Mobile Mac User #1-The PowerBook


Initial posting on what equipment and software I use to stay mobile.

I have an IBM ThinkPad with a Pentium 4 cpu and it's nice. I have wireless card in the slot and it's nice and fast. I don't do most of my work on it, however. Why not? Because I prefer Macs. I could go into more detail but I ain't out to convince you so I won;t.

Before I received my laptop early last year, I had wanted a PowerBook for about as long as they've been coming out. But, PowerBooks had always been expensive. Price comparisons between Apple PowerBooks and other brands are much better now, but a fast laptop still costs a bit of cash.

Why a laptop other than the cool factor? Portability between work and everywhere else. My home computer has always been a Mac and my work computers for far too long have had Windows OS on it. A laptop allows me to pick right up from where I left off when I get to work, go to a conference, or go on vacation.

I probably wouldn't have even bought the PowerBook when I did last year except for a family emergency. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer (colon, get your scans!). She lived in CA and I was living in MO at the time and I anticipated a lot of traveling between states. We couldn't financially afford for me to take a leave-of-absence from my work. So, we went out and my wife settled in to stay for as long as she needed while I was to fly back as often as I could. I'm constantly preparing new presentations for my college chemistry courses. The PowerBook would allow me to keep up with my work and email while I was away for brief periods. Long story short- mom died before I even received the PowerBook I ordered.

I've used the PowerBook for over a year now and it's a delight. I used it for the times I had to be in CA, for job interviews, and for my chemistry presentations. How and what did I decide to buy?

I've never been a first-time tech buyer since I can't afford it. Hey, let people who can afford it buy it and help the company get the bugs out. But, the 12" Apple PowerBook had been out for a few weeks and was getting awesome reviews. It was small and powerful enough for me. The aluminum finish was new at the time for an Apple PowerBook and it looked good. Heck, it still looks good! I added AppleCare, memory, the larger harddrive, and I was set. It's more expensive to get memory through Apple, but if there was a problem later on I wanted to make sure i had Apple stuff in it. I should have included the Airport Extreme card, but how was I to know that a year later I was going to set up a wireless network in our house?

A PowerBook purchase is a personal decision but I've never regretted this one. It's been a real workhorse and it's been my main computer since I purchased it.

Next time, I'll write about what I carry with this puppy.

Posted:
Sun - May 30, 2004 at 11:11 PM      

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