Power Book vs. Mac Book Pro for Computer Science Student

Question

I am a Computer Science Masters student that is looking into switching completely off of Windows machines in my home in the next 2 to 4 years. I’ve never used Macs before, but I’m tired of feeling like my hands are tied with Windows and I’ve been impressed with the G4 Power Books some of my peers have. I’ve actually been so impressed that I decided I want to start my switch from Windows to Mac with the purchase of a new Mac powered laptop for school.
I plan on using this laptop for the following tasks: writing papers, writing/compiling/debugging programs including an independent study project on OpenGL Computer Graphics, photo editing and some webpage design. Also some game playing and movie watching when I’m traveling.
So my question is this, do you think a 12" Power Book or a Mac Book Pro would serve me better? I am on a budget so if I get the MBP I wouldn’t have a lot of money left over after buying it for additional software, but if I purchase a PB I’m afraid it won’t be "up to snuff" or that the Power PC chip will stop being supported by future software. Are these fears unfounded? I do know there is a student discount and I’ve already taken that into account in regards to pricing.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide me.
Jeremy
2800+ Athalon XP   Windows XP  

Answer 1

I'm not a compsci student, but I think I can give you some insight on what to expect...
The G4 will handle a lot of what you throw at it, depending on how much RAM and how many things. I'm still running the stock 512MB and have found little-to-no need to upgrade at this time. I even went so far as to try a 1GB PC2700 SODIMM from my HP ZV6000 and it didn't change anything, so I'm good for now. Over the years, I've been impressed w/ the performance and efficiency with the G4 design and architecture, so I doubt there will be anything that it can't do based on what you're describing.
Gaming may be another story, although with the latest rev. of the 12" PB, I am impressed and mildly surprised at the performance w/ gaming. I play Call of Duty and Doom 3 on occasion and both run great. Just remember to put your processor performance on "Highest" as to turn off the processor throttling (much like Cool 'n' Quiet on AMD architecture). I played Doom 3 last night w/ medium quality @ 1024x768 and it ran quite well... Call of Duty will fly even on battery (ie. reduced processor speed) or AC... I've yet to try Call of Duty 2 but I hear it's going to be a monster w/ system requirements.
Writing Papers -- You can do this with anything...but if you're referring to the comfortable aspect, I think you'll love the keyboard personally. Typing on my big HP and on my 12" PB, it's night/day. The HP has a good keyboard, but it's not something I can 'fly' on...and by fly I mean 80-90WPM w/ little to no mistakes. I notice I make fewer mistakes on the PB keyboard because the keys seem to be 'grouped' together better and it's got a nice feel when you're slamming the keys down while you're in thought on a particular subject.
I also use Office X (or 10)...have had no need to upgrade since it works very well for what I do. I've never used Appleworks...
Future Software? -- Two words -- Universal Binaries...they will be around for many moons to come, and then some. Apple supported 68k for almost 11yrs (if I'm not mistaken) and software developers have already committed to Universal Binaries (aka. UB, or Fat Binaries) because of the sheer install base of PowerPC. The Intel transition will probably be in the 'teething' stage for another 2yrs before it's the standard Apple base across the board, and by then it will still only be a percentage of the PPC install base. Rest assured--your PPC Mac will be working long after you even upgrade (4-6yrs down the line).
The only thing I recommend is AppleCare, and not because I get anything from Apple over it. I've used it on my Rev. B (1.0Ghz) 12" PB and it paid for itself in the last year I had it. It covers everything that isn't accidental, so if you have issues w/ the LCD or Logic Board (aka. MLB), it'll pay for everything and shipping (both ways). It's also worldwide, so if you're on a trip to the UK and have problems w/ it, you can stop by any one of a handful of Apple Stores (Regent Street is awesome, I'm told) and they can fix it for you. There's also hundreds (if not thousands) of Apple Authorized Service Providers worldwide, and from what I'm told, they prefer Apple over many manufacturers because they are 'no hassle' when it comes to warranty claims. In other words, AppleCare may be the only investment that you may never use, but if you do, it'll pay for itself.
Computer Graphics, well, I don't do graphics but I can say that almost everything Adobe makes runs and runs well on Mac hardware.. I think you'll love the Quartz engine too...it's really quick compared to Direct X (I notice this in gaming, but what do I know...).
Good luck to you in whatever you decide...