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PowerBook G4 - 15" or 17"?

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Jonnyram

Member
I'm going to buy one of these little puppies for my wife, but I can't decide which.
The prices are close so that's not an issue.
I'm just concerned the 17" model is a little too big. Any recommendations?
 
I have the 17" it is big! But I never let that bug me from taking it all over the place
I have a hard time using it on planes thats about it.

15 inch is ideal normal and you can fit it in most bags

17" is just sex :D
 

HooDoo

Member
Laptops = small.
I can't stand those 17" so called portable computers and 15" lcd is big enough imo, it's not like crt monitors. And the bigger laptops are way too heavy.

What about the autonomy for the 17" model ?
 
HooDoo said:
Laptops = small.
I can't stand those 17" so called portable computers and 15" lcd is big enough imo, it's not like crt monitors. And the bigger laptops are way too heavy.

What about the autonomy for the 17" model ?

I agree if we are speaking about bulky Dell 17" Bricks

17" Powerbook is very slim and sexy...
The only reason Jonnyram should not get a 17" for the wife, it because I think he would regret it from the envy he feels when he sees it
 

Odnetnin

Banned
I've been mulling over getting a 12" book so I can carry around images/animations + do word/excel .. mostly a presentation showcase machine. the lightness helps. Have to think about this a bit. THe mac books are way cheaper at that size that something like a Fujitsu lifebook. Only problem is that its a MAC
 

hobart

Member
Od: I was (still am) a heavy PC user until I learned about the LACK of compatibilty problems with Mac v. Windows. After more than a year on this 12"... I gotta say that if you are looking for a solid performer (minus the use of games...) then a Mac is the way to go.

As far as 15" or 17" goes... 17s are fucking beautiful... but I really don't find them all that practical. I think a 15" is a wonderful labtop, both inside and out. For your wife, I'd go with the 15" for easier portability and practicality... but if you wanna tout your Apple prowess... by all means hit the 17" up.
 

Burger

Member
Odnetnin said:
Only problem is that its a MAC

Only problem is, 3 months down the track you'll love it so much, you'll come here and proclaim how much you love it, and then the PC crowd will come in and labast you...

Just like you used to be.

Then you'll just smile... knowingly...
 

number386

Member
Jonnyram said:
I'm going to buy one of these little puppies for my wife, but I can't decide which.
The prices are close so that's not an issue.
I'm just concerned the 17" model is a little too big. Any recommendations?

The 17" is not that much bigger than than the 15" inch, actually the the 15" inch is 15.2" in size. I have had both model's and highly recommend the 17" model. The price like you said is so close that's it's not an issue. Also the 17" inch only weighs 6.9 pounds, wheras the 15" models weighs 5.6 ponuds. I know your in japan but I dont know what the metric system equivalent is ^_^ needless to to say it's not a hulking beast. Also the stock 17' is better than the stock 15' in in specs. The 17" comes standard with a 100GB hard drive as well as 128 MB of video ram.

That being said the bottom line is what is she going to use it for?

Is she going to take it all over place, or is it going to be at home mostly?
 

Odnetnin

Banned
Burger said:
Only problem is, 3 months down the track you'll love it so much, you'll come here and proclaim how much you love it, and then the PC crowd will come in and labast you...

Just like you used to be.

Then you'll just smile... knowingly...

are you sure? :raises eyebrow / skeptical

Apple Jax said:
Od: I was (still am) a heavy PC user until I learned about the LACK of compatibilty problems with Mac v. Windows. After more than a year on this 12"... I gotta say that if you are looking for a solid performer (minus the use of games...) then a Mac is the way to go.

are you sure? :raises eyebrow / skeptical

:)

I must say, I don't pc/computer game so the lack of games is definitely not a problem. So you're using a 12" apple jax? How's the weight/carry around..etc. You tried using that PC emulator programme on your 12"? Peformance issues/etc? I am rather keen. Can you link up via ethernet cable a pc --> mac? I remember in my last office, that this caused the tech guys a lot of headache.
 

