Macopinion

The Road Warrior Review - Laptop Laidback 3 Stand For Reclined Computing Re-Engineered [UPDATED]

For the past seven years or so, an important element of my work infrastructure has been a disarmingly simple but elegant device called a Laptop Laidback - a notebook computer stand designed specifically for use while reclined.

The Laidback's essential distinctiveness is signalized in its name; the stand is engineered specifically for optimum comfort when using your laptop in a reclined position, such as lying on a bed, sofa, the floor, or whatever. Coincidentally, the Laidback is manufactured about 60 miles as the proverbial crow flies frauds from where I live here in eastern Nova Scotia, Canada, its furniture-finish wood material hewn from good solid Canadian maple, with a computer support tray of melamine made in a factory somewhere "away."

Back in 1996, Doug Martell, a high school physics teacher in the small community of Arichat on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island., bought his first laptop computer. Doug liked to work at home in a reclined position, and soon discovered that laptops, despite their name, are pretty uncomfortable to use on your lap, especially if you're lying down. Not only are the ergonomics bad for typing, modern laptops with fast processors get pretty hot.

Doug began searching for some sort of device that could hold his laptop in more comfortable position for this sort of use. Finding none, he retired to his backyard garage and cobbled up a makeshift laptop table and stand out of lumber and plywood - the first rough prototype of the Laptop Laidback workstation. Doug decided the device had commercial possibilities, and began designing a more refined version that could be mass-produced, He says that after teaching physics for nearly 30 years, he is probably 'half an engineer.'

The first production version of the product was patented, and Martell formed a company, Laidback We 'R' Inc. to market Laptop Laidback over the Internet. Doug says he has a soft spot for Apple Computer, which gave his new product a boost early on by providing a link from the Apple Website to the Laptop Laidback site.

The Laptop Laidback has been as close to perfect at what it's designed to do as any piece of equipment I've ever owned, and has looked (and felt) great doing it. The only complaint one might have is that are that the solid hardwood material is perhaps a tad heavy, especially if you want to take the Laidback on the road, but the extra weight pays dividends in stability on what are sometimes less than stable support surfaces.

The Laidback, in production since 1998, was also a bit pricey for a laptop stand. Fine quality wood joinery and finishing don't come cheaply, and while I would contend that the value was there - after seven years intensive use, my Laptop Laidback 1 looks as good as the day it arrived here - and you can't put a price on the tactile feel of nice wood. However, I expect that the Laidback We "R" Inc. folks did encounter some price resistance, so I completely understand why they have re-engineered version three of the Laptop Laidback, retaining the excellent basic design functionality, but in a substantially lighter, substantially less expensive package.

Unfortunately, that translates to offshoring the manufacture to China and substituting high-strength engineered polymer plastic for the erstwhile wood. The very good news is that the Laptop Laidback 3 does pretty much the same excellent job that versions 1 and 2 did, and throws in a couple of cool new wrinkles to boot, such as a handy carrying handle.

However, there have been sacrifices. Honeycomb section plastics simply can't match the spectacular looks and comfortable, satisfying feel of fine-finished hardwood, nor the latter's overall strength I imagine. The sort of plastic used to make the Laidback 3 is very rugged, but one detects more flexibility (that is to say any flexibility at all - there was none with the maple version) in the leg assembly, although I don't doubt that the Laidback 3 will hold up just fine in service. It is rated to hold up to 22 lb., which is more than twice the weight of the heaviest Mac laptop ever built.

The plastic is considerably lighter than the wood (under 3 lb. compared with 4.75 lbs for the Laidback 1), which is welcome when moving the unit around, with or without a laptop on board.

The lower limbs of the leg supports have been lengthened by 1 3/4 inches which helps compensate for less stability imparted by road-hugging (well, bed-hugging) weight.

Another new feature of the Laidback 3 is that the computer support tabs at the lower age of the laptop tray now adjust for positioning - the ones on the wood/melamine Laidbacks were fixed in place. This is especially convenient if your laptop has a front-loading optical drive, as you can position the tabs so they don't block the drive slot.

The downside, so to speak, is that while the support tabs are about the same height as the maple ones on my Laidback 1, they are much thinner in section and smaller in width, which allows them to dig into your palms uncomfortably, and I'm using the unit with a relatively thick by today's standards Pismo PowerBook. The issue would be even more pronounced with thinner machines, which most are these days. A wider top edge or slightly less depth to the tabs might help. You can work around this issue somewhat by adjusting the tabs' positioning.

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[UPDATE] Carla Martell writes to say:

Hi!

I was just reading your review of the Laptop Laidback V3.

I’m just wondering if you know that the tabs on the front of the Laptop Laidback V3 flip over to allow for slimmer laptops?? They can be flipped two ways, one way for higher profile laptops to ensure they don’t slip off the table and then can be turned the other way to allow for the slimmer profile laptops so that they don’t hurt wrists.

CM

***

Thanks for the info., Carla. I had not noticed that feature. I've now tried it, but the lower-profile mode doesn't provide enough support to hold the PowerBook Pismo with its contoured edges in place, although the shallower-lip configuration would presumably be fine with more squared-off laptop designs or perhaps the very thin MacBook Air .

Charles

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The Laidback makes it possible to optimize the ideal arm, hand, neck, shoulder, and leg positions recommended by ergonomists to maximize comfort when using a laptop computer. Comfort is key in this context When you're comfortable, you are also pain and stress free, and can extend your laptop usage, be more efficient and effective, and can significantly reduce further stress on your body. The correct position is to always have your upper arms and elbows resting on a flat surface (no reaching), so to ensure this the laptop table must be able to adjust up and down so your palms and fingers rest on the keyboard (without having to lift your elbows off the support surface).

Adjusting the Laidback to find the most comfortable configuration of height and tray angle takes some trial and error experimentation. An assembly instruction diagram is pictured on the back side of the support tray, where it will always be handy.

I had a leg up on the process, as I just copied the configuration file my Laidback 1, which after seven years of use has been fine-tuned to a fare-thee-well. One small refinement addition I would like to see is adjustment gradation markings on the tray height adjustment sliders. You can eyeball it pretty accurately, but the obsessive compulsive in me wants to get the two sides precisely synchronized.

While the angle of the keyboard when the computer is mounted on the Laptop Laidback trade appears "wrong" from an ergonomic perspective, when the user is reclined, the ideal 90 degree elbow angle and straight wrist posture are easily achievable. I find the typing angle quite comfortable with my palms resting naturally on the computer's palm rests. Besides people who just want to use their laptops well reclining in comfort, the product has also proved popular with people who have physical disabilities, are pregnant, recovering from surgery, or are confined to bed for any reason.

Another major advantage of the Laptop Laidback for portable computer use away from a desk or table is that it keeps the hot computer away from you or the blankets, which will allow it to run cooler, and is a lot more comfortable for the user. This is particularly important for newer laptops with their hotter processors.

Laidback is designed to be a dedicated-purpose product and to fulfill that purpose uncompromisingly well, so Laidback We "R" Inc. don't recommend purchasing it to eat snacks on, use as a TV tray, or a perch for the bird.

The product is specifically designed for laptop users who want to maximize comfort in the horizontal position, although that being said, they do have customers that have found other uses for Laptop Laidback such as a stand to rest a book on while reading in bed.

There are five main components; two two-piece articulated, legs joined respectively by knurled bushings that allow "knee-style" angle adjustments in five degree increments. The adjustment angle is secured by sturdy and generously sized thumbscrews for each joint. The tray section is now of the same plastic material as the legs, with two angled slots at the back containing captive sliding anchors for the thumb screws that fasten the legs to the tray. This allows the user infinite adjustment of the Laptop Laidback tray height within the range of the slots.

The support legs detach and fasten to the tray's front surface with Velcro strips, and self-adhesive Velcro pads are also provided to use securing the laptop to the tray if you wish, although I have never bothered. With the legs fastened to the tray, the entire Laidback becomes a single, relatively compact unit for storage and transport - very slick and convenient, and made more so by the molded-in carry handle.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm a consummate Laptop Laidback fan, and from a functional standpoint I'm as enthusiastic about the Laidback 3 as I was about the earlier models. If you are a frequent or regular user of the reclined computing mode, this product is the gold standard, and with the Laidback 3 the cost of ownership has dropped by about one-third, which should allow more laptop users to enjoy the benefits of this excellent device.

Laidback We "R" Inc. warranties its product for 1 year from date of purchase, and the product is sold with a "30-day money back" return policy with no restocking fees but shipping costs in either direction are not refundable.

Laptop Laidback 3 sells for $99.99

For more information, visit:
http://www.laptop-laidback.com/index.php



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cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

PowerBook 1400 Gets Another Trip To The Fountain Of Youth - From The Road Warrior Archive

On Valentine's Day. 2000, I posted this The Road Warrior piece, discussing processor upgrades for the PowerBook 1400, which was one of the most upgradeable Apple laptops ever, and one that benefited mightily from being upgraded, vaulting it into the G3 era.

Interestingly, going on nine years later, Sonnet still sells two G3 processor upgrade products for the PowerBook 1400, offering up to 12x overall speed improvement over original system. The Sonnet Crescendo PB/G3 replaces the PowerBook's original, poky 603e processor card with a speedy 466 MHz G3 processor with high-speed Level 2 backside cache. However, the PBG3-400-1M 400 MHz G3 with 1MB/200 MHz L2 cache, and PBG3-466-1M 466 MHz G3 with 1MB/186 MHz L2 cache are currently flagged "Available While Supplies Last," so if you want one, it would be prudent to move soon. For more information, visit:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_pb.pb.html

Also, happily, Newer Technology did cease operations for a time, but the assets and name were subsequently purchased by Other World Computing, and the NewerTech name is going strong these days, although they don;t offer any upgrades today for the PowerBook 1400.

CM

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PowerBook 1400 Gets Another Trip To The Fountain Of Youth [Originally Published February 14, 2000]

The amazing PowerBook 1400 received yet another new lease on life with Sonnet Technologies announcement at MacWorld San Francisco of its new 333 MHz/512k Crescendo G3/PB Processor Upgrade for the venerable but solid old workhorse, with a 333MHz/1MB unit to follow in the spring.

The 1400 has proved to be one of the most popular PowerBook models ever thanks to its good looks, excellent keyboard, CD-ROM support, very nice (albeit a bit small) 11.3" screen, ease of maintenance, reasonable size and weight, and especially its upgradability -- a feature Apple has attempted to defeat on the G3 Series 'Books by mounting their proprietary boot ROMS on the daughtercard with the CPU. More on that issue below.

Newer Technology and the Japanese firm Vimage (Interware) previously offered G3 upgrades for the PowerBook 1400 (Newer's were made by IBM Japan), but both firms had discontinued them by mid-1999, causing prices of used upgrade cards to soar astronomically sometimes to $hundreds more than they sold new for. Indeed, several Road Warrior readers have reported removing the G3 upgrades from their 1400s and selling the computer and card separately for a cumulative total just slightly less than the cost of a new iBook.

Upgradability has also preserved the resale value of used 1400s, which in some cases sell for more than used PowerBook 3400s -- machines that originally cost $thousands more than the 1400.
http://www.sonnettech.com/

Dave Manning of UpgradeStuff.com has waged a valiant campaign over the past year or so to try and persuade Newer to re-release a 250 MHz PB1400 upgrade, but last fall he announced that IBM Japan, which would have supplied the manufacturing, had given a final "NO" on the project.

Sonnet's Crescendo G3/PB upgrades replace the PowerBook 1400's original 117, 133, or 166 MHz 603e processor card with G3 card running at 333 MHz with 512K or 1 MB backside cache. The Sonnet cards use a specially-configured, low-power copper IBM G3 processor which can extend the PowerBook 1400's battery life of the by up to 25%. "This is win-win for the customer," said Sonnet President Robert Farnsworth. "We are providing a dramatic increase in performance and a significant extension of battery life too." That performance increase will be in the range of 3-4 times faster than a stock 1400, even better in some instances.

The Crescendo G3/PB 333/512 has an estimated U.S. street price of $389 and is to be available this month, with a probable rollout at MacWorld Tokyo this week. The 333MHz/1MB upgrade will sell for $90 more than the 512k cache unit. The high end upgrade is expected to be about 10 to 15 percent faster than the base unit on average, but performance gains should be even better than that for cache-intensive programs like PhotoShop. On the downside, the faster card will generate more heat and diminish battery life, as well as costing more.

Anyone wanting to purchase a 1400 with a G3 upgrade in mind should look for one of the 117 MHz units, which should be several hundred dollars cheaper than a 133 or 166 MHz machine.

But does upgrading a 1400 make sense? That, as they say, depends......

Some PowerBook 1400 owners think the 1400 is the best 'Book Apple ever made. It has a near-ideal form factor for a general purpose laptop, and some people, including me, prefer its clean, understated styling to that of the more flamboyant G3 Series and iBook machines (and I say that as a G3 Series WallStreet owner). The 1400 has also proved to be rugged and dependable, and has a superb keyboard.

So if you have a 1400 and love it, there's a case to be made for spending the $389/$479 on a Sonnet G3 upgrade card.

On the other hand, the 1400's internal architecture (which is based on the even older PowerBook 5300) is getting pretty long in the tooth. It has a slow, 32-bit internal bus, and supports a maximum of 64 MB of RAM, which is marginal for OS 9 -- let alone OS X. However, OS X support may be a moot point anyway. Dave Manning has pointed out that even thought there are no NuBus slots in a 1400, it's technically a NuBus machine, and therefore the prospects for running OS X on a 1400, upgraded or not, are iffy at best.

There are other PowerBook 1400 limitations. As a nod to economy, no video-out jack for an external monitor was included with the 1400. An internal expansion slot could accommodate video-out or Ethernet upgrade cards (no standard Ethernet either), but not both. Ethernet could also be supported with a PC Card, which is also the only choice for an internal modem with the 1400. However, the 1400's PC Card slots are not CardBus compliant, so USB, FireWire, and wireless networking cards are not supported. Video support in the 1400 is also sluggish by today's standards. The 1400 does have all be basic legacy PowerBook ports, including SCSI, serial, and ADB, if that is a significant consideration.

Consequently, unless you really, really like the 1400 (and there's plenty to like), if you don't already have one, you will probably be better off buying a more up-to-date PowerBook. For example, you might be able to pick up a 117 MHz 1400 for about $850. Add the cost of the 512k cache Sonnet upgrade, and you're up to $1,239. You should be able to find one of the G3 Series I 233 WallStreets for that price or less (no cache, but the 66 MHz internal bus helps cancel the difference in real world use), or a Series II 233 (with 512k cache) for a couple of $hundred more.

