Agreed - look at the referbished Macs on the Apple Store web site. They have great deals! In fact I'm typing on one right now. It's is pristine and even if there was something wrong with it when it was returned, it is put into new condition. The one thing you can count one is that someone looked it over and checked it out. Even if you get one some problem (which is doubtful) Apple will take care of any problems.

It's a great deal if you think about it plus it comes with the same warranty as a new model so you have nothing to lose. You can even get an extended warranty with it or purchase it later.

So check it out - go to the Apple Store web site and click on the RED TAG SALE link see what's available. It changes daily, but it just might fit your budget or maybe you can get a larger PB for the same money you were going to spend on a new one.

No matter what, you will not be sorry and it is the best deal out there for a Mac.

Good luck.

please note that new macs are any day now... look for ebay machines to pop up or better search local papers, craigslist.... any time to buy locally is better... I have only bought 1 new machine and that was to get a free copy of Final Cut (1.0!) --got a t-shirt too...

DON'T GET THE APPLECARE - if anything goes wrong over the span of the applecare (3yrs from purchase) you can then purchase it and it will cover your current problem.

With Dave's screen workaround I'd suggest even getting an 800 ibook... 12" doesn't seem to faze you... they're cheap!

clubmac.com was the e-tailer where I got my G4 500 new with the OMD FCP. They are good compared to macwarehouse (now CDW), macmall, maczones (watch out got crappy refurb isub there).

<<<-- Originally posted by Josh Brusin :
DON'T GET THE APPLECARE - if anything goes wrong over the span of the applecare (3yrs from purchase) you can then purchase it and it will cover your current problem.
-->>>

Just to clarify, you have just one year from the original date of purchase to buy Apple Care (not 3 years).

A new/ factory refurbished Mac includes 90 days of phone support and 1 year of hardware warranty. The Apple Care plan extends the phone support and hardware warranty to three years.

Back on topic, get the 12" PowerBook only if you really need the portability. For the money you can get a lot more power in a desktop.

As for editing on the 1024x768 screen, it's not bad at all. I edited two feature-length movies on my old 12" 700MHz G3 iBook. Connecting an external hard drive and TV are very good ideas. Since you have just one FireWire port, you may need a FW hub/repeater. The mini-hub on external hard drives isn't fast enough for all the input/output happening. Your experience might be better though.

I have the 12" 867MHz PowerBook you're considering. It's great, and a big improvement over the iBook I used to have. The fan lets you know when it's working hard. It's loud. The current 1GHz processors are supposed to be cooler-running, and the fans are supposed to not come on as quickly or as often.

good point on the warranty info... sit corrected.

Murad... where in Chicago are you? Have I seen any of your stuff locally?
Josh
(devon/clark)

Hi Josh, I'm in the SW suburbs. I'll be at the next Chifcpug meeting. I don't know if they'll show the clips I submitted during "member reels," but if they do then you could see some of my stuff locally.