Winds of Change

written by Charles DeVore

from Mouse Tracks June 2001

Updating System OS X is a strange process. First you download an updater (131 Software Updater). Then after you run it, you go back to the Software updater and you can then update the actual System. After you install that you can go back once again and download new Epson print drivers. Are we having fun yet? The biggest problem is Apple does not explain that you have to keep going back and getting the next update in order to get them all. Thanks to MacFixIt this was made pretty clear. With this new update some of the Imation Super Disk drives now work with System X. However the very first model labeled SD-USB-M does not currently work. Note: do not install the drivers for the SuperDisk as they are now part of the 10.0.01 installed System. For anyone keeping track the 10.0.03 updater is now out for installation.

Being skimpy on the hard drive space allotted to System OS X can hurt you. Most of the updates to the System require a huge amount of space to be free on your hard drive before you can do the update. System OS X 10.0.01 required 300 meg of free hard drive space in order to install a 4 megabyte update. I'd hate to see how much space a 25 meg file would require to install.

The new Apple warranty quietly introduced for refurbished products is 1 year just like the new machines. With (I might add) the option of an additional 2 years of extended warranty. These are steps in the right direction for Apple. I was beginning to believe they were afraid to warranty their used products. Now if they would just bump up the one year new warranty to two or three years I'd be really impressed.

Apple rules – that's all there is to it. The iBook replacement is wonderful. It gives the users almost everything that they have been asking for. I, for one, don't need a Titanium (G4) for a portable carry along. Not that I wouldn't take one if Apple gave me one. The cost of the Titanium kinda of scares the average Joe user away.

Here's what I like about the new iBook. Small, compact and lite with all the necessary ports and options to get the job done. Weight is just under 5 pounds, width 11.2 inches, depth 9.1 inches, thickness 1.35 inches. Running a 500 MHz G3 CPU with 256 KB cache, ATI RAGE graphics accelerator with 8 MB of SDRAM and APG 2X support (great video), 10 GB ATA hard drive, and 5 hour battery life. Ports supplied are 56K v.90 modem, 10/100 EtherNet, two USB, one FireWire, RGB video out and a AV Connector. The only thing it's lacking is a PC card slot and I'll be darned if I know where they could put it. But that's not all – you can order it with a CD player, a DVD player, a CD-RW recorder, or a combo CD-RW/DVD player that the Titanium doesn't even offer. My advice if you're looking for a portable that is easy on the pocketbook and has lots of features, then look here.

Comparing the two Apple machines is going to be hard; they both do a lot of the same things but are pointed at different customers. Let's take screens to start out with. The iBook is 12.1 inches and at a resolution of 1024 by 768 type can get pretty small. The Titanium on the other hand is 15.2 inches that can display 1152 by 768. There's just a lot more territory to view those DVDs and large web sites. While the iBook can only mirror what is on it's screen onto a second monitor, the Titanium can use both monitors as one large screen. This allows the people with Photoshop to place palettes on one screen while working on another. Also the dongle on the iBook offers RGB old style connectors rather than the (now standard) VGA style connector that the Titanium has. Both monitors can produce millions of colors.

As far as weight goes we are talking 4.9 pounds for the iBook and 5.3 pounds for the Titanium. So about 1/2 pound of weight for more screen is about right. The Titanium is larger in foot print due to the screen size. Where speed is concerned the Titanium will eat the iBook for lunch due to the G4 vs the G3 CPU. Both machines have one FireWire port, two USB ports, 56K modems, and 10/100 Ethernet so they are equal in those areas. Missing from the iBook are the IrDA infrared technology port and the PC CardBus support for type I and type II PC cards. Also missing but not forgotten is the S-Video port – the iBook has replaced this with an AV composite port (although you do have to buy an optional $20 cable to use it); on the Titanium it's the S-Video standard. Both have AirPort card slots for wireless networking and five hour batteries.

The most interesting difference is the CD ROM bay in the iBook has options for CD, DVD, CD-RW or DVD/CD-RW where the Titanium only offers the DVD slot loading CD ROM option. What will make the most difference to buyers is the low $1299 iBook starting price verses the $2599 Titanium. Both units offer loads of functions for a price that's not out of reach.

All of that said, my best guess is Apple will update the Titanium shortly with CD-RW/DVD units. I'm just not sure how they are going to wow the folks at Macworld NY this summer after introducing these wonderful products.

SoundJam from Casady and Greene is now history. As of June 1, SoundJam will crease production. The SoundJam development team is now working for Apple on iTunes jukebox software. Casady and Greene made the right pick on this one. It's no use working on a product you charge for when Apple is giving it away with their computers.

You can reach me at charles@cdevsol.com.

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