At $1,239 you're also just $360 shy of the price of a brand new iBook with a warranty, a bigger hard drive, USB, a bigger monitor, 66 MHz bus, Ethernet, a 56k modem, nearly three times the maximum RAM capacity, a speedy video accelerator, and the ability to support OS X. Yes, the Sonnet upgrade card is nominally a little bit faster than the iBook's 300 MHz unit, but the iBook's faster bus and faster hard drive will more than compensate.

Before we leave the topic of PowerBook upgrades, Newer Technology created some excitement earlier this month by announcing development of an iMac processor upgrade. The iMAXpowr G3 466 uses a 466MHz G3 microprocessor with 1MB of backside cache running on a 155MHz cache bus, and sells for $499 after core rebate. While no official mention has been made yet by Newer about PowerBook G3 Series upgrades, the internal architecture of these 'Books is so similar to that of the Rev. A through D iMacs that portable upgrades to come seemed a safe assumption.

It had been widely held that there would likely never be processor upgrades for either the PowerBook G3 Series or the iMac because, as I mentioned previously, Apple chose to mount these machines' boot ROMs on the processor daughtercard (presumably a deliberate measure intended to defeat third-party upgrading). Apple has consistently refused to license its ROMs to third parties, and would very much prefer you to buy your processor upgrade with an new PowerBook or iBook wrapped around it Newer's plan is to get around that obstacle by recycling ROMs from daughtercard core trade-ins.

However, Newer is reportedly having financial difficulties, which may make discussion of PowerBook G3 Series upgrades academic.



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cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Review: Proporta Classic Sleeve Case And 4 Port USB Compact Hub For MacBook Air

Proporta Classic Sleeve - MacBook Air

As Steve Jobs demonstrated at Macworld Expo in January, the MacBook Air is so compact and thin it will fit in a standard brown manila envelope. However, if you're fortunate enough to own an Air, you’ll probably want to carry it in something with a bit more class and that offers better protection than a mailing envelope.

One very nice new case for packing a MacBook Air is Proporta's Classic Sleeve - MacBook Air. This custom designed sleeve fits the MacBook Air like a proverbial glove and keeps it protected from dust and minor thumps and bumps when not in use.

Proporta refers to the material used for this sleeve case as an "alternative to leather." It's actually pretty good faux leather. When my wife first saw it, her first question was "Is that leather?" I replied that no it wasn't but she had to feel and then sniff it to be convinced. Proporta claims that the synthetic material offers similar protection to real cowhide at a price that's easier on the wallet than a leather case would be.

Our test sleeve came in a fetching shade of green with sharp=looking contrasting-color stitching, and an interesting-looking little quadruple elliptical oval logo on the lower right corner of the case front.

A foldover closure strap helps ensure that your Air stays inside the sleeve until you want to take it out. There is no mechanical fastener or velcro, but rather a snug loop that the strap inserts into, which seems quite secure, but is also quick and easy to open.

Inside, the Proporta Classic Sleeve for MacBook Air is lined with a finer-grained version of the same synthetic leather material used for the outside of the case, with our review unit is a rich-looking oyster-shell light beige shade.

The case is advertised as hand-made, and workmanship seems first-rate, which is what I expect from Proporta products, with neat stitching and no loose threads hanging.

A very classy touch with Proporta products is that they ship (worldwide starting at $4.95) with complementary packets of real British tea, such as the Earl Grey Tea by Taylor's of Harrogate (Family Tea Merchants; est. 1886) that came with our review unit.

The Proporta Classic Sleeve for MacBook Air sells for
$59.95, plus shipping worldwide at very reasonable rates beginning at $4.95. The Proporta store checkout can supply shipping cost details. (See URL at end of this article)

Proporta 4 Port USB Compact Hub, MacBook Air

Among the MacBook Air's several functional and feature deficiencies is the provenance of just one, lonely USB port on a machine that depends extraordinarily heavily on its USB interface for I/O and peripherals support due to a complete absence of Ethernet and FireWire ports (Ethernet is available though an optional - you guessed it - USB adapter). Even the optional external optical drive interfaces through that poor little overworked USB port. You can't connect a wired mouse and keyboard simultaneously unless the latter has a USB repeater port, something increasingly rarely included on today's crop of keyboards, and even some wireless input devices (eg: non-Bluetooth Kensington and Logitech products) require a USB dongle receiver. Then there are USB mics for those of us who use dictation software or Internet telephony. My Revolabs USB microphone has a USB-connected receiver. Hooking up printers or scanners will have to be via USB unless you have wireless units, as will downloading photos from a digital camera.

Of course, the counter-argument is that the Air is designed and intended for predominantly wireless connectivity, but in the real world that is still often more an ideal than a practical reality.

And while I'm at it, for that matter I find the measly two USB ports on the MacBook and 15" MacBook Pro (and my PowerBook G4) pathetically inadequate. I keep a four-port powered USB hub connected to my PowerBook most of the time and still end up plugging and unplugging cables frequently, and when I get an Intel 'Book, I'll have to add an external USB modem, being stuck for now with dialup Internet. At least the 17" MacBook Pro has three USB ports, which is about the number most PC laptops come with.

Then there's the recently reported revelation that the MacBook and MacBook Pro's two USB ports are not created equal, with only one of them supporting a full powered, full speed bus. Nor is it just MacBooks. I've found that the right USB port on my 1.33 GHz G4 PowerBook, a model that debuted in September, 2003, doesn't supply enough juice to spin up one of my external USB 2 hard drives (which has a relatively low power demand 4200 RPM 2.5" notebook drive in it), although my G3 iBook and Pismo PowerBooks seem to have no trouble bus-powering that drive. However, with the PowerBook I'm obliged to hook it up to an external power brick.

Back in August, 2007, ZNet's David Berlind posted a technical article on this topic that's worth checking out if you're interested in the topic:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Berlind/?p=736&tag=btxcsim

Berlind notes that while all USB ports offer 5 volts, amperage (ie: volume of power) available can vary substantially which is an important factor when it comes to bus-powering devices like external hard drives. The standard amperage is 500 milliamps (ma), but some computers, or even different ports in the same computer, sometimes offer more, which means that if your external hard drive won't power up from one USB port on your 'Book, it's worth a shot at least trying it in another before rummaging around for a power brick.

Anyway, the long and short of it, especially with the MacBook Air and most likely with one of the larger 'Books as well, is that you're going to need a USB hub, and one that very nicely compliments the Air's compactness and portability is Proporta's 4 Port USB Compact Hub, whose trim dimensions and feather-light weight let it fit comfortably in a shirt pocket or purse, and it also has a USB male connector small enough to fit comfortably in the MacBook Air's recessed USB port.

The Proporta hub is sharp-looking too, with a metallic charcoal finish, and a blue indicator LED that glows when the unit is powered up either via bus power or l dedicated five volt power supply (the latter is not included, but works with standard universal power bricks).

The Proporta 4-Port USB Compact Hub is about the size and shape of a jumbo pack of chewing gum and with a smaller footprint than a PC Card (or an Earl Grey tea bag! - see below), although it's slightly thicker. The USB plug, which lives at the end of a very short cable extension, conveniently and neatly tucks into a dedicated recess in the bottom of the hub housing for storage and transport.

Three of the Proporta hub's four USB ports are arrayed along the right-hand side of the unit, while the fourth lives at the bottom. There is also a socket for a standard 1/8" power supply connector jack at the top (USB plug) end of the housing.

Construction and materials quality appear to be first-rate, and no drivers or software installation are needed with a Mac. It's pure plug in and play.

The MacBook Air is something of a carriage-trade laptop, so while at $29.95 the Proporta unit isn't the cheapest compact USB hub on the market, its slightly upmarket quality and positioning make it an appropriate match for the Air, as does the inclusion of that complimentary Earl Grey tea sample.

Just be careful not to spill Earl Grey on your MacBook Air's keyboard!

Back on our main topic to wrap things up, the Proporta 4-Port USB compact Hub sells for $ 29.95 When you purchase 4 Port USB Compact Hub you can take advantage of a discount on the Proporta Car Power Supply with USB Socket (regularly $ 8.95; bundled with hub $ 8.06).

For more information, visit:
http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=874&t_mode=des

When you purchase Classic Sleeve for MacBook Air you can take advantage of bundled savings on several other Proporta products including Proporta Coloured Stereo Headphones for $ 22.46, regular price $ 24.95, and the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger (USB Rechargeable Battery) with Car and World AC Power for $ 53.96, regular price $ 59.95

For more information, visit:
http://www.proporta.com/



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cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Mailbag And Archive - August 18, 2008

Marks on MacBook Screen

From Dolna

My boys (husband and two of three sons) still like their MacBooks.

Question: both sons use a silicone keyboard cover ( http://www.kbcovers.com/servlet/StoreFront ). I like these covers but I notice that the imprint of the keyboard cover seems to be permanently on the monitor (not "etched" but "stuck" or "ingrained")... is there a way to remove this?

It probably doesn't help that he leaves his cover on the keyboard all the time, even when the laptop is closed., so the outline of the keyboard cover is pressing into the monitor for long periods.... like a bulky sandwich filling pressing into soft bread. I like these keyboard covers and if I ever buy a new keyboard I'd buy one.

Also, Do you know if I can install 10.4.11 from one of the MacBook Software Restore disks or if I'd first have to purchase the program? (son thinks yes.) I'm not planning to give up my eMac until it dies, so I'm anxious to see what effect a new OS would have. My eMac has 1 GHz G4 and I GB of RAM, and is currently running OS 10.3.9.

Dolna

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Hi Dolna;

The problem with marking the screen on the MacBook is finger grease. Not easy to remove without potentially causing worse damage unfortunately. A particular problem with the glossy finish the MacBook display has I imagine.

You can get little insert blankets to insert when the 'Book is closed to prevent this happening (or getting worse). RadTech ScreenSavrz are nice ones. My wife has one for her iBook:
http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreenSavrz.aspx

There are two types of OS X install DVDs (or CDs with older versions) - a generic one that you purchase, and which will work with any supported Mac (although the Apple EULA stipulates that it is for installing on only one machine); and the System Restore DVDs/CDs that ship with new Macs and which contain a software block that prevents them from being used with different model Macs.

You won't notice any speed increase with 10.4.11 compared with a clean install of 10.3.9, but you'll get a more extensive feature set (especially Spotlight, which I can't live without anymore), plus a lot better compatibility with current software.

Charles

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From The Road Warrior Archive: Excited Again About The iBook (Aug. 2005)

On August 2, 2005, I posted the column republished below, profiling the then just- introduced last revision of the already venerable iBook, which would be finally replaced by the Intel-based MacBook in May of the next year.

Apple, fresh from Steve Jobs' announcement of the watershed switch to Intel CPUs, pulled the bung out with this ultimate iBook, adding several theretofore PowerBook-only features, and bumping most of the power and performance configuration specs. As I noted in my summary comments, I was tempted to buy one to replace the 700 MHz G3 iBook I was using then as my primary workhorse. In retrospect, I'm glad I kept my powder dry, and ended up replacing the iBook with an Apple Certified Refurbished 17" PowerBook in February, 2006, which is still my main production Mac, although I hope to finally upgrade to a MacIntel in the next few months.

However, those last iBooks did represent a great value in the context of the time, and I expect there are a fair few of them out there still giving their owners excellent service.

CM

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From The Archive: Excited Again About The iBook [First Published Aug., 2, 2005]

I didn't think it was possible, but Apple has succeeded in making me excited again about the dual USB iBook. Even more astonishing, after more than three and a half years of feeling indifferent about the 14-inch model, it's finally got me interested. Am interested enough to buy one? We'll see.

I think Bill Palmer sized things up well with his http://www.billpalmer.net/2005/07/new-apple-value-proposition-throw-in.html observation that Apple his throwing in everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to keep people buying during the long leadup to introduction of new Intel-based iBooks and PowerBooks next year. We saw the first round of this even before the MacIntel announcement, with the PowerBook updates in January, and now Apple has enhanced the iBook with more PowerBook features as well. There still a specification gap, but it narrowed considerably last Tuesday.

Things like the widescreens, illuminated keyboards, high end graphics cards, 167 MHz system buses, Gigabit Ethernet, and PC Card slots are still exclusive to the PowerBooks, but look what you get with these latest iBooks: 1.33 GHz and 1.42 GHz processors (a shade slower than the 1.5 GHz and 1.67 GHz PowerBook chips, but not a whole lot); 512 megabytes of standard RAM across the board; a programmable graphics processor that fully supports Core Image in OS 10.4; scrolling trackpads and sudden motion sensors, Airport Extreme and Bluetooth support. This was high-end PowerBook stuff, or not even available, only months ago, and now you get it all in a $999 iBook!

Back when the 14 inch iBook took its bow in January, 2002, it was suggested that it could could be considered the "Son of Pismo" successor to the much- loved ultimate PowerBook G3. The notion had some substance. The size and weight were similar, and the 14.1" display size and resolution the same. However, I never found the 14-inch iBook a really convincing successor to the Pismo, which is one of the most desirable PowerBooks ever. At least not until now.

I mean, this new 14-inch iBook is such a deal. I'm still partial to the 12-inch version's looks and compact form factor, but for $300 more you now get a 90 MHz faster processor, a 50 percent larger capacity hard drive, and a SuperDrive, as well as the larger dimensioned display, amounting to a $200 price reduction from the previous, slower, top end iBook with no Bluetooth and half as much RAM. You just gotta love this. It's without doubt the best performance and features value for the money in Apple laptop history.

Not that the 12-inch model is any slouch in the value department either. If you don't need the ability to burn DVDs, the 90 MHz less clock speed isn't such a big deal, and the 60 GB BTO hard drive option is inexpensive. Also, the SuperDrive in the 14-inch model is actually a delete option that you can replace with a combo drive and take another hundred dollar price reduction to $1199. It would (will?) be a tough decision for me which to go with. I love my 12-inch G3 iBook, and I think its form vector is pretty much ideal in a laptop. On the other hand, my next system will be the last PowerPC Mac that I will likely ever buy, and I was thinking of going to a bit higher spec machine anyway, perhaps a 12-inch PowerBook. However, the iBook now has a definite advantage in value for the money. If I were planning to use it only in portable mode, the PowerBook's better keyboard might still give it an edge, but I use an external keyboard most of the time anyway, so I can live with the iBook's mediocre 'board for occasional use.

