Yesterday I had an hour to spend in between my last class and the John Podesta lecture, and so I went to College Library to use their computers. And, apparently, they just got a lab full of brand new G5 iMacs. So I decided to play around, give that I was doing some work on apples in order to tabulate last weekends tournament.
These are the greatest things ever. The screen is so big, and the computer takes up so little space. I think I am finally converted. The iMac is by far the most space efficient and powerful computer I think I have ever seen. The best part is not simply the awesome design, as much as it is coolest operating system I have ever seen. Yesterday’s trip necessitated today’s return, when I should be reading for Schweber’s Seminar. Two features of OS X (“tiger” – I think was the variant I was using) that Apple is right to promote are Spotlight and the Dashboard. I played around with both software functions today, and needless to say – I was impressed. With one click, I can check the weather, my email, get directions to LaCrosse, access sticky notes, search wikipedia, and lookup the correct spelling of words so that I can actually write this post with some degree of accuracy. More special than just the ability to do all of that is the ability to add on to the Dashboard. Some of the cooler add-on’s that I saw available for a free download were a random Family Guy Reference Generator and Cocktail recipe provider. All of these you can do from your desktop – without having to actually load a program, or much less find the program to do it for you, like you would in windows.
The other nifty feature is Spotlight, which is simply the fastest search tool that I have ever seen. Of course the iLife package that comes with every copy of OS X is also super neat. The iLife package includes typical favorites like iDVD, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band.
However, I do have some hangups in my experimentation with Apple Computers over the last two days. First, I feel that for some reason I type much, much slower on this computer than I do at my desktop at home, and certainly not as fast as I type on my laptop. (I have always felt that I type much, much faster on my laptop by virtue of posture.) That may just be a perception, and not a real truth though. The second issue is that for some reason, when typing this post Firefox on an Apple somehow does not like to recognize the “home” and “end” scroll keyboard commands, which I frequently use when composing stuff. I am sure that there is a way to fix this, and that it’s merely a matter of exploration, but none the less, when composing this on a Mac it has been annoying. Third, and finally, and this is a total Window’s user’s complaint. I cannot right click. I know what I’m doing with Windows and I am so very used to right clicking in order to get things done faster. Yes, I know that Control-Open-Click gets me to the same thing, but its so much easier to have a second button do that. I also very much miss my mouse directional buttons (back and forth) in addition to the scroll buttons. All of these criticism though, probably are not real ones. There are probably solutions to the problem that I do not even know about. Or at least ways that would make Macs more Windows like (even though that is rather against the point of owning a Mac so far as most Mac owners are concerned). I also don’t like the prospect though of having to relearn keyboard shortcuts. I’m very good at my short cuts, and they make composition so much faster… It’s just a pain in my butt.
Since you should realize most of my complaints are merely superficial, you should by now also realize that I cannot wait to buy an iBook.
7 responses so far ↓
Jess // October 12, 2005 at 1:22 am
On my iBook hitting fn + directional arrows will get to home and end, not sure if it’s the same. Also any cntrl keyboard command (save, print, copy, paste) is just switched to the open Apple key.
Macs are awesome. Right clicking is nice, but easy I find that if you do it right, you can click even less and use the keyboard more. For some reason I like that on a laptop.
Adam // October 12, 2005 at 6:10 am
Glad my tabulation hardware had a surreptitious influence.
Seriously, I am SO MUCH more productive on a Mac than on a PC. That said, I have invested in Kensington and Logitech mouses in the past (like the one connected to the PowerBook you were using), which has a scrollwheel and right button (which brings up a contextual menu, just as on a PC). You can also hit CTRL when clicking a single-button mouse to achieve the same effect.
In terms of keyboard shortcuts, there seems to be a few bugs not covered by the developers for Mac versions of their programs, including Mozilla’s Firefox (my preferred browser, too). However, you can set keyboard shortcuts in the System Preferences (found via the Apple menu). The main difference — as Jess said — is that the Apple key is actually the “Command” or shortcut hotkey as opposed to “CTRL,” which serves different purposes. It’s just a matter of getting in a few different habits. Every individual gadget has its own idiosyncratic nuances. Apple’s “human interface” research makes it one of the easiest platforms to learn, however. I’m still trying to figure out how to program both my VCR and my cell phone.
