[BlakIce]

im looking for a new laptop for my graphic design business. I will be using this laptop for Photoshop, illustrator, Flash Mx, dreamweaver,quark, and video presentations both are around $3,000 and i need to make this purchase by january and i plan this laptop last me for 2 years

here are the specs for each

Sony GRX600 Series
$2,799.00
Mobile Intel� Pentium� 4
2GHz1 - M
512MB
40GB
DVD-RW
16.1" UXGA
(1600x1200)
as light as
8.0 lbs
Microsoft� Windows�
XP Professional

Apple 1 ghz powerbook
$2,999.00

1GHz PowerPC G4
1MB L3 & 256K L2 cache
133MHz system bus
512MB SDRAM memory
60GB Ultra ATA hard drive
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000
w/64MB DDR video memory
Gigabit Ethernet
56K internal modem
1 FireWire & 2 USB Ports
AirPort Card Included


i am currently using a PC and i think i need a mac in my life, but i wasnt sure if i should get G4 desktop or the powerbook im leaning towards the powerbook its lighter, better battery life and its a chick magnet

[rm199]

powerbook.

Ive got a top of the line wintel laptop but its just not portable like the powerbook.

With this new upgrade its just such a no brainer...

RM

[Eug]

Welcome to MacNN. How come you changed your name?

Just be warned that now that you're on a Mac site, pretty much everyone is gonna recommend the Mac. Do you already own some of the software for one platform?

Anyways, I personally don't like 8 lb laptops, nor do I like non-powered Firewire ports. I had an 8 lb laptop and sold it for an iBook last year. (Now I'm getting the TiBook.) A consideration for the PC laptop would be a 14" 1400x1050 screen and an external CRT. That would lighten the load considerably and it'd be cheaper too.

And like I said before, my guess is the iBook is a better chick magnet than the TiBook.

[rm199]

Ive heard people use the 1600x1200 excuse but that is just ridiculous on a small screen...

and yes the Tibook can get you dates... 2 so far and waiting for the third

RM

[rampant]

Don't buy Sony. Their products may have style and all that, but style isn't substance, and their supports really BLOWS. Buy from ANY other manufacturer than Sony for your own sake.

[BlakIce]

i was pointed here by one of my class mates but my teacher just brought up the point of the new PB has a 1x dvdr and that it would almost take the whole life of the battery to make one full dvd, is this true?

[SwarmyCurve]

8 pounds!? Thats hardly portable. The resolution seems way too high on a 16.1 inch screen (which is also too high).

I can't tell if you favor Windows or MacOS, so I should remind you that the Powerbook won't crash or get viruses as easily as the wintel equivalent.

Sony picturebooks are cool though-

[Eug]

Originally posted by BlakIce:
i was pointed here by one of my class mates but my teacher just brought up the point of the new PB has a 1x dvdr and that it would almost take the whole life of the battery to make one full dvd, is this true?

Well, probably close to it I'm guessing. I personally would be loathe to try to burn a full 4.37 GB DVD-R on the battery alone. I'd be looking for a plug for that because if the battery ain't fully charged and the computer doesn't finish the burn, then that's several bux down the drain for your coaster.

Less risky would be CD-Rs or partially full DVD-RW.

But that doesn't take away the huge benefit of having a DVD-R burner for data backup and video work (iDVD or DVD Studio Pro), if you're into that kind of thing.

[BlakIce]

see what i visualize for myself is sitting on my deck in the summer working on a project or when i want to get out of the house i can go down to starbucks and work

so being light is kinda and issue and then again its kinda not im a pretty big guy so 8lbs wont make or break me,

soon i will be getting an office for my business so either way there will be a Mac somewhere in my life question is will it be the laptop or the desktop

[Mac Zealot]

The DVD-R burner is more or less a type of thing that is there "For when it comes in handy" though it probably won't for many peoeple.

PC laptops SUCK! they're big, ugly, and DISGUSTING!

