Macworld: Seeking advice on PB G4 15" ...

19 Replies Last post: Nov 14, 2003 9:26 AM by Biggs311 1 2 Previous Next

gforce1

21 posts since
Nov 9, 2003

Nov 12, 2003 8:46 AM

Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

I was a mac evangilist in the mid 80's but once I joined the corporate world I gave it up since Windows PC was the norm,,... I'm now a small business owner in search of a new laptop and just about convinced myself to buy an IBM ThinkPad T40p with WinXP when a friend of mine influenced me to visit an Apple retail outlet.

Well after a session with an Apple representative, Apple still has a way to excite me about a computer. I was particularly interested in the PowerBook G4 15" with Panther OS. As a result, I've been getting educated on some of the Discussion Forums. So, I'm ready to make a purchase and I'm favoring the PB G4 15" over the IBM ThinkPad T40p but there are some fundamental shortfalls with the PB that I'm hoping some of you can address,,...

1- Although Apple promotes the battery life at 4hrs, we should probably expect no more than 2hrs with DVD or intensive processing applications. This is a bummer since a centrino-based pc, such as the IBM ThinkPad, can support as much as 5hrs with intensive processing applications (i.e. conservative estimate). Some of the threads on MacWorld and the Apple website confirm this PB shortcoming.
Q1: Is there a possibility that within the next year, Apple can provide a single battery that would improve the battery life?

2- The now infamous "white spot" screen problem experienced with PB G4 15". It seems from the threads that it is resolved,,...
Q2: Any further thoughts?

3- I've read on some of the Apple website Discussion Forums that this PB can run as HOT as 125F or more,,... that is damn HOT!
Q3: Will this issue be improved with new PB batches? If so, is there a serial number track that I should be aware of?

4- Compatibility between a Win PC and a Mac has gotten better with Panther but I still have some reservations,,...
Q4: Will I be able to transfer WinPC files with extensions such as .pst, .exe? For example, does entourage support .pst files from outlook? Also, I've been reassured by the Apple representative that file extensions with the M/S office suite are fully compatible between WinPC and Mac,,... any further thoughts?

5- I've heard rumblings about a new mac OS update in 2004,,...
Q5: Is such an update driven by cosmetics, useability and/or WinPC compatibility challenges? If so, what key features are expected with this new mac os?

In short, my heart is with Apple PB, but I still like the battery life and lack of HEAT with the centrino-based PC's,,... yes, the s/w on pc's is no match for mac's but I'm on the road quite a bit using the laptop on my lap,,...

Thanks in advance for the advice,,... cheers!

PS. Looking for a reason to become a mac evangilist again. Great forum!

Biggs311

194 posts since
Sep 5, 2001

1. Nov 12, 2003 9:41 AM

in response to: gforce1

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

I'll try to answer your questions as best I can as someone who just got a new 15 inch PowerBook.

1) Bettery life is nowhere near the 4 hours Apple claims. I get maybe 2 if I'm lucky with doing everyday things like e-mail, chatting, surfing the web and playing some music. But, I also dont' turn off things like Bluetooth, Airport, lower the screen brightness, turn off the ambient keyboard light or scale down the processor to save power like they suggest you do. I'm sure if you do those things, you'll get a little more juice out of it. No clue as to whether Apple will release battery's with a longer battery life.

2) I've had this machine for about 2 weeks and so far, no noticeable "White Spots" so far. If I do get them, I got the AppleCare warranty, so I'll just call Apple or go to the nearest Apple Store and get it fixed. I'm sure the issue has been resolved, which would explain the backorder for the unit on Apple's website. I got mine from an Apple Store and they had it in stock, so I just walked out with it after plunking down my plastic. If you do get white spots, Apple will fix it. Good chance is you won't.

3) The heat isn't THAT bad, but the thing does get hot as you use it. I'm sure the aluminum doesn't help much, but what are you going to do? It never gots hot to the point that its painful or extremely uncomfortable to use it on your lap, its just noticeable. I don't mind it, but thats just me.

