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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > 12" Powerbook owners UNITE!

12" Powerbook owners UNITE! (Page 5)
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im_noahselby
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Oct 14, 2004, 08:12 PM
 
I've had my rev c 12" PB since about August and it's performed flawless since day one. I haven't had a single issue, other than the F11 key on my keyboard being a little hard to push and register it's action. But this is only a minor gripe.

I use my machine with a wireless keyboard and mouse and I find it to be an awesome setup, especially considering space at my place is not at the premium. For what I use it for, mostly web, minor indesign, word, itunes and iphoto, everything works the way it should.

My first mac was a rev a iMac 800 and it was a great machine, but deep down I always wished I had a laptop. So that's why I sold it and purchased the 12" PB. I also wanted more power, a better graphics card (64MB) and bluetooth. I got everything I hoped for and more. All the features of the 12" PB rock and I am totally happy I upgraded when I did and went with this PowerBook.

Once I get an iCurve and more ram, my setup will be complete!

Noah
Macbook 2.0 Ghz - Black
iPhone 4GB - Fido
     
ashishn
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Oct 15, 2004, 10:27 AM
 
I am in UK.

I am thinking of buying a Powerbook. I have been Windows user so far and havent tried my hands at laptops but wan tostart with Apple.

I saw 12" iBook and found it very small so was a bit disappointed but price of 12" PB is affordable. My use of laptop is mainly going to be emails, browsing, some office work on documents, some oracle programming, java and J2EE programming and project management. Is 12" PB suitable for this?

I have very short time left as I am travelling back to India on 7th Nov and buy before that.

I heard that only Apple online store offers configurable option. Can I upgrade RAM, harddisk etc from local PC World store? I can claim VAT rebate if I buy from PC World local store

I dont travel much so do I need extra battery?

Is Apple Care really useful? It really shakes up my budget

I can wait for my powerbook. Please suggest something.

Cheers,
Ashish
     
cmoney
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Oct 15, 2004, 11:28 AM
 
if you're gonna be doing programming, the 1024x768 resolution will be pretty limiting. i couldn't deal with it myself when i had a 12" ibook with the same resolution. it ended up with too much scrolling around looking for the section i wanted to update, which really killed my productivity. if this is your primary use and you won't be hooking up an external monitor, i'd recommend the 15" screen instead.
     
iREZ  (op)
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Oct 15, 2004, 11:31 AM
 
I've never used oracle, but I know that there are people with iBooks that do the rest of the stuff you want to do.

12"PB is pretty good on batt life, and the iBook is even better so no you dont really need an extra batt.

Applecare for me is a must but you dont have to get it right away, as long as you buy and register it before one year of owning your computer (you have a 1 year Applecare warranty with your purchase).
NOW YOU SEE ME! 2.4 MBP and 2.0 MBP (running ubuntu)
     
iREZ  (op)
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Feb 6, 2005, 02:42 PM
 
With the new PB releases I thought I'd revive one of my favorite threads for newcomers to share their experiences with us.
NOW YOU SEE ME! 2.4 MBP and 2.0 MBP (running ubuntu)
     
Simon
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Feb 6, 2005, 04:36 PM
 
Originally posted by iREZ:
With the new PB releases I thought I'd revive one of my favorite threads for newcomers to share their experiences with us.


I'm anxious to hear reports from new rev D owners.
     
crazeazn
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Feb 6, 2005, 07:24 PM
 
rev b user with an extremely shitty battery after 1 year of use.
12" AI book REV B, mac mini core duo 1.66
     
iREZ  (op)
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Feb 6, 2005, 10:48 PM
 
Yeah, my batt started acting up again. Couple of PMU resets and it got a little better but before I used to get around 4hrs, and now its like 3-3:15,
NOW YOU SEE ME! 2.4 MBP and 2.0 MBP (running ubuntu)
     
mduser63
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Feb 7, 2005, 02:57 AM
 