If you can save for the investment, a PowerBook will give you more flexibility in the long run than an iBook. My brother is perfectly content with his 12″ PowerBook. Me, I like the 15″ in my display for the design work I do.
Apple’s service has been second-to-none. The few times I have had problems, the geniuses at the Apple Store have been invaluable (I once dropped a free giveaway clock from NFL nationals in Salt Lake City on my keyboard, cracking the “T” key, and they replaced it immediately; no questions asked).
The student/teacher discount is sweet, too.
Nick Bubb // October 12, 2005 at 9:45 am
Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between an ibook and a powerbook. I’ve never really understood that as a faithful windows user.
Hal // October 12, 2005 at 10:57 am
I just got a mac for college, and I’ve been converted since the day I opened the box. Nick, you might be interested to know that Mac just released a device called the mighty mouse, which not only has a right click button, but also a multidirectional scroll thingy. At least, that’s what I hear, I haven’t used one myself.
As for the difference between the powerbook and ibook, I faced the same decision when I was looking at macs. I wound up going with a 12″ Powerbook, but as I see it, these are the differences
-physically they’re very different. ibooks are made of plastic, while powerbooks are made of metal. ibooks are also heavier, and the outside casing gets scratched very easily. That said, because of the plastic shell, they can take much more of a beating than a powerbook.
-powerbooks are, as the name implies, vested with more powerful features. Faster processor, more baseline RAM (although you can fix that by upgrades), more powerful graphics cards, superdrives (dvd burners) are standard. They also come in 3 different screen sizes (12, 15 and 17), while ibooks only come in 12 and 14. In my opinion, there isn’t a tremendous amount of difference unless you’re doing high-level graphics/editing stuff. I just went with the powerbook because for a 12 inch the price difference isn’t that enormous, and with the features on a powerbook, it won’t become obsolete as quickly as an ibook. But as someone once put it to me, “why have a ferrari if you’re going to drive the speed limit?”
-That and, as vain as this sounds, I think the shiny metallic powerbooks look cooler. And as I mentioned, because they weigh significantly less, they’re extremely portable, especially the 12″ model.
-Powerbooks have sharper screens
-Downsides to powerbooks: they’re more fragile. If you drop one, there’s a much higher chance of serious damage than with an ibook. The 12″ also has major heating issues. Because of all the gadgets in a small space, Apple essentially designed the entire casing to be one giant heat sink. If you leave it on long enough, it’s painful to rest your wrists on the keyboard.
-Downsides to ibooks:I can’t really think of anything bad off the top of my head. ibooks are some of the most economical laptops out there. It just depends how much power you want, really, and what you’re going to use it for.
My personal recommendation goes with powerbooks, if only because in the long run the higher baseline features will turn out to be a good investment, I think.
If you’re going to be at JMM this weekend, or helping with Bradley at all, I’ll be there quite a bit and can let you play around with my powerbook if you’re interested in looking at mac laptops. Otherwise, compusa has a nice display and a good mac sales department.
On a totally different note, are you going to Bradley with the team?
Hope to see you soon,
Hal
Nick Bubb // October 12, 2005 at 8:48 pm
hey hal, thanks for the info. (and btw, thank you Adam too) I will definately take use that advice when I get around to buying one. But first, I need to get into law school. Which is not a cakewalk.
sadly, I have the same conflict as I always do for bradley: the appleton east debate tournament. AE’s Debate tournament is pretty much the most fun in the state, and so I’ve never gotten around to going to bradley.
But I will be taking my debaters (I do debate for Sheboygan North now) to Glenbrooks at the same time that Tim and Tom are taking kids there. The last time I talked to Tim he said they were going to need something like six judges.
Hal // October 13, 2005 at 3:24 am
funny, I thought they weren’t going to take a very large team to Glenbrooks. Anyway, I’ll be back in town in the spring for Brookfield East (Tom was talking about going to that this year) and Sheb North, so hopefully I’ll see you then.
Jess // October 13, 2005 at 4:07 am
One problem with iBooks is related to appearance, as Hal said. They are white and show dirt. Also, and I’m experiencing this first hand as I’m in a library now, typing and clicking are very loud. But our society is technologically advanced now, so people are sympathetic to that. Also, it’s been 2 months and it hasn’t crashed. That’s reason enough for me.
My dashboard has a Harry Potter:Goblet of Fire countdown…36 days!
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.