Apple PowerBook G4...

[bandit]

I'm thinking of getting an Apple PowerBook G4. But with Intel manufacturing chips for Apple now (next year?) Should I buy one now or wait? I'm no Apple guru or know much (need one for my Graphic Design), hell, I'm not even tech savvy when it comes to comps.

I know its kind of early about talking about the Intel, but what would be the benefits. Do you think I would be able to use PC apps on the Mac or would I need a VirtualPC (dual OS) inorder to run PC apps on a Mac

Also, weres a good cheap place to order? Right now, Apple is charging $1800 for the Powerbook G4 15" 1.67mhz with 512MB RAM. Thats with student discount. Not to mention, thats not with NYs 8.625% tax.

[Schlep]

Wait until at least January 10th when they make announcements at Macworld. One of the rumors is of an updated 15" Powerbook.

[Nomi]

If you need one right now, check out Apple's refurbished sale they have going on (you can still purchase the extended care warranty and receive full coverage).

Waiting a month is definitely a good idea, as he said, Apple will likely give precise news on the Intel switch coming up. I plan on getting an iBook or Powerbook G4 once the Intels are out, I figure there will be a price drop then. As far as I know, Windows crap won't run on the Intel Macs, they'll still be OSX and keep software compatibility seperate.

[bandit]

I was thinking of getting refurbished but they seemed a little pricey as well. I even opted looking at eBay auctions. I'll probably wait until next year. Is that when they'll talk about it or is that when they'll start selling?

[Nomi]

Current say has the Intel line being sold late spring/early summer, but rumors vary. Official word should be out in a month, but some form of Intel Mac computer should be out in the next six months (no confirmation if desktop Intels will be out first, ect. at this point, that I've seen).

[bandit]

Current say has the Intel line being sold late spring/early summer, but rumors vary. Official word should be out in a month, but some form of Intel Mac computer should be out in the next six months (no confirmation if desktop Intels will be out first, ect. at this point, that I've seen).

Thanks. As stated previously, I'm no Apple guru so sorry for all these questions. I only use Apple when I'm in the lab and on the gay cheap laptop that the university handed to me.

From whats been mentioned, discussed or released, what are the benefits of the Intels over the current Apples and vice versa. In other words, the pros and cons of Intel Macs and current Macs.

[Schlep]

Pro (current mac): The current Macs will run all current apps at 100% speed, while the Intel macs will only run current apps at 60-70% speed.

Pro (intel mac): The Intel macs should easily be up to 1.5-2x as fast as current Powerbooks. Keep in mind that no current G4 can even run the HD trailers on Apple's website at a consistent and smooth framerate.

I'm sticking with my 2.5 year old 12" Powerbook until the summer, where I might upgrade to a 15" Powerbook. I figure 3 years is a good amount of time in between upgrades, and Apple usually does an iPod offer during the summers. This Powerbook I got with a 3rd gen iPod and got $200 off the iPod.

If you want to talk more in depth, come to #tnl. School's cancelled today and I'm bored.

[bandit]

Pro (current mac): The current Macs will run all current apps at 100% speed, while the Intel macs will only run current apps at 60-70% speed.

Pro (intel mac): The Intel macs should easily be up to 1.5-2x as fast as current Powerbooks. Keep in mind that no current G4 can even run the HD trailers on Apple's website at a consistent and smooth framerate.

I'm sticking with my 2.5 year old 12" Powerbook until the summer, where I might upgrade to a 15" Powerbook. I figure 3 years is a good amount of time in between upgrades, and Apple usually does an iPod offer during the summers. This Powerbook I got with a 3rd gen iPod and got $200 off the iPod.

If you want to talk more in depth, come to #tnl. School's cancelled today and I'm bored.

Thanks for the info. Coming from a mac user..which do you think is a better purchase? I know like all electronics, one will have a flaw while the other doesnt but has a flaw the other doesnt.

When you mean running current apps (100%; 60-70%) do you mean as in lags? Would the Intel be bumped up when released?

So either way, even when Intel Macs are released, I wont be able to run PC apps out of the box. I would need a VirtualPC inorder to. So I guess its more of which is better in the long run

[Schlep]

I think the Intel Mac will be a better purchase, because it's more future-proof. All the current apps are written for PowerPC chips, so the tech that Apple's building into software to emulate PowerPC on the Intel chip is only going to run PowerPC stuff at about 60-70% of the speed a PowerPC would.

However, apps are going to stop being written for both platforms at some point and will move to Intel only. That means that if you buy a G4 based machine, not only will you not be able to run some apps 3-5 years from now, the resale value of your Mac will be at rock-bottom. The same thing happened when Apple moved from the old tech to the PowerPC's. Old Macs became worthless for anything other than a novelty.

And honestly, G4 technology is now years and years out of date. Don't be fooled by mac zealots, a P4 of any speed will crush a G4 of any speed any day of the week. Even if Apple goes with the Pentium M instead of the new Yonah processors in their Powerbooks, the leap in performance will be night and day. Enough so that you won't notice a dropoff in performance of legacy PPC apps, imo.

[bandit]

I think the Intel Mac will be a better purchase, because it's more future-proof. All the current apps are written for PowerPC chips, so the tech that Apple's building into software to emulate PowerPC on the Intel chip is only going to run PowerPC stuff at about 60-70% of the speed a PowerPC would.

However, apps are going to stop being written for both platforms at some point and will move to Intel only. That means that if you buy a G4 based machine, not only will you not be able to run some apps 3-5 years from now, the resale value of your Mac will be at rock-bottom. The same thing happened when Apple moved from the old tech to the PowerPC's. Old Macs became worthless for anything other than a novelty.

And honestly, G4 technology is now years and years out of date. Don't be fooled by mac zealots, a P4 of any speed will crush a G4 of any speed any day of the week. Even if Apple goes with the Pentium M instead of the new Yonah processors in their Powerbooks, the leap in performance will be night and day. Enough so that you won't notice a dropoff in performance of legacy PPC apps, imo.

Ah. I gotcha. Now I guess its just a waiting game on when they are going to release.

You think the price range will be about the same or higher/lower? Hopefully, once I finish my internship (summer), either work will supply me with one or I wont need to buy one. I just need something better than this gay ass IBM R40 laptop the university supplied all of use.