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hansen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 12, 2004
158
0
Denmark
I'm considering buying a PB 12" and tried it out in an Apple Center.

1. All the things I tried worked great, except I couldn't find short cut key for manouvering between input boxes, combos and buttons. For instance when I pressed the option-F the finder windows showed. But I could only move focus by using the mouse. Is there a keyboard short cut to do this? For example to change search criteria from date modified to name contains...

2. The 12" PB has no pccard slot. Is that something I'm going to miss? It seems that everything I will ever need is included allready (wireless, BT, ethernet etc.)

3. Will the 12" screen suffice for "normal" use, such as email, browsing etc.

4. When using the PB, does it get hot to a point where it is bothering use? Im excepting to bring it with me everywhere.

5. Is it noisy? I really dislike fan noise.

Thanks
 

john1123

macrumors regular
Jan 26, 2005
246
0
Down Under
hansen said:
1. All the things I tried worked great, except I couldn't find short cut key for manouvering between input boxes, combos and buttons. For instance when I pressed the option-F the finder windows showed. But I could only move focus by using the mouse. Is there a keyboard short cut to do this? For example to change search criteria from date modified to name contains...

yes you can use the TAB key to navigate between input boxes. you have to turn on full keyboard access in the keyboard preferences.

hansen said:
2. The 12" PB has no pccard slot. Is that something I'm going to miss? It seems that everything I will ever need is included allready (wireless, BT, ethernet etc.)

PCMCIA slots can be used for all kinds of expansion cards. for example you can buy usb/firewire hubs, a card reader or one of those mini harddrives. but i don't think most people use it.

hansen said:
3. Will the 12" screen suffice for "normal" use, such as email, browsing etc.

I have a 12" ibook and the screen is big enough for what i do (browsing, email and so on) note that expose is very handy when working on a small screen :)

hansen said:
4. When using the PB, does it get hot to a point where it is bothering use? Im excepting to bring it with me everywhere.

i can't say for sure because i don't own one. i've heard a few people say that theirs gets very hot while others say it doesn't become uncomfortable.

hansen said:
5. Is it noisy? I really dislike fan noise.

my ibook's fan is out about 95% of the time. it only comes on when i do movie editing or have 5 or 6 apps running at the same time.
 

hansen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 12, 2004
158
0
Denmark
john1123 said:
my ibook's fan is out about 95% of the time. it only comes on when i do movie editing or have 5 or 6 apps running at the same time.

Is the iBook performing well for your daily use? I'm still not 100% sure if I should go for the iBook or PB
 

bubbamac

macrumors 6502
Dec 24, 2003
260
0
The big advantage for the PB, IMHO, is a much nicer screen. The resolution is higher, which means both better images, and more stuff on the screen. Of course, it's smaller too.

With the speed bumps in the iBooks, they're mighty attractive, especially if you're not going to be doing heavy Photoshop or movie editing.

I don't see a real big selling point for the 12" PB. The 15", which I have, rocks. You have no idea what the extra screen real estate can do for you until you use it.
 

hansen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 12, 2004
158
0
Denmark
bubbamac said:
The big advantage for the PB, IMHO, is a much nicer screen. The resolution is higher, which means both better images, and more stuff on the screen. Of course, it's smaller too.

With the speed bumps in the iBooks, they're mighty attractive, especially if you're not going to be doing heavy Photoshop or movie editing.

I don't see a real big selling point for the 12" PB. The 15", which I have, rocks. You have no idea what the extra screen real estate can do for you until you use it.

The screen on a 12" PB is much better than on a 12" iBook?

The bigger screen comes with a bigger computer and takes away from the portability in my opinion. I really want this laptop to available in all kinds of situations. I would like to use it lying in my bed or kicking back in the coach, on a small coffee table in a garden or a cafe etc. Also 15" PB is to expensive so I would have to go with the 14" iBook
 

iGary

Guest
May 26, 2004
19,580
7
Randy's House
I use my 12" iBook for just what you've stated.

