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January 2005 Archives

Monday, January 31st 2005

New PowerBooks Released with Unexpected Features, Lower Price

Lo these many months we've coveted even the smallest of upgrades to the PowerBook line, and today we're finally receiving what we've wanted. Here's the breakdown:

All models now come standard with 512MB of RAM and 5400 RPM hard drives, though still starting at 60GB in the base 12" model. The high end 17" model now comes standard with a 100 GB drive, while the models in between (the high-end 12" and both 15" models) come with 80 GB drives. The processors are, as expected 1.5 GHz and 1.67 GHz G4s, despite the occasional rumor of dual-core G4s coming this week.

The graphics cards remain the NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB and ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, the only revision being that the 17" model now comes standard with 128MB, which was previously a BTO option.

Other minor enhancements include Bluetooth 2.0 networking for faster performance, as well as 8x SuperDrives in those models which have them. Also worth nothing is that the backlit keyboard is now standard on all 15" and 17" models, and is supposed to be up to ten times brighter.

As for the surprise announcements, we'll be honest and say that we did not know about the new trackpad and hard drive protection technologies. These new patent-pending technologies are known as scrolling TrackPad and the Sudden Motion Sensor. The scrolling TrackPad adds functionality to allow scrolling with motion on the trackpad, though apparently in some way different from the previous third-party methods. Additionally, the Sudden Motion Sensor allows the PowerBook to sense if it is being dropped while the hard drive is spinning, so that it can react and minimize any potential damage.

Finally, each PowerBook will come with iLife 2005, and the 17" model will now come with Dual Link support, making the 30" Apple Cinema Display fully-powerable by the 17" PowerBook. This is also an optional feature of the 1.67 GHz 15" model.

Best of all? The new PowerBooks have been reduced in price! This is the surprise that we thought would please everyone, as the base 12" model is now $1500, with the 17" topping out at $2700. Every model has been reduced in price from $100-$200, excepting the middle 15" model, which has remained at $2000. These models are available at The Apple Store right now, with shipping estimates of 1-3 days.

Questions? Comments? Email us at editor (at) pbzone.com. We'll have more analysis for you on these updates tomorrow!

Hard Drive Upgrades: More Information

Reader Walt French wrote in with an email that we thought was worth sharing with you all. When dealing with sensitive hardware, it's always best to know as much as possible going into it, and he has some very good advice:

I've twice upgraded my TI-PB's hard disk, have some experience on a prior PB (the tiny 2400), as well as having done it dozens of time on older PCs.

It gets easier each time, but mostly from knowing that it's really no monstrous deal. There are a couple of "extra cost" options here that will only be a few more bucks for lots more functionality or less wasted time. Your sequence is...

1. Purchase the drive that you want. Be savvy about the cost of a few mmore GB of disk versus the time/expense that would be required to repeat this in 18 months (over-buy), and also your realistic lifespan for the PB (under-buy). Buy it in/with a tiny "portable" drive case -- FW or USB2 -- that will plug into your PB, from a mac-savvy dealer who can attest that it is completely compatible with your PB

2. Spend a couple more dollars on exactly the tools and supplies that you need. A tiny driver set with the right Torx and Phillips heads, and some needle-nosed pliers will do and are cheap compared to the horrors of stripped screws, etc. Pick up a small tube of appropriate screw goop ("TITE-N"?), that will keep the screws from rattling loose a year later, too. You'll also want a ball-point pen and some masking tape.

3. Print out the instructions and read thru 'em carefully before touching the internals.

4. Lay out all your parts, instructions, tools and supplies on a clean workbench in a room with a smooth floor for finding the tiny screws that you will drop. Put a big loop of masking tape to your workbench, sticky side up. For each step in the instructions, write the number on the tape, and drop the screws there so they'll stay put and you know which goes where. With a wide tape, you can even lay them out in the approximate spatial location so you know the long screw in step 7 goes in the left-most hole.

5. Set aside a couple of hours. I also pour myself a neat single-malt such as Laphroig [optional]. Plan on short breaks to keep track of where you are every ~20-30 mins. This will minimize gotchas and gumption traps.

6. Remove the new drive from the portable casing (if necessary). Following the instructions, replace it into the PB, and put the old drive into the portable casing. Use a tiny amount -- a fraction of a drop -- of Tite-N on each screw's threads.