So let's look at what you get with the
new iBooks in some detail. As noted, the processor speed bumps aren't anything to get up in the night and write home about, but every little bit counts. Depending on the configuration, the maximum speed of the system bus is 133 or 142 MHz. I expect that the speed boost with the Intel PowerBooks come next year will be as dramatic as the shift from PowerPC 603e to G3 was back in 1997. However, battery life and heat generation will probably the worse, so the old G4s could still more desirable in that context if you don't really need the raw power of the Pentium M.

The shift to 512 megabytes of RAM soldered to the motherboard is a huge, not just because it doubles the previous standard RAM specification, but also because it makes the former virtual necessity of buying a RAM upgrade now optional for non-power users, and also makes the upgrade to a full gigabyte of RAM possible with the one relatively inexpensive 512 MB expansion module. Also while we're discussing memory, these new iBooks take PC-2700 DDR 333 RAM as well as the previous iBook G4s PC-2100 DDR 266B (PC2100) spec.

Bumping the base model's hard drive from 30 gigabytes to 40 gigabytes provides what I consider to be the minimum storage capacity I can comfortably live with as standard equipment, and I likely wouldn't bother ordering a larger BTO drive if I bought the 12-inch model, although if you think you might need the extra room during your tenure with the computer, at purchase is the time to make this decision with iBooks. Upgrading the hard drive in on these machines involves almost completely dismantling them, and it's not a recommended do-it-yourself project. The 60 gigabyte drive standard in the 14-inch model should be more than ample for my anticipated needs over the next few years, but if that still not enough for your video collection or whatnot, 80 gigabyte and 100 gigabyte BTO options are offered.

WiFi and Bluetooth wireless support are becoming must-haves for many users, and these new iBooks have you covered on both counts, with standard Airport Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR (enhanced data rate) support built-in as standard equipment.

The new ATI mobility Radeon 9550 GPU is programmable and based on Radeon 9600 technology, so Core Image graphics in OS 10.4 Tiger are now fully supported. This also relieves some processing overhead from the CPU, which should help speed things up a bit more in general. Video RAM remains at 32 MB, which isn't overmuch by today's standards, but should be satisfactory for most of us who aren't serious gamers or people who work with high-end graphics and video.

The new-last-January Apple scrolling trackpad got off to a bit of a rough start in the PowerBooks, and I'm still receiving reader letters complaining of it being jumpy and imprecise, so I hope the early production bugs have been chased for this iBook installation.

The sudden motion sensor is a great idea for portables that are used as portables, and could help save your hard drive and the precious data it contains should you ever drop or bump the computer while the hard drive spun up. Another significant value enhancement.

Then there is the returning good stuff -- the FireWire port (although it would be nice to have two), two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet and a modem, and either a combo drive or a SuperDrive. Personally, I can still quite happily live without DVD- burning capability. I have a nice 8x SuperDrive in my Pismo, but it's been used mainly for reading CDs and DVDs and burning CDs, so my style would not be cramped much with the combo drive right now, although the SuperDrive may loom larger in the future and it's certainly no hardship to have one. JUst an extra hundred bucks.

Areas where these iBooks still fall short of the state of the art are bus speed -- still 133 MHz compared to 166 MHz on the PowerBooks, which is itself no big whoop. This area will be addressed by the Intel shift. The screens are still classic aspect ratio 1024 x 768 units, with identical resolution in both sizes. I love the 12.1-inch screen in my G3 iBook -- the best computer display I've ever had, period. However, recent reports indicate that the 12-inch screens currently being used in both iBooks and PowerBooks may not be as good as they use to be, so that might be another factor favoring the 14-inch model. Then there are the keyboards, which are not the worst laptop keyboards Apple has ever used, but they are mediocre compared with the great 'boards in the Aluminum PowerBooks. That might also be a deciding factor for folks who use their built-in keyboard most of the time.

The operative conundrum now for me is whether to take advantage of this extraordinary value enhancement, or to wait and see if the rumored 14.1 inch widescreen iBook really does materialize in the late fall or at Macworld Expo. I will ruminate for a bit, but I'm a lot more tempted to pull the trigger on a system upgrade then I was at the beginning of last week.



***



cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Review: Intelligels Wrist Rests For Laptop Computers

Computer Intelligence, Inc. say their new Intelligels line of wrist rests for laptop computers ( http://www.Intelligels.com ) are designed to distinguish themselves among the many types of wrist rests sold for desktop computers and the few offered in the laptop orbit. The design goal was to provide enhanced comfort and relieve of pain and discomfort in the palms and wrists while typing on a laptop case. Intelligels offers two versions of the wrist rest: the SoftGEL and the Lycra nylon SoftFOAM. I tested both for this review.

Intelligels are pitched as "one-size-fits-all" that fits a majority of 12" - 17" widescreen laptop/notebook computers. I tried them out on our minifleet of Apple laptops, including my 17" PowerBook, both of my Pismo PowerBooks, and my wife's 12" iBook. They fit just fine on the PowerBooks, but there was some overhang on either side of the little iBook's palm rests, which I suppose could be trimmed off if you had no intention of using the Intelligels with a larger computer.

Looking at this photo and some of the others in this article, you might infer that the bottom strip bordering the central trackpad aperture covers the trackpad button, but in fact it's not a problem. putting thumb pressure on the Intelligels pad above the button operates it efficiently.

"Installing" the Intelligels rests is simplicity itself. Just remove it from the bubble pack and place it on you 'Book's palmrest. As noted there are two different Intelligels models. The bottom of the pure polyurethane gel SoftGEL rest presents a smooth and "sticky" bottom contact face that holds the rest quite securely without fasteners in place on the laptop - especially on models with a smooth rather than textured palm rest surface. You can quickly remove and store the Intelligels when they're not in use, and of course when the computer's lid is closed. although I would suggest keeping the protective plastic film that the SoftGEL ships with covering its sticky bottom surface and using it to prevent picking up dirt and dust when in storage.

The tactile contact surface of the SoftGEL has a quite high coefficient of traction as well, although it is comfortably soft, some will like the feel and some won't, and if you think that sort of feel will bug you, you can opt for the Intelligels Lycra nylon-surfaced SoftFOAM model, whose Lycra fabric palm contact surface is padded with soft foam over a textured rubbery non-skid base, which provides considerably less resistance to shifting around than does the sticky contact surface of the SoftGEL unit. It is fairly resistant to shifting if the computer's wrist rest is on a horizontal plane, and has a smooth, untextured (or at least very fine-textured) contact surface as the metal-skinned MacBook Pros and PowerBooks do, however if the computer is angled off the horizontal, for example on a laptop stand or bed table like my Laptop Laidback, the SoftFOAM's grip is not positive enough to keep it from sliding off, especially with a machine that has a textured plastic wrist rest surface like the iBooks and my old Pismo PowerBooks do.

Personally, I prefer the feel of the Lycra-covered SoftFoam model, and the "traction" deficiency for angled incline use can be addressed by employing some sort of double-sided tape, but the sticky SoftGEL unit holds on adequately well on an inclined surface without tape. Since inclined laptop stands and tables are fairly popular, my suggestion to Computer Intelligence, Inc. would be to either equip the SoftFOAM with a similar sticky gel base, or provide optional tape anchor strips.

[UPDATE: Computer Intelligence, Inc.'s CEO Michael Zuckerman dropped me a note saying that the company is on the case and plans to address customer (and reviewer) concerns as best they can with a forthcoming 'GENERATION II' Intelligels. "I am getting similar feedback as to the need for a tacky/sticky bottom on the Foam," Mr. Zuxkerman says, "consider it done... we have some great solutions coming also to address this in Gen II.... we are securing a new factory partner to develop GEN II as quickly as possible."

Can't ask for a more proactive response than that! CM]
 
With either model, I like having my palms resting on a plane above the level of the keys, so I like the support (and insulation from palm rest heat) the INtelligels provide. This is consistent with a recommendation on the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA’s website referencing the proper positioning of the hand/wrist in the use of computers which reads in part: “Your hands should move freely and be elevated above the wrist/palm rest while typing. When resting, the pad should contact the heel or palm of your hand, not your wrist.” Reaching downward to operate the trackpad takes a bit of getting used to, but most users will soon adjust. The SoftFOAM has perhaps 30 percent more elevation than the SoftGEL, with a curved contour for the heel of you hands and more cushioning effect.

Computer Intelligence, Inc. CEO and founder Michael E. Zuckerman is also the Intelligels product designer, and with years of experience as a road-warrioring IT developer, analyst and consultant he has spent many hours working uncomfortably on laptops and personally began to experience early symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. As a direct result of this and unable to find anything in the market to solve his problem, Mr. Zuckerman designed Intelligels laptop computer wrist rests

The Intelligels SoftGEL model is available in white, black, hot pink, fluorescent lime green, bright blue, and orange, while the SoftFOAM comes in your choice of black, grey or navy blue

As noted on the US Department of Labor’s OSHA’s website concerning the proper positioning of your hand/wrist in the use of computers: “Your hands should move freely and be elevated above the wrist/palm rest while typing. When resting, the pad should contact the heel or palm of your hand, not your wrist.” Intelligels laptop wrist rests are designed to provide this exact type of support.

In summary, the Intelligels wrist rest pads provide the following features and benefits:
• Position the user’s hands in an ergonomically correct, comfortable typing position.
• Provide enhanced comfort and support for your wrists and hands while using a laptop.
• Provide thermal insulation from hot, hard laptop computer cases, keeping palms and hands cooler and more comfortable
• Reduces wrist strain and may reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive stress disorders.
• Are durable and washable. Simply rinse with water to clean (Soft Gel model)

Handy full-length PVC plastic custom ziplock storage cases are projected to be available soon.

Intelligels Original Soft Gel - $19.99

Intelligels Lycra Soft Foam - $23.99

In an introductory offer, buy both styles for $39.99, save 10%, and get free shipping on Amazon.com or E-Bay.

For more information, visit:
http://www.intelligels.com/


'
***



cmoore@macopinion.com

'Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

' If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

'CM

iPhone App Store, Part 2

by Marc Zeedar macopinion@designwrite.com

Last week I wrote about some problems with the iPhone App Store, so this week we'll take a look at some of the applications.

The Apps Themselves
So, what about the apps? Are they worth it? Overall, I am impressed. I'd give most apps a solid B. There are a few duds out there, but they get such low ratings I haven't even bothered with them. Of the ones I actually have downloaded, I am generally pleased. The apps generally work as advertised.

I've even been impressed with the technical support: I reported problems to two app developers and both of them replied within a day. One of them even said they'd already fixed the problem I reported (it was an issue with their server) and were adding my feature suggestion in their next version. Pretty cool and impressive.

Some of the apps I've used are quite incredible: Sketch, for instance, has an amazing interface and lets you do impressive things with a phone. (Though it is puzzling that it doesn't let you type text.) It also does something few, if any, desktop apps do: it supports multiple undo even after a file is saved! That's right, you can create an image, make changes to it, and then come back a week later and undo the last thing you did. That's sophisticated for a "real" app, let alone a phone!

Some apps do neat things with the iPhone's motion sensors, but except for games that use that for control, mostly that is a gimmick. Perhaps that will change over time as developers get more sophisticated. I'm very interested to see what developers do in the long run with such technology. I love the subtlety of the sensors: no onscreen interface to clutter things, etc. A perfect example is Apple's Calculator application. I'd heard it added scientific functions, but couldn't find them: it seemed like the same old calculator. Then I rotated the screen: bingo, a widescreen scientific calculator! Wow. How powerful is that? My mom would never need the scientific calculator and loves the regular one -- and she'll never find the "hidden" one, either. What a great way to implement a feature without adding clutter. I love it!

All that said, that doesn't mean things are perfect. With most apps, I have found things that need improvement. Some apps are seemingly so simple there's just no way to customize it or make it do more than the bare minimum. That can be annoying, especially for a paid app. For example, I bought a simple Shopping List app and I like it -- it has a nice look and it's simple. But one disadvantage I discovered after using it is that it only lets you maintain a single list at a time. I'd like to support multiple lists. For instance, I always keep a Costco list going, but the items I buy at Costco are not things I want on my local grocery store list. The same goes for other esoteric items, like things from the hardware store or pharmacy. I'm sure multiple lists will be added in the future -- but it's a bit frustrating to see a paid app so limited from the get-go.

Another more serious problem is inconsistency. A big one is preferences or application settings. Some apps allow you to set these within the app. That makes the most sense to me, because when I'm in the app that's when I'm thinking about the settings. But others use Apple's method to add settings with the Settings application (similar to the way Mail accounts are set up). For Apple apps that isn't so bad as they are the most prominent on the iPhone and some of the settings are complicated, but for simpler apps it's weird to have some settings in the app itself and some in the Settings app. There's also no way to tell if an app has settings -- when I went into Settings recently I was surprised to discover several apps there had installed settings I didn't know about.

Another disadvantage of separate-from-app preferences is it makes it a lot hard to tweak and test out various settings. If I'm within the app, for example, I can create a visual change and see the results immediately in the app. But it's ridiculous to have to switch to the Home screen, find Settings, go to Preferences, find the app's preferences, make a change, go back to Home, find the app again, and relaunch it to see the change. The free Flashlight is a perfect example of how horrible this is: it has several flashlight "modes" (of various brightnesses and colors) but you can't set that within the app, only within Settings. Lame!

Other inconsistencies also abound: many games and apps only work in one rotation of the iPhone and don't support auto-rotation, which is lame. Others override Apple's iPhone "standards." Like one game I have has a slider control for zooming instead of using Multi-Touch's "pinch" gesture. Others use the wrong controls or implement them in a weird way that doesn't feel natural.

This reminds of the early days of Macintosh, when developers did whatever they wanted and didn't always follow Apple's interface guidelines. The market eventually forced everyone to comply, but it took time. I had thought that Apple's genius in releasing the iPhone for a full year before allowing third party apps would have solved that problem, but it seems some developers have hardly used an iPhone and don't know how to set up the interface properly. I'm sure this will settle down, but it's annoying right now.

Help is another area of inconsistency. Apple doesn't include much (okay, any) help with its apps, but developers often want to include game instructions or other details. But every developer's doing it a different way, with different sized screens, different fonts, different backgrounds, etc. It's confusing. There's a card game I like but it displays the instructions on every launch, which is tedious. Other apps have instructions but how you find and activate those instructions is different. Apple needs to come up with a universal and consistent help feature so that help is presented the same way in all apps and activated via the same icon, menu, or gesture.

