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AssassyN · Mar 18, 2003, 08:25 PM

AWEEEEEESOME!!!!! I just got home from my girl's softball game to find out people actually HAVE 17" PBs!!!! Thanks for posting, great to hear you've got one!!!!!! Enjoy it!

skyman · Mar 18, 2003, 08:40 PM

Congrats. I know how you feel. Opening my new 1GHz Ti Super Drive PowerBook was a lot of fun and it has turned out to be a great computer.

I sold my PISMO on eBay. Bye Bye to a great PowerBook. I got 3+ years of great use out of my trusty PISMO!

VIVA LA PISMO!

Patcarla · 09:00 PM

Originally posted by skyman:
Congrats. I know how you feel. Opening my new 1GHz Ti Super Drive PowerBook was a lot of fun and it has turned out to be a great computer.

I sold my PISMO on eBay. Bye Bye to a great PowerBook. I got 3+ years of great use out of my trusty PISMO!

VIVA LA PISMO!

Yep..I know what you.

Just replaced my PB G3 2 month ago..
How long are you planning to keep your Tibook? It seems that the turn-over is pretty fast for a lot of people in this forum..

DVD Plaza · Mar 18, 2003, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by spathi:
I know i can't wait myself! anyone have a guestimate for oz? Last time i contacted my reseller they said they honestly didnt know when they would receive stock, but would let me know when. (That was about a week ago).

I've been phoning my Adelaide AppleCentre as well as a few other Apple stores ever since I made my order within 24 hours of the announcement - first I was told mid February, then end of February, and then mid-March. Whilst I was in Sydney last week I popped into an Apple Store there and they said two weeks, which would be end of March, and I phoned my Apple Centre again last night and they reckon end of March as well. Who bloody knows...

Hate to think how many potential switchers, awed and lured by the 17" PowerBook ads, have simply walked away in a fit of hysterics... as if you'd defect to a platform that can't even work out when it is going to supply you with a product.

BrettOZ · Mar 18, 2003, 09:02 PM

Hey Chris

I guess you are looking forward to a new 17" to atch all those DVDs on

Seriously though, I had a friend who was VERY interested in the 12" PB and when he found out the delay for delivery (not too mention the uncertainty) he certainly did not switch :-( there goes one potential and I am sure there is more out there!

kmingis · Mar 18, 2003, 09:40 PM

Okay folks a quick and dirty series of pix of my new Powerbook 17 is now on my site. Enjoy Ken's happiness! Check out a close-up of the Powerbook hinge! Compare and contrast with the PB 12! And oooh and aaah over the IN-THE-DARK shot of the lit keys!
Here's the link: http://www.kenmingis.com/Powerbook1.html

erichen · Mar 18, 2003, 09:42 PM

Ken~

You look like a proud & happy father holding his newborn baby.......congrat! and thanks for sharing the pics!

~Eric

http://homepage.mac.com/erichen

skyman · Mar 18, 2003, 09:46 PM

Originally posted by Patcarla:
Yep..I know what you. Just replaced my PB G3 2 month ago..
How long are you planning to keep your Tibook? It seems that the turn-over is pretty fast for a lot of people in this forum..

My new 1GHz Ti is more computer than I will ever need. Hummmmm........................................... .I think I said the same exact thing about my PISMO!

exodar · Mar 18, 2003, 09:53 PM

Originally posted by kmingis:
Okay folks a quick and dirty series of pix of my new Powerbook 17 is now on my site. Enjoy Ken's happiness! Check out a close-up of the Powerbook hinge! Compare and contrast with the PB 12! And oooh and aaah over the IN-THE-DARK shot of the lit keys!
Here's the link: http://www.kenmingis.com/Powerbook1.html

Thanks for the pics Ken!! Special thank you for the close-up of the hinge and the lit keyboard. It is definitely confirmed that the keys are definitely more white than they appear on apple.com.

Awesome job man. Now use the heck out of that bad boy and give us a good review.

escher · Mar 18, 2003, 09:54 PM

Originally posted by kmingis:
Okay folks a quick and dirty series of pix of my new Powerbook 17 is now on my site.

Rock 'n Roll, Ken! Your tall build may make the 17-inch PowerBook look relatively small. But when I saw one in the window at my local Apple Store, the 17-inch was a lot smaller than I expected. As I see it, the 17-inch PowerBook is to the 15-inch PowerBook as the 14" iBook is to the 12" iBook. Love the comparison pic with you holding the 12-inch and the 17-inch at the same time. Yowza!

Thanks again for the pictures and live reports!

Escher

Jacket · Mar 18, 2003, 10:26 PM

I want my PB17!!!! Now!!!! argggg...

I can stand this PC anymore.

I have an image of the PB17's keyboard as my wallpaper - a constant reminder of my soon-to-be prize.

