[SassyPants]

I'm just wondering if I should get a powerbook...

I'm about to go into my first year of college, and I've gotten advice about different notebooks that are good. Right now, I've heard a lot about the powerbook, and about how reliable and good macs are. I have been a PC user for..well...forever, and I'm just trying to figure out why its a good idea to switch to a mac.

Anyways, how's the performance of a powerbook compare to other pc based notebooks on the market? Just...why? and what?

If i choose to go get a Mac, should i wait for the possibility that the G5 Powerbook will come out? blah....so lost...this is what i get for being a PC user all these years I guess.

[Cheetah223]

Well from what I understand, others here will know for sure, a Mac uses less processes to get a task done, that means there's more room for the processor to work on multiple tasks, or work harder on whatever task you're using. Macs are more or less impenetrable to viruses and spyware, that's a major reason I'd suggest getting one for college. My sister has a Dell Inspiron that she uses at college and connects to their wireless internet. When she brings it home and wants me to fix it, my desktop (custom built 1.31GHz AMD) runs almost twice as fast as her inspiron (3GHz Pentium) because it's so bogged down with viruses and spyware.

Powerbooks are smaller and lighter than any Dell I've seen, they seem to run smoother overall, and you're simply a lot more stable than a windows machine. She told me about how each dorm building has an assigned computer tech aid for PC's and a separate aid for Macs. She said that no matter how hard you try, you can't get the PC aid to find time to fix your computer, but the Mac aid is never busy. That's probably in large part to the fact that PC's far outnumber macs, but they really are more stable all around.

[SassyPants]

But putting viruses and spyware aside, how does performance compare to that of a pc? Also, how easy is it to switch from Win XP to Mac OSX? I heard that some people have a little trouble sometimes finding the mac equivalent software for some of their windows apps. Pros? Cons? Keep talking people! lol

[f1000]

What software do you intend to use?

[zacwest]

Originally posted by SassyPants:
But putting viruses and spyware aside, how does performance compare to that of a pc? Also, how easy is it to switch from Win XP to Mac OSX? I heard that some people have a little trouble sometimes finding the mac equivalent software for some of their windows apps. Pros? Cons? Keep talking people! lol

Since I've just made the switch roughly 3 months before I begin college, I think I'll fill you in a little bit and ask you a few questions.

Speed equivalence -- Yeah, I honestly don't feel the Mac to be all that much slower (there's occational slow points where some applications lag for a few seconds, but I think it's related to GUI and not to the processor; I expect Tiger to improve it a bit) than my 3.2GHz/800MHz FSB/2GB RAM P4 system.

Equivalent Software -- It's pretty easy, honestly, to find equivalent software. Those which had lacked Mac editions, I found:

CuteFTP/WS_FTP/Etc. - Transmit
Trillian/AIM - Adium
mIRC - Hard to call, if you're into IRC there's a lot of clients to research.
Outlook - Mail.app
Visual Studio - XCode or a text editor with gcc/g++/java
Winamp - iTunes (which IMO is a little slower, but is faster than its Windows version)

Converting - I found it pretty easy; the PowerBook was plugged into the desktop, and I copied files. In all seriousness, it's not really that much of a major concern when it comes to it. Just make sure you do backups, and such.

The Powerbook is MUCH lighter and MUCH thinner than any single PC notebook I researched. The Dells weight 2-3 lbs more, and are a good .5" thicker. Sony Vaios are way faulty, and constantly have had hardware problems for every friend of mine who has one.

Don't bother waiting for a Powerbook G5, but definitely wait for Tiger to be released, as you'll save yourself $69. The first release of the G5 Powerbook will most definitely have problems, so you can save yourself the heartache of problems dealing with design flaws inherit in first-edition hardware.

Mac OS, in comparison to XP, is a great deal easier to deal with. When I set up this notebook -- which I had the retailer install RAM in for me, which you'll find will save you money -- I simply went into the system preferences, and adding a printer took literally two clicks. In XP, I'd have to download the 100+MB drivers, add the printer manually by specifying the IP, and then I'd finally be done. With the Mac, it was pretty much already done for me. I had to download the drivers for my older scanner, but it's also rather old so it's understandable.

There have been some reports of Powerbook problems. I myself haven't really had any. The 'v' key came faulty, but the apple store fixed it in a few minutes. I haven't had any issues with my screen nor touchpad, so it's pretty good. Just remember to get a fair amount of RAM, as it complements the setup outrageously. You might want to invest in a single 1GB stick, just because the cost of upgrading down the line (you'd have to get rid of a 512MB stick to replace it with another 1GB) will be a little ridiculous.

