Benefits of a Powerbook/iBook?

[PureEdit]

You can also swap batteries while on sleep mode without losing your work. If you have multiple batteries and you're low on power you just close the lid of your Apple portable, take the battery out, put the new one in, open the lid and you're back where you left. I believe it saves enough power to stay in sleep for a few minutes without a power source.

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Right, its a great feature.

PC users usually think I am joking when I tell them that you can switch batteries when the computer is still on and not plugged in.

[Southern Patriot]

You can also swap batteries while on sleep mode without losing your work.

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As I understand it, that's only on the PowerBooks, not the iBooks.

[topher1078]

If you've gone into standby the power is still on but processor & fan etc are off. Mine will last about 8-9 hours in this state. Resume to windows in about 2 seconds.

You can also hibernate. Power down completely but when you boot back up it's as if you never left... really, you computer just thinks it's been on the whole time :laugh: (if i connect to my wireless network, hibernate, leave it for a week and then boot back up i've been "connected to wireless network for 7 days and..."). time to resume: about 15 seconds.

If that's too slow I don't know what fast is :|

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Many times, and I mean almost all of the time, my computer would not resume from standby at all. That may have been a driver problem, but many of the laptops I've used have the same problem. And if they do resume, playing videos get frozen and just stop, AIM gets confused, and everything just worked poorly. If I would have my laptop outputting to a TV or something, that signal would be gone with 100% regularity after resuming from standby.

Now, that may have just been me, but I love having a laptop with absolutely no standby/sleep problems whatsoever.

[Arpit]

i switched from windows to my first mac in september for my university. i'm not a developer/designer, so basically needed a machine sufficient for an average user.

my thoughts of my 12" powerbook:

- i love the portability and durability of the notebook. it is light, and small... can be carried/stored with ease.

- the speakers aren't powerful, but the quality is still very good in my opinion. at least, good enough that when you listen to a song, you won't feel like the machine hasn't done it justice. aside from that, you can always add your own speakers to add to the sound.

- i would have liked a pcmia slot but haven't missed it all that much.

- i would have liked more ram supported but i believe that for next while, 1.25 gb would be very adequate. i have 768 mb ram right now and i notice a bit of a slow down but that is because i have a lot of 3rd party widgets which take up memory. (if you don't like garfield comics, you can save ~30 mb of memory right there :))

- the operating system is very simple to use even for a basic user.

- i remember asking here how to delete a program completely, and the answer was, "search for the files with the program name and delete them all, that's all.". that's what a simple user deserves! i don't wanna have to go through diff. files/folders to see what i have to keep, what's shared, etc etc. if i don't want the program, i take all the files that share the program's name, and delete!

- i've never had any compatibility issues with the mac. all other computers in my home are pc's and i move files around all the time and nothing has given me trouble, ever.

- i didn't like the OSX's way of browsing the network it requires authenticating each folder/drive that's shared in the other computer which i find quite tedious. but there are 3rd party programs that work around this. 'sharity' is one of them i think.

- most of the software which you might have to 'buy' with windows is either built in OSX or not required (so far, anyways)

for ex: spyware/antivirus programs aren't required 'coz i don't believe there's a virus out there for osx (yet).

Mail: a much simpler program to use than outlook and much more straightforward (though porting the e-mails from windows to mail took me a couple of hours, but there are guides available online)

Calendar: a very simple yet powerful organizing tool, can be synced with ipod/cellphones.

Address book: again, very simple and "syncable".

- if you have a bluetooth enabled cellphone, you can take your mac experience to a whole new level by being able to use the cellphone as a remote controller for your apple (for watching movies, listening to music, powerpoint presentations, dvd playing etc etc)

i know outlook has all these things in it, but comparatively, i found outlook more cluttered.

the new os also has a great collection of applications which as a general user i found very attractive.

things i wish it had, s-video so i could connect to my tv, rather than investing in a dvi-supported screen.

all in all.. a very pleasant experience, and an eye turner usually :)

[ZZOOzzoo]

It gets REALLY hot sometimes.

