[tether]

i really need to buy now, so trying to decide - was going to go for 12 inch, but might go for the 15, or maybe an ibook. if you compare prices and laptops, is the extra power /hd space / ports / screen resolution etc worth the extra - ibooks to powerbooks, and if not, how much would you rate the extra worth in money terms

and i'm trying to find the weights of all the laptops - i could only find a thing that said the ibook is from 4.9lbs - anybody know?

and what does a double-layer super drive mean - why's double-layer better?

thanks, richard

[mgehman]

Ok, I've had both the 12 and the 15. The only difference as far as I am concerned is the PC card slot on the 15. Otherwise the 15's video card is better with the 128MB of Vram, but only if you are going to do a lot of video editing or intense gaming. I really love my 12" and wouldn't go back to any other at this point. It is lighter, smaller and just a great machine.
The answer to your next question is that the Powerbook and iBook are basically the same if all you are going to do is word processing or perhaps presentations via powerpoint or keynote. The powerbooks are better for videos and games. The PB's also come with larger hard drives.
The answer to the last question is that dual layer is just that, it writes 2 layer DVD media which will take the DL media and hold 8.6GB of data as well as a whole DVD movie in HQ format. I hope I've answered all of your questions.
In short, go with the 12" PB I love mine and the price is relatively low.

[tether]

scuse the basic q's but i'm not much of a techie:

the pc card slot is for networking to pc?

and the dual layer thing basically means you can squeeze more data onto a dvd, or is it more than that?

[iomatic]

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/

This, I hear helps too:
http://forums.macnn.com/search.php?

Sorry.

Oh yeah, I like this one too:
http://www.google.com/

So. Very. Sorry.

Ok, I'm stopping now. A PC Card slot allows access to well, PC Card accessories, like card readers for digital camera memory, monitor expansion for a third external monitor, etc. The PowerBook is already network-enabled via Ethernet cable or wireless (you'll see the wireless terms such as Wi-Fi, 802.11b or g, etc.) Dual layer gives you double capacity 8GB vs. 4GB, approximately, but, I believe only with DVD±DL discs. I don't know if all DVD drives on computers can read them; probably newer Macs can.

As to the main question regarding choosing between a 12" or 15" PowerBook: I've had both moving from 15" to 12" based on my needs and being portable. Nowadays, I need a 15" for screen space and better speed than I need the portability of the 12".

Does this help?

[mad cow disease]

Originally Posted by tether

scuse the basic q's but i'm not much of a techie:

the pc card slot is for networking to pc?

and the dual layer thing basically means you can squeeze more data onto a dvd, or is it more than that?

The PCMCIA card slot is just for expansion. You can put all sorts of stuff into it, including a network adapter that you mentioned - but it'd be kind of pointless because the mac already has ethernet AND airport AND bluetooth built-in.

...and dual layer, means that you can burn to a dual-layer dvd, which has roughly twice the capacity of a standard DVD disc.

[wilsonng]

The PB 12" kills the iBook in the monitor spanning function.

The iBook can hook up to an external monitor but it will only mirror what is showing on the iBook's screen. But I believe there is an unofficial hack to allow you to do what the PB does.

The PBs have the ability to span monitors. When you connect to an external monitor, you can extend the screen real estate allowing you to open more windows. This feature alone is what sold me on my PB 12".

While I'm on the road, I don't mind the smaller screen. When I need more screen real estate, I hook it up to an external monitor in my office or my house.

If your on-the-road work requires more screen real estate and you won't have access to an external monitor on the road then get a 15". Things like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Final Cut Pro..... If you use these on the road, get the 15".

But if your on-the-road work doesn't require more screen real estate while you're on the road, then the 12" is fine. You can always get more screen real estate while at a desk by hooking up to a monitor. My road-work only requires Word, Safari, Mail, and a few other programs. Using OS X's Expose function helps with windows management as well.

[tether]

thanks for that, getting a better idea though havent decided yet - i'd like to have the screen size and the speakers of the 15 but i want to keep the weight low - the weight would be more important to me than the actual size. cheers.

[photoeditor]

There's a freeware utility I think called spanning doctor that enables the iBook -- but note, only for VGA, as there is no DVI output. And you use at your own risk; if you forget to use the utility to disenable the feature each time you turn the computer in for warranty service, or worse, if you mess up Open Firmware, you may invalidate the warranty. It's also possible to go into Open Firmware and change the code yourself, but that is HUGELY RISKY.

It annoys me that Apple still have just 256MB RAM soldered on the 12" MB. I really need 1.5GB (I currently have a 1GB TiBook) and there is no way of getting there with the PowerBook 12. Maybe I should just get an iBook, but I type so much faster and more accurately on that smoother and more rigid Powerbook keyboard . . .

[iREZ]

arent the tibook and ibook keyboards identical except for color?

[zoetrope]

I own the Rev C 12" PB, and have been using it extensively both at home and on the road. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. If you do any audio / video editing, then the 15" is definitely your best bet. If your work tends to center around word processing, web surfing, mail, etc... then a 12" iBook is the most cost effective route. I used my 12" as a workstation and laptop w/ a 20" ACD until this April when I purchased a PowerMac for use a primary workstation. The 12" was fine, but when connected through miniDVI to the ACD, the fan was constantly running.

A word of advice, if you plan on purchasing a 12" iBook or PowerBook, take a look at an additional purchase of a Virtual Desktop program to improve real estate and productivity. There are two apps for this, one costs money -- you control: desktops, the other is free -- Desktop Manager. I would stay away from CodeTek's Virtual Desktop Pro, their support has been lousy, and it was bad enough to get me to swith to you control's app.

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by iREZ

arent the tibook and ibook keyboards identical except for color?

yes, except for the newer ibook G4 k/b.

[mrmister]

The PowerBooks are so dreadfully underpowered that you should be looking at getting an iBook and an iMac instead. Or a used PowerBook...but they aren't worth it new.