[TAZ]

Well its after WWDC and no announcement re the new Powerbooks, not even an Al 15" G4 model. I have been putting off replacing my Gen1 400 TiBk till after the Keynote hping for some sort of announcement. I am thinking that the 970 or some variation there of wont show up on the Powerbook line till next year at the earliest (way too many fans as of now). So what to do? What to do? Thinking a 12" combo may be the way to go as a tide me over till next season and then pass it off to the wife, or a TiGig with the same consequence next season if a new PB line is announced. What are you guys who have waited going to do?

[clf8]

Originally posted by TAZ:
Well its after WWDC and no announcement re the new Powerbooks, not even an Al 15" G4 model. I have been putting off replacing my Gen1 400 TiBk till after the Keynote hping for some sort of announcement.

Cry.
But when I finish that in a couple of days, I'm just gonna continue waiting. Sure, it's painful on my iBook 466 (not the speed as much as the friggen 800x600 resolution), but I've waited this long. It will be a battle between the 12" and 15" powerbook.

[Timo]

nope.

[dreamBweaver]

I'm entering college next year. The lack of a G5 PowerBook was a disappointment for me because I want my machine to last at least 4 years and be up to date with technology. The G5 PowerMac looks like it goes with the PB line finally and has awesome specs now. I hope 64-bit computing comes to laptops too so mobile users have that power too.
G5's will come to the PowerBook line eventually. If nothing drastically is going to change in the PB line till next year, I'll be with a 12" G4 (maybe the specs will be upped a little during the summer before I buy).

[Kenstee]

Originally posted by dreamBweaver:
I want my machine to last at least 4 years and be up to date with technology.

Dream on dude. Get real. NO machine is going to be "up to date with technology" for 4 years. Just hope it does all you NEED to do for 4 years. As an example. The Lombard PB is about 4 years old. Would you want to have one of them now? And arguably technological inovation is moving even faster now.

[Maflynn]

Did you notice that the desktop has 9 fans, using my incredible powers of deduction I would offer a guess that the g5 runs a tad warm and perhaps that its not ready for laptop usage for a little while, so while I'm disapointed I'm not surprised especially since they just came out with the 12 & 17" pb's.

Of course this makes my decision harder, I was going to sell my ibook for a 12" PB, now I'm tempted to sell my dual gig for the G5

Mike

[bonk]

Originally posted by Kenstee:
Dream on dude. Get real. NO machine is going to be "up to date with technology" for 4 years. Just hope it does all you NEED to do for 4 years. As an example. The Lombard PB is about 4 years old. Would you want to have one of them now? And arguably technological inovation is moving even faster now.

I got my Dual 500 right before college hoping it would last. It's been about 3 years now, still going strong, but I can feel the need for a new comp. Possibly a 17"

[slow moe]

Yup, I waited to see what would happen, but I need a new notebook now. I'm into my second semester of college and it sucks not having one to take to class. I think this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to purchase the 12" PB, and just not give a damn if it's updated soon to rev. B or whatever because I'm just looking to get a year out of it. By that time I'm sure G5 PB's will be out, so then I'll sell it and use that money together with my ADC discount, that I've wisely saved, to purchase a G5 PB.

[schk]

I waited as well, but I don't need a laptop until this September, so I will also wait for Macworld CreativePro NY in July before purchasing a PB in hopes they will be updated then. So while I'm disappointed in the lack of any PB announcements, the new G5s make up for it and I'll be buying a dual 2Ghz later this year.

[dreamBweaver]

Originally posted by Kenstee:
Dream on dude. Get real. NO machine is going to be "up to date with technology" for 4 years. Just hope it does all you NEED to do for 4 years. As an example. The Lombard PB is about 4 years old. Would you want to have one of them now? And arguably technological inovation is moving even faster now.

You're right. What I mean to say was that I want a computer that will do all I need. I also always hope that a computer or any other product I purchase is compatible with industry standards (e.g. firewire) and not about to be *completely* obselete for a good time That is, I would prefer to avoid a situation where my computer wasn't able to run the next foreseeable generation of software coming out, and that will be 64-bit applications.

"Yup, I waited to see what would happen, but I need a new notebook now. I'm into my second semester of college and it sucks not having one to take to class. I think this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to purchase the 12" PB, and just not give a damn if it's updated soon to rev. B or whatever because I'm just looking to get a year out of it. By that time I'm sure G5 PB's will be out, so then I'll sell it and use that money together with my ADC discount, that I've wisely saved, to purchase a G5 PB."

I think this idea is wise! You can even use your edu. discount on that first 12" and then the ADC on the G5 PB. Maybe that's what I'll do too =)

Does anyone have an idea of the market value depreceation of PowerBooks after about a year of use? What happened to the value of everyone's G3 when the G4's came out?

[Cop Rock]

I have a Cube 450 and sold my iBook 600 earlier this year. This still feels like a really bad time to buy with the age of the 15" model (although I expect that the 12" models will get a price bump to go along with their next speed bump.)

