Apple Notebooks

[StraightPipe]

i'm trying to help a friend keep from getting screwed. She's a graphic arts major (recently graduated) and looking for a new rig. She's been eying the ibooks + powerbooks, though I dont think she's got enough money to play with power.

she said she runs final cut pro and most of the macromedia app (flash, dreamweaver...) photoshop.

she really just needs a laptop to replace her G3 desktop.

oh yeah, did I mention she's broke. she is, she doesnt even have any dough to make a down payment, so the cheaper the better. she needs to find a deal (if apple makes deals, i dont know, i'm a pc guy).


So what would you reccomend?
ibook or Pbook?
does she need this years model, or can she go with something older (from a reliable sorce) ?
where is the best deal? (or does she have to buy from apple.com?)

thanks for the help!

 

[bluewall21]

I don't think apple is for the value-concious buyer. But, you could check out the prices at froogle or something.

 

[dullard]

Apple makes really great deals for students. Too bad she just graduated. Other than that, Apple doesn't budge on price (as far as I know). There aren't Apple Hot Deal coupon codes...

 

[sisooktom]

Apple notebooks are actually a good buy, especially the iBook line. I'd consider one if I was in the market for a portable. But I agree that thier desktops most definately are not. You should really ask this question on the Apple forums, not many Mac people here. . .

 

[Eug]

What's her budget?

The 12" iBook 1.07 GHz is a great little machine. Fast enough for general usage, inexpensive, and very portable.

However, for Final Cut Pro, and even 2D design, the iBook's 1024x768 screen is potentially very limiting. For someone looking to do that, I'd recommend a 15" PowerBook. They're expensive but a bit cheaper for students and for refurbs of course. And they're no more expensive than x86 laptops with similar size and functionality.

Obviously, a G4 1.5 current model 15" would be the best, but if she's short on cash she could go for something like an older model G4 1.25 GHz 15".

 

[drag]

The cheapest your going to find something (decent) is going to be in Apple store's "Special Deals" section.

749 dollars for a refurbished 800mhz Ibook. Although you will want to put more RAM in it, or get ones that are slightly more expensive for the more RAM and the DVD drives.

That's 12" there is a 14" with 256megs of RAM, DVD drive and 933mhz cpu, 849.

I don't know if Apple will finance that.

Othwise E-bay if your brave, but most stuff for Apple is horribly overpriced.

 

[SickBeast]

It sounds like she is a MacHead so I don't want to de-program her. Besides, Macs are probably the best for what she does anyway.

That said, she is looking to buy a laptop from the company that produces some of the world's most expensive portable computers. The low-end iBooks are excellent value, but are not even close to fast enough to run Final Cut Pro. In fact, I would not reccomend running that kind of software on a laptop computer unless you have something extremely high-end.

I would tell her that for her budget she needs either the 12" or 14" iBook and she should accept the fact that Final Cut Pro will not be in the cards for portable use. I mean, she could probably do *some* stuff in it periodically, but it will by no means be a video editing powerhouse.

If she insists and must edit video, then she will need something with a very fast and large hard drive, and the most memory she can get her hands on. Those two areas are probably the most crucial for video stuff.

If she just wants to do her basic graphic design, she could even go with an older system. You don't need alot of horsepower to do photoshop/illustrator work. The iBook 12" would be more than enough. She should get at least 512mb of RAM though. Heck, my boss at work does architectural working drawings on a P2 233.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
It sounds like she is a MacHead so I don't want to de-program her. Besides, Macs are probably the best for what she does anyway.

I was thinking more along the lines that stuff like Photoshop and Dreamweaver are pretty expensive programs, and she'd have to buy all new ones to run on a 300 dollar Wallmart PC.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: drag

Originally posted by: SickBeast
It sounds like she is a MacHead so I don't want to de-program her. Besides, Macs are probably the best for what she does anyway.

I was thinking more along the lines that stuff like Photoshop and Dreamweaver are pretty expensive programs, and she'd have to buy all new ones to run on a 300 dollar Wallmart PC.

I was under the impression that the CD that comes with Photoshop/Illustrator will install to both a PC and a Mac. I could be wrong, but that's how it works to the best of my knowledge.

In any event, yes, we're both correct. It is bad to de-progam someone and it is equally bad to spend money on software when you don't really need to. :beer:

 

[RollWave]

That ibook is going to be so slow for final cut...

 

[Eug]

Speed for Final Cut will be an issue, but the screen size might just be worse. It's a relatively low resolution 4:3 screen.

The 15" PowerBook has a moderate resolution widescreen (and a much faster CPU and GPU).

 

[StraightPipe]

I'm gonna try to get her to read these posts to see what she thinks, I really appreciate the input.

hehe, it's funny, i've been trying to "de-program" her for years, but she wont budge.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: StraightPipe
I'm gonna try to get her to read these posts to see what she thinks, I really appreciate the input.

hehe, it's funny, i've been trying to "de-program" her for years, but she wont budge.

