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alligator · Jun 21, 2004, 10:29 AM

I jumped into Macs last year and got a single 1.8 GHz G5. It's been fantastic. Now I'm looking to get a notebook so I can use it around the house (wireless) and to take with me on some trips. My wife might use it for recipes in the kitchen, and my kids might use it for school (in a few years).

Can anyone tell me if the iBook would be a good choice, or should I go with a PowerBook? I'm concerned about price and weight, so I was considering the 12" iBook.

The only thing I use my PC for is Quicken 2004. I have Quicken 2004 for my G5, but the features do not compare to the Windows version. If I could load Virtual PC on an iBook to run Quicken, then I might not need the PC at all.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

iREZ · Jun 21, 2004, 12:20 PM

The iBook sounds perfect for the things you plan on using it for. I would definetly recommend the iBook to compliment any G5. Quicken and VPC will work well although maybe not as fast as you might want it to. Your best bet is to put up a post asking if VPC and Quicken work well on an iBook.

Mrjinglesusa · Jun 21, 2004, 06:01 PM

I supplemented my 17" iMac with a 14" iBook (933 MHz with Airport Card, Bluetooth, and 640 MB RAM). I run VPC 6 with Windows 2000 to play poker online (UltimateBet) and it runs fine. You should have no problem with Quicken. I suggest the 14". You will NOT be disappointed. Go to an Apple Store and look at the 12" and 14" side-by-side. Your eyes will thank you in the long run for getting the 14".

Detrius · Jun 21, 2004, 09:28 PM

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
...Go to an Apple Store and look at the 12" and 14" side-by-side. Your eyes will thank you in the long run for getting the 14".

...only if your eyes are weak.

Mrjinglesusa · Jun 22, 2004, 09:48 AM

Originally posted by Detrius:
...only if your eyes are weak.

Yeah, because a 12" screen is better to look at than a 14" screen.

iREZ · Jun 22, 2004, 10:28 AM

Relax Mrjinglesusa, some people prefer a 12" screen vs a 14", no need to roll your eyes. Infact, I personally prefer the 12" iBook over the 14" because the 14" is fuzzy when looked at closely and the 12" is perfectly sharp, and it has the portability market locked down. Gotta agree with Detrius, go check em out and if the 14" looks better then go with that, but personally I'd go with the 12" and load it up with RAM, APX, BT, and a larger HD of course.

mbryda · Jun 22, 2004, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
Yeah, because a 12" screen is better to look at than a 14" screen.

When they are the same resolution, yes. (Which they are.) The higher DPI of the 12" makes everything look much sharper. My wife's 12" iBook looks noticeably sharper than my 15" iMac, both of which are @ 1024x768....

Mrjinglesusa · Jun 22, 2004, 08:18 PM

Originally posted by mbryda:
When they are the same resolution, yes. (Which they are.) The higher DPI of the 12" makes everything look much sharper. My wife's 12" iBook looks noticeably sharper than my 15" iMac, both of which are @ 1024x768....

Matter of opinion, that was my point. I looked at the 12" and 14" side-by-side at an Apple Store before purchasing the 14". I like the extra screen real estate and for me, the 14" was a better choice. My point was to actually LOOK at the two beside each other before purchasing, that's all. For the $200 difference, the extra 10 GB and 2" more in screen makes the 14" a better deal IMO. The 14" is VERY portable, I take it on all my trips...

zelig2 · Jun 22, 2004, 09:54 PM

well, in reference to the original post. I went out today and picked up a 12" iBook from the local Apple store (after seeing Dodgeball of course) to complement my G5 that I bought last year. I've been planning to buy a laptop of some sort from apple to allow me to do some photo editing on the road for some photo shoots next month. I went with the 12" because, it's cheaper, has the same resolution as the 14", nice and small, and runs photoshop CS quite smoothly. I just have an 802.11b network at home but once the Airport Express gets released next month I'll have an extreme network going in my house. Plus I"ll be able to control the AirTunes from the laptop as I sit on the couch. Originally I was going to get the refurbished iBook 12" 800MHz G4 from the apple store online since it was only $779. But after playing with both in the store tonight it was a deal maker that I needed the new one. The older one just didn't have the snap that the new iBooks have. Mainly due to the larger L2 cache I'd say. All I need to do now is order a 512MB stick from Crucial and I'm all set. Don't forget to get the APX card as laptops seem silly with wires.

alligator · Jun 26, 2004, 05:18 PM

Thanks, I'll probably head out tomorow to do just what the last poster did. I'll get the 12" iBook for editing on the road.

Detrius · Jun 27, 2004, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
Matter of opinion, that was my point. I looked at the 12" and 14" side-by-side at an Apple Store before purchasing the 14". I like the extra screen real estate and for me, the 14" was a better choice. My point was to actually LOOK at the two beside each other before purchasing, that's all. For the $200 difference, the extra 10 GB and 2" more in screen makes the 14" a better deal IMO. The 14" is VERY portable, I take it on all my trips...

My point was that there is actually *NO* extra screen real estate on the 14" as they are both 1024x768. Therefore, the 12" is the same picture--just smaller. For some people's eyes, this is a problem, so they get the 14". I have a 12" and my eyes are not upset with me over it.

zelig2 · Jun 28, 2004, 09:10 AM

Originally posted by alligator:
Thanks, I'll probably head out tomorow to do just what the last poster did. I'll get the 12" iBook for editing on the road.

