Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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I am considering getting a 12 inch powerbook for school, but after reading various reviews I wanted to clear some things up with you guys. Some reviews were also from 2003, and I wasn't sure if Apple had cleared anything up sense then.
1) I've heard the powerbook gets overheated alot. Is this just when charging, or when running multiple programs, or what? 2) I read that when placed on a desk the powerbook "wobbles" from side to side a little. Is this true? I was shocked to read that in a review becuase I'm sure Apple puts their stuff through a rigorous testing process, and something like this would have immediatley shown... 3) Any other gripes about the current 12 inch powerbook? Or maybe any good things about it? Thanks in advance |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Not sure if this should be in Purchasing Advice or not....Move it if neccessary
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Senior Member
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I would recommend waiting until January to buy. MWSF should have some news.
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Ehhh...I was considering waiting, but the current powerbooks have such great specs that I think I'm going to go ahead and buy. I'm expecting MWSF to have iBook updates anway, not PB, but that's another thread ....
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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If an intel iBook is released, it will likely be faster than the current Powerbooks for most uses. However, professionals who use Photoshop all the time will still be better served by the older G4-based machines, until PS is made a Universal Binary.
For most people, the sort of Intel iBook expected at MWSF (see other threads) will be more than sufficient. I'll probably be selling my Rev. D 12" PB w/SD in favor of an iBook if one is released. I use Photoshop and the like, but I can deal with an extra 5 seconds for a filter if it means a system that is faster overall. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
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Yes, my 12" PB does get hot a bit easily. Usually only when running CPU-intensive stuff, though, such as gaming. During normal use, not too much.
As for the wobbling, it only wobbles if the table is uneven. The person who wrote the review you heard should get a better table. Overall, I like it a lot. Nice and small, and the screen isn't too much of a problem because of cool stuff like Exposé. |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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All these MWSF questions are driving me insane! Ahhhhhh
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Thanks Blue Rabbit. So only when the CPU is used alot does it get hot? Not for just one program? That makes sense...
And thanks for clearing up the "wobbling". I new Apple wouldn't let a thing like that past them! |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Do most all laptops get hot easily? My dad has a 17 inch windows running laptop and it gets really hot and I HATE it, it does of course run windows so that may be part of the reason.
How about for watching DVDs? Does it get hot then? |
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Love my 12in PB runs a little hot during heavy processing, but i do a lot of video stuff on it great and portable. light fits in any case. lower the screen brightness and extend battery life significantly.
I might wait the additional 4 weeks to see what comes out, but thats just cause i already have my mac. Oh, runs on my 20in screen awesome. turano 13" Blackbook 2GHz Intel Core Duo, 2GB RAM, 20" Cinema Display |
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rams it
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
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1. Hot, kinda, but not "overheated". There is a difference. In my experience, the PowerBook doesn't get any hotter then other laptops I have used.
2. My PowerBook does wobble, but it never bothered me enough to do anything about it. You can just trim the non-skids on the bottom so they're even if you have the problem though. |
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reticulating your mom
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Sometimes the PowerBook feels pretty hot, but it is cooler on the inside than most other laptops. The reason? Aluminum is a great conductor of heat. It's better for the computer to be able to breathe than for it to be cool on the surface, but circuit-scorchingly hot inside.
You ask me for a hamburger. |
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www.stevegongphoto.com
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I would really wait till january if I were you. The current 12 inch (which is what I have) is really nothing to get excited about, especially the fact that it hasn't been updated since january.
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Member
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mine wables a little bit... but that may be caused that my bag broke and it feel the third day i had it. the drop warped one of the edges in so that might have done it. never heard of it on another machine so maybe this one isn't my fault.
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Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
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Mine wobbled until I ripped off one of the feet. Now it sits perfectly on practically any flat surface.