Another problem with iPhone apps is that some apps take a long time to launch. There's nothing wrong with that, per se -- a complicated app is bound to take a while to load -- but the problem I've run into is that this is a phone, not a computer, and the way the iPhone works is that when you receive a phone call the phone call takes priority over the app. That means the app might, instantly, at any time, be quit and the phone take over. When the phone call is finished, the app is relaunched (if necessary). For larger apps this seems to always be necessary (there's probably not enough memory in the iPhone to do both the app and the phone call at the same time), so I have to wait while the app is launched again.

This is particularly irksome in a game. I'll be right in the middle of a play and suddenly everything fades away for a phone call -- Murphy's Law guarantees it's a wrong number or something useless and lame -- and then you have to wait while the game reloads.

Developers need to figure out ways to make apps load faster. I have some apps take thirty seconds or so to load, and it is extremely annoying to wait that long after a phone call interruption. I'd be willing to have less impressive graphics or sound for a faster launch time.

Another factor is lack of undo support after the game is quit. While that sounds odd for a desktop app, but an iPhone app is should be a necessity. I was playing a solitaire card game (Spider) which by nature of the game requires you experiment by going down different "paths" of cards. If you reach a dead end, you undo to go back where you started and try a different path. This worked fine during the game itself, but once I received a phone call in the middle -- and I was horrified to find that when the game relaunched, I could no longer undo: I was stuck at my current location. That totally effects the strategy of such a game (I'm afraid to make moves in the game since my plans could be destroyed at any moment by a phone call).

Another serious issue is battery life. I'm not sure what drains it, but I have seen a difference between apps, so it's not just screen use. Scrabble, for instance, drains my iPhone in less than two hours, while other games like Majong let me play for hours. Both are visual and interactive, but the battery drains much faster in Scrabble. Why? It's not an action game -- for an arcade-type game I might expect that kind of battery usage. (And yes, before you ask, I turned off the annoying music.)

I'm sure that developers will figure out things like this with experience, but for now it's an interesting thing to note. Eventually it might even be a selling point of various apps: "This app is more battery efficient than that one, so buy it!"

Speaking of the battery, I belatedly noticed that some apps (games, in particular) remove the phone's status bar from the top of the screen. The status bar tells you how strong your network signal is and the current battery state: important information. With that gone, it's easy to play a game too much and run the battery down to nothing. The only time you'll know is when you're given a "20% left" low battery alert, which could be too late. I don't like that. At first I thought the only way to find the battery level was to quit the game and check the Home screen, which takes time. But then I discovered that if you simply sleep the iPhone when you wake it up but before you unlock it, the battery icon is on the screen for a few seconds before it goes back to sleep. So that gives you an easy to way to check the battery state without quitting the game. Now if I know that I need phone power because I'm traveling or expecting a phone call, I can make sure I don't overplay a game (if I'm killing time I'll pick a game that doesn't use much power).

Other Problems
Some other things I've noticed about apps: some are little different from web apps, or even worse. For example, I'm a movie buff and go to movies all the time. But I'm in a rural area so I need to check local theaters and theaters 30+ miles away. On the imdb.com website I can do that easily -- but both of the native apps for checking movie times don't support that, which make them useless to me. (I have worked around it by setting one app to be my local theatre and the other to a far-away theatre.)

Speaking of web apps, many native apps are simply interfaces to web services. As native apps they are more powerful, more featured, and faster, but they still depend on the Internet for their function. While for some apps, for instance Twitterific, which lets you post to your Twitter account, that is clear and obvious, for others it is not: I downloaded a number of interesting-sounding apps only to discover at launch that they don't even run less I have an account with some website. If it's a website I'm familiar with that might not be a problem, but many are unknown to me and the services aren't essential -- yet I can't even try the app without creating an account. That's too large a barrier for entry. I wish the apps that require accounts would say so in the description on the App Store as I wouldn't even bother downloading them!

Another issue is Apple's location system. I don't have an iPhone 3G, so my phone can only approximate my location via cell towers. That's fine. But it can take a long time to "find" me, which is not fine. It's infuriating when an app insists on looking up my location on every launch. Why can't it default to my last location unless I tell it to update it?

Worse, Apple has implemented "security" that make the phone ask you for permission every time an app wants to access your location info. It's annoying and smacks of Vista: didn't Apple mock that feature of Vista in an ad? Why can't there be a global "it's okay to access my location" setting I can approve once and be done with it? Even if I had to approve it once per app it'd be better than now: like one of those aforementioned movie time apps asks me on every launch and it drives me crazy. I prefer waiting for the IMDB website to load!

Conclusion
Overall, Apple has done an amazing thing. The iPhone ecosystem is obviously a platform for the future and in just a year is shaking up the planet. But it's certainly not perfect and Apple will have some growing pains over the next year or so. It'll be fascinating to see where the iPhone goes and what kinds of things applications can do in a year. I'm confident everything will get sorted out. In the meantime, us early adopters will suffer some minor issues, but the iPhone is still worlds better than any other device out there.

macopinion@designwrite.com

From The Road Warrior Archive - “The Genius Of The Laptop”

In December, 2003 in The Road Warrior I commented that "The laptop computer is a wonderful invention. I prefer working on laptops at any time, and mine are mostly used as desktop substitute machines, but road trips make you even more profoundly appreciate the genius of the laptop."

I haven't changed my opinion since then, and I'm still using a Pismo as my "road laptop" albeit with a 550 MHz G4 upgrade and running OS X 10.4.11, still packing it around in that wonderful Willow Kerouac case, I'm more of a notebook computer fan than ever, although I've long since moved up from the old WallStreet to another G4 upgraded Pismo, and first to a 700 MHz G3 iBook and then the 17" PowerBook G4 that has been my main production workhorse for the past 30 months.

___

"The Genius Of The Laptop" [Originally published December, 9, 2003]

The laptop computer is a wonderful invention. I prefer working on laptops at any time, and mine are mostly used as desktop substitute machines, but road trips make you even more profoundly appreciate the genius of the laptop.

The past several weeks I've been having a round of dental and medical appointments, which involve schlepping off to the nearest town, 50 miles away. There is also usually shopping to be done on these trips, so on several occasions recently, my contributions to the Applelinks news have been prepared in waiting rooms and in parking lots as my wife attends to provisioning. You just can't do that with a desktop computer.

My tool of choice for these forays it is my 500 MHz Pismo PowerBook, which travels well in its superb Willow Kerouac backpack/briefcase. The Pismo offers decent battery life (especially in OS 9, which I switch to for road warrioring), and the 14 inch screen offers decent visibility when working in the car.

Pulling the PowerBook out and getting some work done is a lot more productive use of time than reading old magazines and in doctors' and dentists' waiting rooms, or staring at prosaic parking lot vistas.

The laptop also frees you from your desk and office chair even when you're at home or the office. These days, I am mainly using my older 233 MHz WallStreet PowerBook as my "laptop" laptop on the home front, sometimes in bed with it perched on the excellent Laptop Laidback portable workstation, or sitting in a comfortable chair by the woodstove -- a much appreciated comfort during the cold months.

\My profound appreciation of these comforts and conveniences afforded by my PowerBooks and iBook makes it difficult for me to understand how people can go back to using a desktop computer after they've experienced the joys of mobile computing.

I can't imagine ever going back to using a desktop computer as my main workhorse. I gave it a shot a couple of years ago when I bought a G4 Cube, which is in my estimation one of the most congenial desktop computer form factors ever. But it was not a laptop; it was still tethered to an AC power outlet, and it just didn't have that je ne sais quoi that you get with a PowerBook or iBook.

Becoming addicted to laptops wasn't original plan when I bought my first - a PowerBook 5300 back in 1996 intended to be a portable backup and auxiliary to my desktop computer. However, within an hour or two of taking little unit of its box, I knew that the desktop wasn't going to get a lot of use anymore. The PowerBook was so cool; so small; so clever. Even though it only had a 9.5 in. gray scale 640 x 480 Monitor, compared with the brilliant Trinitron on my desktop computer, the 5300 almost overnight became my workhorse box, and remained so for three years.

Fast it wasn't. Even another family member's 25 MHz '040 PowerBook 520 seemed faster in some respects than the lazy 100 MHz 603e in the 5300. However, it did the job for me, and has continued to do so for my daughter since I replaced it with a 233 MHz G3 WallStreet in 1999.

I have been perfectly satisfied with the performance of that WallStreet, and with my current 500 MHz Pismo, and least in OS 9. OS X is not terribly lively on a G3 with 8 MB of video RAM, but it's certainly usable.

I get asked fairly frequently, since I use my PowerBooks mainly as desktop computers, why I don't just buy a real desktop unit and enjoy the extra performance while saving money in the bargain. Indeed, I've asked myself this same question, and even followed up on it to the extent of buying that G4 Cube in the spring of 2001.

However, the Cube, while a smallish desktop computer, it just wasn't the same as a laptop. There are some of objectively explicable issues - I like the self-containedness of the laptop package, and the belt and suspenders redundancy of having a battery for backup power, but mostly I think it's one of those "if I have to explain it to you, you'll probably never understand," issues. I just like laptops. To me, desktop computers seem compromised and absurdly bulky.

I don't want to get into a polemic here with the folks, presumably a majority, think it's portables that are compromised. If you really need expansion slots, multiple drive bays, and upgradable processor cards, no argument from me. A Power Mac tower is the ideal machine for you. However, while that upgradability is surely nice to have, it doesn't loom high on my own list of computer priorities. The PowerBook (or iBook) is the ideal machine for me. Nothing else has the 'Book mystique.

'
***



cmoore@macopinion.com

'Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

' If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

'CM

My 17” G4 PowerBook At 30 Months - New Road Warrior on MacOpinion

The Apple Certified Refurbished 17" PowerBook G4 1.33 MHz I bought in February, 2006 is now 30 months old (in its service life); elderly for the average computer as a front-line machine, and historically, I've rarely lasted much beyond this point before the itch to upgrade systems overcomes me.

I decided back in '06 buy one more PowerPC 'Book rather than taking the plunge with a then just-introduced MacBook Pro, consistent with my "never buy Version 1/Revision A of anything conviction, and I ended up ordering a refurbished 1.33 GHz 17-inch PowerBook from TechRestore.

Over the past 30 months, the 17" PowerBook has been a reliable performer, with zero hardware problems to report. If a computer ever epitomized the old Apple "It just works!" slogan, this machine is it. Upgrading through several versions of OS 10.4 Tiger to OS 10.4.11 was painless with no issues or problems encountered. However, OS 10.5 Leopard, which I installed last November, has been a somewhat different story - not a disaster, and I've continued to use it, almost immediotely hooked by two features in particular - Spaces and Time Machine - as well as smaller improvements like the smarter spellchecker, QuickLook, and somewhat improved Spotlight performance - but there have been frustrations as well, which have not entirely been addressed by the three updates so far. POP 3 email performance in particular remains dismal, and the old, 1.33 GHz G4 processor really works for a living trying to keep up with Leopard's demands. I also miss not having Classic Mode suooirt, although not nearly as much as I thought I would.

On the other hand, version 10.5.4 is quite admirably stable, allowing me to go 2-3 weeks between restarts if I so choose (as I type this it's actually been 25 days since my last restart, and things are stil proceeding smoothly), and if I really need Classic Mode for something I can always boot into OS 10.4.11, which I stilll have installed and ready to go on another partition of the hard drive.

Speaking of which, I am also, after 30 months, testing the limits of the 80 GB Toshiba hard drive in this machine, although it's been otherwise flawlessly satisfactory, and is still nice and quiet. However, I only have, at this writing, less than five GB of free space on my main hard drive boot partition and precious little room for expansion left on the other two partiitions, making the bother of repartitoning not worth the effort. I could of course upgrade to a larger capacity drive, but that's not a trivial project on the 17" PowerBook, and it's really time for me to get serious about upgrading my system to an Intel 'Book.


So, any regrets that I didn't go with an Intel 'Book in early 2006? Not at all. My next system upgrade will of course be MacIntel, but the early-production issues many early-adopters experienced with the first generation MacBooks and MacBook Pros would've driven me nuts. Using this machine for two and a half years (and counting) has been a privelege and a delight, and one of the things that has held me back from upgradimg before this is that I can't really justify the cost of going to a 17" MacBook Pro, even refurbished (that's excluding the early revisions, which don't really interest me), but I'm going to miss this big display.

I had admired the 17-inch PowerBook from the day Steve Jobs unveiled it at MacWorld Expo, 2003, and idefinitely the Intel 'Book that tempts me the most is the 17" MacBook Pro, but this 1.33 MHz PPC machine has not disappointed, and has been a more satisfactory ride than I had dared hope when I bought it.

At the time, another factor tipping the scales in favor of the 17-incher was Daystar's announcement of 1.92 and 2.0 GHz G4 processor upgrades for most 17-inch and 15-inch aluminum PowerBook models, which would provide a fallback if the stock, 1.33 GHz processor proved too lazy for my needs, but in service it hasn't (and Daystar has subsequently discontinued offering PowerBook upgrades). It's of course partly relative to what you're used to, and even a 1.33 GHz G4 represented a quantum leap forward in performance from the 700 MHz G3 iBook that preceded the BigAl as my production workhorse, My main computing speed bottleneck is not processor speed but my Internet connection, - which provides 26,400 bps connections on good days. The latest word is that broadband should reach us here by sometime in 2009.

Actually, the PowerBook's internal modem was another reason I chose it instead of a modemless MacBook Pro. While a USB modem dongle is available for the MBP, it adds another CAN$70 to the purchase price and hogs a precious USB port, as well as being much less elegant than a built-in modem for folks like me who remain stuck in the dial-up slow lane of the information highway.

The still impressive roster of standard features on the 1.33 GHz Big Al has proved more than adequate for my needs, and then some, although I did get TechRestore to install a 1 GB RAM expansion stick, bringing the total memory up to 1.5 gigabytes, and if I were doing it today, I think I would go for the full 2 GB that is supported. I still find the 'Book slowing down somewhat due to pageouts after two or three days of uptime (although this has improved with Leopard). I wish OS X had some provision for flushing the swapfile cache and clearing the memory without having to logout or reboot.

Aside from the modest 512 megabytes of RAM soldered to its motherboard, the 1.33 GHz Big Al came pretty sumptuously equipped, with a RADEON 9600 graphics processor and 64 megabytes of video RAM, an 80 gigabyte hard drive, a SuperDrive, gigabit Ethernet, built-in Bluetooth, 802.11g wireless, FireWire 400 and 800, and USB 2.0. And of course there is that glorious, 1440-by-900 display. That resolution is nothing to get up in the night and write home about these days, and is now standard on the 15" MacBook Pro, but I've found it luxuriously expansive after years of working with 1024 x 768 and 800 x 600 Apple laptop displays.