7. Before sewing everybody quite all the way back up, attach the portable and boot up from it (or from the OSX install disks). Install your OS onto the new disk and copy files / prefs / apps from the portable.

8. Close everything back up.

9. After a week of testing, back up your new machine separately and erase unnecessary files on the old drive, now in the portable case.

News and Notes

We previously gave a link to an indirect way to run Mac OS X on your Windows-based PDAs. Well, in other news on how to run Mac OS X on a Microsoft product, we found this link showing Mac OS X supposedly running on an X Box. Oh, those crazy kids.

Also, just in case you haven't seem them yet, Pepsi has already got the bottles with free iTunes Music Store prize caps out in stores. Reports are already coming in that when tilted too a certain angle, you can see whether the cap is a winner or not. That's practically a two-for-one deal right there.

Thursday, January 27th 2005 19:52 PST

Software Spotlight: Talking Panda iLingo

The Software Spotlight is a feature we'll be running just about every week. The aim of the piece is to give some attention to a piece of software for Mac OS X that we think is either useful, innovative, unique, interesting, or in some way worthy of note. For our first week, we're taking a look at Talking Panda's iLingo.

iLingo does something very unique with an iPod: turns it into a phrase book for a variety of languages. Talking Panda offers packages for French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean. The way the software works is by loading audio files containing over 400 phrases per language, which can then be accessed in the Notes feature of the iPod. From there, you can see the phrase spelled out, while simultaneously hearing the phrase spoken by a native speaker of the language. While neither of these features are revolutionary, it is one of the first products to combine them into one package that can be used with an MP3 player. Being able to choose the phrases from categories via the iPod's screen, and having the audio and visual components both operating, makes flipping the ol' phrase book obsolete.

Prices for the software are comparable to a paper phrase book, just under $15 per language, or under $40 for a package. Given all this, we have to commend Talking Panda for using the iPod's Notes feature for something that Apple probably never expected, and executing it so well.

iMovie HD Updated

It's been a slow news day, but Apple did release an update to iMovie HD, making it the first update to a program int he iLife 2005 suite. This update is primarily to address audio and video synchronizaiton issues, but also corrects a few other bugs. The update can be downloaded via the built-in Software Update.

Wednesday, January 26th 2005 21:25 PST

Prices Reduced on SuperDrive Upgrades

MCE today reduced the prices of their optical drive upgrades. PowerBook G4s can now be upgraded to SuperDrives for only $250, a $50 reduction. For other systems that came stock with a less-than-Super Drive, the price is $280, a $70 reduction. Read all about the hardware here.

Apple Extends Promotion on Epson Printers

To be honest, this promotion's existence escaped us until it was extended into April. But, if you buy a new PoweBook (or most other models), and purchase an Epson printer at the same time, you can mail in a rebate for the price of the printer (up to $100). This promotion runs until April 12, so there should be time to order the new PowerBooks and still take advantage of the promotion. Because it's an AppleStore link, you'll need to go to the main page, then check out the Promotions section of the Special Deals. Do note that this offer apparently isn't valid with educational purchases, and or in conjunction with some other special offers.

Another Word on Hard Drive Upgrades

Reader Rodney Sparapani sent in his experience of upgrading his PowerBook's hard drive, and since we'd only heard from the iBook contingent so far, we thought it was worth hearing:

The iBook person beat me to it. But, hey an iBook is not a PB so that post doesn't count :o) Anyways, I upgraded my PowerBook G4 (Ti). And, it was much easier than an iBook. I got my "kit" from MCE; a 40G/5200 RPM/8MB. On the Ti, the hard drive is on the bottom, next to the battery. The "kit" comes with a slotted/phillips screw driver and a pamphlet. The screw driver, however, is only for removing the casing on the bottom. The pamphlet has 2 to 3 short pages that discuss the swap. It's really pretty easy. But, you must have a Torx T-8. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone to sell me one. Apparently, the auto industry only goes down to T-10 and hardware outlets sell single T-6s, T-10's and others, but not T-8s. I ended up buying a whole set just to get a T-8. Getting at the Torx screws with a full size screwdriver is a little awkward, but a miniature would have been perfect. After that, it's a piece of cake. There is nothing in your way; you simply remove the old drive and reverse the process to replace it with the new one.