4) Compatability - not sure about opening pst files in entourage. I don't think you can, but I've never had the need to, since I don't use entourage. But, you should be able to import into Entourage from another type of file, such as a csv, or various text files. So if you can get Outlook to export to those formats, you should be able to import. As far as exe files, they won't open because those are Windows executables, not mac apps. You could get Virtual PC for those programs that you can't run on a mac. Virtual PC is slow as molasses, but it works. I've had no problem opening Office files from a PC to a Mac or vice versa, so you're good to go in that respect.

5) I'm sure there will be a new OS update in 2004, at some point. Apple's been releasing them with regularity about one every year and I assure you, they're not just cosmetic, and from my perspective, they're worth it. I think Panther is great and could never see myself running Jaguar again, not that there was anything wrong with it, I just like Panther. I like Expose, the new iChat, Mail, iDisk sync, and there's a whole lot more too. I'll leave it at that.

So my advice, if you want a 15 inch PowerBook, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I love mine, and its a total desktop replacement for me as I've gotten rid of my old PC and am using my mac as my sole computer nowadays. I prefer the Mac OS to Windows more and more each day. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

NightEyes

121 posts since
Feb 15, 2003

2. Nov 12, 2003 11:04 AM

in response to: Biggs311

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

I've had my 15" AlPB since late September sans white spots. The display is actually very nice in that it is bright, crisp and has great viewing angles. With normal usage, bluetooth and airport on, I'm getting about 2:30 on an average battery charge. I do quite a bit of Photoshop on this machine and I don't find that it gets overly hot, but that's just my subjective experience. YMMV. Panther is a great OS and using it on a daily basis is a pleasure. Good luck with your decision, but I think you'd be happy with the 15" PB. If there is a problem, Apple will fix it for you.

Filburt

241 posts since
Jul 16, 2001

3. Nov 12, 2003 11:07 AM

in response to: gforce1

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

I switched from Windows to Mac 3 years ago. My input.

1. I was very surprised by Apple's decision to go with 46-watt-hour battery, which provides 1.5 to 2.5 hours of real world battery life. Its predecessor Titanium PowerBook G4 1 GHz came with 61-watt-hour battery! Whether Apple will offer 61-watt-hour battery in the future remains to be seen, but I think Apple has to. Short battery life on AlBook is embarrassing.

2. The infamous white spot issue has been resolved. If you happen to get a lemon, Apple will replace it for free.

4. Although Office v.X for Mac is highly compatible with Windows Office's Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and Word documents, Entourage is an exception. Entourage is not based on Outlook and although Microsoft has recently added Exchange Server compatibility, it is not compatible with Outlook's .PST format. You might be able to import data in other format (Outlook can export to different format), however.

5. There definitely will be an update or two to Mac OS X before Windows 2005^H6^H^H^H^HLonghorn is released. I am willing to bet that Mac OS X will add whatever worthwhile features Longhorn adds way before Longhorn is released (e.g., metadata file system, continued UI refinements, improved support for high resolution displays) while adding many new surprises of its own.

RonAnnArbor

577 posts since
Sep 20, 2003

4. Nov 12, 2003 3:03 PM

in response to: Filburt

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

For my 2 cents worth -- being a switcher in the past year (and NEVER planning on going back to a PC)...

The machine is not as hot as any PC laptop I have ever used -- the battery area does get warm while charging -- I use it daily in my lap in front of the tv and it is not hot.

The white spots are resolved. Don't let that stop you.

I routinely get about 3 hours from my powerbook using dvd's and everything else...but I did also buy an extra battery - they are light and easy to throw into your briefcase for longer trips...the charger is small and fits into a side pocket of your bag for easy charging at the airport in between legs of a trip --

The battery life is much better than on a notebook PC, but it is NOT 4 hours or even close to that. Even the sales staff at the local Apple Store said that their written claim of 4 hours is not really correct. BUT...there are third party batteries available that last up to 5 hours but these are only available for select models of the powerbooks and ibooks, and they are NOT available for the new aluminum books which use a different size battery.

