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Why are Powerbooks still sought after?
- Thread starter Mo Tiggas
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I've had my 12" PB for 3.5 years and it's still going strong. My fiancee and mom both have Blackbooks, but while I do enjoy the speed of the MB there is something to be said for the 12" pb keyboard (which I love) and the matte screen (this is not an attempt to start a matte v. glossy argument). The feel of the 12" PB is so much sturdier than the macbooks, and it really is ultra-portable and has everything I need. I will be very sad when this little guy goes kaput, but he's still holding on strong.
12" was my favorite computer ever. Period. I'm so sad I sold it when I got a new Macbook pro.
To me, it was perfect size (though needed higher screen resolution) and they keyboard on mine felt fantastic.
Maybe also because this was my first mac.
My question is, is why is the Powerbook 150 not sought after anymore? Back when I had it, it was my ultimate companion...*sigh* the beautiful green plastic and the track ball. I love the (8?) inch screen, with a very bad resolution, and man was Mac Os 7 the best Operating System ever or what? 
p)
Sad thing is, is I really wish I still had it...
p)Sad thing is, is I really wish I still had it...
because its like the perfect package... mine is 4 years old and gets more use sittning on the coffee table then the new 20" iMac in the study.....
It seems like there is always someone using the powerbook g4 12"
The only thing that i upgraded was the HD and moved it to Leaopard which works PERFECT.
See the PowerBook G4 just works... plain and simple.. no muss no fuss and no issuses. It just keeps on going... and in my house I can assure you that if there were any quality issues or hardware bugs we would have found it !!!
It seems like there is always someone using the powerbook g4 12"
The only thing that i upgraded was the HD and moved it to Leaopard which works PERFECT.
See the PowerBook G4 just works... plain and simple.. no muss no fuss and no issuses. It just keeps on going... and in my house I can assure you that if there were any quality issues or hardware bugs we would have found it !!!
i disagree.
the titanium g4 was the best. i still have mine. apple products of late have witnessed a little slump in their QC. maybe it's just me, but i think the older macs were much better built.
This thread is a great epitaph for the PB 12" - yet the PB12 is not dead, and thus, the fact that this relatively long thread exists itself speaks well of the product.
I'm guessing there are many current and former PB 12" owners who were not happy with the MacBook Air and would gladly put down money for something more PB12-esq. Hey PB12 owners/former-owners - what is your mac dream machine?
I'm guessing there are many current and former PB 12" owners who were not happy with the MacBook Air and would gladly put down money for something more PB12-esq. Hey PB12 owners/former-owners - what is your mac dream machine?
PB 12" with a bit higher resolution. Throw in some dual core tech and I'll buy 2 just so apple sees them leave the shelves fast!
12 inch is Iconic
I have owned Macs since the late 1980's and the 12 in PB and the 15 inch TI-PBG4 have been my favorites. Apple is missing out on TONS of revenue by not updating the 12 inch. A 12 inch with 15 inch baseline MBP specs would absolutely fly off the shelves. There is something to be said for a machine that just works! That is what you have in the Powerbooks of all levels and that is why they are being used years later.
I have owned Macs since the late 1980's and the 12 in PB and the 15 inch TI-PBG4 have been my favorites. Apple is missing out on TONS of revenue by not updating the 12 inch. A 12 inch with 15 inch baseline MBP specs would absolutely fly off the shelves. There is something to be said for a machine that just works! That is what you have in the Powerbooks of all levels and that is why they are being used years later.
I bought a new Black MacBook to replace my 4.5 year old 12" PB but I refuse to sell it on eBay, it is such a fine machine and over the years we share many memories. I'll keep it as an internet tablet for the time being, it still runs Firefox as fast as any other!
Why the 12" PB? It just looks good and performs so well for it's size. It still turns heads, maybe more so now there are not so many. A definite future classic.
Why the 12" PB? It just looks good and performs so well for it's size. It still turns heads, maybe more so now there are not so many. A definite future classic.
I've posted in this thread before, but it's such a fine machine. The combo of that compact 12"er plus a powerful desktop is fantastic. When the PB dies I wouldn't really know what to do. The Air is great but expensive (although I have no problems with its other limitations), and I just don't like the MacBook design.
