[badnewsblair]

You've been waiting X number of months for htis. You've been tracking that FedEx package for days. It's every move has been watched right up to this moment...

You open your eyes. Tired from hardly sleeping the night before. A bowl of Corn Pops and the wait begins. Finally, you hear the stir of a truck engine outside your house. You bolt to the door and open it before the FedEx delivery person even rings the door bell. He looks at you funny, but does his duty and hands over your brand new, hot off the line, 17-inch Powerbook G4!

What do you do? What are your first actions? What programs do you install first? What will be the first thing you do?

(... thought I'd post a fun topic before I head onto Spring Break. I hope those early in line get there Albooks sometime over my break! Make it interesting!)

[John123]

You beg the FedEx driver to take you downtown to the loonybin, because you're a freakin' psycho.

[chrisutley]

Based on the description of the guy in you post I'd advise him to:

1) Cover the new PowerBook with plastic
2) Gather some tissues
3) Repent

[swsteckly]

I will:

Unpack the computer, slowly, taking lots of pictures.

Set out all of the components on my desk.

Boot up.

Play around with the new features, check CD-ROM, make sure everything is working alright, including RAM.

Then the hard part: partitioning the HD, installing everything from CDs and backups.

Two days later: finally start to enjoy the wonderful machine!

[suprz's ghost]

i would walk camly to the door open it and thank the fed ex driver, close the door and then..............dance around the house while screaming at the top of my lungs."WHO DA MAN!!!" afterwards, i would probably open he box and start to play with my new baby

[AssassyN]

Sadly it won't happen like that for me...my dad will get the luxury of seeing mine first, while I'll get the joys of unpacking it after I get home from school...but nonetheless, it'll be one joyous day!

[badnewsblair]

Sort of the same for me. I am at school until early May. And my parents live an hour and a half away. Since it is their graduation present to me, it is going to be shipped to their place. So I won't see it until I have tracked it to their house, or they give me a call with the good news.

However, afterwards I think the rest of my day will go something of a combination of "swsteckly" and "suprz's ghost" reactions!

[smick]

I'd put some Barry White on the stereo, light a few candles, pull out that strawberry-flavored edible massage oil and�

�well, the rest I'll leave to your imagination. Seventeen inches of love. Could anyone ask for more?

--Steve

[ghost_flash]

pee my pants.

[erichen]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by badnewsblair:
.....You bolt to the door and open it before the FedEx delivery person even rings the door bell....

Blair~

Good subject! I like the feeling of waking up early and listen for the engine of the truck.....it's like waiting for Santa Claus when I was a kid! I would check for the 17" PowerBook news first thing each morning.....and before bed! This almost feels like waiting for a unborn child, except this one here no one has any idea of its delivering day!

~Eric
http://homepage.mac.com/erichen

[Flowbee]

I think the first thing *everyone* will do is plug it in and turn out the lights...

[badnewsblair]

"I think the first thing *everyone* will do is plug it in and turn out the lights..."

I'm with Flowbee! When I got to play with the 17-inch, my friend who was working at the Apple store threw his black jacket over my head and the 17-inch so I could see the whole effect. I can attest to it guys... It really is amazing! I'm going to be showing that off first thing when I get mine!

One of the first things I will do is drive back to school, and visit my Mac guru friend and format the harddrive and start the long process of installing programs.

(You're darn right! I totally feel like Christmas is coming!)

[AssassyN]

Yeah definitely, one of the first things I'll do is see how the backlit keyboard "wows" me! I'm deliberately keeping myself from visiting the Southpoint Apple Store until my PB arrives because I want mine to be the first 17" PB I ever lay my hands on.

And come to think of it...if I know exactly what day it'll arrive, I just may skip classes that day...Hmmm!!

[badnewsblair]

I'm definitely skipping classes that day! It will be closer to graduation and class just won't matter). Not to mention that I will have to take a trip to go get mine.

[dur]

... wake up and realise that it's only a dream
... and be jealous of those who can afford a $3000+ machine

[emumu]

Originally posted by badnewsblair:


One of the first things I will do is drive back to school, and visit my Mac guru friend and format the harddrive and start the long process of installing programs.

Why would you re-format your harddrive though? I thought partition would be enough. Sorry I am gonna be a switcher from PC. Are there some problems with the manufacture default OS installation?

[doyouflip]

lick it

[BkueKanoodle]

Originally posted by suprz's ghost:
i would walk camly to the door open it and thank the fed ex driver, close the door and then..............dance around the house while screaming at the top of my lungs."WHO DA MAN!!!" afterwards, i would probably open he box and start to play with my new baby

Uh before you start the Who da man dance, you might want to put the box that the fedex just gave you down.

It sure would suck to be the first person to have to send the 17 inch back to apple cuz they dropped it on the floor during the Who da man Overture.

