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why does every body have a powerbook g4?
- Thread starter gt40x4
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15" 1.5GHz Powerbook bought in 2004. Upgraded to 2GB and 160GB HD. Runs Leopard just fine. Only HD video playback is a problem. The rest runs just fine.
I have a MBP as main machine but I could do with the powerbook if I had to. 5-6 years is a good time for a notebook. It still is very usable even for serious work. I hope my MBP stays also usable for 5 years.
I would like to get into a 3 year cycle. So I always have one new machine and the old one as backup just in case. According to moores law the performance should double every 18 month so I with every purchase I should get a 4x performance increase. Well, at least in that range anyway....
I have a MBP as main machine but I could do with the powerbook if I had to. 5-6 years is a good time for a notebook. It still is very usable even for serious work. I hope my MBP stays also usable for 5 years.
I would like to get into a 3 year cycle. So I always have one new machine and the old one as backup just in case. According to moores law the performance should double every 18 month so I with every purchase I should get a 4x performance increase. Well, at least in that range anyway....
Dang you, I went in (with my Powerbook) last week and the guy was going to charge me almost $70 for a replacement. A used/refurbished/opened boxed replacement. New ones were like $10 more.
I'm on my 4th replacement. Original power brick died and was replaced with a third party MacAlly because I didn't ask if it was covered by Apple Care and the Genius guy didn't even tell me anything besides giving me "it's dead, you'll have to buy a new one" look in 2006. When I started to have Hard drive and Screen problems in 2007 (the screen replaced twice, white spots, then replacement screen backlighting died a few days later), I finally thought to ask about my power adapter and got a new one (under Apple Care). That one is now fried and so is the MacAlly (well, almost). See Thread for picture
I still have the same ram/hd configuration as when purchased. So, most annoying flash ads and HD playback gives me trouble.
My 1.5GHz can do 720p pretty well, as long as it's MPEG4 or "less" (ie, Matroska, h.264, etc don't work well). I also use NicePlayer, which uses CoreVideo as its primary playback, essentially giving me hardware-accelerated video playback. Makes a huge difference when it comes to HD video.
Alternatively, you could convert everything to AIC. Massive files, but 1080p plays back perfectly in AIC on my PBG4. Of course, it's also way bigger than the screen at that point...
My sister bought her PBG4 in 2004, right about the same time I bought an HP laptop. I know she had to have it worked on after she spilt something on it, but I had to replace the hard drive, then the motherboard, next came the processor, and I added RAM...so I'd have to say that she has generally had less problems than mine. We bought a Toshiba laptop in 2008, and I am just now in the market for a MBP whenever they update. It's taken a long time for me to be able to afford a Mac, and I look forward to the change!
I still have my PowerBook G4. 15”, 1.67 GHz, 80 GB harddrive. Like a lot of others I currently use a MBP, but I still occasionally pull out the G4. It was a great machine, although it choked on HD playback, Flash, and RAW photos.
The only problem with it is the RAM. I only had 1 GB when it was my primary computer and one of those sticks has since died. 512 just isn’t enough these days!
Edit: I guess I should add I also have a PowerBook G3 (Pismo), although it wasn’t originally mine. 500 MHz, 256 MB RAM. Dual boots OS 9 and 10.4. I tried browsing the web using OS 9 and it’s not pleasant experience…
The only problem with it is the RAM. I only had 1 GB when it was my primary computer and one of those sticks has since died. 512 just isn’t enough these days!
Edit: I guess I should add I also have a PowerBook G3 (Pismo), although it wasn’t originally mine. 500 MHz, 256 MB RAM. Dual boots OS 9 and 10.4. I tried browsing the web using OS 9 and it’s not pleasant experience…
come on, be nice to your PB! give it some more ram. it's probably 20 bucks by now. my PB had the same problem and it was a warranty covered upper ram slot failure. i got a new logic board. maybe you're lucky and you get a MBP?
iThinkergoiMac: thanks, i will try niceplayer (esp. since it's free anyway).