I have a 12" Superdrive Powerbook that I bought back in November (my first Mac!) and I love it. I don't find the screen size bad at all, and I do quite a bit of web design with Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Of course, even my last desktop (2 GHz Windows machine) only has a 1024 x 768 screen and it's been used almost exclusively for video editing. I love how small my 12" PB is. I'm a college student, and space in my backpack is kind of at a premium, so the small size is really important to me.
12" 1.33 GHz SD Powerbook - 768 MB RAM
     
phantomo
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Feb 7, 2005, 02:58 AM
 
rev b user with an extremely shitty battery after 1 year of use.
I can also confirm this, I hardly use the battery and after a year or so, the battery capacity is down to about 21xxmAh, that's half of what it suppose to be.
15"MBP/C2D2.4GHz/4GB RAM/320GB HD
15"MBP/C2D2.16GHz/3GB RAM/250GB HD
12"PB/1GHz/768MB/60GB/SuperDrive/AE
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Simon
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Feb 7, 2005, 03:44 AM
 
After 11 months I was down to 2k capacity too. I just got a new battery. Now I'm back to 4k and everything is fine. Batteries aren't cheap, but 1.5 h of battery time just sucks too much to put up with.
     
shreddog
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Feb 7, 2005, 10:02 AM
 
I know this has been a sticky, but it is nearly impossible to go through all of those threads! Plus, a lot of those are for the 15" and 17" models.

Which bags/sleeves are you all using? I just ordered a 12" Rev C and wanted a nice sleeve or very small bag that fits the PB very snugly. I'm looking at Booq's Powersleeve or the Vyper. How's the fit on these? Any other suggestions? Trying to keep the price under $50.

Thanks!
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jlgrandam
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Feb 7, 2005, 10:47 AM
 
Hmm, my battery is 12 months old this month and still gets at least 3 hours out of it although I haven't run it down that low in a while. I wonder why others seem to have a 1 year charge life. Mine stays plugged in about 75% of the time.
12.1" Powerbook G4
     
Simon
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Feb 7, 2005, 11:55 AM
 
Originally posted by shreddog:
Which bags/sleeves are you all using? I just ordered a 12" Rev C and wanted a nice sleeve or very small bag that fits the PB very snugly. I'm looking at Booq's Powersleeve or the Vyper. How's the fit on these? Any other suggestions? Trying to keep the price under $50.
I use a Tucano 'Second Skin' sleeve for my 12". It's inexpensive and has protected my PowerBook completely from scratching.
     
shreddog
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Feb 7, 2005, 12:12 PM
 
The Tucano looks good, but I can't find anywhere to buy it online. Did you get through the internet or do you know if it is available in the US?

Thanks.
iMac 17 800
12" Powerbook Rev. C
20GB 3rd Gen iPod
     
iREZ  (op)
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Feb 7, 2005, 01:46 PM
 
Your best bet for covering your ass in case something happens is to go with a sleeve and put that in a laptop bag. I have a sportfolio II and I slide that in my timbuk2 messenger bag (designed for 15" notebooks but my 12" with the sleeve fits perfectly snug in it).

By the way after a few resets of my PMU and PRAM....my batt is getting me my required 3hrs again. I know I'm in for it soon but hopefully I could sell my 'book before it becomes a problem.
( Last edited by iREZ; Feb 7, 2005 at 01:54 PM. )
NOW YOU SEE ME! 2.4 MBP and 2.0 MBP (running ubuntu)
     
Xaero
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Feb 7, 2005, 02:16 PM
 
I am not sure whether to get the ibook 12" or powerbook. I will have the money to afford one or the other in November, but I'm not sure. The look and power of the powerbook appeals to me but the toughness and battery life of the iBook is good too. Also, with the new powerbooks out now i won't have to configure it to get the features i want. Ah its a hard choice

Powerbook 15" coming soon...
     
