Picking a Portable Mac
- 2000.12.29
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Looking for a new portable Mac? If you are, you may be unsure of which portable to get. There are two Mac portables available right now: the PowerBook, and the iBook. The decision can be hard - unless you buy both (not too many people can afford both, though).
The iBook is marketed to the student or teacher who wants
something to take notes on, type up papers, 
and access the Internet. The current iBook has a
FireWire port and a video out port, so you can give presentations
and make your own desktop movies.
The PowerBook G3 is for business users who want a powerful machine that they can bring with them wherever they may need it. It is also for those who want a bigger screen and more expandability than the iBook has to offer.
Both machines are fast, Internet ready, and come with a long lasting battery.
The iBook
At 366 MHz, the iBook works well for almost anything you might want to do. The iBook has built in ethernet, so you can connect to a network or transfer files between your Mac and someone else's. The iBook still has a 56K modem and a USB port, but it now includes a FireWire port and video out ports as well. FireWire allows you to attach external devices such as CD-RW drives, video cameras, and hard drives. The video out port allows you to connect your iBook to a TV or projector to make presentations, which you couldn't do with the original iBook. It also comes in new colours - Indigo and Key Lime. The iBook special edition comes in Key Lime or Graphite with a larger hard drive and a G3 processor running at 466 MHz instead of 366.
The iBook has Internet in it's name (the "i" stands for Internet). When you first turn on your new iBook you see a screen asking if you want to sign up for Internet Access. If you click Yes, you will be asked to answer some questions. After that, the setup program configures your computer to use your account. From there you can log on and access the Internet.
The iBook comes with a 6 hour battery. Okay, it doesn't really last quite 6 hours (it usually lasts about 4.5-5 hours), but it certainly does better than the batteries in most other portables.
The PowerBook
The PowerBook is available in 400 MHz or 500 MHz. Both models
include 2 FireWire and 2 USB ports, 
as well
as a 56K modem, a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port, a VGA video port,
and an S-video out port.
The PowerBook also features easy Internet Access with much the same setup as the iBook.
The PowerBook comes with a 4 hour battery (it lasts about 3 hours) and a DVD-ROM drive. You can install two batteries and get longer battery life than even the iBook!
Making the Choice
If you are planning to be doing general word processing, Internet, and some occasional games, the iBook might be the best way to go. Keep in mind that it has a 12.1" screen and can only display the 800 x 600 resolution.
If you are planning to do photo editing and/or want to have more expandability, the PowerBook, with it's 14.1" 1024 x 768 screen, would be the way to go. Keep in mind, though, that a new PowerBook model will almost certainly be introduced at Macworld Expo in January. You may want to wait for that model to appear before purchasing a new portable.
Whatever you choose, I recommend buying a good case for it, and,
if you carry it around a lot, using Apple's password protection. A
computer like this is an expensive investment, and you must take
all measures possible to keep it safe. 
Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 'Yikes!' Power Mac G4, Aug. 1999 - The only Power Mac G4 with PCI graphics was built on a modified G3 motherboard.
- Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
- November 21 in LEM history: 00: OS upgrades, downgrades - AltiVec vs. Pentium III - 01: Saved by the clones - Computer of the future - 02: Apple Education: Let's get to it - 03: Panther lets Macs and PCs work together, - Lombard SCSI bug - 05: 3 survivors from the 1970s - Real world battery life inadequate - Windows to Mac file transfer with Zip disks - $99 alternative to Microsoft Office - 06: Parallels 1.0 far more polished than beta
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Just Right: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear MacBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 11.20. Some people like small and light notebooks, others prefer huge desktop replacements, but the best value tends to be in the middle.
- Virtualization Shootout: VMWare Fusion 2 vs. Parallels Desktop 4, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 11.20. Both programs do the same thing, but one runs Windows XP smoothly alongside Mac apps, while the other bogs down everything but Windows.
- Apple Caves to Hollywood with DRM on iTunes Videos, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. HDCP on the new MacBooks means that you may never really own those videos you buy from the iTunes Store.
- Leopard Runs Very Nicely on PowerPC Macs, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 11.19. Some claim that Mac OS X 10.5 is so optimized for Intel Macs that it runs poorly on PowerPC hardware. That's simply not the case.
- No High Definition iTunes Video for You, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.19. The October 2008 MacBooks are preventing users from viewing some high-def iTunes content from being viewed on their external displays. Poor form!
- Every Working Computer Is Useful to Someone, Allison Payne, The Budget Mac, 11.19. Whether it's a PowerBook 1400, G3 iMac, or Power Mac G4, it could be all the computer someone needs.
- 3 WeatherBug Options for Apple Users, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.19. Have instant access to current local weather conditions with a Dashboard widget, iPhone app, or Firefox plugin.
- Anticipating Macworld: Nehalem, Snow Leopard, and Updated Desktops, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.18. Intel's Core i7 CPU has to make it way into the next Mac Pro, nVidia GeForce graphics will drive the iMac and Mac mini, and 'Snow Tiger' will unleash the animal within.
- Love My Refurb MacBook Pro, Eudora Forever, and the Lightest AA Batteries, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also questions about nVidia GeForce 8600 problems in earlier MacBook Pro models and importing Eudora mailboxes into Eudora successors.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733, $100; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, $300; 800 MHz dual, $200, 867, $300; 1 GHz, $350; 1.42, $400.
- Best iBook G3 Deals, 11.20. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 800 CD, $180; 600 CD-RW, $240; 700 Combo, $290; 900, $369; 14" 600, $360; 900, $449.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, 11.18. Used 15" 700 MHz Combo, $243; 800 MHz, $280; 1 GHz, $380; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $549.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.18. New 1.6 80, $1,150 after rebate; 120, $1,744 a/r; 1.8 80, $1,794 a/r; 1.6 128 SSD, $2,150; used 1.8 64 SSD, $1,500; new, $2,200 a/r; 1.86, $2,398 a/r.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 11.18. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $58; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
- Best iPod nano Deals, 11.17. Refurb 3G/4 GB, $79; new, $114; refurb 8 GB, $99; new, $125; 3G/8 GB, from $134; 16 GB, from $189. Prices include ground shipping.
- Best Titanium PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.17. Used 1 GHz with SuperDrive, $478 plus shipping.
- Best Xserve deals, 11.17. Used G4/1 GHz, $999; G5/2 GHz, $1,288; new 2.0 4-core Xeon, $1,900; refurb 3.0 4-core, $2,599; 2.8 GHz, $2,499; 3.0 8-core, $3,499.
- More deals in our archive.
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