And not to mention the powerbook g4 has had a whole SLEW of improvements

[rm199]

pc laptops are a battle much like one of those puzzles. you can have this feature but you lose that one etc... i have a top of the line wintel laptop thats upgraded 6 monthly. do i travel with it?? no way! it burns through power so i need two full batteries for one nyc flight, and they are just so big.

desktop replacement is the best word for them, they are not laptops

RM

[Nebrie]

Originally posted by BlakIce:
see what i visualize for myself is sitting on my deck in the summer working on a project or when i want to get out of the house i can go down to starbucks and work

so being light is kinda and issue and then again its kinda not im a pretty big guy so 8lbs wont make or break me,

soon i will be getting an office for my business so either way there will be a Mac somewhere in my life question is will it be the laptop or the desktop

Well, I have seen one of these monster Sonys outside of a store settings. The average sized guy who owned it could not keep it on his lap and had to settle for the table, which it promptly took up half of with his coffee cup placed behind the screen. It is not only monsterously big, but it is also very thick as well. The next time I saw that guy there, he had a pad of paper and a pen. This is definately not something you want to carry around anywhere.

[DVD Plaza]

Suffice to say I know Windows inside out - I've spent my career setting up/administrating Windows servers, supporting Windows clients, and programming. I build my own PCs, heck I've built my own servers, and I've worked with most generation PC notebooks.

I STILL DO THIS IN MY DAY JOB

Out of hours, however, my last PC I build (a P4) and all my other PCs and parts are dumped in a corner. My full-time computer is a PowerBook 800 DVI.

It's fast, it's friendly, it's easy... you can't imagine what it's like to spend your entire day supporting PCs to then come home and just "use" a computer without having to deal with all the Windows crap I live with all day long. Hell I'd even call it "fun" and "relaxing" to use a PowerBook, let alone OSX.

Aside from the PowerBook being an absolutely gorgeous machine she is TINY, she's LIGHT, and you can get HOURS of battery life out of them (try that with a P4 notebook!!!) - we're talking real-world work here, forget the marketing hype (in fact Apple claim 5 hours, in reality doing full-on work you'll get 3.5-4 hours).

You probably already realise, but may be doubtful or don't believe, but a 1GHz PowerBook is nothing like a 1GHz PC - you'll find it'll perform on-par with your 2GHz+ PCs.

I do a lot of graphics work, invoicing, server administration, and just general surfing and everything about the PowerBook is a dream... even the widescreen screen is so convenient I find it a pain using a square PC!

I use Illustrator, PhotoShop, Word X, Entourage X, MS Remote Desktop Client, and for browsing use Chimera (forget Internet Exploder, it's garbage on the Mac) - you'll find not only do they perform just as well, if not better, than your PC but their entirely different design (even Office is designed totally different than that of the PC) you'll work better... really!

I was in your position when I was looking at getting a PowerBook myself, and here in Australia the PowerBook is quite a few thousand dollars more expensive than PC notebooks - I went for the PowerBook, and as you can probably tell from the above I am soooooooooo glad I made the "switch"... in a way it makes my day job a little entertaining, supporting all the crap that is "Windows" knowing that at home I don't have to worry about all that sh#t... it just works! It really does!

[KidRed]

Big decision? Not if you use macs, it's an easy one.

[shiff]

Maybe my opinion will help as well. The mac I am typing on is my very first one. I work in a company where it is either microsoft or nothing. I run the server farms here so I am quite technical and not a newbie to computers in general, but definitely to the mac side. I did not switch because I hate windows. I never had problems at all with any pc I ever owned. I switched because, at first, I just plain liked how the hardware looked and had been hearing good things about the powerbooks. I have only had the mac for about 2 months.

I can say, i will never purchase another windows machine. I am not going to rant nor compare performance because, honestlly they are quite the same FOR ME as far as to getting my job done.

