Is Apple Laptop good?

khunkami

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Jan 9, 2005
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I already bought Toshiba M30 laptop 5 months ago and I have great interesting about

Apple laptop (Powerbook G4, etc..)

So many people use it when I look around at the library.

I want to go buy Apple Laptop if apple products are better than general laptops.

How do you think?
 

Eug Wanker

Banned
Oct 21, 2004
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Good? Quality yes, but it really depends on what software you like to use.

The iBooks are a very good value. You mentioned PowerBooks. I will point out that the PowerBooks will likely be updated in the next couple of weeks, so I'd wait at least until mid February before you buy.

What's wrong with your Toshiba?
 

khunkami

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Jan 9, 2005
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First of all,
Toshiba Laptop seems to get really hot after 3-4hours.

It's kinda heavy to bring it to school / library / workplace.

and...

Technical support is really bad... Technicians do not know how to solve problems.
 

Jassi

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Sep 8, 2004
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Originally posted by: Eug Wanker
Good? Quality yes, but it really depends on what software you like to use.

The iBooks are a very good value. You mentioned PowerBooks. I will point out that the PowerBooks will likely be updated in the next couple of weeks, so I'd wait at least until mid February before you buy.

What's wrong with your Toshiba?

How do you know that PB will be updated?
 

imported_bum

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Jan 15, 2005
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I have also heard rumors from plenty of people (one of them that knows an Apple employee) that the PowerBooks are going through a revamp. Not sure what they plan to do, but there should be some interesting upgrades without much added cost.

Unless you have specific tasks you need to do with your laptop that need Windows, I think you will love either an iBook or a PowerBook. I couldn't be happier with the PB's I've used. You may pay a premium, I think its worth it. An alternative would be an IBM notebook, as I've heard nothing but praise from them.

If you do plan to go the Apple route though, it would be wise to wait a couple weeks and see what happens. It would suck to spend that much money and have them change the things right when you get yours.
 

Eug Wanker

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Oct 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: Jassi
How do you know that PB will be updated?
It has been 9 months since the last PowerBook update, and last week at the Apple Store they went from shipping stock in 1 day to shipping in 3-5 or 7-10 days. Furthermore, some distributors are claiming the current models have been end-of-life'd.

I'd expect a G4 1.5 GHz in the 12" and a G4 1.67 in the 15/17". They will use the G4 7447B, which has 512 KB L2 cache.

Other potential (but unlikely) possibilities are the G4 7448 (1 MB L2 cache), or the G5.
 

halfadder

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Dec 5, 2004
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I have been using a 15" PowerBook G4 (1.25 GHz, 512 MB, Radeon 9600) for the past 13 months, it's my first and only Mac.

I love the size and the build quality / fit and finish. The thing feels like it was machined out of a solid block of aluminum billet. Lots of nice features like the fold away lid latch and the backlit keyboard. Even the underside looks just as nice as the lid with only a simple battery hatch, ram hatch, and model details laser engraved into the aluminum finish. Mac OS X has been a fun experience, I like it a lot, but I also like Windows XP too. I originally bought the PowerBook for use on the road, for presentations, email, and web surfing. I started with MS Office 2004, but quickly started to use Apple's excellent Keynote application for presentations and Nisus Writer Express for word processing. Over time I started using the PowerBook for more and more tasks, these days I use it for almost all of my home videos (with iMovie and Final Cut Express) which I burn to snazzy DVDs with iDVD. I also sort most of my home digital pictures with iPhoto and sometimes do more advanced work with the Mac version of Photoshop CS.

Performance has been great, even with a "lowly" 1.25 GHz G4. Everything feels at least as fast as my old 2.2 and 2.4 GHz P4 systems, and usually much faster feeling that that. Because my digital photos are only 5 Mpixel in size, almost everything I do in Photoshop happens instantly, although some operations take about a second to complete. I sometimes play Sim City 4, Halo, WoW, and UT2004 on the PowerBook, they work great.

I'm still a PC user at heart, and I love building and upgrading my desktop rigs. That's also where I do most of my web surfing and email, because frankly a nice desktop monitor and full size keyboard and mouse is more comfortable than any notebook. I will probably always have a few PCs around, but I think I might also always have a Mac from now on as well. I'm loving Mac OS X and the PowerBook hardware.

There are rumors of a PowerBook update sometime this week. If you're waiting to plunk down some big money on an Apple notebook, I would suggest waiting until fall for the PowerBook G5. Otherwise anytime is a good time to spend $700 - $900 on a 1.2 GHz iBook depending on discounts and coupons.
 

Tostada

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Oct 9, 1999
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There's a Notebook / SFF forum you should look at. Tons of info about Apple laptops.
 

hopejr

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Nov 8, 2004
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I have the previous model of iBook from the current one, and it's good. iBooks aren't overpriced either, which makes the purchase of one of them really worthwhile. I have a few friends with PB's and they love them.
 

Ken90630

Golden Member
Mar 6, 2004
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So many people use it when I look around at the library.
You don't say whether that's a library at school (college) or not. If so, remember that Apple offers nice "education discounts" to students and faculty at American colleges & universities (maybe schools outside of the U.S. too -- I don't know about that). You can typically get your discount by ordering Apple products at the school's bookstore or by ordering online or by phone from Apple and providing proof of your status as a student. :)

Apple's OS X operating system is, in my humble opinion, superior to Windows. It's simpler, more stable, it looks better ... and it's not targeted by the cyber-scum virus/spyware bad guys, so it's more secure on the Web. Apple's products are overpriced, but with a student discount you can cut into that a bit. Apple products also typically have excellent build quality, fit & finish (in my opinion). Software for Apples is typically more expensive than for PCs as well, but again, if you can get a student discount ....

Just a few things to consider in your decision-making process. Hope this helps. :)
 

hopejr

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Nov 8, 2004
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They do offer it to students and faculty outside of the US. I'm in Australia and got my iBook that way (actually through the computer shop at my university - they're a registered Apple Education Reseller)

I've found apple software to be cheaper (if not the same) as their windows counterparts.
 

Ken90630

Golden Member
Mar 6, 2004
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They do offer it to students and faculty outside of the US. I'm in Australia and got my iBook that way (actually through the computer shop at my university - they're a registered Apple Education Reseller)
Cool. I figured they probably did, but didn't know for sure.

I've found apple software to be cheaper (if not the same) as their windows counterparts.
Wow. That wasn't what I found when I looked at Apple software at one of the Apple stores here in Southern California awhile back. Everything cost more than its Windows cousin. But that was a year or so ago, and I haven't priced anything there since. Nor have I priced Apple software at a university bookstore, so I can't comment on that.

Nice to hear from someone from the land down under. :cool:
 

khunkami

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Jan 9, 2005
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Is it good decision to buy Ibook now?

Which one should i buy...? Ibook or powerbook?

i want long battery and light-weight...
 

Ecgtheow

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Jan 9, 2005
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Originally posted by: khunkami
Is it good decision to buy Ibook now?

Which one should i buy...? Ibook or powerbook?

i want long battery and light-weight...

The PowerBooks are going to updated tomorrow, so you should wait and see which fits your needs better.
 

imported_Lucifer

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: Ecgtheow
Originally posted by: khunkami
Is it good decision to buy Ibook now?

Which one should i buy...? Ibook or powerbook?

i want long battery and light-weight...

The PowerBooks are going to updated tomorrow, so you should wait and see which fits your needs better.

I hope you are right!