Voch
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Feb 7, 2005, 02:46 PM
 
Originally posted by Xaero:
I am not sure whether to get the ibook 12" or powerbook. I will have the money to afford one or the other in November, but I'm not sure. The look and power of the powerbook appeals to me but the toughness and battery life of the iBook is good too. Also, with the new powerbooks out now i won't have to configure it to get the features i want. Ah its a hard choice
I'm waiting to upgrade myself sometime later this year or early next year from my TiBook so I'm in the same boat. I'm fairly certain I'm going with a 12"-er for portability. It'll be the PowerBook if I'm wowed by features (processor speed, GPU, etc.) or an iBook if I'm wowed by bang-for-buck (the 12"-er getting a BTO SuperDrive option, Gigabit ethernet, or more capable video).

Voch
     
crazeazn
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Feb 7, 2005, 02:52 PM
 
man 1.5 hour? i wish i could get that. i get like 45 minutes tops.
12" AI book REV B, mac mini core duo 1.66
     
mintcake
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Feb 7, 2005, 03:26 PM
 
Rev B 12" owner since November 2003 - bought as a second machine, but I haven't touched my PC since I took delivery. it has changed the way I use computers and (without being melodramatic) the way I live my life. I was torn between the 12" and the 15" but went for the former because at the time the 15" was having trouble with white spots. I don't regret the decision at all, the super portability of the 12" easily outweighs any performance compromise (which is minimal anyway, frankly). I have a 20" cinema display with which I use my PB for photo and video editing. I keep it in a foofbag and carry it around in my fantastic MEC Travel Pack. If there were two things I could change about it, it would be hard disk size and hard disk speed.
     
Angelo78
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Feb 7, 2005, 06:14 PM
 
12" Rev.C w/superdrive and loving it! Photo editing definitely done on a seperate monitor though.
     
jewing80
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Feb 7, 2005, 07:19 PM
 
I�ve been trying to �upgrade� from my 1 GHz Ti, for the better part of a year. Initially I purchased a refurbished 15� 1.25 GHz AL. Within a couple days the case began falling apart (so much for being �certified�) so I returned it and purchased a 12� 1 GHz. I loved the portability and boost in performance but I could never get used to the screen. Not because of the smaller size, but because of the limited viewing angle and overall lower quality in comparison to the 15�. After a couple months of contemplation I again gave the 12� a try, this time a revision �C�. Yet again, it was everything I was looking for but the screen quality forced me to return it. Currently I don�t have an external monitor and although I�m not averse to buying one I�d much prefer a good quality built in screen.

This past weekend I had a chance to toy with a new 12� revision �D� at The Grove. I might be crazy but I think the screen has been improved; at least over the previous two models I�ve owned. I tried my best to find a �bad� angle but surprisingly the screen looked fairly uniform. The 15� PB still had a brighter screen but the 12� looked pretty good. Furthermore the rev. D was fast, very fast! Granted my comparison machine is two years old but still, the difference was very noticeable. Apps loaded very fast and start-up/shut-down was much �snappier�. The inclusion of 512 MB of RAM and the 5400 RPM hard-drive make this the fist PowerBook I would consider using straight out-of-the-box. Also of note the new scrolling track-pad, the two-finger scroll function worked very well. In fact I don�t think I had an errant scroll the entire time I was using it.

All in all I think the time is fast approaching when my Ti will be replaced by a new 12� PB. Not only because of the increased performance but also due to the added �niceties� such as BT, 802.11G, USB 2.0 (IMHO essential since I plan on buying 1 GB Shuffle) as well as the new track-pad. At this point I don�t plan on buying an external monitor but thanks to the price reduction (made even sweeter by the edu discount) I should have ample funding left over to do so in the future. The new 15� AL is one heck of a machine but alas I think it�s a bit more (in price and in size) than I need. Lately I�ve been bring my PB to the office regularly and the 15", although relatively light, it's still a bit much.

