Hi.

I am shortly going to buy a new laptop and until last week had my eye on a
12" Powerbook.

Now that the 12" G4 iBook as become available I am starting to change my
mind.

The specs look fairly close between the 2 machines whilst the price is very
different (£1200 compared to £1900 for the spec i was looking at).

Given that I want a 12" screen and I dont really care about DVD-R can anyone
tell me how much better the Powerbook 12" actually is?

Other than the usual internet, email, word processing stuff, I am mainly
going to use the machine to run audio applications (Pro Tools mostly) for
live performance. Not too bothered about graphics capabilities in terms of
gaming.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Jonny

jonathan wrote:

> I am shortly going to buy a new laptop and until last week had my eye
> on a 12" Powerbook.
>
> Now that the 12" G4 iBook as become available I am starting to change
> my mind.
>
> Given that I want a 12" screen and I dont really care about DVD-R can
> anyone tell me how much better the Powerbook 12" actually is?
>
> Other than the usual internet, email, word processing stuff, I am
> mainly going to use the machine to run audio applications (Pro Tools
> mostly) for live performance. Not too bothered about graphics
> capabilities in terms of gaming.

If you are intending to run pro-tools I would be more tempted in the 15"
powerbook for the screen real estate. Pro-tools is going to be a bit cramped
in a 1024x768 screen.

If you are not worried about the screen then either would be fine and I
would imagine the iBook was a more robust machine for carrying about.
--

Woody
Alienrat Design Ltd
www.alienrat.com

In article <uqbv61-ems.ln1[at]news.alienrat.ar>,
"Woody" <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

>If you are not worried about the screen then either would be fine and I
>would imagine the iBook was a more robust machine for carrying about.

You think so? Either way, the horror potential of losing or damaging a PB
is greater than that of damaging an iBook.

--
Peter

Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> jonathan wrote:
>
> > I am shortly going to buy a new laptop and until last week had my eye
> > on a 12" Powerbook.
> >
> > Now that the 12" G4 iBook as become available I am starting to change
> > my mind.
> >
> > Given that I want a 12" screen and I dont really care about DVD-R can
> > anyone tell me how much better the Powerbook 12" actually is?
> >
> > Other than the usual internet, email, word processing stuff, I am
> > mainly going to use the machine to run audio applications (Pro Tools
> > mostly) for live performance. Not too bothered about graphics
> > capabilities in terms of gaming.
>
> If you are intending to run pro-tools I would be more tempted in the 15"
> powerbook for the screen real estate. Pro-tools is going to be a bit cramped
> in a 1024x768 screen.
>
> If you are not worried about the screen then either would be fine and I
> would imagine the iBook was a more robust machine for carrying about.

Looking at what you are wanting to do it is looking like the PB could
well be the better option. The iBook doesn't have audio in, and although
you can pick up a usb solution for less than you save on the cost of the
PB, it is an extra box to carry around which could be a pain if you are
doing a lot of live recordings. Though on the other hand this may allow
you to have a better solution than the inbuilt options on the PB.

The PB will also give you the option of using a bigger screen at more
reasonable resolutions if you find pro tools cramped in the future.
iBooks on some models can have the firmware hacked to allow spanning but
not something I'd contemplate with the machine under warranty.
--
Jon
jon.bradbury[at]btinternet.com

Peter Ceresole wrote:
> In article <uqbv61-ems.ln1[at]news.alienrat.ar>,
> "Woody" <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> If you are not worried about the screen then either would be fine
>> and I would imagine the iBook was a more robust machine for carrying
>> about.
>
> You think so?

I would have thought so. The target market of powerbooks is 'professionals',
whereas the target market of iBooks is teenage schoolkids. the iBook is
designed to be thrown in a bag with other things and bounced around.

Looking at the construction of the two, the iBook is designed for a tougher
life than the powerbooks. I don't know specifically about the 12" powerbook
but I treat the titanium powerbook with a lot more care than the iBook
(especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on saturday,
well, new to me, if not this group!)

> Either way, the horror potential of losing or damaging a PB is greater
than that of damaging an iBook.

Shame there isn't a powerbook/ibook drop test comparison on the net!



--

Woody
Alienrat Design Ltd
www.alienrat.com

Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on saturday,
> well, new to me, if not this group!)

How strange! So did I!
--
James
Home http://www.countb.co.uk/
Blog http://www.countb.co.uk/blog/

James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:

> Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on saturday,
> > well, new to me, if not this group!)
>
> How strange! So did I!

Mine came with a registered version of mouseki :)


--
Woody

www.alienrat.com

Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:
>
> > Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on
> > > saturday, well, new to me, if not this group!)
> >
> > How strange! So did I!
>
> Mine came with a registered version of mouseki :)

It did?!
Feck ;)
2.2 not 3.0 though.
--
James
Home http://www.countb.co.uk/
Blog http://www.countb.co.uk/blog/

James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:

> Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
> > >
> > > > (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on
> > > > saturday, well, new to me, if not this group!)
> > >
> > > How strange! So did I!
> >
> > Mine came with a registered version of mouseki :)
>
> It did?!
> Feck ;)
> 2.2 not 3.0 though.

