[rescue] powerbook g4

[vance at neurotica.com]

On Tue, 10 Sep 2002, Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:

> I'm still really trying to decide on a PowerBook G4 550, a PowerBook G3
> Pismo, or one of the new iBooks with the larger screen option.  I
> primarily use texty applications (XEmacs, vim, Netscape, and occasionally
> Microsoft Excel), but I tend to have a lot of windows open, so a lot of
> screen real estate is a necessity.

Bear in mind that there are actually *three* different models of PowerBook
G4.  The first has an 1152x768 screen and 100Mbps ethernet, and comes in
400MHz and 500MHz versions.  The second has an 1152x768 screen and 1Gbps
ethernet, and comes in 550MHz and 667MHz versions.  The third (the only
one currently being sold new by Apple) has a 1280x854 screen and 1Gbps
ethernet and comes in 667MHz and 800MHz versions.  If you need screen real
estate, then the higher resolution model might be worth taking a look at.

> What's the battery life like on the G4?  cNet said they were
> disappointed, but their benchmark also involved continuously playing a
> DVD, which is not at all like what I'll be doing (although I suppose I
> will be hitting the disc for compiles and such).

I get almost five hours, when I have the system set the backlight on "low
intensity".  I get significantly less, more like a little less than four
hours, when the intensity is set to full.

P