However, the OS X install CD didn't recognize the new hard drive which was supposed to be formatted. So, I took everything apart and put it back together again. I didn't see anything wrong. I tried the install again and the same thing happened. I started up the Disk Utility which I forgot to check the first time. The disk was recognized, but apparently it wasn't formatted after all. I partitioned the disk and went back to the installer. The disk was now recognized, but there was a red stop sign on the disk. I just formatted the disk, verified it and confirmed that it was mounted. so I couldn't think of what might be the problem. I re-booted and that "solved" it. All in all, I spent about an hour and a half trying to figure out what the software problem was, which was 3 times the original install.

Curiously, one PBZ staffer said that he'd had the exact same problem with his iBook. The restart was the last thing he tried before pulling out all his hair, and luckily for his scalp, it worked.

Tuesday, January 25th 2005 21:16 PST

The Missing New PowerBooks

Despite independent confirmation from our own sources, and consensus from other rumor sites, there were no new PowerBooks released today. We haven't heard any reasons for this, but we suspect a combination of spite and hatred of Nick Deplume on Apple's part. Despite this, we still expect PowerBook updates within the next week, very likely next Tuesday, as has always been considered a possibility.

Pages First Impressions: Another Opinion

When we originally posted first impressions of Pages, we encouraged reader feedback. The bottom line is that people use the same software in incredibly different ways, which is why we wanted to see differing opinions. This prompted a fair amount of email, and one of the best we received was from reader Michael Wittmann:

I had a comment, based on my experience with Keynote, and then a reevaluation of my work in Word and PowerPoint. I've used all these programs extensively (as an academic, presenting often, etc.) on large screens, small screens, etc. I think I see the philosophy of Pages (and Keynote) and have come to realize that I use it in Word, as well.

The summary is:
* most buttons and menu items are useless to me, and most people I watch don't use them either.
* Most people find one way to do things, and do it only that way, even when they have multiple options available (keystrokes, menus, and buttons). They don't pick the easiest option, either (why tunnel through a few menus, when you can click the button or hit control-something to do it even quicker?!?)
* most people don't customize the space wasting menus and toolbars, even when they could

MS knows much of this, but continues to send out programs with huge toolbars taking up all my 12" real estate. They expect experts to modify things, but forget that novices won't. I eventually fought back, and created a "Personal" Toolbar that is as wide as the formatting palette. It sits beside (not above) my documents, along with the context dependent formatting palette (which I can send away with a keystroke I assigned, so its change in mode doesn't distract me). I get taller documents (my dock is also on the right side of the screen, where it was on the NeXT), and I get only those buttons I need. I barely use menus, I know lots of keystrokes, boom, I'm done.

Sound a lot like Keynote, doesn't it? And now, like Pages. And that's the point, in my mind. A well designed inspector is great, since you can make it disappear if all you want to do is work, and you can make it reappear when that's the point of your work. The least cluttered of all possible toolbars is great, too.

Perhaps the Apple attitude about toolbars is that they should activate tools, not buttons for a single task. Buttons go elsewhere. After all, how often do you want to double space text? Do you change the setting that often? It's a document wide setting, isn't it? Same with many of the other buttons. Why take up permanent space with those kinds of things, when you can put them, easily accessible, just off on the side? And, like I said, hiding the inspector allows for focused writing, which is good.

Pages seems like a good interface. It lacks "track changes" which is horrible for me, so I don't know if I'll use it. But if it's like Keynote, and allows for that kind of focused work when needed, then I think it will be fine. Like Einstein says, (paraphrase) things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler. Apple continues to aim for that, while allowing gobs of power in the inspector, as well.

This prompted a bit of discussion with Michael, a good portion of which is definitely worth looking at:

I think I support Apple (and NOT as an apologist, but as a person who spends an inordinate amount of time on design issues) in saying that they should be commended for making the radical break with expected toolbar use. What's commendable is not so much the break, but the consistency. Keynote and Pages, from what I can tell, run with the same mental script. (The problem with MSOffice is that it doesn't - you can define keystrokes in Word, but not in PowerPoint or Excel; the formatting palette acts differently in each case; Excel keystrokes are different from Word keystrokes; and so on.) If you get used to Keynote, with all the toolbar actions offloaded into the inspector, then you know what to expect when you get to Pages. This is more of a big deal than people usually admit.

