Apple ’s PowerBook product planners present a dilemma during the past twelvemonth : With the G5 processor still too blistering for laptop computer , and no new blockbuster technologies uncommitted to tally , how could they breathe some verve into a PowerBook line of reasoning that ’s now more than two years onetime ?
Instead of one full-grown resolution , they came up with a slew of small ones . Individually , none will pick apart your socks off , but collectively , they make the PowerBook lineup both more appealing and more affordable .
What’s New, PowerBook?
Across - the - add-in enhancements to the PowerBook family let in :
• quicker voiceless drives : All modelling now come with hard drives that spin at 5,400RPM , up from the 4,200RPM drive in previous Apple laptops ( and most Windows portable ) . This change did n’t make a bragging difference in our benchmark upshot ( see “ PowerBook G4 Benchmarks ” below ) , but it saves a few indorsement on some saucer - dependent operation , such as launching applications and write fully grown files .
PowerBook G4 Benchmarks
good results inbold . reference work system initalics .
Speedmark 3.3 scores are comparative to those of a 1GHz eMac which is assigned a score of 100 . Photoshop , Cinema 4D , iMovie , and iTunes grade are in minutes : sec . All systems were run Mac OS X 10.37 and 512 MiB Aries , with Processor Performance set to Highest in the Energy Saver paneling in System Preferences . We examine MP3 encoding with an audio - CD track that is 45 minutes long , converting it from the hard parkway using iTunes ’ High Quality setting . We used Unreal Tournament ’s Antalus Botmatch Average Frames Per 2nd score try at a closure of 1,024 - by-768 pixels . The Photoshop Suite tryout is a readiness of 14 scripted tasks using a 50 MB file . Photoshop ’s memory was set to 75 percent and History was set to Minimum . For more information on Speedmark 3.3 go here .—Macworld science lab examination by James Galbraith
• Hard driving force protection : A Modern technology Apple calls Sudden Motion Sensor immediately parks the drives ’ read - write heads — thereby preventing them from bang into the magnetic platters that hold your information — when it detects accelerated movement that might indicate that you ’ve deteriorate your notebook computer . candidly , we did n’t defy test this feature — after all , even if it works , it wo n’t forbid the other kinds of legal injury a fall could induce — but it ’s nice to know it ’s there .
• Scrolling track pad : If you discover scrolling a pull when using a track pad , the novel PowerBooks ’ track pad may offer a better way for you to move around your documents and other windows : just slide two finger instead of one across the track pad , and the contents of the combat-ready windowpane scroll in the charge you moved . It need some getting used to , but once you do , it could both save you prison term and dispense with you some temper . ( If you determine you do n’t like this feature of speech , you could turn it off in the Keyboard and Mouse pane in System Preferences . )
Just do n’t try using three fingers on the track digs — that does nothing at all . And do n’t be surprised if you scarper into a few glitches in older software : for model , vertical scrolling works but horizontal scrolling does n’t in Microsoft Word v. X. On the other hand , in the current interpretation , Word 2004 , as well as in Excel v. X and 2004 , the new feature worked just okay .
( If you practice an one-time PowerBook or an iBook you’re able to add rough similar capabilities to your system with any of several third - party utilities , let in Shane Celis ’s freeuControl ( , April 2004 ) and Alex Harper ’s $ 15SideTrack .
• Latest Bluetooth : Along with AirPort Extreme , Bluetooth remains received in all novel PowerBooks , but the late models feature support for an updated wireless standard shout out Bluetooth 2.0+Enhanced Data Rate ( EDR ) . Equipment based on it can replace datum at up to 3 Mb per second , three times the maximal charge per unit of early version ( Bluetooth 1.0 - 1.2 ) . For most purpose you ’re not potential to observe the difference in throughput — the material value , consort to Bluetooth experts , is that Bluetooth phones and other electric battery - operated devices should last longer on a charge , because they can shut off their Bluetooth radios sooner , and your system is less likely to get bogged down if you link multiple Bluetooth devices .
unluckily , we could n’t test these claim , either , because the new features require Bluetooth 2.0+EDR - supported equipment , and none are available — Apple is first to market with the Modern engineering . ( The raw touchstone is backward - compatible , so the Modern PowerBooks should work fine with existing Bluetooth phone and peripherals , but with these devices you wo n’t see any advantage . )
• Better , faster SuperDrives : New PowerBook shape fit out with SuperDrives can burn videodisk at 8x , twice the rate of the mechanisms Apple used in previous portables .
Apple ’s marketing materials for the new PowerBooks make no mention of another welcome SuperDrive improvement : for the first prison term , there ’s full support for DVD+R and DVD+RW media , as well the DVD - R and DVD - RW media SuperDrives used to require . ( Some earlier SuperDrives could also be made to work with DVD+R or RW mass medium , according to on-line reports , but Apple never before supported this capableness . ) We burned both + universal gas constant and + RW discs , and they turn just like their -R and -RW equivalents . We ’re not aware of any peculiar vantage to the + R / RW format at this point — pricing is now about adequate for both formats — but it ’s one less matter to have to worry about when you ’re picking up medium . Unlike some previous SuperDrive updates , the latest does n’t seem to cause problem with older media , either : we tried some ancient 1x DVD discs , in -R , + R , and + RW data format , and had no job .
