Computer Choice for Entering College Student

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  • Reply 81 of 87
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunilraman

    Feel free to call me something.



    I'll go with "someone who occasionally needs to be corrected"



    Or "clueless moron".



    Nah.
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  • Reply 82 of 87
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunilraman

    Here's a visual I came up with. While I'm more confident about the widescreen measurements, the iBook 12" and 14", though called that, may have slightly smaller screens when diagonal length is taken into account. Image Below... (Edit: Please try again later if it's not showing up)







    thanks very helpful, also found this with a google at macrumors



    student_trap04-13-2006, 08:46 AM

    Here is my calculation of each display's (current iBooks and rumored MacBooks) height and width, based on diagonal and aspect ratio (all figures are rounded) :



    12.1" diagonal, 4:3 display : 9.7" wide, 7.3" high



    14.1" diagonal, 4:3 display : 11.3" wide, 8.5" high



    13.3" diagonal, 16:10 display : 11.2" wide, 7.0" high



    13.3" diagonal, 16:9 display : 11.5" wide, 6.5" high



    now this is very interesting. Assuming your figures are correct then the current 12in powerbooks screen has a physical area of 70.81" squared, whereas a new 13.3" screen (at 16:10) has an area of 78.4" squared. Quite a difference if you ask me, especially when you consider that the new screens will most likely have a much
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  • Reply 83 of 87
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Yeah in general we can say goodbye to the 12" powerbook. The idea of a powerful (at that time) G4, ram capacity, DVD-burning small laptop was quite attractive.



    Given the attributes of the 13.3" MacBook, it's widescreen, it's 720p+ high def, it's a 2ghz dual core, it can have DVD-burning, it's got a 5400rpm drive, maxes out at 2GB ram... a 12" MacBookPro is too much overlap. The 13.3" MacBook Integrated Graphics is generally not an issue for the stuff you'd do at that small screen size anyway... AND, the MacBook simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 x 1200 pixels on the external... A pity about games, but really, for those going for a 13.3" MacBook, besides light Mac puzzle/ simple-action games, you'd get a PS2 or XBOX360.



    That's the amazing thing about technology. In a few short years the "iBook" line has caught up easily with the previously "pro" 12" PowerBook G4. Some people used the 12" PowerBook in more "docking station" usage, but even then, form factor of the MacBooks are quite nice, about 1" thick and 5 pounds. Sweet. I don't know though if you connect up a MacBook to external stuff if you can run it with the lid closed. Probably not a good idea anyway, and you'd want the lid open to run screen spanning if you have an external display connected to the MacBook, and for heat dissipation.



    The only caveat which I will not tire to bring up until AdobeCS3, is those who need AdobeCS2 and MacromediaStudio8, the last rev of 12", 15" and 17" PowerBooks are the way to go, to hold on to if you have them, or to get them refurb/ ebay/ "old" stock from resellers.
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  • Reply 84 of 87
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    [QUOTE]Originally posted by Chucker

    I'll go with "someone who occasionally needs to be corrected" ... Or "clueless moron" ... Nah.






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  • Reply 85 of 87
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    do you think the macbook will get the core 2 duo chip and if so when. i figure that the core 2 will go into mbp this fall. but the way the news is saying aggressive pricing for competitive edge to fight amd, well maybe mb gets a lower lever core 2 duo....would this make enough of a "pro" "consumer" difference?
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  • Reply 86 of 87
    Hey guys, thought I'd give you an update.



    I spent hours upon hours upon HOURS going over this decision, but in the end, my dad decided that he was fine with paying the extra for a MBP that'll last me a bit longer, and I couldn't be happier. You only get one shot every few years at getting a laptop, and this was the safer choice I think. But by no means should you guys stop this conversation, it was a great help to me, and I'm sure to others as well.



    I do have to say that for people on a tight budget, the MacBook is only lesser to the Pro by the tiniest tiniest amount. Honestly, I'd have been just as content with a MacBook, but I'm definetely seeing the benefits from the larger screen, and I think the hardware will be able to last me a bit longer. The consumer models tend to age quickly, but this sucker could last me all the way into grad school.



    Thanks for everything, and keep posting!
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  • Reply 87 of 87
    Well, you decided against my advice; it'll take a while but I think I can get over it. Where's the number for my counselor... Yeah, it was a good thread with lots of good input (wish all threads were like this).



    Either way, you get a great machine and will use it alot. I wanted to say it but was pushing the MB: larger screens are really nice. In fact I moved from a 12" PB to a 15" PB and the difference was phenomenal; more toolbars could be open at the same time while still being able to see the working page underneath. My only major complaint with the 15 is the heat; I have a small folding stand that I can slip into my bag whenI travel with the machine; I use something called an x-stand, a bit expensivve and heavy, to tell the truth, so look for something better.



    Make sure to back up your data regularly to an external HD, just in case.



    Good luck in school!
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