This computer that I got from TechRestore in '06 was an Apple Certified Refurbished unit in Apple's excellent ACR packaging (note: not all TechRestore refurbs are ACR units), complete with a new serial number, and it looked like a brand new machine, with no evident wear or cosmetic flaws. Indeed when I ran a battery check, it only showed a couple of charge cycles logged, so I guess it was essentially unused.

I liked the feel of the glossy-finished anodized aluminum Palm rests better than I thought I would, and this 'Book looks spectacular. As I noteed above, I've gotten used to having the extra display space, but I have to say that it's the need for less scrolling rather than the width that appeals to me most. All that extra screen real-estate requires a fair bit of body English to navigate around. On any Mac laptop I routinely turn the trackpad tracking speed up to the maximum, and I've installed the third-party MouseZoom utility up to about 3x OS X's maximum mouse tracking speed, which helps.

The keyboard is very nice, although not quite as good as the superb one in my old PowerBook G3 Series WallStreet and Pismos. I was pleased that the trackpad button has a fairly light and positive action, compared with the heavy-effort ones in the WallStreet and Pismo , but the trackpad itself is not that great. Again, the WallStreet's is the best, and the Pismo is better than the Big Als in this department as well.

I like having all of the I/0 ports on the sides of the computer, which I had already gotten used to with my iBook. The Big Al has them split up between opposite sides of the machine, and having a USB port on the right-hand side makes connecting short-corded mice less of a problem for right-handers. I do prefer a side-loading optical drives, and the front-loader in 15-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks gets obstructed by some laptop stands, such as my beloved Laptop Laidback, but in practice that hasn't been really much of an issue. I don't use optical disks that much, and myh two old PowerBook Pismos have an 8x and 4x SuperDrive expansion bay modules respectively, so I do most of my disk-burning on them anyway.

The 17-inch PowerBook's size is both a strength and a shortcoming. It of course facilitates the big display, but also makes the package a bit bulky and heavy for serious road warrioring duty. I prefer the 12-inch iBook or PowerBook form factor in that context. The one inch thick dimension does make the 17-incher less cumbersome than it might otherwise be, and since this one is mostly used in desktop substitute mode, the scale tips toward having the extra screen real estate and less cramped confines for the Internal bits which theoretically at least should let them run cooler. I have been able to use the BigAl reasonably comfortably in the car or truck with it perched on the Waterfield Racer X case I carry it in, but the iBook is much better suited to literal on-the-road road warrioring.

My main, and virtually only complaint about this machine is heat, which of course is not a unique issue to this computer model. The Big Al runs a lot hotter than I was used to with the Pismo and iBook, and the cooling fan cuts in fairly frequently, especially after a couple of days or more of uptime without a restart, although Leopard is better in this regard than the last several builds of Tiger were. I noticed the fan cutting in more frequently from about version 10.4.9, but with Leopard it runs less. The swapfile activity seems to heat up the internals. Objectively, at least in comparison with temperatures in the Intel 'Books, this 1.33 GHz G4 unit doesn't run all that hot - usually in the low-mid 50s Celsius. The cooling fan cuts in at 58.5° and switches back off at about 54°. The temperature comes down quite quickly once the fan is blowing, but it's a cycling routine that I find annoying. I hate fan noise. I keep the AlBook on a Road Tools Podium CoolPad most of the time, which I assume helps. A Targus Chillmat, which has its own (much quieter) cooling fans definitely makes the PowerBook run cooler, but I can't usually spare a USB port to plug it in (yes, I have a powered hub).

This BigAl has convinced me that refurbished computers can be an excellent value for the money, and I will definitely consider another refurb when I move up.

My advice 30 months on? There are some very attractive deals available on refurbished PPC 'Books, and I've seen Apple Certified Refurbished 1.67 GHz 17" PowerBooks offered for under $1,000.

On the other hand, for someone contemplating the purchase of their first Apple laptop and have no substantial investment in Power PC software, my recommendation would be to go MacIntel. Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard will not, as far as we can tell, support Power PC Macs - something that has to be balanced against being shut out of cool older software that hasn't been taken universal binary or Intel-native. It will definitely be a dynamic of diminishing compatibility for Power PC from here on out.

Meanwhile, I am now convinced that the 17-inch PowerBook is unquestionably one of the greatest Apple portables ever. I was skeptical that anything could top the dependable, trouble-free performance I've had from my Pismo PowerBooks and the G3 iBook over the past seven years, but this big AlBook os definitly vying with my beloved Pismos for "best ever" Mac status. It's everything I had dared hope for and more.

I can only hope that may next Mac is as good as this PowerBook.


***



cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Mailbag + From The Archive - August 4, 2008

"Disappearing" Space On A Mac mini
Re: Why I Won't Be Buying An iPhone 3G
From The Road Warrior Archive - The Mac mini As A Road Warrior Computer

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"Disappearing" Space On A Mac mini

From: Mark Lehrman

Hi Charles,

Greetings once again from Israel. I am hopeful that you will be able to help solve my challenge, or at least give me some direction.

My wife uses a 1.83 Core Duo Mactel mini, with 2 GB RAM and an 80 GB hard Drive. The OS is Tiger 10.4.11. The mini's drive is split between OSX and Parallels running Windows XP (at this point about 37gb).

Lately, Parallels has been hesitant to open, claiming that there is not enough disk space available. When I went to check, indeed the disk seem to be full, but it is unclear what is really taking up so much space. How in OSX can I reclaim unused space? I have deleted some applications, pictures music etc. but don't seem tho have reclaimed that much. I realize that you haven't yet migrated to a Mactel and may not have used Parallels yet, but any of your sage advice, or at least a direction, would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

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Hi Mark;

Definitely shooting in the dark here for me.

There is a handy htfreeware program called Grand Perspective for Mac OS X that graphically shows the disk usage within a file system. It can actually help you to manage your disk, since you can easily spot which files and folders take up the most space, and it might be useful in helping determine where your wife's disk space is going.

You can download Grand Perspective here:

http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/

I don't know if Parallels might be contributing to this problem or not. Possible with cache or swap files? Mac OS X's swapfiles do eat up more disk space the longer you go beterrn restarts, but I doubt that is your problem here.

I hope this will be a little help.

Charles

***

Re: Why I Won't Be Buying An iPhone 3G

From ncbill

Unlimited (in practice, limited to 5GB/month) data plans from cellular carriers here in the U.S. are about $60/month (with a voice plan).

Smartphone unlimited data is around $30/month, but tethering to a computer is not allowed (on some phones it is relatively easy to get around this restriction)

There is usually not a contractual requirement for the data plan - I can call up Verizon and cut on or off the unlimited data plan on a month-by-month basis.

Insert link name here

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Thanks for the info, Bill.

Charles

***

From The Road Warrior Archive - The Mac mini As A Road Warrior Computer

Since Mark kicked off this Mailbag edition with a Mac mini query, I've chosen a Road Warrior column I posted shortly after the mini's release in early 2005, musing about its potential as a notebook substitute.

I never did get a Mac mini, although I wouldn;t categorically rule it out. However, as I noted in the commentary, I'm a pretty convinced laptop fan. I still admire the mini concept, though.

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From The Road Warrior Archive - The Mac mini As A Road Warrior Computer [Originally Published January 25, 2005]

I really wish Willow Design was still in business. For a variety of reasons. Willow made some of the best, coolest, most innovative computer cases and backpacks, not just for Apple portables, but for the entire Macintosh line, including desktop tower models and CRT iMacs.

I would love to have seen what Willow’s Nigel Peck and Company came up with for the new Mac mini. Back in 2001, but I bought my G4 Cube, Nigel kindly sent me a http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/NL29.shtml Willow Cube Case for review. It was designed to carry the Cube CPU, keyboard, mouse, power supply, and speakers, as well as having a compartment for an Apple 15-inch Cinema Display.

The whole rig, with the 11.5 pound display, weighed in at about 42.5 pounds, so it wasn’t something you would want to lug around all day, but it did make the Cube as conveniently transportable as was possible — sort of in the tradition of the the original, 17 pound, compact Macs which were available with a carry case, and many Mac-heads did carry them around to Mac User Group meetings, or back and forth to school and work. While the complete kit weighed something in excess of 20 pounds, portability was possible, and I have even seen a photo of someone transporting one on a bicycle.

I still have that Willow Cube Case, and if I eventually end up with a Mac mini, I expect that it can be adapted to carry the mini with all its peripherals and a display quite comfortably. The monitor I have in mind is the NEC/Mitsubishi 1760V 17" LCD monitor which has a detachable stand, weighs 13 pounds with stand/10 pounds without, and at 14.7" x 12.6" it should fit nicely in the Willow Cube Case.

Of course the mini can’t qualify as a real portable because it has no internal battery power, but with a small power inverter that costs about 30 bucks you can be good to go anywhere, say any car or RV, where you have access to 12 volt power.

The Mac mini has most frequently been compared with the eMac and the iMac, but actually it has a lot more in common with the iBook than its desktop Mac stablemates. For instance, the mini has a laptop-type 4200 RPM 2.5” hard drive, a typical laptop array of I/O ports, a laptop-style optical drive, and the mini CPU weighs a pound and a half less than the lightest laptop Apple ever made.

So, is the Mac mini a viable laptop substitute? It depends. Not if you need a really portable computer of course. In that case get an iBook or a PowerBook. However, for the past five years or so, an awful lot of laptops have been purchased for use mainly as desktop substitute computers that spend most of their time plugged into AC power, and frequently with an external keyboard, mouse, and even an external monitor hooked up. My ‘Books go for months at a time without ever being called on to run on battery power. For mostly desktop laptop users like me, the “transportable” Mac mini presents an enticing alternative to a ‘Book.

Now, personally, I wouldn’t want to be without a real, portable laptop, but I already have three of them. A mini would be an excellent compliment to serve as a general-purpose workstation that’s still doesn’t take up much space and can be relatively easily moved around.

I’ve been down this road before, sort of. When the G4 Cube was unveiled in 2000, it immediately occurred to me that this new compact desktop Mac just might be a sensible alternative to my PowerBook. I did get a Cube several months later, but discovered that while my idea I had sounded good in theory, in practice the Cube with its satellite speakers and speaker amplifier, external power supply for which “brick” was more than just a metaphor, along with a keyboard, mouse, and display, needed about as much desktop space as my SuperMac S-900 tower. The tiny Mac mini has an internal speaker, a more reasonable, laptop-sized power adapter, and is itself about one-fifth the volume of the Cube CPU, so it should size up quite favorably compared with an iBook or PowerBook on a laptop stand connected to an external keyboard and mouse, at least provided you connect it to an LCD monitor.

I love small computers. Compactness is the essential quality of a laptop -- even the mighty 17-inch PowerBook. Light weight is also an attractive characteristic. I much prefer handling my 4.9 pound iBook to my 8 pound WallStreet.

For me, the principal deficiency of the mini he is the lack of battery power, not so much the lack of real portability, but because I live in a rural area where power outages are fairly common. This in addition to desktop real estate occupied, was one of the reasons why I never really got comfortable with the Cube as a workhorse computer. I had become accustomed to the PowerBook’s being able to cruise through power outages seamlessly, sometimes without my even noticing that there had been a power failure until the little lightning bolt charge indicator caught my eye.

The workaround would be some sort of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and/or the aforementioned power inverter and a 12 volt automotive battery or power pack to run the mini rig off of during power interruptions. With its 2.5-inch hard drive and an LCD display, the mini should be able to run for a good long time from a portable 12 volt power source.

I haven’t said much about the economics of this concept so far, so let’s take a look. The 1.25 GHz Mac mini starts at $499, and an Apple keyboard and mouse sets you back $60. Add a 17” NEC/Mitsubishi monitor for $484 and you’re up to $1049 -- 50 bucks more than a 1.2 GHz iBook. Actually, you can probably do better than that price for the monitor by shopping around, so let’s say it’s pretty much a saw-off price wise. However, the mini has a faster system bus and a 33 percent larger hard drive, and if you want to use the iBook in comfortable desktop substitute mode, you’ll still need a keyboard and mouse, and a laptop stand.

Or add one hundred dollars to the price of the mini for the 1.42 GHz/80 gigabyte drive version, include a $75 upgrade to 512 megabytes of RAM, and for good measure, an APC BE350U 350VA UPS from Amazon.com on for $40, and you have a pretty powerful transportable computer system for forty dollars less than the price of a 1.33 MHz 14 inch iBook, but with a faster system bus, a 33 percent larger hard drive, and a display the same size (albeit not aspect ratio) as a 17-inch PowerBook’s, and according to early days benchmarking -- performance to match the 1.5 GHz PowerBook as well - a machine that costs more than twice as much. It’s pretty compelling.

So, has Moore lost the laptop faith? Not at all. As I said, if I were to be limited to owning just one computer, it would still definitely be a conventional laptop. However, the Mac mini offers as close to the laptop virtues as we’ve seen yet in a desktop computer, and really represents a crossover category - - the “transportable” computer.

Consequently, it’s on my short list for my next system upgrade, and we’ll henceforth be including the mini in our coverage focus here in The Road Warrior.

***



cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

iPhone App Store, Part 1

by Marc Zeedar macopinion@designwrite.com

Okay, so it's been a couple weeks, and like everyone else, I'm addicted to the iPhone App Store. Everyone's raving about it and I don't see a lot of complaints. That puzzles me, because I am finding a lot to complain about.

Now don't get me wrong: the App Store is a zillion times better than anything else out there, better than most desktop application stores, let alone mobile phone software. Apple has truly set the bar high. But that doesn't mean it is perfect. Here are a few areas Apple and developers need to work on.

App and OS Stability
This is the number one problem for me. In the whole past year I rebooted my iPhone maybe a half dozen times. In the past two weeks, I've rebooted it a dozen times. Five times it crashed so hard the whole thing locked up. I often have to force quit locked applications. I've actually seen error messages (one app told me it was out of memory and then everything froze). I've even been forced to reboot it just to have stability return.

Now some of this is the fault of developers, of course. Apple can't fix the bad programming of others. But phone's whole operating system seems more unstable than in the past. For device like a phone where it must work reliably as a phone at all times, that's not a good thing.