We've got a while yet before the G5 towers start shipping. (I think it's actually kind of surprising they announced them this early.) They could easily wait another month or maybe even two before announcing/releasing new 15" Powerbooks (G4 or G5) and still have them out in the same timeframe.

The new G5s may have nine fans but they're also half as loud as the old G4 towers and I thought I heard that part of the design goal was to have more low power fans instead of just a couple really powerful fans. I don't think the number of fans necessarily excludes the G5 from laptops anytime soon.

[wanderlust]

Nope. Thank God!

[slow moe]

The more I think about this, the more I wouldn't want to buy a G5 PB if they we're announced this week or in July, and here's why. I don't expect Panther to ship until November, so it wouldn't be until then that you could fully realize what that G5 is all about. Then by that time MWSF would be right around the corner and everyone would be expecting the first speed bumped G5 PB's, then there I'd be holding a first generation G5 PB that I've only recently been able to run Panther on and only after I've paid the $129 for it. No thanks, I see too many disappointments on the horizon if they announced a G5 PB now and I bought one.

EDIT: I think G4's are sufficient until Apple begins to ship G5's with Panther pre-installed.

[jpyrett]

Hi. .

I think the current Apple situation is great except:

the PB has been screwed. You can buy the dual 2 GHZ G5 desktop for
$400 more than the standard 7 1/2 months old 1 GHZ Tibook.

At Dell.com they offer a 3 GHZ P4 laptop for $1350. With large
screen etc.

God only knows when Apple is going to update the Powerbook line.
The rumor sites sucked for announign any WWDC rumors. Actually,
these rumor sites are an incredible waste of time.

Panther had some good things, but we are getting ignored from the PB
side.

[iWrite]

Interesting thoughts.

I think the G4s will be speed-bumped again.

I think we'll see a new aluminum 15-inch G4 Powerbook this July along with speed bumped 17-inch Powerbook.

In the meantime, I don't think people should gripe so much.

I mean, the 1Ghz Titanium is a "Classic" along the lines of the G4 Cube. Those Cubes are still awesome -- did you see the prices people get for them on eBay? They really hold their value.

A G5 laptop is going to be some time away, I think. They're going to have to figure out a way to dissipate heat. It's the same reason that the P4 3Ghz chip isn't appearing in the PC notebooks.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if IBM and Apple have to engineer a G5 chip to be compatible with the notebook line up, a stepped down version of the G5 similar to the P4m.

G5m?

Makes sense, maybe.

I love my Titanium 1Ghz. I saw a friend yesterday with his 17-inch system and it has scratches and scuffs. He insists he's kept it in a case and not abused it at all and he's bummed about the way the case is wearing on it.

At least with the 1Ghz Titanium, if the case wears then Apple will replace it for you under AppleCare warranty -- that's great.

If someone was waiting to buy I'd say buy now because you'll get a great machine.

Just my .02

[daniel999]

Before WWDC, I thought my PB was the last every produced 12" G4 PB in the world
Believe it or not, I went to pick it up yesterday when WWDC had just started
I don't know whether I should be happy or not that there is no G5 PB.....

[iWrite]

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your PB has a nice birthday!

[Burke]

Originally posted by iWrite:
Interesting thoughts.

I think the G4s will be speed-bumped again.

I think we'll see a new aluminum 15-inch G4 Powerbook this July along with speed bumped 17-inch Powerbook.

In the meantime, I don't think people should gripe so much.

I mean, the 1Ghz Titanium is a "Classic" along the lines of the G4 Cube. Those Cubes are still awesome -- did you see the prices people get for them on eBay? They really hold their value.

A G5 laptop is going to be some time away, I think. They're going to have to figure out a way to dissipate heat. It's the same reason that the P4 3Ghz chip isn't appearing in the PC notebooks.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if IBM and Apple have to engineer a G5 chip to be compatible with the notebook line up, a stepped down version of the G5 similar to the P4m.

G5m?

Makes sense, maybe.

I love my Titanium 1Ghz. I saw a friend yesterday with his 17-inch system and it has scratches and scuffs. He insists he's kept it in a case and not abused it at all and he's bummed about the way the case is wearing on it.

At least with the 1Ghz Titanium, if the case wears then Apple will replace it for you under AppleCare warranty -- that's great.

If someone was waiting to buy I'd say buy now because you'll get a great machine.

Just my .02

Since the 15" AlBook wasn't announced, I'm really thinking I should just get a lower-end TiBook for now and get used to Mac instead of trying to nab the top-end PowerBook.

Does the fact the TiBook only uses SDRAM and not DDR greatly show a difference in terms of OS X performance?

And for the chipping problem...I take it you mean it's only covered with the extended AppleCare program and not the standard warranty?

[jpyrett]

I still think we are getting ignored in the laptop category. $2600
for a 1 ghz powerbook is too much. $2000 for a 867 mhz laptop in 2003 is nuts. Oh well, the wait continues.