The one thing I will say, is it just feels better on the mac. I really cannot explain why. I actually like sitting down and working with this computer. Even the crappy things I hate to do like technical documentation; I just seem to get it done. If you are looking for an in depth technical reasons, I can give those too, but in your situation, it sounds like most of the programs you use are on the mac side already so it would be partially just a hardware switch.

As much as I used to hate to say it, get the Mac. You will definitely like it and will never look back. All I can say is it is awesome. I do not post here much as I do not know a ton about the mac platform yet, but am learning quickly. I think that was part of it. I have used other platforms so much it got boring. Now I have a whole new world to play with.. Not that I have ever smoked crack, but damn this might be what its like.. haha..

[gee308]

Originally posted by Eug:
Welcome to MacNN. How come you changed your name?

Just be warned that now that you're on a Mac site, pretty much everyone is gonna recommend the Mac. Do you already own some of the software for one platform?

Anyways, I personally don't like 8 lb laptops, nor do I like non-powered Firewire ports. I had an 8 lb laptop and sold it for an iBook last year. (Now I'm getting the TiBook.) A consideration for the PC laptop would be a 14" 1400x1050 screen and an external CRT. That would lighten the load considerably and it'd be cheaper too.

And like I said before, my guess is the iBook is a better chick magnet than the TiBook.

I happen to like dog meat!!!! Not really, I tried it once in china and it wasn't that good. (All my friends had told me it was great)

[workerbee]

Originally posted by BlakIce:
im looking for a new laptop for my graphic design business. I will be using this laptop for Photoshop, illustrator, Flash Mx, dreamweaver,quark, and video presentations (snip)

If you are going to use a lot of Macromedia MX apps, I'd test them first on both platforms. I've heard otherwise on these boards, but in our own informal testing DreamWeaver and FireWorks MX run a lot faster on Windoze, and the interface is maybe a bit more clean. Flash MX runs very nicely on my TiBook 800, though.

[dvd]

get the mac!!! i'm sure most pc users (well ones who are really into case moding) will love the beauty of a tibook. i'd take a 1ghz tibook over a 3ghz 7lb piece o crap pc. Thats for laptop wise =] desktop wise.. well, macs dont impress me that much.

[KidRed]

Originally posted by workerbee:

If you are going to use a lot of Macromedia MX apps, I'd test them first on both platforms. I've heard otherwise on these boards, but in our own informal testing DreamWeaver and FireWorks MX run a lot faster on Windoze, and the interface is maybe a bit more clean. Flash MX runs very nicely on my TiBook 800, though.

No complaints here with DreamWeaver, don't use Fireworks.

[Eug]

Originally posted by gee308:



I happen to like dog meat!!!! Not really, I tried it once in china and it wasn't that good. (All my friends had told me it was great)

People are probably reading your post and thinking "WTF?".

[seanyepez]

You obviously are going to get a response favoring the Mac on these forums. However, remember that you can double the memory in your notebook for a mere $40. 1 gigabyte of memory is awesome!

The PowerBook now has a better graphics accelerator, and at 8 pounds, the VAIO isn't going to go very far with you. The PowerBook is much lighter, thinner, and stylish.

1,600 by 1,200 isn't terrible on a 16.1-inch screen. However, it's really hard to get a desktop replacement portable place-to-place. Unless you're really fit and lift weights regularly, I recommend the PowerBook. And even if you could bench 200 pounds, the PowerBook still looks better and performs very nicely.

[ASIMO]

Oh, please, whatever you decide, PLEASE do NOT go Sony, especially with that behemoth you detailed. I've bought into the SonyStyle ****, and it's only burned me over and over more often than I care to detail. My latest PC notebook is a Toshiba Satellite S501. The battery life sucks, but it's of good build. The design is good for a PC. I highly recommend checking out a couple should you go that route.

