apple powerbook discussion

rutt · January 24, 2005

fish wrote:

Which is why you need a Powerbook with Delkin Cardbus 32 reader. Slam the card in there, upload, catalog, preview, boom. It's nice. I'll have my 15" PB at yosemite.

:nod

By then, you might not be able to show your face without a g5 powerbook. My g4 pb is soooo slow at this task compared to my 2GHz Pentium-M linux notebook. G5 desktops are about the same speed as the linux notebook (for this particular task.) One can only hope that the g5 pbs will be able to walk in the sun again...

But what does this have to do with raw?

pathfinder · January 24, 2005

fish wrote:

Which is why you need a Powerbook with Delkin Cardbus 32 reader. Slam the card in there, upload, catalog, preview, boom. It's nice. I'll have my 15" PB at yosemite.

Me too, as soon as I order mine. I've ben waiting for iworks and iLife 05 to be released before ordering.

So John, when will the G5 PB's be anounced, since they were not mentioned at Mac World?

rutt · January 24, 2005

pathfinder wrote:

Me too, as soon as I order mine. I've ben waiting for iworks and iLife 05 to be released before ordering.

Do not under any circumstances order a g4 pb without clearing it with me. The thing will be a boat anchor within 6 months.

fish · January 24, 2005

rutt wrote:

Do not under any circumstances order a g4 pb without clearing it with me. The thing will be a boat anchor within 6 months.

That's a bit extreme, don't you think?

Why only wait 6 months? Why not wait 18 months for something 4x better?

Sure, a new PB is going to come out. Something new is always coming out.

rutt · January 24, 2005

pathfinder wrote:

Me too, as soon as I order mine. I've ben waiting for iworks and iLife 05 to be released before ordering.

So John, when will the G5 PB's be anounced, since they were not mentioned at Mac World?

Sorry, didn't see that last sentence. Look, I don't really know. It isn't an easy problem because the g5 is way hot. But apple has to do this or have it's lunch eaten in a very important product area. If you get a g4 pb after your experience with your desktop, you'll be very dissapointed with it's speed. It's good because it is a mac and it is a very nice package. But compared to an modern intel notebook, well it isn't even close.

The rumor mill has been up and down about the release date for a g5 pb. Apple and IBM (which makes the processors for Apple) are definitly working hard on this. Lot's of money is at stake for them to get it done sooner rather than later. The apple marketing magic can only cover up this problem for so long. Use google and google news to search for "powerbook g5" or "g5 powerbook". You get different results, but my favorite recent is this
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/14/apple_powerbook_g5/

rutt · January 24, 2005

fish wrote:

That's a bit extreme, don't you think?

Why only wait 6 months? Why not wait 18 months for something 4x better?

Sure, a new PB is going to come out. Something new is always coming out.

Misery loves company. This particular thing is at the tail end of its product life. Nobody who is used to the speed of dual g5 desktops or intel notebooks is going to be happy with its speed.

fish · January 24, 2005

rutt wrote:

See my long boring post. Probably it didn't make sense, but I mostly agree with you but am still experimenting with raw.

woof.

I bought a BMW 1150GS. The 1200GS came out. I bought an 1100RT. The 1150RT came out. I bought an 1150RT, and now the 1200RT is coming out. I bought a Canon 10D and the 20D came out. So I bought one and now there's speculation that a 30D is around the corner.

I still have my 1150GS, 1150RT, 10D, and 20D. I'm done for awhile. You gotta do what you gotta do to get that instant gratification. Right? RIGHT?

Andy · January 24, 2005

crimony, rutt!
dude, i have a 12" pb in my cart on apple.com right now.

rutt wrote:

Sorry, didn't see that last sentence. Look, I don't really know. It isn't an easy problem because the g5 is way hot. But apple has to do this or have it's lunch eaten in a very important product area. If you get a g4 pb after your experience with your desktop, you'll be very dissapointed with it's speed. It's good because it is a mac and it is a very nice package. But compared to an modern intel notebook, well it isn't even close.

The rumor mill has been up and down about the release date for a g5 pb. Apple and IBM (which makes the processors for Apple) are definitly working hard on this. Lot's of money is at stake for them to get it done sooner rather than later. The apple marketing magic can only cover up this problem for so long. Use google and google news to search for "powerbook g5" or "g5 powerbook". You get different results, but my favorite recent is this
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/14/apple_powerbook_g5/

rutt · January 24, 2005

rutt wrote:

Misery loves company. This particular thing is at the tail end of its product life. Nobody who is used to the speed of dual g5 desktops or intel notebooks is going to be happy with its speed.

I rethought my position on this a little. I have one and I think the thing is a dog. But go ahead and buy one if you like. Just be sure you have 30 days to return it in case you end up agreeing with me.