For example, I can /see/ the inspector for a spreadsheet, huge amounts of information offloaded into a series of "tabs" just like Keynote and Pages have, and the possibilities astound me. You both offload toolbars and buttons from the over-cluttered screen AND gain even more such buttons and settings in an easily accessible location. I find the concept behind it amazing. I'm just totally certain that Apple has something like a "Sheets" on the way, perhaps in 2 years.

What I find annoying about the inspector is that it violates certain UI aspects that I usually find pretty key. Tog harps on one over and over: you want buttons and menus and such to be on the edge of the screen so that you slam your mouse in that direction and quickly get to what you need. At the moment, system functions (the dock, expose) own that space, and when I'm IN an application, I want that application to own things. Of course, when I'm working across applications (which is most of the time), I want the exact opposite. But who said things had to be consistent? Oh, right, I did, up above. Sigh.

I should point out that I pulled out an old eMate and was totally overjoyed that I was UNABLE to multitask on the screen - I had to write, because that's how NewtonOS was built. You do one thing at a time. But, come to think of it, that's a point in favor of Keynote or Pages - get rid of the inspector, and you're simply writing. Later on, you can worry about presentation. It's why full screen editors are so important to some people.

These are all very good points, and we'd like to add that Pages definitely becomes much more natural to use with even a few hours of use. Thanks to Michael for the great counterpoint!

Do-It-Yourself Hard Drive Upgrades

We recently posted a reader email asking about the possibility of replacing a PowerBook's hard drive yourself. Reader Stephen Richards sent in his experience doing the procedure:

In one of your articles you asked for experiences upgrading hard drives in iBooks or power books. I did this for my iBook (from 30 to 80Gb), and it is indeed a little scary the first time.

I used the instructions here: http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/ and I printed out all 18 (yes 18) pages of the instructions before starting. Also recommended

1. Need to back up the data and then restore it - I used an external firewire drive I use for back ups (had to get burned before I learned) and carbon copy cloner. I did not attempt the swap until I could boot from the external drive then I could test I had put it all together properly before starting to restore the software. I think this is the most convenient way to go. Note it takes about 3 hours to restore 30Gb (or at least it did for me)

2. The instructions are good, but you need a range of screw drivers. I almost stripped one of the tiny screws (3mm) - and would have had to stop if I had not tried a bigger phillips head which I could get more downward force on and get the screw to turn. I'm not sure I would want to drill out such small screws with the components so close underneath. In my experience the small screwdrivers ones have small handles which are hard to hold firmly. You have to have a torx as you note. You will also need some physical space for the pieces - I laid them out in order on a table - and then a chair as I ran out of table space.

3. some of the connections are tiny - the mouse pad connector gave me trouble in particular - George Burns's line about playing pool with a rope came to mind. I recommend a small pair of tweasers for re-connecting some of the wires.

4. I got my hardrive from here: http://hitachi.links.channelintelligence.com/pages/prices.asp?sSKU=08K0639&nRGID=701 (I got mine for about $180) It was reassuring to pull out a very similar but smaller model from the same company.

5. Time - about 2X 3hour attempts to get a bootable external backup drive (i.e. you start it, and check on it and if it hangs you give up and start it again) - 2.5 hours to change out the drive - note it was my first time doing anything like this (I had added memory before) - with practice I think 1 hour would be about as fast as is possible), 3 hours to format and get all the data back on the new drive exactly as before.

It works great, and I have space for more music (although my 10 Gb iPod is almost maxed out, baby photos, work email attatchments, and room for the developer tools, as I improve my perl programing. I would never have attempted it without the detailed instructions though, and looking at the instructions will scare off people who shouldn't do it.

We've also done this procedure on an iBook, and agree with everything Stephen says. Make sure you have all the tools the instructions call for (particularly the rubber tool for prying), and read through all of the directions beforehand to make sure you're comfortable with each step, as it's not for the timid.

Around the Web

Target.com has stopped carrying the Mac mini. With their offer of 10% off, and the already constrained amount of units available, they say they simply cannot meet the demand. It isn't clear whether they'll be honoring existing orders.