As a side note: For those inquiring about the Tucano Second Skin my local Fry�s (City of Industry, CA) now carries them. I�m not sure how long they�ve been stocking them but they had generics available in three sizes, as well as 5 sizes made specifically for Apple notebooks (12�, 15�, 17� PB, 12�, 14� IB). The only price I remember seeing was $21.99 but I don�t know what model/size that was for. The 12� PB Second Skin seemed simple, and well made. If I do decide to �upgrade� I�d probably stick with my current bag setup: Waterfield Designs Medium Cargo Bag and simple buy a new sleeve.
     
tictactoe
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Feb 7, 2005, 10:12 PM
 
I absolutely love my 12" PB. I have thought on several occasions about whether or not I should have paid $400 more for the 15", but each and everytime I realize the 12" was the best way to go. It's small, light, gets great battery life and is VERY portable. In other words, itt is exactly what a laptop should be: mobile with the ability to be used as a desktop.

Right now it is sitting to the left of me with the lid closed. I am using an Apple bluetooth keyboard, Microsoft wireless mouse, and a 17" LCD screen.

I couldn't have asked for anything more.
     
Simon
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Feb 8, 2005, 03:34 AM
 
Originally posted by shreddog:
The Tucano looks good, but I can't find anywhere to buy it online. Did you get through the internet or do you know if it is available in the US?
Have you tried Amazon? Amazon UK has them.

I got mine from an Apple Dealer in Europe. And I saw Tucano sleeves in a Apple shop in Akihabara in Tokyo, so I guess you should be able to find them in the US too. Good luck.

[Edit: Oops, I didn't see jewing80's post when I wrote this reply. I guess you should try Fry's.]
( Last edited by Simon; Feb 8, 2005 at 03:40 AM. )
     
madking
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Feb 8, 2005, 09:18 PM
 
My rev C pbook has been with me since Aug 2003. No hardware problems of any sort. The only downside is that aluminium and klutziness don't mix. I dropped my pbook once and the top-right corner hit the table. As a result, the metal strip near the slot drive is now deformed. Everything still works beautifully though. Battery life is still 4.5 hours with light usage (browsing and itunes), and about 3 hours with more intensive use.

Regarding complaints about the powerbook's screen brightness, I personally do not have any problems with it. A friend of mine who just went through an eye operation remarked that the pbook's screen is "viewable" while looking at a Dell laptop screen hurts the eyes.

Must haves include as much RAM as you can afford (mine is a 1GB stick from OWC), and a good bag/sleeve (I use the sleeve from sfbags.com).
--madking
rev C 12" PowerBook, 80G, 1.25GB, SD, 10.3.9
     
wingnut16
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Feb 8, 2005, 09:58 PM
 
12" powerbook owner 1.5 days and counting. Great machine! Rev D 1.5Ghz 100G HD 768MB RAM. The screen is ok could stand to be a little briter, but its not bad. Looking forward to putting so miles on this baby. Later!
     
J_Anderton
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Feb 25, 2005, 01:01 PM
 
I am proud to say that I'm a new 12" PB owner.

This little machine is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

The size is perfect. The keyboard is the best keyboard I have ever used. I'm still getting used to the screen (Coming from a 15" widescreen PC). The thing is gorgeous...the best looking laptop, IMO.

I've had it for two days now and I fell in love instantly. It's fast, it runs smooth, wireless reception is rock solid, bluetooth works flawlessly, battery life so far is running about 3 1/2 hours (Using Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, Mail, iChat, and iCal), Expose is one of THE coolest feature on any OS.

Oh yeah. The scrolling trackpad. When I heard about it, I said, "Eh. It's cool, but I probably won't use it. I'll just use the up and down arrows."

Wrong. The scrolling trackpad feature is really helpful and very, very convienent, IMO. Nice touch Apple.