If anyone who's visited my website (which is linked in my signature) there's a banner graphic on there where I use the image of the keyboard. Not a big deal, but a cute little thing I decided to do last night. My site is not about Mac or any computer stuff, it's a politically oriented site, so if any of you Macsters are into that, you might enjoy my site for it's content too.

donny31 · Mar 18, 2003, 10:45 PM

Originally posted by kmingis:
Okay folks a quick and dirty series of pix of my new Powerbook 17 is now on my site. Enjoy Ken's happiness! Check out a close-up of the Powerbook hinge! Compare and contrast with the PB 12! And oooh and aaah over the IN-THE-DARK shot of the lit keys!
Here's the link: http://www.kenmingis.com/Powerbook1.html

Thanks for letting us into your life like that --we have been waiting for the pics for sooooo long and you came through big!! awesome =-- Quick question for yo though --do you use your cinema display with you PB only or do you have a tower? Im interested in getting a cinema display for my desktop.

AssassyN · Mar 18, 2003, 10:58 PM

You are one VERY cool man...I bet your kids & family adore you

I think I've just found a role-model

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 01:07 AM

First, folks, thanks for the kind words. I really, really wanted to share this day with everyone who, like me, has been waiting for their PB 17. Having you here to enjoy the moment has made this the most special of days. This community is awesome!!!!
To answer a couple of questions, the cinema display is attached to a desktop (the older 1.25GHz dualie). To be honest though, this thing really competes with it. This is one hunk of a computer!!!! It really is much more of a portable desktop than a true laptop. For me, that's perfect, I tend to surf and work on projects from the couch, the porch, outside in the swing, etc. The PB 12 that I got in a fit of impatience a month ago is really much, much better suited to travel. And it's so dang cute I'm going to have a hard time selling it.
As for the PB 17, I'm looking to max out the RAM this week and see what, if any difference it makes in performance. Don't get me wrong--I have NO complaints. I also need to find a bag to carry it in.
I did notice when it comes to using the illuminated keyboard that you have to turn the brightness on it up the first time. I took it into a dark room and it was barely obvious that the keys were lit. Then I upped the brightness using the F10 key and it worked perfectly. I read somewhere else that the first batch of 150 or so of these were hand checked to make sure they didn't show any of the problems some of the PB 12s did. Sounds like a Mac-Urban legend to me. But I'll tell ya, this one at least sure acts like one that's been given a thorough going-over!!!!
Now, if my tax refund will just show up before the credit card bill does, I'll be a happy camper. :-)

vmarks · Mar 19, 2003, 01:30 AM

Originally posted by kmingis:
Hi exodar. As best I can tell, there are no dead pixels on the 17. I'm about to take pix of it and the PB 12 side by side. I'll also *try* to get pix of the keyboard in the dark. I'mm not sure how they'll show up though.
Links with pix to come shortly.

http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/10793

Pixel Check is a program which helps you spot dead or stuck pixels by rotating through red, green, blue, black, and white.

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 01:49 AM

Thanks for the link to Pixelcheck. I ran it through all of the colors, plus black and white. None that I could spot. And with that, it's time for Hammerhead to go to sleep. And me too. :-)

SummitWynds · Mar 19, 2003, 07:21 AM

Ken,
Thanks for the photos. Enjoy your new computer. You might want to try Timbuk2 for a sleeve. I had gotten one there for my Ti, and recently ordered another for my soon awaited 17 PB.

milhous · Mar 19, 2003, 01:37 PM

Ken:

Have fun with your new PB. I was surprised to see that you're the online editor of computerworld. I've been reading the print edition for a while and it's a good publication. Keep up the good work.

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 01:47 PM

Hi milhous. Thanks on the reference to Computerworld. I've been leading the charge to bolster our coverage of Apple and Macs in the workplace and we've beefed up our Computerworld Mac page and even begun a bi-weekly newsletter. <shameless plug>My sense is that Apple is slowly encroaching on corporate IT and we (Computerworld) want to cover it as it happens. In fact I plan to post a review of the PB 17 in a day or so on our mac page.</shamelessplug>
Page link if you're interested: http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/macos/

Karim · Mar 19, 2003, 02:01 PM

Congratulations guys!

I found out something on mine that is contrary to the published specs. It will write CD's at 16x instead of Apple's specsheet that says only 8x.

See if your drives are capable of that too.

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 02:05 PM

Karim, I saw your post on this same issue and I'm planning to check it tonight. Have you burned a DVD yet? Just wondering about that 2X speed initally touted by Apple....

Jacket · Mar 19, 2003, 02:06 PM

Originally posted by Karim:
Congratulations guys!

I found out something on mine that is contrary to the published specs. It will write CD's at 16x instead of Apple's specsheet that says only 8x.

See if your drives are capable of that too.

16x... does it say 16x but it really burns at 8x?
on my current PC[rap] the burner/software would say it was burning at at one speed, but if you actually noticed the burn time it would actually be a slower speed.

can you confirm that it is genuinely 16x and not 8x? Not that I don't trust your ability to assess the speed, but sometimes the too-good-to-be-true is just that.

I would also like to see this verified by other PB17 users.

