A Month with a Mac - Part II: The Mobile Experience
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 24, 2005 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
The Premise for Part II
At the end of the first Mac article, I came to the realization that what attracted me most to OS X was the way everything just worked the way that you'd expect it to. Prior to my OS X experiment, I had done things in reverse. I molded my usage patterns to the way Windows wanted them to work in order to get things done. What I realized with OS X was that not only did I find myself being more productive, but I noticed that one of the biggest strengths of the OS was in its window/task management. Regardless of how cluttered my screen was or how many applications I was running, I never felt bogged down. And where did I find myself bogged down more often than on my desktop? On my laptop, of course. The other big advantage (for Apple) in the laptop world is that laptop gaming is still something that's not too common. Other than using massive 17-pound desktop replacements as gaming machines, most people just don't use their laptops for gaming - which happens to be one of the biggest weaknesses of the Mac platform. So was it time to revisit the idea of using an Apple laptop?When I originally went through the decision-making process of picking the platform on which to do the first Mac article, I arrived at the dual 2.0GHz Power Mac simply because it was the fastest thing available at the time. I had held Apple's PowerBook G4s before and I'd never been impressed with them simply because they weighed too much. I was used to thin and truly light notebooks. With the lightest PowerBook G4 weighing in at 4.6 lbs, I decided that Apple laptops were hardly my cup of tea.
The more I used the G5 desktop, the more I felt that I didn't need an Apple laptop as well - I was just fine switching between Windows and OS X as I moved between my desktop and my laptop. But then it came time to head to Taiwan for a week, a week where my only computer would be my extremely portable, ultra thin, ultra light 1.7lbs Sony X505/SP. That notebook defines portability. The motherboard in the X505/SP is about the size of a minidisc, and it weighs less than most paper notebooks, not to mention just about any laptop out there. Taking it on a plane isn't an issue - it has only a 2-hour battery life, but at 1.7lbs, you can't really complain. The only issue with the notebook is that it is a bit of a pain to type on the keyboard, and for a writer, that can be a problem.
So, I thought the trip to Taiwan late last year would be the perfect time to see how well one of Apple's PowerBook G4s would work out, from a PC user's perspective. But which one?
Apple makes five different PowerBook G4s: two 12" models, two 15" models and a 17" model. I figured my X505/SP already had the portability side of things down, so there was no point in going for a 12" system. The 17" was just obscenely big and I didn't need a desktop replacement, so I settled on a 15" model. The 1280 x 854 resolution was reasonable, but most importantly, I could get a 1.5GHz G4 instead of the 1.33GHz chip that was the highest offered in the 12" models. I was happy with the performance of the 2.0GHz G5, so I figured I needed the fastest possible G4 to prevent ruining the experience.
The system starts at $1999, but that's for the 1.33GHz G4 with only 256MB of memory. The 1.5GHz model also comes with 512MB of DDR333, a slightly larger 80GB drive and a fiber optic backlit keyboard - but it also bumps the price up to a hefty $2499. Laptops have been dropping in price. However, the more stylistic, feature-filled or thin and light solutions always carry a price premium, so it's not too difficult justifying the price of the PowerBook - assuming it does actually deliver. As always, student discounts do apply - knock about $200 off each notebook if you're a student or educator.
The full specs of the system are as follows:
- PowerPC G4 1.5GHz
- 512MB DDR333 SDRAM (2 x 256MB SO-DIMMs)
- Toshiba 80GB MK8025GAS ATA HDD
- Slot Loading 4x SuperDrive (CD-RW/DVD-R)
- 15.2" Widescreen Display (1280 x 854 native resolution)
- ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64MB)
- PC Card/CardBus slot
- Integrated AirPort Extreme Wireless (802.11g)
- integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
- Integrated Bluetooth
- FireWire 400 Port
- FireWire 800 Port
- Two USB 2.0 Ports
- Integrated DVI Output (with VGA dongle)
- Integrated S-Video Output
- 5.7 lbs - 13.7" x 9.5" x 1.1"
- OS X Panther (10.3)
- iLife
One advantage that the PowerBook offers over competing PC notebooks is its size and weight. For example, Sony's K-series notebooks offer a similar 15.4" widescreen display, but weighs in at 8 lbs, which makes the 5.7 lbs of the 15" PowerBook seem like a feather. The same K-series notebooks are also considerably thicker, at 1.6 - 2.2" vs. 1.1" for the PowerBook. The K-series from Sony also carries a larger footprint, at 14.1" x 10.9".
Comparing the PowerBook to similar 15" widescreen Dell solutions reveals similar size and weight advantages. The Inspiron 8600 features a 15.4" widescreen display, yet has a starting weight of 6.9 lbs and is 1.52" thick. The 8600 is also larger at 14.22" x 10.79". The Inspiron 6000 is a bit lighter at 6.65 lbs and is also 1.52" thick. The Latitude D800 starts at 7 lbs and is 1.5" thick. Both the Inspiron 6000 and the Latitude D800 also feature footprints similar to the 8600.
