[DynastyMac]

Quick question: I found a great deal on a AL 15" Powerbook but the downside is it does not include a superdrive, which I love on my 12" because of Idvd, my question is can and where am I able to purchase an internal superdrive for the new 15"?

Next Question: I have 3 options,
1. Keep the 12" 1Ghz SD
2. Get the 15" AL 1Ghz NO-SD
3. Get the 15 Ti 1Ghz SD

All are about the same price or trade, what would you do as a mac user, I really want the desktop realestate of the 15 so keep that in mind! Thanks

-Eric

[hodaddy]

officially, no. willing to void your warranty? then, yes.

the 'superdrive' is standard 3rd party vendor fare. my 12" pb contains a matsushita UJ-815 drive.

i believe the AL15"pb has a UJ-816. you may need to update the firmware (readily accessible on the web) to get it to work. other than that, it should be a simple plug-in install.

the one thing i'm not sure of is if ANY of the superdrive models will be recognized. that is, maybe a UJ-815 or a Sony DW-U10A (used in the 17" pbs) will work too. might give you more opportunity to find better price/availability.

one thing is certain--the drive has to be installed internally for the iApps to run. so, dont go thinking you can buy one of the drives, mount in in a F/W enclosure and use it with the iApps (tho toast and other titles will work)

[selowitch]

Originally posted by hodaddy:
one thing is certain--the drive has to be installed internally for the iApps to run. so, dont go thinking you can buy one of the drives, mount in in a F/W enclosure and use it with the iApps (tho toast and other titles will work)

By this do you mean, if I want to run iMovie or iDVD, I have to have an internal SuperDrive rather than, say, an external FireWire DVD-RW? That's a drag.

I suppose it would still be useful to use an external DVD-RW for data backup, but of course I'd like to be able to burn copies of my favorite TV shows (for my one use -- I try to do things "by the book") or my wedding video or my son's activities, y'know, stuff like that. Possible?

[Riemann Zeta]

I received a 12" 1GHz no-SD powerbook as a gift and decided that it was stupid to have two PBs, so I am selling my Ti 1GHz SD machine. Before I started the sales process, however, I thought that it might be fun to put the SD from the Ti into the 12" PB (DVD-R is a fantastic and integral feature). Hence, I attempted a transplant--the drive was easy to remove from the 15", however, the optical drive on the 12" was impossible to remove. I almost completely disassembled the new 12", but was unwilling to risk breaking the mainboard to get at the optical drive. The point is: if you want an SD on a 15", it is possible (going Ti to Al), but removing or retrofitting a 12" with a SD is technically impossible, unless you want to completely (and I mean completely) disassemble the machine, which is a hair-raising experience, even if you have experience in delicate electronic repair.

[naknek]

Originally posted by selowitch:
By this do you mean, if I want to run iMovie or iDVD, I have to have an internal SuperDrive rather than, say, an external FireWire DVD-RW? That's a drag.

You'll still be able to use iMovie, but you can't burn iDVD projects without an internal Superdrive.

I'd like to be able to burn copies of my favorite TV shows (for my one use -- I try to do things "by the book") or my wedding video or my son's activities, y'know, stuff like that. Possible?

Non-Apple DVD burning programs will allow you to do this with an external burner -- for example, Toast 6 Titanium can burn anything to an external DVD burner, and it even lets you add menus & chapters, but they're not all fancy like iDVD.