Hi all -
Quick background: I'm a biologist, and my lab has a number of Macs, used
for various graphics manipulation tasks, running a digital microscope
camera, etc. We now use OS9, but I see the writing on the wall: a lot of the
new useful software are OSX-only, and the new hardware may not boot OS9. So,
at some point, we'll have to switch over to OSX. I need to be a real expert
on this, both the right way to do things, and how to fix it when things
inevitably go wrong, before we move the critical stuff in the lab onto this
platform. I looking forward to it, loving my Mac (I am fairly knowledgeable
about OS9 and its subtleties), and also being an old Unix sysadmin from
years back. So I'm pretty excited to have the combination of Mac
hardware/interface, on top of the Unix-based OS.
My plan is to get a new laptop (I currently have a 2000 titanium
powermac running OS9), and play with it for a while until I know all the ins
and outs of things, before moving our critical data and apps onto new
machines in the lab. I'm now leaning towards the 17" 1.3 GHz powerbook.
Before I do, I am hoping to get some advice from people who know about it. I
can spend some money, but I expect to be using this machine for years, so I
need to do this right. If anyone has any thoughts on any of the following,
please reply, and if possible, cc: to mlevin77@comcast.net. Thanks in
advance!

1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX? If I get
1.5 Megs vs. the minimum, will it have a noticeable effect on the number of
apps I can run simultaneously, or the speed at which things go? How much
does memory matter here?

2) devices: do most things now work well with OSX? I'm thinking of devices
like USB printers, scanners, firewire hard drives, etc. I heard a while back
that there were not good drivers for some peripherals; has this been
generally fixed?

3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now? For
example, is there some other new release/model right around the corner which
is supposed to fix known hardware issues/bugs? Generally, putting aside the
fact that there is always new and better hardware coming down the line, is
the machine stable now - is it ok to buy? Any known problems or reasons to
stay away from the 17"? Any specific version or anything like that?

4) Panther: should I wait until Panther comes out (supposedly in a few
weeks) or get the current version and upgrade to it? Any reason to prefer
the current version of OSX over Panther?

5) Is it true that these machines will not dual-boot OS9? Is there no way to
run OS9 on any of the new hardware ever again?

6) is it possible to run OS9 applications on OSX? For example, if I download
or buy some OS9 app (or use one of the many which I have) with its own
installer, will it work ok on OSX?

7) what are the benefits of native OSX apps? That is, some applications are
advertised as "native OSX". Does this have any serious implications? For
example, if I own a version of a piece of software which worked well on OS9
and I don't need any extra new features, is there any reason to spend the
money for the latest OSX version? What benefits are there?

8) how's the battery life on the 17" laptop? Is it the same battery (can I
swap) as on the old titanium powerbooks?

9) I think it's available with hard drives of different speeds (5200 rpm and
7200 rpm or something like that). Any reason not to get the faster drive
(battery life, heat, etc.)?

10) lastly, what disk software is useful for monitoring and preventing file
system corruption? DiskWarrior, Norton, or Techtools - which if any are
useful on the unix-like file system and won't screw it up?

In article <BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net>,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:
.....
> My plan is to get a new laptop (I currently have a 2000 titanium
>powermac running OS9), and play with it for a while until I know all the ins
>and outs of things, before moving our critical data and apps onto new
>machines in the lab.

This is clearly a wise course. You will be in a position to know
that your critical applications work. If you have enough space on your
current machine, you could install OSX and test things on it.

>I'm now leaning towards the 17" 1.3 GHz powerbook.
>Before I do, I am hoping to get some advice from people who know about it. I
>can spend some money, but I expect to be using this machine for years, so I
>need to do this right. If anyone has any thoughts on any of the following,
>please reply, and if possible, cc: to mlevin77@comcast.net. Thanks in
>advance!

Why are you leaning toward a powerbook instead of a desktop?
Do you usually move the machine around? If not, a desktop machine
yields much better performance for the same price. Of course a
powerbook comes with its own UPS which may be a factor for real-time
experiments.

