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badnewsblair · Feb 16, 2003, 02:17 AM

Sorry, for the brevity of my last post. I couldn't do it justice with the amount of time I had. First let me say that the screen is just impressive. The whole thing is massive, but besides that, the screen is a bit different from the other Powerbooks (maybe not the 12", I didn't get the chance to really inspect the screen of the 12"). On the 17" there seems to be a coating on the screen. If you look at the 15" the screen seems to have the same texture (its smooth, but has a texture to it) as most other apple displays, but the 17" screen is a lot more reflective. It is a lot lot sheer glass. Fingerprints still smear, but your finger doesn't leave as much as an indention in the screen. Maybe its a stronger coating than the 15". Also, the screen is easy to move.

Those of you who have used the 15" and have had that bending feeling when you open you PB from one side will love to hear that I could actually open up the 17" with one finger! The screen openned effortlessly and the base didn't even budge.

The auto sensing is impressive as well, but the backlit keys aren't as bright as I imagined. They also aren't purple as Apple likes to show on their site. The back light is white for the keys. You can manage the brightness of the keys just like you would with the volume with the keys at the top, but you cannot do this unless it is dark and the screen has gone down. I suppose they do that to increase battery life so you don't accidentally leave the backlight on.

The size of the 17" really is the most impressive. The Aluminum is SO much better than the Titanium. I was skeptical after seeing the 12" with the texture it had (brushed metal), but the it seems to work really well with the 17". Just imagine it as a lighter titanium. The 17" is also incredibly light. It wasn't heavy at all and those worried about lugging it around shall rest assured now. After getting back from the store, I compared the weight to my girlfriend's 14" Dell Inspiron 2650. The Dell is so much heavier than the 17". Honestly, its amazing just how light it is.

The speakers were much improved as well. My friend has a 15" and though impressive for how small they are (and compared to other PEECEE laptop speakers), they still have that "in a tunnel" sound. The 12" sounds great with the sound reflecting off the screen. The 17" speakers are much much louder than the 15" and the 12". Though the sound is better, it "isn't ground breaking" as my friend says. I just say its not its selling point, but I am fine with it. When my 17" finally comes in, I'm pairing it with some Silver JBL Creature Speakers, so that doesn't matter much to me anyway. I'm still in awe at how light the thing was! (had to mention that again).

Speed was also noticable! I don't know too much yet about which programs tax the system the most in Macs (refer to my last post, I'm sort of a "switcher"), but my friend that worked there told me that out of the iLife suite (which is included), iDVD or iMovie would cause a 15" to be a bit sluggish. I can honestly tell you that iDVD opened in 3 bounces and iMovie in 3 bounces and opened all of its view-ports in less than 10 seconds.

I finally got my proof of order and it says 5 - 7 weeks which puts the arrival of my personal 17" in around the end of March or early April, which gives me about 3 - 4 weeks to play with it until I graduate. If anyone else has any questions about it, I'll be happy to answer them if I haven't already (I tried to make this as descroptive as possible... it was truly a remarkable machine!).
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(Soon to be 'Proud owner of a 17" Powerbook', my first... may it not be my last!)

Sakino · Feb 16, 2003, 02:49 AM

Would you carry it around with you on a regular basis? To class, to the library?
I plan on taking a laptop with me everywhere I go, and was wondering if you felt alright to be carrying it around constantly?

badnewsblair · Feb 16, 2003, 03:02 AM

I wouldn't mind if I had the right carrying case (messenger bag or full on backpack). At the time I was at the Apple store, the employees were all griping about how they didn't sell ANY case that could fit the 17". I know waterfield and a few other major bag sellers are coming out with a full line of 17" carrying cases so that shouldn't be a problem. So my answer would be no to the carrying it around. It feels so SOLID! The problem I would say would be pulling the thing out and plopping it out on a desk. I know from the college class rooms I've been in in my years in college, that it wouldn't neccessarily be the best fit for a desk. Personally it will be replacing my deskstop's space (yes, in the space that WAS my keyboad and my 17" PEECEE monitor will be the 17"... and it will barely fit I'm sure). But it is worth it. So I hope that answered your question. If you need any other questions answered let me know.

Sakino · Feb 16, 2003, 03:06 AM

Also for got to add, how is the battery life? I heard that battery live doesnt go beyond 2-2.5 hours is this true?

badnewsblair · Feb 16, 2003, 04:12 AM

Not sure on the battery life. I can't say for sure because I only had to play with it for an hour, but it was running on battery and I got to play Toy Story and run a few programs and upon leaving it I still had way over half of my battery life. So that leads me to beleive its not as bad as 2 hours. Frankly, 2 to 2.5 hours will do me fine I would say. But I know what you're saying.

