Lappy Shopping

That’s it. I’m switching to Apple. My next lappy is either going to be an iBook or a PowerBook.

12.1″ most likely. I like the measurement because it’s familiar.

And now… to comparison shop. Apparently I have the hook up at the campus store and I can buy it tax-free. So we’re looking at either $959 or $1399 plus however much extra RAM costs and $220 for Adobe Creative Suite CS2.

Theoretically this is coming out of a separate fund than my Australia fund, but I’m sure I’ll feel the bite anyway.

Here. Help me decide. The differences are small but humble:

iBook
Processor
1.33GHz PowerPC G4
Memory
512MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM
Hard disk
40GB ATA/100
Optical drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Display type
12.1-inch TFT XGA
Built-in display resolution
1024 x 768 pixels
Graphics card
ATI Mobility Radeon 9550
Video memory
32MB DDR SDRAM
Size (H x W x D)
1.35 x 11.2 x 9.06 inches
Weight
4.9 pounds
Case material
Durable, ultratough polycarbonate
Battery life
Up to 6 hours
Bundled
iLife ’05 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD(8), GarageBand), Mail, Dashboard, Spotlight, iChat AV, Safari, Sherlock, QuickTime, iSync, iCal, DVD Player, Address Book, AppleWorks, iWork (30-day trial), Classic environment, Quicken 2005 for Macintosh, 2005 World Book Multimedia Reference Suite, Nanosaur 2, Marble Blast Gold, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, Zinio Reader, XCode Developer Tools and Apple Hardware Test
Accessories included
Modem cable, Mini-VGA to VGA adapter, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, battery

Powerbook
Processor
1.5GHz PowerPC G4
Memory
512MB DDR PC2700 SDRAM
Hard disk
80GB ATA/100
Optical drive
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display type
12.1-inch TFT XGA
Built-in display resolution
1024 x 768 pixels
Graphics card
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200
Video memory
64MB DDR SDRAM
Size (H x W x D)
1.18 x 10.9 x 8.6 inches
Weight
4.6 pounds
Case material
Sleek, lightweight aluminum alloy
Battery life
Up to 5 hours
Bundled
iLife ’05 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand), Mail, Dashboard, Spotlight, iChat AV, Safari, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Address Book, Classic environment, Art Directors Toolkit, FileMaker Pro Trial, GraphicConverter, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks For Mac New User Edition, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, Zinio Reader, Xcode Developer Tools and Apple Hardware Test
Accessories included
Modem cable, Mini-DVI to DVI adapter, Mini-DVI to VGA adapter, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, battery

I don’t see enough of a difference to warrant a $400 boost, but everyone I talk to says to go with the Powerbook. What do I do?

That’s it. I’m switching to Apple. My next lappy is either going to be an iBook or a PowerBook. 12.1″ most likely. I like the measurement because it’s familiar. And now… to comparison shop. Apparently I have the hook up at the campus store and I can buy it tax-free. So we’re looking at either…