>1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX? If I get
>1.5 Megs vs. the minimum, will it have a noticeable effect on the number of
>apps I can run simultaneously, or the speed at which things go? How much
>does memory matter here?

Enough memory is vital. In OSX, extra memory is used by the OS as a file
cache. This speeds up many operations. If you only run one or two tasks
that don't require much memory, then this might not be important for you.
It depends on your workload.

>2) devices: do most things now work well with OSX? I'm thinking of devices
>like USB printers, scanners, firewire hard drives, etc. I heard a while back
>that there were not good drivers for some peripherals; has this been
>generally fixed?

Generally, but you should check out your particular equipment.

>3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now? For
>example, is there some other new release/model right around the corner which
>is supposed to fix known hardware issues/bugs? Generally, putting aside the
>fact that there is always new and better hardware coming down the line, is
>the machine stable now - is it ok to buy? Any known problems or reasons to
>stay away from the 17"? Any specific version or anything like that?

IMHO the powerbook line is unlikely to see a major upgrade for some time
until the next generation of G5 comes out that runs with less power. The
current lineup is very attractive. For the truly mobile sorts, the 12" is
the ideal machine.

>4) Panther: should I wait until Panther comes out (supposedly in a few
>weeks) or get the current version and upgrade to it? Any reason to prefer
>the current version of OSX over Panther?

The reports indicate that Panther will have significant performance improvements
and is the clear OS of choice. Some of the new apps (finder, window manager) might
also be important to you. If you wait until the 24th, you save $19.95

http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/

>5) Is it true that these machines will not dual-boot OS9? Is there no way to
>run OS9 on any of the new hardware ever again?

Some currently selling machines can boot into OS9 (to be contrasted with
running OS9 Classic underneath OSX). This is a temporary feature. Apple
clearly wants people to move away from OS9.

>6) is it possible to run OS9 applications on OSX? For example, if I download
>or buy some OS9 app (or use one of the many which I have) with its own
>installer, will it work ok on OSX?

Yes, for most applications. Classic runs as an application under OSX. It
in turn runs OS9 applications. There are sometimes problems with extensions,
printing, networking and using the modem. But most applications just work.

>7) what are the benefits of native OSX apps? That is, some applications are
>advertised as "native OSX". Does this have any serious implications? For
>example, if I own a version of a piece of software which worked well on OS9
>and I don't need any extra new features, is there any reason to spend the
>money for the latest OSX version? What benefits are there?

If you are running in OSX and you have one or more applications running
under classic, then you have the memory and speed overhead of another OS
running. If your OS9 applications work for you, you can take your time
upgrading. But if you run absolutely no OS9 applications, you realize a
performance gain.

>8) how's the battery life on the 17" laptop? Is it the same battery (can I
>swap) as on the old titanium powerbooks?

Don't know.

>9) I think it's available with hard drives of different speeds (5200 rpm and
>7200 rpm or something like that). Any reason not to get the faster drive
>(battery life, heat, etc.)?

Yes, you trade batter life and heat for the speed. Sorry I can't be more
quantitative here.

>10) lastly, what disk software is useful for monitoring and preventing file
>system corruption? DiskWarrior, Norton, or Techtools - which if any are
>useful on the unix-like file system and won't screw it up?

Use native disk first aid and repair permissions.
Use DiskWarrior as needed.
Use techtool to help diagnose hardware problems in general.
If all this fails, and not before, you might try Norton.
Norton did work well for me *once* when all else failed.

--
Daniel Packman
NCAR/ACD
pack@ucar.edu

in article bm5c95$8pk$1@news.ucar.edu, Daniel Packman at pack@eos.ucar.edu
wrote on 10/10/03 12:24 AM:

> Why are you leaning toward a powerbook instead of a desktop?
> Do you usually move the machine around? If not, a desktop machine
> yields much better performance for the same price. Of course a
> powerbook comes with its own UPS which may be a factor for real-time
> experiments.

