'My' New iBook 12-inch

OK, It's not really mine. One of the reasons I've been slow to post recently is because I'm buried up to my neck in books, which often happens around the time that Mac OS X is ready for a revision. I'm working on some fun and exciting stuff and, along with trying to publish a weekly newspaper, it leaves little enough time for blogging. But you probably don't care.

The iBook in question is a 1.2GHz, 12-inch model that Apple was kind enough to send me as a PR review unit since I'm doing quite a bit of coverage of portables and haven't had much experience with new-generation iBooks. As a long-time PowerBook user/owner -- my current PowerBook G4/500 has been a workhorse for three years now -- I'm intrigued but the possibility that I could switch to something smaller and, yet, more powerful than anything I've had on my desk on a regular basis.

The iBook is small -- I'm struck by that anytime I swing back to my PowerBook, which sits up on my desk on a neat little Ikea shelf that's connected to my computer desk -- you'd have to see it, but it enables me to use the PowerBook as a desktop, will a full-sized keyboard and mouse. The little swivel shelf brings the height of the PowerBook higher so that my ergonomics are a little better. Compared to the iBook, the PowerBook's 15-inch display looks enormous, if much less bright.

The other quibble -- and it took me a while to figure this out -- the trackpad on the iBook is too big. Seems an odd thing to say since everything about the iBook is small, but the problem is that the trackpad is just large enough that I end up with a second finger (my middle finger) often poised just on the edge of the trackpad and, if I accidentally touch the trackpad with both fingers, the mouse pointer goes shooting off wildly. I've never had that problem before with a PowerBook, and it took me a while to stop simply blaming the iBook for having a "cheaper" mechanism. That may or may not be the case, but it's the size that's the problem. (The trackpad button is also a little "clunkier" than my PowerBook's, but it works fine.)

Aside from that, the iBook is a wonder to me. It's definitely easier to pull in and out of my bag, it's got AirPort Extreme built in (something I'm not used to with my PowerBook) and Bluetooth, which I haven't yet used -- although I just remembered that I have a Bluetooth headset hanging out in a box around here somewhere. Hmm.

One of the most amazing little details to me is burning CDs from a portable. Like I said, I've had my PowerBook -- with a CD/DVD reader only -- for a long time. I'm used to thinking that burning is something that desktops do, then you transfer to your portable. Having this little iBook whir up and start burning a CD was fun to watch.

I find myself squinting at the screen a bit and, for the first time ever, I set a Microsoft Word document to 125% to see the text (something I always used to make fun of PC owners for doing because their display resolutions had no relationship to WYSIWYG sizing the way Macs, er, used to). But overall it's a fun, powerful little package and I like that it feels a bit more rugged than my PowerBook ever has.

I don't know yet if I can live with the 12-inch display and the trackpad drives me a little nuts, but after this little loaner period, I may just find myself with a new 14-inch iBook G4 as my next generation desktop replacement. Stay tuned.

Rick and Dave - Head2Head

I just came across the Blogger site featuring Rick and Dave, two guys that I've occasionally written with. Dave and I used to do a radio show together in Denver that Rick was a featured guest on; we all wrote for the same magazine in Colorado Springs.

All that is to say, it's depressing to think how old these guys are getting now, and they're still at it, fighting over things like Battlestar Galatica vs. Enterprise.

In public, no less. :-)

Rick and Dave - Head2Head

Apple Should Buy TiVo?

I've felt for a long time that a natural extension of Apple's current success with iTunes, the iPod and AirPort would be some sort of "home" server. That server would most likely be located near your television and your stereo, so that it could serve video and audio to those appliances. I also envision it being an AirPort base station and being able to stream audio and video to your Macs.

The trick to the iPod is simple -- Apple got us to carry a hard drive in our pockets by making it cool looking and getting it to play music. So, what benefits could be derived from getting us to put a hard disk with a broadband Internet connection near our home entertainment system?

It looks like the dwindling fortunes of TiVo have some pundits calling for Apple to buy TiVo figuring that TiVo has great technology that needs Apple's genius and marketing muscle. It seems to me that the mere fact that industry analysts are calling for Steve Jobs to do something means he definitely won't do it, but it's an intriguing prospect.

Somehow I think Apple has to get a box onto the television -- and at the "heart" of our homes and maybe even small businesses -- and the Mac mini seems like a good start. And there's no question that Apple needs to pioneer a $9.99 movie purchase solution (or whatever) for downloadable movies they way they have for downloadable music. Frankly, I'm not sure they need to buy TiVo to make it happen, but I'm still waiting on my iHome or iHub or whatever it's going to be called.