Fed up about waiting for PBs

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Who is with me? I am getting more and more fed up with my current iMac that, while it has served me well for almost 4 years, it is constantly starting to fall behind in performance on things I am starting to get into, namely photoshop imageready and reason 2.5(less so with reason, but still..)



I want a tower, but I need a laptop(school and stuff), the 17" is too expensive, but I would love one. The 15" lacks FW800 and a backlit keyboard, and the 12" is too small.



This is maddening, it seems like a new PB is right around the corner, like seriously any day now type thing, but there is little or no evidence supporting that, other than past trends.



the current 15" almost does it for me, but I really want to take advantage of firewire800(I intend to get an external HD) and perhaps faster system bus/graphics card/ram



Is there anyone else who is on the verge of buying or needs to update, but just can't help feeling like they would be seriously shafted if they bought right now?

(if not for whatever comes next, for the lowered prices on current equipment)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    Here Here!
  • Reply 2 of 15
    Yeah, I have a customer who is waiting for a update to the 15" as well.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    Im definitely waiting on that PBG5 to come out ...hopefully I can get the funds for one. Ive always wanted a laptop....I definitely dont NEED one...my DP 1 Ghz QS G4 suits me just fine....it would be really nice to have something mobile though. Then I could work on tracks and stuff while Im traveling around wherever. Thing is I dont really want to buy a laptop that is a lot less powerful than my desktop machine...especially 2 years after the fact. So Im gonna wait on G5 power to come to the portable side.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    evoevo Posts: 198member
    I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but this seems to be Apple's trend lately. They hype something up a whole bunch, then wait too long to give it an update. The G4 iMac, for example, seemed like it was going to be the next big thing in personal computing, according to Apple. Remember all the slogans they had on their site the week before MWSF? ("Beyond the rumor sites. Way beyond..." etc) Then they waited 13 months before they even touched the thing... not counting the 17" model they added to the lineup in 2002.



    Then they launched the 12" and 17" PowerBooks (without touching the 15") and touted 2003 as being The Year Of The Laptop. Now it's been what... over 8 months since they upgraded the PowerBooks?



    I really believe Apple must stop this trend if they want to grow their marketshare. They let the specs on their systems get so bad compared to relatively similarly-priced PCs and then finally give it a bump after what seems like too much wasted time. It wouldn't surprised if Apple waited until WWDC '04 before they gave the PowerMac G5's a bump. Maybe Apple has their R&D budget spread out across too many products, or maybe they don't have enough big events during the year to introduce products. Whatever they case, I think it's imperative that Apple update all their core products (eMac, iMac, iBook, PowerBook, PowerMac) at most every 6 months. Even if it's minor MHz increases and component updates... just as long as it keeps them fresh and up to speed with comparable PCs. Because the number 1 thing I think that's hurting Apple's marketshare is disparity that grows over time between the price/performance ratio Macs vs. the price/performance ratio of PCs. People want a good value in what they buy, and if they see a PC that's much cheaper and faster than a comparable Mac, and sees that it does relatively all the same thing the Mac can do, they're gonna go with the PC.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    jlennjlenn Posts: 1member
    I gave in... I am required for my major to have an a Mac power book by my first day of classes this fall. I decided that while i would like the features like a backlit keyboard and the firewire800. I could do without them. The 15 IS the best size. So i went ahead got the 1 ghz 15in PB doubled my Ram to 1024mb(for free:-)) and got my computer. I am not disapointed in the computer. It works great and i still love it. It is by no means an inferior machine
  • Reply 6 of 15
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JLenn

    I gave in... I am required for my major to have an a Mac power book by my first day of classes this fall. I decided that while i would like the features like a backlit keyboard and the firewire800. I could do without them. The 15 IS the best size. So i went ahead got the 1 ghz 15in PB doubled my Ram to 1024mb(for free:-)) and got my computer. I am not disapointed in the computer. It works great and i still love it. It is by no means an inferior machine



    Why not wait for the rumored updates Aug. 17/18? At least the Apple Paris stuff, I mean when does your class start.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    rageousrageous Posts: 2,170member
    I've been waiting to get an updated 15" PB as well.



    But fed up? Hardly. I'd rather wait just a little longer for a high-quality top notch Apple worthy laptop than be force fed some unproven hunk of Dell shit with an Apple logo glued onto it.



    You guys need to relax. The wait will no doubt be worth it.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,561member
    If you are constricted by a schedule there is not much you can do. I currently have a Pismo 500 and a G4 867 tower with cinema display. Since these work well I can manage till the new 15" Al PB comes out. I will then sell both of my current computers and use just the 15" Al PB. The only thing that makes me a little nervous is that I will be relying on just one computer. A few months ago I had a brief outage on the G4 tower due to a power outage. I took the HD out, put it in a FW HD case and kept working via my PB.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    qaziiqazii Posts: 305member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JLenn

    I gave in... I am required for my major to have an a Mac power book by my first day of classes this fall.



    That's the only requirement? Then just get an old powerbook for $4.95 on eBay to last you until the new models arrive.



    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&category=4606



  • Reply 10 of 15
    I've been waiting for months to see if Apple would ever update the 15" so I can buy my first Mac. I've done so much reading and research and finally decided on the 15" pbook, but now I have to wait because everyone is telling me I should!



    I have some questions though about Mac in general...



    When I buy one, should I get Office X? Right now I have a Dell laptop and I run a Sierra wirless card for verizon's wireless internet, is any of this compatible with Mac? And is the airport extreme card compatible with any 802.11g based access point or router?
  • Reply 11 of 15
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pc-to-mac

    I've been waiting for months to see if Apple would ever update the 15" so I can buy my first Mac. I've done so much reading and research and finally decided on the 15" pbook, but now I have to wait because everyone is telling me I should!



    I have some questions though about Mac in general...



    When I buy one, should I get Office X? Right now I have a Dell laptop and I run a Sierra wirless card for verizon's wireless internet, is any of this compatible with Mac? And is the airport extreme card compatible with any 802.11g based access point or router?




    Yeah, the AE card can be used with any 802.11g or b base station.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pc-to-mac

    When I buy one, should I get Office X? Right now I have a Dell laptop and I run a Sierra wirless card for verizon's wireless internet, is any of this compatible with Mac?



    Sierra wireless card may work in the PC Card slot, but I'm not sure if OS X has drivers for it, I can't remember what news blurbs I read on he Mac news sites as to whether there have been drivers that support those cards.



    As for Office X, if you use Office docs on a daily basis then yes, Office X is something that you should buy.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    -1, Redundant



    However, I agree. I'm even more fed up waiting for new iMacs. We are getting ready to buy one at my house but I refuse to buy the current models for their outlandish prices. Yes I just pulled out the ol' outlandish
  • Reply 14 of 15
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    eHeheh... 'fed up'



    Sure, i'd like a powerbook update... in the same way that children wish Christmass would come more than once a year.



    Ironically, FW800 and 802.11g aren't really that critical to most users. As spec-junkies we always want the latest and greatest. Yet, for most people, the difference in these two features will be trivial. In general, 802.11b and FW400 aren't performance bottle-necks.



    Extended battery life, now there's a feature enhancement that would be a greater bennefit to most users. Things is, a new 15 incher might have worse battery life... (insert iPod anecdote here)



    (To those of you routinely bumping up against the limitations of FW800 and 802.11b, notice my liberal use of generalization. )
  • Reply 15 of 15
    onitonit Posts: 44member
    You guys want company? You should be in the Future Hardware section - more frustration there than you can shake a stick at.
Sign In or Register to comment.