Advantages of owning a PowerBook.

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Currently I own a g4 733, running os 10.2.6 with an 60 gb harddrive, and 733 of sdram.



I am a freelance graphic designer, looking to purchase a Powerbook. My main reason is mobility, and the ability to take it where I want to go.



I am sure there are other positive reasons to purchase a powerbook, or laptop for that matter. *What advantages do you find in having a powerbook?.



In my opinion it will be an addition to my system, not a replacement. After almost three years of owning my g4 733, I am very pleased I switched, and I will NEVER go back to the dark side of windows. It is still running strong, and the powerbook would not replace my current system.



Come on guys, convice me, LOL.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    Want to or not, you'll find the new Powerbooks WILL replace your system. They are VERY nice and much better than a 733Mhz Powermac in everything but internal storage, but that can be fixed with external firewire800 drives on the Powerbook. Imagine taking you work, your games, your iLife, your everything you do with a computer with you everywhere you go. I have a dual 1Ghz MDD, and I barely use that, I will probably sell it once I get the new 17" Powerbook. There's so much power in these things now, and I carry mine EVERYWHERE with me. I have a Brenthaven backpack and it protects my Powerbook like nothing else and is built like a rock. I just love having EVERYTHING with me wherever I go...that and I met my amazing girlfriend after we started talking when we saw each other's Powerbooks (she has the 12")...so I love the things.



    That and I do a lot of video editing...actually, I make my living as a student with it. So it's nice to take my PB to clients, show them their project, and if they want a DVD copy, I can burn it right there in a few minutes...very cool and makes an impression on people.
  • Reply 2 of 38
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Wireless internet is one of the biggest ones. I can't put into words how truly awesome it is. Additionally, they make for good personal heaters in the winter.
  • Reply 3 of 38
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by genX



    Come on guys, convice me, LOL.




    As someone who has owned 4 PowerBooks, you need to convince me why you would own a desktop system.



    Seriously, a laptop would be a great addition to your setup and the mobility it brings cannot be appreciated until experienced. Either get a new 17 inch to replace your desktop or a 12 inch to compliment it. Desktop systems will always be more powerful -- better graphics, faster RAM, faster hard and optical drives -- but you can't exactly take them on the road with you.
  • Reply 4 of 38
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    As a video editer and photography hobbyst, the 12'' PowerBook will definitely replace my desktop Mac. I am going to college, so that is a major reason as to why I want a portable, but also...the PowerBooks are just so damn capable now. If you think about it like this, they do everything a Mac desktop can do, slightly slower but extremely fast by most standards.



    It amazes me to no end that the 12'' PowerBook packs over twice as much computing power as a 2 year old Apple desktop.
  • Reply 5 of 38
    I think its the portabilty, wirelessness and minimalist features.



    No wires: internet, usb wireless print server built in. Wireless mouse/keyboard



    Portability: can use it anywhere.



    Minimalist. My desk is a huge empty space with a 17" PB on it. Its just nice to to have clutter with 1000 cables and big dusty boxes/monitors, mouse pads etc etc.



    The powerbooks are super powerful i find they handle FCP DVD-SP way faster than their centrino conterparts in relative programs despite all this G4vsCentrino BS.



    Also if you move out and you dont have the luxury of owning a house with spare rooms then you can have your computer area where ever you want and it takes up no space. Buy yourself an external FW800 drive and you have more storage than you can imagine. PLUS PB's support upto 2GB RAM! (if you can afford it.



    Get yourself a 17" tho. Its still portable despite what others may think. Once you get a 17" you'll look at the others and think they are toys.



    Recommended items if you get PB:

    iCurve

    Wireless Mouse/Keyboard

    External HDD



    My setup looks like an APPLE SHOWCASE its very sexy, friends freak out when they see it and in once case literally went out and bought a powerbook!
  • Reply 6 of 38
    evoevo Posts: 198member
    Owning a PowerBook, I definitely see mobility as the best reason to have one. But it is also nice to have a really small system that doesn't take up much room compared to a tower... When I use my PowerBook in my room I plug it into a 17" CRT, USB Hub (with keyboard, mouse, peripherals), Network, and stereo system, and it's like I'm using a desktop, only it takes up very little space.



