[griffith505]

For months now I've contemplating on getting a 12" PB. I'm mainly a PC user and have not really used a Mac. I'm getting tired of running spyware, antivirus, security updates, etc. just to make sure my computer is safe. I've played around with the PB and just love it. Compared with other similar laptops the PB is the least expensive (with my educational discount) My questions is...are you happy with your PB? Any gripes about it? How is the slot loading CD drive....is it reliable? Does it break down often and do I need to worry about it? (CD not accepting in slot, CD not reading, etc..) I'm planning on buying at apple.com, if I find a serious problem with it can I take it to an Apple Store to exchange or have it replaced. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post, this might be my first laptop and Apple product.

[Synotic]

My optical drive in my two PowerBooks have never failed— I haven't had any problems with reading CDs or DVDs either. All of my burning attempts have been successful as well. Slot-loading drives are a very mature technology and I haven't heard of any failure or problems with them .

[bergen]

I have a 17" Powerbook 1Ghz and it purrs like a kitten.... it has never given me any problems. It's my first mac btw, had it for a year, no complaints!

[Lancer409]

my optical drive chewed up my cd's ... totally wrecked the powerbook .. i cant believe the disc shattered. the fact that it isnt tray loading made it worse when bits and pieces of my cd shot out of the slot drive. the powerbook is too slow .. and worse of all ... it uses electricity ... it has to be plugged in to work .. and when u unplug it .. it only works for a while before it breaks...




dude .. the powerbook is fantastic. if you take a look at college campus' or any other place where people whip out laptops .. you'll see a surprising amount of people owning mac's now =P. i wouldnt say i am a switcher because i still use a pc but i dont use it except for gaming. i own the 12 inch. best purchase i ever made.

[d.fine]

Get it, awesome machines, you wont regret it for a second !!

[shabbasuraj]

After a week of OS X on any PowerBook you will wonder why it took you so long to make the switch.

TRUST US!!!!!

[Gator Lager]

Originally posted by griffith505:
For months now I've contemplating on getting a 12" PB. I'm mainly a PC user and have not really used a Mac. I'm getting tired of running spyware, antivirus, security updates, etc. just to make sure my computer is safe. I've played around with the PB and just love it. Compared with other similar laptops the PB is the least expensive (with my educational discount) My questions is...are you happy with your PB? Any gripes about it? How is the slot loading CD drive....is it reliable? Does it break down often and do I need to worry about it? (CD not accepting in slot, CD not reading, etc..) I'm planning on buying at apple.com, if I find a serious problem with it can I take it to an Apple Store to exchange or have it replaced. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post, this might be my first laptop and Apple product.

OK I'm a long time Mac user, so I purchased a pc laptop two months ago.
HP athlon 3.2/80gig/blah blah.
This is my first pc purchase and after getting all the security software, virius protection this, firewall that...etc. I've come to the conclusion that I wish I would have waited for the next gen Powerbook.

Trust me, do yourself a favor. Get the Big Dog, get a Power Book
.

[cowboybop]

I empathize with your plight... buying a powerbook is a sizable chunk of change. Added to the cost anxiety is the terror of learning a new OS, new quirks, etc.

That said, go for it. Any windows box will seem positively unethical after your fingers grace the pb and learn the ins and outs of OS X.

Sure, I have had a couple of problems (White Spots-resolved, bad logic board-resolved), but these were promptly and expertly addressed.

Just get Applecare!

And then enjoy with a restful mind.

[Snake]

I just recently switched, and I built my old desktop computer. My powerbook makes it look like a toy, a very ugly, crappy toy that is hard to use and breaks often.

Buying my 15" Powerbook has been the best decision I have made in a long time, and I intend to keep it indefinately.

EDIT: I have had zero problems, hardware or software wise. I keep the OS running 24-7 by putting it in sleep mode when I am not using it. The only time I restart is when I install new software.