In other Mini news, if you've recently ordered one, or are planning on doing so, certain BTO parts have been reduced in price. The BlueTooth/AirPort combo upgrade is now $30 cheaper, at $100. Doubling the hard drive size from 40GB to 80GB is nearly half as expensive as it was, dropping $40 to $50. Additionally, upgrading the RAM is now significantly cheaper, and the SuperDrive has been upgraded to a 4x/2x/8x DVD+/-RW mechanism with a 16x/8x/24x CD-RW mechanism. As with the Target.com news, it's unclear whether Apple will be offering compensation or gratis upgrades on any of these components.

Lastly, it's that time of the month again: time for a Mac OS X Security Update. It addresses the usual variety of problems, and can be downloaded here.

Monday, January 24th 2005 20:58 PST

Apple Notes

It's been a relatively quiet day for Apple news, but there've been a few notes of interest. First, Apple announced that they'd sold 250 million songs on the iTunes Music Store. Even more amazingly, the iTunes Music Store is selling 1.25 million songs a day now!

Elsewhere on the web, DealMac noticed that Apple has lowered keyboard and mouse prices. The wired keyboard and mouse are now $29 each, while the wireless keyboard and mouse are $59 each. With Apple now hoping to sell these peripherals to Mac mini customers, this price cut is no surprise, and should keep some people from buying commodity PC keyboards and mice.

Continuing with our theme of rumor mongering over the past week or so, there's an interesting article at AppleInsider on the latest build of Tiger. Of particular interest to PowerBook users is a feature that might facilitate the synchronization of the Home folder between computers.

Lastly, many people were disappointed that the photos of the 'iHome' did not lead to any announcements at MWSF. That doesn't necessarily mean that there is no development happening on an Apple-brand media center, though. While the Mac mini doesn't might not come with the needed software by default, a group of enterprising volunteers are attempting to create the software themselves. If you think you have anything to contribute, or simply want to see their plans, take a look at their site.

Reminder for Tomorrow

With the expected release of updated PowerBooks tomorrow, we plan on providing an update tomorrow morning (or whenever the announcement is held) to detail the changes in the new models. We encourage you to check back tomorrow morning to see if they're unveiled!

Sunday, January 23rd 2005 19:48 PST

New PowerBooks: What to Expect

After an exceptionally long wait, it appears that our days in the desert of PowerBook updates are finally nearing their end. Either the coming Tuesday or the one following it is virtually guaranteed to feature the introduction of improved models, barring any unforeseen occurrences. The question, then, is just what improvements will be seen in the new models.

Synthesizing recent reports from the resilient Think Secret with our own information, there appears to be significant agreement in specifications for the next PowerBooks. As we've stated before, there is limited room for growth in some areas, but Apple will be attempting to give an all-around boost to different areas of the line. For instance, limitations in 2.5" hard drives makes it difficult to to significantly increase capacities, but we can expect to see the 17" moved up to the 100GB drive that marks the ceiling for laptops. For the other models, size increases are less likely. The lower-end 15" model will possibly be moved up to an 80GB drive, but Apple is always intent upon making the hierarchy of models clear and differentiated. More probable is that below the 100 GB 17" model, we will see the current hard drives merely improved in terms of RPMs, from 4200 to the 5400 RPM drives that are currently popular upgrades.

This concern with maintaining a clear product hierarchy will also likely limit the improvements in graphics cards. The 128MB graphics card option is expected to be made standard-issue, while the rest of the line holds steady at 64MB. We will admit, though, that the graphics cards, and the amount of memory they'll have, are one of the most uncertain parts of the new revision. There is some disagreement among sources, leaving potential for 15" (possibly even 12") models having 128MB. Additionally, while other sites have reported the actual models of graphics cards will be unchanged, there is still a slight possibility that they will be updated, though we would find this quite surprising.

What remains, of course, is the processor itself. As well all know, there is virtually no chance of the G5 PowerBook being introduced next week, and consensus is that this will be a simple bump of the current G4s to 1.5 GHz and 1.67 GHz, depending on model. This clearly won't motivate owners of the current crop of PowerBooks to upgrade, but puts a little more breathing room between the very seductive iBooks and their more expensive PowerBook siblings.

All in all, this will be a solid, if unspectacular, improvement to Apple's professional line of portables. While no single area is anticipated to feature significant improvement, the plethora of minor enhancements should lead to a solid update that signals Apple has not forgotten about their faithful PowerBook customers. Additionally, we can't give any specifics on it (for confidentiality reasons), but we've been told that, like any Apple event, to expect a "One more thing..." with these new models. As we've said before, it should be something that pleases nearly everyone, and we'll give the hint that it is not a handcrank for charging the battery. We'll have all of the news on the updates as soon as they happen, so stay tuned!

