[MrForgetable]

Yes.. I did a search but I don't know why it doesn't work. Gives me an error page. But anyways
in the summer, I am looking to get a Powerbook. I could save money and get a 12" powerbook (over a PowerMac or another Powerbook) but sacrifice some screen space. But how is it to people who have only a 12 inch Powerbook??? A lot of the people who have 12 inchers in the Powerbook picture thread also have another desktop (say a G4 or a G5).

I do a lot of writing and surfing, the occasional game and music. Should I shell out the extra money for the 15" inch or a 17" if it's going to be my only computer? Thanks for any advice

[Dr.Michael]

I have a 12 inch Powerbook as my only Computer. Its great and very portable. No restrictions in this case. And, to say what apple once wrote on their powerbook stickers: It makes me feel free.

But I don't mind the small display. Most of the time I write programs and need not more than a texteditor, a browser and email.

If you want to do something good, get an iCurve, an external Keyboard and of course a mouse. This adds 150$ to the price and it turns the little powerbook into a perfect companion. Even at home.

Michael

[iREZ]

Same here, only got a 12" and its great, but by all means if you could get a 15" then go for that instead. Although you could probably get a nice LCD monitor and a BT mouse and keyboard and iCurve for the money that you could save from the 15" by goin with the 12". I personally love the 12" and I love being able to take it wherever I want. It's a great computer and obviously you didnt see my post in the pictures thread, tisk tisk tisk (dont go checkin after you read this either, had to replace the photos). You'll love either or but the 12" was perfect for me.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by iREZ:
Same here, only got a 12" and its great, but by all means if you could get a 15" then go for that instead. Although you could probably get a nice LCD monitor and a BT mouse and keyboard and iCurve for the money that you could save from the 15" by goin with the 12". I personally love the 12" and I love being able to take it wherever I want. It's a great computer and obviously you didnt see my post in the pictures thread, tisk tisk tisk (dont go checkin after you read this either, had to replace the photos). You'll love either or but the 12" was perfect for me.

exactly what i was thinking... with the money i save by going with a 12 inch i could make it a lot better because i have a $2000 (give or take)limit i am going to put on myself.

[Tenacious Dyl]

I have a alubook 12" too. Tossed 512 megs extra ram in it, and am very happy. Bought a 1024x768, 12" monitor (crt not lcd) at a rummage sale for 5 dollars... yes... 5 dollars. Now I run dual 12"s at the same resolution, so screen space is no problem. The speed is very good for being portable, and its so much more sexy than the ibooks.

[MrForgetable]

well i think i've got my setup planned, but what is the best keyboard/mouse combo.. the wireless (not bluetooth) logitech mx700 looks nice, but is it compatible??

[Commodus]

You can definitely use a 12" as a main machine, though I would recommend getting a separate LCD display unless you really don't use much more than 1024x768.

I would watch closely what the next PowerBook update brings as far as video, though. If it isn't significantly faster than an FX 5200 Go, you might want to consider a 15" if you intend to play current games. Right now the disparity between the 12" and 15/17" is quite huge as far as video hardware goes.

[sghms]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
well i think i've got my setup planned, but what is the best keyboard/mouse combo.. the wireless (not bluetooth) logitech mx700 looks nice, but is it compatible??

mx700 will work fine

[iREZ]

Check out amazon for the M$ bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo, its only like 75 bux for both if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, the 12" lacks a good video card (ie. I run Halo on the lowest settings and I'm getting a decent 25-28 fps). If the revision comes out with a better video card (64mb) I'll be pissed for me but happy that it's finally included in the 12" and will probably sell my baby for one. That's the only reason I'd sell mine.

[Luca Rescigno]

Logitech also has an excellent wireless keyboard and mouse combo, the Cordless MX Duo. Get the MS if you prefer the ergonomic keyboard style. The Logitech is $75 from NewEgg.com (up to $100 elsewhere).

Do note that wireless keyboards and mice are not very portable at all. If you're going to be using your mouse a lot away from your desk, I would suggest getting a corded mouse.

[ginoledesma]

I don't have a PowerBook, but I do have an iBook 12", and its my main machine that replaced my PowerMac G4/400.