I now use Entourage and Outlook (at work, damn those PC people)...I transferred the data over from outlook with my pocket pc...and then never synced with my mac again cause it totally messed up all my settings on the pocket pc...I sync only with my PC at work but all the data on my Mac in entourage is updated by hand as needed. Entourage is MUCH better than Outlook.

As a decade long user of Word and Excel and Powerpoint...the Office:MAC versions are much sleeker, easier to use, and have breakaway menus (like the palattes in photoshop) that make them a joy to use. They import and export every single doc and exl and ppt document -- in fact they are stored in the exact same style on your mac, so you can just e-mail the files to your PC friends and they wll be exactly the same.

One caveat -- highly formatted documents are slightly irregular on the mac because of the way they handle fonts and kerning...you might need to reformat some of your newsletters and play around a bit with fonts to get what you like.

I have found that I like Appleworks better (it opens all the word and excel documents you have as well) and it has a simpler cleaner interface.

I also prefer Keynote to Powerpoint -- the graphics and flexibility are far superior to powerpoint.

Access does not run on a mac, so you will need something like Filemaker Pro if you use databases.

Three final notes:

I found that it was extraordinarilly easy to move my files from my PC to my new mac by using a software program called move2mac...it copies all your document files, pictures, etc and then moves them to your mac and even makes appropriate folders for them in your new documents section on the mac. For about 40 bucks, that was the best investment I ever made as I made the switch.

Get a copy of THe Missing manual's Switching to the Mac -- it will answer many many of your questions and puts them all into PC windows lingo, so you can easily learn the mac interface.

Finally -- buy the two most recent issues of MacWorld and MacAddict (Macworld is more professional) and read them cover to cover and see if things there interest you and make sense.

Reading one issue of MacWorld convinced me that enough was enough with the WIndows world and I owned a 15" powerbook the next day.

PLUS...everyone at the airport thinks that my PB looks really cool.

yodaphile

41 posts since
Oct 27, 2003

5. Nov 12, 2003 5:26 PM

in response to: gforce1

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

I'm in the same boat as you... It's time to retire my ThinkPad and I'm pretty much comitted to going down the Mac route. We recently bought a 12" iBook and have fallen in love with some of the benefits of the Mac OS. I use iSync to and iCal with the Palm conduit and have moved all my Tungsten info on to the Mac. it's great having a single conduit managing all my data (or at least total sync between palm and iSync.) iLife apps are much easier than anything on Windows as well.

It's gotten me to the point where i'm ready to kick my work PC (the thinkpad) to the curb and becoming totally Mac based. Now it's a little trickier for me since I do a lot of work with ODBC databases, but have been given relative assurance that I can obtain ODBC connectivity with Virtual PC which I will be installing... My only question is buy the 15" PB 80GB and 1GB RAM or saving $1,500 and getting a 14" G4 iBook. Money's not totally an issue but $1,500 is $1,500, no? But I find the macs to be very versatile machines that are on par if not better than the ThinkPad (the best PC laptop, IMHO)... The PB is a wonderful machine, but the bang for the buck factor on the iBook is through the roof.

My SO has a 15" Titanium that she uses for work and finds battery life coming in around 2 3/4 hrs or so. They definitely run hotter than the iBook. It's noticable but not uncomfortable, i'd say... On an ancedotal note, I go to my local Apple Store to drool quite a bit (Walnut Creek) and have noticed that the current rev of the 15" Aluminum does not run as hot as the Titanium nor the 12" Al PB's.

RE: OS Updates, seems like Apple is on a 1x/year .1 update schedule right now. So, as Panther was just released this year as an upgrade to Jaguar, expect OS X.4 next year. It's your perogative whether to upgrade? Did you go buy XP the moment it came out?

