for the standard configuration, this is true. however, almost all of the options such as hard drive, memory, backlit keyboard, etc. can be custom configured. the only thing which is unavailable on the 1.3ghz 15" model is the 128meg vram, which most people won't need anyway.

Highly recommend the 15"
 

I've got a 15" TiBook - replaced by the AlBook, and love it. It went to Kuwait with me for 7 months of OIF work and was the most reliable computer in the staff tent.

The PC card slot is fabulous for digital photos, and the DVI jack on the back works beautifully with my 17" flat panel - it auto configures when you plug it in or unplug it, so I suppose your projector experience would be the same.

It comes with a DVI->VGA dongle in case you have to hook up to an analog monitor.

Best accessory I've ever bought was the USB->Cell phone charger for about $20. That's one less brick I have to carry.

The powersupply is 110-220 autoswitching, and apple sells int'l plugs if you need them.

The built in wifi is great, and the airport express is a great travel accessory if your hotel has wired broadband but not wifi.

If you live near a retail apple store, go in and ask questions and play with the machines. They have a full suite of software installed and are reformatted every night so they always work. Also, they're all hooked to the net so you can get a feel for their internet browsers. (if you're ever travelling and need free wifi) you can camp near the apple store and piggyback on theirs regardless of whether you have a mac or pc.

you can also get the 15" PB with 80 GB Hard Drive and 1.5 GHz Processor with 512 MB or 1 GB or RAM. You can also get the 15" with the Combo Drive or Super Drive I just bought a 15" PB with 80 GB Hard Drive, 1.5 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM and the SuperDrive. Loving it :)

In terms of the PB, the best thing to do is to go to an Apple Store (or a CompUSA when the Apple rep is going to be there) and compare them. The difference in weight might not be that much for you - especially if you don't carry a lot of documents in your briefcase.

Take a DVD with you to compare the "pleasure" part of the two.

A large HD is nice, but you can always use an iPod as your backup HD and keep secondary data on it. (That will REALLY make your hubby happy, especially if you get the iPod Photo!) Using a .mac account will also provide online storage, which can be very handy at times.

The only problem going and looking at them is that you will see the new iMacs up close and they have a very high drool factor. Take hubby with you so you can rub it in. ;)

Need a new laptop..the great debate, PC vs. Mac
 

Ok, I need a new laptop...have had a Compaq Presario 700 for 3 years now and it's time, it told me so. I am tired of the risk/infection of a virus...been there, done that (damn sasser worm, cost me $100). I've been trying out the Apples in the stores...really like them, but not sure if I want to learn a new system after all of these years on a PC. Is it that hard to learn? If I make the switch to Apple, do I start with an Ibook to see how I like it and then upgrade to a Powerbook or just go for the PB? My budget limit is $1600. I would actually like to keep it in the $1200-1300 range. With that in mind, if I don't go for an Apple, what PC would y'all recommend?

Linux
 

If you've got time to spare, it's a good idea to get a PC and load Linux which is much more stable than Windows. That's what I've been planning to do over the past few years but I am a lazy b@st@rd and never got round to doing it.
New laptop for $1300? I don't know much about computer prices in the US but this kind of money wouldn't get you anything decent on this side of the pond. But you may be able to find good brand new/once used type of stuff on ebay.

Am typing this on my brand new PowerBook G4 (1.33/superdrive/60 Gb/768RAM) -- the 12". Many thanks to all of you who helped with this. I did go to the Apple store and compared weights, screen size etc. I decided the 12" was plenty big enough for me. Real clincher was the "salesman" (who looked about 16) who said he had the 12" because he didn't want the weight of the bigger one. Even the 12" still feels very heavy to me compared to my Dell and my husband's Panasonic, but I do love it! Everything else is wonderful and I think the conversion process will be relatively painless, if a bit expensive (had to re-buy Office etc.) Very much appreciate all of the helplful responses here :D

I'm was convert to Apple and OS X, having been a Windows user for about six years--I've carried, now, a Blueberry iBook, a snow iBook and now a 12" Powerbook. There's little to nothing that I can't do on the Mac... and, in fact, I can typically do more. I do a lot of work in mixed environments--and by that, I mean Unix and Windows--and the Mac does a fantastic, out of the box job of dealing with both. I can NFS, SMB and AppleShare to any number of network resources and it has built in support for ssh, so I can securely shell into Unix machines, sftp and such.

Plus, Office 2004 for the Mac always makes the Office 2003 for Windows people jealous.

Timothy

mstraveler, CONGRATULATIONS on your switch from the PC to Mac. Welcome to the Mac Family :)! Hope you enjoy your 12" Powerbook, and I agree, the conversion process will be painless.








15" Apple PowerBook G4
1.5 GHz
80 GB SuperDrive
512 DDR SDRAM
iSight
20GB 4th Generation iPod
Apple AirPort Express

Take a peek at this thread here - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374877 - as there has been a lot of input on PC vs. Macintosh.

Any windows user wanting to make a transition to the Mac platform should seriously consider reading the following book:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/switchmacmm/

With your budget, you could probably get the bottom of the line PowerBook or the top of the line iBook, the performance difference between the two is minimal at best. Make sure you feed it plenty of RAM, I have 768 MB of ram in my PowerBook 12" which does fine for the majority of what I do. You may want to wait a few weeks for MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, often there are new product introductions, and maybe a possibility of some changes in the PowerBook or iBook lines that might favour you.

I agree, take a look at the other thread comparing the two. I think it contains the salient points. iBooks start at $999. Unless there is some specific application that you use that requires a PC (there are few of them I think) I wouldnt even hesitate to get the Mac. They are easy to learn. The beauty of them is they usually just work when you hook them to a network or plug something in. There is a lot less to learn than with a PC. My main PC in my office is a Dell but I use a Powebook while traveling exclusively at this point and while I have been attracted by some of the real small PC notebooks out I just cant bring myself to deal with Windows stuff happening to me again.

Thanks Gadgetfreak and all
 

I have made a friend with one of the Apple specialists at my local CompUSA store and had a chance to really pick his brain today. It's really amazing how simple Apples are to use and what they can do! I'm probably going to be going with a 12" iBook for now, u/g it to a 60GB h/d and add an internal Bluetooth module. Still gets me in under $1200 I think, if I do the math right, yep that's right. I also plan on signing up for a .mac account so I can move some files from my PC into that and then onto my new iBook. Oh, and I'm gonna get an Airport Express to do wireless at home. It's going to be an investment, but I'm really excited about it. The biggest selling point is no viruses. I'm over those and PC's right now. Will let everyone know when I make the purchase, after Christmas, since they are going to have to send out my iBook to add the Bluetooth and the 60gb hard drive.

The real reason for adding the Bluetooth is that I am planning on getting a Treo 650 and it will be really easy to synch the two.

The beauty of the airport express is its portability. I had one in Japan with me this past week and people told me there was no way it would work. Plugged it in to the power, and into the internet port in my room and presto, wireless internet in my room. Its as good as it gets in my opinion.

Save yourself the extra step, you can share files between OS X and your windows PC *directly* over an ethernet or wireless connection. Simply:
1. In the Finder, choose Go > "Connect to Server."
2. Type the network address for the computer in the Server Address text box using one of these formats:
smb://DNSname/sharename
smb://IPaddress/sharename
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to type the workgroup name and a user name and password, and choose the shared folder you want to access.

If you will be doing this often when you first are transferring files over, you can even create an alias on your Mac desktop of the PC's shared disk/folder to automate the above process into a simple double click!