My New Toy

I've been wanting to upgrade my notebook computer for some time. The G3 PowerBook has been a solid performer, and runs OSX without complaining too much. But it is far from what I would call "responsive," especially when trying to play games or launch memory-hog applications in the latest OS from Apple.

I went back and forth between two models--the 12" iBook, which is light, small, and more or less ready to run the latest software, and the 15" G4 PowerBook, which costs a fair bit more but offers all kinds of power. Cheap and small sound great, but a G4 chip sure would be nice . . .

Apple made up my mind for me when they released this model. I ordered one the day it was announced, and it was in my hands three weeks later. I received the computer on Friday and used it all weekend. I didn't spring for the Superdrive, since I don't see myself creating DVDs anytime soon, but I maxed the RAM to 640MB and got a 60GB HD in the thing. Here are some first impressions of the 12" AlBook (that's Al for Aluminum):

-- It's reasonably cool. It does not get as hot as I had feared. I did about 8 hours of typing on the thing on Sunday, keeping it flat on a table, rather than propped up on a stand to give it breathing room. While the left handrest area was quite a bit warmer than the rest of the machine, it never got truly hot. No comfort issues here (although I can see this being a source of sweaty hands come summer, when my apartment goes from 15 to 30 degrees. Damn Japanese summers.) The bottom of the machine was cooler than the top, even with no airspace underneath. I had no trouble holding it on my lap for 30 minutes or more.

-- It's fast! I say this because my other machines are a G3/400 PowerBook and a G4/450 tower with 16MB video, but this thing does start up programs at a very acceptable clip. GoLive 6 doesn't take two minutes to launch any more. Scrolling through long documents and correcting text in Word X no longer makes the CPU stop to think about what it needs to do next. And Warcraft 3 and Diablo 2 both play smoothly on the bright screen, thanks no doubt to the 32MB of video memory (another thing I have missed in my previous machines).

-- It's sexy. Carrying the box home on the train on Friday night got me ALL KINDS of jealous looks from other commuters. Now this being in Japan, I'm not sure how much of this was "hey look, a 190cm gaijin with a box" and how much was "hey look, the new AlBook," but the box and I did get checked out. It was probably the box and not my sexy self, though. Damn.

-- It's quiet. Spinning CDs while playing games made little bothersome noise--my G3 PowerBook, by comparison, hums like a little racecar. The thing does pump out some decibels when a disk really gets up to speed--during some software installs, for instance--but on the whole it's close to silent. No hard drive clatter, no fan hum. I have heard from other users that the fan does come on when the machine really heats up, but that it's an unobtrusive whirr.

-- It comes with a Classic environment installed and ready for use. It gives no option to boot into 9, but the system folder is there, and I have installed my older versions of Photoshop and Illustrator with no problems.

-- It's got GraphicConverter 4.5 on board, preregistered to "Apple Bundle Users." It also has OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner, both of which are fun to toy around with and may be of real use. I bought mine in Japan, so my software freebies are different than the package offered to customers in other countries; but there are some nice things in there.

-- Its keyboard provides a pleasant typing experience. This is a thin computer, but the keys have some nice depth to them; you tap a key and you know you tapped it.

-- It needs a nice cushy bag to live in. The thing does feel quite rugged--no noticeable flex when picking it up with one hand, and the screen does feel solid--but I don't like the idea of tossing it into a backpack in a way that could bring harm to this beautiful thing.

-- It also has yet to show any signs of keyboard scratches on the screen, but the two sides of the machine do come uncomfortably close when I shut it. I'm getting a screen protector of some kind to avoid the grief I have had with my Lombard.

-- It's my new favorite computer of all time ever, at least since I was playing Jumpman on the Commodore 64.

-- It's mine. All mine. You can't have it.