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Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 8GB kit $286 / 4GB kit $143 / 2GB kit $93 -- Free shipping available. LIfetime warranty.

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OWC: Burn DVDs, DVD-DL, CDs, DVD-Ram - FAST! Superdrive upgrades from OWC starting from $31.99 with options for nearly every Mac. Models with Lightscribe, Blu-Ray too!

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Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

Wanted: A Killer PowerBook

February 7, 2000 - email Dan Knight Dan Knight

PowerBook G3I love a nice crisp high resolution screen. At work, I use a 21" Sony Multiscan 500PS at 1280 x 960 pixels. At home, I run a 19" Optiquest V95 at 1152 x 870 pixels.

I want a laptop computer that will show me at least as much as my 19" monitor - and ideally as much as my 21" screen.

The world is full of laptops like the iBook with 800 x 600 (SVGA in Windowspeak) and the PowerBook G3 with 1024 x 768 (XGA in Windowspeak) displays. They're fine for most users, especially those with a desktop computer to complement it.

Umax S900LBut I want a PowerBook that can replace my big SuperMac S900 and large 19" monitor.

It doesn't have to offer killer speed. Compared with my 250 MHz G3 card, the current PowerBook G3/333 would be a nice step up in performance.

It doesn't have to run for six hours on a set of batteries.

It doesn't need a positively huge hard drive. I only recently outgrew my 2.1 GB hard drive, so anything 4 GB or larger would be plenty for my purposes.

It doesn't have to be ultra-thin or ultra-light like some of the 1" thin 4-5 pound Wintel laptops. Something in the 6-7 pound range would be fine.

I don't need a DVD player in my PowerBook. I can watch DVDs on my much larger television. In fact, it doesn't need an internal CD-ROM or DVD drive for my purposes. An external drive would do the job on those rare occasions when I would need it.

Any PowerBook allows memory upgrades, so base RAM isn't an issue. I'd want to boost it to the 128-196 MB range right away, so I'd expect to have to buy more memory.

So far, the PowerBook G3 or iBook would meet my needs.

But to replace my desktop, I need more screen real estate than any current PowerBook (or most Wintel laptops) offers. I think the current pixel champ is the 15" SXGA+ screen in the Dell Inspiron 7500 at 1500x1050 pixels. Nice, but I'd settle for the 15.4" 1280 x 1024 SXGA screen - even if that does make the laptop's footprint a little bit larger.

Give me that in a PowerBook with decent battery life and an AirPort card, and I can surf the web, handle email, and do my web work comfortably.

If it weren't a Windows machine and didn't weigh nearly 10 pounds, the Dell Inspiron 7500 would be very tempting: 500 MHz Pentium III, 15.4" SXGA screen, 12 GB hard drive, 128 MB memory, and even an optional AirPort compatible PC card - at virtually the same price as the nine-month-old PowerBook G3/400.

The Inspiron is a Windows computer, so I'll pass.

But the 7500 clearly demonstrates that the computer I want can be made today. And when Apple gets around to building it, I'll be at the head of the line to buy one. LEM

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Latest Deals on Low End Mac

  • Best Mac Pro Deals, 10.10. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
  • Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 10.10. Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $150; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
  • Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 10.10. Refurb 500 GB Time Capsule, $249; new, $294; refurb 1 TB, $419; new, $462; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; Base Station, $159; Express, $60.
  • Best iMac G4 Deals, 10.09. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
  • Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 10.09. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $995; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,400 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
  • Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, 10.09. DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
  • More links in our archive.

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