I'm looking for a good, solid laptop that I can buy now and take with me to college. I figured that I should get a Mac of course. I figured I should get a powerbook. I checked out their site and read up about their newest powerbooks. I'm set on buying the 12in model.

I want to be able to use it for...

Writing
Graphic design and art
Photography
and the obvious uses for a computer... internet, music, and the usual.

I'm confident in this, but not too sure. I might be getting within the next year, or as soon as possible--considering the cost.

By the time I buy it, the newest system from Mac will be available so I assume that it will come with it.

What I'm really looking for here is a translation of it's specs from geek to normal person... language. One can find the information at apple.com, but I would really like to hear it from someone who owns a G4.

Thanks.

I have been using a powerbook for a while now. I have a separate monitor that’s color-synced, and set up to handle digital rendering. There are advantages and disadvantages to the line. Memory expansion was necessary for me, even with external storage and compressed files. The software bundle was shitty though. I’m to cheap/lazy to buy/steal word, so I type everything in simpletext.

i can send you my disk images of office X. its all my uncle had.

i would translate geek to english but its rather hard. i was considering using MPHs (miles per hour) but i can't really. . i mean really, powerbooks are really good. they are like portable powermacs. hence the name. i really wanted the 12 inch but i settled with a 14 inch ibook and its almost the same thing. that was before they updated them. either way, powerbooks are better for that type of stuff you mentioned if you don't want to spend the big bucks for a powermac. and you are right that it will come with the next OS. but that depends if you buy it right now. if you buy it now, it won't, but you will be able to send in an order form to apple and it should be free. they will send you the discs. but....if you get it next year, it will come with the much faster G5 processor. which is what powermacs and the imac have. but nobody knows when those are coming out. if you don't need it now, i say wait. hopefully, the new powerbooks come out just in time for you moving to college.

[quote="Catfish"]I’m to cheap/lazy to buy/steal word, so I type everything in simpletext.[/quote]

You could always try [url=http://www.openoffice.org/]OpenOffice[/url].

my friend told me about that. anyway, soon i'm getting a new laptop as well. HP is going to be my ticket. They have some really nice options for laptops. but that's windows.

[quote="thejedipunk"]they will send you the discs. but....if you get it next year, it will come with the much faster G5 processor. which is what powermacs and the imac have. but nobody knows when those are coming out.[/quote]

I have read that keeping the laptop cool has become a major production issue.

thats exactly why they haven't come out with them yet. but its been rumored that they will be out by the end of the year.

I think a dual-core G4 PB would be more likely. Putting a G5 in a laptop is a big engineering challenge.

But anyway, yeah I use an older PowerBook and I use it for most of the things described. It's never let me down. I'd say go for it if you've got the cash.

Wouldn't a dual-core laptop generate a lot of heat? The single core models are hot enough as it is. At any rate, I have a 17'' and it's great.

[quote="thejedipunk"]i can send you my disk images of office X. its all my uncle had.

i would translate geek to english but its rather hard. i was considering using MPHs (miles per hour) but i can't really. . i mean really, powerbooks are really good. they are like portable powermacs. hence the name. i really wanted the 12 inch but i settled with a 14 inch ibook and its almost the same thing. that was before they updated them. either way, powerbooks are better for that type of stuff you mentioned if you don't want to spend the big bucks for a powermac. and you are right that it will come with the next OS. but that depends if you buy it right now. if you buy it now, it won't, but you will be able to send in an order form to apple and it should be free. they will send you the discs. but....if you get it next year, it will come with the much faster G5 processor. which is what powermacs and the imac have. but nobody knows when those are coming out. if you don't need it now, i say wait. hopefully, the new powerbooks come out just in time for you moving to college.[/quote]

Hey, thanks! That was huge help. I will be getting one soon, but I also figured it'd be best to wait. Thanks again.

if you just want to understand specs... in *most* cases, the bigger the number, the better.

anyway, here's my attempt to distill the info. hope this helps.

Processor 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 => more gigs (G) = more muscle = good

Memory 512MB PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM => more MB = more programs you can have running at once, or files open, or whatever.

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM => more MB = more memory for graphics stuff, this should be sufficient unless you plan on heavy (3d) gaming or something

Hard disk drive (1) 60GB Ultra ATA/100; 5400 rpm => more GB = more storage space, more rpm more or less means you can copy/save stuff to the HD faster... not usually significant unless it's really low

Ethernet Built-in 10/100BASE-T => a network card. this will be important if you want to get on the network at college. ethernet >> broadband

I've got a 15-in Powerbook G4. It's about a year and a half old, and it still functions well in everything you described. I'm sure the systems now have upgraded stuff, but mine has been perfectly sufficient. If you're going to college, you probably can get Office X pretty cheap (as in almost free). My friend has a 12-in iBook, and it has a compact frame, i'd assume the Powerbook would also. However, the 15-in has a widescreen, which is great for watching movies on. The 12-in has a regular screen. Also, the 15-in screen is higher res. (amt. of pixels on the screen, the sharpness of the picture). 1280x864 on the 15in vs. 1024x768 for the 12in. For graphic design I use GIMP, and it runs fine. I'm sure you could get Photoshop or something from your college (especially if it has a good art program). Keep in mind that I bought mine in November of 2003.

so, are mac laptops better than windows-based ones? cause i tried playing with my friends ibook, and i was slightly confused by the interface...

i'm actually looking at getting a laptop, but only if i can find one from like 2 or 3 years ago that is fairly fast and plays DVDs in a $300s price range. but that's not gonna happen, is it?