With that said, however, I prefer Mac. I have an older Powerbook G3 (my first Mac, almost 3 years, now), and it's served me with nary a fault. Sure the IR port cover is missing, the audio out jack is loose, and the case is slightly cracked, but these were of my own doing. Now, with OS X on it, I feel like it could last me another 2 or 3 years (it's a bit slow, but more than sufficiently fast)! But these new PowerBook G4s are the ticket; I'll likely trade my trusty, reliable black PowerBook for one of these. Five of my anthropologist colleagues have each have previous G4 PowerBooks, and each one has taken a few lickings yet keeps ticking. Commendable and surprising, considering how fragile they look. PS -- You'll find lots of Macs in our circle. Filemaker pro (and, most recently, iPhoto) is our friend!

OS-wise, I still prefer Mac OS X over Windows XP. I haven't had any major problems with either OS, but there's something strangely satisfying using Mac OS. It's simply a beautifully designed OS that is a delight to run. I don't know how else to describe it at the moment. On the road, I have my Mac. Back at the office, I open up my Toshiba, likely my last PC (it should last me a while). Coincidently, I use the Dreamweaver suite on it for our private Web site. I personally don't have these apps for Mac, but my colleagues do, and they haven't complained. I think it should be okay.

Bottom line: Get the Mac. You won't regret it -- I think.

[Commodus]

Let's put the emotional connections to Apple (or detachment from Microsoft) aside and look at the objective elements here.

Pros to a Powerbook:

- weight... 5.4 pounds WILL be easier to carry than 8 (trust me, my current Toshiba is 7 and it already feels a bit too heavy)

- size: it's one inch thick, and fairly shallow; you can fit the TiBook into bags more easily, and people won't complain about your laptop swallowing up the entire table.

- the widescreen display; unless you get a VPR Matrix 200A5 (which doesn't have a DVD burner), this is the only laptop with a wide-aspect screen. I've tried it - it's tremendous for having more than one page-sized app onscreen at a time.

- good resolution-to-size ratio. It's easy to look at the numbers and think "wow, think of all the workspace I'll have!" 1600x1200 is good... on an 18" LCD! I've seen Sony laptops in person; at 16 inches, that resolution is actually hard to work with. The 1280x854 resolution of the Powerbook is actually just about right in terms of legibility versus useable space.

- great video hardware. I was comparison shopping for an x86 laptop with a friend (he was interested in a TiBook, but his office requirements made it prohibitive), and I was shocked to find out that even some of the most current high-end x86 laptops only come with Mobility Radeon 7500s (if that!). A 64 MB Mobility Radeon 9000 is faster and more power-efficient.

- battery life. I've heard good things about the new Powerbooks' longevity, and it's definitely a perk to get 3-4 hours of real-world use out of a high-end laptop. You probably won't be able to burn a full 4.7 GB DVD-R without being plugged in, true, but the Sony's drive is no faster and the battery life may actually be shorter.

- support. Whatever you might think of the warranty, the fact is that Apple consistently gets better marks on reliability and technical support (and that includes this year, not just in years past). PC Magazine had a reader report card on the subject this year that covered laptops purchased in 2001, and Apple received an A grade while Sony was around B or even C. It's decent, but when you're spending this amount of money...

- it's just cooler. If you want to be different and stylish, you can't do much better than this!

Cons to a Powerbook:

- speed is a real issue, although not as much as some would make it out to be. If you want to get raw performance, an x86 laptop is your best bet, since it's the overall winner... but I'm not sure if the seconds saved in speed would be worth any tradeoffs you might see in the user interface.

- durability. Not that you should exactly start using GRX600s in the hammer toss at the Olympics, but a thick laptop is invariably going to be tougher by virtue of all that material. Keep in mind that the Powerbook isn't glass-fragile; it just needs some care to avoid scratches and such. I hear the very latest Powerbooks are better about paint.

- the screen resolution is higher. I did complain about it being teeny, but if you need to cram in as much content as possible into the one view, 1600x1200 is what you want. Just be prepared to wear glasses to avoid squinting!