I'd like to add one more thing. The sensors for the backlight and screen are in the speaker grills to the left and right of the keyboard. So I could force the 17" to go into "low light" mode by placing my hands over the grills. Its really quite smooth and amazing. Also, to see the back light on the keys better, my friend who was showing this to me put his jacket over my head and the 17". A little "peep show" sorta... it was funny, but with how bright it is in the Apple store, you cannot see the white backlight unless it is really dark.

Keep it coming.

k2director · Feb 16, 2003, 05:06 AM

I saw the 17" machine at Apple's superstore in LA (at The Grove).

Quick impressions:

Screen is quite nice. Feels bigger than the resolution suggests, somehow.

Damn, it's slim. Surprisingly easy to pick up in one hand, due to wider weight distribution I guess??

Opening and closing the screen is very easy.

Energy saver was running on high performance with AC power. There was a little heat coming off the keyboard, which might or not bug me, too early to tell. Definitely didn't have the cool-to-touch feel of a Titanium, but not as warm as a 12" PB.

When I unplugged the AC and switched Energy Saver to Reduced performance, the battery estimate was 2 hours, 50 minutes. Doing the same to a Ti 867 nearby gave an estimate of 3 hours 24 minutes. How accurate either is: who knows!

I like the look/feel of the Aluminum. It's slick.

Man, I do like that screen!

k2director · Feb 16, 2003, 05:09 AM

One more thing: with the machine on AC power at High performance, I literally pressed my ear to the machine, and couldn't hear a trace of a fan. Maybe I was missing it over the noise in the store, but i listened hard.

LosJackal · Feb 16, 2003, 05:37 AM

Originally posted by k2director:
One more thing: with the machine on AC power at High performance, I literally pressed my ear to the machine, and couldn't hear a trace of a fan. Maybe I was missing it over the noise in the store, but i listened hard.

Does The Grove in LA have a model on the floor for customers to touch and use?

South Coast Plaza seems to only have one in the window, and Fashion Island none.

k2director · Feb 16, 2003, 05:54 AM

Yup, it's on display like a regular model. You can stand there and play with it all you like. Enjoy.

badnewsblair · Feb 16, 2003, 03:54 PM

That's really nice. Both stores around where I live only have "working prototypes" and they don't want to put out anything that might not be fully functional. Yeah, one of the most impressive things was how light the thing was. And of course the screen. I could open it fully with one finger. Also, the screen has two latches instead of one. I'm sure that was necessary for this beast. I can't wait until I get mine!

donny31 · Feb 16, 2003, 09:18 PM

Those of you who have used the 15" and have had that bending feeling when you open you PB from one side will love to hear that I could actually open up the 17" with one finger! The screen openned effortlessly and the base didn't even budge.

is the battery the same size as the 15"?

badnewsblair · Feb 16, 2003, 09:24 PM

I am not sure. I got to spend only an hour with it. Of the hour I spent, I ran iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes as well as a little bit of Toy Story off the Superdrive. After I left it, the meter was well over half. My estimation would be that with normal use you'll get 3 hours. Possibly less. Of course, my normal use is different from other people's normal use. If I were to break out and start actually working instead of playing with the 17" (which for me is spending a few hours on MAYA), I'd definitely plug it in. I'm sure it wouldn't last more than 2 hours at high use. I still think thats good though.

Sakino · Feb 17, 2003, 01:07 AM

Originally posted by badnewsblair:
I am not sure. I got to spend only an hour with it. Of the hour I spent, I ran iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes as well as a little bit of Toy Story off the Superdrive. After I left it, the meter was well over half. My estimation would be that with normal use you'll get 3 hours. Possibly less. Of course, my normal use is different from other people's normal use. If I were to break out and start actually working instead of playing with the 17" (which for me is spending a few hours on MAYA), I'd definitely plug it in. I'm sure it wouldn't last more than 2 hours at high use. I still think thats good though.

I for some reason dont feel safe with 2 hours at high use. What does the 15 inch pb bring in for hours at high use?

badnewsblair · Feb 17, 2003, 01:35 AM

I don't know about the 15" but I know its not what Apple says it is of course. I would say 3 hours or so. What are you going to be doing... that is my original point. Even things like production work with Final Cut or Premiere or Photoshopping would not constitute "heavy use". I just know that MAYA will drain a power source (or at least thats what I think). I'm no expert by any means of course as I haven't even used a Mac or regular Powerbook for normal every day use. I'm just telling you what I know about the 17". It seemed to fair pretty well on battery life with what I was doing with it.