The 12" PowerBook made the right tradeoffs for people who use their computers for work.
Only a notch behind the high-end PowerBooks, with a solid feel but a very low travel weight. Not like the kiddie-computer MacBook or the fashion-statement Air. I bought the first rev, replaced that with the final, and now I just don't know what to do. Seriously, Apple, would it have been that hard to put in a new screen and an Intel chip?
Only a notch behind the high-end PowerBooks, with a solid feel but a very low travel weight. Not like the kiddie-computer MacBook or the fashion-statement Air. I bought the first rev, replaced that with the final, and now I just don't know what to do. Seriously, Apple, would it have been that hard to put in a new screen and an Intel chip?
This thread almost made me cry because I just bought a new MBP 15" and I absolutely LOVE it for photography... but.. *sniffle*... I'm gonna miss my PB12... in fact, I went in my room, opened it up, and now I'm typing my post from it. For money reasons I have to sell this little guy but I am really going to miss it! It was my FIRST Apple and I have fallen in love completely! I just hope that it will make someone else as happy as it has made me :-(
Julie
Julie
Guys, you can upgrade your old PB 12" to 1.67ghz or higher. Daystar. No I don't work for them. If I didn't own a 1.5ghz 12" PB, I would consider the upgrade. I recently sold my 1.5ghz last revision ppc mini and replaced it with my 1.5ghz last rev. 12" Powerbook running a 23" ACD. (PB actually takes more ram than the PPC mini, and i actually see the difference).
If there was a way to cram more ram into this PB, I would jump on it like white on rice. I just wish they made a faster ATA IDE hard drive than the 100gb 7200 rpm Hitachi. (I may downgrade a bit in speed for the 250gb 5400 Western Digital). But if you have a powerbook 12' definitely max out the ram and get the fastest hard drive possible. Mine is running Leopard no problems.
Yeah, and i just MIGHT go for a 2.0 ghz jump in CPU speed when Applecare on my PB 12 runs out -- in August 2009. It may run hot, but I've got a aluminum cool pad on it.
If there was a way to cram more ram into this PB, I would jump on it like white on rice. I just wish they made a faster ATA IDE hard drive than the 100gb 7200 rpm Hitachi. (I may downgrade a bit in speed for the 250gb 5400 Western Digital). But if you have a powerbook 12' definitely max out the ram and get the fastest hard drive possible. Mine is running Leopard no problems.
Yeah, and i just MIGHT go for a 2.0 ghz jump in CPU speed when Applecare on my PB 12 runs out -- in August 2009. It may run hot, but I've got a aluminum cool pad on it.
My 12" upped and died recently. I've replaced it with a 15" Pro, but it just isn't as charming as Little Boy. At one stage I had Little Boy alongside a 17" Vaio desktop replacement, which I called Fat Man Cheesy, but I loved the size and look of the smaller one.
Cheesy, but I loved the size and look of the smaller one.Simply put: It is the best laptop Apple ever made.
I must admit that I am surprised myself that after 4+ years of use, I am still using my beloved 12" Powerbook for 10+ hours each day with no compelling product that has been released within that extremely long time (for the technology industry) to entice me to upgrade. The release of the Macbook Air has been the closest to compel me to even contemplate upgrading, but I would still have to make some great compromises if I were to upgrade at this time. Would an upgrade that required compromises be an upgrade at all?
Here is a list of the wonderful aspect of the 12" Powerbook:
The design is a classic (Question: is it the longest running design Apple has used in a product line?)
It is very well made (the model I own was assembled in Taiwan. Are current Apple laptops made in China and do mac-users think QC has gone down during the past few years?)
The keyboard is fantastic to type on (much prefer it to the chicklet keyboard on the MBA with gaps between the keys!)
It is the most compact laptop Apple has ever made but with connectivity of a pro machine (e.g. to connect to cinema display dual screen which the older iBook at that time couldnt do)
Although the G4 chip is now dated, it is still powerful enough for general tasks (email/internet/word-processing/movies/music/etc) and even professional work (I do Adobe Creative Suite work on it each day)
My 12" PB may not have the stealthy-lines of the Macbook Air, or the raw horse-power of the intel Macbooks/Macbook Pros but she has that timeless quality from a period where the latest technology was beautifully compacted into a classic design that was well-built and, most importantly, gave the user a wonderful experience while using it -- it made work a pleasure, and still does. And even now when I look at it, I sometimes marvel at the small details and the amount of considered thought that had been put into designing it. Plus she is like a trusty old dog who never dies!