I can go on and on and on about this machine.
     
maphro
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Feb 26, 2005, 01:14 AM
 
I just bought mine today~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so happy~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it is so cute~~and small~~~and gorgeous~~~~and heavy~~

don't know how to transfer files from my old Mac os9 to this new babe~~
I bought a firewire("6-pin to 6-pin cable"--what ever that means) cable,...but then 12'PowerBook said it can only transfer files from anther computer with OSX operation system~~ so... so, I did not even bother to open the firwire cable box to give it a try~~~ maybe I should retrun firewire cable~~


loving it~
     
Simon
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Feb 26, 2005, 04:58 AM
 
Originally posted by maphro:
so, I did not even bother to open the firwire cable box to give it a try~~~ maybe I should retrun firewire cable~~
Wait a moment. Try target disk mode first. Shut down the old Mac. Then boot it while pressing 'T'. If the screen shows you a FireWire logo, then you know your old Mac is now behaving like an external FW disk. Plug in the cable between your two Macs and copy away.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
     
philc
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Feb 26, 2005, 08:48 PM
 
I'm not sure what revision I have but I've had my PB for just over one week. It is a 12" two finger scrolling 1.5ghz with 1.25gb ram, 100GB HD and a Superdrive

I love it and would never look at the 15/17 as they are overly large my needs.

Phil
     
spacedog
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Feb 27, 2005, 12:30 AM
 
Just wanted to weigh in. I've had a 15" Tibook and currently have a 17" Rev A. Bought a 12" Rev B. for my partner a little over a year ago and have been jealous of it ever since. Just today decided to get the new 12" w/ Superdrive and pass on my 17" to a relative.

I love the 17"...don't get me wrong. And it's certainly not heavy when compared to its PC competition. But it's just too big and goofy for my tastes, and despite having it for almost two years, I'm still not used to its size. The thing that annoys me most about the 17" is that, while the screen is HUGE, the bump in resolution isn't really enough to justify it.

Anyway, looking forward to joining the club!
     
rnmac
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Feb 27, 2005, 12:15 PM
 
I bought a used 12" PB G4 867mhz a couple of months ago and couldn't be happier. I had, and still own, a Pismo which I loved but it was more difficult to carry around. I mostly use mine for email, work, online classes, etc. The screen is small but doesn't present a problem for me. I figure it will be good for another year or so and then I may step up to a newer model.
     
Randman
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Feb 28, 2005, 06:53 AM
 
My PB17 (rev c) and a rev d 12 I'm using for a few days for areview of the new line. Have some photos posted in the PowerBook setup thread. Will post on my impressions after I spend a little more time with the PB12.

This is a computer-generated message and needs no signature.
     
Voch
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Feb 28, 2005, 08:09 AM
 
Originally posted by Randman:
My PB17 (rev c) and a rev d 12 I'm using for a few days for areview of the new line. Have some photos posted in the PowerBook setup thread. Will post on my impressions after I spend a little more time with the PB12.
I'll be looking forward to it! I'm still debating between a decked-out iBook or another 15" PowerBook.
     
MacNZ
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Feb 28, 2005, 08:10 PM
 
Hi,

Just upgraded from an upgraded Pismo (G4/500/576mb RAM/40GB HDD/AP) to a new Rev. D (768mb RAM/80GB HDD/SD), which I plug into a 17" Philips LCD when at home. This is such a fantastic computer and the step up from the Pismo is astonishing -- so much for waiting for a G5! This thing has to last me three years and so far so good.

I recommend on getting an external monitor and mouse/keyboard setup if you do some office stuff on your machine too. My screen goes happily at 1280x1024 resolution, which is fantastic for web work and office stuff.