[steel84]

Outlook - Mail.app
. [/B]

Just wanted to correct this by saying there is entourage which is the same program as outlook just a few of the bugs worked out.

[SassyPants]

ok then. what size powerbook should i get? or would an iBook be more suitable for my purposes? I'm thinking of possibly getting the 15" Powerbook, but would that be too big for college? Should i go with the 12"? Or maybe even teh 14" iBook?

[Cheetah223]

That's pretty much preference I think, I'm picking up a 15", a 12" would be too small for me because I would use it to watch movies and such as well as other work. I think a 17" is pretty useless unless you really value your screen space. It depends how size-conscious you are.

[steel84]

Originally posted by SassyPants:
ok then. what size powerbook should i get? or would an iBook be more suitable for my purposes? I'm thinking of possibly getting the 15" Powerbook, but would that be too big for college? Should i go with the 12"? Or maybe even teh 14" iBook?

I am in college and find the 15'' still very portable. I wouldnt like the 12'' at all, just not enough screen space for me. Part of that is because i do photoshop work and go live work. As well as some CAD work. In the end it is just all personal preference. I know some writers who love the 12'' its perfect for there needs.

[SassyPants]

what kind of performance difference is there between the iBook and powerbook?

[tripletaker]

I recently got a PowerBook only a week ago. I have never used a Mac before in my life. I am not very proficient at a Mac. It is very easy.

If you use MS Paint a lot, there is Graphic Converter (comes with the machine), which is 10 times better in my opinion.

If you need to transfer files on the internet for your website, there is many ftp programs... but I use CyberDuck which is free.

iTunes is good, Adium is good, there's Limwire and Poisoned for downloading illegal stuff that no one should do.

You have to buy Microsoft Office however.

I got 15 inch over 12 inch. The 15 inch feels so big... maybe it's because of the .2 widescreen. They're both really light and look really cool. Speed is faster than I imagined and you can always up the RAM. OSX is really easy to learn. =]

[steel84]

Originally posted by tripletaker:
I recently got a PowerBook only a week ago. I have never used a Mac before in my life. I am not very proficient at a Mac. It is very easy.

If you use MS Paint a lot, there is Graphic Converter (comes with the machine), which is 10 times better in my opinion.

If you need to transfer files on the internet for your website, there is many ftp programs... but I use CyberDuck which is free.

iTunes is good, Adium is good, there's Limwire and Poisoned for downloading illegal stuff that no one should do.

You have to buy Microsoft Office however.

I got 15 inch over 12 inch. The 15 inch feels so big... maybe it's because of the .2 widescreen. They're both really light and look really cool. Speed is faster than I imagined and you can always up the RAM. OSX is really easy to learn. =]

I agree that microsoft office is a must. I love it entourage is great.

[spiff72]

Great thread, everyone! This is just the kind of information I was looking for...

I was thinking about getting a Powerbook as an additional computer for my home - (my wife has been hogging our windows notebook, and the I don't like using my work laptop for personal use at home - even though I am doing just that as I type this). I saw one that was being sold at a local auction for a company that got busted. I turned it on, and immediately caught the bug. I have messed around with Linux, and as a result, I find OSX intriguing.

I am torn, however, by the fact that some people who say they are underpowered compared to windows machines, and even compared to the Powermac G5's and dual G5's.

I suspect that the majority of the stuff I will do with it will be surfing, email, office apps (either MS or openoffice) some DVD burning (maybe trying it out as an HD recording device with the DVHS emulator via Firewire).

I was thinking about waiting for Tiger, and maybe even waiting for the G5 Powerbooks. I still wonder if it is worth waiting for.

I am also torn between the 15" and 17" versions. The laptop I am typing this message on is a Dell Precision M70 "mobile workstation". It has a 15" widescreen, and native res of 1680x1050. I am really liking the sharpness of this screen and the extra screen space, but the text size is starting to give me eyestrain when I wear contact lenses - it is better when I wear my glasses. The screen on the 17" I assume would be just about right for me, since the resolution is a bit less, at 1440x900, but the screen is 2 inches larger. I am thinking it would be a bit awkward from a size perspective. I don't think i would travel much with it...

Finally, how well does Openoffice work for those of you who use it (and share files with MS office users)?

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you had any feedback.

Thanks,
Jeff

[SassyPants]

hehe that's why i made this thread :-P...because i knew absolutely nothing.

Thanks a lot guys. You've answered a bunch of my questions. Now...i just have to wait and see...