Mbp 12"?

[kathen]

I'm a high school sophomore looking for a fairly portable laptop. My parents have gotten weird about paying for one until college. Next year, I'll be entering my school's International Baccalaureate program in which I will need the portability and presence of a laptop to get work done.

I liked the Powerbook G4 12" for awhile and that was almost purchased but then my dad nixed it because he heard there would be a new laptop soon. This was the MBP. It is now about three months later and I'm still fairly impatient.

I considered the iBook G4 12" as well but ultimately decided that I wanted a larger hard drive.

My dad decided he didn't want to pay for anything I wouldn't be able to use during college. (This is anything prohibitively expensive, mind you. Any PBs or iBooks in the 12" size with at least a 1.33Ghz processor under $600ish would still be pretty good.)

I figured that since the intelbooks look pretty "computer of the future" to me that an intelwhatever laptop now + an IntelMini if I need the extra computing power in college (I already have a nice monitor/keyboard/printer/whatnot so that wouldn't be an issue) would seem like a pretty reasonable thing. I'm assuming that a) the intels should be good for quite a few years and b) that Apple will be as nice when the laptop screws up as they were with my succession of iPods. With my luck, I figure I'll break the thing enough by the end of four years of service that I'll eventually get a new one and restart the warranty/applecare.

Does anyone have any idea when the MBP 12" or a comparable size is coming out? I am awful at waiting for things, especially when the apple store is nearby. Thanks!

 

[ieani]

April or August.

 

[ITASOR]

I considered the iBook G4 12" as well but ultimately decided that I wanted a larger hard drive.

You can order them from Apple as a BTO (Build to order) with up to a 100GB HD. I myself, got the 60GB which was only $50 more.

 

[mkrishnan]

April or August.

Or next Tuesday.

 

[ieani]

Or next Tuesday.

next tuesday?

 

[kathen]

Yeah I liked the iBook with a larger hard drive too, but then dad said he's not paying for anything that isn't going to last for college, so since G4 is being phased out, I figured if I went with the most futuristic, I couldn't be wrong. Unfortunately, I want a size that hasn't yet been released. I also think the MBP has some nice features (keynote with remote (presentations that much easier), magsafe (I am such a klutz)...), some of which would definitely be good for school.

Next tuesday would be nice. April would be okay. August, well, that would really suck.

 

[SpaceMagic]

next tuesday?

Hehe.. don't worry. It was once the case (maybe a coincidence) that Apple always released stuff on a tuesday and because of this there was once a thread called "iBooks/PowerBooks next tuesday?!!?!?!?!?!" and it ran as a cult for some time Now it's just a joke on MacRumors that when people have no clue when a new revision will be out, they say "Next tuesday?!"

Back to the thread: No one knows... i'd say we'll see something April 1st.

 

[blackstone]

I'm a high school sophomore looking for a fairly portable laptop. My parents have gotten weird about paying for one until college. Next year, I'll be entering my school's International Baccalaureate program in which I will need the portability and presence of a laptop to get work done.

What exactly will you need a laptop for in high school? I was in an IB program (admittedly, a number of years ago) and never once did I need a laptop.

Also, does your dad expect that the new computer last until college or through college? If the latter, then you should put off getting the computer until after you graduate from high school, because otherwise your computer will be extraordinarily old by the time you're a senior in college.

 

[aussie_geek]

Or next Tuesday.

hee hee - haven't we all agreed that it is Thursday's now??


aussie_geek

 

[QCassidy352]

Also, does your dad expect that the new computer last until college or through college? If the latter, then you should put off getting the computer until after you graduate from high school, because otherwise your computer will be extraordinarily old by the time you're a senior in college.

agreed. You're 6 years from the end of college... even a MBP is going to be a real dinosaur by the time you graduate. If I were you I'd try to get an ibook G4 or cheap macbook (intel ibook) and then sell it and upgrade midway through college.

 

[Phatpat]

In my opinion, it's dramatically better to spend $1000 on a computer now, and $1000 on a computer in 2-3 years, than to spend $2000 now and hope it lasts.

I recommend looking for an early iBook G4 in the $550-$650 range. It should be able to do all you need.

 

[plarusa]

I'm a high school sophomore looking for a fairly portable laptop. My parents have gotten weird about paying for one until college. Next year, I'll be entering my school's International Baccalaureate program in which I will need the portability and presence of a laptop to get work done.

I liked the Powerbook G4 12" for awhile and that was almost purchased but then my dad nixed it because he heard there would be a new laptop soon. This was the MBP. It is now about three months later and I'm still fairly impatient.

I considered the iBook G4 12" as well but ultimately decided that I wanted a larger hard drive.

My dad decided he didn't want to pay for anything I wouldn't be able to use during college. (This is anything prohibitively expensive, mind you. Any PBs or iBooks in the 12" size with at least a 1.33Ghz processor under $600ish would still be pretty good.)

I figured that since the intelbooks look pretty "computer of the future" to me that an intelwhatever laptop now + an IntelMini if I need the extra computing power in college (I already have a nice monitor/keyboard/printer/whatnot so that wouldn't be an issue) would seem like a pretty reasonable thing. I'm assuming that a) the intels should be good for quite a few years and b) that Apple will be as nice when the laptop screws up as they were with my succession of iPods. With my luck, I figure I'll break the thing enough by the end of four years of service that I'll eventually get a new one and restart the warranty/applecare.

Does anyone have any idea when the MBP 12" or a comparable size is coming out? I am awful at waiting for things, especially when the apple store is nearby. Thanks!

Rumors has it that the 12" Powerbook will be discontinued, and replaced by a 13" model. I own both a 12" Powerbook and a Macbook, and I find them both appealing. The Macbook is faster and can run Windows at descent speed (yes, I do need to run Windows at work). On the flip side, the Macbook runs hot and emits a disturbing buzzing sound when running on the battery. The Powerbook is slower, has a much smaller screen, but can run nearly five hours on a battery charge. In the end, it depends on what feature are most important to you.