[slow moe]

Just got of the phone with the Apple Store, my 12" SuperDrive PB is on it's way.

[spotze23]

i think i will buy a 12 ibook 900 for 1250 euros. if new pb will come out in july they will be delivered in august or september (germany). that sucks!

anyone used an ibook 900 for 3d-applications like director 3d and openGL? does os x use altivec with openGL? are there any quake3 benchmarks?

that AI 15 story sucks. if i would not hate microsoft so much i would buy an fujitsu siemens helium notebook with a geforce quadro for 3000 euros.

spotze23

[TAZ]

I wish I could wait more, but the ole 400 TiBk is runiong looooong in the tooth. I am out of storage and running VPC to get to Minitab is incredibly SLOW. Right now I am leaning towards the 12", but I'll sure as he** will miss the screen real estate. The 12" will tide me over till the next update at which point I will just hand my system down to the wife. I cant see myself spending 1800 for a TiGig and then again spending another 3K for a revamped 15" or 17" er. If I drop $800 for the 12" I can maybe not have the wife shoot me if I come home with a new PB come summer or end of year 2004.

[Keda]

I couldn't wait...and Im glad I didn't. I picked up a 12" PB back in early May. I missed out on the price cuts, buy I'd rather that than miss a speed bump.

BTW, I love my power book!

I think Apple will update the PBs over the summer. I'm guessing that it will be some type of special event.

[woodstea]

After reading this thread and others, I decided to stop waiting for the 15" Al and ordered a 12" yesterday. It's hard to know how you're going to feel about it until you've clicked the last Submit button, but so far I feel positive. I'll be using a second display anyway at home, and the 12" will be more portable. We'll see how that goes for a year or two and then check out G5 PBs whenever they come out...

[spotze23]

hm. i did not buy the ibook 900. ists cheap but not good enough (1024x768 on external monitors, no altivec, etc).and i knew i would buy a computer i do not like. the same goes with the pb 12 and the ti 15. i will not buy them because i dont want them. i will wait some weeks for the ai. they have to release it. the g4 one not the g5.

[NYCFarmboy]

I'm waiting on a 12" Powerbook with at least a 1.25 G4 chip. I'm guessing MacWorld in July here in NYC will have some nice announcements on updated Powerbooks.

I wish they would at least offer faster chips in the 12" Powerbook at a premium as I really don't want a 17" or even a 15" as they are just too big to travel with and use on Airplanes.

In the meantime, I have a 500 mhz 12" white ibook and will keep using it until something RADICALLY faster comes along to get me to the 12" Powerbook.

[Simon]

Well since this thread is turning into a 12" PowerBook festival I'll tune in.

I am waiting for the next revision which I hope will come out at the latest by the end of August when rev a turns 6 months old. I'm being optimistic, but I can wait if it takes longer.

I love the 12" PowerBook and I don't mind if it's "just" a 1GHz G4. More important for me is some L3 cache, a better GPU (like a Radeon 9000 Mobility) and maybe DVI out. But honestly, I think I will get the next rev no matter what Apple does. The thing is a bargain and it rocks. I'm really craving for one.

[Eug Wanker]

The rumor sites sucked for announign any WWDC rumors. Actually,
these rumor sites are an incredible waste of time.

Who needs the rumor sites for this info? The info was already here on the forums well before WWDC.

1) The consensus was that the G5 PPC 970 was going to be announced in June or July. It was going to have DDR400 and an ultrafast bus. And it was going to have no L3. Guess what? The forum was right.

2) The consensus was that a G5 PPC 970 would NOT be released at this time. Guess what? The forum was right again.

Indeed, it was a little easier to predict this, since IBM had already published the PPC 970 specs, and similarly Motorola's specs for the G4 7455 and 7457 are widely available.

What people weren't sure about though was whether a G4 15.4" AluBook would be released or not at WWDC, so it didn't hurt to wait. But it was foolish to think the G5 was going to appear in the PowerBook at this time.

I wouldn't be surprised if a G4 15" AluBook appears in the next couple of months though. Perhaps they are waiting for the Q3 release of the 1.13 or 1.25 MHz 7457. A 1.25 MHz G4 7455 would likely be a tad hot for a PowerBook.

[blackstar]

just a question, whats the exact date for the macworld nyc?
Im also waiting for the speed bumps on the 12inch pb!

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by blackstar:
just a question, whats the exact date for the macworld nyc?
Im also waiting for the speed bumps on the 12inch pb!

Macworld Creative Pro's Apple Feature Presentation is July 16. Steve won't be there.

[Alpha-sphere]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Macworld Creative Pro's Apple Feature Presentation is July 16. Steve won't be there.

That's not good sign
Ah well i still have till september before i really need it and need to get some money too so i'm not in a hurry.

[gator]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Macworld Creative Pro's Apple Feature Presentation is July 16. Steve won't be there.

True, but Greg Joswiak, VP of hardware product marketing will be.

[ae86_16v]

Well you guys could always wait until after the Creative Expo