I must admit that I am surprised myself that after 4+ years of use, I am still using my beloved 12" Powerbook for 10+ hours each day with no compelling product that has been released within that extremely long time (for the technology industry) to entice me to upgrade. The release of the Macbook Air has been the closest to compel me to even contemplate upgrading, but I would still have to make some great compromises if I were to upgrade at this time. Would an upgrade that required compromises be an upgrade at all?
Here is a list of the wonderful aspect of the 12" Powerbook:
The design is a classic (Question: is it the longest running design Apple has used in a product line?)
It is very well made (the model I own was assembled in Taiwan. Are current Apple laptops made in China and do mac-users think QC has gone down during the past few years?)
The keyboard is fantastic to type on (much prefer it to the chicklet keyboard on the MBA with gaps between the keys!)
It is the most compact laptop Apple has ever made but with connectivity of a pro machine (e.g. to connect to cinema display dual screen which the older iBook at that time couldnt do)
Although the G4 chip is now dated, it is still powerful enough for general tasks (email/internet/word-processing/movies/music/etc) and even professional work (I do Adobe Creative Suite work on it each day)
My 12" PB may not have the stealthy-lines of the Macbook Air, or the raw horse-power of the intel Macbooks/Macbook Pros but she has that timeless quality from a period where the latest technology was beautifully compacted into a classic design that was well-built and, most importantly, gave the user a wonderful experience while using it -- it made work a pleasure, and still does. And even now when I look at it, I sometimes marvel at the small details and the amount of considered thought that had been put into designing it. Plus she is like a trusty old dog who never dies!
I believe that the 15" alu PowerBook already existed when the 12" and 17" were introduced. But yes it has been standing for quite a while!
Well, I've had a fair share of quality problems with my 12" PowerBook, but I don't have a more recent laptop, so I can't compare it. I guess I had bad luck.
I remember that when the 12+17 were introduced, the 15 inch was still a Ti. For a while at least.
it just does what I need it to do and at the perfect size with great battery life. safari, word, stickies and mail...
I love my PB12, too. Wrote my dissertation on it, so got to know it really well. Beautiful machine that I subsequently hacked a 1400x1050 screen into and a 256gb SSD.
At the end of the day, though, I'm glad I moved on to a 13" Air. The PB is so heavy by comparison--and I recall marveling at its weight ten years ago. How our expectations change.
My PB still lives on, though! It runs cron jobs for a side business 24/7. 507 days of uptime (but just recently had to reboot--doh).
Yeeha!
Here's a thread I've looked at a few times, and have wanted to give my two cents. Now that someone else actually resurrected the thread, I will.
I've had a 12" in three episodes.
First, was a friend who went trekking in India, and left me to take care of his 12" for the 20 weeks he was away. That was in the midst of my darkest wintel-period (2001-2006) and while there was no way I could have afforded a 12" PB (I also had a lot of wintel-only software to run, and emulation is such a b**ch), but it rekindled the love, and created a strong desire to someday...
Second, was after I had already returned into the world of intel macs. I was offered a used 12" for a decent price and went for it. Sadly, one of the heat sink screw sockets was broken (I found out too late) and the machine suffered heat stroke. I unloaded it along with 7 other computers in an attempt to simplify my computing landscape (focus on intel macs running parallels and bootcamp)
Third was quite recently. I found a 12" in pristine condition on a local forum. I even spruced it up using an SSD (man! The utter silence of that machine was stunning - but it made the fan spin up even worse). As my mother-in-law suddenly needed a machine, I gave it away.
Why is the 12" perfect? Well, honestly it is not. It's quite thick and comparatively heavy. The heat it produces and it's battery life is not the greatest either. And for me, the 1,5 Ghz G4 (and ram limitation) is not snappy enough (I'm impatient).
