I am so confused now, need some advice on buying.

[DrumaChick420]

Hey everyone,
I am new here but have been lurking for a while now. I have come into some money and desperately need to replace my Ibook and Powerbook- G3's. The Ibook is ready to die any day now (she's been so good to me- purchased in 1998) and the Powerbook, I think it's a Pismo won't start up at all. I'd like to fix the Powerbook for my son to use, but that's a different issue and thread...


My goal when I knew the money was coming in was to purchase the Powerbook 15 inch. I researched on Apple's site last month and figured this would be the best for what I need. Then, the new MacBook Pro Intel came about and I looked into that and its specs. I have been reading all of the threads on the MacBook Pro, it seems to have mixed reviews and thoughts. My concerns with the Intel MacBook are- new rev A, possible problems, and then the applications I have Photoshop, Word, Quicken etc... Would they work... I have enough $$ to purchase either computer but I don't have enough to buy all new apps. Mind you I am still OS9, so OSX is going to be new to me as it is.


So, the money is coming next week and I go to Apple's website today to recheck specs on the 15 inch Powerbook and man, it is not there anymore. So this totally threw a monkey wrench into what I was going to do. (I do not want the 12 inch PB nor the 17 inch as I think it is too expensive.) What is a girl to do now???!!!! I read on these forums that they discontinued the 15 inch Powerbook, is this correct? But then I read some kind of news or product will be coming this Friday...


I do not have time to wait for the Rev B MacBook Pro to come out as this Ibook will die any day now and I cannot be without a computer. However, I also do not want to purchase something that will be phased out in a few years as this is my one chance to get a new comp for many years to come.


Another question- I have a Graphite Airport, will this run on the G4's? If I get the PowerBook G3 running and grab a new computer can I run them both on the Graphite Airport or do I need to get a newer Airport? Airport Extreme?


Perhaps I should go with the 14 inch Ibook and get extra memory for it? I love the idea of the backlit keyboard that the PowerBook has though...I am so clueless at this point. Any input or ideas are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.
Jennifer.

 

[yankeefan24]

can you add some spacing in there? I am a little confused. clearing it up will help.

EDIT: ok, i understand it more now. wait until tuesday, see what they release. Backlighten keyboard isn't that wonderful. Apple really overplays it. Its nice, but when you don't have it on full brightness, it can just make it harder to see the keys. The 15" powerbook has been discontinued. The graphite airport will work. If you need one right now, go with a 14 inch ibook, or a refurbished ibook if you want to save more money. Word and Quicken would work fine, photoshop might be a little slow but should work also.

 

[DrumaChick420]

can you add some spacing in there? I am a little confused. clearing it up will help.

I did that when I typed it, I have no clue why it came out that way.... Sorry...

 

[yankeefan24]

I did that when I typed it, I have no clue why it came out that way.... Sorry...

what i recommend is putting an extra line between paragraphs. i could read it clearer when i used the double click highlight to highlight the paragraphs. I am putting all the answers i can think of in my above post as an edit.

 

[DrumaChick420]

what i recommend is putting an extra line between paragraphs. i could read it clearer when i used the double click highlight to highlight the paragraphs. I am putting all the answers i can think of in my above post as an edit.

Thank you very much for your response. One more thing- will other places still sell the 15 inch Powerbook if it's still in stock? Like Amazon, MacMall etc?

 

[yankeefan24]

Thank you very much for your response. One more thing- will other places still sell the 15 inch Powerbook if it's still in stock? Like Amazon, MacMall etc?

probably at a discounted price. very likely. amazon less likely but a lot of the smaller stores will probably keep selling at low prices.

 

[jsw]

As of right now, the Apple Store has a couple of 15" PBs listed - good prices, too. Might be a good option. Just click on the red SAVE tag on the lower right hand side.

 

[marchcapital]

go with the ibook

id say go with the 14" ibook and fill it up with extra memory. you should wait a few months to see if they come out with a new ibook!! thats what i wish i would have done but o well. i bought a 12" ibook g4 a little while ago and love it! but i wanted somthing small enough that i could take everywhere i go. i think backlit keys will lose their novelty quite quickly, and it seems like somthing to drain the battery. in my opinon go with the 14" ibook g4 or the 12" powerbook. the 12" in screen is plenty big enough. the screen size is what i was worried about when i bought my mac, but i use it all day long for university and never get eye-strain or a headache. to me it kind of defeats the purpose to buy a laptop any larger then 14".

have fun shopping

 

[yankeefan24]

id say go with the 14" ibook and fill it up with extra memory. you should wait a few months to see if they come out with a new ibook!! thats what i wish i would have done but o well. i bought a 12" ibook g4 a little while ago and love it! but i wanted somthing small enough that i could take everywhere i go. i think backlit keys will lose their novelty quite quickly, and it seems like somthing to drain the battery. in my opinon go with the 14" ibook g4 or the 12" powerbook. the 12" in screen is plenty big enough. the screen size is what i was worried about when i bought my mac, but i use it all day long for university and never get eye-strain or a headache. to me it kind of defeats the purpose to buy a laptop any larger then 14".

have fun shopping

if you are getting an ibook, i recomend the 12" (for now) they have the same resolution, so therefore, you aren't getting any more screen space. just a bigger overal package with a bigger processor. but, as i said, wait until tuesday at least, if you can't wait longer, buy then, if you can wait until April 1, wait until then.