Apple has done it this time. Combined power, portability, and a
large screen into their newest PowerBook, the PowerBook G4. The PowerBook G4 features a 400
or 500 MHz G4 
processor; a 10, 20, or 30 GB
hard disk; and up to 1 GB of RAM! There are also a FireWire
port, a built in DVD drive (slot loading!), and up to 5 hours
battery life, which is great for those road warriors who need the
extra time to work.
The 1152 x 768 pixel screen means that anyone who uses programs
that need a lot of screen space will want this PowerBook. This is
the biggest screen Apple has offered yet on a laptop - and it beats
most Wintel offerings, too. This is the first G-series portable in
which Apple has noticeably beat the Wintel machines - in
performance, size, and features.
The new Power Macintosh G4, with
"power to burn" is a move in the right direction. For a year, Apple
has been lagging behind the PC manufacturers by not bundling CD-RW
drives with their machines. Apple has finally improved a great
machine by adding CD-RW, as well as a faster system bus and faster
CPUs. The new G4s come in 466, 533, 667, and 733 MHz. They come
with a 30, 40, or 60 GB hard drive and either an ATI Rage 128 Pro
or Nvidia GeForce 2 MX graphics card. The models that feature the
DVD-R drive come with iDVD software, which lets you easily make
DVDs.
Apple Pro Speakers have been released! You know those cool
speakers that come with the Cube? Well, you can buy them separately
now - for $59. Don't forget that the 15" flat panel monitor has
been reduced from $999 to $799 and Mac OS X is scheduled to ship on
March 24th - for $129.
How about OS 9.1? From what I have seen so far, it is pretty
good. The new "Window" menu is very useful for switching between
open windows, and Apple has added a keyboard shortcut to empty the
Trash. There are a few other differences as well - a new search
channel (I didn't even use the ones that were there in 9.0), and
now when you select "Window options," the zoom box comes from the
icon of the window you are selecting options for. Yes, when you
start the computer it does say "Mac OS 9.1".
iTunes: not a great name, but a great program. So far, I find
that iTunes comes close to the level of SoundJam MP, a commercial
product that sells in stores for almost $50. Of course iTunes has a
few drawbacks, like not being able to use skins, but if you think
about it you are listening to music, not making your UI look like
the music (although some people may want to do that, too). This is
a free download. What do you expect!
iTunes says it requires Mac OS 9.0.4, but it runs fine on 9.0 as
well. I haven't tested it on 8.x yet. Apple desperately needed a
program like this to encourage users to join the "MP3 revolution"
and have cool way to play audio CDs. (iMusic would have been a
better name, though.) Apple should add a graphic equalizer and bass
and treble controls. With a few enhancements, this could easily
become "WinAmp for the Macintosh."
If there is anything that you must buy in this list, it is the
PowerBook G4. It is simply amazing. I guess Apple still can do
today what they did in 1992 with the PowerBook Duo's.
Now that I see all that Apple had to offer at Macworld San
Francisco, I am beginning to see a new hope for Apple. They are
certainly delivering some great products for the first part of the
year. I hope there will be more good things to come later in the
year.
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