Gantz

Banned
I have a first gen 12" powerbook and considering upgrading to a new 12" or even a 15". Is it worth it or should I wait for the G5 powerbooks?
 

number386

Member
Gantz said:
I have a first gen 12" powerbook and considering upgrading to a new 12" or even a 15". Is it worth it or should I wait for the G5 powerbooks?

G5 powerbooks are not in the immidiate future. Their are some big technical hurdles to overcome most being the heat, and power issues. I dont see G5's in the work for at least another 1.5 years. It depends what you use it for, your current PB should work with most apps flawlessly.
 

Kola

Member
i recently bought the 15 inch powerbook and i really love it. i had been used to a 12 inch ibook for the last 3 years. while the 12 inch screen was really good, the 15 inch feels so much better, and it weighs still way under 3kg, whereas the 17 inch is quite heavy. i'd take the 15 inch
 

HooDoo

Member
In any case don't forget to mock your wife's Apple since your Vaio has the sexiest screen ever seen by a human eye. :]

I sure wish Apple could make screens as good as Sony's ones.
 

hobart

Member
Unfortunately... G5s, as stated in Wednesday's conference call, seems to be a lot further than we all anticipated:

"The mother of all thermal issues."

Good news, however, is that this statement makes it seems as if they can get the bad boy in there... AND... power is not the issue... but what good is this all if we're burning our legs/hands on it? :/

Od:

I run Virtual PC and, just as it states, any PC programs that are not made for the Mac (and I gotta say, I haven't run into many, nowadays) work fine. Depending on your RAM (512 is a must, but I do recommend 768) will tell you how fast/well Virtual PC runs.

I'm not sure what you mean by "linking up." Are you asking me whether it's possible for a Mac and PC to be on similar networks? or whether or not you can transfer data/files via ethernet cable?

Carrying/weight is NOT an issue. The 12" Powerbook, DOES, however, have a lower battery life than most Apple laptops. On average... yuo can expect around 6 hours (I may be wrong). Not really an issue with me though consider that I do most of my computing from a power source (Librarys and coffee shops are still very convenient in this area). Batteries are expensive... but I can't see why an extra one would NOT be a good idea if you are a road warrior. You can also maximize your power settings within the CPU via System Preferences... but I have not played with this so I do not know how much life you can gain by maximizing these settings.

It's also an extremely attractive piece of equipment to pull out of a bag! There are plenty of accessories available on the net for, specifically, the 12" for carring purposes... whether it be an actual carrying case (varying from super sleek business to simple, no frills, carry all) or simply a laptop protector (which I own... I put my 12" in a bookbag and don't want books pounding on it or scratching it).

Lemme know if I can be of more help... switching specifically for media and browsing purposes... the lack of spyware and viruses has been a godsend... especially in a College environment.
 

number386

Member
Here are some pics I just took of my 15", and 17" powerbook. Your in luck I still haven't had a chance to give my brother my 15" powerbook as I just bought the 17" I dont need two.

side by side comparison.
dsc005807hr.jpg


side by side vertically
dsc005814uz.jpg


Screenshots
dsc005822fg.jpg


Height comparison The slimmer one is the 17" model
dsc005832dd.jpg



Yeah I know that portable desk looks gross, I use it to glue models, and other sticky projects.
 

HooDoo

Member
Hey hey Apple Jax, I didn't say Apple's screens were crap I just said Sony's ones are gorgeous and -imo- the best available for the moment.
But I fail to see the point of your link in a laptop thread though.

Again, don't get me wrong, I would be a Mac owner right now if Sony's x black screen wasn't so sexy. I seriously thought about buying a mac instead of my vaio a few months ago.
 

hobart

Member
Well you mentioned, "screens," so I thought I link you to where, I think, Apple really hit the nail on the head in that area (surely what they are capable of as well).

But I do agree with you... the Vaio screens are absolutely gorgeous. I almost bought a Vaio before I bought my 12".
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Flying Llama, would you be able to host that katamari damacy wallpaper? ^^;

or point me to the place to get it? :)

The 17" is massive tho... probably too massive for a laptop; more like an ultra sexy mobile computer.
 

Odnetnin

Banned
a question for the mac people then... checking out the apple site.

a) why are the OSs named after animals

b) what's with the constant upgrade and what's so special about the upcoming tiger? Is it like their version of XP SP2? I think you actually have to buy it?
 

