Powerbook Advice

[greenhybrid]

Since there's no new PowerBook announcement I think I'm just going to take the plunge and buy my first Apple, the Powerbook G4. I had been waiting for a WWDC update, but since there isn't one and I've gotten used to the idea of shedding Windows, nothing else to do I'm headed to college in August and want a laptop NOW!

I'm both a student and entrepreneurial Internet developer. I own http://www.greenhybrid.com and it wouldn't be unusual for me to have Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Firefox, Thunderbird, an FTP app and a chat program open at once. I'm currently on a 1.8 Ghz P4 (Dell), which I find way too slow.

I won't go with the 12' because it's just too tiny. The 15' is about (less than 100 pixels smaller vertically) the same as my current desktop resolution. The 17' is interesting but perhaps too big to carry around easily.

People on these forums talk about the PowerBook as if it's the slowest thing on the market. Is this really that so? Will I have problems with what I use it for? Is there really a big advantage with the Superdrive and should I drop down to the Combo for an extra 512 of RAM instead?

I would hopefully be able to get that student discount, but they're still expensive

Any advice, suggestions or answers? Thanks in advance.

[cysio]

buy an ibook!

Recently i switched from the PC to Mac.
Before i had a hp pavilon [2.2ghz, 512mb ram, 60 hdd] and now i have this tiny, quite ibook.
It rocks! With the G4, 1,2ghz, 512 mb ram, combo drive it works faster than my old pc. I simply love it.

Probably the same situation is with powerbook but as for the college student, ibook seems more mobile.

[greenhybrid]

Not looking at the iBook, sorry. I may be an incoming college student, but I'm also an Internet developer and with Apple's current line, the fastest of the fast is what's gonna cut it for me.

[intlplby]

get the superdrive and get 3rd party mac memory since it is much cheaper and works

[greenhybrid]

What about the warranty? I'm set to go with an extra 512 for $130

[MCQ]

What about the warranty? I'm set to go with an extra 512 for $130

It's a good idea to get the extended warranty, but you have until the end of the first year to purchase and add it on, so you don't have to get it immediately.

DO NOT buy the memory upgrade from Apple. Go buy the memory from Crucial instead for around $60, install it yourself (easy process) and save the remaining money to put towards buying the extended Applecare warranty if you want.

[greenhybrid]

As far as the warranty, I meant: does it not void any part of it by installing 3rd-party hardware? Also, I live in Florida and apparently they can't sell extended warranties here. Would it be possible for me to somehow obtain that when I'm out of state?

[FFL]

buy the powerbook and the extended warranty in your business name and you will be fine. Florida AppleCare restrictions only apply to individual consumers.

Installing 3rd party RAM does not void your warranty. However, I'd remove it (takes 30 seconds at most) if you need warranty service on your 'Book.

[greenhybrid]

I would, except I'll be using a student discount ;) Plan B?
What if there's a problem with the RAM?

[MCQ]

Huh? Send the RAM back to whoever you purchased it from for a replacement if it happens.

[greenhybrid]

I just got back from the store with my dad. We've decided on a 15" with iWorks instead of Office. I'll get AppleCare and a combo printer/scanner for $30 after rebate.

The only thing I'm unsure about is whether to get the 1.5 or 1.67 Ghz G4. I do plan on upgrading the RAM third-party, but I simply don't know enough about computers. What's worth it? Is the .17 difference going to be worth $200? Would it be better to get an extra 512 RAM and a 1.67 or an extra 1 GB and a 1.5? Any advice as far as this goes?

[Franz Josef]

I just got back from the store with my dad. We've decided on a 15" with iWorks instead of Office. I'll get AppleCare and a combo printer/scanner for $30 after rebate.

The only thing I'm unsure about is whether to get the 1.5 or 1.67 Ghz G4. I do plan on upgrading the RAM third-party, but I simply don't know enough about computers. What's worth it? Is the .17 difference going to be worth $200? Would it be better to get an extra 512 RAM and a 1.67 or an extra 1 GB and a 1.5? Any advice as far as this goes?

iWorks is great :) . re RAM v CPU speed, both is best but if you must trade one for the other, I'd be inclined to have the extra RAM. If you're running alot of apps at once, a practical minimum is probably 768MB or 1Gb of RAM to get full benefit from your PB.

[greenhybrid]

Would there be a big difference between 1 GB and 1.5? I think I may go with the 1.67 Ghz just because it's not something that can be upgraded. Heck, I could splurge this once.

[MCQ]

Would there be a big difference between 1 GB and 1.5? I think I may go with the 1.67 Ghz just because it's not something that can be upgraded. Heck, I could splurge this once.

Depends what you're doing, but the benefit of going from 1GB --> 1.5GB is much less than 512MB-->1GB for most users.

[donniedarko]

I have the pbook you are looking into purchasing. I went ahead and maxed out the ram, I use cubase sx/reason 2.5 for audio recording and mixing as well as photoshop cs2/illustrator cs2 fror graphic design.keep your 512 stick of ram so you can switch out your 3rd party ram if you need to send the book in for service.
Enjoy your new book, congrats.