Raible Designs

First impressions of the ZX7

When I bought my PowerBook, it was at a disadvantage because all of my comparisons where not only Laptop vs. Desktop, but also OS X vs. Windows XP. With this laptop, it's really just Laptop vs. Laptop. First impression of this thing - it's HUGE! The screen is awesome and it's tough to watch TV and work on this at the same time. I was expecting better resolution (1400 x 900 max), but it's good enough. The keyboard rocks - it's actually a full size keyboard! I keep making typing mistakes because I'm used to the (smaller) PowerBook's keyboard. Even better - it's got a keypad! I really like the plastic piece where my wrists sit. On the PowerBook, this is metal - and it quickly got scratched up from my watch. The speakers are great (the PowerBooks sucked) and I dig the webcam at the top of the monitor (though it's a bit dark - maybe it's just cause it's night time). I like Hypersonic's setup - very minimal as far as packaging. All the CDs are on the hard drive as well as in a small bag, which was enclosed in a leather (or maybe it's pleather?) carrying case.

Now for the cons. It's heavy and hot - both which I expected. You gotta install Java - both OS X and Linux come with it installed. The embedded wireless card only seems to work when I'm 5 feet from my access point. I have a couple of wireless cards, so I plugged one in and now I'm able to write this from my living room. Hopefully Hypersonic will be able to fix that. I kinda like the CD drive on the PowerBook better - though it can be a real pain when you can't get a CD out. The power cord has a humongous adapter-thingy on it - makes me long for the rather small PowerBook's cord. No NetNewsWire - good thing I still have a PowerBook. There are two folders on my C-Drive (with GUID-like names) that I can't delete. That sucks - I've been here before and never found a way to delete them (save re-installing Windows). Also, the lit-up keyboard on the new PowerBooks is a nice feature that I could really use right now.

Lastly, the performance numbers for opening Photoshop and Eclipse:

• Opening Photoshop 7.0: 5 seconds
• Opening Eclipse 3.0 M2: 5 seconds

Damn, not the performance jump I was hoping for. I'll post AppFuse and Roller compilation numbers when I get everything setup. Here are numbers to compare against the 2 GHz desktop I have at work. Am I happy with my decision? You bet - it's a wicked laptop.