I finally was able to see and lay my hands on a 17″ PowerBook. The local Apple Store in Newport Beach (Fashion Island) received a single display unit on Monday. It's beautiful. It's big. And the screen is phenomenal. Definitely going to require first or biz class seats to take this on my next trip. The one thing I noticed that is subtle yet very slick and speaks to the continued measurable improvement Apple makes with each new product. The hinge on this new PowerBook is so smooth and sure. It glides with ease, yet sits firmly in place once you're comfortable with the angle. The old TiBook I had sometimes required a two handed screen tilt adjustment. One to hold the PowerBook from shifting on a less than tacky surface, and the other to adjust the screen. No more. And from the sounds of it, the hinge might be a bit more durable. I'm not sure how Joi busted the hinge on his TiBook. But here's his story and a picture of his new 12″ PowerBook in “target disk mode” while making the transfer from his hinge impaired TiBook. My biggest beefs with the 12″ PowerBook? It doesn't have a DVI port. This means it's impossible to hook up one of Apple's superior all-digital large LCD displays. Sure, it's got a VGA out. But who cares. And its 128mb RAM is soldered to the motherboard. With only one slot open, the max memory is 640mb.
But at least Joi has GOT a new PowerBook. Me? 33 days and counting.
