12" powerbook vs. macbook air

or, why i am not getting a new laptop ;-)

i realize this has been debated elsewhere, ad nauseum... but here are my personal criteria in making the decision to hang on to the 12" pb for another year.

1. optical drive. to be honest, i've re-thought this one a bit after becoming newly conscious of how little i really use the cd drive anymore... but the one thing i can't get away from is the travel-related use of dvd's. and what do i use the pbook for, if not for travelling? those hours when i am stuck on the plane, or at the hotel, or wherever i might happen to get stuck, are prime time for catching up on my dvd watching. not possible with the mba.

2. storage capacity. yeah, i know - i cheated by upgrading my pbook to a "new" 160gb internal. (and what a difference it has made, i might add.) but still, downgrading back to 80gb at this point would mean dumping a meaningful portion of my content. and for $1800, i just can't feel good about that.

3. removable battery. why, apple, why? when i think of all the times having a spare battery in my backpack has saved me from oblivion during a long cross country flight, the idea of getting stuck w/o a spare seems obdurately, unconscionably bass-ackwards. yeah, i'm not an engineer, but would it REALLY have been a problem to make the mba batt removable as well?

4. lack of ports. as with the opti drive, i have re-thought this somewhat after spending the last few days noticing how seldom i reach for my fw or usb devices... but the thing is, i still do reach for them. to shell out of $1800 for the privilege of having to carry a usb hub, and/or giving up fw compatibility, seems like sheer lunacy.

and the thing is, even as i type my little list... i can sense the still small voice of steve jobs whispering seductively in my ear, tickling my hypothalmus with visions of that damn envelope trick. yes, i know it is sexy. yes, i know it is thin. and yes, despite all my best intentions, i will probably succumb and buy one.

yeah.

but at least i will hold out until the rev 'b' :-D

(he said, sounding so confident....)

mwsf a bust?

looks like i'm not the only one who is underwhelmed by the new macbook air:

linky link

you can have my 12" powerbook... when you pry it from my COLD DEAD FINGERS. sorry steve, but for functionality and form factor, the 12" PB is - still - the creme de la creme of the notebook universe. r.i.p., sweet g4.

happy 2008!

best wishes to all for a prosperous and productive new year.

of course, the most exciting news of the next few weeks is the macworld expo, and god willing, i will be there, camcorder surreptitiously in hand to capture the magic.

a cool mw community site has been set up on ning.com:

http://macworldexpo.ning.com/

more to follow! (and hopefully, a brand new macbook ultra portable to ring in the new year in style....)