Novel Times, Novel Measures

Haven’t gotten much sleep the last two weeks. With the advent of mobile computing in my life, the ability to postpone bedtime has been increased many fold. Being a night owl, I have a hard enough time getting to bed at a decent hour. Now I’ve got even more to distract.

My PowerBook arrived on a Tuesday afternoon while neither my roommate or I were around to accept the package. Thank the heavens above, my downstairs neighbor was able to sign for the package and, when I returned Tuesday night, all my plans were shot. This is what I saw:

And then:

And the silver beauty at my beck and call:

I’ve been having a ton of fun learning my way around OS 10.4. I have not been having a ton of fun trying to set up our home wireless network — for whatever reason the Airlink repeater designed to increase the range of our wireless signal does not want to recognize our Linksys router. The real challenge, though, will be setting up the network so the Mac and the PC can talk to each other. I’m not a network expert by any stretch of the imagination, but by the time this project is all said and done, I just might be.

So, I’ve had the Powerbook long enough to establish some initial impressions, and here they are:

• Mac OSX (Tiger) is a beautifully crafted user interface. So far, with relatively minimimal Mac OS experience, I am getting around the OS pretty easily and picking up useful shortcuts left and right. System performance seems to be fairly solid. The Linux Kernel Below awaits…
• The physical design and interface is beatifully crafted as well. The obvious limitations of a laptop computer aside, the PowerBook keyboard is intuitive and well-laid out. The keys have the most pleasant spring of resistance when pressed. I’m already missing the number pad and ergo keybooard, though, and some new muscles (or pains) in my hands are making themselves known.
• There will be some significant thought and research necessary to complete the switch as far as files and software goes. This will easily be the most difficult part of the transition. iTunes, for instance, is a no-brainer, but, despite the meticulous mp3 file structure on my PC, importing that ~40GB’s is going to be a pain. Can you say ID3 tag? Most PC users can’t. Another crucial front is the mail/contact/calendar transition. I’m leaning towards MS Entourage because of my committment to Outlook, but we shall see.

In sum, as of now, I am infinitely happy with my purchase. I still haven’t had all that much time to play with it, but I’m making good headway so far and having a great time. Most of all, I’m trying to approach the whole Windows-to-Mac switch with the same measured stance with which I approached laptops for so many years. While it is tempting to jump in feet first and keep swimming until I reach the other shore, I’m gonna take my time. I guess you could say that I have already taken the plunge. Now that I am wet, though, there is no sense rushing. I’ll have both my PC desktop and my Powerbook for some time to come — no plans on giving up either. In time I’ll be hopping back and forth between the two like they are one machine. After I get the KVM switch working with Remote Desktop, of course! Geeks of the world, unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains…

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Technology

I’ve gone and done it. Finally, after all the waffling and wavering and biding my time, I am about to enter the world of portable computing. Yes, I purchased a laptop! And not just any laptop, a 15.2″ Apple Powerbook G4 1.67GHz 80GB with Superdrive — but we’ll get to all that. For now, feast your eyes:

I’ve been contemplating a laptop for many years now. My current computer is quite the trooper – I built her back in the very beginning of this millennium and she is still going strong. Sure, a few upgrades have been necessary — a new motherboard, extra hardrives, more RAM — and I’ve reinstalled Windows more times than I care to admit. Despite the ravages of technological advance that have occurred over 5 and a half years, though, she still can handle everything that I throw at her. Mostly. Nonetheless, she is still a desktop machine, an ATX form factor that just doesn’t travel all that well.

Certainly, mobility is attractive. Considering my lack of true expertise in the Apple arena, I’ve often thought that purchasing an Apple laptop would fulfill both my desire for a mobile work environment along with my craving for fluency in Apple OS. The obvious hurdle in my plan was the Mac price tag. To save money, I could have gone with an iBook instead of a Powerbook. Actually, who am I kidding? Considering my tech-fetish, there is no way I would have been satisfied behind the white of an iBook, relegated to admiring the aluminum gleam of a Powerbook from afar. When it comes down to it, Powerbooks are a pinnacle of modern design. Knowing I could do with nothing less than perfection, the Powerbook price was prohibitive. Even still, I haven’t been ready to commit to a laptop until just recently.

I suppose that prudence is a good thing. It’s not easy, though, and I don’t often succeed. However, I’ve managed to hold off on buying a laptop until now, so that’s a sign of measured decision making. Turns out that just two weeks ago I realized — more than that, I knew — that I was ready to make the jump to mobile computing. Lately, with all the work that continues for www.lunarbid.com, I’d been feeling quite chained to my desktop and, consequently, my apartment. Opportunities for house-sitting were squandered and trips continually beset by myriad preparations for long-term desktop absence. But it was just two weekends ago, in a coffeeshop jotting some notes for a writing project, that all the factors pushing me portable coalesced into the explicit desire to research and purchase a laptop.

And spend a good deal of time researching, I did. Of course, my bias was towards a Powerbook, but I felt the need to satisfy some burning questions and assuage some inner guilt regarding the resource-intensive products of our techno-culture. There has been a burgeoning awareness in the First World about the problem of e-waste that has largely saddled communities of the Third. (Check out this ground-breaking documentary.) It seems that Apple has at least given some thought to such issues in their design, manufacturing and distribution. Though it might be corporate green-washing, the Apple & the Global Environment website describes some of their more ecologically oriented practices. Given the current state of manufacturing, however, there will always be resource consumption, unnecessary waste and environmental degradation, even by companies hoping to improve their record. Apple did prove to me that they are trying to move in the right direction, however. My final decision was a compromise that felt good — I purchased a refurbished laptop of the current generation of Powerbooks. I got all the latest bells and whistles, saved a bit of cash and supported the practice of product stewardship through recycling e-products instead of sending them to the landfill.

And now, the wait continues. Funny, despite the looming delivery of my new laptop which promises to deliver me — and my computing environment — beyond these four walls, I am stuck here, anxiously listening for the doorbell’s ring. FedEx should be arriving soon, probably today. Hopefully today. A big change is in store for me and I’m ready. The transition will be slow and difficult at times, I imagine, but I’m not going to push it. I am in no rush. I’ve waited this long for a laptop — that same measured stance can only help ease the release from desktop chains into mobile freedom. Of course, being chained to a computer, mobile, stationary or otherwise, is another matter altogether. Lest my expectations go too far, I need remind myself: mobility does not freedom make.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Technology