So, although competing PC notebooks are cheaper, nothing with the same monitor size can actually offer lighter weight or smaller dimensions than the 15" PowerBook, which is definitely an advantage for Apple, and it's something that is much needed on the mobile side of things.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
60 Comments
View All Comments
garote - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
A note about Exposé usage on a powerbook:I know it's unorthodox, but consider using the 'Fn' key, on the lower left, for activating Exposé. It's easier to reach in general, but especially easy to use when you want to drag an icon/file _through_ an Exposé operation (via hold-release), from one window to another. Especially if you're right-handed.
You can still use Command-up/down for home/end, Command-left/right for begin/end of line, and Option-left/right for next/prev word. You'll have to invoke F6 to use the keypad, however, and you'll lose quick access to page-up/page-down.
The big difference, of course, is that you'll lose access to the regular invocation of the FN keys - however, I find that I never want to use the FN keys anyway, unless I want to embed a bunch of Photoshop macros in them.
Try it for a while. If you're a heavy Exposé user, you may find the change quite pleasing.
adespoton - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
Hi Anand; just thought I'd clarify a statement you made in your conclusion:"Unless you do a lot of .NET development on the road, just about anything you use your laptop for is available under OS X...."
For anyone in this situation, Project Mono is available for OS X at http://www.go-mono.com/archive/1.0.5/macos/MonoFra...
Of course, this doesn't give you *all* the .NET bindings etc., but for basic .NET development it works quite well -- and has the added benefit that you can test the programs out under OS X as well, without resorting to emulation.
jayemcee - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
Thanks for a nicely balanced article. The speed issues tend to fade a bit (especially pure cpu speed) when looking at the way the system operatesand how it helps productivity. Less downtime for the system (my uptime has been continuous except for reboots at software updates times). Drag and drop into and between applications make the system appear very elegant to me and a bonus is when I want it... there is BSD *nix underneath OS X.The hardware is as good as it gets for the price and I do not feel cheated by Apple. Of course, there is also that indefinable Apple experience that you get when opening the boxes of a new piece of apple hardware. I guess that I am addicted to that as well. :)
You write well and many PC magazines would do well to emulate your methods of testing the unquantifiable variables of all machines that they test and then write about... for public consumption.
mattfaulds - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Great article. Good to see someone weighing things from a bablanced point of view.Would like to reiterate the greatness of Sidetrack (www.ragingmenace.com)
I have an iBook G4 and have changed the button to a right click button, the corners of the tap pad to exposé functions (and a right click corner) and a scroll on the right side. It's very customisable and very stable.
Apple really really should pay him lots of money and incoporate the optional function as standard. You need it with the limited space on a laptop.
Cheerio
waterbug - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Anand,Another thing to compare between OS X and Windows is sleep/wake behavior. Try this at home:
Connect both your Wintel laptop and your PowerBook to a WiFi network with DHCP and verify connection by opening a browser. Close both lids for 5-10 seconds, until you're sure they're both asleep. Open the lids.
You should be able to click a link on the PowerBook within 5 seconds of seeing the LCD come on. If you have a static IP, it'll be even faster.
On my XP laptop, it takes anywhere from 10-45 seconds to reacquire the wireless signal, figure out the encryption, reacquire a DHCP address, and then finally be able to do anything.
It sounds trivial, but imagine this scenario: imagine you're working with your laptop in the kitchen, and you decide to move to the dining room. Do you close your laptop, or walk over to the dining room with it open? With my Dell, I walk around the house with it open. With our iBook, I close it even to rearrange things on the bed. It's not a huge issue, but it's one of those "little touches" that makes for a more satisfying ownership experience.
lookmark - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Nice article, as always. I too am slightly disappointed by my 15" PB's wireless range, and hope Apple is able to improve it in fure models.Just want to chime on the fabulousness of Quicksilver, which is like just a little taste of Tiger's Spotlight, focused on launching (or more, if you want). Well, well worth checking out.
I too started with the Applications folder in the Dock -- didn't we all? -- but Quicksilver is so much better it's quite astonishing, and considering it's completely free and open-sourced all the more so. Apple is clearly taking notice as well.... it's been reported from the latest Tiger builds that the (customizable, of course) shortcut for hitting Spotlight quickly is now command-space, a la QS.
jim v - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Actually, the ethernet port on the PowerBook is 10/100/1000bcstanding - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
I am one of those guys that switched from PC to Mac (3 years ago). This article (with Part I) is one of the most insightful and unbiased articles I've ever read on the subject of the Mac User Experience. Very well done!I also thought I'd chip in an idea - if you don't have quite enough RAM, you may want to leave apps open (just hide them) instead of quitting them. OS X seems to be faster when swapping a program back into memory than starting it outright. I'm on a 3 year old PowerBook, though, so this may not be applicable for faster Macs...
davechen - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
As an old school Unix programmer, I've always hated keyboards that have a large caps lock and a small control key (as most do these days). I use control a lot more than caps lock. Hell who ever really uses caps lock.So on OS X, I'd be lost without uControl. It's a little control panel that allows you to remap modifier keys (along with a lot of other things). Here' the link:
http://gnufoo.org/ucontrol/ucontrol.html
jsares - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
I second and third the suggestions for SideTrack. Great shareware from a great guy.