Can anyone tell me of a qualitative difference between the two?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Faster system bus on the powerbooks, faster processor high end, faster memory, illuminated keyboards on the 15 and 17 inchers, FireWire 800 port on the 15 and 17 inchers, PC Card slot on 15 an 17 inchers, some very nice free 3rd party software on the powerbooks (OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, Quickbooks; total value over $100), and that's about it.
Unless you want a 15 or 17 inch model, the difference isn't worth the money. Even then likely not. This is one of the big reasons Apple's moving to intel, to boost their ability to offer high end notebooks.
Now, for certain uses those slight benefits in a powerbook (mainly the speed increases on the components and interconnects) are worth the money, but not most.
Posted by Pixie (Member # 4043) on :
Seeing as I just bought a Powerbook I should really know the answer to this.
Non-techie that I am, however, for me the difference boiled down to that the G4 was simply newer and consequently more likely to be reasonably up to date 4 years from now . It also just looks better/more professional as it's silver and sleek instead of that stereotypical toddler-esque white. I really can't explain it better than that the Powerbook feels like a real computer whereas the iBook feels like a toy. I think I also ended up buying a few less "extras" than I would have if I'd gotten the iBook.
I don't know if you're actually looking at buying a Mac or not, but I absolutely adore mine now. It's a bit hard to adjust to working outside of a Windows operating system at first, but it's as simplified and uncluttered as can be. I actually like the way Microsoft Office runs on my Mac better than it did on our HP PC - the toolbars are far more detailed and a bit more self-explanitory.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
iBooks have G4's, too
And the G4 is already out of date as a desktop processor, powermacs have G5's.
The overall computer will be slightly more up to date in 4 years, though, yes, though on the slow end (as it is today). Nothing wrong with a little slow, though, and the component quality will generally be higher, meaning it should be chugging along just fine.
Oh, also, the powerbooks start with a larger hard drive than the ibooks (its an upgrade for them).
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Another couple differences are the metal vs. plastic cases for the laptops (ibooks are encased in plastic, powerbooks in some type of metal). Powerbooks also have a fall protection sensor of some sort. Meaning, if it starts to take a dive, it can sense the odd and accelerating angle and will lock down the hard drive before impact.
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
When I bought my powerbook G4s iMacs weren't out. Now that they are if you want a 12" you should go iBook. Oh and the bigger screen on the 14" iBook won't give you a better resolution. So I sorta thought the jump up was a waste. I've been very happy w/ my 12" Power book. I like the fact it's light and is easy to take around with me
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Thanks, fugu-- I knew I could count on you.
A while back, I created a thread involving my dear powerbook, and its operational issues. I think that the problem is a faulty logic board (three beeps at startup, RAM appears to be good), and I was looking at getting a replacment. It's ~$1200 for the same version of Powerbook (3+ years old), or ~$1000 for the newest version of iBook.
Still not sure what I'm going to do. I've got an discount with Dell, but all their laptops are soooo heavyyyyy.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
>>Thanks, fugu-- I knew I could count on you.
And on all of you. I started posting that response, got called away, and when I finished. . . wow. So much love.
It could be the motherboard's bought it (at least, the mem controller). The logic board would be a weird thing to cause that, though, its problems are almost uniformly display problems (though it would be nice for you, as apple will fix logic board problems free).
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
>> apple will fix logic board problems free
They will? Even on a powerbook that doesn't have their nifty and useful support?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Oh, true, the recall's only for ibooks . . .
Well, its most likely not a logic board issue, so that wouldn't matter much anyways, but if it turns out to be you might be able to get someone understanding to cut you a deal because batches of logic boards clearly have had problems.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The 15 and 17in Powerbooks have PCMCIA slots, too.
Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :
I used to have a Powerbook- I dropped it by accident and I lost everything on my harddrive. Unrecoverable.
I now have an iBook, have dropped it a few times, and not even a dent. My Powerbook's casing warped after prolongeed usage- my iBook's doesn't.
The speakers are better on my iBook. As is the microphone.
The airport card is built-in on my iBook, and therefore does not jar loose at all, ever. I had problems with it in my Powerbook- none so far with the new iBook.
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
. It also just looks better/more professional as it's silver and sleek instead of that stereotypical toddler-esque white. I really can't explain it better than that the Powerbook feels like a real computer whereas the iBook feels like a toy. I think I also ended up buying a few less "extras" than I would have if I'd gotten the iBook. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)