    It's also nearly silent, which is a big plus for me... I used to use an eMac which has a noisy fan.
  • Reply 7 of 38
    zodiaczodiac Posts: 138member
    Soon I'll get a 17" pb. Get a powerbook now because



    a) You won't need an entire room for it, just take it ANYWHERE you want.

    b) C'MON 128mb vram! you could play halo and kickass games like that well.

    c) It is at least 2 or 3 times better than your desktop.



    I'd say there is no good reason not to buy a powerbook now.
  • Reply 8 of 38
    giaguaragiaguara Posts: 2,724member
    Powerbooks owners get laid more often.
  • Reply 9 of 38
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Giaguara

    Powerbooks owners get laid more often.



    **DMBand runs to Apple store and gets 12" PB in order to test this theory**



    Results to follow.



  • Reply 10 of 38
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Today's G4 PowerBooks are - to all but the most envelope-pushing 3D/video type of person...or, on the flip side, a supremely spastic Spec Whore who likes to brag numbers - truly desktop replacements, IMO.



    It goes without saying the coolness of simply having your entire life with you...anytime, anywhere. As wireless Internet access is becoming more widespread, it's getting easier to plop down on a park bench or coffee joint somewhere and get online. That's very cool, and something you just can't do with a G5 or eMac, for obvious reasons.







    And with this latest round of updates, you've got 64MB graphics across the board, beefy hard drives, built-in AirPort (saving you $99 right off the bat on the two 12" and Combo Drive 15" compared to last week).



    As someone said upthread, I'd need to be convinced at this point why I should ever own a desktop again. After only 6 months with this PowerBook, I'm pretty sure it's laptops for me from here on out. If all my needs are met by this 1.25GHz G4, 2x SuperDrive, 15" model, imagine owning a 2GHz-plus G5 PowerBook with 128MB graphics 8x SuperDrive, OS 10.5, etc. in three or so years!



    These things are only getting more kick-ass as time goes on. Chances are you won't use your 733 G4 that much after getting one.
  • Reply 11 of 38
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    I really want a 17" PowerBook.



    I would be happy with the 15" PowerBook.



    I could not use the 12" PowerBook. (I'm on a 14.1" iBook now, so it would be a step down in several ways although up in a few others. But screen size is important to me.)



    So it's really between the 15" and 17" PowerBooks for me.



    I'd get another newer iBook, since they are now pretty sweet at the high end.



    However, for not much more I cna get the 15" PowerBook and finally be in the pros.



    As much as I know a finely tuned iBook can get a shitload of work done, it still is perceived as a kiddie computer. Plus I'm miffed at the iBook limitation/hack required regarding monitor spanning.



    Please convince me to save for another month and get the 17" PowerBook.



    Or coax me into feeling ok with a 15" PowerBook.



    My money is burning a hole in my pocket. I'm unemployed and tend to take the gamble in upgrading during the down time. Lifts my spirits enough to make me go out and land work more confidently. Kinda the Frank Lloyd Wright method of living on the edge to provide motivation.
  • Reply 12 of 38
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Save for one more month and get what you truly want. Why is this so hard? 30 days goes by really fast. It's not like you said "convince me to save for two more years...".



    \



    Get the 17" and be happy.
  • Reply 13 of 38
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Giaguara

    Powerbooks owners get laid more often.



    Giaguara: That theory holds true until PowerBook owners get married. Then they get laid less with each new PowerBook they buy.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    I really want a 17" PowerBook.

    I would be happy with the 15" PowerBook.




    johnq: If you're unemployed, how will waiting let you save money to buy the 17-incher? Seriously, be patient. Send out a minimum of five resumes/job applications a day until you have enough money to spring for the 17-inch. Don't compromise on your dream(s)!



    Escher
  • Reply 14 of 38
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Escher



    johnq: If you're unemployed, how will waiting let you save money to buy the 17-incher? Seriously, be patient. Send out a minimum of five resumes/job applications a day until you have enough money to spring for the 17-inch. Don't compromise on your dream(s)!



    Escher




    I'm getting unemployment compensation for the foreseeable future, thank goodness.



    My rent is roughly $300 a month So cable, electricity, (all divided by 8 since I have 7 housemates) and I have no other bills. (No SUV, no kids, no alimony )



    I guess what I meant to ask was are there any compelling reasons to not get one over the other besides weight or small screen.