When all is said and done, I'll be using it at home (in my office, in the
yard, on the porch, etc.) to write grants and papers. Some degree of
mobility is important, but it's unlikely to leave the house or be traveled
with, so I'm thinking the extra weight is worth the bigger screen.

> Some currently selling machines can boot into OS9 (to be contrasted with
> running OS9 Classic underneath OSX). This is a temporary feature. Apple
> clearly wants people to move away from OS9.

interesting! Do you know how I tell which machines do and do not? and for
those that do, would it come pre-installed on it or can I somehow install it
myself and try?

> Use native disk first aid and repair permissions.
> Use DiskWarrior as needed.
> Use techtool to help diagnose hardware problems in general.
> If all this fails, and not before, you might try Norton.
> Norton did work well for me *once* when all else failed.

great! Thanks.

Mike

In article <BBABF5A9.18086%mlevin77@comcast.net>,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

> in article bm5c95$8pk$1@news.ucar.edu, Daniel Packman at pack@eos.ucar.edu
> wrote on 10/10/03 12:24 AM:
>
> > Why are you leaning toward a powerbook instead of a desktop?
> > Do you usually move the machine around? If not, a desktop machine
> > yields much better performance for the same price. Of course a
> > powerbook comes with its own UPS which may be a factor for real-time
> > experiments.
>
> When all is said and done, I'll be using it at home (in my office, in the
> yard, on the porch, etc.) to write grants and papers. Some degree of
> mobility is important, but it's unlikely to leave the house or be traveled
> with, so I'm thinking the extra weight is worth the bigger screen.
>
> > Some currently selling machines can boot into OS9 (to be contrasted with
> > running OS9 Classic underneath OSX). This is a temporary feature. Apple
> > clearly wants people to move away from OS9.
>
> interesting! Do you know how I tell which machines do and do not? and for
> those that do, would it come pre-installed on it or can I somehow install it
> myself and try?

The Titanium PB is the last PowerBook that will boot into OS 9. After
having a look at Apple's website, it looks like the cutoff for PowerMacs
is between the PM G4 Mirrored Drive Door (2003) and the PM G4 FW800, but
I could be wrong. I don't know about other models.

>8) how's the battery life on the 17" laptop? Is it the same battery
(can I
>swap) as on the old titanium powerbooks?

No, your Titanium batteries will not fit the new 17".

>
> > Use native disk first aid and repair permissions.
> > Use DiskWarrior as needed.
> > Use techtool to help diagnose hardware problems in general.
> > If all this fails, and not before, you might try Norton.
> > Norton did work well for me *once* when all else failed.
>
> great! Thanks.
>
> Mike
>

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 00:35:33 GMT, Mike Levin wrote:

> 1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX? If I get
> 1.5 Megs vs. the minimum, will it have a noticeable effect on the number of
> apps I can run simultaneously, or the speed at which things go? How much
> does memory matter here?

I have 2 GB in mine and I certainly don't regret it, but keep in mind
that you don't have to order the machine fully populated with memory.
You can always add third-party memory later, after you have a better feel
for how much you need.

> 2) devices: do most things now work well with OSX? I'm thinking of devices
> like USB printers, scanners, firewire hard drives, etc. I heard a while back
> that there were not good drivers for some peripherals; has this been
> generally fixed?

The device situation is getting steadily better. I discovered some time
ago that my scanner now works with the original software in Classic mode,
where it originally didn't.

> 3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now? For
> example, is there some other new release/model right around the corner which
> is supposed to fix known hardware issues/bugs? Generally, putting aside the
> fact that there is always new and better hardware coming down the line, is
> the machine stable now - is it ok to buy? Any known problems or reasons to
> stay away from the 17"? Any specific version or anything like that?

The current 17" is quite new and is not likely to be upgraded again for a
while.

