[DentalMac2]

I am considering buying a new PB and am curious about the screen. Many here think the 12" PB screen could be brighter. How does it compare to my 5 year old Pismo's screen?

With the Pismo I keep finding myself pressing the UP brightness button.

This may sound silly, but will I notice a dramatic speed increase between my 400 mhz Pismo and the 1.5 ghz 12" PB?

Pismo: 400mhz/G3; 576 MB RAM; 40 GB Hitichi? 7,200rpm HD.

I think the HD is Hitachi. It's the one that can run 24/7.

I run lots of apps at once (16 right now), use Photoshop, listen to music all the time, surf, and email. My Pismo just seems sluggish at times.

BTW, I'd buy an external CRT monitor for photo editing.

[fisherKing]

i went from a 400mhz pismo (768ram) to a 1.33 12" pb (1.25g ram).

LOTS of differences.

the 12" runs osx elegantly, quickly.
i run audio apps, photoshop, dreamweaver, etc etc while listening to music.
all fine.

i can use vlc (NOT on the pismo) to watch vcds.

the screen is much brighter, even halfway up (i had my pismo at 100%)


the newer 12" should be even better.

my advice: go for it!

[brettcamp]

I had the same experience: 400 MHz Pismo to 1.25 GB 12" PB, with an iBook in between. The iBook and AlBook screens are MUCH brighter and sharper than the Pismo's, as you'd expect with the same resolution crammed into a smaller space. Performance is much zippier, too. I had the same amount of RAM you do, but not your faster HD in the Pismo, though.
The Pismo was a nice machine, but that graphics card wasn't made to play with OSX, not to mention the G4 Altivec etc. And you'll appreciate the lighter weight when it comes time to haul it around. Plus the bigger HD and ability to burn CDs.

[amazing]

Have you tried taking the Pismo into the Store to compare them? The main thing with the 12" is that type is too small for some people to comfortably read, but if it works for you the 12" ibook is the way to go (not the 14".)

As for speed, install xbench and run the tests, then compare that to the benchmark site. There is a dramatic difference.

And get more RAM. 16 apps open must lead to a lot of beachballing...

[DentalMac2]

Good suggestion Amazing. I'll try taking my Pismo to the Apple store tomorrow.

I probably will go with the 12" PB and a CRT. While the screen size on the 15" is great, is just too big for portability. I want the CRT for photo editing.

I'm hesitant to buy more RAM since I'd rather spend the money on a new machine. And, yes, I do get lots of beach balling and just plain sluggishness when switching between apps, waiting for scrolling, and menus to drop down.

Judging from the xbench site, my PB would earn between 40-50. A decked out PB 12" like I want (7,200 HD, 1.25 GB RAM) would be around 130.

Thanks for the input so far.

[fisherKing]

i use my 12" pb for everything (music production, writing, web design, etc)
and never have a problem reading from the screen (and my eyes are sh*t).

but ram makes a HUGE difference; 768meg or more is well worth it.

[SEkker]

If the 12" PB screen has type that's too small, you should look at the 14" iBook -- which is as close to a match in form factor to your Pismo that Apple currently sells.

[amazing]

Originally posted by DentalMac2:
Good suggestion Amazing. I'll try taking my Pismo to the Apple store tomorrow.

The LCD on the 12" has a more narrow viewing angle than the 15" AlPB and presumably more narrow than the Pismo. It's basically the same screen as the 12" iBook, rather than the higher quality screen in the 15". Overall, I'd say you'd want to wait until you can see the screen in the new models. Everybody's curious if Apple will have used better screens.