[AssassyN]

Originally posted by emumu:
Why would you re-format your harddrive though? I thought partition would be enough. Sorry I am gonna be a switcher from PC. Are there some problems with the manufacture default OS installation?

I've asked this before as well, and the main response is that many Mac users prefer installing EVERYTHING themselves so they see exactly what goes on. Plus, many will eliminate excess language installs and printer drivers, etc., to save hard drive space. But with a 40gig+ HD, it really doesn't matter to most.

Probably the biggest reason is because many people like to have partitioned drives available, and it comes from the factory non-partitioned. It's easiest to partition from a format in which no excess programs are already loaded onto the hard drive.

I've concluded from my questioning that unless you're dying to have partitions, or you're a Mac-expert, just don't even bother. There's absolutely nothing wrong or different w/ the way it comes, except it's not partitioned into multiple drives (which I personally like).

[badnewsblair]

Assassyn speaks my language. I might not format my drive. The reason I would be to know exactly what is on my Powerbook. I'm a huge minimalist, and it affects my computer manners as well. I guess I've always done that. Back when I installed Windows XP and even back to Windows 95 (remember, I'm a switcher, the 17" will be my first Mac), I would go into a 'custom install' and take out all the frills and have EXACTLY what I want on my machine. I guess its a control issue too. I dunno, but along with what has been said, I might not format it just for the sake of simplicity.

But I will have to spend a weekend anyway with my friend to learn the basics of OS X, and if he strongly recommends the formatting... I'm with him (I'll learn more about my Powerbook that way anways).

[swsteckly]

Revised: Here's what I'd do:

Night before:
Plug in computer to TV
Watch Keynote webcast
Watch 17" TV commercials
Watch 17" promo vid
Print and bind 17" manual, and read it before bed

I'd try to sleep at least some. If I sleep less than four hours, I'd be too tired to fully enjoy the special day.

Wake up at about 6AM. If I have to do something that day that's important, I'll have it done by 9-10AM. I'll be sitting at my temporary iMac, backing up stuff that's changed since I started using it nearly two months ago. I'll hear a faint rumble outside at least 20 times per hour, and each time I will frantically run to the front window to see if it's the FedEx truck. If it finally is, and I'm not too exhausted from the running, I'll be running out the door before the truck is even stopped, throw open the door, and scream 'Where is it muthaf**ker?!!' over and over again until he gives it to me. I'll run back into the house, hold the box over my head, frantically jump up and down screaming 'Who Da Man!' and 'At last it's mine!' for about 15 minutes.

Surprisingly, I like to take my time opening the box. I'll go and use the restroom, wash my hands, etc. I'll make sure the digital camera is charged, and if it's not, I'll wait for it to do so. I'll set the box prominitely on my desk, while I finish up the file backup, and move the iMac back to it's 'home' in the kitchen. I'll thoroughly clean the area underneath the iMac (I'll have thoroughly straightened up my apartment and dusted everything). I'll get the necessary cables on top of the desk, ready to be plugged in, and straighten everything up that has to do with the computer. When all that is done (probably 30 minutes-1 hour), I'll get a cup of my favorite beverage, and drink it slowly while sitting there looking at the box. I'll think to myself how lucky I am that it has finally come, and how lucky I am to be able to have such a machine anyway. I'll say a little prayer for it's well-being. After that, I'll take a picture of the box from all angles. I'll slowly take the knife from my desk (placed there the night before for just this purpose), and cut the tape on the box. I'll slowly uppack everything, and remove the PowerBook's inner box. I'll check over the receipt to make sure everything is in order, and discard the trash. I'll take a few more pictures of the PowerBook's inner box, from all angles. I'll sit in admiration for a few more minutes. I'll slowly cut the seal on the box, and lift the lid. I'll take a picture of what is just inside the lid. I'll lift the cardboard top cover on the top styrofoam, and take more pictures. I'll slowly and carefully unpack each accessory and manual, and look everything over. I'll skim the manual and all of the documentation, and lay everything neatly on my desk, and probably take a few more pictures. During this time, I'll probably sneak a peek through one of the access holes in the main styrofoam at the silver beauty below. Then, with great anticipation, I'll lift the top styrofoam, revealing the stunning machine. Of course more pictures. I'll go to the restroom again, because I've probably just peed my pants. Then, I'll slowly remove it from it's styrofoam nest, and place it gently on the soft towel laid out for just this purpose. I'll put all of the packing materials back in the box, and move all the unnecessary items out of the way. More pictures. I'll slowly remove the plastic bag from the new 'book. More pictures. I'll look ot over, from all sides, before opening the lid. I'll examine the ports, look at the battery, etc. I'll take pictures from all angles. I might pick it up and walk around the room. Then comes the breathtaking part - opening the lid. I'll depress the button, and 17" of glorious LCD will appear before my eyes. I'm in heaven. I'll remove the protective film from the LCD. I'll play around with the keyboard and get a feel for it. More pictures, of course. I'll plug in the power adapter (prepared earlier), and if everything goes OK, I'll take the first step and press the power button. I'll watch with anticipation as it starts up. I'll do a quick check for defective pixels, with fingers crossed. I'll of course try out the backlit keyboard first. I'll close the shutters and dim the lights, and watch the magic. I of course know how to operate the backlight because of thoroughly reading the manual the night before. I'll sit in admiration a few minutes. My next step will be to insert and CD and check for proper functionality. I'll also click around the system and check for any problems. I'll tinker around with the RAM access panel and inspect how everything goes together. I'll disassemble and check out the HDD if pictorial instructions are posted by the time I receive mine. I am a tinkerer, and I MUST know how everything goes inside that enclousure.

