to buy a powerbook or not?

[sk3pt1c]

hi guys, i'm thinking of buying a new 15" powerbook in a week or two and i just wanted to check out if there have been any problems with it.after seeing the amount of people having problems with the lines on the screen i am really scared and do not want to spend 1800 pounds just to send it back for repair after powering it on. i had problems with the fujitsu-siemens laptop i have now and i am/was going to pay that extra to get the apple quality but now i'm a bit scared,i must admit. do you think i should buy it or maybe wait for the new intel ones next year?
i really want an all apple powerbook though,even though the intel ones are gonna be thinner

please help!!!

 

[Metatron]

Have one, love it. Recommend it.

If you need a laptop now...buy it, if you can wait, wait. Don't loose productivity over it. If it was for pleasure, then I would personally wait.

cheers...

 

[sk3pt1c]

yeah,but i don't know if the new ones will be more expensive or not
plus i'm not really sure i want to buy something that hasnt been tried and gone through some improvements and so on

you've got the latest powerbook and don't have any problems?

not even the lines on the screen?

 

[Melkor]

The lines on the screen is an issue for some people. I was lucky enough to get a PB that is only very minorly affected with this. ( I don't notice the lines unless my face is 2 inches from the screen, and even then, only on certain backgrounds). My advice; buy now. It's awesome.

 

[sk3pt1c]

i know and i've been wanting to get a powerbook since the titanium ones came out but i'm not gonna pay all this money if it's not perfect.if i want problems,i've got the laptop i'm typing from to turn to.it's not urgent for me to get a powerbook now,but i just want to have the last all apple one,you know?
but if it happens to all powerbooks i'd rather save the money for later or buy something else
can someone tell me if it is a problem that occurs with all the new powerbooks or should i just try my luck and see what happens?

 

[Metatron]

i know and i've been wanting to get a powerbook since the titanium ones came out but i'm not gonna pay all this money if it's not perfect.if i want problems,i've got the laptop i'm typing from to turn to.it's not urgent for me to get a powerbook now,but i just want to have the last all apple one,you know?
but if it happens to all powerbooks i'd rather save the money for later or buy something else
can someone tell me if it is a problem that occurs with all the new powerbooks or should i just try my luck and see what happens?

...nothing is perfect, that is what applecare is for...

 

[buryyourbrideau]

The intels will most likely be a little cheaper.

 

[sk3pt1c]

yeah,but those lines are a pretty major defect!!
is it with all of them or just some?

by the way,the applecare is international right?

i mean,if i buy it here in the uk and i go somewhere else and i have a problem i'm covered, right?

 

[MacTruck]

Not.

 

[Jay42]

i know and i've been wanting to get a powerbook since the titanium ones came out but i'm not gonna pay all this money if it's not perfect.

Yes I agree with the above response: you will be waiting a very long time. They're very good, but certainly not perfect. A laptop, for the majority of people, is not a permanent purchase anyway. You will most likely replace it within the next 2-6 years anyway, so it doesn't make sense to go nuts over waiting. However, it is very easy with the rapid changes these days to get sucked in to that eternal waiting game. Sure, you should spend your money wisely, but sometimes you have to take a step back and realize that these improvements are not that important.

 

[sk3pt1c]

it was mostly the money side of things that kept me from buying one because they are more expensive than normal pcs. anyway,just one question.
if i do have the lines on the screen and they can't fix it,do i get my money back?

i was going to do it online,but now i'm thinking of going down to london to the applestore to see them and talk to the people there about this and act accordingly...

that sucks though,i just got the money to buy it and realised this problem...

 

[buryyourbrideau]

Seriously if you want a 15 inch, then I would just wait for the Mactel PB.

They will be out by April.

They will be thinner, lighter, probably have a built in iSight. AND.....

They will be cheaper!

 

[QCassidy352]

Seriously if you want a 15 inch, then I would just wait for the Mactel PB.

They will be out by April.

They will be thinner, lighter, probably have a built in iSight. AND.....

They will be cheaper!

That's all pure speculation...

But I still wouldn't buy a 15" powerbook now. Paying that much for a product that you know will have defects is crazy.

 

[dblissmn]

On the specific issue of the 15 inch display . . .

