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Who bought an Alu Macbook to replace their 12" PB? I DID!

I had little choice as my beloved PB 12" took a dive on me last week. Yes, I could have paid to repair it and I might later as it was my first Mac, but like another poster said, the lighted keys was a huge draw for me. I frequently have to work in near dark conditions so it just all made sense.... and I WANTED ONE!!!!!!!!!!!! I got the 2.4 w/ 2 gig ram. I'm no power user.

I am curious though, I own a 23" Apple Cinema Display and it seems like the New Macbook has a different connector, am I going to be able to connect the two?
 
tony-in-japan said:
Okay, I would begin by giving my beloved 12" Powerbook my deepest gratitude for serving me majestically during these 4-and-a-half years of daily graft. No machine has ever given me such dependability and value, and, I guess, never will. There will always be a place in my heart for such a classic gem of a laptop.
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Sigh. I relate to the sentiment.

I did, however, also purchase a new MB as soon as the Store was stable enough to take my order. The machine is shipping from China and I'm slowly watching it make its away across the world on UPS.com. Hopefully (crosses fingers) I'll have the little-guy in my hands by 10/23.

I'm already reminiscing about the PowerBook G4. It was my first entry into the Apple world; it has stood by me through lots of computing drama and never ending projects.

Once I can part with the PB, I'll be putting it on ebay. Hopefully someone can put the firewire and non-glossy screen to some further use.
 
I love the illuminated keyboard. It was definitely a selling point for me, but I thought it was just an aesthetic thing. Now that I've used it, I don't know how I managed to get by without it! :D
 
BoingoBongo said:
I love the illuminated keyboard. It was definitely a selling point for me, but I thought it was just an aesthetic thing. Now that I've used it, I don't know how I managed to get by without it! :D
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I know how I didn't get by without it on my 12" PB...it didn't have black keys. I don't know how I would have lived without it on the new MB thoough...glad I got the 2.4ghz.
 
Hey, good thread fellow PB'ers.

I just picked up a new 2.4 MB to replace my 12" PB too. I've been wanting to upgrade for a while and the new MB seems like the logical replacement.

I don't think I can part with the PB - I'll keep it around the house. I'm sure I'll find some little things for it to do in it's retirement:)
 
tony-in-japan said:
I like the Air alot but the sacrifice of raw power, a SuperDrive and USB port for ultra-thin was not worth it to me. it is perfect for my wife as she wants easy portability, but the new MB is far superior and functional in my opinion. it just has a better balance of everything without making too many compromises.
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Yup. I just got the MB. MBA is on eBay.

As cool and as beautiful as it is, the MBA is one too many compromises vs. my faithful 1ghz 12" PB. The 2.4 MB is perfect.
 
My friend's getting one to replace his 4+ year old 12" PB this weekend. He's getting the 2.0, but will be upping the RAM and Hard drive to 4/320.

He's been patiently waiting as everyone around him (including his Wife) has gotten a plastic MacBook... :apple:

Now, he will pwn us all... :eek:
 
I couldn't resist any longer! I went and bought a 2.4Ghz MacBook to replace my 12" PowerBook today. As many of you have mentioned, I too have been waiting for a worthy successor to the 12" PowerBook. I think this is as close as it gets!

Many thanks tony-in-japan for your insight and for starting this thread. It helped in swinging my decision to purchase. :)

Here's a comparison pic

Here are more if anyone's interested.
 
Yepp, in a roundabout kinda way. Bought a MB to replace the PB - fail, a newer MB - fail, an Air which was kinda alright but filled 80GB drive. So bought the Alumibook. Like it in near every way except display super-gloss. Had display been as good as my Air, it would be perfect (so far...)
 
I've had my PB12 for 5 years now and love it. It has been the most dependable computer I've owned.. (alas, I do have fond memories of my original 128K Mac from 1984....). But, I, too, have decided that I will replace my PB with the new MB. I played with the MB at the Apple Store (at Suburban Square in Ardmore, PA) last weekend, and I was really impressed with it.

I think I'm going to exercise a little delayed gratification and wait until I see a sale (black Friday, perhaps ... or release day of 10.6. Yes, I have patience, since my dutiful PB is still serving me well). If all else fails, I'll head to the fair State of Delaware just down the road where there's a 6% sale every day (compared to the PA sales tax! Note to self: Avoid dark-colored, PA-license plated, American-made, 4-door sedans from the PA Department of Revenue Investigation Unit) or maybe combine them both!

