Hi. I've been meaning to buy a new laptop for a while (my 1400 is 5.5
years old and well-loved), and something has come up where it would be
advantageous for me to buy one in the next day or so (i.e. Friday). I have
my eye set on either the 12" or 14" iBook with combo drive. My needs
are pretty basic, and I'm just considering whether to get the larger
screen. (The 1024x768 resolution refers to the number of pixels per
area, right? More real-estate on the bigger screen?)

Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what to look
out for, whether I should get the extended warranty, if there's some
part or another that has a tendency to go bad, whether I should prefer
the 12" or the 14" for some reason other than size (I noticed the
discussion about the differences with the 12" and 15" PBs, the latter
being older). And if there's some reason why I should hold out and
wait just a couple more weeks or whatever.

Thanks. I should do this homework myself, I know, but I'm in a bit of
a time crunch. :)

/
:[at]-) Scott
\

In article <jvq4r1unhnw.fsf[at]harper.uchicago.edu>,
Lancelot appearing sideways <sa-hill1[at]uchicago.edu> wrote:

> Hi. I've been meaning to buy a new laptop for a while (my 1400 is 5.5
> years old and well-loved), and something has come up where it would be
> advantageous for me to buy one in the next day or so (i.e. Friday). I have
> my eye set on either the 12" or 14" iBook with combo drive. My needs
> are pretty basic, and I'm just considering whether to get the larger
> screen. (The 1024x768 resolution refers to the number of pixels per
> area, right? More real-estate on the bigger screen?)
>
> Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what to look
> out for, whether I should get the extended warranty, if there's some
> part or another that has a tendency to go bad, whether I should prefer
> the 12" or the 14" for some reason other than size (I noticed the
> discussion about the differences with the 12" and 15" PBs, the latter
> being older). And if there's some reason why I should hold out and
> wait just a couple more weeks or whatever.
>
> Thanks. I should do this homework myself, I know, but I'm in a bit of
> a time crunch. :)
>
> /
> :[at]-) Scott
> \



More real estate does not mean larger image area.

I prefer the 12" PB as it is easier to lug around - personal preference
though.

You can wait - but buy when you are ready as there si always something
new coming out around the corner. Personally, I always buy the last top
model just after it has been replaced by a better model. The cost
savings have really added up through the years.

Lancelot appearing sideways wrote:

> Hi. I've been meaning to buy a new laptop for a while (my 1400 is 5.5
> years old and well-loved), and something has come up where it would be
> advantageous for me to buy one in the next day or so (i.e. Friday). I have
> my eye set on either the 12" or 14" iBook with combo drive. My needs
> are pretty basic, and I'm just considering whether to get the larger
> screen. (The 1024x768 resolution refers to the number of pixels per
> area, right? More real-estate on the bigger screen?)

No the 14" just has bigger pixels which means you can see the same
resolution without having to focus so close. That would be nice in
itself but for me portability was more important so I got the 12"

One other advantage of the 14" is the bigger battery which is supposed
to last 6 hours as opposed to 5

The current iBooks only started shipping a couple of months ago so
don't hold your breath for newer ones.

Ian Gregory

In article <jvq4r1unhnw.fsf[at]harper.uchicago.edu>,
Lancelot appearing sideways <sa-hill1[at]uchicago.edu> wrote:

> Hi. I've been meaning to buy a new laptop for a while (my 1400 is 5.5
> years old and well-loved), and something has come up where it would be
> advantageous for me to buy one in the next day or so (i.e. Friday). I have
> my eye set on either the 12" or 14" iBook with combo drive. My needs
> are pretty basic, and I'm just considering whether to get the larger
> screen. (The 1024x768 resolution refers to the number of pixels per
> area, right? More real-estate on the bigger screen?)

No, if you have 1024x768 pixels on a 12" screen and 1024x768 on a 14"
screen, you get the same amount of real-estate. The only (quite
significant, actually) difference is that things are bigger on the 14"
screen.

>
> Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what to look
> out for, whether I should get the extended warranty,

I recommend AppleCare for all portable Macs. Of course, since you may
purchase the AppleCare plan at any time in the first year (the original
warrantee period), you can simply buy it later.

> if there's some
> part or another that has a tendency to go bad, whether I should prefer
> the 12" or the 14" for some reason other than size (I noticed the
> discussion about the differences with the 12" and 15" PBs, the latter
> being older).

IIRC, the 14" gets longer battery life (it's bigger), has the larger
screen, is heavier, physically larger, and that's more-or-less it. Of
course, I haven't looked at the specifications recently, so I might have
forgotten something.

It would take very little time to look at the technical specifications
of the two sizes of iBook, and that would provide you with most of the
information that could influence your choice between them. I recommend
getting those specifications.

Whichever one you choose, enjoy it!

--
later.

johajohn AT indianahoosiers DOT edu

Remove the adjective to reply. Indiana is a noun.

My advice is to get the warranty...I just bought a 12" ibook...900/40GB/
640MB...I've never owned a laptop, but I've owned two iMacs, both of
which I purchased the extended warranty...so far repairs on both have
more than paid for AppleCare...it's my feeling that it's not a matter of
IF something will go wrong, it's WHEN...as far as the 12" vs. 14"....let
me just say this: I have a 17"iMac flat panel and I bought the 12"
ibook...I have no regrets about the smaller screen size.

just my .02

Scott





> Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what to look
> out for, whether I should get the extended warranty, if there's some
> part or another that has a tendency to go bad, whether I should prefer
> the 12" or the 14" for some reason other than size (I noticed the

"Lancelot appearing sideways" <sa-hill1[at]uchicago.edu> wrote

Hi,

I've bought my iBook only two weeks ago,
I chose the 12" because of the reasons already mentioned: it's incredible
small size!
I must say, I love it to work on my couch, or take my iBook with me in my
car (when my wife drives), stuff like that, and then you'll defenitly want a
smaller one! I can also recommend a "second skin" for your iBook (about 20
Euro's here in The Netherlands), which will protect your iBook when you take
'm along in your backpack. Battery life is also mentioned, but I find the
four hours of time in my 12" iBook sufficient. I also have an older 15"
monitor, so if I'm working on my desk, I can always plug it into a larger
screen, but so far that wasn't really neccecary: the 12" workes fine for me!
I can only immage that if you have to work over 8 hours a day on this 12"
screen, that it may become usefull to consider an extra monitor (a
secondhand costs almost nothing nowadays). But just buy one, and enjoy it,
and if you want you can always consider an extra monitor later...

> Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what to look
> out for,

I bought an 800 Mhz Combo with 30 gigs HD. This is not a "normal" model
(Combo's are only shipped with 900 Mzh and 40 gigs, or so I've been told,
look at apple-store website), but if you can get the hand on the 800-one:
the speed difference is minimal, and the price difference (for me) was 200
Euro's, and therefore worth it (especially if you have an external HD, like
I have).


greetz,

"Lancelot appearing sideways" <sa-hill1[at]uchicago.edu> wrote in message

> Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what to look
> out for,

Oh, one extra thing:
If you have a budget: please take into account that the 128MBs of RAM is
hardly sufficient. I chose to be 'wise' and bought the maximum extra amount
of megs (in total: 640), worth an extra 80 Euro's at a certified
internetwebstore apple dealer thing...

greetz,