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 PowerBook Arrives
So, what does $2500 look like? Well, it looks pretty good. |
| The PowerBook in the dark, all lit up. |
For the most part, I'm not a fan of how most laptops look. They often feel cheap and aren't designed with much style in mind. Folks who carry their desktops around with them to LAN parties want their systems to look good, so I'd assume that those who carry their laptops around with them would like a bit of the same. Apple delivers on that front. In fact, I wasn't actually impressed with the PowerBook G4 when it was first released - it was only after I encountered one first hand that I found it to be stylish. But more important than style is build quality. In my opinion, one of the most important features of a laptop is its build quality. I've been using Sony VAIOs for quite some time now, mostly because Sony generally offers some of the thinnest and lightest laptops available at the time. Take my current VAIO for example: the X505/SP. The regular X505 weighs in at just over 1.8lbs, but with the carbon fiber shell of the SP version, the total system weight is dropped down to 1.71lbs. However my biggest complaint with Sony is that the weight savings generally come at the expense of build quality, as I have yet to have a single VAIO notebook that doesn't begin to feel flimsy after a few months of good use. The hinges just never seem to be as sturdy as when you first use the laptop and the entire package just don't seem to fit well together anymore after some use. This is in sharp contrast to IBM's Thinkpads. Intel originally sent out Thinkpad X31s for reviewers to use to get more familiar with Centrino, and to date, the X31 was one of the most solid laptops that I've ever used. So what about Apple's 15" PowerBook G4?
On the scale of Sony to IBM, the PowerBook is much more like an IBM than anything else. Only time will tell how the notebook wears, but initially, it definitely feels much more sturdy than not. Also remember that the PowerBook is built at an ASUS factory and is put through ASUS' QA labs, which are some of the most strenuous QA labs out there.
The PowerBook's external skin is made of a lightweight aluminum that looks and feels good, but has two negative points to it. First, it tends to be a great surface for electrons to jump to, especially after walking across a carpet in a dry climate. I doubt that you could damage the notebook by shocking the aluminum shell, but it's something that can definitely get annoying in drier climates. The second issue is that because the exterior casing is all aluminum, it conducts heat exceptionally well, meaning that if the ambient temperature is cold, the PowerBook will feel quite cold. And also, when the PowerBook is running, the base of the system can get rather warm. It's not warm enough to burn you, but it can get a little warmer than I'd like. The aluminum exterior does give an additional feeling of sturdiness that you don't get out of most plastic laptops, including the IBM ThinkPads.
The footprint of the 15" notebook is obviously determined by the size of the screen itself, and measuring in at 13.7" x 9.5", it's not huge, and actually makes similar sized PC notebooks feel large because of the fact that the PowerBook's dimensions are ever so slightly smaller than most 15" widescreen PC notebooks. The notebook is 1.1" thick, which normally to me is quite thick, but Apple did a wonderful job of making it seem as slim as possible. The PowerBook is actually slender looking enough that I wouldn't consider it to be a thick notebook, which is impressive if you've ever heard me talk about what I consider to be thick (the X505 is about 0.37" thick).
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| Slender from the front, that's the slot loading DVD-R to the right. |
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| The left side of the system features (in order from left to right): the power connector, modem jack, USB 2.0 port, 1/8" audio input, 18" headphone/line out, and PC card slot. You can also see the cooling vent on the lower left side of the system. The PowerBook has no cooling vents underneath, just this one on each side and the rest run along the back of the system. |
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| The right side of the system features (in order from left to right): USB 2.0 port, FireWire 400 port, FireWire 800 port, 10/100/1000 Ethernet jack, S-video output and DVI output. |
There are a few points of weakness, however, when it comes to the construction of the notebook, the most significant of them being the PowerBook's latching mechanism. The way the latch on the PowerBook works is like this: when the screen is less than an inch from being closed, a very small hook will drop down to latch into the base of the laptop - keeping the laptop securely closed. The hook is spring-loaded so that when you press the release switch, the screen will pop up slightly, thus removing any need for you to fiddle with the screen to get it to lift enough to get your fingers in between the screen and the notebook. While quite impressive mechanically, the latching mechanism is the one area where I expect the PowerBook to break first. If you've ever dropped a laptop, you know that the latch can be one of the first things to break, even if the rest of the laptop survives. While this was one area in which I didn't test the $2500 acquisition, it's one that didn't feel "IBM-like". The other annoyance that this latch causes is that if you are carrying the laptop from the end opposite the latch, the screen and the base of the laptop have a tendancy to hit each other because of the little amount of play in which the latch gives the screen to move. It doesn't cause any damage to the notebook, but it's an annoyance, one that can be solved by simply holding the laptop by the other end.
After a bit of use, the area above the SuperDrive (combo DVD-RW/CD-RW drive) started squeaking after a bit of traveling and use with the PowerBook. It turns out that the surface of the PowerBook where the trackpad is located became slightly separated from its base at the front right corner of the notebook, causing it to squeak whenever you applied pressure to it. I applied a lot of pressure to the squeaky area and the panel snapped back into place - squeaking problem solved.
The monitor hinge on the PowerBook is decently solid, definitely better than the build quality that you see on something like a Sony VAIO, and at best, it is on par with the quality found in an IBM Thinkpad. Overall, I'd say that the build quality is pretty decent, but it is still lacking a bit of the ruggedness which you'd find in a ThinkPad. Part of the problem is that the surface of the PowerBook scuffs fairly easily, and because of the stylish nature of the PowerBook and its light surface color, scuffs and marks are much more bothersome.
