iBook 900 mHz vs. PB 867 mHz ?

surfingxtremesurfingxtreme
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm thinking about getting a notebook. I have to say I don't really know much about computers (unfortunatelly), but I hope that will change, cause I got a lot time right now to deal with that matter.

The question now is wether I should get an ibook or a PB.

I was thinking of eather a 900 MHz ibook (probably with an upgraded RAM) or the basic 12" PB.

I don't have a home computer on my own, so I would use the notebook not only for entertainment and such. Maby, if possible, I would like to record music (I play in a band)and do some web designing with the computer,

but I also don't want to spend too much.

I'd really like to get some addvice.

Thank you.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Where are you and what's your budget?



    In USD you're looking at 1299 vs 1599, but if you can get edu pricing the 12" PB's look very attractive.



    Also, with new PB's due, you might find a deal on a 12" PB.



    The differences? The aluminium PB's look great, ***have the best laptop keyboards ever made*** (cannot stress this enough, just a great keyboard, period), and their combo drives actually work at the advertised speed.



    The iBooks now feature an ugly ass opaque white plastic, are pretty sturdy, but their combo drives are much less reliable (from what you hear around the net)



    And then there's the G3-G4 debate, which really isn't a debate at all. In timed tests (not benchmarks) the G4 PB12 has been up to 2-3X faster than the 800Mhz iBook on a suite of photoshop/iMovie/iPhoto actions. It's in a Macworld article that might still be up somewhere. The 900Mhz of the new iBooks won't get you much of an improvement, only 10-12% faster than the 800, still well down on the 867. I can only imagine how slow iPhoto must be on a 2.5X slower iBook. It's already no screamer on the PB, it must be absolutely painful on the iBook. Lotsa RAM would probably help in both cases!



    What else? I/O. The PB sports faster airport, not a biggie since there aren't any internet connections likely to max it out in the next 3-5 years anyway. And, it has Bluetooth built in, which is nice on a laptop since it avoids dongles, and would be nicer still if Apple got off their arses and allowed (or made) BT mice.



    However, the iBook is 300 cheaper, if it didn't look so damned fisher price, I could be tempted.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Matsu However, the iBook is 300 cheaper, if it didn't look so damned fisher price, I could be tempted.







    If you think white and square is "fisher-price"-looking, I bet you were completely beside yourself over the old curvy, colored iBooks...which truly WERE toy-like in appearance!







    The Chiclet iBooks look pretty nice, but I - like most others - prefer the previous, glossier style before they changed.



    BTW, I'd LOVE to somehow take the guts/specs/features of the modern iBook (900MHz, 1024x768, Combo Drive, FireWire, 40GB hard drive, 640MB max RAM, etc.) and fit it into a cool tangerine clamshell iBook case from "back in the day" (what, three years ago?).







    Talk about a wolf in sheeps clothing! I'd get orange, curvy goodness (which just speaks to me on SO many levels), but a modern, capable laptop as well. I'd be in heaven.



    I'm SURE there's some Japanese-based mod site where some talented person has done this...
  • Reply 3 of 8
    surfingxtremesurfingxtreme Posts: 3member
    Thanks for your reply!

    I live in austria (Europe) and yes I can get edu pricing. I have about 1700 Euros right now but I'm not quite sure if I really want to spend that much, though it looks like the extra money is worth spending.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    The outside shell doesn't look too terrible, Pscates, but I can't stand to look at the inside plastic (keyboard/surround/bezel) it's just so damned white it hurts. The iMac has a shape to it, so does the eMac, and even though the keyboards are white, they have a minimal surround with the nice translucence of the keyboard shell. The iBook, OTOH, just looks like a giant white piece of budget marine electronics, the kind you get at Canadian Tire. It even reminds me of those awful kitchen white under counter CD-radio thingies that some people have in their RV's, the white just makes all the cut lines (the keyboard and bezel) stand out too much, UGLY!!!



    The old transluscent iBooks didn't just look better on the outside, they had a very light silvery finish on the inside, that made all the difference when opened up. THAT iBook looked GREAT! Transluscent: YAY!!! Opaque: BOO... HISS...



    edit:



    The old clamshells at least had a funky (kitschy) vibe that you cold get into if that's your thing. I could see them used in certain venues, though I hated the bondi, found the orange creamsicle oddly appealing and thought the graphite acceptable enough to be seen with in public.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    surfingxtremesurfingxtreme Posts: 3member
    Well, so the PB looks better. Besides that it's much faster, is that right? Well so do you think it is worth paying 500 buggs more? It sounds like the PB is better equiped for future developments (access extreme) so it will be longer an uptpdate tool? Or can you expand the capabilities of the iBook (at reasonable costs) to match the PB to some extend?

    What's more are there any additional expenses if you purchase a PB (e.g. additional hardware you would recomend).
  • Reply 6 of 8
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I think the PowerBook probably has some longer "legs" to it, due to the G4. Face it: OS X and the iApps (not to mention Photoshop and other stuff) aren't getting smaller, lighter and less-bloated.



    As far as other hardware, I'm not sure...it depends on what YOU need and do. An inkjet? A scanner? Digital camera? iPod? That's for you to decide.



    If you can say which, if any, of the above you need or are interested in, we can go from there and people can then chime in. But I wouldn't assume you need any of the above without knowing more.



    Although there are general, all-purpose things such as a carrying bag/sleeve, perhaps a mouse and maybe one of those small USB flash drives that seem to be popular these days? Those are pretty universal, I'd imagine: you don't want to just carry it around by itself, most people like to mouse and those little keychain drives are great for transporting stuff from computer to computer.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Get the 12" PowerBook. It treats you well.



    The new iBooks look so ****ing stupid. Who decided to take away the gloss. They just suck now.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    giaguaragiaguara Posts: 2,724member
    The older iBooks look better (e..g those with 500 - 700 mhz).

    But the Powerbook as it is now does not seem to be that much better for you now.



    If you have a lot of money, and the money is not the issue, get the Powerbook. If money is an issue, iBook. The new whiteness looks weird but the other charachteristics aren't bad.



    And wait till tuesday to see if there are any updates on the Powerbooks.
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