Jonnyram

Member
Thanks for the feedback, and the photos.
She's going to be using it mostly at home, so I'm really tempted to get her the 17" model right now. I'll check it one last time in the flesh.
 

Akia

Member
Odnetnin said:
a question for the mac people then... checking out the apple site.

a) why are the OSs named after animals

b) what's with the constant upgrade and what's so special about the upcoming tiger? Is it like their version of XP SP2? I think you actually have to buy it?

a) They were just code names that just stuck with customers so Apple just kept the whole theme going since Jaguar.

b) Apple's Tiger is great because of the nice features that it includes. Panther and Tiger are great OS updates. Puma on the other hand was pretty underwhelming. No its not like XP SP2, its alot more extensive. They realease OS patches whenever nessisary though.
 

Poody

What program do you use to photoshop a picture?
If you're planning on getting her th 17" i suggest you wait. Rumor has it there will be a new revision for the 17" with HD display and higher resolution and a 9800 radeon
 

fausty

Member
Jonnyram said:
I'm going to buy one of these little puppies for my wife, but I can't decide which.
The prices are close so that's not an issue.
I'm just concerned the 17" model is a little too big. Any recommendations?
Is she going to be using it for a portable computer or something that mainly stays at home? If she's going to be carrying it around, I'd suggest the 15 inch - it's lighter and WAY less gangly in a shoulder bag, those two extra inches and a pound of heftiness turn into a pain while carrying it around.

I just got a 15-inch maxed out, and couldn't be happier. The funny thing is this turned out about the same price as the stock 17-inch (with nearly all the same features), but my limited experience with the larger model (borrowed a friend's for a day) doesn't make me feel as if I "wasted" money not getting it. The screen size is more than perfect and it runs like a champ.

But, no matter what you're getting her one hell of a gift, I'm sure she'll be more than thrilled with either... :)
 

Lhadatt

Member
Odnetnin said:
a question for the mac people then... checking out the apple site.

a) why are the OSs named after animals

b) what's with the constant upgrade and what's so special about the upcoming tiger? Is it like their version of XP SP2? I think you actually have to buy it?
a) Marketing. They found that both Mac users and Winsloths liked using the development codenames, so they started using them on the actual product.

b) No, it's not like XP SP2. It is not a service pack. OS X.4 has many, many new features: Spotlight (complete desktop search, with the ability to search WITHIN files - something Google Desktop cannot do, and you'll have to wait for that on Windows until 2007), Core Image and other desktop rendering enhancements (Longhorn's nifty 3D desktop stuff, already implemented on the Mac), Automator (event automation/scripting for the masses), Dashboard (desktop widgets), enhanced Mail client, enhanced Safari (RSS feeds in your browser, no need to visit each site to see the headlines), plus tons of fixes and speed enhancements.

The deal with Apple's speedy OS updating is they really seemed to want to take the edge away from MS in the OS market. They did this with Panther - OS X.3 pretty much matched WinXP in terms of productivity and enhanced the Mac's stability and interaction with Windows networks. OS X.4 is a pretty big feature update, so you do get what you're paying for. They're slowing down the updates - X.5 will not be coming out for quite a while. They know they've already got Longhorn's feature set, so there's no need to push things quicker than necessary.

Just as a note, consider the server market. Apple has positioned OS X.4 Server to be an almost complete replacement for Windows Server 2003. It is now mostly (if not fully) compatable with MS's Active Directory, it comes with goodies like iChat server, Windows-compatible ACLs, 64-bit support, ethernet bridging, Quicktime server, etc., and is cheaper than Win2003 (hardware not withstanding... but you'll have a hard time finding a premium PC 1U server that matches the Xserve's feature set and design for less).

Oh, and in response to your earlier question about networking: Yes, Macs and PCs play nice on the network - even if it is the Mac that is doing most of the nice playing. Macs can act like PCs on a network, even to the extent of taking a Windows network name (actually, more like Samba), appearing on workgroups, and logging into an Active Directory network. I routinely scuttle files back and forth from the Macs to the PC on my network.

