Mac Field Test: Setback

Since my last blog entry, my IT department confirmed that they had ordered me a PowerBook G4 demo unit from our distributor. It’s supposed to ship on Monday. Nevertheless, my daughter Mary has loaned me her G4 for the weekend, since she is in Chicago with a friend. I thought I’d dive into her machine and blog about my first impressions.

The first thing I noticed, of course, is the machine itself. It is so elegant. I love the sleek, thin profile and the way everything is engineered. I also love having all the ports on the left-hand side of the machine. This sounds trivial, but it’s easier to get to the ports this way, especially on a laptop. (My Toshiba M205, by contrast, has some in the back, some on the left side, and some on the front.) Just for the record, this is the 12” screen model. It has a 1.0 GHz processor, ComboDrive, 256MB of RAM, and a 40GB (actually 37.25 GB) hard drive. Only 10GB is currently in use.

I’m a little surprised by the weight. I expected it to be lighter. It has about the same profile as my Toshiba but weighs slightly more. (This is completely subjective. I didn’t look up the specs.)

I started by creating a user account for myself. I didn’t want to mess up Mary’s settings; I know how I would hate that if someone borrowed my machine. This process was pretty straight-forward.

After I logged in, I noticed was that I didn’t have Internet access. (I have Bellsouth DSL at the house with a LinkSys wireless router. I knew I had set Mary up on network previously, so I was puzzled.) I clicked on the AirPort icon. Sure enough, our network was listed. I clicked on it and was asked for my password. Evidently, the password was not transferred to the new user account when I created it.

Next, I had to locate the WEP encryption key and enter it. It didn’t work. Then I remembered from the first time I set this up that the Mac required that I enter some kind of control character before the password. Thank God for Google Groups! I was able to find the solution after about 10 minutes of searching. It turns out that if you are entering a Hex password, you have to preface it with the dollar sign (i.e., “$”). I entered this, along with the key, and was instantly connected. Cool. A small victory.

Next, I set my preferences. I clicked on the “System Preferences” application and begin working through the categories. I began to notice that the user-interface didn’t seem quite as cool as what I’d seen in some of the demos. Hmm, I thought. Maybe this is a system preference of some sort. I kept looking around and couldn’t find anything. I pressed F9. Nothing happened. I had learned that this function key invokes Exposé, a feature of Mac OS X Panther. It “gives you instant access any open window with a single keystroke.” I pressed the F9 key again. Still nothing.

Okay, maybe I don’t have the latest OS. I went to “About This Mac” and looked. Rats! This is version 10.2.8. I knew that Panther was 10.3. No problem, I thought, this is just a minor version upgrade. I can probably download it and install it in a few minutes. No such luck.

After about 45 minutes of scouring the Web, I discover that this is considered a major upgrade and I have to pay $129 retail for it. (I subsequently found it on PriceGrabber for $85.) Wow. This was a bit of a reality check.

The way the versions are numbered, you would think this is a minor upgrade. However, all the ad copy suggests it’s a major upgrade with “over 150 new features.” I also remembered that Steve Jobs had demo-ed Mac OS X Tiger (the next upgrade beyond Panther) at MacWorld, so I’m now faced my first decision: Do I upgrade Mary’s computer to Panther now or wait until Tiger is released—whenever that is. Frankly, if I could have downloaded Panther off the Internet, I probably would have bought it. But since I have to buy a boxed version, I procrastinated. (Note to Apple Marketing Department: how may upgrade sales are you losing because the software is not available for instant download.)

So far, this is a little frustrating. I downloaded SP2 for Windows XP when it became available. It didn’t cost me a thing and brought major new functionality to my Tablet PC. Does Apple really need to charge for an OS upgrade? Are the features really that much better? Oh well, I will try to keep an open mind and continue exploring. I have to remember: I’m now on the “Mac planet.” Things appear similar, but it’s a different world.

After this, I decided to set aside the Mac and then re-visit my decision on upgrading the OS tomorrow. Knowing me, I’ll probably do it. However, it’s been a long week and I’m tired.