> 4) Panther: should I wait until Panther comes out (supposedly in a few
> weeks) or get the current version and upgrade to it? Any reason to prefer
> the current version of OSX over Panther?

If you buy a new Mac anytime after October 8 and it arrives without
Panther, you are entitled to a free upgrade.

> 5) Is it true that these machines will not dual-boot OS9? Is there no way to
> run OS9 on any of the new hardware ever again?

Yes, it's true that the current PowerBooks do not boot OS9, but they can
run OS 9 in the Classic environment.

> 6) is it possible to run OS9 applications on OSX? For example, if I download
> or buy some OS9 app (or use one of the many which I have) with its own
> installer, will it work ok on OSX?

Classic applications, for the most part, just work.

> 7) what are the benefits of native OSX apps? That is, some applications are
> advertised as "native OSX". Does this have any serious implications? For
> example, if I own a version of a piece of software which worked well on OS9
> and I don't need any extra new features, is there any reason to spend the
> money for the latest OSX version? What benefits are there?

Not having to run the Classic environment is certainly a benefit, but you
don't need to worry about upgrading all your apps at once.

> 8) how's the battery life on the 17" laptop? Is it the same battery (can I
> swap) as on the old titanium powerbooks?

The 17" takes a larger battery than the 15". It needs it, because there
is more of a power drain for that huge display. Battery life is
comparable, but maybe a bit shorter than for the 15".



--
Dave Seaman
Judge Yohn's mistakes revealed in Mumia Abu-Jamal ruling.
<http://www.commoncouragepress.com/index.cfm?action=book&bookid=228>

In article <BBABF5A9.18086%mlevin77@comcast.net>,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:
>in article bm5c95$8pk$1@news.ucar.edu, Daniel Packman at pack@eos.ucar.edu
.....
>> Some currently selling machines can boot into OS9 (to be contrasted with
>> running OS9 Classic underneath OSX). This is a temporary feature. Apple
>> clearly wants people to move away from OS9.

> interesting! Do you know how I tell which machines do and do not? and for
>those that do, would it come pre-installed on it or can I somehow install it
>myself and try?

I believe the eMacs can boot into OS9, but you are much better off
not planning on having this functionality on new machines. Originally,
Apple planned on removing OS9 booting in all models introduced in
2003 and beyond.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/sep/10macosx.html

According to http://www.apple.com/emac/specs.html
"Startup in Mac OS 9 is available only with CD-ROM and Combo drive
configurations."

You can use your existing powerbook to dual boot for testing.
I wouldn't depend on retaining this ability in the future.


--
Daniel Packman
NCAR/ACD
pack@ucar.edu

In article <BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net>,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi all -
> Quick background: I'm a biologist, and my lab has a number of Macs, used
> for various graphics manipulation tasks, running a digital microscope
> camera, etc.

Likewise.

> My plan is to get a new laptop (I currently have a 2000 titanium
> powermac running OS9), and play with it for a while until I know all the ins
> and outs of things, before moving our critical data and apps onto new
> machines in the lab.

You can use various tricks to keep things like the Documents folder
synchronized.

> 1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX? If I get
> 1.5 Megs vs. the minimum, will it have a noticeable effect on the number of
> apps I can run simultaneously, or the speed at which things go? How much
> does memory matter here?

There more the better. My Power Mac G3 (Beige) is limited to 768, and it
definitely chokes on a software load (like when writing a manuscript) my
Power Mac G4 with 1.25 GB handles just fine.

> 2) devices: do most things now work well with OSX? I'm thinking of devices
> like USB printers, scanners, firewire hard drives, etc. I heard a while back
> that there were not good drivers for some peripherals; has this been
> generally fixed?

Printers are not a big problem. It is much harder to get older scanners
to work than just buying new compatible stuff. FW drives depend on the
quality of the bridge inside. Stick with Oxford 911-based drives.


> 3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now?

It was recently updated to Rev B. There is no better time to buy.