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Passing by
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
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www.stevegongphoto.com
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The wobble thing is a pretty common phenomenon, basically with heat and a bad surface, such as on your lap, the aluminium will warp. The fix for this is to set the pb on the edge of a table and apply a little force to bend it back. I'm serious, that's what the techs at apple do. That's what I've been doing. It doesn't damage the computer at all, just the al has a nature of bending, that's all. |
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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Yet another recommendation to wait. The 12" PowerBook has undoubtedly the worst value of any Mac at the moment. Based on how it compares to the $999 iBook, it should only cost about $1200... and that's taking into account Apple's rather high prices. Unless it's urgent, I'd advise waiting until they get an update, since as stevegong points out, it's been a year since the 12" PowerBook has gotten any better. And even if you need a computer right now, I'd still suggest getting the 12" iBook because it's such a better deal than the PowerBook. $500 less and it's only barely less capable.
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Well I have considered the iBook, but I really want a SuperDrive in a 12 inch screen size laptop.
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Seriously, Stevegong, they just bend it? Wow?
Oh, another Q What (edit) revision 12 inch pb is this (a,b,c,?). And if it is a later rev., have any improvements been made since the original introduciton? Last edited by TheBigApple : 2005-12-11 at 12:47. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
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The fan doesn't turn on unless I'm rending video/applying photoshop filters...CPU intensive stuff. It's not overly warm.
No wobbling here. Never had a problem with that in the year and a half I've owned this thing. I love my computer, but I'd recommend you wait until at least January if you don't need it today. Come waste your time with me |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
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Right now I believe it's rev. D, I have rev. C and I think only one more has come out since than. Since its inception they've added a lot of things, mostly under the hood. The biggest external change was the addition of Mini-DVI.
Come waste your time with me |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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BigApple, I highly recommend Mactracker, as an easy, quick way to help answer these types of questions!
It's a great app, totally free. Many here swear by it, and it's always my "go to" source to find out what came out, when it did and what it had. But, to answer your question, according to Mactracker the 12" is on its Rev. D (the last entry for it was the January 2005, with SMS, 5400rpm hard drive, scrolling trackpad, etc.) The software does include the October dual-layer SuperDrive and higher resolution display updates to the 15" and 17" models, but no mention of the 12" (since it didn't receive any love that day). So the January 2005 12" PowerBook looks to be the fourth revision (D) since it was introduced in January 2003. In any case, Mactracker goes into much more specifics (release, discontinue dates, features added, history of each model, general specs of that specific model, etc.). Go get it...chances are, you'll get A LOT of your questions answered. A week doesn't go by that I don't launch it 1-2 times to check something, or satisfy my curiosity... |
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Really, what you're getting is a laptop that's virtually unchanged from late January, and even then, it wasn't much of a compelling option. It lacks widescreen (unlike the other PowerBooks), it lacks a high resolution (unlike the other PowerBooks), it lacks a decent graphics card (unlike even the $500 less iBook), it lets you install less, not more, RAM than the iBook for $500 less does, it doesn't have PCMCIA (unlike the other PowerBooks), nor FireWire 800 (unlike the other PowerBooks), etc. At least it has DVI and officially-supported spanning, and, well, a SuperDrive. It comes with one of the best laptop keyboards that exist, although it lacks illumination (unlike the other PowerBooks). It comes with Gigabit Ethernet, unlike the iBook. But are those features worth $500? I don't believe so. Last edited by chucker : 2005-12-11 at 14:00. |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Thanks DMBand, I was starting to get a little worried!
Thanks guys for all of your advice, keep it coming! One thing that I have learned from my iMac G4 (bought 2.5 years ago) is that no matter what updates are released, I will still have a great product that I will love anyway. Granted, who doesn't want the latest stuff, but I think I will be happy either way. And thanks pscates, I've downloaded Mactracker and I love it! |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Oh yes, I meant revision...sorry
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can't read sarcasm.
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
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If anything, it really illustrates how far (and how long) it has taken for Apple to be where they are today. It also makes me realize how fanatical we Macheads are to have stuck in there. |
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Bristol, UK
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Then again id suggest you don't go for anything til post January - you might find you can get a very nice ibook that will do just what you want Mr Chuckles the Nipple Monkey 2.66Mac Pro 1900XT and lots of goodies |
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