If you want a fast notebook and want it now, you are stuck with intel. There is reason to think that this will be corrected by June.

Andy · January 24, 2005

rutt wrote:

I rethought my position on this a little. I have one and I think the thing is a dog. But go ahead and buy one if you like. Just be sure you have 30 days to return it in case you end up agreeing with me.

If you want a fast notebook and want it now, you are stuck with intel. There is reason to think that this will be corrected by June.

maybe i can wait....

DavidTO · January 24, 2005

andy wrote:

maybe i can wait....

You never know, but the rumor mill has it that the G4 Powerbook is no longer in production--EOL'd (End of Life). That would mean a revision--could be faster G4's, dual core G4's or G5. You'll never know till it happens, but yeah, now is not the best time to buy a Powerbook. If you can wait 6 months, do so.

rutt · January 25, 2005

I hate to say it (because I think it will cause a firestorm of irrelevant religious bickering) but if you need a notebook now to run PS and to store and edit photos from shoots, buy an intel based machine and, unless you are a true geek, run XP. (The true geeks won't need help here.) For Andy and PF especially, this won't be a problem; they are used to windows and even have all the required expensive software. Make sure to get a Pentium-M machine. 2GHz is roughly as fast as a 3GHz Pentium-4 in many tests.

Nobody hates windows more than I do (well, maybe not nobody, but not many people.) Still, I'm pragmatic and can use whatever OS I need to. Recent versions of XP are much better than older versions of windows I've used.

So far, there doesn't seem to be a great way to run PS on linux. That's what I really want.

Anyway, I'm sure this has noting to do with RAW. Perhaps we should go around the raw converter debate again.

Andy · January 25, 2005

rutt wrote:

I hate to say it (because I think it will cause a firestorm of irrelevant religious bickering) but if you need a notebook now to run PS and to store and edit photos from shoots, buy an intel based machine and, unless you are a true geek, run XP. (The true geeks won't need help here.) For Andy and PF especially, this won't be a problem; they are used to windows and even have all the required expensive software. Make sure to get a Pentium-M machine. 2GHz is roughly as fast as a 3GHz Pentium-4 in many tests.

Nobody hates windows more than I do (well, maybe not nobody, but not many people.) Still, I'm pragmatic and can use whatever OS I need to. Recent versions of XP are much better than older versions of windows I've used.

So far, there doesn't seem to be a great way to run PS on linux. That's what I really want.

Anyway, I'm sure this has noting to do with RAW. Perhaps we should go around the raw converter debate again.

i run a sony 900mhz intel box right now. tiny! 3.1 lbs, i love it. it's been a stable workhorse for 1 year now. win xp pro, sp2, the integrated wireless is great, it's been a great box. i was about to put it up for sale and pull the trigger on a 12" pb last night... until...

ok so my notebook needs are not huge. speed? my 1ghz sony is fast enough for my field work. so, would i be happier with a g4 pb? will it be the same speed +/-?

what would really tick me off is paying $1500 for the 12" pb g4 and then finding out the prices dropped like a stone.

will i care about a g5? are they going to be that much faster? i mean, i don't *need* the huge speed on my notebook, but it is nice, i agree with that .. faster always better.

a plus for waiting: with the heat output of a g5, and who knows how much electrical radiation or whatever, i could avoid the snip snip that i've been putting off for three years now

DavidTO · January 25, 2005

andy wrote:

i run a sony 900mhz intel box right now. tiny! 3.1 lbs, i love it. it's been a stable workhorse for 1 year now. win xp pro, sp2, the integrated wireless is great, it's been a great box. i was about to put it up for sale and pull the trigger on a 12" pb last night... until...

ok so my notebook needs are not huge. speed? my 1ghz sony is fast enough for my field work. so, would i be happier with a g4 pb? will it be the same speed +/-?

what would really tick me off is paying $1500 for the 12" pb g4 and then finding out the prices dropped like a stone.

will i care about a g5? are they going to be that much faster? i mean, i don't *need* the huge speed on my notebook, but it is nice, i agree with that .. faster always better.

a plus for waiting: with the heat output of a g5, and who knows how much electrical radiation or whatever, i could avoid the snip snip that i've been putting off for three years now

If you're not worried about speed, then don't worry about speed.

If you're worried about money read this

mercphoto · January 25, 2005

DavidTO wrote:

You never know, but the rumor mill has it that the G4 Powerbook is no longer in production--EOL'd (End of Life). That would mean a revision--could be faster G4's, dual core G4's or G5. You'll never know till it happens, but yeah, now is not the best time to buy a Powerbook. If you can wait 6 months, do so.

I would love a G5 notebook, but don't count yer processor revs too quickly. Will G5 move to a notebook? Sometime, for sure. 17" first. 12" and 15" late. There is no immediate threat to the G4 leaving the PowerBook line entirely.