• shiny backlighting : The backlighting that automatically illuminates keyboard labels when you ’re start the 15- and 17 - in PowerBooks in dumb light is noticeably brighter than before—10 times brighter , according to Apple .
So Many Configurations
There are still five stock configurations — two each with 12.1- and 15.2 - in covert and one with a 17 - inch presentation . They still press 4.6 , 5.6 pounds , and 6.9 pounds , severally .
Like its predecessor , the newfangled launching - tier PowerBook has a 60 GB punishing drive , a Combo ( CD - RW / DVD - ROM ) optical drive ; and a 12.1 - inch , 1,024 - by-768 - pel sieve driven by an Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MiB of television store . But this example ’s G4 C.P.U. impress up from 1.33GHz to 1.5GHz , while its damage moved down $ 100 , to $ 1,499 . In practice , you ’ll save even more , because Apple also repeat the stock memory to 512 MB of computer storage — enough so you may be satisfied without the memory upgrade most drug user used to find necessary . ( Half the retentiveness in the new model is on a card in the single DIMM time slot , so if you want more than 512 MB , you ’ll have to remove the Apple DIMM to set up a tumid one , unless you buy the Mac online and order the superfluous memory up - front . )
The other 12.1 - inch shape , now $ 1,699 ( also down by $ 100 ) , is identical except that it let in an 80 GB hard ride and a SuperDrive . Both 12.1 - inch configurations provide a full complement of standard ports : two USB 2.0 , FireWire 400 , audio in and out , 10/100 Ethernet , V.92 modem , and mini - DVI ( with adapter for connecting both DVI and VGA external display with resolutions of up to 2,048 - by-1,536 picture element , in either extended - desktop or mirroring mode ) . One disappointment is that Apple has n’t managed to plane any weight off the 12.1 - column inch PowerBook , considering that Windows microcomputer vender offer comparably fit out laptop that weigh only around 4 pounds ( not to observe even lighter mini - notebook computer sold without built - in optic drives ) .
Like previous compact PowerBooks , though , the new 12.1 - in configurations miss some of the sophisticated features of their larger sibling : there ’s no FireWire 800 , Gigabit Ethernet , keyboard backlighting , PC Card / Cardbus expansion slot , or build - in S - picture interface ( though Apple will deal you a mini - DVI adapter that provides an S - Video or composite - video output for $ 19 ) .
As for the young 15.2 - column inch models , the Combo drive interlingual rendition , unfortunately , did n’t get a price cut — it ’s still $ 1,999 . But for that cost Apple now offers a 1.5GHz PowerBook G4 ( up from 1.33GHz ) , 512 mebibyte of Aries ( up from 256 MB ) , an 80 GB hard driveway ( up from 60 GB ) , and keyboard backlighting , which was antecedently a $ 69 option on this contour .
The configuration with 15.2 - inch screen and SuperDrive sire fewer enhancements : it too come with 512 MB of RAM , an 80 GB hard drive , and a backlit keyboard , but the equivalent model had all those feature in the former generation . On the upside , it now has a 1.67GHz C.P.U. ( up from 1.5GHz ) , and Apple garnish its price by $ 200 , to $ 2,299 .
Both 15.2 - inch configurations patronise FireWire 800 and Gigabit Ethernet , and they both have full - sized DVI and S - video interface and a single microcomputer Card / Cardbus slot , in addition to all the connectivity options offered by the 12 - column inch models . Both have the same display technology as in the previous generation : their across-the-board - formatting screens ( 1,280 by 854 pixels ) , plus the international display port , are drive by an ATI Mobility Radeon CPU with 64 MiB of television memory . The 1.67GHz model , but not the 1.5GHz one , can be upgraded for $ 100 to 128 MB of TV RAM and dual - link DVI , which you ’ll need if you desire to connect the 30 - inch Apple Cinema HD Display .
( If you do n’t give care about the video option but want a SuperDrive , notice that order the 1.5GHz interlingual rendition with a SuperDrive raise will save you $ 150 , and be you only a tiny reduction in performance . )
The picture upgrade is standard in the new 17 - column inch PowerBook , which also got a price cut ( down $ 100 to $ 2,699 ) , a processor hurrying swelling ( 1.5GHz to 1.67GHz ) , a fully grown hard cause ( 100 GB , up from 80 GB ) , and , of course of action , the other refinements mentioned earlier . Otherwise , the mellow - end PowerBook is unchanged — after all , it already had all of the best mobile technology Apple has to offer .
Macworld’s Buying Advice
If you ’re inclined toward a small notebook , and particularly if you do n’t need a SuperDrive , consider an iBook instead of the 12 - inch PowerBook — you could start out with a $ 999 radix model , increase memory board and gruelling driving capacity and add Bluetooth if you require , and come out with something pretty similar to the small PowerBook for several hundred dollars less . But if you want a bigger screen and/or the late connectivity technologies , the 15- and 17 - inch PowerBooks — though still a short dear — offer elegance and power no other laptop computer can match .
[ This article has been edit out to discipline an computer error in the listed configurations for the 12 - inch PowerBook G4/1.5GHz with a SuperDrive — Ed . ]
