I’m very happy with my wonderful new 15″ Aluminum PowerBook. It’s double the speed of my last one, at 1.25Ghz, has a much-needed larger hard drive (80GB), and a DVD burner. Has the same 512MB as my last one and an AirPort card, although this one is “Extreme”, so it can use 802.11g access points. So when I work in Web Services, at least, I’ll get very high speeds. 😉 A lot of design flaws have been corrected since the TiBook. The new case is a lot more solid and, so far, hasn’t gotten any scratches. The very cool backlit keyboard is wonderful in the dark. The LCD is springy so that, even when closed, it doesn’t come in contact with the keyboard, and, thus, doesn’t get dirty.
Now, the problems. The battery looked a lot smaller then the old one, and it turns out it is — max advertised battery life is 4.5 hours instead of 5.5, and while I was able to get up to 4 hours on my old ‘Book, this new one hasn’t give me over 3 so far. The big test will be on the plane, when I have it in ultra power-saving mode, with brightness way down, screen effects turned off, etc. We’ll see. Secondly, because of the aforementioned springy screen, the ‘Book really isn’t meant to be held in any position other then normal upright, with two hands. I can’t really grab it with one hand and walk around, I don’t think. I’m still trying to figure this one out.
I’m gonna grab a 3-year AppleCare warranty for my ‘Book as soon as I get a chance — it is highly worth it, since my poor old TiBook decided to die after 18 months and the repiar costs are very, very high when you need a new logic board or display.
All in all, I’m very happy with this wonderful new tool, and I can’t wait to accessorize with a nice, padded backpack. One thing I don’t want to buy is a second battery at $129, but unfortunately I may have to do that at some point. Before I do so, I’m gonna see how this one holds up in normal school usage conditions.
Rrrrrr! Lucky lucky! I want one~! But that “springy” LCD bothers me. What do you mean by “springy?” There’s a lot of play in the hinges? Or do you mean that *placement* of the hinges? Does the keyboard not mark up the screen even when pressure is applied to the outside of the case–i.e. when in a briefcase?
Anyway, nce they go G5, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist any longer. But that probably won’t be till I’ve squeezed all the life out of Sparky, my TiBook, anyway. Rrrr.
Well, I’ve been afraid to take the ‘Book out of my room until I get my new case in the mail tomorrow or Friday, so I don’t know how well it will fare while being transported. The hinges are fine, but once you close it past a certain point a spring of some sort pushes upward. It latches shut while pushing upwards, keeping the screen away from the keyboard. Fairly smart design, but I’m surprised they couldn’t do something better with rubber bumpers. I wonder how well it will work in a case or while being gripped, but, like I said, I’m afraid to carry it with one hand at this point, so I don’t really apply pressure to the LCD. This is also because of some reported problems with white spots on the LCD due to pressure on the case…I don’t want to have to send the poor thing in for a new LCD this early in the game.
“G5 laptops – because third-degree burns just aren’t enough!”