Should I buy a 12" Powerbook?

[student_trap]

Zioxide is correct. Snow Leopard (10.6) won't support non intel processors. iLife 2009 already doesn't fully install on non intel. I think iMovie is incompatible. So it doesn't make any sense for most people to spend real money on a non-intel machine.

If you know what you are getting into, have another machine that is more modern, and can find a pre intel at a very cheap price, then it may make sense for some people.

I look at computers as a swiss army knife, though. I want 1 that does it all. Having one computer for email, one for video, one for music... etc. is more trouble than it is worth for most people.

fair enough for you, but the OP wanted a computer for light surfing on the sofa in addition to their main imac.

However, to say that...

'buying anything powerpc is just a waste of money now'

...is absolute tripe. Almost nobody needs the latest and greatest, and in particular when buying macs, it is their longevity that is often particularly applealing.

Please don't anyone fall into the trap of thinking that you need a super computer for emailing on the sofa

 

[emaja]

'buying anything powerpc is just a waste of money now'

...is absolute tripe. Almost nobody needs the latest and greatest, and in particular when buying macs, it is their longevity that is often particularly applealing.

Considering you could buy a MacBook for $600-ish - including AppleCare - on eBay, it is not a waste to spend for few more bucks for something that is not 4+ years old and outdated when it comes to any further updates.

 

[rikers_mailbox]

I lug my 12" 1.33Ghz between work and home.. use it every day for web, email, word processing, and X11 remote login to UNIX systems. It works amazingly well for being 5+ yrs old. I maxed out RAM and installed a 120GB hard drive. Running Tiger.

For the more intensive tasks I use a MacMini at home, or an octoMac (not to be confused with octomom) at work.

 

[clyde2801]

I lug my 12" 1.33Ghz between work and home.. use it every day for web, email, word processing, and X11 remote login to UNIX systems. It works amazingly well for being 5+ yrs old. I maxed out RAM and installed a 120GB hard drive. Running Tiger.

For the more intensive tasks I use a MacMini at home, or an octoMac (not to be confused with octomom) at work.

If an octoMac spit out eight mac minis, I would buy one..

 

[student_trap]

Considering you could buy a MacBook for $600-ish - including AppleCare - on eBay, it is not a waste to spend for few more bucks for something that is not 4+ years old and outdated when it comes to any further updates.

I do not dispute this, but instead the blind attitude that anything that isn't contemporary is to be disregarded. for example:

'i used a ibook g4 (1.33ghz, 1.5gb ram) recently and it's slow as ****.. they sometimes even struggle playing youtube videos'

(this statement is untrue, my similar powerbook had only 512 ram and was fine on youtube)

'...why would you ever pay money for that?'

and again

'G4 is dead technology'

without more reasoning, these comments are either misleading or downright not true. No, a G4 is not going to be the best thing for you if watching HD movies or doing heavy video work are your priorities, but it will work excellently and dilligently at most day to day tasks, and it will do it all for not much money too.

It has to be remembered that we are in the buying tips, advice and discussion forum, where many people with very little knowledge about macs come looking for help. In the PC world, four year old computers can often represent the 'waste' of money that has been mentioned in this thread, and by contrast my friends are amazed by the usability and indeed reliability of older macs. As such it is for these people who have little experience with older macs, that my (now laboured) point is directed.

Please do not dismiss the older macs as some in this thread have done. Often they can repersent fantastic value for money.

 

[emaja]

Please do not dismiss the older macs as some in this thread have done. Often they can repersent fantastic value for money.

Agreed. I just think that a previous gen MB represents a better long term value. It is easy for me to spend someone else's money though. I guess it all comes down to what you expect and how long you expect this PB to last.

 

[erikistired]

i really regret getting rid of my 12" g4 powerbook when i got my macbook pro. it would still do 90% of what i do (okay maybe 75%) and is much more portable. i'll probably end up with a regular macbook next, but even that isn't the same.

 

[dacreativeguy]

fair enough for you, but the OP wanted a computer for light surfing on the sofa in addition to their main imac.

However, to say that...

'buying anything powerpc is just a waste of money now'

...is absolute tripe. Almost nobody needs the latest and greatest, and in particular when buying macs, it is their longevity that is often particularly applealing.

Please don't anyone fall into the trap of thinking that you need a super computer for emailing on the sofa

I never said that a non-intel processor won't work at all. I did say that you have to know what you are getting into, because it is an obsolete product with no upgrade path. But most people don't know what they are getting into.

Those people think only about today and buy products solely on price. Pre-intel Macs are currently very cheap and very attractive because the people selling them know that they are obsolete and are trying to dump them while they still have some value. I just unloaded an old G5 Power Mac last week to someone anxious to gobble it up.

Once Snow Leopard comes out, their value will significantly decrease because people DO WANT THE LATEST AND GREATEST. They just aren't willing to pay for it and think they are getting a deal by purchasing an older machine and upgrading the OS. But once Apple has officially announced that Snow Leopard won't support these machines, they won't be so desirable anymore. I guess that would be the best time to buy if you are really looking for basic task machine and don't care about future upgrades.