[AuPhalanx]

Originally posted by griffith505:
For months now I've contemplating on getting a 12" PB. I'm mainly a PC user and have not really used a Mac. I'm getting tired of running spyware, antivirus, security updates, etc. just to make sure my computer is safe. I've played around with the PB and just love it. Compared with other similar laptops the PB is the least expensive (with my educational discount) My questions is...are you happy with your PB? Any gripes about it? How is the slot loading CD drive....is it reliable? Does it break down often and do I need to worry about it? (CD not accepting in slot, CD not reading, etc..) I'm planning on buying at apple.com, if I find a serious problem with it can I take it to an Apple Store to exchange or have it replaced. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post, this might be my first laptop and Apple product.

griffith505!

I just received my 15" PB yesterday. From when I ordered it until I opened the box, I fretted about the decisioin to purchase it. Was it too much money? Do I need all that computer? Did I get the right options?

Believe me: When you open the box to your new machine, all of your worries and anxieties will fly right out the window. Nothing could be more aesthetically pleasing nor more functinal. When I removed the protective wrapping from the PB and laid it on my desk, I knew that I had made the right decision. When I powered it on and it asked me to connect to my iBook to transfer my data, I was amazed at how simple it was to get the thing up and running. From opening the box to becoming 100% functional and working, the time was under an hour.

I understand and relate to have "pre-purchase anxiety." You're not going through anything strange or wrong. You will wonder, though, why you felt that way when you open the box and begin working on your new machine. I can really find nothing wrong with this piece of equipment. It is simply stunning. You will enjoy!

Have fun... Tony.

[griffith505]

Thank you so much for everyones advice...it's put my mind much more at ease with the purchase....any comments on Apple's customer service reputation? Good or bad or it just depends on if the person you're talking to is nice? Thanks in advance again...

[KeriVit]

regarding the service, I've always had good experience- once they go through the simple stuff, they have even been intrigued or excited. following the service call on apple's website is pretty convenient - at least you THINK you know where your baby is at all times.

i would be confident in them.

[d.fine]

Remember to post pics when you get it !!

[Maclomaniac]

You can still expect things like having to wait on the phone for a service representative, but Apple has one of the best reputations in terms of customer service. I would recommend Applecare. Pricey on a powerbook (better if you have an education discount!), but worth it, especially for the first-time buyer. It extends your warranty from one to three years, and gets you unlimited, free (and useful!) phone support for questions. You have up until the one year warranty expires to buy it, if you want to wait a little to recover from your initial purchase.

Anyway, if anything did every happen with your optical drive, I would be shocked if you didn't find Apple very helpful in replacing or fixing it. And I know very few people who ended up regretting the purchase of a powerbook. I love mine.

[milkmanchris]

Originally posted by griffith505:
I'm getting tired of running spyware, antivirus, security updates, etc.

Same here, I bought my 12" PB in July and love it.

The switch was an easy one, it worked straight out of the box, found the wireless network in the house, and has given me 100% everyday since.

The PC is sat upstairs redundant now, I use remote desktop control on it, for downloading movies and converting to them to DVD (which I have not quite got the hang of on the Mac).

I have a quick question (sorry to hi-jack your thread Griffith), has anyone who has made the switch, ditched the PC for good?. I was in the market for a new desktop machine and the 20" iMac looks like fave at the moment.

C

[brettcamp]

Originally posted by griffith505:
Thank you so much for everyones advice...it's put my mind much more at ease with the purchase....any comments on Apple's customer service reputation? Good or bad or it just depends on if the person you're talking to is nice? Thanks in advance again...

re customer service, check out: http://www.asponline.com/awards.html

and http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/...elllead_1.html

I've only had to use it a couple times in 15 years of Mac use, but they've always been nice and helpful. It probably helps that I had applecare.

Customer service for computer care could always be better, but Apple's seems to be among the best.

[wuzup101]

I have to say I was a little scared at first, but I just recently purchased my first laptop and apple product for my laptop this year (I'm a sophomore at penn state). You'll definitely enjoy your powerbook... and you'll definitely see a lot of other people enjoying their powerbooks too! I have to say that everyone who has used my PB this year has loved it. Several are strongly considering selling their current pc notebooks to buy a powerbook. Go figure... i'm causing a mac revolution.

