MacPrices.net

PowerBook Mystique Mailbag - December 23, 2005

by Charles W. Moore

Long live the WallStreet
Handing Off My WallStreet - A Retrospective
Re: Is A G5 PowerBook Still A Realistic Possibility?
Minimum Powerbook...
Is A G5 PowerBook Still A Realistic Possibility?

Long live the WallStreet

From Elaine Stannard

Hi Charles,

My condolences on passing your Wall Street to your spouse. I did something similar with mine, relegating it to a room my husband and I rarely use.

I too love my WallStreet, Series 1: it runs Jaguar, thanks to a Sonnet G4/266 processor upgrade and browses wirelessly thanks to a PCI card and does text documents with MS Office and my still favorite Word 5.1 and graphics with Photoshop Elements 2 just fine. Best of all, I can boot into OS9 and work with older apps I still like.

With only a new printer, my work-around to print Wall Street documents is to take screen shots of the new documents and get them to my G4 15" 1.5 Gig aluminum Powerbook via ethernetwork or email. My only complaint with the WallStreet is its clunky trackpad, and the fact that none of the USB upgrades devices I tried worked.

I hope my WallStreet survives much longer as my stalwart backup for Netscape using the mail folders, bookmarks, preferences and email addresses from my now preferred Firefox and Thunderbird.

In the not too distant future, I plan to keep it permanently plugged into the AC converter built into our Avalon and have the WallStreet available whenever I want to surf wirelessly "en route" while my husband drives. In fact, you might want to reconsider that option for your WallStreet. However, I suggest you cover it with a paper grocery bag and keep it under the car seat so the Apple logo won't tempt someone into breaking into your car.

Best regards,
Elaine Stannard
SMOG <http://www.ocmug.org/> VP & Program Chair

Why we are SMOG:
S outhern California
M acintosh
O wners/users
G roup
(The name SMUG was already taken and our group has anything but that
attitude.)

Hi Elaine;

Thanks for your WallStreet musings.

One of the things I have always found interesting about the WallStreet is that it seems to behave idiosyncratically in different owners' experiences.

For example, you say that you are not enchanted with the WallStreet's trackpad, while I would rate the one in mine the best trackpad I've ever used in a laptop. Indeed, it is one of the things I miss most having switched to the Pismo for the stuff I used to do on the WallStreet. The Pismo's trackpad isn't bad, but it's more jumpy and sensitive. ( on the other hand, if you were referring to the WallStreet's trackpad *button*, I agree entirely. However I very rarely use track pad buttons, preferring the "tappable" mode for clicking).

You also say that you had poor luck getting USB adapters to work. the MacAlly PC card USB adapter (and companion FireWire adapter) has worked very well from day one and continues to do so, although the only thing I've used it for recently is downloading photos from my digital camera.

You've got Jaguar installed, evidently with no hassle, while I have never been able to get an OS X installer CD to boot my WallStreet either with the Internal CD-ROM drive or an external SCSI unit. This has not distressed me greatly, since I think that OS X performance would be severely compromised by a 233 MHz G3 processor and 2 MB of video RAM.

I have an automobile power inverter, but I've never tried using it for automotive computing. Good idea, however. How do you like the Avalon? I'm also a Toyota owner (Camry and Corolla - old).

Charles

Re: Long live the Wall Street

From Elaine Stannard

Hi Charles,

You're right about different strokes for different folks with the trackpad. I agree that the "button/bar" is its worst feature but my trackpad was also jumpy. I am happy with the aluminum trackpad except that as a touch typist, I _hate_ that the trackpad is not centered vertically with the space bar and keyboard, but lines up with the right edge of the trackpad and off center of the keys. It's taken me almost two years to adjust and reposition my hands so that I'm not brushing against the trackpad while reaching for the keeps. Hunt and peck typists don't have the problem nor even understand it.

Re our Avalon:

We love our Avalon: the ride is solid but gentle; she handles well; and best of all, the combination of the fine radio and amazing interior quiet makes listening to classical music, our favorite, quite wonderful. Ours is two years old, has a V6 engine and takes regular gas per the manual, unlike the new souped up model that is a V8 and requires supreme gas. We're retired and old enough not to care about how "hot" an image our cars have.