- a multi-button trackpad with scrolling is nice. Of course, when you're at a desk, you can just bring out a USB mouse and obviate this concern altogether. On the road you might like the convenience. Personally I don't find it all that crucial.


... and that's about it, from what I can see. Obviously what you value most may skew the comparison one way or another.

Just remember this: when you're buying a top-end laptop, you should ultimately get what will make you happy. Don't buy one and sincerely wish that it was lighter and thinner, or that the resolution was higher. You'll likely have to sit in front of this thing for years, and if you have the means to get almost anything, why not choose what you really want on a subjective level?

[Oneota]

One option that people seem to be missing is that if you don't think you need the Superdrive, you can get a 1GHz PowerBook G4 without it for $2799.

Identical machine, just no DVD-R.

Makes the machine a bit more attractive, neh?

[iobuffa]

having used the new top of the line dell laptops with ddr memory + 2ghz, i can easily say my new tibook wins hands down. its lighter, quieter, more elegant, better screen (imho), and just plain better.

go with the tibook, you will fall in love. i promise.

[buffalolee]

Windows:
-Spyware and Adware installed on your computer without you knowing.

Mac:
-No spyware

I'm an expert Windows user, and I learned that after several months of surfing the web, spyware will find its way into your computer.

I promise you, you will have to reformat your Windows computer within 2 years because of bugs, stuff that is hard to delete, etc. With Apple, the only reformat I know of is when they want to partition their hard drive.

[one09jason]

This response is a bit late, but I have to chime in because I was in a similar boat recently. I was actually considering the same Sony laptop over a new PowerBook. The truth is, there are really only two reasons NOT to buy a Mac.

1) Price - they do tend to be a bit more expensive

2) You can't run the software you need to - There are often no Mac alternatives for software with smaller markets (scientific software, for exaple), and Virtual PC just doesn't cut it.

For every other reason that you need a computer, the Mac is it. I decided to buy the new PowerBook, and just borrow someone else's PC for the PC work I must do. Totally impractical decision. That's how much I love the Mac.

In your case, neither of these reasons apply. Everything you mentioned is available for the Mac, and the Sony is just as expensive.

Honestly, get the PowerBook. There's just no reason not to.

[photoeditor]

Powerbook all the way.

Price, for once, isn't a serious deterrent. Double Your RAM and the $200 price cut have enabled Apple to compete strongly with the PC side.

So here's the balance on features..
1) Better hard drives on the Macs . . . the high density 4200 rpm drives are as fast if not faster than their lower density 5400 counterparts and they use less juice -- especially true with the 60GB drive, a Fujitsu.

2) More legible screen on the Mac . . 1600x1200 makes text too small if left in its native size, too spindly if scaled. 1280x854 is a much better compromise.

3) Better OS on the Mac . . a bit more stable, definitely better on multitasking, definitely much easier to keep stable, and more configurable. And Apple's implementation of UNIX means the system is much easier to update than Windows.

4) Smaller, much smaller, and lighter

5) Battery life is enough that you might be able to contemplate burning a DVD on battery with the Mac . . won't happen with the PC

6) Apple got right out there and put the Radeon 9000 video card in as soon as it was available. Not yet available in most PCs, which are mostly on slower chips, like the Nvidia GeForce 4Go, or Radeon 7500.

7) Generally easier to maintain Mac hardware . . . changing the keyboard very easy, even changing the hard drive isn't that hard.

8) no equivalents to Final Cut Pro, iMovie or iDVD on the PC platform.

9) Due to lower power consumption, the Mac hardware and processor can run closer to its maximum capacity more of the time than the PC.

And the disadvantages?

1) the PC still wins in maximum raw processing power . . (Motorola hasn't yet released its 0.13 micron chips, while Intel has)

2) the Mac is so small that it isn't physically possible to have interchangeable drive bays for things like optical and zip drives . . instead, the optical drive in the Mac is fixed in place.

