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Ok, my birthday is coming up and I've decided to ask for a laptop.

The problem is, I really don't have a certain model picked out.

I know they have online buying guides, but I put more trust in all of your opinions than some columnist.

I've been leaning towards a standard iBook or Powerbook.

My spending limit is maybe $1600 and I'm basically using it for a multimedia computer, not a gaming one.

Any suggestions?
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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Is that us cus if it is I would suggest getting a G5 or a G4 power book.
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Ya definitely go for a mac. But I think with 1600$ you'd be looking at a pretty sad Powerbook. If you could stand to wait a few months you should wait till the next release cycle for iBooks comes out and get the best one. You could get an iBook now too but they'll prolly be releasing a new model in Aprilish.
If you want to prove to your friends that you're worth a damn, sometimes it means dying, sometimes it means killing a whole lot of people.
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I've used 2 generations of Compaq Presario laptops, if you have any interest in getting a PC rather than a MAC.

My only issue with them, has been the battery. After about 4 years, the first laptop couldn't hold a charge at all. I'd leave it charging overnight, and within 5 minutes of unplugging it, it wouldn't even turn on.
The battery in my newer one is better, but not 100% of what I'd like. However, its probably got lousy life on it because its a full-blown Athlon, not any kind of special laptop chip.
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Originally posted by: Chilly_Willy
Ya definitely go for a mac. But I think with 1600$ you'd be looking at a pretty sad Powerbook. If you could stand to wait a few months you should wait till the next release cycle for iBooks comes out and get the best one. You could get an iBook now too but they'll prolly be releasing a new model in Aprilish.


My birthday is on March 29th, so I could wait until April.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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G5 books (be it PowerBook or iBook) have not been released or even announced yet. Apple is releasing a slightly modified PowerBook in March that has a 1.67 GHz processor. But it is expected that the PowerBook G5 will be announced in June. The iBook will follow after that. I would assume by October or November. That's usually the order of things at Apple... the new Powertower, then the iMac, then the PowerBook, then the iBook, then the eMac. Since the iMac was announced last October, the PowerBook would likely be next. However, I don't know if it will fit in your $1600 budget. They tend to be a bit pricey at first. You may have better luck buying one of the G4 Titanium PowerBooks at that price.

I do recommend them, though. I have a G3 PowerBook Lombard that I have had for nearly six years now. I do need to upgrade to OSX, but I've got to find the time (and the media).
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
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So you think that when the new G5 comes out, the G4 powerbooks will go down in price around April/May?
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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What about the Sony VAIO? I know it is windows, but it is a hell of a lot cheaper.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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if you are looking for a PC i was suggest getting a tosiba and look for centreno technology, it is key.
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So if I get a PC I should definitely look for Centrino?
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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yes and even though you may have the choice of a centrino 1.5 and a Pentium 4 3.0 take the centrino it is a lot faster and you get like double batt life.
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yes that would be a good buy i think.
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So even though the earlier vaio has a 3+ghz processor, you think it'd be a better buy to get the 1.5 centrino or were you exaggerating earlier?
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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no i am not at all

the 1.5 processor will run just as fast if not faster then the P4 3.0. why its becase centrino processors have bigger caches and so they can instantly compute information faster. it the same idea(i think) as a mac G4 1.7 being as fast as the P4 3.5 for something along those lines.

that is also part of the reason centrinos saves batt life, its because it uses less power to do the same task as a P4, and it needs less cooling.
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The sad thing is, because of Mac architecture, a G3 iBook will still run faster than a 1.5GHz Centrino.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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not nessarly. my laptop is a P4 2.8 and my friend has a G4 ibook and mine runs faster then his. how ever speed is always a function of how much RAM you have to. if you have shit loads of RAM and a centrino 1.5 you'd have a pretty fast computer.
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I'm leaning heavily towards that Toshiba, it looks like it'll be perfect for my needs.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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BTW, is it really such a big difference between this TruBrite technology and a regular TFT display?
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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The G4 PowerBook will go down in price, no question. But it will be relatively difficult to find. You'll have to go through MacWarehouse/CDW or some other online/phone retailer. I was thinking about that strategy for myself.

Shimmy, I've heard that the Centrino chips are not all that. They do preserve battery life initially, but within a few months they get a little wonky. I've heard that the Pentium chips still have better life in the long term. Actually, the guy that told me this about Centrino said that the best way to go in a PC laptop is to get one with an Intel Celeron. Faster than Pentium and not nearly as wonky as Centrino.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Celeron faster than P IV? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Celerons only have 256K of cache and have the reputation of being even slower than the AMD crap that's on the market. Go Mac.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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Definitely go Mac. But that was what I heard. What do I know about PCs, though? I'm a Machead. And my work computer runs a P4 chip. I'm just relaying what I was told.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Originally posted by: Bossk
G5 books (be it PowerBook or iBook) have not been released or even announced yet. Apple is releasing a slightly modified PowerBook in March that has a 1.67 GHz processor. But it is expected that the PowerBook G5 will be announced in June. The iBook will follow after that. I would assume by October or November. That's usually the order of things at Apple... the new Powertower, then the iMac, then the PowerBook, then the iBook, then the eMac. Since the iMac was announced last October, the PowerBook would likely be next. However, I don't know if it will fit in your $1600 budget. They tend to be a bit pricey at first. You may have better luck buying one of the G4 Titanium PowerBooks at that price.

I do recommend them, though. I have a G3 PowerBook Lombard that I have had for nearly six years now. I do need to upgrade to OSX, but I've got to find the time (and the media).



WHICH OS X DO YOU NEED ???

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