find it terribly annoying.
____________________________________________________

Odd that some people find it necessary to critique writing styles. Being a "newbie"myself, I had not realized that strict protocols had to be adhered to in these regards. I like to browse these posts for their information and advice, not for style and tips on grammatical structure.

These sites will continue to flourish as long as "newbies" like us can participate without having to be "shot down" on moog points. Unless of course, the "established" crowd would rather keep it exclusive. As a newbie, I am still learning the ropes as I am not very well versed with the internet and all the "options" for scripting. I will do better!.....promise.

Mike.
 
Re: Decision

Originally posted by recon
The laptop will be used with a VGA monitor now, and a flat screen later on.What issues would I run into with the video card?

Which laptop configuration do you see as best
for my needs?
Click to expand...


welcome! i own a tibook 1ghz, Superdrive. VGA monitor connect to the DVI port via an adapter privoded by Apple. No worries there. The current TiBook has the raedon9000M in it, which has been excellent for me.

basically, your choice is FW800/AirPort Xtreme vs. OS9. IF you need OS9, buy now. Remember that scanner and printer support is better in OS9 than OSX in many respects.
 
Re: Re: Bad design change

Originally posted by backspinner

I have a Powerbook with everything on the back, and I don't like it. The power entry is easy accessable, but the others are not. Ever tried to unplug the network while the powerbook is opened? It is almost not possible. And plugging in a mouse or something is always "searching in the dark" for the correct hole. I wished the slots are on the side for my pbook. But not on the right, on the left since I'm right handed and the connectors would be in my way indeed if they are on the right.
Click to expand...

I have a Ti800 and I have no problems accessing the ports on the back. If you look through the gap under the display while hooking up mice and such you can see the icons on the back plate. That is usually what I use to guide me when I hook up my wired devices.


I just want a slightly better video card and a superdrive. I don't need airport extreme right now. firewire 800 sounds nice.. but I wouldn't be able to afford to buy any new firewire devices llike that right now anyway.
 
Re: Decision

Originally posted by recon
G'day everyone

Here goes my first post. I have a decision to make on a laptop.

I currently use Photoshop, Illustrator, Deamweaver
about 30-40% of the time on old faithful PM G3 MiniTower 300MHz.
Other software, Entourage, IE, Word, FileMaker etc.

I originally considered purchasing a desktop and the laptop
later on as I need the portability for customer visits.

But thought I should go with the laptop now,
while waiting for the 970 desktop units.

I cannot afford the PB 17" so that leaves me the PB 12"
and upcoming PB15.4" and the iBook line.

The laptop will be used with a VGA monitor now, and a
flat screen later on.

The 12" laptop cant attach to any apple display at the moment. It has no dvi support. You would have to purchase a different brand of flat panel monitor. Also, if you are doing design work, I wouldn't go with such a small monitor. As you know, you will need space for your tools. You'll be scrolling around too much. That's my take on it as a designer.



What issues would I run into with the video card?

Which laptop configuration do you see as best
for my needs?

A friend told me that i should wait for the G4 iBooks
as they will have a better price.


Appreciate your comments and advice.

Raymond
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by Mattski
This update has to happen. Who would buy a 15" at the moment???
Click to expand...

I would for one.
1) It has all I need and it runs OS 9 (nostalgia).
2) The DDR is pointless since the FSB is still 133.
3) Airport Extreme does nothing for me since I"ve got a 802.11b hub (D-Link) and even if I could get 54Mbps it is pointless since Cable/DSL is only 10Mbit anyway (802.11b is 11Mbit).
4) It's 1GHz which is the same as the 3300 17"
5) It has a DVDR/CDRW (same as others)
6) If you go to Toms Hardware you'll see a comparison of the ATI 9000 vs the nVidia Geforce 440 Go (the nVidia gets its as kicked). If the new one had a Geforce 460 Go I'd consider it but as it stands the video is a downgrade.
7) I'm sure there are more but it's early...
 
The reason I'm waiting (for either 17" availability, or the new 15") is mainly due to the materials and the illuminated keyboard.

I could probably do without the illuminated keyboard, but I don't believe I could live with the poor WiFi range of the TiBook. Not to mention the complaints about the paint flaking...
 