Introducing Pinder Laptop Cases

Eagle-eyed readers likely noticed the new addition to the PBZone family late last week: Pinder Laptop Cases. Pinder makes very nice bags that break the stereotypical black and gray laptop cases generally seen. Especially cool is that 5% of all revenue goes to charity, in addition to free shipping in the US. We'll have a review of their product soon, but in the mean time, take a look at their site if you're in the market.

Site Notes

We'll be continuing our coverage of Pages this week, with interesting (and disagreeing) opinions presented by readers. In addition to following Pages and the introduction of the expected PowerBooks, we'll also be introducing a new feature this week that you'll have to check back to see. Also, note that we update in the evening for the following day, so if you simply can't wait until Monday morning, we'll typically have the news up on Sunday evening. As always, we love to hear from you, and do our best to respond to every email. We can be reached at editor (at) pbzone.com.

Thursday, January 20th 2005 21:24 PST

iWork First Impressions: Pages

At the recent MacWorld San Francisco, the new word processor that forms half of iWork was overshadowed by the iPod shuffle and Mac mini. Hardware is almost always more exciting and eye-catching than software, particularly a seemingly simple program like Pages, but don't let that fool you. We've had a few days to try out Pages, and it could be a very important part of Apple's software offerings. This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive or comprehensive review, but is merely to give a summary of our impressions of the new program, from the perspective of someone using it for composing letters, school papers, or other common tasks.

When first opening Pages, you'll be given a window with a variety of templates to choose from. What's notable about the included templates, though, is the extensive use they make of graphics and color. These are by no means the simple designs of most word processors, but creeping towards the realm of desktop publishing. Users will likely most frequently start with a blank document, though, so let's head in that direction.

The most striking characteristic of the new, blank document is how incredibly spartan it appears. In contrast with a new document in Office, it is almost nothing but white space, and even compared to AppleWorks it feels like a blank slate. This is refreshing in that the initial reaction is undeniably one of relief from clutter, and a program that matches the elegance of Mac OS X, but it isn't all good. While the toolbar is clean, with attractive icons for the various options, it lacks functionality that could easily have been placed there without any sacrifice. Just as a simple example, while in AppleWorks the alignment, font, and text size are all easily accessible from toolbar menus, these are all placed in separate menus or windows in Pages.

The items that have made the cut for the toolbar appear to stress the multimedia capabilities of Pages. This is not a word processor that can struggle through some limited graphics work, but is designed with the idea that people will frequently be incorporating graphics, movies, photos, and music. Steve Jobs has a track record of wanting to empower users with the ability to be creative with their Macs, but it appears that this has perhaps taken priority over what the bulk of users will be doing with Pages: basic word processing.

Other common functions have also been moved off of the main menus and toolbar items. For instance, in order to even double space the text, it appears necessary to use the Text Inspector. Many, if not most, users will have to keep the Inspector open nearly all the time. This isn't a great inconvenience, but it seems to defeat the purpose of the austere toolbar.

This tour through the basics of Pages might appear to be nothing but criticism, but it's a very nice package. The deceptively simple interface contains a lot of power underneath the hood, the problem is just that too much of that power is under the hood. Simply offloading frequently-used options to floating windows is not the best solution for a simple interface. A few relatively-minor changes, though, could potentially make Pages much better. Our suggestions are to make the Inspector a magnetic window, such as is seen in Fire, so that it sticks to the edge of the screen for frequent access. Even better would be expanding the number of toolbar items available, and then allowing the user to select pre-set groups of toolbar items, such as having one toolbar for mixed use of text and graphics, another for basic paper writing, and a third for other multimedia uses. The particular functions most used by any single user could then be easily found. There are many menu items available that will likely confuse even intermediate computer users, and preventing users from having to go through a trial-and-error process to find what they're looking for should be of the utmost importance.

If you're still using AppleWorks, waiting these many years for a successor, Pages is well worth the money. With even a little practice, most of these interface quibbles are overcome. Still, we hope Apple sees the interface as something that can still be improved to better accommodate the novice users who will make up such a large part of its userbase.