But the machine is so utterly lovable. It's form factor and ergonomics is perfect, and I love the 4:3 screen. If someone could offer me a 12"PB chassis containing a C2D (even a low-end would do), with a SATA SSD, 4 gigs of ram, a modern trackpad and 4 hour battery life, I'd be in seventh heaven.
IMHO, the 13" MBP is the rig which comes closest* to the bliss-point which the 12" hit (especially in the early 00's) spot on.
RGDS,
* I have the feeling, that the 13" rMBP might actually be even better, but I haven't had the chance to get up-close and personal with one yet (fondling one at an apple retailer does not count)
Here's a thread I've looked at a few times, and have wanted to give my two cents. Now that someone else actually resurrected the thread, I will.
I've had a 12" in three episodes.
First, was a friend who went trekking in India, and left me to take care of his 12" for the 20 weeks he was away. That was in the midst of my darkest wintel-period (2001-2006) and while there was no way I could have afforded a 12" PB (I also had a lot of wintel-only software to run, and emulation is such a b**ch), but it rekindled the love, and created a strong desire to someday...
Second, was after I had already returned into the world of intel macs. I was offered a used 12" for a decent price and went for it. Sadly, one of the heat sink screw sockets was broken (I found out too late) and the machine suffered heat stroke. I unloaded it along with 7 other computers in an attempt to simplify my computing landscape (focus on intel macs running parallels and bootcamp)
Third was quite recently. I found a 12" in pristine condition on a local forum. I even spruced it up using an SSD (man! The utter silence of that machine was stunning - but it made the fan spin up even worse). As my mother-in-law suddenly needed a machine, I gave it away.
Why is the 12" perfect? Well, honestly it is not. It's quite thick and comparatively heavy. The heat it produces and it's battery life is not the greatest either. And for me, the 1,5 Ghz G4 (and ram limitation) is not snappy enough (I'm impatient).
But the machine is so utterly lovable. It's form factor and ergonomics is perfect, and I love the 4:3 screen. If someone could offer me a 12"PB chassis containing a C2D (even a low-end would do), with a SATA SSD, 4 gigs of ram, a modern trackpad and 4 hour battery life, I'd be in seventh heaven.
IMHO, the 13" MBP is the rig which comes closest* to the bliss-point which the 12" hit (especially in the early 00's) spot on.
RGDS,
* I have the feeling, that the 13" rMBP might actually be even better, but I haven't had the chance to get up-close and personal with one yet (fondling one at an apple retailer does not count)
The reason why PowerBooks are still bought are:
1) First time Mac buyers, they have no idea what G4 is or means. The machine looks fast and elegant so in their mind it must be. It is like an auction I saw some time ago about old desktop machine, it had a Celeron from the P4 era overclocked over 3Ghz. It also had lots of cooling fans (the seller had made holes for those to the case) and led lights, the case was also cool looking. The internals were old and extremely slow and the machine was overpriced but still sold for that price, simply because much GHz and because it looked like it should be fast.
2) Buyers with past experience and knowledge who still appreciate the looks and the functionality, keyboard and touchpad are pretty nice in those machines . PowerBooks are still cheaper than Macbooks so if you are hardcore about macs (meaning that for the second, third, fourth whatever machine you just cannot buy a PC) you simply have to buy PowerBook or iBook if you want to have cheaper option.
EDIT: Hmm, the original post was quite old, didn't notice that
1) First time Mac buyers, they have no idea what G4 is or means. The machine looks fast and elegant so in their mind it must be. It is like an auction I saw some time ago about old desktop machine, it had a Celeron from the P4 era overclocked over 3Ghz. It also had lots of cooling fans (the seller had made holes for those to the case) and led lights, the case was also cool looking. The internals were old and extremely slow and the machine was overpriced but still sold for that price, simply because much GHz and because it looked like it should be fast.
2) Buyers with past experience and knowledge who still appreciate the looks and the functionality, keyboard and touchpad are pretty nice in those machines . PowerBooks are still cheaper than Macbooks so if you are hardcore about macs (meaning that for the second, third, fourth whatever machine you just cannot buy a PC) you simply have to buy PowerBook or iBook if you want to have cheaper option.
EDIT: Hmm, the original post was quite old, didn't notice that
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