Ed's Tech Tips

It's only been a few days, but I thought I would write about my switch from two computers, a 15" G4 PowerBook and a Dell Pentium 4 Windows XP Pro desktop.

First impressions are very positive. The unit is very compact. I like the magnetic latch, there is no button to push or a latch hook to break like on my sister's PowerBook. The black matte case reveals that my finger tips are more oily than I thought. The space bar and the touch pad reveal a shiny sheen on them. Also, for those that are obsessive about everything matching will be disappointed that the power adapter and remote control are white. I bought the black version because I thought it hold up better in the long run.

Getting back to the track pad. It is wider than the one the G4 PowerBook and the problem of right clicking has been ingeniously resolved. It used to be that  you had to press the ctrl key and click the track pad button to get a right click effect. Now I just have to tap with two fingertips. I also scroll up, down and across with two fingertips. This is a cool feature.

As for the glossy screen, you might think that it's reflective quality would be distracting, but it is not. It appears to make the screen brighter and improve contrast. The wide aspect ratio makes switching from a 15" screen to a 13.3 screen easier to adjust to. The only thing I needed to change was the layout of my Dashboard widgets. I can use the free virtual desktop utility called VirtueDesktops to give me multiple work spaces if the screen appears too crowded. (Note: VirtueDesktops is no longer under active development due to the inclusion of Spaces with the release of the upcoming Leopard, OS X 10.5.)

The keyboard with the chiclet keys is easy to use. I sometimes hit the wrong key, but then again that could be due to me not being a good typist. The keyboard should be easy to keep clean with the wider spaces between the keys.   

I like the compact size and lower weight. The notebook is easier to move around. It is only 1.08" thick. There a few ports missing, but they were ones I seldom used. There is no modem, but I have not used one in years and do not have an ISP that offers dial-up service. (Apple does offer a USB modem accessory.) There is no S-Video port, but I never used that either. There are optional adapters for analog and DVI output. I was hoping that the mini video output was compatible with the G4 flat screen iMac we have, but it is not. It kind of annoys me that you have to buy the adapters separately. It would be nice if they had a combo adapter. The DVI adapter cost $19 each.  

The Firewire-800 port is also missing, but I seldom took advantage of it. I have a Maxtor external drive that has USB 2.0 and Firewire 400/800 ports, but my primary use for it is for video editing. I cannot use our Canon DV camcorder (which only supports Firewire 400) with the Maxtor connected via Firewire because the PowerBook would not recognize both connected at the same time. I had read that the problem was with the Canon Firewire chipset. As a work-around I connected the Maxtor via the USB 2.0 connection which supports speeds up to 480 Mbps. I notice no  difference in video  playback speeds. There are two USB ports.

All of the ports are on the left side and the CD/DVD slot is on the right side, instead of the front like it was on the PowerBook. 

As for speed improvements, it is a snappier and it boots very fast. The biggest speed difference is with video encoding. It has a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and although I do not have the times, it was able to encode a a video clip faster than a Dual 1.8 GHz G5 Power Mac.  The performance lab tests from Macworld appear to back up my observations, although the amount of memory was different in both machines, 1.5 GB versus 2 GB. Regardless, the Core 2 Duo processor is fast and it is obvious to see what Apple had to make the switch to Intel.

The bottom of the case does get warm, but I think less so than the G4 PowerBook. However, since the notebook will now be my primary computer I did order a Targus Podium Coolpad. The Coolpad elevates the notebook at an angle to increase airflow underneath, prevent damage from spills on the desktop and offer some ergonomic benefits.

I think that is enough for Part 1 for now. In Part 2, I 'll discuss my experience with the Migration Assistant and the use of Parallels with Microsoft Windows Vista.