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why does every body have a powerbook g4?
- Thread starter gt40x4
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I picked one up from an e-waste bin from work. I was able to resurrect it back to life. Its the 1GHz model and compared to non-apple notebooks from the same era, this machine still flies. Its not as fast as my uMB, but I started carrying it around with me where ever I go without fear of dropping it or getting it stolen. Internet surfing works fine except for flash.
I dont know if it is just me, but so many people have an old powerbook g4, why? the macbook pros are way better imo but i see so many people have them. they are in loads of commercials, and that guy Pirillo has one, why wouldnt he up grade? am i missing somwthing? They are ok i guess but really come on.
I use a late lower end model of the mac mini at work. It only has a gig of ram right now until I max it out. (Kinda in limbo here until the new ones come out.) But my PowerBook at home isn't that much different than the Mac Mini for what I do (programming). I have never noticed that much of a difference unless it's the high end models with an load of RAM.
In an earlier post I said that I replaced my 5 year old Powerbook G4 with a MBP 2 years ago. I did not make clear, though, that the Powerbook G4 was 5 years old then. It is now 7 years old and still going strong, although I no longer use it every day.
Because there's no point in spending $1500-3000 to upgrade if your old laptop still runs fine and performs the functions you need it to?
^ This.
I use a 15" powerbook as a glorified netbook and although it lags on some things, most of the time it works great for what I need it for. I have an Octo core Mac Pro for the heavy lifting.
I agree. The only reason I upgraded to the MBP from my old Powerbook G4 was my need to run some Windows apps on my laptop. Until I got my MBP I had been relegated to running Windows apps, some of which I use a lot, from a desktop Windows XP machine. The combination of an MBP and VMware Fusion has allowed me to run my Windows apps from my MBP's OS X desktop. Had I not needed a Windows capable Mac, I would probably still be using my 7 year old Powerbook G4 as my primary machine.
I still use my 15" 1.67GHz machine as my daily laptop. (Though I do have a more powerful workstation at my desk at work....HP.) For most of the things I do it works a peach. There are a couple of times (photo retouching, video encoding) that could obviously benefit from a faster processor, but those are infrequent enough at this time to let me hold off on upgrading.
I think that when I do upgrade, it will be to a 13" MBP rather than 15", just for portability's sake while traveling. Either that or I'll just get an iMac + iPad for roughly the same price
I think that when I do upgrade, it will be to a 13" MBP rather than 15", just for portability's sake while traveling. Either that or I'll just get an iMac + iPad for roughly the same price
I have always wanted a powerbook G4. My friend has one and it is a trooper lol.
They seem like really great computers, But I think my next computer purchase will be a air or a Imac I haven't decided yet.
They seem like really great computers, But I think my next computer purchase will be a air
or a Imac I haven't decided yet.Almost the same body. The MacBook Pros are actually a little bit thinner, have two latches on both the 15" and 17" models (as opposed to 1 on the 15" PBG4 and 2 on the 17"). The battery is larger and in a different place as well. The screen size is a tenth of an inch or two different. They look very similar, but they're not the same.
I have a PowerBook G4 simply because I can't afford to upgrade right now.
I have both a 17 inch Powerbook G4 and a pre unibody 17 inch MBP. If you look at them straight on so that you can't see the ports on either side, it's impossible to tell which is which. The latch releases and the little sleep lights are identical, except for a slight difference in the color of the lights. The PB G4's is green and the MBA's is blue gray. The keyboards, trackpads, and off-on switches are the same, too.
EDIT: I just checked the external dimensions of my 17 PB G4 and MBA. They are exactly the same thickness. By placing the PB G4 directly on top of the MBA I learned that the MBA is about 1/16 inch wider and about 1/8 inch deeper than the PB G4. When they stand side by side, however, these slight differences in dimensions are not apparent.
Been using a 12" Powerbook G4 1.33 Ghz as my daily machine after my iMac bit the dust. 1.25 GB memory. Running 10.5.8. Put in a new hard drive six months ago. That's the only problem I've had with it since bought new. Great for word processing, email, internet, playing movies and basic video and photo editing. Slick, sturdy, small, beautiful machine with a fabulous keyboard.