This process has consumed about 2 hours at this point.

I'll set the beauty up on it's CoolPad Podium pedestal, and plug in the cables. I will then start the days-long process of partitioning the HDD and installing my apps from CDs when possible, or from my external HDD backups. I expect this process to take about two full days, going from zero data to normal computer. Lots of stuff to do. After this is over, I'll get to the business of enjoying the new machine, and we'll get used to each other. I wish for a long, happy relationship. I am definitely going to keep this unit longer than most, probably based solely on the fact that I had to wait so incredibly long for it.



Sorry this post got so long. I was just imagining a bit, and lost track of time. This IS what will happen though. It's not made up.

[romeosc]

First take PB out of box ..... drop on floor ...... let dog lick & paw it and then use it .That way you won't drive yourself crazy worring about the first scratch. Its a tool for productivity.

[swsteckly]

OMG. I think I'm going to be sick.

MacMall says any day now.

I have my PowerBook before you do! Ha ha ha!

[badnewsblair]

Damn "swsteckly"!!! Holy crap. You're probably the only one that has thought that out more than me! Note folks, the control... "I'll make sure the digital camera is charged, and if it's not, I'll wait for it to do so.".

Hahahah! Do you guys think you could wait for your digital camera to charge up IF (and that's a strong IF) you hadn't already had it fully charged and ready to go for days!? I am not sure I could. The box sitting unopenned in front of me I think is too much of a temptation (the ultimate... well, almost ).

One real quick suggestion to you "swsteckly". You say, "
I'll plug in the power adapter...". I haven't owned a Powerbook before (shoot, I haven't even owned a Laptop before... alright, you got me... I haven't even owned a Mac! before), but everything I've read from many a Powerbook user suggests STRONGLY that you condition your battery. Which means using the heck out of your 17-incher until the battery completely dies. Then, and only then, you plug it in and let it fully charge. It is better for battery life. I suggest it, but I could be wrong.

... Nice post! That's what I am talking about.

[swsteckly]

On the issue of the battery:

You want to make sure it is fully charged before you do the cycle. It will have discharged some during shipping.

1. Fully Charge Battery
2. Discharge to 1st Low Battery warning
3. Fully Charge Battery

Yeah. I just went and plugged in the camera, so it'll be ready.

If you notice, I really like to prolong the experience as long as possible. It's not often that you get this kind of action with a brand new, sealed unit. (this is about the powerbook. if you thought I was talking about anything else, you're sick). So, the longer I can make that moment last, the more fun a memoriable it is.

[badnewsblair]

... good point!

[suprz's ghost]

Originally posted by BkueKanoodle:
Uh before you start the Who da man dance, you might want to put the box that the fedex just gave you down.

It sure would suck to be the first person to have to send the 17 inch back to apple cuz they dropped it on the floor during the Who da man Overture.

good point.......i amend my previous statement, i would put the powerbook box on the floor and dance around the box while screaming ..."WHO DA MAN!!!"

[AssassyN]

I believe this says it all...*sigh*

[andrewbw]

Originally posted by John123:
You beg the FedEx driver to take you downtown to the loonybin, because you're a freakin' psycho.

BEST. POST. EVER. Hilarious, had me laughing so hard my co-workers think I'm nuts.

-A.

[urrl5201]

Has anyone ever read that post of someone ordering a digital cam from Taiwan and they opened the box to find a brick instead? They can do that you know. They would probably use two crusty bricks for swsteckley's unit though.

[ghost_flash]

Originally posted by urrl5201:
Has anyone ever read that post of someone ordering a digital cam from Taiwan and they opened the box to find a brick instead? They can do that you know. They would probably use two crusty bricks for swsteckley's unit though.

Oh, Oh, Oh... Mr. Cartaire....("Welcome back Carter")

I'd do the poopy-pants-dance!

And what do you mean by swsteckley's "unit"???
Sicko.