Raible Designs

RE: Why wait for Intel?

Norman Richards asks Why wait for Intel?. He argues that you might as well upgrade now if you want a faster Mac. I've had a very personal experience with a new Mac recently and I don't think it's worth the upgrade. My "normal" PowerBook is a 17" 1.33 GHz with 1 GB RAM. The new one I bought is a 17" with 1.67 GHz and 1.5 GB RAM. When I first got the new PowerBook, I did some brief tests against my current benchmarks. To my surprise, the new PowerBook is not faster than the old one. In fact, in some tests it was slower.

Yes, this does seem impossible. I will re-run these tests before I get rid of this new machine, but right now I don't see any reason to upgrade.

Using IP over FireWire

This afternoon, I received my 1.33 GHz PowerBook back from Apple (the one that blew up on the way to Norway). Everything is back in working order and no data loss. Good ol' Apple - their support is excellent, even if you do lose your laptop for a week. As part of the transition back to this machine, I've decided to format it and copy everything from my new one. Installing Tiger and doing the "copy settings from other PowerBook" works so well, I might as well do it again. Suspecting the worst, I spent a few hours today backing up everything.

I started by tarballing /Applications (5 GB), /Downloads (5 GB) and /Users/mraible (25.5 GB). I wasn't able to do them all b/c I ran out of disk space, so I had to do the first two and then the last one. As I started to copy this from my PowerBook to my Windows box, it began to look like a long day. Estimated time for 10 GB: 5 hours. So I did some research and figured out how to enable IP over FireWire. On Windows, it was pretty easy - I just had to create a "Network Bridge" by selecting both my 1394 Connection and the Local Area Connection. After bridging them, I added a new Network port on OS X utilizing the FireWire port, mapped an IP address manually, and connected to my Windows share the usually way (SMB). OS X took a while to connect, but then it did and I was able to copy 10 GB in 20 minutes, and 25 GB in an hour. Not bad.

What's in Apple's Transition Kit?

I wonder what's in the new Developer Transition Kit from Apple. The biggest thing is you get a 3.6 GHz P4 that runs OS X for $999. I wonder if this sucker is faster than a dual processor G5? I wonder how much RAM it comes with? Is it worth spending $1500 ($500 to join Apple as a developer + the cost of the package). It'll be interesting to see what these machines look like.

OS X on Intel Chips

There's a lot of rumors flying around now about Apple switching to Intel chips. Somewhat credible sources: Scoble, Gizmodo and CNET. The rumor I like even better is the (less credible) PowerBook G5s. IMO, Apple should switch to Intel, but stay in the hardware business. I'm still willing to pay for a kick-ass aluminum PowerBook - but I'd love it to be twice as fast as my current one (this is where Intel comes in).

Speaking of PowerBooks, it looks like I've got a buyer for the one I bought in Norway. I'm going to lose about $500 on the deal, but it's better than having two PowerBooks when I only need one.

PowerBook Dead?

I think my PowerBook has died. It figures - the one week in my life where I need it all week, and it quits working. The symptoms started happening yesterday as I was sitting in DIA, getting ready to come to Norway. The powercord wasn't lighting up when I plugged it into an outlet at the airport. At first I figured it was the outlet, and switched between a few different outlets. None of them worked, and I thought to myself "I'm screwed." Then I wiggled the connection where it connects to my laptop - and it lit up! "Phew, that was a close one", I thought.

I ran down my battery on the flight to Newark, and then found an outlet to recharge on my layover. No light. I tried 3 more outlets. No light. At this point, I figured it was my powercord and wondered if I'd even be able to buy one in Norway. I looked desparately around the terminal for another PowerBook user - hoping to buy a powercord off someone. No luck.

Now that I'm in Oslo, getting my PowerBook working again is my top priority. I found an Apple Store and I'm typing this from a PowerBook they have on display. Typing is a little difficult because it's a Norwegian keyboard and all the special characters are not on the keys I'm used to. I talked to the guy at the service desk and he tried the simple solution: using a powercord from one of the PowerBooks on display. No dice. Even worse, it seems to have fried the cord of the one on display!

My PowerBook doesn't seem to be totally gone - the light is still fading in and out on the front of it. But I can't turn it off (even after removing the battery), so I don't know what to do. I'm going to try searching Apple's forums and calling their support line, but I doubt either will work. Right now, it looks like I'll have to buy a new laptop (with a Norwegian keyboard) and spend the next 2 days re-creating all the training materials for this week. No power, no hard drive. Damn.

Luckily, I did send some of my presentations (in PDF form) via e-mail, so I haven't lost everything. I knew I should have backed up the Keynote files on a remote site before I left!

And so my adventure begins...

Update: I figured out a solution. Using a charged battery still works - so the Apple Store is charging mine right now. I'm on my laptop, with one of their batteries, using their wireless. Unfortunately, the only way to charge my battery is in a PowerBook. The guys at Bouvet offered me a PC laptop, but I'm so used to presenting on the Mac - I don't want to lose that comfort level. So it looks like the solution is to buy a new PowerBook.