    The 17" seems a bit out of proportion but I assume it's a dream to work on screen real estate-wise.



    Is the battery life in real world usage horrendous?



    Thanks
  • Reply 15 of 38
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    The 17" is a desktop replacement, and not the most portable machine in the world.



    I know I'm partial because I own a 15" PBook, but I believe it's truly the best compromise of form v. function. It's powerful enough to do everything you'd want to do -- maybe just not *quite* as fast, but close -- and the screen is large enough that you have a decent amount of screen real estate to use.



    The choice is obviously up to you, but I'd say to take another look at the 15", and maybe use the other money you saved to buy more RAM, a nice case, a cable lock (VERY important), etc.
  • Reply 16 of 38
    kraig911kraig911 Posts: 912member
    Well as far as the other dudes in here you can do your work on the 17 probably. I do some things on my Ti a lot esp with presentations and everything. There is however noway a powerbook could replace my workflow at work. I use a Dual G5 and it still isn't fast enough hehe. But then again I'm working on some intructional videos, 10 of them, each about 70 Gig, 500 edits I'd say each, all with color correction and everything going on, so it helps to have RT going in FCP because I'm sure you can imagine. If you do heavy print production also don't rely on it as well unless you get the 7200 RPM drive for it. I do some 600 DPI high res boards on occasion and that can slow anything to a crawl not to mention photoshop CS is a bloated dawg now. I guess its how patient are you? They are great for presentations, web design, light print work. If you video edit tho use it FCP's motion jpeg and be very detailed on your timecode, tapes, and notes so you can just recapture the correct stuff later and it'll replace everything in native HD, or DV which is cool. So uhh get it yeah get the powerbook.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Good points all.



    So how to get a 7200 drive in a Powerbook? BTO only goes to 5400.



    I've swapped drives in my iBook, but the warranty had expired anyway.



    My gut says a 15" with 7200 drive would be perfect.
  • Reply 18 of 38
    giaguaragiaguara Posts: 2,724member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Escher

    Giaguara: That theory holds true until PowerBook owners get married. Then they get laid less with each new PowerBook they buy.



    not if they get married with someone with a G5...
  • Reply 19 of 38
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    Good points all.



    So how to get a 7200 drive in a Powerbook? BTO only goes to 5400.



    I've swapped drives in my iBook, but the warranty had expired anyway.



    My gut says a 15" with 7200 drive would be perfect.




    If you've swapped a HD in an iBook than you can do it in a PB with no trouble. Just get the least expensive HD option that it has. Pick up a 7200RPM notebook drive, swap them out, than eBay the 5400.
  • Reply 20 of 38
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kraig911

    Well as far as the other dudes in here you can do your work on the 17 probably. I do some things on my Ti a lot esp with presentations and everything. There is however noway a powerbook could replace my workflow at work. I use a Dual G5 and it still isn't fast enough hehe. But then again I'm working on some intructional videos, 10 of them, each about 70 Gig, 500 edits I'd say each, all with color correction and everything going on, so it helps to have RT going in FCP because I'm sure you can imagine. If you do heavy print production also don't rely on it as well unless you get the 7200 RPM drive for it. I do some 600 DPI high res boards on occasion and that can slow anything to a crawl not to mention photoshop CS is a bloated dawg now. I guess its how patient are you? They are great for presentations, web design, light print work. If you video edit tho use it FCP's motion jpeg and be very detailed on your timecode, tapes, and notes so you can just recapture the correct stuff later and it'll replace everything in native HD, or DV which is cool. So uhh get it yeah get the powerbook.



    Im a creative director for an ad agency here in las vegas, and i use my PB 17 almost exclusively now -- i have a G5 1.8 that plays a mean slideshow screensaver most of the day. I do hi res design when it is called for -- brochures, ads, outdoor, etc. and the PB runs like a champ. Now if i was drum scanning and color correcting 300MB files all day then maybe i would change my tune, but i use photoshop, illustrator and indesign CS without a problem. I could use more ram (only have 512 right now) but that will come. In my opinion, the PB (well, the 17 anyway) is a desktop replacement -- without question. there is nothing that a desktop machine can do that my sleek little PB cant...in my line of work anyway.
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