> 4) Panther: should I wait until Panther comes out (supposedly in a few
> weeks) or get the current version and upgrade to it? Any reason to prefer
> the current version of OSX over Panther?

All Macs bought after this week get a free upgrade. 10.2 is a great
version, but you might as well stick with the future and go with 10.3.
>
> 5) Is it true that these machines will not dual-boot OS9? Is there no way to
> run OS9 on any of the new hardware ever again?

No way. Want OS 9? Get an iBook, Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors), or
eMac without SuperDrive.

> 6) is it possible to run OS9 applications on OSX? For example, if I download
> or buy some OS9 app (or use one of the many which I have) with its own
> installer, will it work ok on OSX?

Yes. There are some old apps and installers that won't work for various
reasons, and some that run even better in Classic than in OS 9.
>
> 7) what are the benefits of native OSX apps? That is, some applications are
> advertised as "native OSX". Does this have any serious implications? For
> example, if I own a version of a piece of software which worked well on OS9
> and I don't need any extra new features, is there any reason to spend the
> money for the latest OSX version? What benefits are there?

I haven't seen any benefit in a lot of the software I've upgraded (e.g.
Endnote, Office, Eudora) and old software still runs fine.

> 9) I think it's available with hard drives of different speeds (5200 rpm and
> 7200 rpm or something like that). Any reason not to get the faster drive
> (battery life, heat, etc.)?

Faster drives boost OS X performance a lot.

--
Chicago, IL
Remove "GO" to reply.

In article <BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net>,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

> 1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX? If I get
> 1.5 Megs vs. the minimum, will it have a noticeable effect on the number of
> apps I can run simultaneously, or the speed at which things go? How much
> does memory matter here?

As long as you have "enough", more RAM does not make a difference.
Under that point, it gets very slow.

I do bioinformatics work, and I find 1G just about perfect for my
TiBook/667. 768 probably would have worked, and 512 was not enough once
I started using Eclipse for Java development.

> 2) devices: do most things now work well with OSX? I'm thinking of devices
> like USB printers, scanners, firewire hard drives, etc. I heard a while back
> that there were not good drivers for some peripherals; has this been
> generally fixed?

Yep. I have had no problem getting devices that worked. Be warned, you
might need to get current devices - I replacetd a Wacom tablet and an
all-in-one device. (I am using a HP PSC 700, and am very happy with it
both as a scanner and a color printer. The copy function is nice too.)

> 3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now? For
> example, is there some other new release/model right around the corner which
> is supposed to fix known hardware issues/bugs?

They showed up just a month ago, so they are probably not going to be
revved for another six months.

> 4) Panther: should I wait until Panther comes out (supposedly in a few
> weeks) or get the current version and upgrade to it? Any reason to prefer
> the current version of OSX over Panther?

Even after it comes out, many machines will come with Jag installed and
Panther discs in the box. I would probably buy it now, in your shoes,
as the $20 is not that much.

> 5) Is it true that these machines will not dual-boot OS9? Is there no way to
> run OS9 on any of the new hardware ever again?

You can run OS 9 apps in Classic, which I do a fair amount of the time.
I do it less now than I did a year ago. You will likely not miss OS 9,
if you are up for what X provides.

> 6) is it possible to run OS9 applications on OSX? For example, if I download
> or buy some OS9 app (or use one of the many which I have) with its own
> installer, will it work ok on OSX?

Yes - in my experience, better than with pure OS 9. There are
exceptions - VPC did not work until they came out with an OS X version,
and the Battlefront games do not work either. Their new engine will be
X native, at which time I will start buying their games.

Maple, my old version of Mathematica, various games, and the like have
worked just fine.

> 7) what are the benefits of native OSX apps? That is, some applications are
> advertised as "native OSX". Does this have any serious implications? For
> example, if I own a version of a piece of software which worked well on OS9
> and I don't need any extra new features, is there any reason to spend the
> money for the latest OSX version? What benefits are there?

