Was just reading all of the threads in this forum.. and noticed that a lot of discussion around PC's.. I'm a MAC user and have travel extensively with my 17PB...Interestingl, I have had no problems connecting with my mac's... Get the ohhh and ahhh's from folks once in a while...

Just wondering if any FT folks lug their MACs for travel and any problems you have experienced on your trip?

Lots of us, including "da man" (R.P.) himself and FT as an organization. (There are more cockroaches than people, but that doesn't make them a higher life form.)

I just got a 1.5GHz 17" PB. I've taken its 15" predecessor all over the world, no problems connecting or otherwise, but haven't traveled with the larger one yet. Hopefully the added pound of weight won't be a problem.

BTW, what do you carry yours in? My new one fits nicely into the backpack I travel with, but not into the briefcase-style bag I usually use at work. Did you get an extra-wide briefcase, or what?

Hey Effrem,

I use the Tumi case...as I carry a lot of documents with me... The case a a protective casing to protect from damage. I used to have teh 15inch PB, and when I switched to the 17inch I did not notice a considerable weight gain..

Here's the link to the Tumi model that I have...
http://www.tumi.com/products/index.c...3_Link=Details

If you are in the market for cases, there's a great Macnn thread that contains virtually every case makers for the apple:
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=178702

Hope this helps

I have a 12" ibook. I also have a 2.8 lb Compaq Evo that I use for work... and I'm sad to report that usually the Evo travels with me instead of the ibook (weighs 4.9 lbs). The day apple makes a sub-3 lb. computer, I'll gladly trade in my ibook for it & fly it all over. The 2 lb weight difference really is noticable in my bag. I almost always start out with the ibook in my bag, then I pick it up, notice how heavy it is, and swap in the Evo.

Ibook + charger + ipod + 3' firewire cable is heaver than Evo + charger + ipod + 3' firewire cable with the ipod charger on the end.

I just bought a new PowerBook G4 12" 1.33 GHz with SuperDrive, and I'm absolutely loving it!!! I used to lug a G3 Wallstreet around everywhere (still works, but showing signs of age after 5 years and 300,000 miles). I also take an HP Omnibook with me as well, the briefcase easily holds both, but the shoulder does get a bit weary dragging it through the airport!

I went to Hong Kong last week, and at one computer mall there were three or four Apple dealers on the same floor, so I went accessory shopping! Got a really nice RadTech PowerSleevz to protect my new PowerBook among several things.

I have absolutely no problems getting online with my Macs, beit through wireless or dialup connection. Though I had quite a challenge finding the appropriate powertip for my Targus universal air/auto power adapter. Got the last one at CDW! Targus says they are coming out with a revised one, but I'm not holding my breath!

Me, too.

I have a G5 at work and a G4 at home. Benieth the clutter is Berkeley 4.3 unix. It's like having the VAX I dreamed about as a student.

On the road, however, every pound matters. My SONY srx87 (2.6 lbs, RedHat 7.3) will be swapped out for an IBM X40

http://www.emperorlinux.com/raven.php

in a few days.

I am a Mac user by choice and also a Thinkpad carrier. Let me start by saying both are solid machines. I travel with my Alu 15 when it's personal and my T30 when it's not. My TP history includes a 770, 600x, and now the T30. On the Apple side a TiBook 500MHz (1st gen) and now a Alu 15" 1.25GHz.

I seem to be destined to carry heavy kit with me.

Alas, for many years I carried both if the travel was for both. Over the last year or so, my employer has recognised that not all things are Microsoft and have begun accepting other platforms onto the network including VPN access and so I'm able to take just the PB on many non-customer facing trips (funny thing that, that they want their logo on the kit when presenting to clients).

I am beginning to consider getting a 'home server' in the form of a Power Mac to handle the heavy lifting I do on some of my personal projects (mainly involving audio restoration). Once that happens, I'll be in the market for a smaller travel machine and I'll probably request one of the lovely X-series to replace the T30 to boot.

Bought my 12-inch PB G4 1GHz (I think), ~4.5 lbs in September '03. Love it! ^^^ I have traveled with it everywhere.

