to wait... or not

ichiban_jayichiban_jay
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hi, I was reading through all the posts and now I am paranoid. I have been wanting to get a powerbook for a while now, ever since that day I went to apple's website. I've been bothering and debating with everyone trying to prove that apple's are the best, even though I haven't bought one yet (unfortunately ). In any case, to the topic. I read so much about what apple's next step will be and am starting to wonder whether or not I should wait for the new new powerbook? I really do not want to buy a product that will outdate in a month (though with a pc it happens in a week). So should I wait for the G5 powerbook, or next summer spring for the G4?



ps. ever spent hours on that website I have

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    mac writemac write Posts: 289member
    There's not going to be any new Powerbooks for a min of 6+ months. I would however wait until November so that you get Panther pre-installed.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    etharethar Posts: 111member
    Just get it now. Believe me, you'll be much happier than waiting and waiting and waiting 'cause you know the upgrade is coming out next Tuesday! For sure this time!
  • Reply 3 of 11
    c-bearc-bear Posts: 111member
    In terms of waiting for a Powerbook G5, that's indeed a most likely a mighty long wait, possibly a year or more. I don't recommend that kind of patience.



    The argument, in my opinion, for getting a Powerbook right now is that it'll come with Jaguar preinstalled and the $20 Panther upgrade option ? best of both worlds, I say. You can run Jaguar, a proven OS compatible with much software, and watch the guinea pigs who immediately switch to Panther for any signs of trouble. Once possible bugs are located and ironed out, you can upgrade cheaply and easily.



    The argument for waiting a little longer on the Powerbook, if you're talking about the 15," is that it is experiencing some first-launch hardware jitters, i.e. white-spots, latch problems, a few reports of RAM upgrade issues. Waiting three or four months into a product's first run (or until a revB comes out) before buying greatly reduces the chance of getting a problemed one.



    If you're talking about the 12" or 17" models, they're in revB now and seem pretty solid.



    Good luck.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I'm kinda in that boat.



    See my sig - I'm sans Mac right now!



    Sold my iMac this weekend and now pretty much have the money to get the 15" SuperDrive PowerBook.



    However, I'm planning to wait until October 24 and attend the Panther rollout at the Atlanta store to see if I can perhaps save on a new hardware purchase.



    But man...these 15" stories are scaring/worrying the heck out of me.



    Gonna chew all my money to get the 15" AND wonder if I'm going to join the army of latch, white spot, etc. sufferers.



    OR do I just get the proven 12" SuperDrive and save about $800 and put that toward a mouse, Base Station, etc. the same night?



    Kinda rhetorical, my question. One I'm struggling with, and probably will up until the moment I find myself standing in the Atlanta Store on the 24th.







    All I know is that I don't want to dump all my money on the 15" and start down the road of repairs, sending it in, calling support, dicking around with trying to get issues resolved, etc.



    All these 15" "issues" have nearly zapped my enthusiasm and zeal for getting one...only because I know how I am (and get) when things don't go the way I expect them to ($2600 = perfection, or else)



  • Reply 5 of 11
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    All these 15" "issues" TOTALLY have me paranoid and confused, two emotions/states of mind I'm not used to or enjoy.



    It isn't the end of the world. The 15 stories are probably overblown. My roommate just got a 15 and it works fine. No funky white splotches, no unclosable latches. It is an amazing piece of hardware. If you want to wait until panther, do so even though you could buy a new 15 right now and get the cheapo upgrade.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    The reason I'm waiting until the 24th is because last year - during the Jaguar rollout - there were discounts offered on new Mac purchases that night.



    It's worth a two week wait (for me, anyway) if I can save a couple hundred bucks if I buy Panther AND a new Mac that night.



    I'm totally aware (and agree) that the 15" PowerBook is an amazing, stellar machine (or has the capability of being one, depending on your luck of the draw, I guess).



    I've waited MONTHS on it to arrive, just like many others.



    I'm not doubting/dinging the 15" PowerBook...just it's accompanying issues (latch, white spots, battery, etc.) that seem to be getting MUCH notice/coverage.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    ichiban_jayichiban_jay Posts: 660member
    ok... well I'm getting it next summer... cause my dad won't buy me a laptop until then... college is coming up well thanks you guys, that's a piece of mind. O, by the way, how often does Apple usually make a new OS, cause I really don't wish to upgrade all the time... though if you looked at it, Windows pumps out a new os every couple of years as well. *sigh* I'm kinda worried about only having 1 ghz, what happens if programs start superceding that speed? I guess it's the Windows switch jitters, Since I have such a bad experience with this 3 month old 2.3 ghz computer than slows down so easily, I'm worried that the Mac may slow down as well...
  • Reply 8 of 11
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    i'd pick up a 15" now. they're great machines. if the white spots are bad, you can always exchange it, and the latch issue isn't an issue at all. read up on the simple, 2 min. fix for that problem.



    if you're hurting that bad to get the machine, they emjoyment you get out of it for the next 6 months will outweigh whatever the difference is in quality/features.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    ichiban_jayichiban_jay Posts: 660member
    yeah, it's hurt'n pretty bad... I'm itching to get one, every minute I think of owning one (talk about obsession ) I constantly annoy my friends by preaching the good stuff (about the mac of course). Actually converted one into wanting one but the others are very stuck, they give that gigahertz crab (p) and Dell's cheaper junkamalunka. It's obsession when you go to the store and spend an hour drooling over them
  • Reply 10 of 11
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ichiban_jay

    yeah, it's hurt'n pretty bad... I'm itching to get one, every minute I think of owning one (talk about obsession ) I constantly annoy my friends by preaching the good stuff (about the mac of course). Actually converted one into wanting one but the others are very stuck, they give that gigahertz crab (p) and Dell's cheaper junkamalunka. It's obsession when you go to the store and spend an hour drooling over them



    What fun would it be if you didn't go to the store and drool over them for hours? I do that every once in a while. I go to the CompUSA and impress the Mac guy there by explaining everything about the computers (stuff they don't even know) and than I piss off the Wintell guys by ragging on the rest of the crap in the store. I don't make it out to the Apple store all that often, but when I do I spend a considerable amount of time there. Don't give up on trying to convert people. Tell them that the mhz myth is just that, a myth. Mhz don't make a computer and never will. Tell them that dell sucks!!! Glad to have you over here on the good side, welcome, and enjoy your stay.
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