[OmniShinzui]

Ok, I have been wanting a 12" Powerbook for a while now, but since recent money problems, how are the 14" Ibooks? The three things that bother me the most are 32mb Vram, No Audio-In, and how the ibook and best Mac Mini compare. See, the things I would use my notebook for is Garageband/Logic Pro, Small Adobe Illustrator work, school stuff, internet, and small amounts of gaming (I really want to play World Of Warcraft). This is what I was going to get (Ram would be temporary, id get a 1gb ram stick around January to max either I get):

Powerbook 12"
100gb Hard Drive
768mb Ram
Superdrive
$1652 (edu discount)

what ibook I was looking at
Ibook 14"
100gb Hard Drive
768mb Ram
Superdrive
$1401

I got a few questions about the ibook.
1. How is the keyboard, I heard they used to be flimsey, still true?
2. How is the Screen?
3. If I got an imic for audio-in, how is Garageband2 on the ibook? Logic Pro?
4. How well does WoW play?
5. Any differences between the 12" powerbook (besides screen size)
6. How does the high-end Mac Mini compare?
7. Any problems/flaws in on the current rev ibooks?

I know $250 isnt much difference, but on apple's website, 8% CA tax is added, which is like almost $350 difference. Thanks for the suggestions

[theTechyDork]

Hey! I haven't seen you around, so welcome to MacNN. I own a 12" iBook G4 1.33GHz.

1. The keyboard is not as flimsy as the old ones. This one seems rather sturdy to me. I have used the PowerBook keyboard.. I like it better, but only because it's silver. Not because of any typing preference or feel to it.

2. The screen on the 12" is wonderful! Crisp, bright, and seems bigger than it sounds. The 14" is not as great. You see, both the 12" and 14" have the same resolution (for some odd reason). So this gives the 14" a somewhat streched and a tab bit "blurry" look to it.

3. I have used GarageBand 2 very much. It works flawlessly for me. And keep in mind, I have a 1.33Ghz. If you get the 14" you will have a 1.42GHz. I have never used Logic Pro.

4. I have never used WoW, either. Sorry.

5. Between the new iBooks and the 12" PowerBook, the only difference is the speed of the hard drive on the iBook is 4200RPM vs 5400RPM on the PowerBook. Honestly, though, everyone keeps saying I don't want a Mac Mini or iBook because the hard drive is slow. Not to be rude, but that is crap. This hard drive is actualy suprisingly very fast! I have never had a slow down. I ran Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Mail, Adium, Safari, and Cyberduck all at once and had no problem. Anyway, also, the iBooks have 32MB of VRAM vs 64MB on the PowerBook.

6. I have never used the high end Mac Mini except for briefly at the Apple Store. The 12" iBook (1.33Ghz) and the high end Mac Mini (1.42GHz) seemed roughly the same speed to me. I didn't notice much difference. Keep in mind, that if you ever want to speed up your Mac, all you gotta do is up the RAM. RAM is a Mac's best friend. The true difference between the Mac Mini and iBook is that one is a desktop and one is a laptop.

7. So far, so good. I have not heard of or experienced any problems with the new rev iBooks. They are great little machines for the money!

Anyway, go for the iBook. It's cheaper, and does the same thing. You really won't notice much of a difference.

[MarkJ61]

Curious as to why you are comparing the 12" PB to the 14" iBook.
Are you not considering the 12iBook?

None of your said uses really demands the superdrive. Also, the 14" will give you no more sreen real estate than 12", just bigger pixels, and a somewhat softer look (since the pixels are less dense).

Maybe get the 12" ibook and nice breakout box for your audio needs with the extra money saved. The iMic is a bit of a toy. M-audio and Edirol have some nice little ones. You can get alot for about $200-$250.
Much more flexible for anything GB and Logic.
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=...bileinterfaces
http://www.edirol.com/products/audio.html

FWIW, IMO, the 14" iBook is a bit odd looking and feeling. Too square?

[OmniShinzui]

Oh, I thought the 14" might give me a little more space to work with, but I guess not then. Anyways, The Superdrive would be good cause I have a lot (LOT) of music. Almost 70gb worth, and if I ever run out of room on the hard drive and the external 80gb hard drive I got, it would be nice to have. Anyways, what about 1.33ghz compared to 1.42ghz? isnt the performance doing to differ? The 12" iBook is 1,264.00 with 100gb Hard drive, and 1gb Ram. Im a bit skeptical tho on getting a 12" ibook to the 14" iBook.

Also, about the line-in problem, that edirol prodect:
http://elvistech.zoovy.com/product/E...roogle-EDIUA20
$150 isnt bad, and then I can record with the mic and use my midi controller also.

