I recently upgraded from a Wallstreet to a TiBook -- my Wallstreet died mysteriously and completely, and I spent a week trying to find a quick cheap fix. It's possible that all it needs is a new power supply board, but at the time I didn't have a good source for one.
Anyway, the point is, while there are some aspects of the TiBook that are not ideal, in general it's been a big win and I don't regret it at all. I went for the 500 MHz book, which was on sale at my local dealer (the newer faster higher-res ones were announced a couple of weeks later, of course!). Biggest improvements: a) more screen real estate -- this is an issue of resolution, not screen size, though the combination is excellent. b) lighter, thinner, weighs less in actual daily use -- that is, combined with the things I need to actually work. c) longer battery life -- in actual practice, I find that for a typical day, I don't need to bring the charger with me, and I almost never shut it down, instead just putting it to sleep. d) MORE STABLE -- various programs that used to crash regularly hardly ever crash now. Note that I have less, not more, memory, as I had upgraded the G3 to 512 MB whereas I am still using the stock 256 MB on the TiBook. e) combo CDRW/DVD drive -- I dithered about this, but went for it, and I love it. I've only burned a few simple CDs so far, but being able to do so anywhere has been great. Biggest complaints: a) same sucky keyboard and trackpad -- I was *very* disappointed that Apple failed to take advantage of the larger format to put in a larger keyboard. I have big hands. I hate the trackpad and have recently realized that it's responsible for a drop in productivity; I am going to get an external mouse. b) STILL won't play DVDs without jittering/skipping -- there was no esxcuse for this in the Wallstreet, and there's even less excuse now. It does have *fewer* problems. c) Different power adaptor -- I have several adaptors for my old Wallstreet, and in order to use them I have to get $20 fiddly bits that make for an uncertain fit. d) funky power adaptor -- once again, apple has come up with an adaptor that takes a non-standard power cord, AND has no easy way to store that cord when travelling. On the other hand, it is small and light. e) no place to plug in an analog microphone or line level signal; I haven't gotten a USB mic or adaptor yet. The built-in mic seems poorly placed, but I haven't experimented much with it yet. Fit & Finish: I've had no problems. Of course, I paid a little more in order to get it from a local dealer instead of through an online or mail order dealer, JUST so that I could examine it before committing. My Wallstreet had a stuck pixel or two, as did my old iBook. I felt inspired to write up this comparison by several recent posts about TiBooks. --Mike Bergman -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
