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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Friday, May 21, 2004

Adieu, iMac

So I sold my 17-inch widescreen iMac to a friend (for a smoking deal) this week. I had purchased the machine about 14 months ago in order to work on a book, and after I completed working on that title last fall, my iMac usage fell off sharply. The reason is simple: Because it's a desktop machine, it was stuck in my office, and I've been working from around the house for the past several months more and more often (my wife jokingly calls this the "Baywatch Factor," but the truth is, it's just nice to have a change of scenery).

Meanwhile, my aged 2001 iBook (a 500 MHz G3 model with a DVD drive) is barely acceptable for anything more than casual Web browsing, and though I took the device on most business trips for a couple of years, its batteries have now withered to the point where that's impossible (or pointless): One battery gets a bit under 2 hours of charge, but the other is more like 45 minutes; they used to both get around 4.5 hours. A G3 is no kind of machine for a power user, period.

So the questions start. What now? Part of me honestly considered bagging Apple altogether: I've switched from the iPod to the superior Dell DJ anyway, and I've stopped purchasing songs from Apple's iTunes Music Store. I've been unimpressed with the performance of the Macs I've owned (and have no desire to spend $3000 or more on a new Mac) and have been equally unimpressed with the quality of Mac OS X, which yes, is beautiful, and in some ways quite capable, but still lags XP in key areas.

So if you have a second, and are interesting in doing more than just dump on me for being a Windows shill or whatever warped thing it is you think I am, I'm really looking for some advice. I figure I can spend about $2000 on a portable Mac without raising too many red flags with my accountant/wife. But I have questions. I also have requirements.

- It has to burn DVDs.

- Should I get the 14-inch iBook G4?

- Or is the 12-inch PowerBook a better deal?

- Should I wait for the WWDC? (Inevitably, Apple will introduce faster machines the second I buy mine).

Am I missing anything? One thing I can promise is that, whatever it is, I'll likely return to bringing this device with me on business trips, which I can assure you, causes no end of discussion in the Microsoft-oriented world which I frequently ply in my day job. I'm happy to keep covering Apple--I figure this machine should last two years, or less than the iBook did--but it's pretty clear that won't happen regularly from my home office. Is this the right thing to do?

[ Posted at 8:38 PM | Permalink ]