We also have Toyota's most minimal vehicle, a Scion xa that has the same engine as the Prius but takes regular gas. Looks like a micro-mini SUV and feels so much like a VW that we both keep trying to shift gears as we did when we had a VW bug. It's our scooter for tooling around town, parks in the smallest spots and gets great mileage.

Elaine

Hi Elaine;

I wonder if people have different amounts of electrical energy in their fingers that might make various trackpads work differently for them.

Thanks for your report on the Avalon. I'm a classical music fan as well. :-)

Our Camry is a '90, with a 2.0 litre 4 and a 5-speed manual. It's in great shape. The '89 Corolla auton=matic is our beater. It actually has fewer miles than teh Camry, but it's got some rust issues, so it gets to contend with out salty winter roads here in Nova Scotia, while the camry is stored indoors till spring.

I don't think the Scion was ever sold in Canada. I had a '62 VW Beetle waaaaay back in the day.

Charles

Re: Long live the Wall Street

From Elaine Stannard

Re the electrical charge:
There is no doubt that some people are highly charged, full of energy, have an electric personality, are dynamic, etc. That the people who fit one or all of the above also have problems with trackpads is demonstrable among the SMOG's members in real time at meetings. We all laugh at how some folks who use my 'book to show something have none of the jumpy problems that others do, including yours truly who admits to being full of energy. :D

Elaine

Hi Elaine;

Yes. I think that's true.

Another variable is moisture. Sweaty paws (and high humidity) can give some trackpads fits. OTOH, I've found that my WallStrert's trackpad has been the most moisture oblivious laptop trackpad (my freestanding Cirque Easy Cat is even better). Even works with wet hands.

Charles

Handing Off My WallStreet - A Retrospective

Funny you should mention your WallStreet. I, too, own both a 300MHz and a 266MHz which I purchased for $75 each a few months back.

I use mine with my band. I'm running (http://www.pgmusic.com/bandos9.htm) 'Band in the Box' software. Mac OS 9.2.2. My wife uses hers to contact her office via the web and keep her patient info.

Haven't had a lick of trouble since I got them

Dru Richman
CEO, CTO, Mac Help Desk, Inc.
Macintosh Solutions Provider - It's not a job, it's a calling.
Visit our web site at:
http://www.machelpdesk.com

Hi Dru;

Love to hear about people still getting you slide dependable service from their WallStreets. there are many, many computer ring tasks that a WallStreet running OS 9.2.2 can do just as efficiently in practical terms as a brand-new aluminum PowerBook.

For 75 bucks, there a ton of computing value for the money. Thanks for the report.

Charles

From Craig A. Haney

Just read your article. I thought I was the only one using a Pismo still (and on a 21" monitor). I have been waiting and waiting to upgrade but I think this next MacWorld will be it for me. This Pismo is served me well.

-craig

Hi Craig;

You're not alone. My impression from the volume of mail I get is that there are an awful lot of Pismos still in use out there, and people are still seeking them out. Then there's the robust Pismo G4 upgrade market, with (at least) four competitors in play. There's still life in the old black beauties yet!

Charles

Minimum Powerbook...

From Joel Gilbert

I bought my 400 mhz Pismo 3.5 years ago and just recently bought a dead one that was in beautiful shape and used it to rebuild mine. Years of trackpad use, spilled eggnog and coffee, and darkening display had taken their toll and she was looking pretty old.

My first improvements were a gig of RAM and a 80 gb, 8 mb cache, 4200 rpm Travelstar hard drive. That alone has allowed her to put up with all my requirements, which included processing video, Garageband recording (used an external scratchdisk), processing 300 mb satellite images, and some pretty big Excel files in there too.

Now my other Mac is a G4 DA 466 that I picked up fast when my old iMac 500 CRT died this fall and I've had a blast learning about it and upgrading it. It now has 1.5 gb RAM, and will probably get an SATA II controller and hard drive over Christmas.

I've gone back to grad school full-time and need to run Arc GIS and ENVI, two pretty hefty software packages. ENVI is available for Mac & Windows, ArcGIS is PC only. Which brings me to my problem and why I'm not looking for a new PowerBook. I've ALWAYS owned Apples (since 1985), modified them and hate to leave them.

But I went shopping the other day....Then I did more research on modifying my G4 with a faster processor so I could run Virtual PC. But the 7447 chips limited L2 cache (512 kb) and no L3 means that VPC will run pretty darn slow. Plus the bus speed of 133 mhz means that the cpu will actually be starving for data.