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jsares - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Here's what I wrote on my blog:http://macmini.blogspot.com
Anand Lal Shimpi of AnandTech has a great second article about his experiences with switching to the Mac.
If you could say he liked the Mac in his first article you could say he loves the Mac in this article.
Some great quotes and my comments in italics:
"It took a lot of convincing (as well as some executive privilege) for the establishment of the Mac section, and then came the ... article "
Some of Anand staff didn't want him to write about the Mac.
"Within the first three days of publication, that little Mac article skyrocketed to becoming one of the all-time most popular articles ever published on AnandTech."
Windows enthusiasts are dying for something new.
"One problem with these types of articles is that they inevitably take much longer to put together, simply because there are no structured tests to run and analyze."
That's why this article is so good."
"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."
Welcome to the Mac, Anand.
I don't want to give away too much so go read the article and give the guy some credit in the comments section and send him some nice emails.
Great article Anand!
CrankyTodd - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Hi Anand,Regarding Expose, especially on a laptop, you'll find yourself enjoying Expose MUCH, MUCH more if you dont use the function keys to launch it.
Under System Preferences, choose Expose, and use "Active Screen Corners" to activate Expose functions. I was reluctant to try it at first, but I was hooked within minutes, and cant imagine going back. I Set the lower left corner of the desktop to activate the "Application Windows" function, and the upper right corner of the desktop to activate the "All Windows" function. So as I'm using my Mac, as soon as I want to switch applications or windows within the current application, I just throw my mouse into one corner or the other, instead of having to actually go hit a button to activate either function. Once you try it, you'll see that its an incredible seamless way of navigating the system.
ugly - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
"OS X Tiger...as well as the fact that in Tiger, every single pixel on the screen will ac-tually be rendered by the graphics card."
I thought some image "things" (I couldn't come up with a better word for what was in the core image demo) could be offloaded to the graphics card, but this statement makes it sound as if Tiger will be Quartz Extreme like it should have been.
Dualboy24 - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
I loved the article. I was waiting for a new Mac read at anandtech. It seems like ages since the first one... I recently made a jump to a Mac Powerbook 17" a few months before the first article. The funny thing is I build/sell PCs on the side... but my main system is now the mac and of course I have 5 PCs running every MS-Linux but I must say that the Mac OS is the most advanced OS in terms of interface and it seems multitasking. Expose is a wonderful feature (I use an MX500 mouse with the exposes features mapped)Oh. Also you shouldn't forget the system wide spell checker. Such common sense I wonder if MS does not include this in windows in order to push some of their other products?
Anyway looking forward to the Mac mini review I am probably going to get one for the low noise and power factor.
miniMUNCH - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link
I 2nd the 5400 rpm HD for an extra $45...well worth it. Or you can upgrade the HD yourself or have MAc Shop throw in a 7200rpm HD, but for me the 5400 rpm HD is plenty.wilburpan - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link
Oops. What I meant to say was:Being a user of OS X, Linux, and Windows, I would say that the often cited lack of a two button mouse in OS X is not so much a flaw as it is a preference. Personally, I can move from the one button mouse in OS X to the two button mice of Linux and Windows and back again without much trouble. To complicate things further, two button mouse behavior is different in Windows and Linux. One can get right-click type behavior in many OS X applications by control-clicking the mouse, which does not seem to slow me at all compared to right-clicking.
Until someone can produce data or a usability study that shows that, say, editing an image in Photoshop is slower using a one button mouse than a two button mouse, this is all a matter of what one is used to. You might as well criticize a scroll mouse for the tendency for middle clicks to be interpreted as scrolling commands, or harp on the inconsistencies of menu shortcuts and menu item locations (e.g. does Preferences belong under Edit or Tools?) between applications.
pkthoo - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link
Great article!I consider myself as a neutral. This article sheds light on what I have been looking for; user experiences on using Mac.
Now, I am certain that I am going to be Mac+iPod user, hopefully by year's end.
Apple should make 512MB as minimum RAM amount, and bundle Mac mini with iPod Shuffle as a new 'wholesome' package.
wilburpan - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link
Snoozy - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link
I still think you are missing out on the complete mac experience by not using a launcher application.I run Butler (http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?thema=butler&am... but there are many more: LaunchBar (http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html)... QS as mentioned earlier, just do a search on versiontracker.com.
What these applications enable you to do is virtualy elimate the need for CMD+tab switching, using the dock, or using the Applications folder to launch things. Basically press CMD + Space (as I have it setup, you can go with whatever key combo you want!) and then type what you want - you can even teach them anacronyms for commonly used applications. For example if I do CMD+Space then type PS and hit enter it opens photoshop, or switches to it if its already open. The applications are infinitely configurable, I've got a shortcut for blog which runs an apple script that then pops open MarsEdit and opens a new post window for my blog (which is WordPress powered, MarsEdit contacts it via XML-RPC). Butler also has a built in dictonary, and multiple other widgets. Check it out.
I 2nd the suggestion on using sidetrack. I bought my PB (1st mac) in march last year and this was one of the first things that I had to have - makes it so much nicer.
hopejr - Monday, January 24, 2005 - link
#23, On OS X there is the Zoom thing in the Universal Access Pref panel, that allows everything on the screen to be zoomed at what ever zoom level is necessary. You can set it to follow the mouse, or keyboard focus. It's a nice feature. There's other good features in OS X that help with those who can't see too well.#28, I just tried that and you're right, it does (I tried in 2k3). Oh well, I use OS X more so it's more important to me there :P (although it's nice to know it works in Windows too, for the times I use it)