I do believe this is a relatively minor problem. This is a brand new OS with brand new apps: I'm actually surprised it isn't a lot worse than it is. That everything is as stable as it is shows how well Apple orchestrated this process: can you imagine the hell a year ago if Apple had allowed third parties to willy-nilly stick apps on your phone? Apple has spent a year refining the process and the results are magnificent. There's just a bit of bugginess I'd like to see go away. Even a 98% uptime on an iPhone is not great: what happens if your phone dies at a critical time because some game or utility crashed? If that happens even occasionally, people will learn to distrust third-party apps and the whole market will die off.

App Store Organization
While the App Store is impressive in its 1.0 incarnation, I am surprised Apple didn't come up with a better organizational system. The search feature is nice and much needed, but the rest of the categories need work. Apple is making improvements -- there's now an ebook category that wasn't initially there, which is a good start -- but currently there are a thousand applications. What happens when there are ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Fifty? That's going to be a nightmare to sift through. It's already a chore now.

Apple can obviously add a lot of categories, but when there are hundreds or thousands of categories, even organizing and wading through those becomes tedious. Apple needs to innovate here and come up with some radical ways to help users sift through the wheat and the chaff.

For instance, how about a 3D view similar to Cover Flow that would allow you browse through available apps visually?

I'd also like to see user preferences for the types of apps you don't want to see: like being able to tell the store to not display apps you've already downloaded or apps that have a low star rating (you set the level, of course). I'd also like to be able to "delete" apps from my view of the store.

(It'd also be nice to be able to that with reviews, too. Either delete them or rate them, so that lame reviews that are critical or praiseworthy with no reasons given are hidden. I really don't need to see twenty "Great app!" review posts when I'm trying to find out if the program has a certain functionality I need.)

Another nice feature might be a way to add apps to a "suggestion list" -- you can add apps you might like to try in the future but don't have time to mess with right now. There could also be some sort of social networking app suggestion thing going on: like if someone I respect or who has similar tastes as me recommends a certain app, I might receive a suggestion to check it out. (A "people who bought this app also bought..." recommendation list would be good.)

I'm not saying the App Store is bad or unusable; just that it's already feeling crowded and the store is in its infancy. One of the things I love about the store is the way it gives independent developers a chance to sell their products on the same level as the big developers: I'd hate to see small developers get shut out simply because their products are lost in a sea of other products.

App Store Functionality
Another problem with the store that frustrates me is the way it switches you away from the store to show you the icon downloading on your home screen. That's annoying since I'm usually wanting to order more than one app. Why can't it be like the iTunes Store that just queues up items I want? (I also don't like that Apps default to the main home screen: why can't they default to last screen or a screen I choose?) The slowness of the App Store and the way it wants my iTunes password means I'm much more likely to download apps in batches, so Apple needs to add that functionality ASAP.

Currently when you download an app the phone switches to the home screen and the App Store has to reload where I was in the store when I relaunch. That takes time and it's lame; usually I want to leave that screen (it's the app I'm downloading) but I'm forced to wait while it reloads it.

The download/app viewing process is also prone to sluggishness. I don't recommend visiting the app store on Edge -- it's barely tolerable on WiFi. Sometimes it's faster than others, so it makes me think it's a problem with Apple's servers. Hopefully they'll get it figured out soon, but several times I've forced the App Store application to quit because it seemed frozen. It seems like downloading apps using the same Store bandwidth pipe as viewing the Store. I found it's often better to wait until an app is fully downloaded before searching for the next, but that drags out the whole process and is annoying.

Apps Organization on the iPhone
Last year when Apple revealed a way to let you rearrange and add icons to your iPhone's home screen, it was hailed as a nifty feature (love those jiggling icons). But while that was fine for a few web page icons, today with the multiple third party applications, it's an interface that needs an overhaul.

First, moving icons from screen to screen is a pain. While the phone will autoscroll one screen, it stops after that, meaning that if you want to move an icon several screens over, you can to drag-let-go-and-drag-again multiple times. It's extremely tedious. I've got six screens and all of them are already almost full!

Second, there's no way to jump to a particular screen -- you can only scroll horizontally between each "page." That means finding a particular app can be troublesome.

Speaking of finding apps, I'd also like a way to label the pages. For example, I have my screens organized with games on one screen, utilities on another, and rare utilities on yet another. Ebooks are on a page by themselves. I can remember that mentally, to an extent, based on the visible icons, but it'd be much nicer if I could just label the page. Then I could scroll faster to find the page I want instead of having to identify icons.

Another problem happened to me this past weekend: a whopping nine apps of mine showed up with updates and when I installed them I was horrified to discover that they did not remember the screen they were originally on! Here I'd carefully organized all my apps and suddenly nine of them were out of order. Worse, when my first few screens filled up, they just started autoflowing wherever they could find a free icon space, meaning I ended up with a horrible jumble of applications. Because some pages were full, I couldn't move icons to them, and it made rearranging everything took me a long time. I was probably working at it for twenty minutes! This is a monster bug, Apple: fix it. Just place the update in the same place as the original app. Simple.

App Store from Developer's Perspective
Developers, while in general happy with the App Store, have their list of complaints. Biggest among them is that there is no way to release a beta version of their application to a limited group of testers. While you can test an app internally, the only way to distribute an app to a group is via the App Store, and that's available to everyone. As iPhone apps become more complicated, testing is going to be more and more important, so Apple needs to figure out a way to address this need.

Similarly, there's no way release a demo or time-limited app via the Store. Some vendors solve this problem by offering two versions of their application: one free and one that costs money, with different feature sets. That's not a bad thing, but can be confusing to users, and it's more work for the developer as they have to maintain two sets of code.

It's not a problem yet, but what about upgrades? Free updates to existing apps are not a problem -- Apple has solved that elegantly as your iPhone will automatically tell you if any of the apps you've bought has a new version available. But there's currently no way to charge for paid upgrades: existing buyers would have to pay full price for the new version. For inexpensive apps that's not such a big deal, but I'd balk at rebuying a ten dollar app unless the new features were really compelling. Apple will need to address this at some point.

Another issue that's related is that Apple still has all the iPhone developers under NDA (non-disclosure agreement), meaning they can't talk about anything they are doing. This means they can't share development tips, reveal techniques and solutions, or even share code. That's very bizarre. We hope it's only temporary, but Apple has given no sign of when the NDA will be lifted. My personal feeling is that Apple did this to keep any bad reports or development problems from leaking to the press and public during the quite complicated initial iPhone 2.0 rollout and they'll be lifting the NDA soon (possibly at the same time as iPhone 2.1 is released). But until then it's an unusual problem and one Apple will start taking some heat for soon.

Next Time: Marc explores actual iPhone applications.

macopinion@designwrite.com

The Road Warrior Review - Wizard Multi-Configurable Laptop Stand from Lapworks

I'm a big fan of Lapworks products such as their signature line of Laptop Desks and their Aluminum Laptop Stands.

Aside from his own, in-house designs Like the Laptop Desk Futura and the recently-released Gamers Desk, Lapworks president Jose Calero from time also finds third party laptop products to sell on the Lapworks website, and the Chinese-sourced Wizard Multi-Configurable laptop stand is one such item.

The Wizard is a multi-purpose, fully adjustable, off-the-lap or on-the-lap notebook stand designed for for comfortable, ergonomically-sound use on a sofa or chair, on the floor, in your bed, laying down or sitting up or in between.

This product is configurable to just about any position, angle or height up to 24 inches, lifting your notebook off-your-lap and positioning it for comfortable viewing and better body English to help avoid sore wrists and stiff necks that prolonged laptop usage in awkward positions can cause.

The Wizard is supported by a pair of three-limbed hinged articulating legs that adjust and lock in a vast number of angles, positions and viewing heights via 360° incrementally locking joints. Its support tray almost 22” long so it can accommodate virtually any laptop (the 17" MacBook Pro or PowerBook fits with ample room to spare). There's space for mousing with narrower machines, and it can also be used as a lap desk on your lap without extending the articulating legs.

Because the support tray is generously thick Aluminum so it also will absorb heat from your notebook more efficiently and dissipate, is reversible, with ribbed for slip-resistance plus a wrist rest faced with soft rubber, while the flip side provides a smooth surface on which to work comfortably with a raised, rounded edge that prevents pens and pencils from sliding off. The Wizard Laptop Stand also comes with a set of 6 fabric-covered elastic bands to hold a book or magazine open while reading in comfort.

The Wizard can be folded flat into a 1.5" x 19" x 9.5" slab in a few seconds for convenient storage under a bed, in a closet, or behind a sofa.

In setting up the Wizard, it's worth investing a few minutes carefully studying the vast range of adjustments possible. With the three leg limbs plus the support tray itself all articulated at 10° increments, getting it all configured with both sides symmetrically synchronized takes a bit of concentration, although the adjustments themselves are simple and quick with the spring-loaded pushbutton adjusters at each joint hinge. I did find that the pushbuttons have a tendency to sometimes stick in the depressed position, but were easy to pop back into their locked position with another press. Once you've done it a couple of times, the setup goes much more quickly.

For use on a bed, I found that (at least) two modes were possible:

However, lying-down computing is only one of many uses the Wizard supports, others being a desktop laptop stand to raise the computer to a comfortable viewing level for use with an external keyboard and mouse, a breakfast table, TV dinner table, reading stand, study table, bed desk, or as a lap desk. When and wherever you need a work surface or a small table tray the Wizard can easily adjust and lock into place, quickly and efficiently to accommodate your needs.

The maximum height (24") in "T.V. tray" mode is slightly short of two feet , a bit low for most couches and too low for most chairs.

The Wizard's generous width also makes it impractical for use on many sofas or chesterfields, compared with, say, the more compact Laptop Laidback stand, and while the unit is relatively light at 5.29 pounds (less than most laptops), it is very bulky for packing along on road trips (although lighter and easier to fold up than the Laidback).

I do have some reservations about the Wizard's ruggedness and resistance to wear and damage. The articulated hinge joints are made of plastic, and may well prove adequately durable, although metal joints would be more reassuring. and I'm especially concerned about potential damage from side loading of the support legs, especially with the lever-arm stress at long extensions.

On thing I personally dislike is the texture of the rubber wrist pad - specifically the tactile feel, and the rubber "inner tube" look is inelegant. IMHO "traction" material is exactly what you don't want in a wrist rest. Something with a smooth and slippery finish - either padded or hard, would be preferable.

I'm wondering how well the Wizard will hold up over the long haul. Perhaps necessarily, given the multiplicity of all those adjustable joints, the Wizard just doesn't have the same feeling of solid rigidity that the Laptop Laidback does. although handled with reasonable care it should last a long time.

Wizard Laptop Stand Specifications:
• Overall Dimensions: 22” x 11-7/8” x 1-3/4”
• Table Top Dimensions: 17-3/4” x 11-3/4” x 1-3/4”
• Weight: 4 Lbs. 8 oz.
• Color: Gun Metal Gray
• Materials: Aluminum, Plastic & Rubber

The Wizard sells for $99.95.

For more information, visit:
http://www.laptopdesk.net/wizard-laptop-stand.html

Incidentally, if the Wizard looks familiar, it is indeed virtually identical to another product sold under the "Lapdawg" brand name - the only significant difference I can detect is the Lapworks logo on the Wizard, and it's hard to imagine that both products don't roll off the same assembly line in China. However, the Lapdawg is priced at $130.00 (includes shipping).


***



cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Mailbag - From The Archive - July 28, 2008

Re: Why I Won't Be Buying An iPhone 3G
Replacing an iBook G4's hard disk drive?
From The Archive: Why My iBook Reminds Me Of A Renault 4



___

Re: Why I Won't Be Buying An iPhone 3G

From ncbill

Unlimited (in practice, limited to 5GB/month) data plans from cellular carriers here in the U.S. are about $60/month (with a voice plan).

Smartphone unlimited data is around $30/month, but tethering to a computer is not allowed (on some phones it is relatively easy to get around this restriction)

There is usually not a contractual requirement for the data plan - I can call up Verizon and cut on or off the unlimited data plan on a month-by-month basis.

It appears someone has figured out a kludge to tether the 3G iPhone. http://cre.ations.net/blog/post/how-to-tether-your-iphone-3g-and-browse-the-web-using-your-3g-co

___

Hi bill;

Thanks for the comments and link.

Charles






Replacing an iBook G4's hard disk drive?

This was posted to the Applelinks Discussion Forum, and contains some useful information and links on the titular topic.

The original post can be found at:
http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/142/

Replacing an iBook G4's hard disk drive?

A bit of advice, if you are considering it:

The level of difficulty in replacing a hard disk drive in the iBook G4 is said to be High. The odds of damage occurring to other components or cabling in the way can be a costly error and disable the 'Book entirely.

That said, there are a few online places to look for hard disk drive replacement help guides and I defer to those (see links to a few known ones) for you to look into. ~ Also, I'd buy from a reliable source, and avoid odd brands with a history of unfriendly use. Hitachi (bought IBMs drive business), Maxtor, now a part of another OK company, Seagate, and a few others are fairly good. Western Digital (WD) is not high on my list. No point in taking another chance.

You can get deals on hard disk drives through retailers and not have to test the quality of an auction item.

iBook G4 12" Disassembly: Installing Hard Drive Replacement ...
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/iBook-G4-12-Inch/Hard-Drive-Replacement/83/14/

iBook G4 Hard Disk replacementm- Pictures guide to HD replacement Difficulty level: high - experts only.

Note: this operation can void warranty.
http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/guides/hw/ibook/g4hd/

iBook G4 how to replace hard drive - google search ' results link
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=iBook+G4+how+to+replace+hard+drive&btnG=Google+Search







From The Road Warrior Archive

Five years ago this week I posted the somewhat whimsical Road Warrior piece republished below comparing my then-workhorse G3 iBook to the Renault 4 automobile.

From The Archive: Why My iBook Reminds Me Of A Renault 4

- [Originally Published July 27, 2003]

I suppose it's because I've been a lifelong car freak that I often think of computers in automotive analogies. And so it was that last week while watching a CPU usage monitor on my iBook pegging out at 100 percent while running several simultaneous processes, it occurred to me that the iBook reminds me of a Renault 4.

Few Americans who have not traveled in Europe have likely ever seen a Renault 4. It was the French automaker's take a on building an entry-level, ultra-utilitarian car in the '60s and '70s. I imagine that a few were imported to America in the early-mid '60s, as there were to Canada, but certainly not after the first federal safety and smog regulations were mandated beginning in 1967.