The big benefit is integration. OS X native apps usually run in less
memory, and understand system resources. Also, if you have no Classic
apps running, then you do not run OS 9 at all, saving another 128M of
RAM.

In addition, when they updates to OS X, they also likely made other
improvements. I know that Office X works much better than Office 9 ever
did for me. It still has problems, but I have Excel open every day for
at least a few minutes, and it rarely fails.

Further, native OS X apps can add to and use things in the services
menu, so you can select text, look it up in a thesaurus, and email the
result with a few menu selections.

In other words, it is probably worth upgrading daily use apps, but not
worth upgrading something you use only once a month.

> 8) how's the battery life on the 17" laptop? Is it the same battery (can I
> swap) as on the old titanium powerbooks?

Can't answer, but I believe it is a different battery from a 15"

> 9) I think it's available with hard drives of different speeds (5200 rpm and
> 7200 rpm or something like that). Any reason not to get the faster drive
> (battery life, heat, etc.)?

Not in my experience. I swapped a 5400 for a 4200 drive when the 5400
died, and I did not see a difference in heat and life.

> 10) lastly, what disk software is useful for monitoring and preventing file
> system corruption? DiskWarrior, Norton, or Techtools - which if any are
> useful on the unix-like file system and won't screw it up?

I have Drive 10 and Disk Warrior, and will pick up Tech Tool when next I
have a disk failure. Others I know just make daily effective backups,
and do not worry about it.

Scott

Is there any way to know I'm getting a Rev. B and not an older one which has
been sitting in the warehouse? I'm getting it from a place called zones.com;
how do I check which revision they sent me?

Mike

in article p-lefebvre-5249C9.18593810102003@reader1.news.rcn.net, Phil
Lefebvre at p-lefebvre@GOnorthwestern.edu wrote on 10/10/03 7:59 PM:

> In article <BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net>, Mike Levin wrote:

>> 3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now?

> It was recently updated to Rev B. There is no better time to buy.

In article <BBAD6908.1812B%mlevin77@comcast.net>,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

> Is there any way to know I'm getting a Rev. B and not an older one which has
> been sitting in the warehouse? I'm getting it from a place called zones.com;
> how do I check which revision they sent me?

The new one is 1.33GHz, the old is 1.0GHz.

KeS

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 00:35:33 GMT,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net>, in
<BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

+> platform. I looking forward to it, loving my Mac (I am fairly knowledgeable
+> about OS9 and its subtleties), and also being an old Unix sysadmin from
+> years back. So I'm pretty excited to have the combination of Mac
+> hardware/interface, on top of the Unix-based OS.

Oh, you should enjoy the heck out of it, then. The only times I get to
play with OS X is when I go visit my Mom. I'm at a point where I want
a new computer, and I'm thinking laptop *and* Powerbook.

+> I'm now leaning towards the 17" 1.3 GHz powerbook.

Why the 17" and not the 1.25Ghz 15"? as I see it, the 15" packs just
as much wallop, but weighs less. Ok, you give up some screen
resolution with that weight loss, but personally I'm not convinced
that's a bad trade.

+> 1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX?

More is better than less. What's the biggest memory hog you'll want to
run?

+> 2) devices: do most things now work well with OSX? I'm thinking of devices
+> like USB printers, scanners, firewire hard drives, etc.

From what I've seen of the printer situation, the support is there, or
can be had from the Open Source crowd. CUPS is a godsend. External
drives *should* follow the relevant specification, and thus not need a
seperate driver. IMHO any drive that doesn't follow the spec is broken
and defective.

As far as scanners go, I've had good service with SANE (Scanner Access
Now Easy). http://www.sane-project.org/sane-support.html shows
complete Mac OS X (10.2.6) support.

+> I heard a while back that there were not good drivers for some
+> peripherals; has this been generally fixed?

I think a lot of the older peripherals didn't get updated drivers. :-\
My Mom *just* got her HP Deskjet 697c going. This after two years of
NOT having any support for it, and HP writting that printer off for
OS X.