I'm pretty satisfied with the screen real-estate (since I'm stuck to 14" CRTs at 800x600 at work), but I do crave for 15" LCDs/17" CRTs occasionally. If you do work that requires a lot of space (web design, layout, etc), then by all means get one. I find that the ideal machine for me would really be the PB 15", but I don't have the money to spend for that.

[Graymalkin]

My main computer is my Rev.A 12" Powerbook and I don't have any trouble with it. When I'm at home I've got it hooked up an Apple Pro keyboard, Microsoft IntelliMouse Blue, a Samsung SyncMaster 900p (19", 18.1" vis), and a set of powered speakers. When I'm out and about I'm obviously using the built-in keyboard and trackpad.

Even when I'm just tooling about with my Powerbook around the house I don't find the screen too small for day to day usage. I wouldn't want to fire up Illustrator but for Safari, Mail, iChat, and iTunes it is plenty of space. If you're writing and browsing the 1024x768 desktop resolution will probably be plenty for you. In Safari, Camino, and OmniWeb there's pretty functional tabs so you don't need to keep a billion windows open at once. I've also found that Exposé works really well with the programs that do need a billion windows open.

Since my Powerbook is stuck with a GF4MX running most games any higher than 1280x960 is an exercise in frustration so 1024x768 suits me just fine. I play Neverwinter Nights and JK2 regularly and have yet to really need a larger display resolution. Running Quake 3 I get a really nice framerate at 1024x768 which means I can take my Powerbook to my friends' houses and play LAN games with them. W00t to the Urban Terror mod.

[MrForgetable]

well, do you think the powerbook at 1ghz (stock ram, probably going ot upgrade to 768) running panther will be faster than my PC at 1.4GHz P4 at 128?? 15 inch LCD running 1024x768.. it hasn't been bad actually, going strong for almost 4 years.. i'm anal about this because this will be my 2nd computer and first Mac. i don't want a lemon or a computer i don't like if i pay 2000 dollars for it reading these sites are really scary when you are buying.. problems here, warping there, white spots everywhere you can say i am insecure

[Graymalkin]

Usage wise the 1GHz Powerbook will likely suit your needs just fine. In many cases it is likely to be about as fast as the P4 despite its much lower clock speed. If you do get a lemon Apple will replace it free of charge under the warranty. You also need to take into consideration that people come on web forums specifically to complain or ask for help. Out of the hundreds of thousands of Powerbooks and iBooks sold, a few hundred users end up with serious and chronic problems.

At most you might find 2% of all Powerbooks have some sort of defect. The odds of you picking one of those up then is 1 in 50 and you get a free replacement if it is fubar. I think your $2000 investment will be safe.

[nobitacu]

Yea, the search tool on this forum sucks right now as 90% of the time it doesn't work. But yea, 2 of my friends have a iBoook 933 as their only computer, and it does all the jobs they want to do on it and are all very happy with it. I have the 17inch Rev. A Powerbook as my only computer, and I love every second of using it. So, it should not be a problem for you using the 12inch as your only computer for what you wanted to do. As for me, I need more power later on, so I'll be looking to buy a PowerMac G5 with dual 3 Ghz towards the end of the year.

Ming

[Love Calm Quiet]

I've run a couple businesses off just my TiBook (15") for last two years. For design work I just add my Apple Display (I decided on TiBook as soon as it came out with DVI connector for 2nd display).

I wish I had excuse to get PM G5, but when I think about upgrading, it really seems like shrinking the PB (going to 12") for convenience of portability would be the way to go -- and put extra $ into a Cinema Display for the big projects.

[sheer]

I use a 12" PB 1ghz exclusively for music production, got it hooked up to a 20" CRT (soon to be 19" LCD) for the extra screen space which Logic demands. Works very well, rarely leaves the desktop to be honest and fits my needs perfectly. Got a 200GB external firewire drive too (Maxtor One-touch) which was a great investment.