When is Apple's next sale????? ;)
 
It technically replaced my 15" PB. Lighter, smaller, easier to use on planes, and I'm loving the speed. I thought my PB was "good enough". I was mistaken now that I'm using a newer model.
 
NC MacGuy said:
Yepp, in a roundabout kinda way. Bought a MB to replace the PB - fail, a newer MB - fail, an Air which was kinda alright but filled 80GB drive. So bought the Alumibook. Like it in near every way except display super-gloss. Had display been as good as my Air, it would be perfect (so far...)
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+1 on this.

I noticed that the Air has some kind of anti-reflective coating which makes the glossy more bearable. Still happy with the 2.4ghz AlBook.:D
 
Was going to replace my GF's 12inch with it but she needs firewire.

To bad the Air and the Macbook can't have pro features she needs a small laptop for her Photography.

The G4 is getting long in the tooth.... But it stills runs Leopard great, just takes a bit to boot up.
 
This is the true replacement for my 867 mhz 12" pb. I did buy a 15" macbook pro last year but I bought the new 2.4 MB the day after it was released. I was never really happy with the macbook pro but I am really loving the macbook. I do wish it had a better quality screen, though, and was slightly less glossy.

Edit: Right now a friend of mine in grad school is still using my ol' powerbook :D
 
after having the alu MB for a few days now i definitely miss the smaller footprint of the 12", but this thing is so blazingly fast in comparison.
 
Chaos123x said:
Was going to replace my GF's 12inch with it but she needs firewire.

To bad the Air and the Macbook can't have pro features she needs a small laptop for her Photography.

The G4 is getting long in the tooth.... But it stills runs Leopard great, just takes a bit to boot up.
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Does your GF shoot tethered? Otherwise, why would she need FW for photography? USB 2.0 isn't that much slower.
 
mcdj said:
Does your GF shoot tethered? Otherwise, why would she need FW for photography? USB 2.0 isn't that much slower.
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Well because the 12 inch only had USB 1.0 which is really slow, so all her stuff is firewire.

Not going repurchase of all her FW accessories in slower usb 2.0 versions either.


(Card Readers, Hard Drives, etc.)
 
Machine finally arrived!

Well, the MB finally arrived yesterday evening (9 days after ordering)! I have to say, I didn't expect to like it so much--my PB 12" and I have been attached at the hip for a good 4+ years. Yet, the minute I took the MB out of the box I was hooked. I put 4GB of RAM in the 2.4, and the system is beyond snappy even with oodles of programs running.

I am still trying to get comfortable with the trackpad. I've always used two hands on the PB trackpad. One hand to slide, the other to click. That set-up is a bit awkward with the one big 'ol button/pad, but I can see how it'll be second nature in no time flat.

The screen still gives me pause. Even now--dark outside, but with lights inside--the glare is really noticeable. I spent most of the day on the machine getting programs and files transfered. I eventually stopped noticing the screen, but it sure took awhile. If I could choose, I wouldn't ever choose glossy. Yet, perhaps, with further use I'll feel different.

The backlit keyboard is sweet.

Overall, for me, switching to the MB was a good move. I'm glad I waited as long as I did. It's not the 12", but it does feel and run like a really nice machine.
 
jessica. said:
I thought my PB was "good enough". I was mistaken now that I'm using a newer model.
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You don't miss what you don't have!! I can relate; when I started using the new MB I was shocked at the difference between the systems. I knew the PB was "slow," but I didn't realize how slow.
 
SO I'm in a similar situation. I have a final rev PB 12 that I got about three years ago, and I'm torn between the final BlackBook and the new MB13. I'm not into much video or photo stuff (mostly iPhoto and perhaps some super basic photoshop), but I do a fair amount of statistical work.

Any thoughts?
 
NateP said:
SO I'm in a similar situation. I have a final rev PB 12 that I got about three years ago, and I'm torn between the final BlackBook and the new MB13. I'm not into much video or photo stuff (mostly iPhoto and perhaps some super basic photoshop), but I do a fair amount of statistical work.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'd go for the MB13. Really. The new machine has slipped into my PB12's shoes without a hitch. It's lovely to use. I put 4G of RAM in mine and though I don't do stats, I run a number of language analysis programs that just fly on the MB13. I never realized how slow life was on the PB12. I rented one of the BlackBooks for my doctoral exams and though it was nice, I have found the MB13 much much elegant and speedy.

A spend a good deal of time writing on the machine, and I will tell you it has taken a bit to get use to the glossy screen. All in all, I am noticing it less and less. I haven't done any minor photo editing yet, but I suspect that for my purposes the color difference won't really matter too much.
 
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