Hi Claire, I recently acquired a 15" Al-book 1,25 GHz, 1 GB RAM. I love it. In fact I write this on it in my bed, using the shared ADSL connection via airport on my iMac 17".
Depending on your needs, the tower, especially the 2*2GHz G5 is significantly faster, has better expandability, larger hard drive possibility for additional Video cards, etc. When that is said, do note, that I could not be writing this on a G5 right now, as having it in my bed would probably feel a bit uncomfortable, silly or whatever :-) Not so the PowerBook. Comparing the PowerBook to an eMac or iMac, you get full screen spanning. That is, if you attach it to a monitor, the area of the second screen is just added to your screen area. This is in contrast to the e-/iMacs, which can only mirror their content to a second screen (Without naughty and possibly harmful hacks). Screen size depends on what kind of PowerBook you were contemplating, going from 1024*768 on the 12" over 1280*854 on the 15" up to 1440*900 on the 17" plus whatever you get on a second monitor, if you want to attach one. The largest iMac(20") has 1680*1050. The difference I guess is that on a PowerBook, if you run out of screen estate, just attach a second monitor. On an e-/iMac, buy another computer ;-) I find it significant to have more than 1024*768 pixels, but the difference between 1440*900 and 1280*854 is not a problem for me. The screen size certainly does cut it on the PowerBooks for everything, including professional video editing (when attaching extra monitors). Notice that the PowerBooks and the towers are in the Pro line-up while the iMac, eMacs (And iBooks) are in the consumer line-up. This means that in the Pro line-up, there are no apparent trade-offs in how the computers are built, like you get the best available video cards, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, etc. which is not necessarily the case in the consumer line-up. That also means that you pay a premium for that. You also pay a premium to get a Laptop as the parts need to be smaller, and hence more expensive, and you don't get the speed-up that the G5 does give you (until they make a G5 PowerBook ;-) ). Before I got my PowerBook, I used a G3 Clamshell SE Graphite 466/320 MB iBook, and it was wonderful except for the small screen area(800*600) and the lack of possibility to add an extra screen (TV-out doesn't cut it, and it didn't even have S-VGA-out.). Speed was - especially after Panther came out - surprisingly less of an issue, but of course it could be better. Before I got my PowerBook, the iMac was my main machine, but now, it certainly isn't as much used as previously. Now I mainly use it for stuff that I cannot do carrying it around, like being a webserver, downloading files so big that it takes days to do, and burning DVD's that don't care if I leave the computer. (Writing a DVD-project takes hours, and while I carry the Powerbook around, I also close it once in a while, where the iMac is just always on). Games are as good on the PowerBook as on the i-/eMacs, but slower than on the G5's. For real gamers it may be a problem, but as UT2004 plays fine on the PowerBook, I have no problems with that. Perhaps this test over at barefeats.com shows it a bit more: http://www.barefeats.com/piei.html My opinion is that if you don't have a laptop yet, get a PowerBook 15". It is fast enough to be your only machine, and has a screen size that is reasonable for all-time use. A smaller screen wouldn't cut it for me at least. Just the experience to have a laptop is a paradigm shift, though, being able to do stuff where ever you are. I think it is nice to have a desktop around to do stuff that takes ages or being a server of some kind, but apart from that, there is nothing I don't just do on my PowerBook anymore. Cheers, Kim On 22/04/04 6:34, "Claire Hart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's a question that I hope generates some discussion. Would there > be a downside to getting a powerbook as your main or only computer? > What can you NOT do on a laptop that you CAN do on an eMac, iMac or > tower? > > Thanks, > Claire -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> 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/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