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Same here, except that it ALWAYS gets super-hot. I can't even imagine putting this thing (PowerBook 15") on my laptop. PowerBook is simply the hottest laptop I've ever owned or seen, and I hope using PentiumM in their future laptop can solve this problem.

As for sleeping feature, I agree that Mac laptops wake up from sleep faster than Windows-based ones, but I didn't really have any problem with sleep feature on Windows either. If it's 1 second on Mac, then it would be 3~4 seconds for Windows laptops, and I'm fine with that.

[Southern Patriot]

things i wish it had, s-video so i could connect to my tv, rather than investing in a dvi-supported screen.

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Your PowerBook does have that, it simply requires an adapter. From the PowerBook Specs page:

S-video and composite video output using mini-DVI to video adapter (sold separately) (12-inch models)

The adapter is available for $19 from the Apple Store:Mini-DVI to video adapter

Edited June 16, 2005 by roadwarrior

[VGVL]

My PowerBook only gets really hot while playing games or when I'm using it with a 20" display in closed-lid mode (which is always on a desk). I got a Griffin iCurve and it improved the airflow.

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

i switched from windows to my first mac in september for my university.? i'm not a developer/designer, so basically needed a machine sufficient for an average user.

my thoughts of my 12" powerbook:

- i love the portability and durability of the notebook.? it is light, and small... can be carried/stored with ease.

- the speakers aren't powerful, but the quality is still very good in my opinion.? at least, good enough that when you listen to a song, you won't feel like the machine hasn't done it justice.? aside from that, you can always add your own speakers to add to the sound.

- i would have liked a pcmia slot but haven't missed it all that much.

- i would have liked more ram supported but i believe that for next while, 1.25 gb would be very adequate.? i have 768 mb ram right now and i notice a bit of a slow down but that is because i have a lot of 3rd party widgets which take up memory. (if you don't like garfield comics, you can save ~30 mb of memory right t:)re :))

- the operating system is very simple to use even for a basic user.

- i remember asking here how to delete a program completely, and the answer was, "search for the files with the program name and delete them all, that's all.".? that's what a simple user deserves!? i don't wanna have to go through diff. files/folders to see what i have to keep, what's shared, etc etc.? if i don't want the program, i take all the files that share the program's name, and delete!

- i've never had any compatibility issues with the mac.? all other computers in my home are pc's and i move files around all the time and nothing has given me trouble, ever.

- i didn't like the OSX's way of browsing the network it requires authenticating each folder/drive that's shared in the other computer which i find quite tedious.? but there are 3rd party programs that work around this.? 'sharity' is one of them i think.

- most of the software which you might have to 'buy' with windows is either built in OSX or not required (so far, anyways)

for ex: spyware/antivirus programs aren't required 'coz i don't believe there's a virus out there for osx (yet).

Mail: a much simpler program to use than outlook and much more straightforward (though porting the e-mails from windows to mail took me a couple of hours, but there are guides available online)

Calendar: a very simple yet powerful organizing tool, can be synced with ipod/cellphones.

Address book: again, very simple and "syncable".

- if you have a bluetooth enabled cellphone, you can take your mac experience to a whole new level by being able to use the cellphone as a remote controller for your apple (for watching movies, listening to music, powerpoint presentations, dvd playing etc etc)

i know outlook has all these things in it, but comparatively, i found outlook more cluttered.

the new os also has a great collection of applications which as a general user i found very attractive.

things i wish it had, s-video so i could connect to my tv, rather than investing in a dvi-supported screen.

all in all.. a very pleasant experience, and an eye turn:) usually :)

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the 15 inch pb has the s video and dvi and the pc card slot (just for general knowledge, heh)

as for mine getting hot, well it usually isnt that bad, it is pretty hot but i use it on my lap all the time and dont have any issues so i dunno, perhaps you have one of the batteries that were recalled for over-heating, ZZOOzzoo, its on apples front page about getting a replacement.