The only time I miss the extra screen real estate is when I have to do some image editing on a shoot....otherwise it's great for e-mail, web, music etc. :D
 

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Sep 3, 2003
5,124
3
North Carolina
I have a 14-inch 1.3 Ghz iBook which I've compared directly with my wife's 1.5 Ghz 15-inch Powerbook. I have to say I like the iBook better. The only thing the Powerbook does better is graphics-intensive stuff and games (b/c of the video card). I wouldn't like the tiny 12-inch screen, but many people swear by it. My 14-incher has the same pixel resolution as the 12-incher and the screen size is adequate for everything I use it for. If I did more professional apps: dreamweaver, photoshop, quark, indesign, I think I'd need a larger screen. But for what I do (surfing, writing, iPhoto), it's just fine.
 

john1123

macrumors regular
Jan 26, 2005
246
0
Down Under
my ibook G3 900Mhz is fast enough for me. i am usually running itunes, graphics converter, Firefox, Mail, Limewire, Office and seldom have slow downs. Make sure to get as much ram as you can though. The only thing you can't do with ibooks is graphic intensive stuff.

The screen on the 12" ibook has the same resolution as the 12" PB screen but the PB one is apparently brighter...
 

ravenvii

macrumors 604
Mar 17, 2004
7,585
492
Melenkurion Skyweir
I have the 900 MHz G3 iBook, and it works great for most of the stuff I do. The newer G4 iBooks should be much better. The iBooks are a much better deal than the PowerBooks. If you need the graphics capabilities of the GeForce 5200 (which isn't a good card anyway, but still better than the 9200 that the iBooks have), get the PowerBook. Otherwise, a iBook will do you just fine. It's more rugged too, so you won't have to baby it as much!
 

hansen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 12, 2004
158
0
Denmark
Thanks for sharing guys! Really appreciated!

I really like to form factor of the iBook and it seems less sensitive to (ab)use.

However, if I want DVD burning I have to go for the largest iBook and then the price is about the same as a PB 12" for a slower machine. Well I guess one could weigh pros and cons forever on these things...

I guess the best way is to toss a coin and choose the model I'm hoping the coin will decide (and not look at the coin)
 

mcgarry

macrumors 6502a
Oct 19, 2004
616
0
I see the spectre of iBook ruggedness making another appearance ... I don't want to re-live this thread, but it addresses this issue well. In sum, we can't say whether or how the iBook really is any more rugged than a PB in practice. I'm NOT saying don't get the iBook, if it suits you, but I'm just suggesting that we not pile on questionable reasons to do so. The real reasons to get an iBook over a PowerBook are, of course, to save money, and if you prefer the looks. Get a PowerBook if you want/need/can afford the extra speed and features.
 

mcgarry

macrumors 6502a
Oct 19, 2004
616
0
hansen said:
...
However, if I want DVD burning I have to go for the largest iBook and then the price is about the same as a PB 12" for a slower machine. Well I guess one could weigh pros and cons forever on these things...
...

If you are specifically interested in this comparison, this thread might be helpful too.
 

deebster

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2004
276
0
Olde Englande
hansen said:
...if I want DVD burning I have to go for the largest iBook and then the price is about the same as a PB 12" for a slower machine...

You could always get an external DVD burner in a firewire box (either a real external one or a home-made internal-in-box job) and use that with a 12" iBook.

Then you would be able to get a faster burner that could handle dual layer DVD's, and be safe in the knowledge that should it die or you want to upgrade you are not forced to either open up your iBook or pay big money for a technician to work on it.

iDVD '05 will allow you to save your DVD as an image, to be later burned on another Mac or an external burner.

And another benefit is that the external would take some of the strain away from using your internal all the time, hopefully prolonging its life. I wore out my iBook's internal combo drive and had to bite the bullet and open it up myself to fit a replacement. Not impossible, but a bit scary, and of course best done after your warranty expires, since it is a modification that will void your Apple warranty.
 
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