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laseca · Apr 25, 2003, 12:18 PM

FYI:
The ScreenSavers on TechTV will be focusing on Powerbooks today, all of them. Here's a quote from the newsletter I received. Check your local listings.

"Anyway, things are cooling down a little tonight with some slick little numbers we like to call PowerBooks! Yessir, it's a Mac Madness day and we'll be showcasing the very best (and worst) of the latest 12, 15, and 17" PowerBooks Apple has to offer! It's gonna be insane in the membrane!"

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/

chrisutley · Apr 25, 2003, 12:34 PM

Too bad the guy doing the review (Brett Larson) either doesn't know much about Macs, or just does bad reviews.

I'm on the road but I hope my TiVo records it anyway, if just to see some more video of the 17".

SOLIDAge · Apr 25, 2003, 01:12 PM

its sad because both patrick and leo use Powerbooks, and yet their stuck on a show fixing stupid PC problems....i'm sure Patrick and Leo won't review them...they'll leave it to that retarded brain surgeon meg who couldn't even mount a DMG file last time she delt w/ OSX

pjmurphy · Apr 25, 2003, 01:36 PM

Originally posted by solidage:
its sad because both patrick and leo use Powerbooks, and yet their stuck on a show fixing stupid PC problems....i'm sure Patrick and Leo won't review them...they'll leave it to that retarded brain surgeon meg who couldn't even mount a DMG file last time she delt w/ OSX

I know Leo uses an iBook during the show and Patrick was using one as well for awhile (as a test) but it looks like he switched back to a peecee?

anyone else confirm this?

parsec_kadets · Apr 25, 2003, 04:23 PM

Originally posted by chrisutley:
Too bad the guy doing the review (Brett Larson) either doesn't know much about Macs, or just does bad reviews.

I'm on the road but I hope my TiVo records it anyway, if just to see some more video of the 17".

I think Brett Larson just does bad reviews. I'm pretty sure he's one of the biggest Mac guys there. However, his review on Fresh Gear was just a rehash of the specs of the machine and a bunch of people saying "Oh my god! It's so big." If that's all I wanted I could have just gone down to the local high school and gone to www.apple.com/powerbook on one of their computers. His review of the new ThinkPad last night was just as bad too.

chrisutley · Apr 25, 2003, 10:02 PM

Norton's iBook was a loaner from Apple. He didn't seem too sure if he liked the idea os switching back to Mac (he was a Mac user). He complains about Apple prices more than anything.

If Apple had "forgot" to ask for the iBook back, I'm guessing they would have continued to have two iBooks in the faces of thousands of PC users every single night. That's smarts for you...

badnewsblair · Apr 26, 2003, 12:15 AM

Bret Larson is a F*ing moron anyway. I was so pissed when I found out he was going to do the reviews. I knew they wouldn't be anything substantial anyways because the show is very peecee oriented (though it is the most Mac friendly show of its kind). But I would have loved for Leo to do the review. Even Patrick would have done all three machines justice. But that Larson is such a dork! Let one of US on MacNN do the review! Heheheh, though I doubt they'd have enough time for one of OUR reviews!

webb3201 · Apr 26, 2003, 09:49 AM

I am always dissappointed in Larson's reviews of Macs. He is a MacUser with a Mac pedigree (from Macworld I think), who does such cursory work on reviews that it compels no one to check out the products.

The basics I took from the pieces on Screen Savers and Fresh Gear:
1. Its big, but great screen real estate(duh)
2. Its Aluminum which means it easily dents (he dropped his).
3. Its expensive
4. Lighted keyboard

Before mentioning the price, at least touch on the Firewire 800, Bluetooth, DVDr, etc.

Has he ever talked about Apps?

I think TechTV (Leo) actually does a good job on covering Macs. They routinely have segments on Screen Savers covering OSX.

joe · Apr 26, 2003, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by badnewsblair:
Bret Larson is a F*ing moron anyway. I was so pissed when I found out he was going to do the reviews.