. . . I would wait until Apple resolves it IF you EITHER do a lot of photos or graphics OR notice in the store that you're getting eyestrain when working with text (because the text is coming out a bit overbolded and therefore fuzzy on these screens to my eyes, but some people aren't bothered by it). The new display is indisputably brighter than the old one and I think also seems a bit cleaner on color, but for me the eyestrain and the lines effect on photos mean it is not a realistic option at this time. It is my strong opinion that the lines probably is not a function of the LCD panel itself but rather something to do either with the connection to the logic board or the firmware. I do expect that Apple will eventually deal with a fix but they do sometimes take a while.

 

[maestro55]

i know and i've been wanting to get a powerbook since the titanium ones came out but i'm not gonna pay all this money if it's not perfect.if i want problems,i've got the laptop i'm typing from to turn to.it's not urgent for me to get a powerbook now,but i just want to have the last all apple one,you know?
but if it happens to all powerbooks i'd rather save the money for later or buy something else
can someone tell me if it is a problem that occurs with all the new powerbooks or should i just try my luck and see what happens?

You are such a "Skeptic".. anyhow, that is what I want when I invest on an Apple Powerbook, the all Apple Powerbook. There is just something in my head that turns me off of the IntelMacs.. the fact that I have been calling Intel cheap plastic for so long, I guess it is time I change my mind. Good luck with your purchase. The lines on the screen are not a problem on the 15inch that my ex-yearbook advisor bought, but that was last march, so apparently things got worse, but surely that isn't on all of the new Powerbooks.

 

[sk3pt1c]

yeah,and i've been reading the thread about these lines,and i must say,it does not look good at all!!!
i might just get an imac g5 for now and get the new powerbook next year or something.
does the imac g5 have any problems?

 

[dblissmn]

From what I've seen the new iMac G5 (iSight) actually solves a lot of problems with the earlier G5 iMacs -- basically, it runs cooler and quieter, and from the posts I have seen, the cooler running in particular means less strain on the hard drive.

Be warned, though -- the new iMacs are not easy for end users to work on like the revision A and revision B models were; you won't be changing your own hard drives on this one or anything like that. Also the memory is set up with just one expansion slot, and even though it is the new kind of slot that addresses 2GB modules, the 2GB modules are still grossly expensive so the realistic limit for most people right now is 1.5GB (the 512MB on the motherboard plus a reasonably priced 1GB module). The closeout iMacs without iSight have two slots, for up to 1GB each.

I'd recommend a new iMac and consider doing BTO for a bigger hard drive in view of the difficulty of changing it.

 

[p0intblank]

A fix for these lines can't be too far off... just be patient and Apple will resolve this issue. But right now, I wouldn't take the chance of getting a defective one. This is a pretty serious issue, so it should be resolved (hopefully) very soon.

 

[sk3pt1c]

i seriously did not expect this from apple though

and i am really considering the 20" imac with 2,5gb of ram
it should be roughly the same amount of money as the powerbook with the 2gb ram and the 100gb 7200 hard drive
the 250gb of the imac hard drive is more than enough
it's just that i don't know if i want to get a desktop just because the powerbooks are f*cking up...
maybe i'll just wait for the new ones...
arghh!!!!

 

[beolab1]

WAIT... for the Intel PB

I purchased a new 15" PB about a month ago and am returning it for a full refund. Although it's old and slow, my iBook G3 will suffice for now.

Please take my advice and wait until the Intel PBs come out. It shouldn't be too long -- hopefully MWSF06 in January (perhaps wishful thinking, but...). I just don't see a compelling reason to settle for inferior quality -- inferior to everything Apple's done before and, dare I say, to Wintel PCs that cost half as much.

 

[sk3pt1c]

i think i'll just go for the imac
seeing as i already do have a laptop
and i'll wait and see what happens with the new powerbooks...
thanks guys

 

[mrweirdo]

your other option might be going with an ibook if you can live without the dvi port. Seems the problem is only releated to the new PB so you would be safe there.

 

[sk3pt1c]

nah, i'm not gonna get something inferior just cause the pb's monitor is ****.
i just hope they dont make the new intel powerbooks plastic cause that will be way lame!!! i wish they'll make them titanium!

 

[generik]

Buying now is spastic.

With Intel macs coming in like 40 days I will rather wait.

 

[sk3pt1c]

another question
is it as easy to find and download software for macs as it is for pcs?