[mike one]

i have a 12" ibook that i've used for the past 2.5 years as my main computer, i've also done some hard core molecular modelling and calculations on it. the screen size is small, but i wouldn't have it anyother way. it is so crisp, my eyes never tire of it, compared to larger CRTs.
the portability factor of that machine is amazing too. when you close it and pack it up you'll freak at how small it is.

there is no way you can go wrong with the 12" PB. i'll be upgrading to one in the next 2-3 months, either the 12 or maybe i'll splurge and get a 15....decisions..

i'm at work now sitting at a 12" Powerbook, so so nice, haven't had one lick of trouble with this machine. and of the 7 new macs i've adminned and setup over the past 4 years, we have had no problems with any of them: two sawtooths, a pismo, 15" ti, 12" al, 17" al.

[escher]

Originally posted by Commodus:
You can definitely use a 12" as a main machine, though I would recommend getting a separate LCD display unless you really don't use much more than 1024x768.

I second that recommendation. Although I would get an external LCD (at some point down the road) even if you do not need more than 1024x768 resolution. The 12" LCD in the 12-inch PB and the 12" iBooks is relatively dim. It works great when you're on the road (or on the couch) but at your desk, a $200 1024x768 or a $400 1280x1024 external LCD will make your eyes even happier.

Portability to the people!

Escher

[sugarkane]

my 12" is great i use imovies and dvd studio pro alot and it no problems....


get as much mem as you can afford and at least the 60gb hd cause the 40gb is too small and get airpoprt cause there are many wifi places around now and most domestic wifi networks are totaly open....

about 70%...

if some half wit on your blocks got a wifi router then there's a great chance you can use his broad band hahahahhahahahahhahahahaa



sk

[madmacgames]

My 12" PB is my 2nd computer and 1st Apple and since October 1st, 2003 it is all I have been using (ok technically not my 2nd, as my 1st is a PC I built myself and continuously upgraded over the past 3 years, so while still the same PC, it changed often).

I do regular internet stuff (email, surfing, etc), I do a bit of design, web development & programming, office stuff (word, excel, etc).

Noticeable speed difference from "faster" PC?
well right before I switched, my PC was an AMD AthonXP 2500+ barton core (333Mhz FSB) with 1GB dual-channel DDR400 ram. Now this was great for music/video production, and the powerbook probably can't hold a candle to it for that, if for no other reason than the dual-channel ram. However, for everyday activity, programming, surfing, office, etc, I have not really noticed a difference in the two. Some things the powerbook seems to be a bit quicker, most I can't tell a difference.

Now compared to a P4 1.4GHz? Well just guessing here, but an AMD Athon 1.2GHz will outpace a P4 1.4GHz. Prior to my powerbook I had an AMD Athlon 2500+ (technically 1.8GHz, but labeled 2500+ as it will keep up with a P4 2.5GHz). On normal activity, I can tell no real difference in speed. Some things in OS X are much faster (like file searching), but that is OS related and not CPU related, I think. Now, for something like music/video production, I am pretty sure my PC would win, if for no reason other than the dual-channel 1GB DDR400 ram.

So, my guess would be that powerbook would probably seem a bit faster or "snappier" than P4 1.4GHz. True the 12" is only 1GHz but that doesn't mean anything. Different CPU architectures, different OSes, etc. Even on 2 different brand x86 processors running the same OS, clock speed is not the deciding factor, as I pointed out, lower clocked AMDs will outpace higher clocked Pentiums. Just my guess, but I would bet a 1GHz G4 would outperform a 1.4GHz P4.

Also, OS X seems much "snappier" than winXP on many things. As I mentioned, file searching is much faster on OS X.

I also got the Apple bluetooth wireless mouse and an external 17" 1280x1024 LCD display. The 12" display as-is is a bit dim & dull, but you can correct a good bit of that if you calibrate it. It will not be as "bright" as larger screens, but that seems to be the nature of the thing (smaller screens always seem to be dimmer than larger ones).

Also, it was mentioned in this thread that you can get a 1280x1024 LCD for $400, so I thought I'd mention you can get an Envision 17" 1280x1024 LCD for about $300. That is the one I got, and it is pretty nice. It is black & silver (the silver on it matches nicely with the PB silver).