I've had the laptop almost a week now and love it. Definately a good decision on my part. I still haven't ordered the memory yet, maybe I'll do that today at work. The other thing I'd recommend is some kind of case to carry the laptop. I've been hunting around and the Booq PowerSleeve12 looks to be the coolest and looks nothing like your typical big black laptop case. The 802.11b network in my house wasn't all that strong so I had to rewire some stuff in my house and position the base station up on the first floor so I could get any kind of a signal in the upstairs. I hope the Airport Express has some power to it. One thing I'd recommend installing is some form of VNC. Right now I'm able to control both my G5 and P4 that are in the basement of my house. It's not super fast by any means but it's very helpful to check if my G5 is done rendering or completeling some large batch job in Photoshop.

Mrjinglesusa · Jun 29, 2004, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by Detrius:
My point was that there is actually *NO* extra screen real estate on the 14" as they are both 1024x768. Therefore, the 12" is the same picture--just smaller. For some people's eyes, this is a problem, so they get the 14". I have a 12" and my eyes are not upset with me over it.

"....is the same picture--just smaller."
"...there is actually *NO* extra screen real estate...."

If a picture is bigger than another, that's more screen real estate. The screen is 2" bigger! How is there no extra real estate? If the resolutions are the same and the bigger screen is 2" larger, then you have more screen real estate. IF the 12" had higher resolution than the 14" you would have a point.

dreilly1 · Jun 29, 2004, 10:58 AM

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
If a picture is bigger than another, that's more screen real estate. The screen is 2" bigger! How is there no extra real estate? If the resolutions are the same and the bigger screen is 2" larger, then you have more screen real estate. IF the 12" had higher resolution than the 14" you would have a point.

What he means is that you don't have any extra working area (read: resolution) on the 14", it's just that the individual pixels are bigger. It's like (non-HDTV) TV's. Nobody would doubt that the 52" screen has more "real estate" than the 14" screen, but you can't see any more of the picture on the big screen than you can on the small screen. So in that respect, the working area of each is the same, and all you're buying with the big screen is bigger "pixels".

Mrjinglesusa · Jun 29, 2004, 11:28 AM

Fine, my point is that with a 14" screen you can put more on it than you can with a 12" screen. Resolution doesn't matter in this case. When I have a Word document open, I can have the full document open and be able to use the palette without it covering my writing. With Safari, I can see MORE of the page than I could with a 12" without scrolling (left to right). THAT, is screen real estate and you get more of it with a 14" than with a 12". Whether the pixels are bigger or smaller doesn't matter. Comparing to a TV is not valid. In a TV, sure I could have a 100" and compare it to a 7". Yes, I would see the WHOLE picture on both. Same with viewing movies, TV, etc. on a 12" or 14" monitor. However, when working with palettes, windows, etc. you can have more on your screen with a 14" vs. a 12". There is no debate about that and I maintain my position: you get more screen real estate with a 14".

dreilly1 · Jun 29, 2004, 11:50 AM

Ahh, well, that's not how computers work. If you have a web page that's designed for an 800x600 screen, or an 800x600 background image, it will fill up exactly the same proportions on a 12" iBook screen than a 14" iBook screen -- so it will be physically bigger on a 14" screen than a 12" screen. The computer has no clue how big the screen is physically, it only knows about pixels.

Using default settings, you won't see any more of a document in Safari or Word on a 14" than a 12". Now, if you adjust the zoom percentage in Word on the 14", you can get to see text that is roughly the same physical size as the 12", and perhaps get more working room that way. But all you are doing is cramming your document into a smaller pixel area, which is still usable because the screen is bigger.

In any case, it's a silly argument. Use whatever works best for you. I have a 12" iBook because I value portability over the larger screen size. You can use what you want also. I guarantee that if the world ends tomorrow, it won't be because of that.

iREZ · Jun 29, 2004, 12:15 PM

Mrjinglesusa stop digging yourself in a hole, 14" at 1024 x 768 is the same thing as 12" 1024 x 768 it just has bigger pixels. That doesn't mean you could see more on your 14" iBook then my 12" Powerbook, so stop saying your got 2" extra.

Londor · Jun 29, 2004, 12:33 PM

Fine, my point is that with a 14" screen you can put more on it than you can with a 12" screen. Resolution doesn't matter in this case. When I have a Word document open, I can have the full document open and be able to use the palette without it covering my writing. With Safari, I can see MORE of the page than I could with a 12" without scrolling (left to right). THAT, is screen real estate and you get more of it with a 14" than with a 12". Whether the pixels are bigger or smaller doesn't matter. Comparing to a TV is not valid. In a TV, sure I could have a 100" and compare it to a 7". Yes, I would see the WHOLE picture on both. Same with viewing movies, TV, etc. on a 12" or 14" monitor. However, when working with palettes, windows, etc. you can have more on your screen with a 14" vs. a 12". There is no debate about that and I maintain my position: you get more screen real estate with a 14".

You are so wrong.
Resolution is what matters. If both screens have the same resolution the amount of information that can be displayed is the same. The only difference is that things look bigger in the 14" screen. Think of it as placing a magnifying glass in front of the 12" to make it 14".

Mrjinglesusa · Jun 29, 2004, 02:45 PM

Originally posted by iREZ:
Mrjinglesusa stop digging yourself in a hole, 14" at 1024 x 768 is the same thing as 12" 1024 x 768 it just has bigger pixels. That doesn't mean you could see more on your 14" iBook then my 12" Powerbook, so stop saying your got 2" extra.

I do have 2" more. 14" > 12" by 2". I'm done. Get what works for you. I like my 14" over the 12" i saw in Apple Store. I value 10 GB more HD and 2" more screen than portability.