On 4/8/02 chuck goolsbee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm actually considering a switch to a TiBook. <collective gasp from the list>
No, go for it! Despite my advocacy of the 2400, it's something I've been regularly thinking about too--ever since Pismo Jan. 2001. I waited long enough on Ti-r.1 (4-500 mhz) to make sure Apple's usual 1st run bugs were out--and then iB2's combo drive got released. So, I thought I'd wait until a slot loading version came along for Ti-r.2 (550-667 mhz), BUT along the way the fan got unbearably noisy (among other things). Meanwhile, looking back to Interware's G3-400 mhz release in mid-99, now nearly 3 years later CPU speeds have only crept up 60%, falling far short of Moore's Law (see mini-rant below). The G3 240-400 mhz upgrades for 2400s raised CPU speeds 250-400%, quite a difference in bang for the buck. > > Every time I have test drove the iBook, it has seemed to have pretty=20 > weak performance, especially with OS X. Unlike the 2400c, which was=20 > damn near top of the line performance-wise when it was released, and=20 > was for a short time (after the Interware G3 CPU was released) the=20 > fastest laptop in the world, the iBook seems to have been=20 > artificially crippled by Apple. Aggravatingly so. That 256 kb inline cache is penny-pinching typically Apple BS. Speaking of crippled, if you follow the Ti-List discussions, no less an authority than Woz himself has advocated throttling back on Ti-r.1 PB-G4s (from 500 mhz down to 300 mhz)to minimize heat issues, which makes any Interware G3 upgraded 2400 just as fast/faster for practical purposes. You can't do that on the r.2s, which also (most unimpressively) had their caches dropped from 1mb backside down to 256 kb inline. Apparently, among other things, this has crippled audio pretty badly, along with still compromised Firewire and Airport, not to mention an unwarrantied proclivity for hinge breaks. (Insert general rant)--If we consider Interware shipped G3-320 (3-99) and also G3-400 CPU (circa 7-99) IBM powered upgrades for the 2400, and apply Moore's Law that processor power should double every 18 months, Apple should be somewhere now between 1.2-1.6 Ghz on Powerbooks. But Apple went for AltiVec/Motorola eschewing IBM's superior technology and chip design/manufacturing capabilities. When Pismo came along, IIRC, Pentiums were only running about 500-700 mhz in laptops at that time. Now we crawl (embarrassingly) along at 667 mhz while laptop P4s continue to meet Moore's dictum. Even allowing for PPC's superior innate RISC performance at the same frequency over an x86 (Intel) processor, this works out in the real world to a "composite" 1.4-1.6x factor--far from the 2.5-3x advantage Intel processors currently hold in clock speeds and bus speeds. Let's not even get into the huge difference in graphics cards on PC laptops at 32-64 mb Vram over their perpetually "crippled" 8-16mb Mac counterparts (and much higher screen res 1600-1800 over Ti's 1152 pixels horizontal)--if size/speed are your thing. So, we agree on the Mac "computing lifestyle", because most "objective" benchmarks on nearly everything performance related favors PC these days, Apple's hype notwithstanding. Despite the hype, Powerbook hardware is seriously lagging behind leading edge PC offerings--and they get bigger and better screens first, too. > The iBook also has some weird ergonomic issues. The hinge makes it=20 > very back-heavy and out of balance. Agreed, especially in semi-reclined couch potato email composing TV running lazy out position--which also increases its feeling of flex n' stress. > Granted, I've only been considering this for a bit... and haven't=20 > actualy *done* anything rash yet. Go for it! I'll piggyback my (im)p-(un)ending decision on your "critical" opinions. ;-), hopefully muddling n' procrastinating long enough until Apple gets past their thin-shell Ti fetish. At Ti's huge size, a STURDIER double bay removable modules solution a la Pismo, even if 7 lbs, would be much more appealing as a usable all-in-one solution than the "leave me helpless with a jammed CD/DVD in a slot" svelte castrated flexi-flier they are now offering. Come to think of it, both Ti and iB2 are unnecessarily castrated. Whenever I get really itchy, I think about a Ti-500 r.1 that I can get in/out for not too much loss on the trailing edge while waiting for the "right one", but that has too many of its own compromises. Hey, even Sonnet was astounded that Apple went to a 14.1" iB2 instead of downsizing it. On 4/8/02 Tom Rymes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > PPS: Please don't flame me, I love the 2400c, I just don't think it is > always the best choice for everyone. Obviously, the newer machines carry > a steep entry price, so that's a problem as well... I read your thoughtful comments--and you're OK with a stock 603e/180? The original 2400 cost $3600, so Ti in any form is a bargain. Its footprint bothers me for its (unnecessarily) "restricted" functions--something that its capacious size should allow more versatility within its volume. Further to what I'd already written above, I'd rather Ti was 1/8-1/4" thicker with double removable bays, a Type III PCMCIA cage, and better passive cooling--all possible from an engineering viewpoint. It calls for a different computing approach--and I would be just as happy with that solution. Then, paint on metal is an "arguable" aesthetic as well as "unnecessary" cost from a manufacturing standpoint. Sidney Ho ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. 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