People like what they like. Most of the time it isn't worth trying to sway them.

 

[StraightPipe]

I had issues with mac's because we lived together, and was always trying to fix problems for her. also OS/9 refused to file share with wn98 or XP. that and she would be like " what is some good free software for _____ " and I'd be like "win___, damn" anyway they're great for graphics, I just never could justify the cost and inflexiblity.

 

[randomlinh]

hrmm... has anyone mentioned how the HD will affect final cut pro? It is still a slow ass laptop drive compared to desktops...

as far as filesharing goes, OSX here works perfectly fine sharing w/ XP

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: StraightPipe
I had issues with mac's because we lived together, and was always trying to fix problems for her. also OS/9 refused to file share with wn98 or XP. that and she would be like " what is some good free software for _____ " and I'd be like "win___, damn" anyway they're great for graphics, I just never could justify the cost and inflexiblity.

Or you're just ignorant in the ways of the Mac.

(Not an insult, if you are confused, look up the definition of ignorant. Not everyone is encouraged or interested in educating themselves.)

 

[Wahsapa]

http://dealmac.com/ http://www.macmall.com/ http://www.zones.com/cgi-bin/zones/site/home/index.html?zone=mac http://www.macobserver.com/#readerspecials

i would look around thoes site for what you might need... if she wants to use final cut pro she should not get a laptop... atleast a G4, im not sure what kind of deals you could get, maybe even dual g4, but you should check out thoes sites.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Wahsapa
http://dealmac.com/ http://www.macmall.com/ http://www.zones.com/cgi-bin/zones/site/home/index.html?zone=mac http://www.macobserver.com/#readerspecials

i would look around thoes site for what you might need... if she wants to use final cut pro she should not get a laptop... atleast a G4, im not sure what kind of deals you could get, maybe even dual g4, but you should check out thoes sites.

Nice. I used to have a list of sites like that, and I lost it. Thanks a lot!

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: StraightPipe
I had issues with mac's because we lived together, and was always trying to fix problems for her. also OS/9 refused to file share with wn98 or XP. that and she would be like " what is some good free software for _____ " and I'd be like "win___, damn" anyway they're great for graphics, I just never could justify the cost and inflexiblity.

Yeah, OS 9 sucks donkeys balls. OS X is excellent however.

 

[Erasmus-X]

I think she might be able to apply for an Apple student loan, even though she recently graduated. When I got mine last year, they asked what school and went to and such, but they never even asked to provide proof of that. You don't need a down-payment for one of those and they approve you instantly online. The only drawback with that is the interest can be pretty high (variable from 9.9 to 24.9% I think).

For what she does she's really going to want a 15 or 17" PowerBook and not an iBook. The PowerBooks have faster CPUs and graphics processors, not to mention better displays.

 

[StraightPipe]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: StraightPipe
I had issues with mac's because we lived together, and was always trying to fix problems for her. also OS/9 refused to file share with wn98 or XP. that and she would be like " what is some good free software for _____ " and I'd be like "win___, damn" anyway they're great for graphics, I just never could justify the cost and inflexiblity.

Or you're just ignorant in the ways of the Mac.

(Not an insult, if you are confused, look up the definition of ignorant. Not everyone is encouraged or interested in educating themselves.)

I think i was the first to say i dont know sh!t about macs, but i try. it's like speaking spanish, I know the roots of some things, so i can get around town, butdefinately cant give directions myself

 

[StraightPipe]

i mentioned this thread to her (she has yet to read) and she said, "maybe i should get a PC"


HHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

i'm serious. she's wondering if there's a PC version of Final Cut Pro?

the fact is she (like most college students) is broke, and cant afford a mac. she could possibly afford a PC.

if i was to obtain OSX do you think it would be hard to format? I'm frightend to start such an endeavor on a mac for several reasons:

1. i dont know mac.
2. i dont have any mac software.
3. i dont know where to get free mac software.
4. i dont know mac.


so is there a Pc version of final cut?

edit: seems apple writes this app, guess there's not one for pc

on the other hand i do have a pc version of photoshop 7.

edit: oh, looks like you could obtain studio MX for free too. (which would include dreamweaver, flash, and more) PC or Mac

 

[Wahsapa]

ummm, if she wants to get work done its almost not worth it to get a pc... and she doesnt know apple marks final cut pro for mac's only so i DOUBT she wants to face any of the issues that come with making/running your own pc(windows)

 

[batmanuel]

As far as the hard drive issue goes, she could get a large 7200 RPM external firewire drive and stick her footage and scratch disks on to that, using the laptop's drive only for the program files and backing up the finished projects. The firewire to IDE bridging would eat up a bit of the drive's performance, but it would still be a lot faster than the notebook drive for working with video and would have the capacity to hold a lot of raw footage. For roughly $100-$150 after rebate, it would be a relatively cheap way to improve her video editing performance. As an added bonus, if the laptop craps out and has to be sent in for warranty service, her work would be safe on the external drive.

 

[somekid617]

DAMN U MACS!!!