I wouldn't swap it for the any of the white plastic Intel Macbooks. Will eventually upgrade to a unibody MBP. But not just yet...
I wouldn't swap it for the any of the white plastic Intel Macbooks. Will eventually upgrade to a unibody MBP. But not just yet...
It's because they are sexy. Personally I think they're the most attractive line of laptops released by Apple... the soft aluminum curves... and that backlit keyboard... mmm baby.
They're also plenty robust enough to be used in everyday applications. I use the full CS3 suite on my 17" 1.67ghz, surf the web, email, photos, etc. That Powerbook is my primary non-work laptop... I think of it as my "Cadillac", or fun laptop. I could use a Macbook for this purpose instead, but actually switched to the Powerbook G4 running 10.4 instead... I just enjoy using it more.
They're also plenty robust enough to be used in everyday applications. I use the full CS3 suite on my 17" 1.67ghz, surf the web, email, photos, etc. That Powerbook is my primary non-work laptop... I think of it as my "Cadillac", or fun laptop. I could use a Macbook for this purpose instead, but actually switched to the Powerbook G4 running 10.4 instead... I just enjoy using it more.
I've found that the backlight isn't nearly bright enough, especially when compared to the newer models.
Very true!
People keep their old Powerbooks because they still are usable and they still look kick-ass
The keyboard backlight is one of the few things on my old G4 that has finally given up the ghost. I had to have it fixed for an unrelated reason once and when I got it back the backlight was working again but soon quit again
There is something to that. How many owners of a 7 year old computer can say that it looks virtually the same as the current model?Very true!
People keep their old Powerbooks because they still are usable and they still look kick-ass
Well when comparing a 5+ year-old backlight to ANY new computer, there would be a noticeable difference.
It is the nature of CCFLs to dim over time...
Edit: Did you mean the keyboard backlight?
Any Thinkpad or Vaio owner.gwsat said:
ifixit.com... yours probably just needs a new right or left ambient light sensor
You're absolutely right about the 7 year old computer comment... those PBG4's still have their great looks, but they've also still got the speed and power to be useful. Granted I run 10.4 on mine to keep it nice and peppy, but that 7-year old Powerbook still impresses with how well it handles CS3 programs and other heavy lifting...
Thanks for the tip but I have hardly ever needed a backlighted keyboard. I am a lights on kind of guy.ifixit.com... yours probably just needs a new right or left ambient light sensor
You're absolutely right about the 7 year old computer comment... those PBG4's still have their great looks, but they've also still got the speed and power to be useful. Granted I run 10.4 on mine to keep it nice and peppy, but that 7-year old Powerbook still impresses with how well it handles CS3 programs and other heavy lifting...
When my Macbook Pro was at an Apple technical center for the replacement of a logic board for a couple of days last month, I used the old Powerbook G4 in its stead. The similarity in user experience was incredible. The 7 year old G4 was so similar to the new (ish) MBP that I soon forgot it was a temporary substitute.
In all these years, the only thing that is not still working on the G4, other than the backlight, is the built in Airport Extreme wifi caard. I didn't want to fix the card itself because the iFixit.com article on how to do the job made my blood run cold. I still solved the problem by buying an OS X specific USB wifi adapter from OWC for $19. It works at least as well as the built in Airport Extreme did before it started to fail so the G4 again operates as well as it did when it was new.
My 12" PB is great. Too bad I don't use it as much anymore. It's great to stream and watch movies throughout the house or to share photos with family when they are over.
In terms of performance, it certainly shows it age along with the backlight not being as bright as it used to be but it's still such an awesome and sexy laptop. Can't beat aluminum.
In terms of performance, it certainly shows it age along with the backlight not being as bright as it used to be but it's still such an awesome and sexy laptop. Can't beat aluminum.
I was using my 15 titanium PowerBook G4 as my portable but got the 15 in MBP unibody last year. Now my daughter has the titanium and complains of its slowness, but it still works as its supposed to.
The iPad will be my new portable.
The iPad will be my new portable.