Hope this helps... Just know you have an actively switching brethern out there... Good luck in your decision...

stockscalper

325 posts since
Jul 20, 2001

6. Nov 13, 2003 6:03 AM

in response to: yodaphile

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

All I can say is once you've used a Mac, you'll never go back!

~ Mac user since 1986

gforce1

21 posts since
Nov 9, 2003

7. Nov 13, 2003 11:01 AM

in response to: Biggs311

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

I'm encouraged by the feedback and support!!

Can I assume from your response that mac office also supports outlook? If so, this would be practical in transitioning ".pst" files should I forego using entourage when switching from WinPC to mac (I know that doing so could be sinful for some of you,,... ).

I appreciate suggestion for transferring ".pst" files into entourage but the only reason why I would even consider staying with outlook on the mac is that my ISP provides support for outlook only and not entourage.

Thank you!

gforce1

21 posts since
Nov 9, 2003

8. Nov 13, 2003 11:11 AM

in response to: Filburt

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

Interesting detailed info tidbits,,...

1- I like the idea of a 61Whr battery,,... I understand this is speculative on your part but it would help make my decision quicker if I can confirm it,,... any suggestions on who can provide such insight,,... Although I can appreciate the suggestion in carrying a secondary battery, my preference would be to get more "juice" out of the same battery - it's just a "me" thang,,...

2- Regarding new features for Mac OS 2004, what is metadata file system?

Thanks again for the help!

gforce1

21 posts since
Nov 9, 2003

9. Nov 13, 2003 11:19 AM

in response to: RonAnnArbor

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

Appreciate the heads-up on move2mac,,... was not aware of this s/w.

Also, a week ago I went to the Apple dealer and he showed me Keynote and I was simply blown away,,... so I would agree with you on prefering it over Powerpoint. I was also encouraged by the Apple rep in that you can import Powerpoint presentations into Keynote. In short, based on the nature of my business in which we do a considerable amount of presentations using Keynote will considerably improve the visual impact with our client-base.

Thanks again!

gforce1

21 posts since
Nov 9, 2003

10. Nov 13, 2003 11:32 AM

in response to: yodaphile

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

Glad you brought up Palm devices,,... how would you describe palm support with the mac os?

Would you happen to know the current PB G4 15" rev number? Being a snowbird rooted in the Northern Tundra can sometimes land us "Canuks" an earlier vintage rev for PC's when compared to our high-flying eagle friends to the south.

Thanks for the insight and advice!

NightEyes

121 posts since
Feb 15, 2003

11. Nov 13, 2003 11:48 AM

in response to: gforce1

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

For the Mac, with Office X, you get Entourage as opposed to Outlook. Can't really speak to their diffs as I don't use Entourage any longer, but the Microsoft Mactopia page might provide some useful info: www.microsoft.com/mac

I noticed earlier that Apple has posted refurbed 15"AlPB's on their site for $2099 US. That's a great price and might be worth a look while they last.

Biggs311

194 posts since
Sep 5, 2001

12. Nov 13, 2003 12:33 PM

in response to: NightEyes

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

Sorry if we may have confused you there, but there is no Outlook for the Mac, just Entourage.

RonAnnArbor

577 posts since
Sep 20, 2003

13. Nov 13, 2003 12:57 PM

in response to: Biggs311

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

Right...and Entourage does NOT work with Outlook files...although you can convert them and import the converted versions...The Switching to mac book goes through how to do this in detail.

Palm's are supported under Mac so you should have no problem. Pocket PC's are not, but there is (bad) third party software available that pretends to sync your mac and pocketpc, but in reality just messes up your settings. Don't use it.

iloveitaly

1,182 posts since
Mar 17, 2003

14. Nov 13, 2003 3:11 PM

in response to: RonAnnArbor

Re: Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

wait what about the os 9 version of outlook?
Also regarding battery life.....
you COULD get the prevois powerbooks, they have more battery life, they are though slower and a little older, and of course a lower price.

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Nov 12, 2003 8:46 AM

Seeking advice on PB G4 15"

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