+> 3) basic hardware: is there any reason not to buy the 17" laptop now? For
+> example, is there some other new release/model right around the corner which
+> is supposed to fix known hardware issues/bugs?

I had the same concern, but historically, Apple rolls out their new
offerings more slowly than in the PC world. So, I don't think we'll
see a new powerbook release in January.

+> 7) what are the benefits of native OSX apps? That is, some applications are
+> advertised as "native OSX". Does this have any serious
+> implications?

Yes. A crashing or misbehaved application is unlikely to take out OS
X.

+> 10) lastly, what disk software is useful for monitoring and preventing file
+> system corruption? DiskWarrior, Norton, or Techtools - which if any are
+> useful on the unix-like file system and won't screw it up?

Ummm...so far as I know, you get an HFS+ filesystem. I'm not sure
where that fits on the spectrum of file systems.

James
--
Consulting Minister for Consultants, DNRC
I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow
isn't looking good, either.
I am BOFH. Resistance is futile. Your network will be assimilated.

in article slrnbolluc.vdj.sy_nttvr@gurcragntba.pbz, I R A Darth Aggie at
sy_nttvr@gurcragntba.pbz wrote on 10/13/03 12:50 PM:

> On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 00:35:33 GMT,
> Mike Levin, in <BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

> +> I'm now leaning towards the 17" 1.3 GHz powerbook.

> Why the 17" and not the 1.25Ghz 15"? as I see it, the 15" packs just
> as much wallop, but weighs less. Ok, you give up some screen
> resolution with that weight loss, but personally I'm not convinced
> that's a bad trade.

I was thinking this way also. But in the end, I decided that this computer
would not really leave the house (only go upstairs/downstairs/porch/yard),
so weight would not be a huge deal, and the extra screen real estate would
be very useful (I often write papers with lots of graphics open at the same
time, + endnote, + web searches, etc.).

> +> 1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX?

> More is better than less. What's the biggest memory hog you'll want to
> run?

good question. Photoshop? Browsers, Virtual PC, Microsoft Office
(Powerpoint especially), etc.

Mike

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 00:22:03 GMT,
Mike Levin <mlevin77@comcast.net>, in
<BBB0B9F1.18715%mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:
+> in article slrnbolluc.vdj.sy_nttvr@gurcragntba.pbz, I R A Darth Aggie at
+> sy_nttvr@gurcragntba.pbz wrote on 10/13/03 12:50 PM:
+>
+> > On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 00:35:33 GMT,
+> > Mike Levin, in <BBAB7711.17E0B%mlevin77@comcast.net> wrote:

+> > +> 1) what is the relationship between memory and performance in OSX?
+>
+> > More is better than less. What's the biggest memory hog you'll want to
+> > run?

+> good question. Photoshop? Browsers, Virtual PC, Microsoft Office
+> (Powerpoint especially), etc.

Ah, Virtual PC should be your target, then. You'll probably be able to
use a gig.

Speaking of virtual pc's, has anyone gotten bochs running?

James
--
Consulting Minister for Consultants, DNRC
I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow
isn't looking good, either.
I am BOFH. Resistance is futile. Your network will be assimilated.

sy_nttvr@gurcragntba.pbz (I R A Darth Aggie) writes:
[...]
> I had the same concern, but historically, Apple rolls out their new
> offerings more slowly than in the PC world. So, I don't think we'll
> see a new powerbook release in January.
[...]

It will be announced in January, it will ship in... :>

P.S. How many people know enough to ROT13 to get your e-mail address?

--
David Magda <dmagda at ee.ryerson.ca>, http://www.magda.ca/
Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under
the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well
under the new. -- Niccolo Machiavelli, _The Prince_, Chapter VI

Make sure that there is an OS X version of whatever app you're using to
control your microscope. OS 9 camera drivers won't work under OS X.
What kind of camera and microscope are you using?

-Jeff