Both :)

--
Woody

www.alienrat.com

Thanks for all the advice. I went for the iBook after much consideration.

I didn't bother getting any extra RAM from apple (too pricey) but when
looking on dabs.com and a few other places, the type of RAM they use seems
pretty expensive if not as expensive as apple (£100 for 512MB). Is there
anywhere you'd recommend for memory purchases.

Also, Kingston offer "Value RAM" and parity checked RAM. Presumably I can
use either... is the extra expense for the parity checked memory worth it?

Thanks again...
--
Jonny
www.snaregirl.com

"Woody" <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote in message
news:uqbv61-ems.ln1[at]news.alienrat.ar...
> jonathan wrote:
>
> > I am shortly going to buy a new laptop and until last week had my eye
> > on a 12" Powerbook.
> >
> > Now that the 12" G4 iBook as become available I am starting to change
> > my mind.
> >
> > Given that I want a 12" screen and I dont really care about DVD-R can
> > anyone tell me how much better the Powerbook 12" actually is?
> >
> > Other than the usual internet, email, word processing stuff, I am
> > mainly going to use the machine to run audio applications (Pro Tools
> > mostly) for live performance. Not too bothered about graphics
> > capabilities in terms of gaming.
>
> If you are intending to run pro-tools I would be more tempted in the 15"
> powerbook for the screen real estate. Pro-tools is going to be a bit
cramped
> in a 1024x768 screen.
>
> If you are not worried about the screen then either would be fine and I
> would imagine the iBook was a more robust machine for carrying about.
> --
>
> Woody
> Alienrat Design Ltd
> www.alienrat.com
>
>

> Thanks for all the advice. I went for the iBook after much consideration.
>
> I didn't bother getting any extra RAM from apple (too pricey) but when
> looking on dabs.com and a few other places, the type of RAM they use seems
> pretty expensive if not as expensive as apple (£100 for 512MB). Is there
> anywhere you'd recommend for memory purchases.
>
www.crucial.com/uk

> Also, Kingston offer "Value RAM" and parity checked RAM. Presumably I can
> use either... is the extra expense for the parity checked memory worth it?
>
We use the Value ram or crucial at work, or anything guaranteed and
cheap really.

PS try and avoid top posting you'll have the E******** on to you
--
Jon
jon.bradbury[at]btinternet.com

Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:
>
> > Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on
> > > > > saturday, well, new to me, if not this group!)
> > > >
> > > > How strange! So did I!
> > >
> > > Mine came with a registered version of mouseki :)
> >
> > It did?!
> > Feck ;)
> > 2.2 not 3.0 though.
>
> Both :)

Bugger, I was so careful removing other apps too!!
--
James
Home http://www.countb.co.uk/
Blog http://www.countb.co.uk/blog/

James Savage wrote:
> Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> James Savage <news[at]countb.coco.uk> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on
>>>>>> saturday, well, new to me, if not this group!)
>>>>>
>>>>> How strange! So did I!
>>>>
>>>> Mine came with a registered version of mouseki :)
>>>
>>> It did?!
>>> Feck ;)
>>> 2.2 not 3.0 though.
>>
>> Both :)
>
> Bugger, I was so careful removing other apps too!!

If you don't mind me saying so, you didn't do very well :)

--

Woody
Alienrat Design Ltd
www.alienrat.com

Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> Peter Ceresole wrote:
> > In article <uqbv61-ems.ln1[at]news.alienrat.ar>,
> > "Woody" <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >> If you are not worried about the screen then either would be fine
> >> and I would imagine the iBook was a more robust machine for carrying
> >> about.
> >
> > You think so?
>
> I would have thought so. The target market of powerbooks is 'professionals',
> whereas the target market of iBooks is teenage schoolkids. the iBook is
> designed to be thrown in a bag with other things and bounced around.
>
> Looking at the construction of the two, the iBook is designed for a tougher
> life than the powerbooks. I don't know specifically about the 12" powerbook
> but I treat the titanium powerbook with a lot more care than the iBook
> (especially my new ti800 - did I mention I got a new powerbook on saturday,
> well, new to me, if not this group!)
>
my power book h12inch as taken a few scraches etc due to being carried
in bags etc, nothing too deep etc, though i do carry it to collage in a
laptop case.

yes i clasp the powerbook rather tightly when carring it, the thought of
dropping it....

> > Either way, the horror potential of losing or damaging a PB is greater
> than that of damaging an iBook.
>
> Shame there isn't a powerbook/ibook drop test comparison on the net!

didn't one mag test the toilet seat ibooks? still think i'll pass on
testing mine...

roger

Woody <usenet[at]alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> >>>> Mine came with a registered version of mouseki :)
> >>>
> >>> It did?!
> >>> Feck ;)
> >>> 2.2 not 3.0 though.
> >>
> >> Both :)
> >
> > Bugger, I was so careful removing other apps too!!
>
> If you don't mind me saying so, you didn't do very well :)

You should see the stuff you didn't get!

(eh?)
--
James
Home http://www.countb.co.uk/
Blog http://www.countb.co.uk/blog/