12" Powerbook - A Good Choice?

tree · January 1, 2004 11:15AM

Hello everyone. I'm in the process of switching over to Mac and have recently fallen in love with the 12" PB. My question, is the PB a good choice for a everyday computer. These are my needs, web surfing, word processing, digital pictures and simple digital video burning. I don't mind the screen, just wondering if the computer packs enough punch to do those things. Your advice would be awesome. Thanks

ast3r3x · January 1, 2004 11:23AM

Yes, it's no G5, but for iMovie or DVD copying it will meet your needs. SMALL compact to say the least. I'm still always impressed when comparing size to me 15".

ichiban_jay · January 1, 2004 11:23AM

o my yes

I got the 12" too for almost the exact same reasons

It really doesn't seem that small once you get your hands onto it, it makes everything else look clunkier

well except for all of Apple's other products of course. But once you get this baby, you look at those PC notebooks and you just laugh. Does everything speedily and effeciently. Don't be deterred by it's seemingly low mhz. It's actually faster at most things then my AMD 2600+ pc computer.

pscates · January 1, 2004 11:25AM

Gosh, I don't see why not. Those are all things handled by OS X, the iApps, etc. There are days when I kinda wish I would've gotten the 12" SuperDrive, just because it is so small AND feature-packed.

If I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know and considering what I do, I would've bought the 12" and saved myself $900.

I love my 15", but that little PowerBook is really snazzy. Get it.

It wouldn't come with a SuperDrive, iDVD, iPhoto, etc. if it wasn't made to do the very things you mention.

1GHz G4, 32MB graphics, roomy hard drive, nice screen, Bluetooth, AirPort Extreme, USB 2.0, FireWire, DVI, etc.

tree · January 1, 2004 12:43PM

Awesome - thanks for the advice. It sounds like the 12" is the way to go for my personal needs. Thanks again

)

psgamer0921 · January 1, 2004 12:46PM

Since there aren't any speakers on either side of the keyboard, it seems like the side keys would be easy to come off if the side scraped against anything. Is that true?

scott · January 1, 2004 1:20PM

Naw. The keys are sunk in and low profile.

aquatic · January 1, 2004 1:23PM

No.

Quote:

it makes everything else look clunkier

I know!!! Even when I sit down on to use an iBook it feels too big!

stoo · January 1, 2004 7:05PM

I'm currently lying down with my 12" PowerBook on my chest. Might be a little trickier with a 15" or 17" laptop. It is amazingly small when compared to full size laptops, so I'd recommend one if a large increase in portability is worth a small decrease in power (and price

).

ichiban_jay · January 1, 2004 7:37PM

yes, thats what I like about apple, smaller is cheaper

Other companies like Dell actually charge more, alot more for a smaller laptop. That just doesn't make sense... 15" is cheapest, while 12 and 17" are more expensive... Go with it!

it's a very nice laptop, it'll fit right in, and impress ppl.

pscates · January 1, 2004 7:50PM

Every time I see the 12" PowerBook in real life, I'm always stunned at how LITTLE it is! It's insane, really. Just saw one again a couple of weeks ago at a local MUG meeting and the guy was just holding it effortlessly with one hand, showing someone beside him something on the screen. No way I could do that with my 15" PowerBook: the weight and width of it would pretty much ensure that it would come tumbling out of my hand and crashing to the floor.

It just looked so tight and compact and very cool (and I realize part of that comes from knowing what's under the hood as well...it's a no-compromise, full-featured laptop: SuperDrive, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, DVI, etc. whose size totally belies what it's packing!

"Wolf in sheep's clothing" kinda thing...which I find very, very cool.

eds66 · January 1, 2004 8:29PM

The only real drawback to the 12-inch PowerBook is its screen. The colors are not as bright and vibrant as on the 15 and 17-inch PowerBooks. Calibration helps a little, but the 12 incher's screen is just not as nice as its big brothers'. Other than this issue the machine rocks. And it also does not get anywhere near as hot as the A revision.

ast3r3x · January 1, 2004 8:58PM

Your all crazy the 12"is too small. I said I'm impressed, but its TOO small for me. I absolutely hate the 12" screen, then again that is always when going from 15" to 12". So I guess it would be just as easy to get used to the 12" as it was getting to my 15" from my 17" LCD...haha get it?

pscates · January 1, 2004 11:11PM

Small is relative. And subjective. Depending on a) someone's eyesight, b) the kind of stuff they'll be doing, and c) what they're used to/coming from, a 12" display at 1024x768 might be absolutely perfect to many, many people.

I know I could handle it.

