Argi Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Hey, For the few months I have seriously considered purchasing a mac. I've seen a few friends of mine using them and I relaly like the feel of them and personally, I'm sick of windows scrweing up and formatting every 3 months for whatever reason that may be. There also seem to be a range of neat apps (such as BBedit) that are only available on a mac. I need a laptop for school, so it needs to be an ibook or a powerbook. So the question is, what is the best for me? I'm new to mac but I'm computer litterate so I dont think getting used it should be a problem. I'll be using it for word, email, web browsing, music (airTunes :D), wireless if possible, photoshop, video editing and games (if possible). I was looking at the 15" Powerbook Combo drive since I think the 12" is cramped and I dont need a dvd burner or anything like that at the moment. What do you pple suggest? Cheers. PS. looking for to it. :happy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PureEdit Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 The 15'' Powerbook is great. If you want something cheaper get the 12/14'' iBook. OS X is excellent, I dont know how I ever got anything done using anything else. Things on the hardware side are also really nice. BBedit is just some junky old carbon app, SubEthaEdit is a unique editor that really shows what OS X can do. http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/ One thing I really love about my iBook is the amount of free software available. I have over 50 programs on my system, and only 3 of them are not opensource/freeware/limitless sharware. The only pay apps are Office X STE (which I plan on replacing soon), PS CS, and Transmit. iLife '04 was not free for me, but for everybody getting a new mac it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null_ Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 I agree with PureEdit, get the 15" PowerBook or the 14" iBook. They are both excellent machines. Or, you could always look into buying a used, somewhat older machine, that will still be able to perform all the tasks that you mentioned, just be careful of where you buy such a machine and check it out first to make sure its in good condition. As mentioned before, OS X is an excellent operating system. I find it more efficient to work with than Windows, and I can get my work done without any frustration. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argi Posted June 11, 2004 Author Share Posted June 11, 2004 I'm planning to get a new one using an edu discount. Of who owns one, is there anything i should take note of before I buy it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Player Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 If the 12 inch pbook is too small for you go for the 15, I almost did but I'm fine with the smaller size (and smaller price tag) How much do you have to spend on it? You can either get the 1.33 with the combo drive or a 1.5 with the superdrive and downgrading it a combodrive is an option too. Go for a single stick of 512 from apple and then buy another 512 from crucial. Go for the faster 80gig 5200 RPM harddrive and get the 128MB of VRAM. Backlit keyboard is hella cool but its more of a gimmick than something thats totally neccisary EDIT: DON'T get the 14inch ibook its big clunky and ugly (specially compared to all the other apple laptops) it reminds me more of a dell laptop than Apple ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xer34 Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Do you guys think the 12" powerbook is too small? Because Ive been considering getting one too. And its a laptop, so I was thinking more mobility. Hmm.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGVL Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 If you're planning on doing Video Editing or graphics work then get the 15" PowerBook. The screen quality is much better than the 12" PowerBook and iBooks. You could probably get the 1.33Ghz 15" PowerBook and for what it seems you will do with it it's going to be more than enough. Under normal use I can keep my PowerBook's CPU performance as "Reduced" and it does not seem slow at all. I only use the full 1.5Ghz when I'm using Final Cut Pro (With a 320GB LaCie BigDisk Extreme, damn it's fast, lol) or playing games. :D I agree with Gary_Player, the 14" iBook is UGLY. :x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Furthermore, stay away from the 14" iBook. It offers no greater screen real-estate that the 12" Model, and like a couple of other people said, its uglier, but the main reason for not buying it, is well, all you're paying for, is BIGGER pixels, not more pixels! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XiXora Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 its like when i see people buy 18/19" lcds they are no better than 17" imo. i'm waiting to buy some decent 20" displays though ( 3200x1200 yum ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oik Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 i'd say go with a powerbook if you have the money. else stick with an ibook. let us know your decision :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Definitely dont get a 14" iBook. Ugliest of the mac laptops imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoz Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 I'm getting a pb 12" in 2 months.. must wait for them mooooney.. :/ But I'm considering to get rid of my HP nx7010 and buy a 15" pb instead.. oooow the beauty.. If you going to do video editing, photoshopping and/or gaming then a pb 15" is the way to go. Make sure that you beef it up.. :laugh: Yeah sure it lots of money, but my personal opinion is - that a mac laptop lasts longer then a regular PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron901 Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 since you're gonna use photoshop and do video editting and all that stuff, 12" PowerBook + LCD is the way to go. :) you'll regret getting the 15" if you bring your laptop to school often. trust me i've been there, i got sick of carrying my 15" PB to college, it's too big and heavy. in fact i just use it as a desktop now, it hasn't left my desk for the past 6 months. now i have a 10" laptop that i can just throw it in my bag and off to uni. when i get home i can just hook it up to my LCD. this is the way to go my friend. get the 12" PB and get a 17" LCD or something. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oik Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 since you're gonna use photoshop and do video editting and all that stuff, 12" PowerBook + LCD is the way to go. :)you'll regret getting the 15" if you bring your laptop to school often. trust me i've been there, i got sick of carrying my 15" PB to college, it's too big and heavy. in fact i just use it as a desktop now, it hasn't left my desk for the past 6 months. now i have a 10" laptop that i can just throw it in my bag and off to uni. when i get home i can just hook it up to my LCD. this is the way to go my friend. get the 12" PB and get a 17" LCD or something. :) depends, i carry my 15 around alot, doesn't bother me at all. i have a briefcase too, so if i'm walking a distance, i can just close the lid, toss it in, and go. it's all in personal preference. go to the local apple store and try them out. weight training might work too... carry around a gallon of water for a month, then you'll be able to carry any of apple's laptops with ease :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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