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Skewed
Mac
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A Skewed Look At The New Apple 17" Powerbook
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© 4-11-03 Dean Browell
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The 17" Powerbook is an incredible machine. Whatever your thoughts
on various aspects of it, there is simply no avoidance of the sheer
power of its design. From the moment its black box arrived I've been
smitten, and even after a few weeks I find the awe of the machine still
fresh.
Vested Interest
Let it be first said that this computer was not a review unit, lent
by Apple for the evaluation and free-sailing pace-putting for the
purposes of an article (or three). This decision did not come lightly,
nor did the money simply appear from nowhere. More than two months ago
I came to the decision
that the 17" Powerbook would be the choice for my first truly
professional machine, and its arrival cleared the path for proving such
a postulation. But be aware that its failure at any of these things
would be a costly mistake on my part; I would likely make do with even
the most aggravating error because I had no choice... That said and
out-of-the way I can begin to convey, with a clear conscience, exactly
how I feel about this machine.
Leaving Impressions (On All It Touches)
Without comparisons to its AlBrother the 12" or even its cousins the
Titaniums, in fact if you never rested this sleek soul next to a single
soul you would be struck by its thinness and its incredible screen.
Those two aspects would leap out at you as you swayed from side-to-side
and investigated the angles to try and find the screen's blind spot or
understand where the drive must go. One aspect that did not assault me
as many reviewers have pointed out was the overall size; Yes, it's big,
but I never even considered it too large; From the beginning this
machine was a spectacular portable for its screen- in fact its weight
was the first aspect I noticed on my own lap later that week after it
arrived. It's heavy, but not horrible (it's thankfully well
distributed so you never feel awkward with a particular end). Recently
I was able to handle a 15" Titanium and even then the size was hardly
an issue (the weight was noticeable, but considering the difference in
size is nowhere near the contrast between an iBook and the 15" the
comparison wasn't as telling). Screen comparisons lead to obvious
conclusions, but strangely it wasn't just the size of the 17" that
impressed: the brightness, pixel concentration and viewing angle were
amazing
There are things that simply MUST be said about this machine, namely
about the subtlety of the features that are included. First, the
ports: The side-placement of the various ports makes lap-connection a
breeze and quick access a priority (and what other kind of access would
you like?). With a USB on each side, connecting an external keyboard
or mouse is as-you-please easy, as is Internet connectivity; It should
be noted that yes, the modem and ethernet ports are on opposite sides
which one reviewer I read thought would be confusing but I found a fine
and appropriate design choice, since you're likely to use one or the
other as a dominant side (and side-by-side can cause frequent problems
feeling around for the right plug that you always use). The PC Card
slot has a sleek pop-out eject device that seamlessly works into the
rest of the design. The Firewire I & II (800) ports are side-by-side
on the right side near both external display connectors (Monitor and
S-Video). Putting the ports on the side allows for a very strong and
solid hinge that runs the length of 75% of the rear of the machine (as
opposed to the multiple smaller-hinges on the TiBooks) which lends
itself to the simple, silver, sinewy slab motif that Apple was
certainly going for.
Next up: the keyboard. Strong and almost strangely more like a
high-quality typewriter or word processor, there is a soft and stable
quality to its design. Easily the feature that garners the most
"gee-whiz" attention is the ambient light sensor and subsequent
illumination of the keys but while every owner of this machine is libel
to drag you into a nearby bathroom or closet to demonstrate this, the
true versatility and significance of the keyboard lighting up is best
noticed unplanned. I was typing and surfing outside on the porch as
the afternoon sun disappeared... It was half an hour before it dawned
on me that I never once paused to hunt for a key even though I couldn't
read a newspaper in the dim light left of early evening; the keyboard
had slowly lit underneath my fingers and the screen slightly dimmed to
compensate (and presumably to help with the battery power used with the
keyboard light). It was an example that defied even the "gee-whiz"
purpose: This wasn't simply neat, it was useful and I'd just proven it
to myself by complete accident. It was further proved when I began to
type this review on the plugged-in external keyboard and the low-light
of the office frustrated my typing. I found myself actually unplugging
the external just to use the lit keys of the 17" - how often would that
trade have been made in the past with a laptop?
Speed, speed, speed makes the trip worthwhile. In the first weekend
I made a small movie of the cats (a music video for the Al Green song
"Tired of Being Alone") and was able to run iMovie effectively for the
first time, alongside any application I could throw at it. Helped by
the wide-screen aspect of the laptop, I could edit a movie at the same
time I was checking email, glancing at iCal and watching a DVD in a
small window in the corner. The 1GHz processor and Gig of RAM made for
a powerful computer (and in fact, the most powerful I'd ever owned).
