“Laptops are designed for portability, and not everyone would be happy lugging around a 17-in. laptop of any make. But at 6.9 lb., this one stacks up well in comparison with some of its PC competitors. Hewlett-Packard Co., for instance, this week released its new Compaq Business Notebook nx9500, which also sports a 17-in. screen and weighs almost 9.5 lb. Now that’s a portable desktop,” Ken Mingis reports for ComputerWorld.
“The latest crop of PowerBooks shows that Apple has done a superb job of narrowing the gap in features between the 12-in. entry-level PowerBook, which goes for $1,599, and the 17-in. model, which costs $500 less than the first version did a year ago,” Mingis reports. “When trying to decide which PowerBook to get, would-be buyers for years have posited the same question on numerous message boards: Should they snag a 12-in., the midrange 15-in. version or the big guy?”
Mingis reports, “In the past, opting for portability meant a major trade-off in speed or features. That’s no longer the case. The processing speed of the 1.33-GHz G4 chip in the 12-in. model is close to the speed of the 1.5-GHz chip in the 17-in. model. They’re all available with SuperDrives, AirPort Extreme, Universal Serial Bus 2.0, FireWire 800 and other shared goodies. No, you can’t get the lighted keyboard in the entry-level model, nor does it offer a PC Card slot. Otherwise, it’s very close in features. In fact, you can even add that 5,400-rpm hard drive, though it’ll cost you $125 if you’re getting the 12-in. model.”
“The same is true for the 15-in. models, which come with either the 1.33-GHz processor or the same 1.5-GHz chip found in the 17-in. model. You can get the faster hard drive in either if them and, in the top-end 15-in. model, the extra video RAM,” Mingis reports. “In other words, when trying to decide which PowerBook to buy these days, the decision really comes down to how small (or big) you want to go… For me, that decision points to the 17-in. PowerBook, the creme de la creme of the lineup.”
Full article here.
First post!! I am now waiting for all of you other posters to shower me with your praise and compliments to how manly and bad-ass I am!! Women dig first posters!! I can post all night, baby! YEAH!!!! Repeat after me… BAD ASS!!! I am the Shaquille O’Neal of first posters, and the rest of you– all you can do is look up and dream! YEAH!!
I was enjoying the article until I got down to the picture where he has one open Powerbook sitting on top of another open Powerbook with the screens nearly touching. I cringed. If you’re going to treat them like that, get a Dell.
I don’t understand why you have to do that, but that’s okay. Your life must not consist of too much, so as far as I am concerned, you are a bad ass. you first posted. you were typing while everyone else wasn’t. you, stewey, are on fire. take the first post – take it and run! Have fun – enjoy it. It’s got to be a thrill. Holler from the highest mountain – that is, of course, if you go outdoors. Be merry…
First POST!!! I am the king mutha of first posters! The Chicks are all about this…
Doh!!!
Oh well, I guess I can wait for the hot babes until next topic…
One is the loneliest number…
Who’s the idiot that always insists on being an early adopter and grabbed the 1st Gen 17″ PB…the one with the 1 Ghz, 60 GB, USB 1.1, etc…ONLY to see all the specs improve dramatically – in no time flat – along with a (gag!) $500 price drop? Ugh!!! That idiot would be me. May, 2003 – $3,299. What the (f-word), AAPL? That really hurts.
Who’s more annoying? Stewey or Sputnik? Stewey, though a moron, is not saying anything pro-Windows, so I think Sputnik wins by a nose. From my guess, I think Stewey received the standard frontal lobe lobotomy, while Sputnik had the whole mess taken out a la Jack O’Lantern.
My 15″ is almost too big. I can’t see the appeal of lugging aroung 6lbs of PowerBook.
What do you expect? You bought a Gen-1 and got a really nice machine at the time it was released; Apple has never been a company to rest on its laurels, and they improved their computer. I don’t think I would call it “no time at all” – it’s been almost 18 months now since the 17″ was announced – get over it.
Are you J.R. from Dallas?
Using one right now at work and loving it! the huge screen rocks!
Mock all you want– you all know who THE MAN is around here! Hot �ber-chicks dig ME!! The FIRST POSTER!!!! I am the Yoda! The Ghandi! The Mac Daddy, if you will! No one can be this sexy and cool all at the same time. Mmmmm-doggie!!! All you womens out there… give Stewey a call. I hook you up. Like Barry White.
You are such a little closet case, Stewey. Now take Lois’ heels off. And take that makeup off. You look ridiculous.
grow up.
go stew!
The monkeys are running loose on this comments page. I’m going to duck, cover, and run to another article.
who’s mocking you stewey? you are the best. chicks do dig first posters. you are the yoda – the mac daddy. you have it all. the women do like you. it’s real -say it with me, “it’s real!” people really do dig first poster. you are a bad ass.
go and be merry…
i’m flinging poo wwaaa! wwaaaa!!
when the hell is someone at MDN going to moderate these dumbass comments? Any time you post about an error they made in the article it gets deleted, so I know they look.
17″ is crazy big. im happy with my 12″ ibook.
and i don’t WANT any creme in my laptop. except maybe from stewey :p
I love my 17″ PB. It mainly sits on my desk but sometimes I like to work from the living room, at a free wi-fi hotspot, or from another city. The extra screen real estate is well worth having to carry around a bit more computer. I highly recommend the Brenthaven bag.
I have a 17″. It’s big. It’s bad. It’s badder than Stewey. It’s 1st Gen, so I had it first. I had it before everyone else who waited for the next gen. And you know what else, I’ve got a dual 2.0 G5 as well. It’s bad, it’s fast, it’s hot, it’s cooler than anything out there. It has 6.5GB of RAM and a badass cinema display attached. IT’S A FREAKIN SICK HALO MACHINE. Do I care that there’s a 2.5 now? NO! I’ll get the 3rd generation and it will be better than the 2.5. It will be 3.0 and I will name it STEVE’s TRUTH!
It’s not Stewey’s fault that he suffers from Premature Postulation. Yes, Stewey posts before he’s supposed to, sometimes hitting the “Submit” button well before he wants to. He’s been trying to last longer, but he can’t. His psychiatrist has been helping him to feel better about himself, believing that ladies like a guy that posts quickly and all. Pity him.
Oh yeah Stewey, in case no one told you – Shaq LOST the other night. Yes, Shaq is a LOSER JUST LIKE YOU!!!
And I was so proud of my 9″ Fat Mac.