The Renault 4, which was built from 1961 to 1994, with a total production of 8,135,424 units, typified a genré of automobile that has been very popular in Europe and the developing world, but not in North America, at least not since Henry Ford's Model T. Other examples of the category would be in Sir Alex Issagonis' Morris Minor and Austin/Morris Mini (the original Mini -- not the potent sports car disguised as a box that BMW is building these days), the original Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat 500, and the legendary Citroen 2CV. These were all cheap, basic cars that could serve multi-purpose roles - often rural, or even agricultural.

I think the French have - or at least had - the concept nailed in the '50s and '60s. The Citroen Deux Chevaux is better known, thanks partly to its bizarre and funky appearance (one could hardly call it "styling"), but IMHO, the Renault 4 was a better car by a substantial margin, with a four-cylinder engine (747 cc to 1108 CC), and a roomier, box-shaped body that wasn't exactly pretty, but was a lot less weird than the 2CV.




I never owned a Renault 4, but a couple of my friends did. One of these cars, and early '60's vintage model, had been driven from Europe down through East Africa and then shipped to Canada. The other, a '64, I worked on, rode in a lot and drove a bit. The car was basically a tin can on wheels, but it had an amazingly smooth ride, and its crude but astonishingly comfortable seats that were essentially foam hammocks suspended from tubular metal frames.

The 4's three-speed gear shifter was quirkily configured, being an L-shaped lever that protruded from the center of the dashboard, although a shifted in a conventional H-pattern. The Renault 4 wasn't fast or powerful, and that smooth ride took a toll on its cornering ability, but you could pile an awful lot of stuff (or people), into it and it was both great fun and a first-rate economical utility vehicle.

The little 845cc four-banger in my friend's R4 was always working pretty hard, and that's what made me draw a parallel with the faithfully laboring 700 MHz G3 processor in my iBook. With both machines, you tend to be using them flat out a lot of the time. No wasted potential. You're getting everything they have to offer out of them - a general concept that has always appealed to me, which is why I have a soft spot for minimalist cars like the Renault 4, and for Low End Macintoshes.




But there are other analogical similarities. Both the $999.00, 700 MHz "Opaque White" iBook and the Renault 4 were the lowest-priced, most basic Apple laptop and Renault automobile respectively. Both have squared-off lines, and a modest but complete inventory of features. I find that the basic CD-ROM drive and 20 GB hard drive in the iBook are adequate for what I require of it, just as the Renault 4 was sufficiently equipped for its intended purpose.

Not to say that these utilitarian machines don't have panache. Both the iBook and the Renault 4 come/came in a choice of no-frills or "deluxe" versions. The 12 in. iBook is of course available in an up-market model with a DVD/CD-RW drive and a larger hard drive for $1,299.00.

As for the Renault 4, aside from the basic model, which had one of the first one-piece liftgate rear doors used in an automobile, it was also available in the 4L version with a conventional enclosed trunk compartment. Then there was "La Parisienne," launched in 1964 in a cooperation with the French magazine "ELLE", in order to increase the sales of the R4 among feminine drivers. In the beginning only black cars were available, with imitation canework on the doors, rear fenders and back door/trunk lid.

The iBook and the Renault 4 in their respective product categories prove(ed) that inexpensive doesn't have to be synonymous with lack of imagination, no innovation, or cheapness in the negative connotation of the term.

However, one dissonant characteristic is that while the Renault for was reasonably easy to take apart and work on, the iBook is emphatically not, which is probably the greatest shortcoming in its design. I hope Apple will address that issue in the next generation iBook, which I'm guessing we will see late this year or early next.

If you would like to find out more about The Renault 4, visit:
http://www.renault4.plus.com/
http://www.geocities.com/richardirl/





***



cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Review: Aviator Laptop Stand For Frequent Flyers

Several laptop stand designs are engineered to be especially convenient for serious road warriors to take along in a laptop case or backpack, but the new standard for lightness and compact storage combined with convenient simplicity of setup and innovative features is the Aviator stand from Keynamics.

The Aviator's name is an indication of the fact that it is, according to its manufacturer Keynamics LLC, the first and only laptop stand designed specifically for use on airplane tray tables. I can't think of any challengers to that claim, but the Aviator also offers advantages for surface-traveling laptop users as well, and some features that will even appeal to those whose portables spend most of their time in desktop substitute mode.

According to the annual Airline IT Trends Survey, 59 percent of airlines plan to offer in-flight internet access by the end of 2008. American Airlines has begun offering passengers high speed in-flight internet service on some flights.

“A solution was needed for better ergonomics and comfort when passengers accessed the new WiFi enabled service”, says Greg Bright of Keynamics LLC.

The stand works by utilizing the space in front of the tray table, even when the passenger in front is reclined.

From an ergonomic perspective, the Aviator angles and extends the laptop keyboard 2.5 inches past the front edge of the seat tray, providing a comfortable wrist position. The stand also raises the screen 3 inches off the tray table, achieving the proper eye level for reduced neck bending and back strain.

The Aviator's molded high-strength plastic parts, none of them moving, assemble for duty literally in seconds, then nest together in a single, light, thin and flat unit just half an inch thick and weighing a mere 9 ounces when disassembled for travel.

The three parts consist of two identical side modules called "Risers" and a slotted of "Crosspiece" that slips into vee-notches on the Risers to create the laptop stand.

The Crosspiece has two sets of slots, allowing the width of the assembled unit to be adjusted. However, I found that the widest setting worked fine with both my 12" iBook and our big old WallStreet PowerBook, which was the heaviest machine I had on hand to test it with.

Notwithstanding the fact that it assembles and disassembles almost effortlessly, the Aviator, when assembled, becomes a remarkably stable and solid platform, and it handles the WallStreet's eight-pound weight very gracefully. However, that's small beer. These photos from the Keynamics Web page show the front wheel of a 4,800 pound Toyota Land Cruiser supported by the Aviator, so no laptop is going to tax its strength.

The strength comes from the 6 point contact area where the crosspiece wedges into the vee-notch.

Another signature feature of the Aviator stand is its ability to cantelever the laptop's palm rest 2.5 inches over the near edge of the supporting desktop, table, or aircraft tray-table, thus allowing the user to assume a more relaxed, "laid back" posture while maintaining ergonomically-sound elbow and wrist angles.

Reclining transfers much of the downward pressure off your spine, and as an added bonus, the airspace and and improved heat convection of the elevated laptop reduces heat buildup.

Rubbery "traction" strips on the bottom edge the Aviator's Risers help anchor the computer securely when used in the cantelevered position.

In use on airline tray-tables, the Aviator elevates the screen height by three inches for a less strained neck angle, especially helpful when the seat in front of the tray-table is reclined. It also raises the top edge of your laptop's screen well above the tray table notch in the seat in front of us, eliminating the danger it being crushed by a sudden recline

It's also great for the wait at airport gates.

The Aviator is made in the USA from 99% Recycled Waste, and is available in black, white, grey, pink, or blue. Keynamics will donate $2.00 from every sale of pink Aviator stands to support breast cancer initiatives.

Specifications:
Stored Dimensions 12.62" L x .50" W x 3.35" H
Riser: 12.62" L x .25" W x 3.35" H
Crosspiece: 10.5" L x .50" W x 1" H
Riser Spacing: Outer 8.75", Inner: 5.75"
Riser Top Surface Contact Area 12"

The Aviator sells for a very modest $19.99 and has a 30 day 100% satisfaction money back guarantee.

For more information, visit:
http://www.keynamics.com


***



cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

The Road Warrior Mailbag plus From The Archive - 12” iBook vs 12” PowerBook Revisited

• Re: iPhone 3G in Canada Article
• From The Road Warrior Archive - 12" iBook vs 12" PowerBook Revisited

___

Re: iPhone 3G in Canada Article

Hi Charles:

Well, like you, I suffer from living in Canada with the absurdly high cell phone rates. Just check rate plans in other countries to see the kind of freedom people are given for a modest price, even in Germany. When we look at US rate plans from their various carriers, they make Canadian cell phone providers look like criminals.

I did have to laugh at the per month rates you quoted in your article... like $35 per month, or even $70 per month. I spend on average, with Fido, about $250 per month. I, however, use my mobile for business. I have one of the most "free" plans from Fido in terms of weekday/long distance minutes, with unlimited evenings and weekends after 6 pm. For ~$250 per month, I do achieve some freedom. The point is that, if you want any freedom with your cell phone in Canada, it will cost you much more than $35 per month, or even $70 per month.

For $70, for instance, you still have to add on the $7 system access fee and tax. Plus, you will have to buy voicemail or call display, another $4-$8 add-on. And you get no long distance minutes with these plans either, and chances are you will have to make a few long distance calls. Unfortunately, using long distance phone cards on a cell is byzantine and impractical. Plus, you will likely go over your alloted weekday minutes and have to pay for those extra minutes. In short, a $70 plan quickly turns into a plan that will cost over $100 per month. And we have not even started with a data plan yet.

As for contracts, I am using an unlocked Apple iPhone with Fido with no contract, so that is available if you want it. Just pay month-to-month and cancel at anytime, or change your plan whenever you want. That is the only positive thing I can say about my wireless experiences in Canada. Even at $250 per month though, I am hopelessly constrained by weekday minute caps and expensive long distance.

The thing is, some of us rely on cell phones because we have a mobile lifestyle. I can't use a landline because of my movements so I am one of those people who needs a cell phone with him at all times. I do piggy back my cell phone on Skype, and Skype has been great for me and my business, and doubtless saved me a ton of money. I have several numbers that I use for calls in, and I can phone to 34 countries (landlines mostly) for an unlimited amount of time 24/365 for $13 per month. Soon, Skype will be on the iPhone and I can start dialing over Wifi when I am not at home.

As for my home set up, I have a fiber optic internet connection with fast upload speeds which has vastly improved Skype call quality. In the end, the solution I think is to side step these cell phone carriers by using VOIP, period.

Here is an article on my blog related to yours.

All the best,
Holden

___

Hi Holden;

Thanks for the comments and link.

Yes; I've investigated, for example, satellite Internet, in some detail, and have found that the same dynamic applies. The nominal monthly service fees (which are themselves ugly enough) are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, go stratospheric unless you sign on with a two or three year contract that has punishing cancellation fees, plus all the nickling and diming (so to speak - it's really huge quanitities of of dollars) with extra fees from both the provider and government, plus the usual sales taxes (13% on everything here Nova Scotia(, and you're talking serious money. Way more than I'm willing to cough up even though I'm frustrated to the point of distraction with dial-up Internet.

I agree about VOIP being one attractive solution. I have a good long distance service (YAK) that makes long distance calling very reasonable from a land line (real competition in play) and without broadband, VOIP is not practical, but eventually we'll get broadband service here at affordable rates.

Charles

***

From The Road Warrior Archive

On July 20, 2004, I posted this column comparing the relative virtues of the 12" PowerBook and 12" iBook. I think my general assessment and analysis holds up pretty well four years on, but if making the choice between these to machines as a budget 'Book today, I would suggest that opting for the PowerBook is a no-brainer. The price premium has shrink to only a hundred or two dollars, and the PowerBook has proved to be a much more durable machine. The tricky part is finding one for sale, although it's pretty much a buyer's market in used G4 iBooks these days.

Anyone in this price range should also consider an early revision MacBook, which will be only a hundred dollars or so more than a 12" PowerBook, although those older MacBooks ran awfully hot and were afflicted with certain other issues.

___

From The Road Warrior Archive - 12" iBook vs 12" PowerBook Revisited - [Originally Published July 20, 2004]

Fraternal twins, if you will

Last year I wrote a column comparing the relative virtues of the 12" G3 iBook vs. the then-new 867 MHz 12" G4 PowerBook. There have been several significant developments with both machines over the past 12 months — perhaps the most notable being the iBook line's upgrade to G4 status. The iBook and PowerBook 12-inchers shared many characteristics in 2003, and today they're even more closely matched, although there are still notable distinctions.

What got me thinking again along these lines was the recent price drop on these computers here in Canada. The iBook now sells for Can$1,449, while the PowerBook sells for Can$2,099 — a Can$650 difference or a whopping 45% more. In US dollars, the prices are $1,099 and $1,599 respectively, or $500 difference — also 45% more. Is the little aluminum beastie worth the extra capital outlay?

Actually, that's a substantially slimmer margin than the US$800 or 80 percent that originally existed between the $999 800 MHz 12" iBook and the 867MHz 12" iBook, but the performance and features margins are now slimmer too. While the PowerBook still has a 33 percent advantage in clock speed, that will not translate into one-third faster performance in virtually any real-world task. Nor is the features spread as wide as it had been. Both machines come with 256 MB of standard RAM, and both still share the same 12.1" 1024 x 768 resolution display.

That's the same screen as in my 18 month old 700 MHz iBook — wonderfully bright and razor sharp despite, or perhaps thanks to its small size and tight 106 dpi pixel density, I find it no harder to read than the 14.1 in. display in my Pismo PowerBook. In fact, I would say that it's probably easier on the eyes. The superb image quality afforded by these displays is attributable to those dense pixel counts.

It's like blowing up a photograph. The larger the print size for a particular negative, the more visible the grain will be, and the cool thing is that those who opt for an entry-level iBook get exactly the same display -- albeit with a different (but not necessarily inferior) video card.

The crossover between these two Apple models is closer than it was initially. A lot of engineering from the original dual USB G3 iBook was incorporated into the 12" PowerBooks, and then the PowerBook G4 motherboard was adapted to the iBook when it went G4 last fall, Both machines use a proprietary Composite video out cable dongle to hook up to external monitors. Both machines have pretty much the same array of interface connection ports.

So again, can the PowerBook's price premium be rationally justified? The answer, IMHO, is a qualified yes, but the qualification is that it depends on how important the PowerBook's somewhat but not dramatically richer specification is to you along with a significantly better keyboard and the aesthetics of an aluminum rather than a polycarbonate case.

Of course there are some significant differences as well. The LittleAl's aluminum case compared with the iBook's polycarbonate housing is in obvious one.

The LittleAl has an NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics accelerator, as opposed to the iBook's last year's technology ATI Mobility Radeon 9200. graphics card. The base model at $1,599 comes with a combo drive, while the upmarket version at $1,799 has a 4x SuperDrive, which is not available on the 12" iBook. LittleAl also comes with 54 Mbps 802.11g AirPort Extreme, and includes internal Bluetooth support, while the 12" iBook optionally supports AirPort Extreme but needs a USB Bluetooth adapter.