The graphics chip (NVIDIA GeForce 440 Go) allows me to run all my
games, even graphic-intensive ones that choked and stalled even on
startup on the old iMac, with full visual features on. The widescreen
DVD's I own look incredible and play flawlessly, even in the
aforementioned mini-window while doing extensive work on other apps.
It's not just a heavy machine, it's a heavy worker.
Other notes: As some have reported, the high pitch and slight whine
you sometimes hear is the hard drive which operates far more quietly
than in previous machines and in fact most resembles the sound of the
iPod's activity; The power button is a much heavier and less
accident-prone feature on the speaker grille; Speaking of speakers,
these are very nice and amplify well much to my surprise; The trackpad
is shaped to coincide with the wide screen and is effortless to
navigate, as well as accompanied by a very sturdy and clickable
equally-long button; Battery life has been around 3.5 hours with all my
desired features on (Which is what matters, right? Plausible
Brightness, Keyboard Illumination, Audio Volume...); Is it too big for
bags? No way- in fact every satchel I own stows it nicely; The latch
leaves a slight bit of room so the keyboard doesn't press hard against
the screen, and in fact the latch is very sturdy and not at all
susceptible to accidental opening...
As A Desktop
As we saw, I
bought this to use also as my desktop, and I'm happy to say that it
performs flawlessly. The keys to making it feel like a desktop
however is the accouterments you provide it. I used an external Apple
Pro Keyboard & Mouse (thanks Matt!) of the black variety (because it
matched other aspects of my office, the white versions would work with
the silver as well much like the iPod's casing so pick to your liking).
While they help fool me into treating the machine like a desktop, the
real key is the Griffin Technology iCurve. Resting on it in
such a way to nearly render the simple stand invisible, the Powerbook
proudly opens to its full girth on it in such a way to appear floating
above my desk, widescreen at just the right height. In fact, instead
of looking like an awkward desk replacement with a dreadlock-batch of
cords and the kind of forced-purpose that would make any geek wince,
the 17" Aluminum Powerbook actually looks sleek and important in
desktop-mode, bringing an air of respectable form to the concept of
laptop computing cum home office. Even closed it looks great on the
iCurve!
As A Portable
No doubt the 17" Powerbook was designed to be in your lap, and it
works well there as one might expect. The weight is not severe in any
one place, so its actually quite comfortable. The keyboard, which
might look like just an island inside the frame actually benefits from
the extra space by allowing (*gasp!*) a place for your hands to go
within the field of the laptop's form. As a portable device it excels
in what it allows you to take with you: a 17" DVD player... In the
car, with the help of a car-adapter for the laptop or plugged into an
Inverter such as the PortaWattz 300 which we
purchased for at least half the cost of a specific adapter ($38 versus
$80 & $120) which also allows for other items to plug in; This allows
us to treat the 17" like a portable entertainment center for our CRV,
including tailgating displays or movies. The AlBook is nearly better
than even throwing images to a TV for casual viewing of slideshows and
the like. For example: in starting to show my family some recent
photos of my wife's trip to New York, we found that since the 17"
screen of the Powerbook was nearly the size of the TV we were going to
display the photos on, it might be a moot point to shuttle them there
via the S-Video connector; We found an equally compelling reason
however, in that when we enacted Video Mirroring the screen on the
AlBook was far more clear and visible in the light of the room than the
TV itself, and far more appropriate for the sildeshow.
Absolute Necessities & Early Recommendations
I'll be doing more in the future to highlight the perfect accessories,
such as bags and more... But for now early 17" users should certainly
look into an iCurve and external Keyboard and Mouse for desktop use,
and some strategic portable needs per your usage. For productivity,
play with Apple's own software for a treat of speed and integration.
And to continue in your quest for Mega, why not take your love of
excess to the limit and play a few rounds of iConquerer? (More on iConquerer
later...)
Lasting Thoughts
Let's be honest: The 17" Powerbook is easily cornered for being
large, but I can tell you firsthand through use that size does matter
and it is used to its advantage in every way. From the screen, the
form factor, the ports, the keyboard and the speed, this is no longer a
"notebook" but rather a portable powerhouse truly worthy of a
professional. I'm excited to show this puppy off, but refreshingly I'm
also excited simply to use it.
Music Recommendations April 2003:
