Is this a good deal? If you’d have to research it to find out, please don’t. I was just hoping someone who just knew could easily provide an answer. My son is very keen on doing multimedia stuff and thinks this would suit him just fine (naturally).
Thanks for any help you can offer!
Carol
I think what you’ve got there is an Mac notebook which is one jump behind the current items being marketed in Apple stores. As I am using one that is quite few jumps behind, without any incompatibilities with current stuff so far, I’d say it’s a good deal for a mac laptop. Notice that they will install an airport extreme card for $69. That’s standard in the new models which are running for about $1049 (That’s an iBook, low end…i.e, white, not black, and no super-extra memory.)
It’s a good machine, and soon to be somewhat of a collector’s item as Apple is no longer making a 12-inch notebook.
That said, though, the new MacBook that emmline refers to above is much faster and can also run Windows (a lot faster than many Windows notebooks on the market currently and certainly faster than any Windows notebook in this price range). He’d have to buy Windows XP and install it if he wants to run Windows. You can switch between Windows and Mac on the same machine by restarting (there’s also a software product that allows you to switch without rebooting).
The new MacBooks use a new processor, and not all the “multimedia” programs (like Photoshop and some of the high-end music editing programs, for example) have been optimized for that processor yet…and they may not be for a while yet. They’ll run on the MacBooks, but in some cases slower than they’d run on that little PowerBook G4.
Editing to add a few more thoughts: I think if it were me I’d go for the little G4 notebook, even though it is technically a bit obsolete now that the new Intel-based Macs are on the market. It will hold its value longer if he decides to sell it (a lot of people love those little notebooks and are miffed that Apple no longer provides a similar model). The problem with the new MacBooks is that they’re the first generation of that design, and I’ve been hearing mixed reviews…they run really hot, the white ones are showing discoloration problems, and the black ones get smudgy very quickly. Apple has a lot of quality control issues that usually get sorted out after a few generations of production, and smart Mac buyers always wait a year or two after a product is introduced before buying one. Believe, me I’ve been burned…the last four Macs I’ve owned have all had significant hardware problems.
To check used/refurb Mac prices, I always go to www.lowendmac.com I don’t know about any hardware problems, haven’t heard of any myself. I still use a refurbished PowerBook 3400, made in 1997 with no problems. Maybe it’s because mine was made in Ireland. Do they still make Macs there?
No, as far as I know all the Mac nowadays are made in Asia. The quality control issue I think comes from them pushing out product too quickly or without adequate testing. But the PowerBook G4 that Carol’s son is considering seemed to be pretty solid; most of the complaints I’ve heard were with the 15" model (which is what I have, and it does have its share of problems).
I just wouldn’t buy a G4-based Mac at this time. The price difference with a new Intel-based MacBook is just too low to anchor oneself to the old architecture. And, surely, the speed and support benefits are quite vast, especially for multimedia work, if it will involve either video or sound.
True, the Adobe graphics suite won’t be optimized for the Intel for another 6 months or more, but most other apps are already there.
-Ditto what bradhurley said. I’ve run a string of iMacs over eight years, 266 mhz, 400 mhz and 1.83 Ghz duocore currently. The newest has had zero significant issues and screams right along, editing large photo files which once took several minutes so fast tedium is not an issue. The previous two each needed “clean install” operating system rebuilds early on-maybe a qc problem for Mac factory software installations or for the hardware running it. Current Mac OS X v. 10.4.7 is very stable, so much so I’ve nearly forgotten the joys of a crashed system.
-I like the vaunted Mac virus resistance but also deploy high-level network encryption and firewall features to keep things clean.
I’m likely too dumb to run PCs with much panache, but have no problem
dealing with Macs.
This is about a 4-5 year old machine and wasn’t wonderful when it came out. I have one at work and a 1 GHz at home (both 15" versions). The G4 notebook was only an incremental step up from a 300 MHz G3 tower. I was wicked disappointed. These were about $2000 new and <1500 a few months after being introduced; I don’t think $700 is a great price a few years later. It’s absolutely incapable of any modern multimedia stuff.
Is there any reason it needs to be a laptop? How about an iMac? I run an iMac G5 1.8 at home (1.5 years old) and it is at least 10x as fast as my G4 1 GHz laptop.
Dudes. Stop making me think I need to replace my iBook G3!
MacLust MacLust MacLust…
It’s doing everything I need it to at the moment. Might as well hang in there. I always tell myself that it’s a good idea to wait for whatever is being developed just up the pike.
I don’t think you need to replace it – you haven’t mentioned anything about image processing, 3D CAD (which was the downfall of my PowerBook) or anything like that.
Thanks for the link- I’m forwarding that to my kids- their computers are dying and need replacements. The prices are ALOT better than the original link. I like the 12 PB for travel and may go get one.
Thanks very much to everyone who responded. I really appreciate your knowledge and expertise!
Carol
What CAD program were you trying to run?? Just curious-now that you can dual boot into windows XP, the world of ProE may open up to Mac users