Karim · Mar 19, 2003, 02:21 PM

Actually I burned a short disk and didn't really pay attention to the actual time. I have never seen a Mac lie about burn speed.

But, I'm going to write a full audio CD now and check the total time.

Karim · Mar 19, 2003, 02:22 PM

It is confirmed a 73 minute CD is being burned in only 4 minutes. Thats 16x.

macananda · Mar 19, 2003, 02:56 PM

Originally posted by kmingis:
Eug, I just looked again. The Rev number is: DWDB. Hope this helps. Oh, and for anyone who wants to see the silly pic of me with the box in my hand at the Apple store it's here: http://www.kenmingis.com/kenpowerbook.jpg
If I could crop myself out, I would, but at least you know it's real. :-) Close-ups of the Powerbook opening to come once my co-worker downloads them, which hopefully will be soon. ken

LOL, Ken, I don't think you could smile any more proudly if you were showing off your own human baby...

God, we macheads are such a strange bunch... it scares me sometimes.

JMZ

Jacket · Mar 19, 2003, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by Karim:
It is confirmed a 73 minute CD is being burned in only 4 minutes. Thats 16x.

Beautiful news Karim.. Now we need a few other people to confirm that theirs burn at 16x as well, and then we'll all be happy to know that we all can expect 16x CDR burning speed...!!!

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 03:18 PM

Macananda, I've bought plenty of Macs in my day, but this was definitely the sweetest one of them all. I think I smiled in my sleep last night! LOL

Jacket · Mar 19, 2003, 03:24 PM

this reminds me...

one of worries about the PB17 is that the anticipation of getting it will exceed the joy of having it after a couple weeks.. You know the novelty wears off cuz once you get accustomed to it it'll just be like another computer to you... I'm curious to know how people feel about their PB17s after having for a week or two and if the glory and excitement of it still exists....

not that i suspect it will, but things like that happen when you get new toys like that..

SummitWynds · Mar 19, 2003, 03:34 PM

I doubt it will wear off. I was sad to see both my powerbooks (Ti 400 and then Ti GHZ). I gave the 400 to my son so at least I still get to see it.

No honestly, I never got tired of those 2 computers. Just looking at a mac, even for years... they are beautiful.

Flowbee · Mar 19, 2003, 03:39 PM

If the novelty starts wearing off, just pack it up and take it to Starbucks (or your locally-owned coffee shop) and watch the reactions. That should remind you just how cool a computer you have!

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 03:45 PM

I can't imagine the novelty wearing off anytime soon. I have a Powerbook 12 that I picked up while waiting for the 17s to come out, and I'm as tickled today as I was when I got it--more so even, now that I know what a finely-crafted piece of hardware it is. There's something about Macs, I think, that goes beyond the real-world dimensions and specs that make up the machine. I'll probably wind up selling the Powerbook 12, but I find it hard to imagine letting it go after just a few weeks. I think I'd feel the same way in six months or a year or more--even if the replacement is as grand as the new 17.

SummitWynds · Mar 19, 2003, 03:52 PM

If I could, I would get a mac of every variety. They all have their purposes and beautiful aspects. I guess that is why I bought my hubby an iMac (G4) when they came out, and before that I bought my daughter an iBook (the ice variety). I couldn't part with the Ti400, so I gave that to my son. I guess you could call me hooked!

nagromme · Mar 19, 2003, 06:29 PM

Is the hinge "counterweighted" with a spring as I have heard? Does the hinge take some of the weight of the display off making it easier to open? Or does it simply open it a little at first and then you're on your own?

Is this different from how the 12" model opens?

Agent69 · Mar 19, 2003, 07:37 PM

Originally posted by SummitWynds:
If I could, I would get a mac of every variety.

There's a name for a person like that: Murbot

kmingis · Mar 19, 2003, 07:56 PM

Hi nagromme! I don't know if it's actually counterbalanced or just smooth. The screen takes very little effort to open after the initial spring opening. I guess you could say it's very fluid.

bbales · Mar 19, 2003, 08:49 PM

Jacket said: [[This reminds me...

one of worries about the PB17 is that the anticipation of getting it will exceed the joy of having it after a couple weeks.. You know the novelty wears off cuz once you get accustomed to it it'll just be like another computer to you... I'm curious to know how people feel about their PB17s after having for a week or two and if the glory and excitement of it still exists....

not that i suspect it will, but things like that happen when you get new toys like that..]]

I got my 12-in PB 5 weeks ago (tomorrow) and while it's true there's NOTHING like the anticipation I had before it got here, I still really, really like it. It's a great little computer; i have to fight my kids for it when they're home from school (have AEBS, too) and it has really improved my life be giving me mobility and the freedom to cook dinner, say, and take care of business at the same time.

Boy, those 17-in PBs look nice!

Enjoy, everyone.

__________________

AssassyN · Mar 19, 2003, 09:40 PM

Wow, I reallly hope all 17" PB's will burn at 16x...and are you guys using the iTunes burner, b/c I don't have Roxio Toast.