If you are a student I really recomment the 12" over the other books. My old man has the 15" and it is just that much harder to lug around and battery life sucks. My 'book runs anything I throw at it (including Photoshop, large Filemaker databases, Logic Express) with ease. I probably should have gone for the larger hard drive though (is worth thinking of), but then again the Superdrive is fantastic for backup and disc authoring.
Pete C. (PB12" 1.5Ghz 160GB hdd, 1.25GB RAM, OS X 10.4.11)
     
maphro
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Mar 1, 2005, 12:24 AM
 
Originally posted by Simon:
Wait a moment. Try target disk mode first. Shut down the old Mac. Then boot it while pressing 'T'. If the screen shows you a FireWire logo, then you know your old Mac is now behaving like an external FW disk. Plug in the cable between your two Macs and copy away.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583

thanks~~!! it WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE MY PB~~

by the way, (if any of you is reading this), did you have to buy Microsoft Office 2004 inorder to read text from PC and sent text to PC?? It is so expensive!!
is there, a cheaper and good looking way of doing these things?
     
iluvmymactoo
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Mar 1, 2005, 02:57 AM
 
Those of you with the 100GB HDD 12" have you been hearing the "mysterious" noise people seem to be complaining about in the Apple forum?
PowerBook 12" Combo 1.5Ghz 1.25GB Ram 100GB HDD - Yep it's PPC! I'll wait for the 3rd generation MacTel when they're at their best :)
     
Simon
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Mar 1, 2005, 03:42 AM
 
Originally posted by maphro:
thanks~~!! it WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!
Any time.

by the way, (if any of you is reading this), did you have to buy Microsoft Office 2004 inorder to read text from PC and sent text to PC?? It is so expensive!!
is there, a cheaper and good looking way of doing these things
Try NeoOffice. It's free and doesn't look any worse than MS Office for Windows. There's also OpenOffice and Apple's beautiful Pages.
     
Randman
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Mar 1, 2005, 03:48 AM
 
There's TextEdit. Comes with every Mac.

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segfault66
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Mar 1, 2005, 01:14 PM
 
Originally posted by iluvmymactoo:
Those of you with the 100GB HDD 12" have you been hearing the "mysterious" noise people seem to be complaining about in the Apple forum?
I installed the Seagate Momentus 100GB 5400RPM drive in my PowerBook 12" Rev. C. This is the same drive that Apple uses. There is a soft tapping/pinging noise that happens at random intervals. I would categorize it as "slightly annoying". Otherwise, the drive is quieter than the Toshiba 60GB 5400RPM that I had previously.
     
RonnieoftheRose
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Mar 2, 2005, 02:28 AM
 
Ever since buying the new 12" I have hated using the 17".
     
wilsonng
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Mar 2, 2005, 06:28 AM
 
Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
Ever since buying the new 12" I have hated using the 17".
I've seen posters that will swear by a 17". They're usually graphic artists who need the biggest screen while on the road.

I've seen other posters that say the 15" is the best compromise between size and screen space. Not too big and not too small.

Then there are the road warriors who value portability that comes with a 12".

I've had an old Lombard G3 14", a 15" TiBook, and a 12" AlBook. I loved the sturdy polycarbonate case of my Lombard but I love my 12"

I agree, I don't really think the 17" can really be called a laptop anymore. It feels more like an iMac with a battery.

If Apple would come out with a 13.3" widescreen, I'll be in heaven.
( Last edited by wilsonng; Mar 2, 2005 at 09:39 AM. )
     
Randman
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Mar 2, 2005, 06:33 AM
 
Maybe I'll be stoned for this but as much as I'm enjoying the 12, I still love my 17. Now I wouldn't mind having one but I might consider an iBook 12 for a more mobile model at a lower cost. Maybe I just need more time with the 12.

(Yes, I do do design on the 17, so I'm in the category that Wilson mentioned).

However, give the chance again, I might have opted for an iMac G5 with a PowerBook 12. Now, that is a setup that I could really get into. I'd give the 17 up in a New York minute for that gig.

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wilsonng
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Mar 2, 2005, 09:44 AM
 
Well, let's get stoned together!

I've always said that different people have different needs and different needs require different computers.

Yes, I also have been contemplating an iMac G5 20" to go with my 12" PB. That would be heaven. Desktop power when I need it and portability at the same time! Now if I can just pull one over my wife's head and say I just bought a monitor to replace my 19" CRT monitor and neglect to tell her that it was actually an iMac..... Hmmmm.... The possibillities......