The new PowerBooks max out at 166 mhz FSB. Only 25% better than my aging G4. The 12" PB has a 133 mhz FSB. Even as their processors gain speed, the bus is still lagging 5 years behind. Couple that with an aging ATA or Ultra ATA drive controller, slow drives and a price tag of $1500-$2000 and I'm beginning to wonder how much longer Steve expects me to be faithful.

So I went shopping...

Now I've always wondered why TVs and computers couldn't be married. My old PowerMac 5200 (that I modified with a 5500 motherboard, then added at Sonnet L2 G3 upgrade to) had a built in TV. I still have that machine and can't seem to bring myself to get rid of it. Well guess what...Toshiba & HP both have multi-media laptops with BEAUTIFUL displays and built-in TV tuners for less than a 17" Powerbook. If you look at these laptops and others, you realize they have faster processors, room for multiple drives, and are easily upgradeable.

When I look at new PowerBooks, and I've thought this for years, there isn't enough there to make me want to upgrade. I still think that...about Powerbooks. But I'm rethinking about Windows machines. I'll wait until January to see whether Steve is gonna take a step to earn my business, or whether I'll be a reverse convert.

Joel Gilbert

Hi Joel;

I concur with your resolve to hang in.

You're right. Bus speed it the main bottleneck in G4 PowerBook performance. They could have addressed that without going to Intel, and the next-gen PPC chips support faster bus speeds, as the Intel CPUs will.

As for TV, givern Apple's recent orientation to video, I can't imagine that PowerBooks with TV tuners are far off.....

Foe an inkling of what's about to be unleashed, see these links:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2005/12/19/2003285097
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/rss/13405513.htm
http://stocks.wired.com/fq/wired/story.asp?story=53997280

Meawhile, I, like you, am still getting great service out of my old Pismo.

Charles

Is A G5 PowerBook Still A Realistic Possibility?

From Dave

Charles,

I just read your column and had two throw in my two cents.

First, a little background. I am a principle in a small retail business, and we are an Apple Authorized Dealer and Service Provider, and while we work closely with Apple, we claim absolutely no special knowledge of their plans—in fact we know less then most others, probably. But we’ve learned a bit in over twenty years, and our predictions are probably better than most.  That said, we have no idea what Apple’s doing, and can only predict a “Mactel” machine sometime in the middle of 2006, just like Steve Jobs said at WWDC 05.

What I’d like to point out is that I find it odd that all of the articles claim Apple will introduce an Intel ‘iBook’ or ‘mac mini’ or ‘PowerBook’; what’s more likely is an entirely new class of machine, that won’t have a moniker that we’ve seen before. Remember that Jobs will want to differentiate these products, and that new names and marketing will probably coincide with it’s introduction—whenever that is. Further, this product may or may not fit the traditional desktop or laptop description, at least not as we know it now. (Apple/Jobs is thinking, we’re making this effort to change...why not change radically?) Maybe.

And finally, I think the Murphy guy is full of s*#t. We’re talking Steve Jobs, here—he made the Intel announcement a whole year before this change will be taking place! Do you honestly think for one minute that most of his ducks weren’t lined up for whatever this product(s) was going to be? And what was the point of the transition anyway? IBM was making too many chips? Naaah!! Sorry, but the idea that “CPU availability is limited” is ludicrous, how can he predict what’s not even near the pipeline yet? Seems like writing with a magic wand, to me. And let’s not forget the G5 3 GHz debacle from a couple of years ago; with an ego like Steve’s, do you think that will happen again? In fact, if you’re looking for a reason for the change to Intel, I’d be willing to bet my original 1984 Macintosh, that that was a deciding factor. (if not the factor...)

Bottom line is, we’ll see.

Sorry to run on, but I needed to vent.

Dave Taylor

Hi Dave;

Thank you for the interesting observations. Your prognosis of a nomenclature shift sounds plausible. As you say, we'll have to wait and see.

The scuttlebutt seems to be that Intel's new laptop chips may be available sooner than originally anticipated.

I'm cautiously optimistic that there will at least be some sort of indication as to how the MacIntel laptop roadmap is unfolding at Expo.

Charles

CM