"If
I go with a desktop, I'll have to perform such tasks without
the freedom of mobility. I think I can live with that."
You know,
those
words have been haunting me ever since I first typed
them five
days ago. "I think I can live with that" just doesn't quite
come across as the most convincing argument for why you should
go in a certain direction, if you know what I mean. But nonetheless,
the eMac was the only new Mac that fit into my rather constrained
budget,
and it really is the perfect desktop computer for most
users. Especially with the announcement of the new eMacs, which
offer even more for even less. But for some reason, I was in
no rush to order one. That alone should have told me something.
I suppose
I was still waiting for something else to come along. But what?
The new laptops that were announced this week are well above
my price range, and even if new iMacs are announced shortly,
they won't be priced in my range either. So what exactly was
it that I was holding out for? My bank to screw up and accidentally
credit an extra thousand dollars to my account? Those lottery
numbers to finally line up in my favor?
Nah, I was
looking for an alternative to my own planned course of action.
Clearly, something about my plan wasn't sitting well with me.
But there's only one thing I don't like about the eMac, so
that had to be it, right? And that "one thing" just happens
to be its weight. Well, let me clarify that: I love the first
five pounds. It's the last forty-five pounds that I don't care
for.
But I'd already
been down this road. Way back in Volume
Two, I came to the
realization that the only laptop I could afford would be an
iBook, and in Volume
Five I finally concluded that the iBook's little 1024x768
pixel screen just wasn't going to cut it for me. I'd tossed
aside the notion of a G4 PowerBook entirely, because the only
one even remotely within my price range was the twelve-incher,
and that was just way too tiny for me. I had noted though (at
least in my mind if not in the article) that if the fifteen
inch PowerBook had been in my price range, it would have suited
all my needs: 1280x854 screen, one inch thick, five pounds
light. But with a starting price tag of $2499, it was kind
of like concluding that Bill Gates' mansion would be my ideal
residence.
But then
an offer came my way that I simply had to consider. A used
15 inch PowerBook, in my price range, with specs sufficiently
close enough to that of an eMac that I had to take it seriously.
I'd mentioned during this week's iPod
User Group meeting that I was "92 percent sure" that I'd
be going with an eMac, and now I knew why that other eight
percent had been eluding me: it was holding out for an opportunity
like this one to come along.
So I took
a good chunk of time to think about what I wanted to do. I
took a walk, slept on it, took another walk, went shopping,
hung out at Downtown Disney...basically did anything I could
to allow myself to step away from the situation and look at
the big picture. Still, the answer wasn't coming to me. I knew
that I was in good shape no matter which direction I chose
to go in (they're both Macs, after all), but still, I wanted
to choose wisely. Not surprisingly, most of the readers who
wrote in with suggestions tried to steer me toward whichever
Mac they currently own (or whichever one they've decided to
buy next). And there's nothing wrong with that, as it's helpful
to hear users make a case for why their choice was a good one.
But still, it had all left me profoundly on the fence. So I
did what any grown man does when he's out of ideas: I called
my mother.
I wasn't
looking for her or anyone else to make up my mind for me, but
I was looking for someone who could look at the situation from
the standpoint of a non-geek. Now, it should be noted that
not only will my mom's next computer be an eMac, she might
in fact be the last person on earth who could get her money's
worth out of a laptop. She pointed out to me that in my last
article in which I explained why I didn't think I needed a
laptop, it sounded as if I was simply trying to talk myself
out of something that I didn't think I could afford. So I went
back and re-read what I'd written, took another walk, and decided
that I agreed.
"I think
I can live without portability" just isn't enough of a reason
to give it up. The fact that I've been chained to a desktop
machine for the past five months was not a choice, but a necessity
out of circumstance. Prior to that, I spent five years as a
laptop person, and the more I think back toward my usage back
then, the more I realize that it wasn't just during professional
usage that I appreciated being untethered; a got a whole lot
of mileage out of portability during my personal use as well.