[Septimius]

Any advice on repair costs/Apple care plans and support? I was advised to replace the logic board on the old iBook, but it would have been more expensive than the value of the notebook itself. I'm just curious to see if anyone has had any major problems and how Apple responded to it, and whether repairs and services were acceptable or extremely costly.

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

i had the #2 key fall off my keyboard and i took it to the genius bar and they replaced it for free, dunno if that counts, heh.

[pax13]

I'm glad some people didn't like my posts & think I'm a troll either, Not that i care much, i just wrote what came to mind! But as always I try to go for the different possible perspectives in all cases, looking for week & strong points, I may be a little biased, but aren't we all. The thing that bothers me the most are the high prices for outdated hardware ( mostly cpu ) in mac laptops, I since I like having the most bang for my buck in what I purchase, the strong point of macs is mostly their os, otherwise they would not be able to keep selling outdated harware, just compare cpu power ( not mhz ) & graphic cards power also. How many people have laptops capable of fully powering Tiger ( core technologies )?

The most important are the tools you are going to use, if they exist in both platforms, & you don't mind the less powerful g4, go for the mac experience; if you want a more powerful versatile machine, go for a centrino or an athlon64 mobile, with nvidia or ati graphics card!, x600 or the new geforce6 series, because they are pci express based. if you want to take a look at longhorn capabilityes to see what's coming take a look http://www.winsupersite.com/longhorn/ , as for the mac you probably already know all about, & leopard shouldn't bring much changes!

Remember not only what you buy today, but also the amount of span time you are going to use the machine for!

Just have fun with your new machine whatever you may get!

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

im not even in the mood to argue with u so i wont. again ignore what he says, if you do some research, most of what pax mentions he has no idea what hes rambling about so i wouldnt take notice.

again, try one out at your local apple store, go off of what your opinion is. powerbooks provide a ton of bang for your buck, and edu discounts are wonderful ;)

[tsiris]

As I understand it, that's only on the PowerBooks, not the iBooks.

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You cannot swap the battery on the 12" PB.

[PureEdit]

leopard shouldn't bring much changes!

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And how do you know this?

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

And how do you know this?

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well hes a troll, and trolls have magical powers kinda like gnomes, underpants gnomes (sry random south park quote)... :D

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Just got my latest powerbook on Tuesday...

1.67 "Ultra" I think they refer to the model as...

15", 100GB HD, 1 Gig Ram, ATI 128 Card.... I am in love...

I have always used Macs for my work though. This is my 3rd Powerbook (I Had 2nd Gen Black G3, and then my 1st Gen G4 I just gave to my gf), so I cannot really comment on why they are better, because to me, well, They just are.

[versiondub]

A lot of people who hate on the Mac have issues with it simply because they want it, but are either unable to or are scared to buy one. It's true, I was one of them.

I've been a vehement Windows defender for the past 10 years. Then, I got into college, and the college I go to supports mostly Mac. So, I said "fark it" and bought a powerbook. I couldn't be happier with it. No problems - Pax is right - the strong point of Macs is the OS. But at the same time, the hardware is fine.

Apple has higher hardware standards, and consequently, when you buy a Powerbook you know you aren't cheaping out on all the parts that companies don't advertise. When you buy a PC laptop, it may say that it has 1 gb of Ram, a 9600xt Graphics card, and a 120 gb Hard drive, but you don't know the quality of any of these pieces. With a Mac, you know you're going to get something that is well-built and will last you many years. It's as simple as that.

[joseph-]

With a Mac, you know you're going to get something that is well-built and will last you many years. It's as simple as that.

Yes, because Apple manufactures all their computers with magical components, that are crafted by fairies from the north pole...

Dude, seriously...other than a few key components, most of what's in a Apple is exactly what you'd find in a PC. And it's not like Apple is really responsible for any of the production or design of most of those components, other than the motherboard, the case design, and (to some extent) the design of the Gx PowerPC processors. There's no 'Apple 120gig Harddrives" or anything like that.