[residentEvil]

eh, its only money, get both small business get great business lines of credit and low interest rates...specially if you are in an area that the city themselves offer tax breaks and grants. i looked into that when i moved downtown detroit. first place i was looking at was considered, by some, 'not a good place to be' and they offered (the city) huge grants to get small businesses to move into the area. well the builing i was looking at needed more love and care then i wanted...so i picked a different building (near the new stadiums). course, i missed out on the grants...

back to my point...look into small business loans from area banks and check out your city for grants. you would be suprised how few people do this.

then you can get both.

[euphras]

My predecessors have made good points. Nothing more to say... get the Tibook, after the last upgrade there is really no other way to go.

Pat

Ti667DVI-512MB RAM

[adamberti]

Check out this thread on one users test of burning a full DVD-R and leaving 45 minutes on the battery (burn only)

[photoeditor]

Just as a quick follow up to "ResidentEvil", Chicago (the home town of the original poster) is one of more than a dozen cities with a number of "at-risk" neighborhoods (I don't know which) included in the Federal Government's Empowerment Zones program -- more money, more loans, less regulation, that kind of thing -- introduced under the Clinton Administration. Both the Dems and Reps were in favor of this one, so it should stay in place for a while. If your business is located in an Empowerment Zone, check it out.

[RMXO]

Originally posted by KidRed:


No complaints here with DreamWeaver, don't use Fireworks.

amen to DreamWeaver on my 800DVI. works great....

come on now.... 8 lbs compared to a 1" & 5.4lbs. or think of it this way. do u want to lug that heavy arse Sony around or lug that PB in style?

bigger isnt always better in this case....

[dvd]

the pc seems great, it'll probaly be faster than the pc in most things you do, if not all. And about the graphics for the pc. Graphic cards usually run better on a pc, so even if we have something higher up, they'll still beat us. But this is for a laptop right? who cares about the speed, i mean that shouldnt be the main factor. If you're on the road, you'd problay want something small and stylish. Get the tibook, you'll love it. I got a desktop pc for games and whatever else i do.
my motto is ..get a mac for laptop and pc for desktop =] cause the desktop pcs are soo not worth it. and its fun building a desktop.

[ryju]

Originally posted by rm199:
Ive heard people use the 1600x1200 excuse but that is just ridiculous on a small screen...

and yes the Tibook can get you dates... 2 so far and waiting for the third

RM

Are you serious?? That's so cool...though i have a girlfriend already...for 8 months...I so want a PowerBook!!

[rambo47]

Before you buy anything, go to an Apple Store and play around with the Ti Book. Get a feel for it, and maybe even explain your upcomming decision to a rep at the store. Then go to CompUSA or some other pc store and play with the Sony. Personally, my choice in pc's would be IBM, but only to run Linux.

Bottom line: see them both in person before you plunk down $2700 or more. My guess is that, if you can swing the steep price, you'll get the PowerBook.

[BlakIce]

well i went down to compusa and they had the powerbook superdrive but since they dont offer educational discounts im going to try and see if i can find someone who is tax exempt, does the the apple store do student and tax exempt?

and there was an obvious difference between the sony and the powerbook now to just get the money, damn it sucks to be a student, maybe ill go apply for a job at compusa

[DSHwrd]

Moral of the Story...
...Don't ask whether you should buy a Mac Laptop or a Wintel Laptop on a Mac Forum.

I forgot just how biased some of us mac users can be... You all make me so proud!

Writing this on a TiBook867... So I'd recommend the TiBook too. The battery life is awesome... I went on a trip with my family and watched 2 DVDs on the battery and still had about 7% battery life left. Double your ram for $70* is just cool! Also, it comes with all this awesome software that I always wanted to get! Snapz Pro X (Professional Screen Capture program), OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, GraphicConverter (supports over 50 graphic formats), PixelNhance, ADT 3, iTunes (Awesome!), iDVD (easy DVD creation), iPhoto, yada yada, yada...

