New PowerBook on its way
Comments: 15
Update: It shipped today! Come on, baby!
At way-too-long last I’ve ordered a new PowerBook — the 15-inch model — which should be arriving early next week. Excitement levels are at fever pitch in the Hedley household (OK, with me at least; wife and daughter couldn’t really care less). I was seriously considering the 17-inch model for a moment, but that thing really is huge and has more than a whiff of over-compensation about it.
Can’t wait for this thing to come: it’s my first new computer in years. I won’t be retiring the beloved Pismo any time soon, though.
As for stickers on PowerBooks, I just don’t know about that. Pete Barr-Watson started a Flickr gallery of bestickered ‘Books but unless I can find something as cool as this one he has, I’m not sure I could bring myself to tamper with the brushed aluminium beauty of the thing.
I’ll also be using it in an extremely Mac-hostile environment and want it to look gorgeous and put all the crappy PC notebooks to shame. ;-)
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Posted to Computers • 2004.09.18 (Sat) • 14:31
Comments
Posted by Narayan 2004.09.18, 15:23
Congrats, Jeremy, on your new purchase. Hopefully it’ll serve you as well as your Pismo.
Posted by David 2004.09.18, 16:52
Doesn’t Japan have plethora of utterly gorgeous laptops by Sony that aren’t released in the US?
I’m sure that the Powerbook is a show-stopper on campuses in the US, simply because they’re more svelte than Dell and Acer notebooks … but I’m not sure if this would apply in Japan.
And if I’m wrong about Sony having a fleet of superthin Japan-only notebooks, I apologize - it’s just something I heard in the rumor mill :)
Posted by Johan Svensson 2004.09.18, 21:28
I’m drooling over those 15” powerbooks myself. 17” is way too large, but 15” looks like the sweet spot.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit hard for a student like me to aquire that kind of cash. On the other hand, my father took pity on me and gave me an Acer Travelmate today. Happy days are here again!
Posted by Richard 2004.09.18, 21:34
Don’t you remember Jeremy’s pictures of the line outside the Apple store when it opened? No, you’re gonna be the envy of all the Sony users in your office for sure.
I’m jealous… I’m close to a new 15” PB but not quite ready yet as I have a 15” TiBook (800mhz) and even though the paint is peeling it works fine in anything short of Garageband.
Just curious: did you get a Superdrive and backlit keyboard? Can you describe the package you got, just for kicks?
Posted by jh 2004.09.18, 22:46
David —- Japan does indeed seem to have some somewhat cool-looking Sony Vaios. The only problems are (1) they’re Sony Vaios and (2) they can’t run Mac OS X. ;-)
But I did see a guy using one in a coffee shop recently and was quite impressed by the way it looked. The styling was quite Mac-derived (the rounded corners and white polycarbonate of the iBooks mixed with what was meant to look like aluminium or magnesium alloy but was actually grey plastic, I think).
Johan —- It’s certainly not a small chunk of change, I grant you that. I’m breaking the bank here myself, but it’s time … it’s time.
Richard —- A word on my computer buying habits. I try to buy as infrequently as I can, and I’ve found that spending a little more than I can afford usually gives me a machine that retains value and usability for a worthwhile amount of time beyond stock configurations.
So basically, anything that could be bumped up in the build-to-order scheme of things was bumped up in the hope that I can squeeze another couple of years out of the machine further down the road.
I increased the VRAM to 128MB, got the faster hard drive in it (I won’t be using it unplugged enough to worry about any extra battery drain things like this entail), and ordered the minimum RAM configuration so I can pull both 256MB boards out (and give them to a friend who may be able to use them) out and replace them with 2 1GB DIMMs. I also got the Super Drive because I’ve never had a DVD burner before and CDs just don’t cut it for backing up large numbers of photographs.
As for the backlit keyboard, you cannot not have it: it’s the only choice there is. I ordered from the Apple store Japan and had the choice of a Japanese keyboard or the US keyboard. I chose the latter because the Japanese keyboards drive me nuts. Airport Extreme also comes standard.
This is all quite a splurge, but it’s been a very long time between Macs for me, and the aim is to make sure it’s a long time before I have to buy another one.