There wasn't a single room (in any house I lived in) that I
hadn't used my laptop in at one time or another. At a table,
on the couch, on the floor, in bed, indoors, outdoors, there's
almost nowhere I haven't wandered with my laptop in tow.
And especially
these days, with this line of work, where I sometimes spend
up to twelve hours a day using a computer, I just don't want
to do it while sitting in front of the same immovable object.
It's exactly what I've been doing for the past five months,
and now that I have a chance to untether myself again, I'm
not about to pass it up.
Sure, there
are drawbacks. Now that I've gotten used to using a mouse again,
I'll have to see if I can readjust to the trackpad that I'd
grown so accustomed to over the years. But no fear; if it comes
down to it, I do own three mice that I can connect to it (and
yes, the one-button variety is still my favorite). And the
1280x854 screen resolution on the PowerBook isn't quite as
big as the 1280x960 on the eMac, but it's close enough. I'll
just have to live without a SuperDrive for now, which is fine
because I wasn't going to be using it immediately anyway, and
I'm aware that one can be added to a PowerBook internally down
the road. Beyond that, the only other big difference in specs
is the fact that the clock speed of the PowerBook isn't much
more than half that of the new eMacs, but hey, it's still a
G4 and it's still a whole heck of a lot faster than anything
I've ever owned or used on a regular basis. I mean, for the
past five months I've been cranking along on an old
G3 iMac, so the idea of being able to jump to a machine that's
significantly faster, has a larger screen, and only weighs
five pounds? I just couldn't pass it up.
The thing
that finally sold me is that if I had gone with an eMac,
I could have lived without being able to take it with
me anywhere...but by going with a laptop, I'm opening the door
for opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be there. This way,
any time I visit friends or family, I can take my Mac with
me without having to provide anyone with the opportunity to
laugh at the image of a buffoon walking in the door with a
fifty pound computer in his arms, trying to figure out where
to set it down before my arms snap. Instead, I can walk in,
calmly flip open my laptop, and (after I get every one of my
friends and relatives a wireless router for Christmas) go about
my business just the same as if I were still at home. It used
to be that if I took a road trip or vacation, I had to put
my websites on hiatus in order to do so. But now, going out
of town for the weekend doesn't have to mean that my sites
will sit there like a bump on a log until I get back.
In fact,
I'm liking this decision even more with each moment that passes.
It seems I'm already mentally reclaiming the life I had back
when I had computing mobility. This ought to be fun. And not that
I've allowed it to affect my decision-making, but there is
the minor detail that I just might find myself volunteering
at a particular local school before long, and I know first-hand
just how handy a laptop could come in for that. After such
a long time on the front lines and in the trenches, I don't
know if I could ever see myself working for a school district
again. But volunteering...well, that might be something else
entirely.
But enough
about that particular possibility for now. You know, what really
gets me is the fact that I'm staring at the 1024x768, 13.8
inch-viewable screen on this old iMac, and getting a kick out
of the fact that the laptop I just bought has a bigger screen.
Oh yeah, this is going to be way too much fun. And don't worry,
I'll be sharing all of it as things progress. But I do want
to make one final note about the eMac, and it's one that I
can't stress strongly enough: just because I didn't buy one
doesn't mean that I've lost any faith in it. At $799, I still
contend that the eMac is the ideal desktop computer for ninety
percent of all consumers. In fact, I'm already working on a
column in which I intend to dispel some of the more irrational
myths surrounding the eMac, and it'll be along shortly.
In the mean
time, if you're an iPod owner and you're not already an iPod
User Group member, you might consider joining. We're off to
a fast start, and our first meeting was a riot. Oh, and did
I mention that there are iPod-related prizes? Hurry up and join
us before
our next meeting, if you're so inclined. In any case, we'll see
you tomorrow here on billpalmer.net. At this rate, "Bill buys
a new Mac, Volume Seven" ought to be trip (literally!).