Have comments or questions on Pages, or want to voice your opinion on it? Email us at editor (at) pbzone.com

Around the Web

Today was a bit of a rough one for the iPod Shuffle. Word came from Apple that the iPod shuffle might not play AAC files that don't come from iTunes. This is not a major problem for Mac users, as iTunes is nearly the only game in town for creating AAC files, but could come up in Windows. The more troubling news is that the iPod shuffle is not compatible with iMac G3, eMacs, select Xserve models, and certain Apple displays. This apparently is simply an issue of size and USB port spacing which can be overcome with the dock Apple makes for the shuffle, or a USB hub or extension cable. Still, it's highly disappointing that many Mac users will not be able to enjoy their iPods without additional purchases. There has been some discontent surrounding this issue within Apple, and we hope that a solution that doesn't penalize customers is found.

Lastly, AppleInsider today also posted a very interesting look at the Mac mini. This piece includes many heretofore unknown details on the mini, including that it is technically not user serviceable. While it likely voids the warranty, let us assure you that this machine can be easily upgraded by most users. The service manual states that you simply need a putty knife to properly open it up.

Wednesday, January 19th 2005 21:19 PST

Site Notes

As a heads up, it's worth mentioning that we'll be doing the proverbial spring cleaning of the site over the course of the next couple weeks. This shouldn't affect the updates at all, but it does mean that pages might temporarily render incorrectly as we modify the code. There will also be changes to various links throughout the pages of the site. If any broken links or pages show up, please feel free to email us at editor (at) pbzone.com so we can rectify the situation. This is all in preparation for a more significant overhaul to the backend of the site down the road, one which we hope will improve the lives of the writers and readers.

As an addendum to the reader mail from yesterday, a friend of PBZ let us know that the prices we quoted were quite high. We only took the prices from a respected online Mac retailer (who will remain nameless), assuming (incorrectly) that they would be indicative of what you could expect to pay. For any purchase, we recommend checking DealMac and Froogle.

Also, we've received some great email with people's suggestions for what they'd like to see on the site. Any comments even remotely-related to the site, PowerBooks, Apple, etc. can be emailed to the above address. Thanks for bearing with us.

Rumor: PowerBook Updates

While we are not planning on regularly talking rumors (unless anyone wants to give us some dirt), one thing has come to our attention. While there is general consensus on minor PowerBook revisions coming in the next few weeks, we've been told that it will, in fact, be next Tuesday that they are announced. Today's news that the PowerBooks (and eMacs) have been end-of-life'd underscores this likelihood. The updates are still unlikely to be anything too major. The hard drives cannot get much larger without breaking the hierarchy of models, as is also the case with the graphics cards, though they could see some boosting. The main change should be in processor speeds, and one other significant change is expected. We can't say anything else on what this change will be, but we think that it should please everyone involved, and at least make up in part for the long wait on major updates.

iWork and iLife '05 Shipping

Following on the heels of the first Mac minis and iPod shuffles shipping to customers, iWork and iLife 05 are now on their way, crossing ocean and mountain to reach doorsteps around the country. The first arrivals are expected as early as Friday. Just a note that we'll be giving first impressions of Pages, the successor to AppleWorks in the iWork bundle, in the next week or so.

Bringing Mac OS X to the Pocket

While Newton and eMate users can still be found, clinging with fierce determination to their beloved PDAs, Mac OS X has made it harder, both technically and aesthetically, to go back to the monochrome screen. The other PDA makers, though, have stuck to a variety of operating systems unlikely to attract the cultivated tastes of Mac users. In response, Wired has written an interesting article discussing how one Austrian Mac user has managed to unite the best OS with the latest hardware. Perhaps this could spur Apple to consider a Mac OS X Lite?

Tuesday, January 18th 2005 20:52 PST

Reader Mail: PowerBook Hard Drives, GPUs, and Tiger

We encouraged everyone to send us mail in our last update, and to start off on the right foot, we thought we'd answer one of the letters we received. Charles recently wrote us the following:

What's the biggest capacity to date and what's on the horizon? Has anyone personally upgraded an Aluminum 15" with a new drive?

Powerbook Misc:
Can a Powerbook Super Drive be upgraded to burn Dual Layer DVD's? Will the 64MB Video RAM in an Aluminum 15" 1.25 Ghz be enough to run the fancy Tiger OS graphics smooth and clear? Any Beta Testers opinions?