Bear in mind the rumor you saw said the current Powerbook is EOL'd. Probably true. Does not, however, mean the new version will not still be a G4.

pathfinder · January 25, 2005

rutt wrote:

Do not under any circumstances order a g4 pb without clearing it with me. The thing will be a boat anchor within 6 months.

I will take this under advisement John. I can wait I have a useable 800Mhz P3 laptop for file storage. A rumor is that a new PB will be announced in the next few weeks - Who knows these things.

I own a 2.8 Ghz P4 HP laptop that crashed after being updated by Msft and would not reboot at all - even into safe mode. I finally formatted the hard drive and used the HP re-install discs that came with the laptop. But now my Linksys router will not let it see the internet because the router says it must run ZoneAlarmPro for security. The really interesting thing is that I am running the current version of ZoneAlarm Pro when I got the message from the router.

That is why I want a Power Book. ALso the screen of the PB blows the HP screen away for color accuracy and I calibrated the HP screen with Monoco EZ colorimeter. Needless to say, I am not a happy camper in the XP world.

mercphoto · January 25, 2005

Do not under any circumstances order a g4 pb without clearing it with me. The thing will be a boat anchor within 6 months.

Any computer is a boat anchor in 6 months. If you need a machine NOW, waiting 6 months isn't really an option. I bought my current 12" PowerBook shortly after it first came out. The rumor mill was full of the "impending 15" aluminum PowerBook", and I wanted the 15". I kept waiting. It was always "two weeks away from announcement". After two months of this I bought the 12" instead. Still took almost another two months, if memory serves, for the 15" Aluminum to be released.

Now my 12" is about 18 months old. The current line-up is nearly twice as fast for the same money. I don't have USB 2.0, nor DVI video out. Big deal. If I bought something new today I'd be in the same boat in another short period of time.

If you need it now, buy it now. If you fall into the trap of waiting for the next big thing YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WAITING.

DoctorIt · January 25, 2005

wow, this thread sure made me feel great about my 12" PB that I spent all my savings on this past fall...

thanks rutt

Andy · January 25, 2005

DoctorIt wrote:

wow, this thread sure made me feel great about my 12" PB that I spent all my savings on this past fall...

thanks rutt

finger hovering over apple store cart, and crucial ram cart ......

DavidTO · January 25, 2005

My 1ghz G4 Titanium Powerbook is 2 years old, and just now starting to show real signs of age as far as keeping up with the upgrades. Boat anchor after six months? Hardly. And even if you get your 12" now Andy, you'll be happy with it for a long time. Unless you're never satisfied without having the latest and greatest. But then you'd never be happy...

Also, I tried to be very clear. Just because the current pbooks are eol'd does NOT mean that the next gen will be G5. Could be, but more likely bumped G4 or possibly dual core G4s.

dkapp · January 25, 2005

I bought the 12" 1.33 GHz PowerBook when it was first announced. It is my only computer. I use it for everything & couldn't be happier.

Boat Anchor? Hmmm....Maybe you shouldn't be comparing apples & oranges. Your taking the worlds fastest computer against a laptop. Two very different computers for different tasks.

Dave

cmr164 · January 25, 2005

andy wrote:

i run a sony 900mhz intel box right now. tiny! 3.1 lbs, i love it. it's been a stable workhorse for 1 year now. win xp pro, sp2, the integrated wireless is great, it's been a great box. i was about to put it up for sale and pull the trigger on a 12" pb last night... until...

ok so my notebook needs are not huge. speed? my 1ghz sony is fast enough for my field work. so, would i be happier with a g4 pb? will it be the same speed +/-?

what would really tick me off is paying $1500 for the 12" pb g4 and then finding out the prices dropped like a stone.

will i care about a g5? are they going to be that much faster? i mean, i don't *need* the huge speed on my notebook, but it is nice, i agree with that .. faster always better.

a plus for waiting: with the heat output of a g5, and who knows how much electrical radiation or whatever, i could avoid the snip snip that i've been putting off for three years now

Andy, it sounds like you do not need super speed on the notebook side so let me suggest a 12" iBook with memory and drive upgrades. For a lot of PS work it is the same speed as the PB and certainly the same speed as my 2003 PB17". You will save a boatload of money and have all the utility you nned.

dkapp · January 25, 2005

For Andy:
The 12" doesn't have a PCMCIA slot, so you will need an external card reader or cable to connect to your camera.

Dave

DavidTO · January 25, 2005

cmr164 wrote:

Andy, it sounds like you do not need super speed on the notebook side so let me suggest a 12" iBook with memory and drive upgrades. For a lot of PS work it is the same speed as the PB and certainly the same speed as my 2003 PB17". You will save a boatload of money and have all the utility you nned.

