newbie needs new portable

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
hello everyone,



i am a soon to be switcher. i've had a 300 Mhz Dell Inspiron is lasting me over 4 years. i had a few upgrades to squeeze more life: CD -> burner, 64 megs -> 128 megs of memory, and 4 gigs -> 30 gigs hardrive. but it's time for a complete upgrade. that's why i chose Apple. my interest was inspired by MacOS X, TiBook and iLife. i need to make a choice on a new portable because aside from the above specs, one of the hinges on my Dell broke and the other one is on the way.

i will be doing webdesign with Macromedia MX, light graphic work with PaintShop Pro, WarCraft III: Frozen Throne, web surfing, word processing, syncing my T68i via Bluetooth, and using iLife.

i am leaning towards a 12" powerbook or maybe a 15" if it goes alu. i'm hoping for a speed bump in MacWorld CreativePro. would a 12" suffice for my needs? also where should i buy my mac; apple retail, apple online, macmall, smalldog...? where did you buy your mac and how was the experience? thanks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    Since you'll be doing graphic work, a bigger screen is a must. Go for the 15". Plus, with the 15" you can hook up an external display for even more room.



    As for where to buy, I would recommend MacMall. They tend to have some great bundles and freebies, like free Airport Extreme cards(minus the installation fee).
  • Reply 2 of 9
    ariari Posts: 126member
    First, congratulations on lasting four years with a Dell. That must be some kind of record.



    I would definitely choose the PowerBook 15 over the PowerBook 12. You will need the added power, greater expandability and support for external monitors that the PowerBook 15 provides. I would wait until it is updated, which will probably be soon. It will likely take the revised form factor of the other two PowerBooks and have a nice feature set with speedy G4s.



    Where to buy? If you buy directly from Apple you have the advantage of the student discount (probably about $100 on the machine itself) and greater options (HD, optical driver, etc.) The various Mac resellers don't offer these, but they do offer great promotions. For example:



    MacMall offers this: fee 512 MB RAM, free Epson or HP printer, save $500 on Macromedia Studio MX, save $250 on M$ Office v.X.



    ClubMac offers this: free 512 MB RAM, free Canon printer, free Aladdin Spring Cleaning 5.0, free carrying case, save $500 on Macromedia Studio MX, save $300 on M$ Office v.X.



    MacWarehouse offers this: free 512 MB RAM or Titanium Battery (depending on which model), free Epson printer, free carrying case.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    thanks for your replies. i would definitely get a 15" if it gets internal bluetooth 'cause i don't want an adapter hanging out and waiting to be broken off. also, i like the alu structure and design, especially the hinge due to my past experiences. i'm hoping for at least a speed bump in the powerbook line around the MacWorld CreativePro timeframe. also, my immediate need for a portable along with my limited bank account will determine what i will buy.



    what determines an external lcd's resolution? is it capped at whatever the powerbook's resolution is? also, will a wide screen powerbook appear like letter box if the external lcd is not also wide screen?
  • Reply 4 of 9
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by soberbrain

    what determines an external lcd's resolution? is it capped at whatever the powerbook's resolution is? also, will a wide screen powerbook appear like letter box if the external lcd is not also wide screen?



    The video card determines the external resolution. It doesn't matter what the built in LCD is, the external monitor can be an LCD, CRT, and in some cases even a TV and the external screen will not be letterboxed. Someone else can probably tell you, but I don't know what external resolutions the current crop of portables can use.



    Macs have had very good multiple monitor support for a long time. It's very slick in my opinion.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    The coolest thing is to go into an Apple Store where they've got a 15" PowerBook spanning to a 23" Cinema Display. I find a QuickTime movie or something like that to play and spend a couple of minutes dragging the QT viewer from the PowerBook to the 23", often stopping halfway just to google and coo at how neat the entire process is.







    Man, I need a girlfriend...
  • Reply 6 of 9
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    The coolest thing is to go into an Apple Store where they've got a 15" PowerBook spanning to a 23" Cinema Display. I find a QuickTime movie or something like that to play and spend a couple of minutes dragging the QT viewer from the PowerBook to the 23", often stopping halfway just to google and coo at how neat the entire process is.







    Man, I need a girlfriend...




    That has got to be one of the coolest things ever.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    ryyoryyo Posts: 19member
    Now, tell me this: is the 12 inch powerbook capable of display spanning? some of the above talks about greater display options with the 15 inch... Is this just speaking to it's DVI capabilities?



    I too am thinking about going portable with a 'book, and the 12 inch is the right price and size for my needs. I absolutely want it to be capable of dual monitor support however, for when it sits on my desk.



    <edit>



    http://www.apple.com/powerbook/graphics.html



    This answered my question.



    </edit>
  • Reply 8 of 9
    dnisbetdnisbet Posts: 201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ryyo

    Now, tell me this: is the 12 inch powerbook capable of display spanning? some of the above talks about greater display options with the 15 inch... Is this just speaking to it's DVI capabilities?



    I too am thinking about going portable with a 'book, and the 12 inch is the right price and size for my needs. I absolutely want it to be capable of dual monitor support however, for when it sits on my desk.



    <edit>



    http://www.apple.com/powerbook/graphics.html



    This answered my question.



    </edit>




    The 12" PB seemed fine for me so I ordered one last wednesday night, not arrived yet though See the forum: current hardware -> PowerBook 12" Shall I?

    soberbrain - nobody seems to have asked you how intensive you think your graphic work will be, i.e are we talking Photoshop or less, because if it's less you could might get away fine with a 14" iBook or am I spouting rubbish here? PaintShopPro is hardly a heavyweight graphics solution is it? (I might be very wrong, i'm a little ignorant of that type of PC app) but webdesign in dreamweaver does use a lot of palettes but I find if you think you don't need every option in front of you, you can get away with a 1024x768 resolution.

    For longer term use though, it seems you need at least a G4 as OS X is optimised for use on that processor in comparision to the earlier G3 (which is still very usable)
  • Reply 9 of 9
    thanks for you replies everyone it's been really helpful. i will definitely get a powerbook over an ibook because of the G4 and i need internal bluetooth. dnisbet, let me know how you feel about your 12" powerbook once you receive it. the only reason why i was hesitant of getting the 12" was because of the screen size. other users have said that they have gotten used to it. i currently use a 1024 x 768 screen.
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