Portable Recording, WHICH POWERBOOK TO GET Options

[azkid]

Hi and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's me again. (formerly jce44 - I STILL can't change my email address to my new yahoo email, because I can't receive the validation email when I try to log in as my former self. The web site won't let me change it because it's "Pending Validation", and the validation (when I try to resend it, will only go to my old self... I'm stuck in that loop.)

I've got my home recording studio up and running. My trusty Power Mac G4, new Sonnet 1.8 CPU upgrade, maxed RAM and OSX 10.3.9

I love the Mackie Onyx 1220 with firewire, still learning the Tracktion 2 software, but, I need to take it this mixer on the road.

I've been looking at refurbished or used Mac laptops, (my budget is limited) but have some questions? And I'd like to use the same OSX 10.3.9, I think?? because that's what I'm using on the G4?

I know that slow HD speeds can be problematic, and that Powerbook HD's are usually 4200 RPM.

1. Do I need to get an external, faster HD as well as a laptop?
2. With Firewire?

If so, most of the Powerbooks only have 1 firewire port.

3. How do I hook up my firewire Onyx and the external firewire HD at the same time?
4. Do they make firewire hubs for this and will they work well? (Will the Powerbook "see" both?)

I only need to record 4 to 6 channels/tracks at one time.

5. How fast should the processor on the Powerbook be?

My budget is poor, but I'm silling to save up. I'd like to keep the expense under $600.00?

6. Is there any other, better way to use my Mackie Onyx to record portably, and still load the tracks into my G4 desktop for editing and CD burning once I get home?

Thanks much,

Judy

[rickenbacker]

A few thoughts…

If eBay sellers don't reply, don't buy from them.

Two minutes on the web will tell you from which generation of PowerBook USB 2.0 was included as standard. In fact, just download MacTracker, which details the spec of all Apple products ever released. It's really cool!

There is still only a single FireWire bus on the MBPs, just as there was in the PBs. The beauty of the PBs is that expansion via the PC CardBus slot means you can add a second, dedicated FireWire stream via a card, such as the LaCie FW800 card (three slots - two 800, one 400) which is still available cheaply. I got mine from Other World Computing recently. I hang a WD MyBook FW800 hard drive from the card and my audio interface from the built-in FW port.

What about recent iBook G4s? I know professional engineers who still use a G3 iBook for location recording, whilst using microphones and preamps costing thousands of pounds, simply because the G3 is still capable of handling the job.