Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by
Dan Knight
- 2002.01.04
Except as noted, prices are in US dollars.
MacSpeedZone Compares PowerBook G4/550 &
G4/500 Performance
MacSpeedZone has posted a
performance review of the PowerBook G4/550 compared to the PowerBook G4/500, when running OS X
10.1.
The 550 MHz machine has a 100 MHz system bus, a slightly higher
processor clock speed, a 256K full processor speed on-chip L2
cache, and a faster graphics system with 16 MB of dedicated
graphics memory.
The 500 MHz machine also has a 100 MHz System Bus, but in place
of the 550's on-chip cache it has a 1 MB backside cache running at
half the processor speed. It also has a slower graphics system and
only 8 MB of graphics memory.
MacSpeedZone notes that "the lack of a large backside cache in
the newer 550 MHz PowerBook stunts its performance in some tests,
when compared to the older 500 MHz PowerBook... so the overall
performance of the new low-end PowerBook is somewhat mixed, both
when running under Mac OS X and when under OS 9."
iBook Portector
The Portector
is a custom molded urethane strip that fits snugly over the
expansion ports of your Apple iBook
protecting it from dirt and dust. It's soft, flexible, and matte
finish nicely compliment the laptop.
The price is: $12.50 US/$19.75 Cdn. plus shipping and taxes.
Willow Kerouac NotePack Laptop Case/Backpack
Mini-Review
My daughter arrived home for the Christmas holidays and fell in
love with the Willow Kerouac
"NotePack" backpack 
laptop case
that Willow's
Nigel Peck recently forwarded for review.
"Too nice for high school," she commented, admiring the
Kerouac's amazing array of compartments and pockets, "but next year
for college - and it's black too!" Black is Deordre's favorite
color for clothing and accessories.
Kerouac is the original, and most popular, model in Willow's
NotePack line, which includes five other, different-dimensioned
versions called Thoreau, Darwin, E. Carr, Somerset, and Jacques, to
accommodate various-sized laptops and various-sized people. If the
Kerouac doesn't fit your needs, one of the other models surely
will.
The Willow NotePack series are specifically designed to
accommodate a PowerBook G3 or G4. The standard configuration fits
the older G3 PowerBooks like my Pismo and WallStreet, and Willow
can custom configure dividers to fit the Titanium G4 for those
wanting a deeper laptop compartment for their TiBook.
It takes some time to explore the Kerouac's features. There are
10 (if I counted correctly) separate compartments and pockets.
My review Kerouac is black, to my daughter's delight, with a
tasteful bright blue accent, but the product also comes in
charcoal, navy, teal, and purple.
The outer or back lid section of Kerouac is a pack in itself,
containing a net pocket with two wide, nylon straps secured by
Velcro closures. There's also a second, zip-closure net pocket on
the inside of the padded outer cover.
On the outside of the cover are two more zip-closure pockets -
the outermost one non-padded, while the inner one has a nylon
divider pocket with sleeves to hold pens, pencils, and other small
gear, sandwiched between the two layers of the cover padding.
The inner, main compartment has double-zipper closures. At the
very core of the pack is a well-protected compartment for the
PowerBook, with more nylon, Velcro-fastening straps. Movable and
removable Velcro-secured padded bolsters facilitate adjusting the
computer aperture to accommodate different sized laptops.
At the bottom of the compartment there is a zip-closure, nylon,
bag-type pocket ideal for power cords and USB or FireWire
cables.
The top or front of the main compartment incorporates a fairly
large half-moon-shaped section suitable for carrying power adapter
bricks and other, larger accessories.
The inner face of the padded outer lid (which incorporates the
other compartments and pockets previously described), is yet
another zip-closure net pocket.
The Kerouac NotePack is not just a backpack, but also converts
to a briefcase or shoulder bag. The left-hand side of the pack has
a padded briefcase handle, attached with polypropylene webbed
straps fastened pack with stitching and rivets, which also attach
hook anchors for the case's detachable padded shoulder strap.
