An Apple A Day…
Apple has finally seen the light and has agreed that my iBook needs to be replaced.
It will be a “like for like” replacement with whatever Apple currently has in stock. That means a 12-inch iBook G4 with the 60GB hard disk upgrade. However, I’m not stuck with the iBook G4. I can take it’s value as credit for another Apple product, such as this. I would then pay the difference, plus tax of course.
So is a 12-inch Powerbook worth it?
+ 300 MHz on the CPU
+ 33 MHz on the bus
+ 32 MB VRAM and a Core Image-supported video card
+ DVI video out
+ Stylish aluminum case
+ Vastly superior keyboard
+ Sudden Motion Sensor to protect the hard disk in the event of a drop
+~ Two-finger scrolling trackpad (it’s cool, but I like SideTrack)
~ Audio-in port (I’ve never needed one yet)
~ 512 MB factory-installed RAM (the 256 MB DIMM is a throwaway when upgrading)
– Less durable case than the iBook (both in scratch and dent resilience)
– Potentially shorter battery life (only slightly) than the iBook
– Costs money that could be used for other things, like a car or a DSLR
– The iBook is ripe for an update, and it’s already very close to PowerBook territory
All for the sum of ~$630 (or $850 if I were to go for a 100GB hard drive).
Hmm. Let me know what you think…
On the plus side of this deal, I will be getting Tiger regardless of the decision I make. Score!
April 14th, 2005 at 11:44 pm
Go for the powerbook, they’re a nice upgrade from the iBook. The core video and core image support will start to become a big deal as applications are updated to support it.
April 15th, 2005 at 1:06 am
I’d also say go for the Powerbook… they’ve fairly recently been updated so no worries there, and I know you’ve been eyeing a PB 12″ for a while. Now you can get it – and somewhat on the cheap.
April 15th, 2005 at 5:04 pm
Grab the iBook and drop the cash on an LCD display for extra screen real estate at home. You could get a 19 inch LCD for under $600. Mmmm, more monitors…
April 15th, 2005 at 8:36 pm
Go for it, but get a larger screen. It makes a huge difference. You’ve seen my new HP, I don’t even need my desktop anymore. Oh and by the way, ask apple if they have and refurbished machines that they would be willing to trade you. I saved $1500 off the purchase price of my computer and you can’t tell the difference.
April 18th, 2005 at 12:11 am
Don’t go for the refurb… they have a tendency of having problems with their screens, and as I’m sure Matt will attest, bad screens mean a bad computing experience. I’d say go for the PB (as I have also been eyeing a PB 12 for a long time), they have more computing power for the kind of things that you seem to do a lot of (MATLAB, 3D rendering, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, any audio or video work), and they are significantly hotter. Add to that you get monitor spanning with a PB, not with an iBook, so that if you have monitors (yes salivating over more monitors), you can do that with ease. Monitor spanning is a godsend for hardcore computing. ~my thoughts.
April 18th, 2005 at 11:22 am
While I agree with all those thoughts, I thought I might add that it IS possible to do monitor spanning with an iBook/iMac/eMac.