Originally posted by Randman:
Maybe I'll be stoned for this but as much as I'm enjoying the 12, I still love my 17. Now I wouldn't mind having one but I might consider an iBook 12 for a more mobile model at a lower cost. Maybe I just need more time with the 12.

(Yes, I do do design on the 17, so I'm in the category that Wilson mentioned).

However, give the chance again, I might have opted for an iMac G5 with a PowerBook 12. Now, that is a setup that I could really get into. I'd give the 17 up in a New York minute for that gig.
     
Agent69
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Mar 2, 2005, 09:52 AM
 
Originally posted by crazeazn:
rev b user with an extremely shitty battery after 1 year of use.
It is totally expected, which is why no one seems to offer battery warranties longer than 1 year. Even IBM, who offers some Thinkpads with a standard 3 year warranty, only covers the battery for one year.
Agent69
     
Agent69
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Mar 2, 2005, 09:53 AM
 
Xaero, your signature image is too big.
Agent69
     
kmarketing
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Mar 2, 2005, 12:22 PM
 
Hi,

I think I was luckiest and happiest when I traded my 17" rev a for an older g5 powermac 1.8 AND a 20 inch Cinema Display plus Soundsticks(even swap). I then managed to get a rev. c powerbook with superdrive for a cool $800 (this was last year on ebay).

While I missed my 17" tremendously in the beginning, I was not really bringing it out of the house. With the g5 and 20inch display, I can truly say that after a week or so, I was happy to have made the trade. It came with 1.5gb memory, 2 huge hard drives with 7200rpm, faster dvd burner, etc. It's more than any of my computing needs. With the addition of the 12", I can now bring a laptop wherever I go.

I was thinking of getting an ibook, but just all that creaking when you press on the left palmrest above the hard drive, made me stick with a powerbook. I used to have dells, and while I like them, the plastic always made them feel somewhat cheap. I had that same feeling with the ibooks (even though they are much cooler than most laptops on the market).

Long live powerbooks, and the 12" at that!!
     
molala
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Mar 2, 2005, 04:20 PM
 
i just bought a rev c 12" superdrive and upped the RAM to 768MB. my last portable was a 12-inch 800MHz G3 iBook. very happy with the new one so far (only been 5 days), though the screen does seem to have less contrast.

i have a question about the battery life - any tips on how to maintain it as much as possible? my iBook was almost always plugged in and still had ~3 hours battery life after 18 months. but i read on another thread that it's better to use the battery regularly.
     
tempus
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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Mar 4, 2005, 11:44 PM
 
i just recieved my first mac, this 12"! it is simply amazing. goodbye large dell d800, hello great new powerbook.

still getting used to the flow of things, but everything is like people said it was... simple, yet powerful. easy to figure out and just lovely.

only hassle was getting wireless to work... it wouldnt accept my WEP password until I changed the type of password it was... you'd think it'd try all of them under intial setup.
hello, resolven
     
ghostgrrl
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: California
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Mar 6, 2005, 02:44 PM
 
Originally posted by Simon:
Wait a moment. Try target disk mode first. Shut down the old Mac. Then boot it while pressing 'T'. If the screen shows you a FireWire logo, then you know your old Mac is now behaving like an external FW disk. Plug in the cable between your two Macs and copy away.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
I've been enjoying my new 12" PB for a little over two weeks now and have been amazed by its performance and build quality thus far. No warping, screen is nice and bright, fan and hard disk are very quiet. I was reading the above post with great interest, because I'm now trying to determine what's the best (fastest, safest and most economical) way to transfer files from my old Wallstreet 300/OS 9.2.2 (which unfortunately has no firewire connection.) I've done a search in this forum and ethernet has come up, but I've never used ethernet before. Can anyone provide a link for step by step instructions if I choose this route? The Help menu on my PB is kind of vague, especially when discussing manually configuring TCP/IP settings.

Thanks in advance.
     
 
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