Thanks so far

[JMan09]

I have seen on here to not buy your ram from apple but from online stores, and they are cheaper there. Everyone also says ram is easy to install yourself. You can get the 12" and an external dvd burner that will be faster than the superdrive, and have dual layer burning. And you can use this external with another computer when you upgrade.
Hope this helps a little.

[gametime10]

.09ghz is not going to make a big difference. Go with the 12" and get an external DVD burner.

[theTechyDork]

I wanted the superdrive too, it's cheaper to buy the 12" plus external because as said, you get a faster burner with dual layer burning.

Also, DO NOT BUY RAM FROM APPLE! They rip you off with that. Get everything you want except the RAM. Buy from Crucial or Newegg. Not Apple. It's easy to install iBook RAM. Very easy.

[amazing]

Great advice and discussion!

Just wanna emphasize one point that was made: wait until after MacExpo in Paris before deciding on anything. Rumors are no way reliable, but you'd certainly kick yourself if speed increases for the PBs were introduced. Right now, the 12" PB isn't compelling enough of an advantage over the new 12" iBook, so Apple's gotta do something. Eventually.

You'd hope they'd have some small speed boost, hmm??? Nothing wrong with wishful thinking...

[OmniShinzui]

yeah, Im sure the powerbook thing wont happen if it does until december. The iBook could happen as fast as october tho. I actually might just get a Mac Mini and wait for rev.B Mactel Powerbooks. Then again, I dunno. Ill figure it out. For now, however, I will keep on looking at a iBook, but I might just get a upper end Mac Mini to hold me over. Thanks guys for the help tho.

[jam8]

I can help answer a few of your questions. I have a 12 inch 1 ghz ibook g4.

1. The keyboard is absolutely fantastic. I have no complaints about the keyboard at all.
2. The screen is very sharp. This is because of the many dots per inch relative to the 14inch ibook at the same resolution.
3. This is what i really need to answer about. I'm a musician, and i am constantly using this computer to record ideas. I have an imic, and i never use it when i record. I litterally sing right into the laptop. The microphone is suprisingly excellent. If you'd like a sample of this technique, check out www.purevolume.com/matthewkinzler or www.purevolume.com/mattkinzler and listen to the tunes on there. They were both done with garageband. I sang right into the laptop. I played acoustic guitar right into the laptop.
The sound quality is not great on purevolume. If you'd like me to send you the actual file in mp3 format, email me at jam@optonline.net and you can see what the true recording sounds like.
These computers are a musicians dream. I wouldn't waste time with the imic for music recording. It's good as a general purpose audio in but for recording, the built in mic of the computer is beautiful and does an excellent job. Listen to the harmonies on the songs.

[jam8]

I forgot to add, i also just plug my guitar into my amp, and then record using the built in microphone on the laptop. You can listen to the guitar solo on "starry night" to see an example of this.

Garageband acts as an excellent mixer!

[lamewing]

Originally Posted by OmniShinzui

yeah, Im sure the powerbook thing wont happen if it does until december. The iBook could happen as fast as october tho. I actually might just get a Mac Mini and wait for rev.B Mactel Powerbooks. Then again, I dunno. Ill figure it out. For now, however, I will keep on looking at a iBook, but I might just get a upper end Mac Mini to hold me over. Thanks guys for the help tho.

Omni,
If you are interested (I just made a post before reading yours about getting an ibook instead of the powerbook) I just bought my powerbook a few days ago. Perhaps we can work something out. It is a few days old, but I think I need an ibook instead. This is a 15 inch, 1.33Ghz, 60Gb, 256RAM, Radeon 9700). I also play Wow, and from what I have read this machine will run Wow well, for a laptop. If you are interested, just send me a private message soon, as otherwise it is going back to CompUSA. Thanks.

Joe

[OmniShinzui]

Naw, sorry (both of you trying to sell), im not the one paying and my grandpa is the one in the end. Im in a pickle tho, my grandpa said either a Mac Mini or a 12" iBook. Which one is better?

mac mini
1.42ghz G4
80gb Hard drive
1gb Ram
Combo Drive
$806

ibook
1.33ghz G4
100gb Hard Drive
1gb Ram
Combo Drive
$1196

they are both 32mb Vram, but they are different cards. The ibook has ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 while the Mac Mini uses ATI Radeon 9200. Which is better? And im worried about 1.33ghz to 1.42ghz, is .08ghz going to change much? and anything else why I should get a ibook over a Mac Mini? Thanks

[kauffee]

The Radeon 9550 is considerably better. The 9200 does not support core image, while the 9550 does. The processor speed difference is nothing. The iBook obviously gives you more versatility since it's basically the same computer in portable form. The only reason you'd want to consider the mini is if you need DVI out. Otherwise, get the iBook if the money is there.