Fear not, switching is easy. :D
 

Jonnyram

Member
I plumped for the 17" model after all.
When both 15 and 17" models are open, the 17" one looks massive, but when they're both closed, it's not really a huge difference. My wife was thrilled with the purchase anyway. Neither of us are Macheads, but it seems a total breeze to use. She got it to connect to my PC's shared drives and iTunes shared music without any trouble.

Unfortunately it has a semi-dead pixel in the top left, but it's not an eyesore, so she'll live with it. Apple don't have any dead pixel guarantees, unfortunately.
 

pxleyes

Banned
Poody said:
If you're planning on getting her th 17" i suggest you wait. Rumor has it there will be a new revision for the 17" with HD display and higher resolution and a 9800 radeon

source???? If that is before the fall, I might get one of those.
 

number386

Member
Jonnyram said:
I plumped for the 17" model after all.
When both 15 and 17" models are open, the 17" one looks massive, but when they're both closed, it's not really a huge difference. My wife was thrilled with the purchase anyway. Neither of us are Macheads, but it seems a total breeze to use. She got it to connect to my PC's shared drives and iTunes shared music without any trouble.

Unfortunately it has a semi-dead pixel in the top left, but it's not an eyesore, so she'll live with it. Apple don't have any dead pixel guarantees, unfortunately.

Nice choice fellow 17" incher, dont forget to call Apple and let them know you recently bought your powerbook because you qualify to get the upcoming operating system 10.4 tiger for about 1000-2000 yen.

It sounds like you may have a stuck pixel rather than a dead pixel. Try massaging the screen lightly where the dead pixel is with a soft cloth like the one that came with the PSP. On occasion you can reactive the pixel. ( I'm totally serious)


Zaptruder said:
Flying Llama, would you be able to host that katamari damacy wallpaper? ^^;

or point me to the place to get it? :)

The 17" is massive tho... probably too massive for a laptop; more like an ultra sexy mobile computer.

Sorry for the late resonse I'm glad you got it, try this link too it has a bunch of katamari damacy wallpapers.

http://katamaridamacy.jp/download/
 
To anybody else still pondering the issue, I've got a 15" Powerbook.

Honestly, once I got over the switch, I realized it's the best decision I've ever made. The system is so much more stable. In the rare event that a program locks up, you can force quit it and your system acts like nothing ever happened. On Windows crashing a program and having to end task on it usually meant I had to reboot the whole system, as it's resources were messed up after the program crash.

The 15" is perfect for me. It's more protable than the 17", which just feels massive to me. The 12" doesn't have enough screen space. With this one I can keep FireFox open and run my AIM client on the side, so I can always see who is online and access it easily.

I've seen the 17" Powerbook. The real-estate on the screen is just plain insane. There is room to do everything on it.

Even more insane is the 30" HD cinema display. I've messed around with on at the Apple Store and there is more room than anybody will ever need. You can run Photoshop and Safari at the same time and be able to see them both without switching between them. There might be room to keep Pages running to type some stuff up in too.
 

Burger

Member
Lhadatt said:
Oh, and in response to your earlier question about networking: Yes, Macs and PCs play nice on the network - even if it is the Mac that is doing most of the nice playing. Macs can act like PCs on a network, even to the extent of taking a Windows network name (actually, more like Samba), appearing on workgroups, and logging into an Active Directory network. I routinely scuttle files back and forth from the Macs to the PC on my network.

Fear not, switching is easy. :D

Question,

I use a Mac at work, but all other 14 or so computers are PC's. I am always copying files to and from these computers which is a bit of a pain at the moment.

Is there a way to permanently map a network connection like windows does ?? So I don't have to remount the drives constantly ?? Also, trying to connect to some shares on my PC results in the error "Cannot connect because the original item cannot be found". This can happen on individual computers (a real pain) or individual shares.

I've only just installed 10.3.9 which includes some SMB fixes and haven't tried it out yet. Perhaps this will fix it.

Thx
 

shantyman

WHO DEY!?
The connect menu in the finder allows you to connect to various network shares- you can create a list of favorites in that window and save them. You would have to re-authenticate each time yhough using this method.
 
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