[Bonez]

Ok, I've researched PowerBooks for the last few days horribly extensively due to some weird bone in my body deciding to get a PowerBook from the following:

I'm running an older Dell P3-450, 320mb of RAM, and XP Pro. On my 18th birthday in four months (March 1st), I may come into a large sum of money that my grandmother left me when she passed away, (when I say large, I mean large), and want a new computer really badly.

I was thinking about getting another Dell, but nothing I built on their site seemed to satisfy me. On top of that, I don't even use this one that much anymore due to my purchase of two consoles (Xbox, and Gamecube) and a lack of interest in computer gaming. Also, I have found myself lugging this old 386 laptop my girlfriend got off a friend of her mother's outside so I can sit somewhere else besides in the house and write. (I write a lot, and run a weblog and a review site and whatnot, which has been put on hold due to my distaste for this computer and writing inside).

So, I decided.. Maybe a laptop is what I want. I looked at PC laptops, and the power hungry side of me would want something brand new, hella expensive, and hella hot... I realized that I don't want to play games, but I don't want to get a sub-par laptop, even though the power would be wasted. Kind of a weird thing, I think.

ON TOP OF THAT, I am very tired of having to tweak my computer and get it working, I am tired of being a geek and I would like to actually use my computer rather than constantly tweaking it so it works on the rare occasion I do want to USE it.

I thought... Maybe I want a Mac. If I want a laptop, I feel that a PowerBook is the way to go. It does what I want, does it well, and most of all.. it's pretty and will be a very nice experience for me, a kid who has grown up only using Windows suddenly making the "switch" to Mac.

So... Now that I've told you my life story, I have a few questions...

Does anyone here run their Powerbook connect to an 23 inch Apple Cinema Display? I am considering buying one (along with a mouse and keyboard) and actually having them sit on a desk so I can bring my Powerbook home and just plug it in to use it as a desktop that I can take with me. I want to know how well it performs, if it works just as well on a high res display. I read somewhere that someone said the DVI to ADC connector makes some sort of attracting on DVDs playing through the Powerbook, is this true? I don't think I care either way but I like to be informed. If there's any reviews on this online, please point me there.

I had a few more questions but sides from that... I don't remember. Any other questions or mini-reviews of your PowerBooks would be lovely. For some reason I'm craving knowledge about the TiBooks and if anyone has anything to say that might not have been covered in the gazillion reviews I've read... go nuts! I would really like to know.

Anyway, yeah... Post mini reviews of your PowerBooks if you will, maybe shortcomings and other things. I already know about them scratching, so please don't post that to death, I don't think I care, lol.

Go nuts! I'd like to know. Comments on the DVI to ADC on the Apple Cinema Display especially wanted!

(Edit:

I'm also considering going to college, of course, being that I will be 18, I'm not sure why I tell this but if anyone has any opinions about how good the PowerBook will be for college, or if anyone DOES use it for college, say that too! I'd like to know).

[seanyepez]

The only shortcoming I can really see is the price difference between the PowerBook and PC notebooks. Macs are generally two to three times more expensive for the same computing hardware.

Take, for example, the Power Mac G4 with dual, 867-megahertz processors. With a 15-inch flat panel display, you'll spend over $2,100 on a complete setup. For $799, you can have a Dell Dimension 4550 with faster, 333-megahertz DDR-SDRAM, a 2.4-gigahertz Pentium 4 processor, a 40-gigabyte hard drive, and a 15-inch flat panel.

Granted, the Mac's going to be faster, nicer, and a superior machine. However, the price difference is tremendous.

Then again, you said price isn't an issue. So, to use your own words, "go nuts" and buy yourself a Mac. PowerBooks are generally very solid machines. Lately, Apple's hardware has been getting long in the tooth. PowerBooks are due for an update in a few weeks.

Be sure to thank your grandmother if and when you get your new PowerBook.

[seanyepez]

DVI and ADC are essentially the same video interface. ADC adds peripheral support and power to DVI. Go to any Apple store and try a PowerBook with an attached Cinema display. It's amazing.

[RMXO]

I think most ppl here are gonna say go out & get yourself a TiBK since money isnt a problem for you.

since you said u have did some research. I suggest you go to your local computer store or Apple Store & try out the TiBK. see if you like it. get a feel for it. ask a lot of questions. ask the sales person to connect the laptop to a Cinema display & see if you like what you see.

i use my PB for school, business & pleasure. does everything i want in a laptop & its doesnt feel like Im lugging around a brick in my backpack either.

your milage my vary & best of luck in deciding.

[Commodus]

In your position, I would certainly be looking into a Powerbook - just be sure to be nice to it. You know about the scratching, so getting a good laptop sleeve (like the Mitre from tombihn.com) would help keep it in one piece.

And yes, if you at all can, go to college or university. Not only does it help with your future careers, it can help expand your mind.

[waxcrash]

I have a TiBook 800 connected to a 22" Cinema Display via Apple's DVI-to-ADC. It is the best computer set-up I have ever used. I have had no problems. Playing games like Warcraft III on the Cinema Display is very enjoyable. Spanning monitors is very useful when you work with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Quark, ProTools, Reason, etc.

[Love Calm Quiet]

Unfortunately, I have my DVI TiBook connected *only* to a 17" Apple Flat Panel... but I must say it's fantastic to be able to compute wherever I am with my TiBook. The performance and the display seem great. Until....

I get home and can plug in the 17" as a second screen. Whew! And your 22" will be even more awesome.

Note: I havent read whether I'm *supposed to* or not, but it seems to work fine either to ''hot-plug'' or ''sleep-plug'' the monitor adaptor into the TiBook -- even remembers that the 17" monitor is supposed to be the menu-bar screen after a second of adjustment. That was more than I hoped for -- that's the way computing ought to be! Love it!!!