I have a 12" Apple PowerBook. It doesn't have a mic jack, only a line in. If you use a mic straight to that you get basically no sound (duh). So, I've been using my little gem 1/2watt guitar amp as a preamp. I plug the mic into that, and then use the speaker out on that into my laptop. I monitor the levels on my laptop making sure I'm not peaking too much.
Here is the schematic for the little gem:
**broken link removed**
Here is the schematic for the little gem:
**broken link removed**