Travel accessories: iPod, Firewire cable, Empower adapter, Sony NC-10 NR earphones, Apple in-the-ear headphone (great for a side sleeper as it fits inside your ear), iPod remote controller, video connector/adapter (or whatever it's called, to connect the PB to a hotel's TV for watching DVDs), and lots of DVDs. (As an aside, the best DVD "case" I've found are the metal cases that those free trial CDs come in on by postal mail from AOL. They're thin but indestructible. Better than any commercial CD/DVD vinyl case.)

I also have a Dell desktop and D-Link router/WiFi. Exchange files between Mac and Dell flawlessly. Even share a common laser printer.

WK,

Apple will never make a sub-compact laptops <3lbs... You're missing the point... You cant compare an Apple PB12inch which weighs 4.6lbs with some of the other subcompact wintel.

Apple Powerbook 12inch is the smallest all in one computer at 4.6lbs and includes:
(1) Built in Superdrive - CDR/DVD-R
(2) Wireless G
(3) decent audio
(4) Multiple ports - Firewire, Ethernet, USBs
(5) 1024x768 resolution

Try to get that in 4.6lb Wintel equivalent...

I guess there's a compromise between weigh and funcationality. PB12 is a nice compromise

Also don't forget:
6. Decent keyboard, the keys are just as big as a standard keyboard.
7. External video port supports up to 2048 x 1536 resolution in DUAL monitor mode (while the 12 inch display is still 1024 x 768) both at the same time. The majority of the compact windows notebooks only are capable of supporting 1024 x 768 on two monitors simultaneously, the exception to this are the very few that have built in Radeon or NVidia (or similar) video chipsets. Not only that, the PowerBook 12" has DVI, XGA, S-Video, and composite video outputs possible with the appropriate mini-DVI adapter.
8. Bluetooth built in--I may have to get a bluetooth capable phone really soon!

But the point also works the other way. The functionality of a PB justifies its weight - if you want the functionality. The point of some of the above posts is that there are purposes for which full functionality is not necessary, and the weight reduction one can get by leaving it out is desirable. It's simply a different market segment. I don't see any problem with Apple having a product for it. Properly positioned, it wouldn't conflict with the iBook or PowerBook lines.

And thanks to ACfly for the case suggestions. I'll look into them!

I am a very happy 12 inch Powerbook user. I have a Bluetooth phone with the unlimited internet option on TMobile and it isnt the fastest connection but it is easy and fast to get online. I got it mainly for the connectivity being built in. However, I think eventually they are going to have to cut the weight. You can get a Wintel with the same major features that weighs a lot less.

Heh. Apple user and owner since pre-Mac days, Mac user since early days of Mac, Mac owner since 1989, using Macs at work since 1991.

I've owned I guess 7 Macs total and still have 5 of them (I'm "collecting" some of them I guess, including the SE that I bought in 1989 and never bothered to get rid of, a 20th Anniversary Mac and a G4 Cube), the latest being a 12" PowerBook (recurring theme around here) I bought last year.

True. However, part of the reason is also the nature of the marketplace. Most Mac buyers get one because it runs the Mac OS - they like it, they're used to it, their colleagues use it, whatever. In the Windows world, Toshiba doesn't have that differentiator over IBM, Sony and Dell. Windows laptops have to push the hardware envelope harder to get a competitive advantage. As long as Apple stays close enough in that regard, and continues to define the state of the art in areas it's known for such as industrial design, it will be OK.

The good news is that this hardware strategy leads to high reliability (per a recent Consumer Reports article, which put Apple at the top of the heap in this respect). They can wait until other folks try the latest weight-saving circuit gizmos and pick the ones that work.

Yup, this is my view. I don't NEED all the nice features (CD burner, full size keyboard, tons of RAM) on the road. When traveling, all I need:

-wireless to check email/web browsing/Chat
-DVD drive would be nice, but I'll give that up if it gets me to 2.9 lbs or less
-store some text files
-download photos from my camera (no editing necessary at this point)

That's it. I fail to see why they won't make a sub-ibook, other than there are just not enough mac users who are heavy travellers. You'd think that students who cart around their laptops in backpacks all day would grab one too, but I guess they are more likely to have only one computer, and would want a fuller featured one.

I've grumbled about apple making a dockable computer like my Evo, but that will probably never happen.