LittleAl has a and a 167MHz system bus, compared with the iBook's 133 MHz bus. Both models now use PC 2100 DDR SDR (256 MB standard, expandable to 1.25 GHz). The PowerBook comes with a 60 GB hard drive, while the iBook has a 30 GB unit standard. LittleAl supports monitor spanning rather than just mirroring with external monitors; it has a real audio-in analog mini-jack, unlike the iBook with which you're stuck with USB audio in, and it comes with a wider selection of bundled software. The keyboard used in the aluminum PowerBooks is superior to the one that graces the iBook.

Both machines have DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port, and and slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drives.

It's a tough choice. Aesthetics are subjective, but on that score I'm ambivalent. The aluminum PowerBook looks great, but I still think my 700 MHz G3 iBook is stunningly attractive. I have a weakness for white stuff, and it's about as white as you can get.

The keyboard might be the clincher for some. It's the most intimate interface one has with a computer, and the PowerBook keyboard is definitely superior to the one in the iBook. On the other hand, for folks like me who mostly use their laptops in desktop substitute mode on a stand with an external keyboard and pointing device, the keyboard issue is of less moment.

Extra power and speed are always welcome, and with 33 percent more clock speed and bus speed, the 12-inch PowerBook will perform better than the 12 inch iBook without question, but is that margin (probably more like 15-20 percent overall in most real world tasks) enough advantage to justify 45 percent more capital outlay? Only you can decide.

If monitor spanning is important to you, then the PowerBook is the no-brainer choice, because that feature is not offered on the iBook, although otherwise, the GeForce video card may not necessarily be preferable to the Radeon card in the iBook. Note that the 15 inch and 17 inch PowerBooks have Radeons -- albeit the 9600 rather than the 9200 that ships in the iBook. Built-in Bluetooth might also tip the scales in favor of the PowerBook for some users, as might the $200 availability of a SuperDrive. But both machines share the same display, the same connectivity ports, both have relatively speedy G4 processors, and neither has a PC card slot. They are really more the same than they are different.

The 12-inch PowerBook is way cool. I would love to have one. However, I'm a low- ender by temperament, and for me saving nearly half the cost of my next system upgrade speaks louder than the shrinking list of PowerBook advantages over the iBook. At least I think so. Ask me again in about a year's time when I will probably be in the hunt for my next 'Book.

The 1.33 GHz, 12-inch PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $1,599 (US), includes:
• a Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
• two USB 2.0 ports and FireWire 400; and
• a 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.

The 1.33 GHz, 12-inch PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), includes:
• a 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
• two USB 2.0 ports and Firewire 400; and
• a 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.

The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing 4.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US) and includes:
• a 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
• 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory;
• a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
• VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
• Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and
• a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.


However, if you can afford the extra capital outlay, The LittleAl is shaping up to be a great computer. You can't go wrong either way --PowerBook or iBook.

***

12" iBook and 12" PowerBooks Specifications And Features Compared

Processor

iBooks
700MHz PowerPC G3; 800MHz PowerPC G3

12" PowerBook
867MHz PowerPC G4

Processor Cache

iBooks
Level 2 Cache: 512K at 700MHz; 512K at 800MHz

12" PowerBook
Level 2 cache 256K

System Bus

iBooks
100MHz system bus

12" PowerBook
133MHz system bus

Memory Config and Support

iBooks
128MB of built in PC100 SDRAM
Single 1.25-inch standard SO-DIMM slot (3.3V) supports up to 512MB SO-DIMM for a total of 640MB of SDRAM

12" PowerBook
256MB of PC2100 (266MHz) DDR SDRAM (128MB built in and 128MB in SO-DIMM slot); supports up to 640MB

Hard Drives (Standard)

iBooks
20GB or 30GB Ultra ATA hard disk drive

12" PowerBook
40GB Ultra ATA/1004

Combo Drives

iBooks

Tray-loading 16x8x8x24x-speed (maximum) Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW); writes CD-R discs at 16x speed, writes CD-RW discs at 8x speed, reads DVD-ROM discs at 8x speed, reads CD-ROM discs at 24x speed. 24x CD-ROM drive on 700 MHz iBook.

12" PowerBook
Slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW): reads DVDs at 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at 10x speed, reads CD-ROM disks at 24x speed. Optional slot-loading SuperDrive.

Display

12.1" iBooks
12.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display
Support for millions of colors at 1024-by-768-pixel resolution
Support for resolution scaling to 800-by-600-pixel and 640-by-480-pixel resolution with millions of colors

12" PowerBook
12.1-inch (diagonal) TFT XGA active-matrix display
Support for millions of colors at 1024-by-768-pixel resolution
Support for resolution scaling to 800-by-600-pixel and 640-by-480-pixel resolution with millions
of colors

Graphics Support

iBooks
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics accelerator with 16MB or 32MB of dedicated video memory and AGP 2X support

12" PowerBook
NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go graphics processor with AGP 4X support and 32MB of DDR SDRAM video memory for 2D/3D graphics acceleration

Peripheral connections

iBooks
Two 12-Mbps USB ports
One 400-Mbps FireWire (IEEE 1394) port

12" PowerBook
Two 12-Mbps USB ports
One 400-Mbps FireWire (IEEE 1394) port

Video Out Support

iBooks
VGA, S-video and composite video output Video outport for mirroring with an external display or projector [requires included VGA video adapter]; S-video and composite video output to TV through Video output port (requires optional Apple Video Adapter, sold separately). Mirroring only.

12" PowerBook
VGA output using included Apple VGA Display Adapter. S-video output using included Apple Video Adapter. Composite video output using included Apple Video Adapter. Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports up to 1024 by 768 pixels on the built-in display and up to 1600 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors

Audio

iBooks
16-bit CD-quality stereo sound output minijack
Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in microphone
Headphone out (minijack)
Support for external USB audio devices such as microphones and speakers

12" PowerBook
Audio line in (minijack)
Headphone out (minijack)
Built-in stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker
Internal omnidirectional microphone
Support for external USB audio devices such as microphones and speakers

Ethernet

iBooks
Built-in 10/100BASE-T

12" PowerBook
Built-in 10/100BASE-T

Modem

iBooks
Built-in 56K V.92 modem

12" PowerBook
Built-in 56K V.925 modem

Wireless networking

iBooks
Built-in antennas and expansion slot for optional 11-Mbps AirPort Card; IEEE 802.11b compliant

12" PowerBook
Built-in Bluetooth 1.1; AirPort Extreme ready (requires optional AirPort Extreme Card

Battery

iBook with 12.1-inch display:
47-watt-hour lithium-ion battery provides up to 5 hours of battery life on a single charge

12" PowerBook
47-watt-hour lithium-ion battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 5 hours of battery life

Size and Weight

iBook with 12.1-inch display
Height: 1.35 inches (3.4 cm)
Width: 11.2 inches (28.5 cm)
Depth: 9.06 inches (23.0 cm)
Weight: 4.9 pounds (2.2 kg)

12" PowerBook
Height: 1.18 inches (3.0 cm)
Width: 10.9 inches (27.7 cm)
Depth: 8.6 inches (21.9 cm)
Weight: 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg) with battery and optical drive installed

Bundled Software

iBooks
Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, QuickTime, iCal, iChat, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, DVD Player, AppleWorks, Mac OS X Mail, Microsoft Internet Explorer, EarthLink (includes 30 days of free service), AOL, Quicken 2003 Deluxe, World Book 2003 Edition, Mac OS X Chess, Otto Matic, Deimos Rising, FAXstf, PixelNhance, and Acrobat Reader; Apple Hardware Test CD

12" PowerBook
Mac OS X, QuickTime, iCal, iChat, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, DVD Player, Mac OS X Mail, Microsoft Internet Explorer, EarthLink (includes 30 days of free service), Acrobat Reader, Art Directors Toolkit, FAXstf, FileMaker Pro Trial,
GraphicConverter, Microsoft Office v. X Test Drive, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, Developer Tools, Apple Hardware Test CD


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cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM

Why I Won’t Be Buying An iPhone 3G

I don't dispute that the iPhone is an extremely cool little gadget, for a whole host of reasons I probably have no need to explain to most folks likely to be reading columns on this Website. There is also much blather about the iPhone being a satisfactory replacement for a road-warrioring laptop computer.

However, even though Apple's iconic smartphone has finally made it's long-delayed debut here in the Great White North, I won't be buying one. Now, strictly speaking, virtually the entire county where I live - one of the geographically largest in Nova Scotia but sparsely populated, is outside Rogers Communications' GSM/GPRS coverage range, the nearest edge of which is about 30 road miles away, so there wouldn't be much point anyway, but even if there was a Rogers GSM tower close by, I still wouldn't buy an iPhone because for starters there is no way in God's green earth that I would pay $70 or more a month for phone service and handheld Internet access. Especially locked into a three-year contract. That works out to $2,720 including the cost of the iPhone itself but not including taxes, or about the price of a 17" MacBook Pro.

Indeed, I don't have a cellphone of any sort, largely because I philosophically resist the concept of locking into multi-year contract commitments for any sort of service, and also assuming the obligation to pay for incoming calls over which I have no control. I don't have to commit to a term contract of any sort for my basic land line phone service, my long distance service, my Internet service, or my household electricity service, and I balk at doing it for anything else.

For example, I have a long distance service that charges me a very modest rate for calls actually made, on a per-second rather than a per-minute basis, and nothing else - no plan fees, no "network fees" no contract, no nothing extra. When I heard of that service becoming available, I was able to dump my previous long distance provider immediately and make the switch, and if a better deal than I have ever presents itself, I'll do the same again. And if smartphone service ever becomes commodified to that degree, I'll get interested.

Other folks take a more middle-ground approach. Reader Terry cced me a letter he sent to Apple, noting that while he was among those Canadians who bought a 3G iPhone from Rogers Communications on its inaugural weekend, in order to get a 8GB 3G at the $199 rate, he had to increase his phone plan from $20 per month (150 minutes) to $35 per month (250 minutes)), and that rate does not include any additional service, no voicemail, caller ID, etc. etc. Terry did not subscribe to any data plan, since, like me, he lives in a community where 3GHe says he will take advantage of Rogers Wifi Hotspots when they're available - or WiFi from his home network.

He says he would be interested in an unlimited data plan (for $30 per month!) if Rogers ever offers 3G service in his area of Canada, although he's not holding his breath even though Rogers charges him $7,50 a month for a "Network Systems fee" that purportedly covers network 'development costs, and notes that particular charge is the subject of a class action lawsuit right now.

When I buy a computer, I'm free to purchase Internet service from any supplier I choose. Ditto for land line telephones, and that's the way I like it. I'm jut not interested in owning expensive hardware that is useless (or at least crippled) without being tied to one particular sort of proprietary service charges.

If you'll pardon a brief digression here, again speaking philosophically, I'm probably more on the Open Source Linux wavelength than Apple's. What keeps me coming back to the fruit stand is the nonpareil elegance and slick, low-hassle functionality of the Mac OS. I'm no Apple fanboy, but I am a consummate Mac OS fanboy, and I figure that ponying up $129 every couple of years or so for a system version upgrade (if you don't happen to get it thrown in with a hardware upgrade) is a reasonable tariff for what you get. On the other hand, InformationWeek's Serdar Yegulalp reported last week that Ubuntu Linux's Mark Shuttleworth is expressing ambitions to compete with or beat the Macintosh at its own game, with a stated goal of making sure "the free software ecosystem can deliver a Mac OS-like experience, or an experience that will compete with the Mac OS." Shuttleworth quite reasonably sees Apple as the gold standard of the computer user experience, and believes that while it will be a challenge, the innovation inherent in the Free software process can deliver an experience that is comparable and in many ways superior. I wish him and his colleagues every success with that aspiration, will keep watching desktop Linux's progress with intense interest, and if they ever get the user-friendliness into line with the Mac OS, all bets are off.

Anyway, back on topic, unfortunately, in Canada, the prospects are not that promising for the wireless market to free up anytime soon. Unfortunately, it seems to be tightening up. There are just three national cellphone service providers in Canada - Rogers Communications, Bell Canada and Telus Corp, and while that theoretically could provide the market structure for price competition, it manifestly hasn't, and indeed a chummy price detente seems to exist among the big three, unlike with other industries that have high fixed costs, such as airlines, where competition tends to generate price wars or at least sharply competitive pricing and discounting.

Canada's wireless carriers, on the other hand, obviously are loathe to compete on price and seek rather to differentiate from each other with hardware products offered such as Rogers with the iPhone and distinct service package bundles - which of course bump up the cost of service to the consumer, as opposed to countries where real competition exists like Hong Kong and India where cell fees run about a penny per minute.

The iPhone has already had a profound impact on the wireless industry in Canada, with Rogers evidently blindsided by the intensity of grassroots wrath that descended on them over their iPhone service fee announcement, and their competitors Bell Mobility and Telus are also feeling spillover heat for their incredibly clumsily-timed (in light of the iPhone backlash) revelation that they will start charging 15 cents per incoming text message for users who don't sign up for a service plan package. The cellphone providers have had it too much their own way in a cosy, three-way "family compact," refusing to compete on price and raking in the profits. Leave it to Apple to stir the pot and inspire "thinking different."

However, back to my own iPhone resistance, while it's mostly about the cost, it's not all about the cost. I also dislike touchscreen keyboards intensely, am not a fan of touchscreen input in general, and find the number of typos in email sent to me by my iPhine-using friends unencouraging, so if I were to get a smartphone, I would be much more likely to opt for a BlackBerry or other product with a real, analog keyboard. If Apple ever wants to rope me in as an iPhone customer, they need a real, analog keybaord too - at least a plug-in, external one perhaps.

I also recoil from surfing the Internet on a display that tiny. I hate scrolling, and it's bad enough on smaller laptop computers. The iPhone (and other Internet-capable smartphones) give you the Hobson's choice option of viewing browser pages so tiny you can't see or read anything, or endless, tedious scrolling over partial page views. If that's what floats your boat, more power to you, but you can have it. I wouldn't mind telephony capability being built into a road-warrioring laptop computer, but as for the iPhone as some sort of adequate replacement for a laptop, not even close IMHO. I'm not prepared to make those sorts of compromises. A regular (cheap, no-frills) cellphone and a real laptop makes a lot more sense to me, and in that vein, I don't see why a MacBook Air with iPhone-like functionality, or perhaps something along the lines of the hot-selling Asus Eee PC, which sells for iPhone-like prices but offers a sweet-spot combination of featherweight heft and svelte dimensions combined real, laptop functionality and reasonable viewing area with would not be a smash-hit. PhoneBook anyone?



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cmoore@macopinion.com

Note: Letters to The Road Warrior may or may not be published in The Road Warrior Mailbag at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.

If you would prefer that your message not appear in The Road Warrior Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.

CM