choices

I've finally made some computer upgrade moves.

The decision had been postponed a while, partially just to be stubborn. Last spring when I started shooting digital again after a two-year break, this time with much larger files sizes, it pretty much forced some changes. But I preferred to do it at my own pace, not when dictated by decisions of manufacturers. My ancient laptop was rendered pretty much useless by the newer camera technology, it wouldn't hold enough RAM to run the current generation of image processing software, and the earlier versions of Photoshop won't read modern RAW files. But I managed to squeeze a RAW converter and up to date Photoshop into my desktop machine. Not with a lot of room to spare, but it ran. Slowly.

My laptop is an old Powerbook G4, the 867 mhz 12-inch machine dating all the way back to 2003. I still really like it, still works perfectly, and I have no intention of getting rid of it. Even today, it's a perfectly capable word processing and internet machine, and it's compact and light (4 pounds). It will continue to be my on-the-road machine, the one that goes in my bag for airplane trips, for the forseeable future.

The desktop machine isn't all that much newer. It's a G5 iMac dating from something like late 2004 or early 2005. I'm not nearly as attached to it as I am to the old laptop, the iMac is a reasonably good machine but it's basically another piece of plastic, and I'm beginning to need something faster, and it seems the hard drive is always almost full. It's the first generation of the newer design, but with an older chip, and there's some low-level fan noise that the next upgrade of the same machine didn't have. Not a major problem, just a minor annoyance, and a reminder to beware of first-generation technology.

I've been watching recent upgrades and had pretty much decided by this fall to make a move soon. I'd also decided to go with a laptop and external monitor setup to simplify future upgrades. The new monitor, a 23-inch version, is already here, a refurbished and fully warrantied bargain picked up relatively inexpensively.... one big advantage of not being in a hurry. It took about three months of patiently waiting and watching to snap it up.

The computer decision was harder. The Macbook Air was tempting because of the light weight, only 3 pounds. But the first generation model was crippled, with a slower processor and much smaller hard drive than my three year old desktop machine, among other things. The just-out 2nd generation version is better, almost there, but not quite. The new aluminum Macbook is also tempting, and powerful enough for what I need, but the high-gloss screen and the lack of a firewire port turned me away. Reflections are the norm in most wi-fi cafes or pretty much anywhere on the road. What are the folks in Cupertino thinking? How to work effectively when they make it hard to see? And the Macbook screen is now taking a rap as cheaper and not as bright as the other current Mac laptops. And firewire, losing that might not by itself have been a deal killer, although it would have meant finding the long-hidden USB cable for my scanner; but added to the screen issue, no thanks.

I'd intended to wait another month or so. But what I finally did was take advantage of the aftermath of the black friday sales, prolonged at some venues way beyond what was probably the original intent. Enough markdowns, and a rebate offer, combined with the fact that there are some just discontinued models out there... it all added up to an opportunity to pick up a Macbook Pro, the version just superceded last month, for $550 under retail, plus a $150 rebate on top of that. That's probably less than the average year-old used equivalent on the open market.

It isn't actually here yet, probably won't be for several days yet. But it's got the old matte screen, and way more power than I need, about a 30% jump in processor speed, four times the RAM, and 25% more hard drive space than my old desktop.... which will be retired as soon as I'm sure I've got everything I need off of it. The new machine will live on the desk except on the rare occasions when I need that level of power to be portable, which isn't often; the smaller ancient laptop will fill the mobility role in most cases. It's easier to carry a few extra 2GB CF cards when I need to shoot digital (especially with memory prices falling) than it is to lug around a 5.4 pound hunk of aluminum.

Especially considering how big and heavy and overcomplicated my DSLR is. But that's another story.