I tend to look more at resolution than size anyway, since my peepers are in great shape. I'd prefer 12" over 14" @ 1024x768 just because of the space/weight savings! And you could always span it to a larger display at home for "serious" work.

ichiban_jay · January 2, 2004 1:41AM

absolutely. If you can't stand the 12" all the time, use the DVI connector and hook it up to a 17 inch monitor, for a price that would still be cheaper then getting a 17" powerbook

gxavier3 · January 2, 2004 7:22AM

This is my first post and instead of starting a new thread, I figured that I would try my question here first.

I'm looking to upgrade to a 12" PB after Macworld and I was wondering, for those of you who own a 12", what is the multitasking like. I made the switch in October of 2002 from a WinAMD and I loved being able to watch a DVD, do web research and some writing at the same time. This was done on a 550mhz AMD processor with 384mb of ram and I would be watching a DVD in WMP, surfing on Mozilla and writing in Word no problems whatsoever. However on my iBook (which I love), I can't even watch a DVD and surf without there being a significant delay in my surfing and text input is very slow.

Do any of you use your PB to do things like this? If so, what has been your experience?

I'm running on an iBook 700mhz with 640mb of RAM in Panther.

Thanks

hom · January 2, 2004 8:11AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gxavier3

This is my first post and instead of starting a new thread, I figured that I would try my question here first.

I'm looking to upgrade to a 12" PB after Macworld and I was wondering, for those of you who own a 12", what is the multitasking like. I made the switch in October of 2002 from a WinAMD and I loved being able to watch a DVD, do web research and some writing at the same time. This was done on a 550mhz AMD processor with 384mb of ram and I would be watching a DVD in WMP, surfing on Mozilla and writing in Word no problems whatsoever. However on my iBook (which I love), I can't even watch a DVD and surf without there being a significant delay in my surfing and text input is very slow.

Do any of you use your PB to do things like this? If so, what has been your experience?

I'm running on an iBook 700mhz with 640mb of RAM in Panther.

Thanks

Multitasking is fine. I don't have an issue with watching dvds and doing other stuff at the same time, but I almost never do it. When I'm watching a dvd that's what I'm doing. What browser were you using? I have found that the text entry in Safari is kinda sucky regardless of what else I am doing.

gxavier3 · January 2, 2004 8:24AM

Quote:

Originally posted by HOM

Multitasking is fine. I don't have an issue with watching dvds and doing other stuff at the same time, but I almost never do it. When I'm watching a dvd that's what I'm doing. What browser were you using? I have found that the text entry in Safari is kinda sucky regardless of what else I am doing.

I've used all of the major browsers for OSX. It could really pretty much be anything else that I'm doing in addition to having the DVD playing.

What type of multitasking do you do with your PB and what configuration do you have if you don't mind my asking?

hom · January 2, 2004 8:30AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gxavier3

I've used all of the major browsers for OSX. It could really pretty much be anything else that I'm doing in addition to having the DVD playing.

What type of multitasking do you do with your PB and what configuration do you have if you don't mind my asking?

Well at the moment, I have about 10 apps running. Most of the time, I'm listening to music and working in CPU heavy apps like iPhoto and iCal

or doing work in PS or FCX. The graphics card may have more to do with your DVD watching then anything else. Is your computer QX capable? My system is 867 MHz G4, 640 MB, 60GB, APX, Super Drive, 10.3.2. I have the 1G 12" maxed out.

gxavier3 · January 2, 2004 8:39AM

Quote:

Originally posted by HOM

Well at the moment, I have about 10 apps running. Most of the time, I'm listening to music and working in CPU heavy apps like iPhoto and iCal or doing work in PS or FCX. The graphics card may have more to do with your DVD watching then anything else. Is your computer QX capable? My system is 867 MHz G4, 640 MB, 60GB, APX, Super Drive, 10.3.2. I have the 1G 12" maxed out.

I've suspected that it's the graphics card as well. It is technically QX enabled but it's the iBook with the 16mb Radeon card so, technically it meets Apple's specs to run QX but I don't think that Apple ever intended for QX to run well with that card. Do you find the NVIDIA card in the Powerbook to be adequate?

hom · January 2, 2004 8:41AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gxavier3

I've suspected that it's the graphics card as well. It is technically QX enabled but it's the iBook with the 16mb Radeon card so, technically it meets Apple's specs to run QX but I don't think that Apple ever intended for QX to run well with that card. Do you find the NVIDIA card in the Powerbook to be adequate?

I'm not a gamer, so as long as my graphics card can power my external CRT at a reasonable resolution and refresh rate I'm happy.

12" Powerbook - A Good Choice?

Comments