I'm considering getting Linux preinstalled, or a Powerbook with OS X.

Mostly for development, and just general use (email etc).

Wireless connectivity is a big deal for me.

Looking for input from people who have actually used both.

Thanks.

is it possible to order a powerbook without an os and save money?



if so, you can get the following distros to work on the powerbook


Yellow Dog
Debian
Mandrake


Mandrake being the easiest to install IMO

I guess that wasn't very clear.

What I'm considering is Linux preinstalled (like Los Alamos Computers or similar) vs. a Powerbook, with OS X.

Linux on a Powerbook isn't something I'm considering at the moment.

Well, I have a Dell D600 that runs Debian and my girlfriend has a powerbook.

It's a very close call between the 2.

The things I can do easily in windoze on my dell and can't do (as well) in linux:
1)suspend to ram/disk (haven't tried suspend to ram, suspend to disk kinda works, but I've just started playing)
2)connecting to a wireless ap via wpa that doesn't broadcast the ssid (with internal dell pci-I also have a pcmcia card that can "monitor" non broadcasting aps but I still can't connect if they are encrypted with wpa).

The powerbook has no issues like that. My problems with the powerbook:
1) 1 button mouse on touchpad, you need to press keys to emulate 3 buttons (I guess one would get use to this over time)
2) It kinda looks like a linux file system, it has an apt port, but it is different enough so that you have to invest some time to figure out how to do things that you can already do in linux (nfs for example).

If you decide to go linux, I would speak to the vendor and find out exactly what features are supported (as far as suspend and wireless go).

Oh, and one more thing: warranty might make a difference depending on how much the laptop gets lugged around.

Powerbook- basic 3 year warranty
Dell-3 year complete, next business day and accidental coverage (this was essentially free for me, it was bundled with an edu discount).

I dual boot Win98SE and MandrakeLinux, and persuaded my girlfriend to get an iBook.
Go Apple if you want hassle free, just works setup with no fears of spyware and updates, eg normal pc usage.
Go dualboot if you want power of linux plus Windows fallback for win32 only software (admittedly for me that's mostly games).
Yes Apple stuff is cool and unix based, but costly. I dunno how easy it'd be to develop stuff on such different architecture, unless your target is PPC.

I currently have a 15" powerbook that dual boots to OS X and Gentoo Linux. So far I am really happy with it. It took quite a bit to get everything working smoothly in Gentoo, but thats part of the fun right?

I know someone that also has a PowerBook and run VPC for other OS's.

If money is not a consideration, and you only want 1 OS, go with the powerbook and OS X (which is BSD based anyways). So far i've been extremely happy with OS X. Zero problems with it.

That's what I'm currently leaning towards.

It's nice to know you can make something like that work if I end up needing Linux on there as well in the future for some reason.

I don't need Windows at all, so dual boot Linux/Windows isn't something I'm interested in.

Those are the little things that really annoy me and that I don't have an interesting in dealing with.

The one button thing I hadn't thought about.
Since the Mac interface is designed for a one-button mouse I guess it won't be too much of a problem, but dual-booting with linux or using Gnome on Darwin, it might be annoying.
On the other hand, I spend about 99.9% of my time on the keyboard and only reach for the mouse when it's absolutely necessary anyway.

Looks like I've pretty much settled on the PowerBook then.
Thanks to everyone who commented so far