OS Misc:
Considering space on a Powerbook drive is at a premium, what cleanup routines can one delve into to retrieve precious hard drive space?

As for your question on burning dual-layer DVDs on your PowerBook, the existing SuperDrive can now be upgraded to a model capable of burning them. MCE Technologies sells these drives for $300 and $350, depending on model. Again, home installation is likely not advisable for everyone. If anyone has bought one of these after-market SuperDrives, we'd also love to hear from you on its performance and installation.

Tiger is definitely showing on the horizon these days, with the release likely within six months. While we of course cannot say how the final version will perform yet, even at this point it seems almost certain that a 64 MB GPU will be completely adequate. While more is always better, the just-introduced Mac mini only comes with 32 MB, and no PowerBooks sold today come with more than 64MB stock. Apple would be shooting themselves in the foot to sell a product so close to Tiger's release, and aimed at users new to Macs, that could not adequately run Tiger.

Even with the huge hard drives that come with every computer these days, people always find a way to fill them up. Routine scouring of the hard drive for music, movies, and programs that are no longer needed is, of course, a good habit. How many of us have large PowerPoint, Keynote, iMovie, or other projects that we no longer need? Commit these files to CD and take back your space. Other options are buying a big FireWire hard drive for cheap offloading, or even using your iPod in such a way.

We're happy to answer reader mail, so keep the letters coming, and you might find your name in this space. Anything of interest can be sent to editor (at) pbzone.com, and we'll try and respond as best we can.

Notes from Apple

Apple has been busy in the wake of their MacWorld announcements, here are a few things that have been announced today. First, Apple has decided to give Pepsi another shot with free songs on the iTunes Music Store, as well as giving away one iPod mini every hour. Check the site for details on how you can participate.

Also from Apple today is word that the Mac mini and iPod shuffle have begun shipping from their respective factories overseas. The first of the orders should be filled by the end of this week, though many early orders will still be waiting for another month.

Finally, an Associated Press article reports on growth in the PC industry. For all of the pessimism towards Apple's non-iPod products, Apple increased its computer sales 25% in volume, compared to a paltry 13.7% for the rest of the industry.

Monday, January 17th 2005 21:12 PST

The Return of the PowerBook Zone

It's been a while since we've updated, but like the phoenix rising from the ashes, we're now rejuvenated and ready for action. For those loyal readers who've kept checking in, hoping for some sign of life, we want to reward you with several updates a week of the content you've been missing. For those new readers just joining us, we want to give you a reason to stick around. In the PowerBook Zone's storied history, it has always been a site powered by the readers, and it's for this reason that we now ask you to email us at editor (at) pbzone.com. Let us know what you want, whether that's what you enjoy on other sites, or what you think no site is doing properly. There's definitely a lot to be excited about with Apple's portable lineup, and we hope you'll join us as we do our best to cover them.

Whither PowerBook Updates?

Well, that depends on who you ask. The occasionally-accurate MacOS Rumors has stated that we can expect improved PowerBooks in February, while the beleaguered Think Secret has posited a potentially earlier date for the announcement.

There does seem to be some consensus in the unseemly world of Mac rumors: don't hold your breath for PowerBook G5s. Recently cited by one Apple exec. as "the mother of all thermal challenges," this is unlikely to be simple hyperbole. In one form or another, the G5 should eventually find its way into an Apple portable, but don't be surprised if new revisions (such as the oft-rumored dual-core) of the G4 come to fruition. Regardless, Apple will continue to find a way to significantly increase the performance of the PowerBooks; it wasn't long ago that the G4 seemed itself to be a challenge for portable use.

iLife Up-To-Date Program, .Mac Outage

In case you've just recently purchased iLife '04, or a Mac with the older version already installed, there's a cheaper way to get the latest in first-party software. At Apple's site they've provided all the information you need to see if you qualify, and if so, how to get iLife '05, for $20. Given the newly-increased price of iLife, this is definitely worth doing for those who are able.

For those of you subscribing to .Mac, it's worth noting that all services but email will be down for scheduled maintenance on January 22nd, from 10 AM PST until 6 PM that evening. If your iChat sessions die and iDisk disappear during that time period, now you know why.