There's a lot of truth in that. The iBooks are a great deal right now when compared to the pbooks, and deserve a close look.

fish · January 25, 2005

DavidTO wrote:

If you're not worried about speed, then don't worry about speed.

If you're worried about money read this

That link is so wrong is funny. Don't buy on everything, cuz an "update is coming". Except for the iMac, since it's "mid production cycle". However, the only thing that got updated was the iMac

I love my 1.5ghz 15" G4 powerbook. It's light, sleek, fast, and like all other things that run OSX, virus and spyware free. It just works. Andy's got a big powermac as his primary computer, so speed for him shouldn't be much of an issue. Just the feature of being able to close the lid, put the pb to sleep, and wake up almost instantly puts it lightyears ahead of an XP box that takes minutes to boot (assuming it can find all the files

). For the field, dumping and reviewing images, the PB works GREAT. I'm sure it might be kinda slow manipulating 30MB images, but that's what a powermac is for.

As far as a rumored proc upgrade...ain't no G5 gonna happen anytime soon. Hell, even the 12" G4 PB gets so freakin hot it burns your palms and thighs. If anything, I'd expect a speedbump. Maybe even a dualcore G4, but I think that's unlikely.

dragon300zx · January 25, 2005

Hey pathfinder if your looking to get ride of that HP notebook I might be pursuaded to help ya out.

However the problem you are having with the linksys router is simply a setup problem no biggie. If I was there could have it fixed really quick. However troubleshooting it via a message board hmmm. Might take alittle longer.

DavidTO · January 25, 2005

fish wrote:

That link is so wrong is funny. Don't buy on everything, cuz an "update is coming". Except for the iMac, since it's "mid production cycle". However, the only thing that got updated was the iMac

Not exactly true, there's plenty you should buy according to the link, and the iMac was updated in August, as it says. Truth is, that another update should be coming sometime in March-May for the iMac. If you can afford to wait, maybe you should. And the other side of the argument makes sense, as well. Just go ahead and buy it, you'll always have reason to regret your purchase. The site's not wrong, perhaps just a little conservative about their advice re: waiting for updates.

And look, more importantly, for the Powerbook, it hasn't been updated since April. It's due. Will it make a huge difference? I don't think so. It will when the G5s come out, but I hold little hope for that this cycle. Will Andy get more value for his money after the updates? Absolutely. Should he wait? Well, that's a 50/50 proposition, I think. Totally up to him and how desparately he wants to fully Apple-ify his life.

pathfinder · January 25, 2005

DavidTO wrote:

There's a lot of truth in that. The iBooks are a great deal right now when compared to the pbooks, and deserve a close look.

How much difference in speed is there between the 15 iBook and the 15 in PB? Is there any difference in the screens?

The powerbook screen is just so much better than my HP's screen. Speed is a secondary consideration for a laptop for me. Ease of use, speed at booting or awakening. It is SO nice to touch the space bar on my MAC and have everything back just where I left it instantly. A laptop like that would be great -

I mostly want the laptop screen for viewing of files - not editing so much as cropping and viewing. I want a PB or an iB before mid-February when I start travelling again.

DavidTO · January 25, 2005

pathfinder wrote:

How much difference in speed is there between the 15 iBook and the 15 in PB? Is there any difference in the screens?

The powerbook screen is just so much better than my HP's screen. Speed is a secondary consideration for a laptop for me. Ease of use, speed at booting or awakening. It is SO nice to touch the space bar on my MAC and have everything back just where I left it instantly. A laptop like that would be great -

I mostly want the laptop screen for viewing of files - not editing so much as cropping and viewing. I want a PB or an iB before mid-February when I start travelling again.

Well, the 15in iBook is a 14in iBook.

And there's a big difference. The 14in iBook actually has the same resolution as the 12in iBook. It's just a bigger screen. Same number of pixels, though. Longer battery life, but also bigger/heavier. I would never get the 14in, unless I had aging eyes and needed the larger screen.

12in iBook, 12, 15, or 17in pbook, depending on your pref.

pathfinder · January 25, 2005

DavidTO wrote:

Well, the 15in iBook is a 14in iBook.

And there's a big difference. The 14in iBook actually has the same resolution as the 12in iBook. It's just a bigger screen. Same number of pixels, though. Longer battery life, but also bigger/heavier. I would never get the 14in, unless I had aging eyes and needed the larger screen.

12in iBook, 12, 15, or 17in pbook, depending on your pref.

Thanks - that helps me sort this out some more

dkapp · January 25, 2005

fish wrote:

Hell, even the 12" G4 PB gets so freakin hot it burns your palms and thighs.

I've read a lot about this, but I've never had that problem with mine. I think it only relates to the first generation 867 12".

Dave

apple powerbook discussion

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