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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jonmarsh - Thursday, November 3, 2005 - link
I just read this and several other Mac articles here last night. Funny thing is, several weeks ago when my "enterprise" HP laptop started flaking out on a business trip, I was at the point where I was considering buying a Mac Mini just to play with. This was after reading about the current state of Tiger and the platform in general.Instead, I ended up walking out of the store with a new 17" Powerbook, which is no heavier than my 15" HP, and infinitely more pleasurable to use, in so many ways. After loading Office for the Mac, iWorks, Deltagraph, Acrobat and Acrobat reader, and bringing my files over, I was ready for a subsequent three weeks of business travel, and haven't looked back since.
I'll need the HP to run some of my CAD software (schematics and PCB design), but I'm pretty sure now there will be a G5 dual processor system in my future running those apps under Virtual PC.
Perhaps some of the adoption process and uptake wouldn't have been as smooth with earlier versions of OSX, but some days I just wonder why I didn't do this sooner.
BTW, I've been using PCs since 1983, and building them since 1985, so it's not like I'm not quite immersed in that scene, especially due to the CAD work (electrical and mechanical) which I do. For now, I'm learning Ashlar Vellum Graphite, and thinking I should have done that long ago, too. (Adios, AutoCAD).
BTW, the 23" Ciinema display is great- not that my Samsung 213T is obsolete, but the integration factor for the Apple is a big plus. And this silly laptop DOES have dual DVI and can drive the 30" display, too. Hmmmm. ;^)
~Jon
Imaginer - Sunday, August 7, 2005 - link
"For example, if you have a file, drag it into an open Terminal window and the entire path to that file will be copied into the window for you. It actually makes interacting with the file system from the command prompt quite easy. "Windows command prompt allows this too
rhayes - Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - link
I bought a PowerBook 15" 1.5ghz about 4 months ago (my first Mac for all intents and purposes).As mostly a PC user (Windows + Linux), I agree with a lot of what Anand talks about in the article. I think most people coming from a Windows background could safely make a purchasing decision based on that article...
For the record, what really sold me on the Mac (particularly the PowerBook) was running into it EVERYWHERE at my last Java symposium: "No Fluff Just Stuff". As a Java developer, it just seemed liked the perfect package: a) no Windows in sight, b) UNIX on a notebook without having to install it myself, c) the best OS GUI on the market IMO.
The reservations about the 1 button mouse on the G4 are definitely understandable. But somehow (for whatever reason) it really doesn't bother me. However, when I'm at a client site and developing for long periods of time on the G4, I do carry a Bluetooth mouse with me. It's one button also :)
ginjin31 - Sunday, June 12, 2005 - link
wonderful job with all the articles related to this. i can't believe i read the whole thing. =Dthere's one thing that i haven't noticed though. you never mentioned the sleep freature in the Powerbook, where you never really have to turn off your laptop. so whenever you need to use it you just take it out open it and it's ready to go.
unlike PCs, you have to turn it off, standbye, or hibernate. waiting for the PC to boot takes a lot time, so a lot of time wasted before you can actually start working. i'm not really satisfied with the standby feature either. sometimes the PC just doesn't resume or i would get an error message. this happens more often and i would always end up rebooting the PC in the end.
this is my favorite feature on Macs, and i don't know if i missed it but i don't think you mentioned it at all in the article.
wonderful job overall Anand. i felt exactly the same way when i first got my Mac, being a diehard PC user myself.
Gooberslot - Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - link
#28, it works on Win98 too.mongo lloyd - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
Sometimes, these article make me wonder if Anand is the kind of "die-hard PC user" as he claims. For example:"Unlike the Windows command prompt, Terminal actually interfaces quite well with the rest of OS X. For example, if you have a file, drag it into an open Terminal window and the entire path to that file will be copied into the window for you. It actually makes interacting with the file system from the command prompt quite easy."
As does CMD. As it's done for at least since Win2000. Possibly longer. There are lots of small things like these, bordering on being untrue statements, interspersed into these two Macintosh articles (which, admittedly, are good reads).
azkman - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
It looks like one of your dislikes with the G4 P'Book may have been partially addressed with the brand new lineup. Scolling and panning on the trackpad can be performed with two fingers. Besides, they're just plain faster and cheaper than before. BTW, great review!sluxx - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
Enjoyed the article very much.I'll also fifth SideTrack. For $15, you essentially get a new multi-function trackpad.
When you are typing, in the middle of a word, press alt+esc, you get a list of words that begins with what you've typed. Great for looking up words that you're not certain of the spellings. I imagine it works only for Cocoa apps and not Carbon apps.
A couple of other freewares that I find useful: Spirited Away that hides selected (you select) background apps after a specified amount of time, and Speed Freak, a GUI wrap of the "renice" unix command. It's especially useful for me on a G3 iBook, but can help making your front app snappier. You can search and find them at www.versiontracker.com.
My first time here, but looking forward to reading your other articles.
hindsight - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
A couple of PowerBook features not covered in the article but still worth mentioning:- Dual displays: an external monitor plugged into the PowerBook can either mirror the LCD screen or act as a second display and thus significantly increase the desktop real estate.
- Target Disk Mode: start the computer with the 'T' key held down and the computer behaves like an external FireWire drive. Very useful for transferring large amounts of data between machines quickly. (this works to all Macs)
bshell - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
Both Windows and Macintosh OS's try to "think for you", but there's a fundamental difference in how they do this. Windows *imposes* its monopolistic will all the time, making decisions that it decrees to be the way things should be done all the way from spelling and grammar to where files should be stored, to the web search results. It's very mercenary, patronizing, irritating, and annoying. Apple, on the other hand has a more philosopher-king style, making "kind suggestions" rather than decrees, and guessing what you want correctly, sensibly, and unobtrusively more of the time. Somehow the choices Apple makes feel much kinder than Windows and always make you go "Wow, thanks" instead of "Oh damn, leave me alone." This is pervasive.