Titanium PowerBook Report Part 4

By Marc Zeedar

Part IV: Configuring the TiBook

After experimenting with my Titanium for a few hours, it was time for some customization.

The first task was to upgrade the RAM. In February I'd bought a 256MB RAM module from Coast-to-Coast memory and it had been sitting on my shelf for a month.

I found the package and took out the tiny RAM sliver. A hundred bucks for that? Boy that makes me feel old. I remember once paying $600 for a 16MB upgrade for my Mac II. And that was a good price back then!

With the PowerBook G4 shut down, I unlatched the keyboard. It came right up, easier than on my Wallstreet (where you had to stick your fingers in the empty drive bays and undo latches you couldn't see). Like the reports I'd read, the keyboard is incredibly thin. Quite amazing.

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You unlatch and lift up the keyboard to install RAM (center of photo). Note the amazingly thin keyboard (the out-of-focus thing across the picture).

Right under the keyboard was the RAM slot. I lifted it up, slipped in the new RAM, and put the keyboard back. The whole process took maybe two minutes, and most of that was me admiring the Titanium's innards.

Two things struck me as amazing: one, the bottom of the PowerBook is right there, visible through the (in my case) empty Airport card slot. That's how thin the TiBook is! Second, I noticed that the size of a CD is such that the DVD drive must extend to underneath the keyboard. That's one thin drive! Think about it: the entire laptop is an inch thick, but that includes the display. Throw the thickness of the keyboard in there, plus the case, and there's barely room for a CD, let alone a drive!

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Right under the keyboard is the Airport card slot (though you can't access it from there -- you must open up the bottom of the case to install an Airport card) and it shows you how dramatically thin this laptop is. I placed a dime vertically in the area to show size. The bottom of the dime is on the bottom of the case and the top of the dime is so tall the keyboard won't install!

After installing the RAM I rebooted and smelled for smoke. Nothing exciting at all happened. The 'Book booted fine and when I checked "About this computer" I saw I now had 384MB of RAM in my Titanium. Very cool. I immediately went and turned off virtual memory and the memory startup test (hold down Command and Option while opening the Memory control panel to see the latter option).

Next up was software. I'm a fan of disk partitioning. Partitions help you structure and organize your system, use smaller block sizes (not such a big issue since Apple introduced the Mac OS Extended disk format), reduce the risk of disk corruption problems, and keep your volumes less fragmented.

So the first step to customizing my laptop was to completely erase the hard drive and partition it. Fortunately, Apple makes this easy. I booted off the included "Software Restore" CD and ran Apple's Drive Setup from the CD and erased the internal drive. I partitioned the 20 gig drive into seven sections: Boot (1.5), Mac OS X (5), Apps (5), Marc (2), Music (4), Misc (1), and Scratch (1). (You'll notice those numbers don't quite add up to 20 -- that's because Apple's "20 gigabyte" drive formats to a disappointing 19.2.)

Next, I ran Apple's software restore feature onto my Boot disk, effectively turning the TiBook back into the way it was when it arrived (except for my partitions). Upon rebooting, I had to go through the setup and registration process again, but having just done it, it went quickly.

In minutes I had my Internet connection again, and I set about personalizing my Ti. I first set a number of OS preferences (I picked a new desktop pattern, turned on Platinum Sounds, enabled Windowshade double-clicking, etc.). Then I moved Apple's "Applications" folder from Boot to Apps and threw the original away. I rebuilt a few aliases in the Favorites folder, then launched Internet Explorer and set its preferences. (I'm rather picky about my Macs.)

I'd originally intended to try to connect my Titanium to my PowerMac G4 via Firewire Target Disk Mode, but belatedly realized I didn't have a Firewire cable. (The nearest "computer" store, Radio Shack, didn't carry Firewire stuff. Big surprise.) Instead I used my ethernet network and file sharing to copy my applications and data from my old Wallstreet G3.

Then it was an hour of rebooting (to enable vital extensions like OneClick and SpellCatcher), rebuilding application launchers, and searching for serial numbers to activate certain software programs. Some programs -- like Corel's Bryce 4, required me to insert the program's CD on first launch, which is okay, as long as you remember to do that before you need the program. Others -- like Virtual PC -- required me to install VPC 1.0, update that to 2.0, and update that to 4.0. Then there were serial numbers for both VPC and Windows 95.

(Sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't be better off as an unethical pirate with the tools to disable all that anti-piracy stuff. Instead, as a legitimate user, I'm faced with an installation hassle and a thinner wallet! Connectix should pay me for all that extra work.)

While all this was a bit of a pain, it was nice to have everything clean and neat and freshly structured. And my Titanium was running like a dream. Games like Oni ran like lightening, as did graphic programs like Photoshop, and DVDs played without skipping, even with processor cycling and "reduced processor speed" turned on.

I still had a bit of a problem, however. I use multiple computers both at home and at work, and I often exchange data via Zip disks. My Wallstreet had a VST Zip Drive module, making data exchange simple. For instance, I keep my copies of my programming on Zip disks, meaning I can program on whatever computer I choose. (It also gives me a backup copy on a Zip.) I'd ordered a USB Zip Drive over a month ago, but it was still backordered.

Sure, I could work out a new workflow using file sharing or something else, but for various reasons, that didn't appeal to me. (For one, I don't always have the Titanium connected to the network, and for another, the desktop G4 is often sleeping, meaning I can't access it over the network. File sharing would also mean I'd lose my Zip backup system.)

As an interim solution, I suddenly remembered something. A while back when I'd replaced my Wallstreet's two gig hard drive with a six gigabyte model I'd bought an MCE Datashuttle empty drive shell with a PC Card interface. I put the old two gig drive into the case and it worked fine, though it was slow. I used it to backup the System Folder and other critical items on the Wallstreet. Since then, I'd seen something about MCE having a Firewire upgrade for the case I owned. With the Firewire upgrade I'd not only be able to use it with the Titanium, but I could connect it to the desktop G4 as well. And the MCE website claimed I wouldn't need a power adapter since the unit was bus powered.

I ordered the Firewire interface kit immediately, and the next day hooked it up. It was amazing! Not only was the drive very fast, it was easy to connect. Once I'd installed the include Firewire drivers on both computers, I could plug in the drive for it to mount on the desktop in a few seconds. No power cable was needed. Very cool! Plugging in the drive was almost as simple as inserting a Zip disk, and using the two gig drive to transfer a couple gigabytes of data was faster than ethernet (I have a 10 mbs network). I still plan to get a USB Zip drive (they aren't expensive), but I'm very impressed by my first experience with Firewire.

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My MCE Datashuttle just needed a Firewire cable to switch it from a PC Card drive to a Firewire drive. It's bus-powered, so I don't need a power cable, and I can plug/unplug the drive into the Ti at any time.

Next Segment: In Part V, we put the Titanium to the test. How does it compare to a 500-mhz desktop G4?

Titanium Report - Part 1
Marc receives his Titanium PowerBook and reports his initial impressions.

Titanium Report - Part 2
Analysis of the exterior of the Titanium PowerBook continues with an exploration of the screen and keyboard.

Titanium Report - Part 3
Marc powers up the TiBook and discovers the first problems.

Titanium Report - Part 4
Marc installs RAM, partitions the hard drive, and begins personalizing his Titanium wonder.

Titanium Report - Part 5
Performance results: Marc benchmarks the Titanium PowerBook against a 500-mhz desktop G4 in a variety of tests.

Titanium Report - Part 6
Should you buy a Titanium PowerBook now or wait for version 1.1? In this final segment, Marc comments on a variety of issues and concludes with his analysis of the Ti's worthiness.

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