I also should note that I have a fairly high end PC desktop that I like too. I didn't bring it to school because having the two machines was overkill. Anything my PC can do my Powerbook can too.

[IronMentality]

If you wait up until around the 1 year warranty is over and then purchase the AppleCare seperately, doesn't that give 4 years of warranty coverage or does it only work up to three?

[iMacfan]

From personal experience of a Rev A 12", I'd say that there are two aspects to the machine to watch out for:

1. Heat - this can build up. I would not advise using progs that use 100% CPU for a long time without proper ventilation, and possibly setting to reduced processor speed

2. The slot-loader superdrive has been problematic for me. The first one started scratching some CDs a few months in, and the replacement one does not burn a full DVD-R. So it's in the shop as we speak. I must say though that Apple service is supposed to be better in the US than the UK, and it has got much better over here in the past year.

All in all, these are just niggles though, and nothing important enough to make me consider switching OS.

David

[theolein]

Although I'm a regular Mac user (my current Titanium 667 PB is my second Mac laptop), I discovered another real treat today. I am in the market for a new laptop and was seriously wondering if I should just get a PC because they are so much cheaper. Then, the guy at my local Apple shop told me that I could get a really good price for my machine as there are aparently still loads of people who need a machine that can boot into OS9 (I presume the Quark crowd mostly). Today he sent me a mail that he had found a woman who would take it for $1200, and she was happy with the 1GB RAM and OS9 on the machine. Just to compare I went onto a popular online auction site here in Switzerland to see what a used Powerbook fetches compared to a similar 2002 PC laptop.

It's laughable. A 2 year old PC laptop fetches less than half the price of a 2 year old Mac. Remember that if you decide on selling in a year or two.

My new 15"AL will be here this week. I am ecstatic.

[griffith505]

thanks for everyones help, I was going to order it online but decided to just go to an Apple Store to buy it(instant gratification). Does anyone know if they do the educational discount at the retail stores or is it through online only, and if they do what do I need to bring to be able to use the educational discount. Thanks in advance!

[bookofjames]

I've been using my 12" Rev B PB for almost a year now and I love it.

Previously I've owned 2 other PC laptops, both of which I gave up on them and sold them away within 6 months of usage.

Mac OSX is definitely a big plus - it has its pros and cons, but IMO more pros than cons - definitely more usable than WinXP.

Recently a friend was asking me some how to do some settings on her PC, and I honestly didn't know how to help her (I used to be a whiz on these things). I guess life without PC has spoilt me. I can actually do some real work and get on with my life.

cheers.

[8minute]

I'm a recent switcher. After drooling over both the Ti and Alu PB's, I decided to bite the bullet and fork out for a 12" PB.

After 5mths I have had no problems, OS X was painlessly easy to pickup, compatibility with PC's hasn't been a problem (I stunned a diehard Microsoft techo here at work with the ease at which I set up a wifi connection between his Dell laptop transfer files ... oh and waking from sleep in 1 second kinda left him speechlees ), I haven't touched my PC for weeks ... I have lost all interest in it even though it has better specs than my PB (which I guess is a testimony to how good OS X is to use).

I never used believed in love at first sight ... that was before the day I opened my PB packaging

[bookofjames]

Originally posted by 8minute:
I never used believed in love at first sight ... that was before the day I opened my PB packaging

Amen to that!

[Link]

Originally posted by griffith505:
thanks for everyones help, I was going to order it online but decided to just go to an Apple Store to buy it(instant gratification). Does anyone know if they do the educational discount at the retail stores or is it through online only, and if they do what do I need to bring to be able to use the educational discount. Thanks in advance!

You can use the EDU discount in the store if you wish, might want to bring your student ID and possibly some other proof of enrollment (grades, admissions sheet for current semester, etc)