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Predicament

So, the time to decide exactly what Powerbook to buy is getting closer. My boss’ house is refinanced, so I’m guessing we will actually order something in the next few weeks, end of November at the latest (I’m hoping!). He has been known to take a while to do things sometimes though, so hopefully this won’t be one of them.

I was originally planning to go with the top model 15” PB, since it had a much roomier screen than the 12”, Firewire 800, lighted keyboard, faster processor, etc. However after hearing a lot about their bad screens, bad hinges, display problems, etc. I am pretty worried about getting one. MacWorld recently posted a review of it and said 3 out of 6 of the ones they received had to be sent back because they were defective. That does not reassure me at all. I’ve always heard Apple’s first model of something new is usually troublesome, but I had no idea it was that bad. The question is, are they already resolving the problem, or will it not be fixed until the RevB Powerbook? I can’t wait until they revise the model, assuming it will be another couple of months. I’ll die if I have to wait that long. :)

So now I basically have a couple of options… I could see if my boss would pay for the 17”, which matches the 15” as far as features and speed goes, but is enormous and expensive..

Or I could take my chances with the 15” and hope I get a good one. Which from what I’ve been reading, doesn’t sound like a very good chance. Plus the Macworld review said it is only a 13% to 20% speed increase over the 12”, which doesn’t seem like that much.

Or I could get the 12” with Superdrive, add airport extreme, 60 or 80gb hard drive, etc. Then buy a 512 or 1gb RAM chip to max out the ram. This may be the best deal because it would still be much cheaper than the 15”, but would have 1.5 times more ram. And I doubt I will be using firewire 800 or the PC Card slot anytime soon if I did get the 15”, it would just be nice to have if I needed it.

And though the 12” screen is tiny, when using my friend Ryan’s this weekend, it didn’t bother me until I thought about trying to use Photoshop or a coding applicaiton on it. And the only time I will be doing that is at home or work, where I can hook it up to a second monitor.

Plus, I’d still probably have enough money left over to get one of these, assuming my boss would pay for it even though it isn’t really “work related”. :)

So, I think I have talked myself into the 12”, unless anyone else has any experienced advice on the subject.

Basically this is going to be my first Mac, and my primary machine both at home (web design, email/web/chat, occasional game) and work (Corel Draw, Photoshop, email/web/chat, bookkeeping, postage printing, etc.). Will the 12” be sufficient for me?

I like my 12” PB. Screen size is not an issue especially at home when I can just hook it up to my 21” monitor.

hey man, fuck a mac. get a pc. they are waaaaaaay more reliable than any powerbook you could ever buy. oh yeah, have you seen the new dells? they are the sleekest machines out. thats what you need for sure, a new dell laptop ;)

I use a 12” iBook as my main freelance/home machine and it’s not bad. I would suggest using an external monitor when using Photoshop or you’ll probably go blind.

As far as reliabile machines, it’s been a good stable machine. I also freelance PC repair on the side, and trust me…I have fewer problems with OS X than most people have with Windows.

Haha, funny stuff Ryan. (He’s just kidding, he has a 12” powerbook AND an eMac)

Mike, I was definitely planning on using an external monitor at both home and work… Thanks for the info.