A large fabric flap hides and secures the backpack harness when
the Kerouac is in briefcase or shoulder bag mode. Velcro closure
makes popping the harness out for backpack mode easy, and there is
even one more pocket underneath the harness. A waistband is
included for anchoring the Kerouac to keep it from flopping when
doing serious roadwork.
The Kerouac sells for $132 US/$196 Cdn plus shipping. It weighs
3.2 lb./1.45 kg., and is suitable for airline carryon (both Under
Seat and Overhead).
Willow offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee and a lifetime
product guarantee.
I love this laptop pack, but I'm going to have a hard time
holding onto it when Deirdre heads off to college next fall.
MCE Lucid: Small, Light, Portable, FireWire
CD-RW Drive
MCE
Technologies's Lucid is an 8x8x24x Portable FireWire CD-RW
Drive. The Lucid CD-RW is claimed to sport the slimmest dimensions and lightest weight of any FireWire
CD-RW drive on the market today, as well as a sleek industrial
design intended to complement all of Apple's current system lineup,
particularly the Apple PowerBook G4 Titanium. The Lucid CD-RW is
powered entirely by the FireWire bus and features JustLink buffer
under-run protection. MCE will begin shipments of the Lucid CD-RW
drive immediately.
"The Lucid CD-RW drive represents the pinnacle in our quest to
join form with function," said Arnold Ramirez, President, MCE
Technologies, LLC. "Not only does the Lucid perform exceptionally
in the portable arena due to its diminutive size, weight and other
portable features, but it's striking design meshes seamlessly with
Apple's distinct industrialized style."
The Lucid 8x8x24x Portable FireWire CD-RW Drive writes
recordable CDs at 8x speed (1200 KB/Sec), writes rewritable CDs at
8x speed (1200 KB/Sec), and reads regular CD-ROMs at 24x speed
(3600 KB/Sec). It does so while weighing in at only a pound and
measuring 5.5" wide, 6.5" long, and only 0.8" high. The Lucid also
features JustLink buffer under-run protection to prevent the
creation of defective CDs due to interruptions in the flow of data
to the Lucid drive.
The Lucid CD-RW Drive does not require an AC adapter, as it
draws all required power from the FireWire port to which it is
connected. The Lucid supports all PowerMacs, iMacs, PowerBooks, and
iBooks with built-in FireWire ports as well as those with PCI
FireWire cards which supply power to the FireWire bus. An AC
Adapter (available separately) is required when using the Lucid
with those systems whose FireWire ports do not supply power to the
FireWire bus, such as CardBus-based and some PCI-based FireWire
ports. The Lucid is compatible with Apple's iTunes under Mac OS 9.1
through Mac OS X. Compatibility with Finder Burning under Mac
OS X is forthcoming. The Lucid is compatible with Roxio's free
Toast 5 Titanium for OS X, Preview Release #2, downloadable
from Apple's web site, for the creation of data CDs under Mac
OS X.
The Lucid 8x8x24x Portable FireWire CD-RW Drive is bundled with
Toast CD-Recording software, FireWire cable, and user's guide, and
retails for $299. The optional universal AC Adapter is listed at
$14.99
Bargain 'Books
There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233
MHz, the cacheless MainStreet
version and the later Series II
with a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from
the vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included
links within this paragraph to the two models.
- iBook 500, 64/10
GB/CD-ROM/56K/12.1", new, $1,145
Note below 333 MHz Lombards have now dropped below the $1,000
threshold for the first time.
- PowerBook Pismo G3/400, 64/6 GB
HD/DVD/56k/14.1", $1,193 (several)
- PowerBook Pismo G3/500, 128/12
GB HD/DVD/56k/14.1", $1,449
- PowerBook Lombard G3/333, 64/4
GB HD/CD/56k/14.1", $943
- PowerBook Lombard G3/333,
192/4 GB HD/CD/56k/14.1", $965
- PowerBook Lombard G3/400, 64/6
GB HD/DVD/56k/14.1", $1,193
- iBook 500, 128/10 GB/CD-RW,
Apple factory refurbished, 1 year warranty, $1,199