Posted by Narayan 2004.09.19, 00:17
Jeremy, while you’re in a splurging mood, you should consider some kind of cooling stand for your new ‘book. The 128MB graphic chip creates a lot of heat when taxed (playing games or running large external monitors). Don’t worry about the 5400rpm drive draining the battery faster—if it really does drain faster, the drain is extremely minimal.
I use two: the iLap when at home in the chair and the Podium Coolpad at home and when traveling.
Posted by Mary Beth 2004.09.19, 00:21
whooo hooooo! Congrats. I still have twinges of missing my Pismo, but I love my 12” powerbook. In fact I just bought a new desk for it, LOL.
A good computer is worth every penny since it’s a tool most of us use every day, all day long.
For those looking for ways to finance buying new computers, remember that there are academic discounts. If you’re not a teacher or college student, ask about open-box computers. Ours come with a full warranty.
Posted by Pete Barr-Watson 2004.09.19, 01:41
Hey Jeremy, that sticker was bought in Akihabara back in April. It was in a tiny little mac store on the second floor of another electronics store. They sold tons of parts but not actual computers. Maybe you can find it…
The backlit keyboard rocks by the way :)
I have a 12” (I bought from Joi Ito) and the 15” in the photo (which I use the most). My son has my old Ti 15” and is loving it (it was an upgrade from an old Tangerine iMac for him).
I have to say, I’m a little suprised at a lot of the reactions I’ve got about the sticker thing - so many people think it’s incredibly wrong to put stickers on your Apple! But, my machine just wouldn’t be the same with out them now…
Good luck with the new machine :D
Posted by eliot 2004.09.19, 01:45
On that last sticker…I’d rather just have the flames centered on the real Apple logo instead of a duplicate above.
I have a Dell supplied for work (industrial engineering is PC-only, no questions) and I put one o fthese Life is Good stickers over the massive Dell hubcap. Much easier to pick mine out of the crowd at work.
Congrats on the purchase, I’m sufficiently jealous.
Posted by Massimo Fiorentino 2004.09.19, 02:47
Congratulations! Frankly, I would also like to exchange my good old trustworthy Pismo for a newer model. My girlfriend just got herself a 12” and boy, do that cute thing get an envious look now and then (and also her Powerbook, he he)… (^_^)
Posted by Richard 2004.09.19, 06:08
The only piece of your “order” I’d question (and I might order the same thing myself so its an open question) is the faster hard disk. Higher RPM hard disk don’t only eat battery life but they run considerably hotter. That said, I just bought an external 5400 rpm disk which is I’m pretty sure the same drive you get in the PB (IBM/Hitachi) and used carbon copy cloner to back up my internal onto it. 30 minutes of intensive read/writes later it was cool as a cuke so maybe I’m mistaken about the heat issue.
You get the backlit keyboard when you buy the pre-built superdrive model. If you buy the combo drive model you get the other. Tip: you can buy the pre-built superdrive model and downgrade the optical disk to combo if you like, then you get the backlit keyboard and the faster drive for writing CDs (but no DVD writing).
Do let us all know when you get it and give us a report on the fit and finish and speed and wow and flutter and drool.
Posted by Grant 2004.09.19, 23:26
I’m looking forward to seeing your level of happiness after this machine arrives. I’ve been eyeing a Powerbook for a long time (came within inches of purchasing one last month) but I still can’t justify the price until after my significant other has a ring on her finger. As soon as that happens, all bets are off, and I’m thinking sometime next year I’ll be a proud papa of my first Mac. Congrats.
Posted by Newfred 2004.09.20, 19:51
The only situation in which I could even contemplate soiling the sleek, perfect shapes of Apple computers with nasty stickers would be to hide the multitudinous, ugly scratches on my iBook which reflect so badly in ambient light.
Posted by jh 2004.09.20, 20:56
Those scratches are annoying simply because you don’t have enough of them yet. Wait until there are more of them and a Patina of Character coalesces: you’ll love that machine more than ever.
Posted by paper shredder 2007.02.08, 16:45
Hmmmm, interesting. I will have to check this out next time at the store. I certainly hope you can turn this “velocity” thing off, as it bugs me as hell.
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