The good news is I get a 25% discount on the price when I leave the country (hopefully bringing it inline with US prices), but the bad news is it has a Norwegian keyboard. I can remap the keys, so that's not a big deal (since I don't look at them anyway). So the question is do I go whole hog and get the 1.67 GHz 17" with 2 GB RAM - or do I get a 12" and give it to Julie when I get back? The problem with buying the "whole hog" is I'm afraid the dual G4 cores will be released in early June, and I'll be stuck. The problem with buying a 12" and giving it to Julie is she really doesn't want one and will complain we can't afford it (she's right too).

If I bought the 17", I I could try selling it on eBay right when I get back, and hopefully get it sold before the new PowerBooks are announced. If they're not announced - oh well, I got a new laptop (which I need, but not really). What would you do if you were in my situation?

Update 2: Right after posting the update above, the guy came over to me and we talked about 17" vs. 12" and RAM prices, etc. They close in 10 minutes, I chose the 17" with 1 GB of RAM (1 chip). It's something like 27,000 kroners. Yikes!

The Technology Blahs

I think I've hit a point where I don't care about the latest and great techo-gadget anymore. Maybe it's just a phase, but nothing out there really excites me right now. I've never been into video games - they're too much of a productivity black hole and I know I'd be the type that'd stay up until 4 a.m. playing the latest XBox game. Therefore, I don't go there. PSP, XBox, etc. don't excite me b/c I'm fully aware of their addictiveness.

The other gadget I've often loved in the past is having a fancy bluetooth phone. Sure it's cool when combined with a PowerBook for synching and browsing the internet, but I've come to the conclusion that I don't need one. Maybe it's because I lost it in California last week and haven't missed it one bit. Cell phones - blaahhh - who needs them?

Lastly, there's the new OS X. I'm fully aware that someday I'll be enthusiastic about it, but right now I just don't care. I think it's because I've given up using my slow-ass PowerBook for the most part. I used it for 3 months at my current project and have since switched to a much faster Windows desktop. I've come to realize a couple of things about my PowerBook: 1) the slow problem is more a personal issue than a computer issue - I develop faster on Windows and 2) I enjoy a desktop much more than a laptop - where there's a real keyboard and mouse. If Apple will get off their ass and make a fast PowerBook, I'll get off mine and pony up for a keyboard and mouse. If there's not a dual core G4 or a PowerBook G5 this summer, I just might have to get a PowerMac G5.

Hmmm, I just went to the Apple Store to link to the G5 and there's a "We'll be back soon" sign. This implies a major announcement today. It is Tuesday...

Secure wireless email on Mac OS X

I don't have time right now, but this looks like a good read:

After more than a year of implementing my own measures, I think it's time to help raise awareness of email security. And in doing so, document the way I use SSH to secure email when I'm on a wireless network. If you're concerned about strangers having open access to your usernames and passwords, and all the email you send and receive while connected to a public wireless network - whether you use a Mac or not - you'll want to read this. [Read More]

G5 Powerbooks in July?

According to quite a few sources, Apple will be shipping PowerBook G5s in the next 6 months. The timing sounds right. Tiger will be shipping by the Developer's conference and they need to announce something big - so G5 Laptops sounds like a logical choice. I can wait 6 months - where can I pre-order a 17"?

Macworld Expo

Erik expects an AirPod to be announced at the Macworld Expo next week. While that would be cool, I'm hoping for a dual processor 2GHz PowerBook. Jeff mentioned this might happen sometime this Spring. I'd rather have a G5, but I'll settle for a 2GHz G4.

What's up with my PowerBook?

My PowerBook seems to be dying a slow death. When I put it into hibernate mode (by closing it), often it won't startup again. I open the lid and nothing happens. I often have to hold down the power button, power it off, and then restart it.

What's this mean? It means I'm rebooting the damn thing once or twice a day. It's especially frustrating when I'm about to give a talk at JUG meetings or conferences. I get everything setup (IDEs open, Keynote open, etc.), close it as I walk to the front, and then after I plug it in and open it - nothing happens!. This leads to me spending the next 5 minutes rebooting and opening everything again. It's extremely frustrating - especially since it's such a slow-ass machine. This week, I've headed to the coffee shop (3 blocks away) several times to write, and it seems to happen every time I open it. Each time I think, "Did I save before I closed it?" Luckily, I have Word set to save every minute, so it hasn't been a problem yet.

I believe this happened when I first I bought the machine. However, it was only a couple of times per month. Now that it's become a daily event, and I think it's time to take it in. Has anyone else had similar issues?

The good news is I'm back in love with my PowerBook after using it so much this week. It's really an excellent laptop - especially for writing. I hooked it up to my 23" for the first time in a few months today and I thought, "I really need to get a G5." In reality, I don't want a G5 - my Windows box suites me just fine. What I want is a faster PowerBook - when's the next revision?