Re: Re: Re: Bad design change

Originally posted by ChoMomma


[...]

I just want a slightly better video card and a superdrive. I don't need airport extreme right now. firewire 800 sounds nice.. but I wouldn't be able to afford to buy any new firewire devices llike that right now anyway.
Click to expand...

I wonder how much of a difference it will make that
the new PowerBook has a ATA/100 disk. Well, I am
assuming the new model has it.
 
Re: AlBooks, new iMacs do not boot OS 9

Originally posted by AidenShaw
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86209

The following is a list of Macintosh computer models released by Apple that only start up in Mac OS X.

PowerBook (12-inch)
PowerBook (17-inch)
Power Mac G4 (FW 800)
iMac (Flat Panel) serial number xx305xxxxxx or later
iMac (17-inch 1 GHz)
Click to expand...

This should be in the FAQ.
 
15.4 or 17

Curious, I will use Powerbook at home and use in kitchen or on couch occasionally....does anyone think that the 17 inch will be too big for occassional use on couch...better to wait for 15...price of both is high, but with ceratin deals out there right now (like Amazon $200 coupon and no sales tax, 17 is about same price as 15 Ti 1 ghz (I am assuming that if you bought 15 at Apple Store and had to pay tax)????quandry? go for 17 or will 15.4 be enough and more portable?
 
Interesting:

For what its worth, our campus store just dropped the price of the 15" Superdrive TiBook to $2479.00 yesterday. It had been sitting at $2599.00 since the announcement of the 12" and 17" PB in January. In the past, price drops from our campus store have reliably preceeded new models...1-2 weeks.

That being said, I would still be surprised at new 15" PB until the 17" starts shipping end of March/early April.
 
This is all quite interesting. I'm sure there are many potential configurations that can be sold, and much is hinging on the 17" PowerBook and when those puppies finally do ship.

If that is indeed the case, I would suspect that Mid-March to April to be a good timeframe for an update to the 15" PowerBook. At the moment I don't think it will entail much price shuffling and you'll see the current price points of $2299 and $2799. Ideally we'd see a reduction to $2199 and $2699, but to justify the 17" (if the 15" gest the 17"s specs) Apple would have to lower the price accordingly.

Maybe Apple will surprise us and release 15.4" PowerBook at $2199 and $2699 and we'll see the 17" drop to $3099. I'm skeptical, but I think this year is going to break a lot of "Apple traditions".
 
Originally posted by mdeschenes
Odd that some people find it necessary to critique writing styles. Being a "newbie"myself, I had not realized that strict protocols had to be adhered to in these regards. I like to browse these posts for their information and advice, not for style and tips on grammatical structure.

These sites will continue to flourish as long as "newbies" like us can participate without having to be "shot down" on moog points. Unless of course, the "established" crowd would rather keep it exclusive. As a newbie, I am still learning the ropes as I am not very well versed with the internet and all the "options" for scripting. I will do better!.....promise.

Mike.
Click to expand...

Hey, just be thankful you didn't have to go through the "trial by fire" that the rest of us had to go through when Alphatech roamed these boards. He was merciless with newbies.

As for you and your faux pas, don't worry about it. Welcome to MR, enjoy your stay, and don't forget to buy a mug.

I'd love a 15.4" aluminum PB, but I won't give up my 1gig tibook until something really special comes along, or some new peripheral comes along that requires the FW800.
 
Originally posted by MacBandit


Actually Apple backed off on that and said that some of them would be able to boot into OS9 but the absolute cut off would be July.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. As I said in my original post, and I quote, "Apple has said -- repeatedly -- that all new Macs introduced this year will boot in OS X *ONLY*."

The only Macs that can continue to boot into OS 9 are the ones introduced **LAST YEAR**. In the Power Mac line, that's the "other" 1.25 dualie.
 
Originally posted by claughery
What school do you go to? and when exactly did they lower the prices???
Click to expand...

Harvard. They dropped the price Feb. 11th. Interestingly, the only price change was for the 1Ghz superdrive 15"; the price for the 867mhz 15" tibook was unchanged at $1899.00 (which it has been at since late December 2002)
 
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