No he's not! The guy's a genuine Mac fanatic but he can't simply do a gushing review without loosing credibility with the PC crowd. And like it or not, some potential customers look at things like price, durablity, etc (like my boss). Apple has new iBooks to address those concerned with lower price points and possible dents. While I agree Brett's reviews could be more thourough. Time restrictions probably prevent him from going into greater detail. If you don't like his reviews, you may want to send some contructive criticism his way - like maybe some aspect you'd like to see him address in his next review?

BTW - while I own/use Macs at home (G4 Tower and Cube), I use a notebook PC at the office. I'm trying to convince my boss to allow me to get an Apple notebook (and VirtualPC/RealPC) as my next computer. In my line of work I use a notebook PC to directly connect to mechanical equipment using proprietary cabling and software. Durability and price are obvious concerns since these systems are located in harsh environments (mechanical rooms, ceilings, rooftops, etc) and my boss doesn't want to spend money. Personally I'd prefer the new 12" PB. It's small enough to work with anywhere and not too pricey. But I may end up with a 12" iBook - assuming I can even pull this off!.....joe

chrisutley · Apr 26, 2003, 10:49 PM

Larson is an idiot plain and simple, either that or he cannot transfer his knowledge to the realm of TV.

His "review" was worthless. When Leo asked about the iBooks compared to the PowerBooks he was all, "Oh yeah, not even close..." Well guess what? The 900MHz iBook is very close to the 867MHz PB, if not faster at many tasks.

The rest of the review was like, "Ohhh, the 17" is just too big..." I was surprised that Leo didn't steer things in the right direction, but it was really just a waste of time. So Larson got a 17" PB to play with for a few weeks, and that was the output of that experience. Simply pathetic.

badnewsblair · Apr 26, 2003, 10:52 PM

Originally posted by chrisutley:
Larson is an idiot plain and simple, either that or he cannot transfer his knowledge to the realm of TV.

His "review" was worthless. When Leo asked about the iBooks compared to the PowerBooks he was all, "Oh yeah, not even close..." Well guess what? The 900MHz iBook is very close to the 867MHz PB, if not faster at many tasks.

The rest of the review was like, "Ohhh, the 17" is just too big..." I was surprised that Leo didn't steer things in the right direction, but it was really just a waste of time. So Larson got a 17" PB to play with for a few weeks, and that was the output of that experience. Simply pathetic.

Couldn't have said it best. It was simply rediculous, worthless, pathetic. He's had those Powerbooks for how many weeks reviewing them? I htink it was 4 or so. And he gets paid to say, "The 17" is too big". Man, must be nice to get free computers and get paid a salary to do crappy work like Larson. Great reporting Brett... thanks a million. Your review has really made me see the light!

parsec_kadets · Apr 27, 2003, 12:56 PM

Originally posted by joe:
No he's not! The guy's a genuine Mac fanatic but he can't simply do a gushing review without loosing credibility with the PC crowd. And like it or not, some potential customers look at things like price, durablity, etc (like my boss). Apple has new iBooks to address those concerned with lower price points and possible dents. While I agree Brett's reviews could be more thourough. Time restrictions probably prevent him from going into greater detail. If you don't like his reviews, you may want to send some contructive criticism his way - like maybe some aspect you'd like to see him address in his next review?

BTW - while I own/use Macs at home (G4 Tower and Cube), I use a notebook PC at the office. I'm trying to convince my boss to allow me to get an Apple notebook (and VirtualPC/RealPC) as my next computer. In my line of work I use a notebook PC to directly connect to mechanical equipment using proprietary cabling and software. Durability and price are obvious concerns since these systems are located in harsh environments (mechanical rooms, ceilings, rooftops, etc) and my boss doesn't want to spend money. Personally I'd prefer the new 12" PB. It's small enough to work with anywhere and not too pricey. But I may end up with a 12" iBook - assuming I can even pull this off!.....joe

I don't care if he's a genuine Mac fanatic or not. I could have gone to www.apple.com/powerbook and gotten the exact same information that Larson gave. A review is supposed to be more than a rehash of the specs and saying "it's so big." No

it's big. That's the entire point. Tell me more. I want to know if HE thinks the processor is fast enough, or whether it was a good idea to switch to NVidia. They have an entire lab to test suff in, why didn't he take advantage of that? Perhaps he did, but he sure didn't make that evident.