Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple PowerBook Laptop 12.1" TFT M8760LL/A (867-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

I got a the 12" G4 as a great bundle deal at famous online auction. Mine included max out ram, airport extreme card and base (the modem/antenna one) and 3 year apple care + 15Gig Ipod for a fraction of retail.
This is my second laptop I had an Ibook 500 which I gave to my dad when I upgraded.
I use my laptop mainly for surfing the net, online banking, a lot of word processing and getting live online international tv/radio broadcasting (You get a better resolution with DSL or Cable modem though)
itunes/ipod rock, I was getting so sick of carrying all my cds around!!!
iphoto is amazing and yet such a simple way to manage of all your photos.
With a firewire webcam I use Yahoo IM to keep track of friends and family.
There is some heating on the left hand side below the keyboard but I never use the laptop on my lap and when I type the heat is does not bother me on my left wrist at all. It is not a big deal at least for me.
I have used Windows in school but I find that Jaguar is so much more user friendly. I find that for my needs, the programs I use come in both Windows and Mac versions so I do not feel at a "disadvantage" like some windows user might feel.
This is a cool, portable and versatile machine well worth the investment especially if bought at auction or on sale!

You can not go wrong with this laptop. Sleek design, light weight, and super-loaded with features. I do not think this laptop can be compared to anything else out in the market. Apple is so innovative, you just have to see to believe.

My 12" PowerBook:

OS X 10.2.6
640MB
867 MHz PowerPC G4

I purchased everything available as an upgrade, including the DVD burner and the Airport Extreme card. I spared no expense.

You may have heard this before, but I will repeat it here. This laptop is beautiful. Its the perfect size. The screen is top notch. OS X is the best new OS on the market and it will only get better.

However, beware and be warned! This laptop gets HOT HOT HOT and it is SLOW SLOW SLOW.

The heat under my palms, especially the left, is enough to cause discomfort and redness. Its like holding on to a piping hot cup of coffee. This may prove to be beneficial in the cold winter months, but during the other three seasons it will become almost unbearable.

The performance is awful. Launching an application can take an exceedingly lengthy amount of time. Even small applications seem to suffer as much as the large ones. I have watched icons in the dock bounce 40 to 50 times before the application launches. I have waited and waited for an application to respond to seemingly simple tasks while I am rewarded the dance of the spinning wheel. You will become accustomed to the spinning color wheel of death and the bouncing icons from hell. I am told this is due to slow hard drives used in this production line and the fact the G4 in the 12" doesn't have any L3 cache. Whatever the reason, do not buy this box if performance is paramount.

This is a great computer. No complaints, just one funny observation. This this is so small, when i'm sitting down with it on my lap, i have to keep my legs closer together than I would normally like when I'm sitting. So guys, no spread eagle when this thing is on your lap! haha.

A new 12 inch laptop, what a cool idea for an Apple computer lover. This new computer was stylish, wonderfully made, loaded with a superdrive, and a great ATA Hard Drive, it torched the competion....and myself.
Once this baby is working for 8-15 minutes, you begin to feel your lap getting quite hot. After 15 the pain is unbearable and one must place a pillow to prevent the heat from burning through your legs. Finally even your hands get very hot from typing, at which point one must hook up a keyboard + mouse and put it on your desk.
Waaaala! a 12 inch desktop. Suddenly size DOES matter