[Chad]

Apple has higher hardware standards, and consequently, when you buy a Powerbook you know you aren't cheaping out on all the parts that companies don't advertise.  When you buy a PC laptop, it may say that it has 1 gb of Ram, a 9600xt Graphics card, and a 120 gb Hard drive, but you don't know the quality of any of these pieces.  With a Mac, you know you're going to get something that is well-built and will last you many years.  It's as simple as that.

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The hardware that Apple uses is no different that what goes in a Dell or Toshiba. With the exception of the obvious (processor, mainboard). I can also say i've used quite a few windows laptops that match the external build quality of a Powerbook. However, there are the "little features" that people have mentioned in the thread that put the Mactops over the top.

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

well the little things do count, lol. in the end it really comes down to you going and trying one, personal impression is worth more than what we say because everyone is different, and what chad likes may be different from what joseph- likes which might be different from I like, so just go and try one for yourself.

[Southern Patriot]

The hardware that Apple uses is no different that what goes in a Dell or Toshiba.

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I've worked at enough computer shops to know that WHO puts a computer together is nearly as important to overall quality as WHAT parts they use. There was a time when some other techs and I had to assemble a couple hundred computers assembly-line fashion. We were all using the same parts and the same tools, but when we were done there were obvious differences in the quality of the computers (depending on which tech assembled them).

[topher1078]

well the little things do count, lol.  in the end it really comes down to you going and trying one, personal impression is worth more than what we say because everyone is different, and what chad likes may be different from what joseph- likes which might be different from I like, so just go and try one for yourself.

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The little things really do matter, especially for a laptop. You're stuck with the screen, keyboard, mouse, etc. for the live of the laptop, and you need to make sure none of those aspects are a problem or bother you before purchasing. Here Apple's build quality vs. other laptop manufacturers comes into play - there's very little you would want to change, thus making for a much more pleasant experience.

[dailyplanet]

Don't forget to get an educational discount for your pb/ibook (if you're getting one) and $100 rebate!

I had a Dell Dimension 4600C with 2.6 GHz Pentium whatever before I got my iBook G4 1.33 GHz. I honestly can't tell the speed difference in these two machines and at times my iBook runs a whole lot faster (maybe that's because it doesn't have a million viruses and spyware to deal with) :D.

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

yea the edu discounts come in handy, i got around 200 dollars (US) off my pb which brought it down to 1799 instead of 1999 (though with tax it came out to be 1998 something)

[Fusion]

Any advice on repair costs/Apple care plans and support?  I was advised to replace the logic board on the old iBook, but it would have been more expensive than the value of the notebook itself. I'm just curious to see if anyone has had any major problems and how Apple responded to it, and whether repairs and services were acceptable or extremely costly.

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As with any laptop, it is always a good idea to have a warranty on it. The pieces are all just too small and delicate to just chance it. In the last 3 years I have owned powerbooks, I have never once had to use the warranty, but it is nice knowing that it's there in case I need it. Like you said, sometimes laptop repairs can be more than the laptop itself.

Since you are going to school, I'll explain a little program that I use to upgrade my powerbook every year and keep a warranty on it.

When you buy a laptop from Apple, you receive one year free warranty on it. Within this year, you have the opportunity to purchase AppleCare. AppleCare is the same warranty, but for 3 years instead of the one. However, it is 3 years from when the laptop was purchased, not when AppleCare was purchased, so if you buy AppleCare at the end of your one year coverage, you will only get 2 years more. AppleCare costs $350 US which is quite expensive.

So, towards the end of the first year, back up all your data to an external HD, sell your laptop on eBay. Sell it with about 2 months warranty left on it, so that the resale value will be higher and the purchaser will be able to purchase AppleCare for it.

You will receive a pretty good deal for it, usually a couple hundred dollars less than what you paid for it. Then go to Apple and purchase a new upgraded machine with your student discount (you are allowed one per year). This upgrade, after you sell your old machine, will end up costing you around $300, which is less than AppleCare, and instead of just getting another 2 years warranty on an old machine, you now have a brand new upgraded machine with another 1 year free warranty.

Wash, spin, rinse and repeat.

I have done this for 3 years now and will do it again at the end of this summer. Works like a charm.