This should be simple : PB or not PB ?

[SeRgIo_42]

Well, first things first : I bought my iMac a few months ago and it has
been a wonderful experience so far. At that time I did not care about
the hardware but the software. OSX is what all linuxes would like to
be someday.

So, months later, I received a gift from the gods : money to buy any
laptop I want. This does not happen often and it is sort
of lifetime opportunity. My first thought was instantaneous : PB 15" with lots of
ram and HD. For me, the 17" is too big to carry around and 12" resolution
screen is not enough.

Now I need your oppinions. Even though money is not the issue,
my boss made very clear that this machine NEEDS to last at least 3 years.
Then I did a careful check about what the PC world has to offer and I
came across this beauty :

Asus W3V. 14.1" WXGA (1280x800), 2.13GHz, 1Gb DDR2 PC4200, 80Gb 7200rpm,
ATI X600 128MB, 5.4lbs and the battery lasts around 4 hours. Price tag : around
US$ 2100.00

I know without a doubt that this machine will last 3 years on my hands.

As a macrumors reader, do you think PB will last 3 years after Intel transition ?

So, PB or not PB ?

 

[SeRgIo_42]

I forgot to mention that the Asus config also contains lots of extra, like
a dual layer DVD burner, weight saver, layers of thermal protection around
cpu and heat pipes, fan fail warning, etc.

If I chose Asus, I would install Fedora on it (which is ok for my job).

Any comments appreciated !

 

[rockthecasbah]

A Powerbook would EASILY last you 3 years and through the Intel Transition, they are superb buys. Go for it, you won't be disapointed with it

 

[Dafke]

Well, first things first : I bought my iMac a few months ago and it has
been a wonderful experience so far. At that time I did not care about
the hardware but the software. OSX is what all linuxes would like to
be someday.

Easy, Powerbook it is. You answered it yourself: OSX

 

[wPod]

um, what will you use it for? if for any reason you need to think about a windows only program then forget about the pb. but if you know os x apps will give you everything you need, then there should be no question except go for the pb. . . it will be at least a year till the intel PB become mainstream, then another year before the software becomes pretty available and the bugs have been worked out of the first rev of the intels. so about three years from now, when the PB you will buy now, is at the end of its life, then the intels will be starting their prime and you can buy a new one then!

 

[SeRgIo_42]

Thanks for the help. I need to hear some enthusiastic support to make the jump.

By the way,

um, what will you use it for? if for any reason you need to think about a windows only program then forget about the pb. but if you know os x apps will give you everything you need, then there should be no question except go for the pb. . . it will be at least a year till the intel PB become mainstream, then another year before the software becomes pretty available and the bugs have been worked out of the first rev of the intels. so about three years from now, when the PB you will buy now, is at the end of its life, then the intels will be starting their prime and you can buy a new one then!

Yes, that's the scenario I am willing to bet. Even though I do not believe there will
be any major bug in the Rev A, most issues will be solved by Rev B for sure.

 

[Spievy]

Have no Fear, get the PowerBook. I have a mac that is 6 years old (sawtooth G4) that I still use.

 

[risc]

Linux support on notebooks is dodgy at best, I say go for the Powerbook and use Fink or DarwinPorts for any F/OSS software you need. You'll get the best of both worlds a UNIX like OS and it works.

 

[Malfoy]

DId you ever say what you used it for? Anywho, go with the Asus. Well how fast is your imac or pc you were using before? I went from a p4 2.4 desktop and a 1.5 pentium M laptop to a 1.5 powerbook last Xmas and I was pretty let down by the performance. Sold it a month later. Stepping up to a powermac in the next month cause it'll give me the power I want so I can wreck havoc in OSX with little remorse

 

[risc]

If I chose Asus, I would install Fedora on it

To the poster above (Malfoy) Linux still sucks on notebooks, why go for a faster notebook with broken hardware support when a PowerBook will do everything, and everything will work?

 

[Malfoy]

To the poster above (Malfoy) Linux still sucks on notebooks, why go for a faster notebook with broken hardware support when a PowerBook will do everything, and everything will work?

I missed the part about Fedora. I'm with you then. If he's gonna do the linux, should probably go pb unless he's done his HW beforehand.

 

[bodeh6]

Mac OS X is so well worth the extra cost.

 

[Ph4lynx]

I have a 2.5 year old 12" Powerbook, and it is now my only computer.
When I purchased it I had 5 PC's sitting in my Office, so not only has the powerbook lasted almost 3 years, but it has displaced every other computer in my life. So buy the powerbook, it's a better computer.

 

[SeRgIo_42]

Yes indeed

Thx again for the messages.

I did not want to stir a discussion about linux on laptops but
there are a few reasons why I would still go for a Asus machine.
Besides technical reasons, I selected three random items :

a. Batteries. Even though there are some saying the opposite, PB batteries
are just crap. For what it matters, it is even impressive that Apple allows
people to complain at its web store. Usually they would just cut those bad
comments from there.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...9jgXAUdWlF0/3.SLID?mco=1E92E044&nplm=M9756G/A

Even with this crap, there is no way to use two batteries at once.

b. Power cord. I usually get two power adapters to avoid carrying such things
back and forth every day.Well, this was new for me. When I saw it at Apple store
it looked neat but it is surprising to see such bad comments (again at their webstore).
You must agree that basically this should not cost US$ 79.00 !

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...jgXAUdWlF0/3.SLID?mco=31C2C4FE&nplm=M8943LL/A

c. There are cases when I need to compile fortran and linux is the cheapest way to go.
You could argue that g77 or g99 are part of OSX (I tried to use them on my iMac)
but there are pretty good compilers where I work. None for Mac, unfortunately.

Anyway, I really appreciate all comments so far. Since I got the grant, my mind
was over the PB 15" and that's what I am going to do. I just needed to hear
more positive thoughts about it



S.

 

[FFTT]

You already have an iMac, so having a fully compatible OSX laptop
makes far more sense.

Transferring data between machines will be totally seamless.

You probably don't NEED the 15" model, so I would still consider the
12" for it's portablilty benefits and price.

You should probably get iWork to take advantage of Keynote for presentations.

Even if your company is buying it for you, I would still buy any extra RAM
3rd Party at Crucial, Datamem or OWC.

Any PowerBook should hold you for at least 3 years and thus get you through the bumpy transition to Intel.

Then, once the Intel based PowerBooks have proven themselves worthy,
you'll have the benefits of booting to OSX, Linux or Vista on one machine.