We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
I'm
going to take you back in time. The year was 2004.
I know it wasn't that long ago, but that was an important year
to me. It was the year I got deployed to Iraq. I can't go into
details, other than say I spent a whole year there, mostly in
Baghdad.
I had never used a laptop 24/7 in my life. Before leaving the
States, I researched different Mac laptops to see which one would
fit my needs and my budget. My PowerBook would become my best
friend and companion.
My budget was $400 shipped. Unfortunately, I could not buy any
of them before I left (due to unexpected expenses), so I took an
old PC laptop that some one had given me as a gift. I used the PC
laptop for a month-and-a-half before I sold it. Then I purchased a
Lombard - the Pismo was around $100-150 more, and a titanium was
even more expensive.
My initial comparisons (mostly based of info from LEM):
Lombard
Pros:
Has SCSI and target disk mode
Has two interchangeable bays
Can support easy battery changes
Can use two batteries at the same time
Has a built-in DVD decoder and drive
Has two USB ports
Easy access to important components
S-video out
Ethernet port
PCMCIA slot
Cons:
No widescreen display
Small hard drive
Can't hold a lot of RAM (512 MB max.)
No AirPort slot
Pismo Compared to Lombard
Pros:
More RAM space (1 GB max.)
Built-in AirPort slot
FireWire (but I didn't have use for it at the moment)
Cons:
None really, other than price
Titanium compared to Lombard
Pros:
Widescreen display
Holds more RAM (1 GB max.)
Built-in AirPort slot
G4 processor
FireWire
Cons:
Price
Requires more storage space
Seem more fragile
Only one battery
No interchangeable bays
I decided to go with the Lombard. I bought it on eBay for $350 very carefully and had it shipped home
to my wife. She then mailed it using FedEx, and I got it three days
after that at a cost of $125. It was a lot, but they took good care
of transporting it all those miles. My other option was to use
normal mail, and that would have take anywhere from 3-6 weeks.
Once I got it,
the first thing I did was take it apart and clean everything. I
like the Lombard because of the two bays: I can use two batteries
at the same time, maximizing operation time. Another Lombard plus
is that it has a hardware DVD decoder and the S-video port out so
you can watch movies on a TV.
The sleek black case looks great along with the black rubber,
making a bit more rugged. The screen was big enough for me to watch
movies and surf the Web comfortably.
While the Lombard didn't have AirPort compatibility, I could add
wireless networking using a PCMCIA slot.
The last best thing is that my Lombard is very easy to clean -
being in the desert, there's a lot of sand and dust. All I had to
do was pop up the keyboard and hit it with compressed air. I could
easily reach all the important areas of the Lombard with ease.
Next week I will talk about what
accessories, upgrades, and software I used with my Lombard in Iraq.
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We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
Once I got it,
the first thing I did was take it apart and clean everything. I
like the Lombard because of the two bays: I can use two batteries
at the same time, maximizing operation time. Another Lombard plus
is that it has a hardware DVD decoder and the S-video port out so
you can watch movies on a TV.