Ultimately the choice is yours... but at least now you know why some of us like our Macs (our babies).

Cheers,
- Daniel

*They say it's $40 to double your RAM, but then you have to pay $30 for them to install it at the store. I learned that if you bitch at them and threaten to not double the memory they'll give it to you and let you install it yourself (not $30 charge).

[photoeditor]

The only educational discounts are going to be through the Apple Store, your campus reseller, or an educational specialist like edu.com. All charge sales tax. The only other solution is to move to one of the four states in the union that don't have sales tax.

However, there are a few tricks to the trade short of relocating to Oregon, Montana, Delaware or New Hampshire.

First, current federal law requires that, once during your student career, your institution raise your eligibility for subsidized Stafford loans up to the cost of a computer, which is then covered through the loans, interest free until after you graduate if you are eligible overall. And if you still aren't eligible for a subsidized loan even after your "need" or "budget" is raised to account for your computer purchase, there's always the unsubsidized Stafford loan, currently running around four percent interest.

Under federal law, no institution may allow more than $3,500 for a federal student loan for a computer purchase . . . and they have the discretion to set a lower limit. A community college with a high rate of loan default among former students might set a VERY low limit. At UIC, the limit is $3,000.

This kind of credit certainly beats the 10 percent or more of an Apple Student Loan. This is how I bought my PowerBook. Caveat .. I do not know what the cut off for eligibility is between full and part time. I am going full time, and loan eligibility is generally more limited for part time students. Caveat 2 . . because you can only do this once, institutions recommend that if you go this route, get the computer that is going to be powerful enough to last you through school and maybe even a little beyond.

The student loan can save a tremendous amount. In three years time, when I finish, I will still owe $3,000, having made no payments at all during that time. If I took an Apple loan, even at their best interest rate (9.9) I would be making $600 in interest payments over the next two years and would then have to start repaying the $3,000 principal even though I would still be finishing my final year of graduate school.

The second thing to note is that sales tax rates very not just by state but by locality. Apple Store Woodfield collects everything (8.25 percent for the portion of Schaumburg in Cook County). CDW at Vernon Hills charges less than seven. CDW downtown charges 8.75 -- the full Chicago rate including city, state, transit authority and county. Apple mail order in the city of Chicago appears to only charge 7.25, and I think that would imply missing out the transit authority and county sales taxes but fully including city and state. Again, however, note that CDW doesn't do educational channel discounts.

[BlakIce]

thanks for all the great info

[SuperGroove]

Originally posted by BlakIce:
thanks for all the great info

Sony stinks. Period.

The only PC Laptop I would consider is the IBM T Series. It's probably the most study laptop that I've ever used, the fastest laptop that I've ever used, and IBM has the best customer support in the industry. My T23 weighed 5.3lbs, and had a crisp 14.1" display.

The Powerbook is a great looking notebook, and I like how it can multi-task better than ANY PC, but for what I do(browse the web, write papers, burn CDs, encode MP3s, and check e-mail), the Powerbook is a little on the less responsive side.

Oh well. I'm not going to get rid of this for a IBM T30. I want to, but IBMs are a little expensive. Righfully so in my opinion. I'll just keep this Powerbook. It hurts my wrists, and it gets very noisy...but meh. Such is Apple love.

I sure do love the looks of my Powerbook, but I've never taken care of anything with such delicacy. Is it worth it? Everytime someone looks in envy, yes. Everytime someone snickers at my Mac, while they type on their crappy Compaqs and HPs, it's well worth it.

Battery life is robust too. While PC Laptop owners turn down the brightness of their displays to near pitch black, I have my Powerbook on full brightness, full CPU speed, and still have 3 hours to play with.

if you like OSX, Powerbook is the way to go. If you want the best overall laptop, go IBM T30. No other laptops are worth mentioning.