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Thursday 10 August 2006

Ode To My 12″ PowerBook G4

I love you, my dear mac, indeed I do
in my soul and heart I shall e’er hold you true

So silver, so sleek, except for the bump
that cycles around from fore to rump

But to protect you, dear mac I’ve always tried
unlike that naughty Ian Lloyd!

He wraps rubber bands ’round his 12″
and only takes it out when he’s in a pinch.

Oh, my PowerBook, with your sturdy G4
Can a MacBook really offer so very much more?

Everyone who’s got one says they’re so smart

Call me sentimental,
but it’s ’til your death do us part.

Filed under:   general
Posted by:   Molly | 14:36 | Comments (23)

Comments (23)

  1. You took the words right out of my mouth.

  2. I, on the other hand, had not a moment’s hesitation dumping my 15″ G4 for a 13″ MacBook. Especially after the hard drive died.

    Guess what? I love it. Lovelovelove LOVE it.

  3. you’d have to pry my 12″ from my cold dead hands.

  4. I too have a Powerbook G4 12in. Not since my Powerbook 2400 of yesteryears have I loved a portable so much. But now the 13″ MacBook is in town. Do I abandon an old favorite for a the new hip thing? I’m torn.

  5. As a recent faithless bastard, I’m not sure it was worth it. It is faster, but it’s also a LOT warmer and some of the old non-universal apps I use feel REALLY sluggish. It’s a really nice machine, but it doesn’t feel way faster than the old one.

  6. I love my MacBook. I feel like I’ve “arrived.” It’s not perfect. And face it, what Mac ever was? Well, ok, my System 8 Blueberry iMac with the Platinum sounds was perfect. But we all have to move on eventually.

  7. A Mac poem.. I don’t know if this is dorky, revealing, or rather sweet.

    In any case, I support the sentiment!

  8. Since we are posting odes to notebooks, I feel that I must post this classic ode here!

    Размер его весьма обманчив
    – Когда лежит и просто спит:
    Он хоть и мал, весьма заманчив,
    Имея славный внешний вид. /

    Hо стоит пальцами коснуться,
    Как он спешит скорей проснуться,
    И вы почувствуете вмиг
    – Как он могуч и как велик. /

    Он – раб безудержных фантазий,
    Вы с ним забудетесь в экстазе,
    Лишь поищите вдохновение,
    И он подарит наслаждение. /

    Когда он рядом, под рукой,
    Hе нужен вам ничей другой.
    А он привычно ждет касаний
    – С ним очень трудно без стараний. /

    Он подает вам знак условный,
    Что через миг готов стараться.
    Касаясь пальцами любовно,
    С ним можно вечно развлекаться. /

    И на движение ваших рук
    Он реагирует так бурно..
    Он как живой, желанный друг
    И без него уже вам дурно. /

    Hо иногда бывают дни,
    Когда он виснет: так внезапно,
    Увы! Рецептов нет одних
    – Лечить придется поэтапно. /

    Три пальца тут не помогают,
    И языком не совладать,
    Другие злятся и ругают
    (Я слышал столько раз: про мать) /

    Hо он беспомощно доверчив,
    Он так надеется на вас!
    И вам уже сердится нечем,
    И так бывало сколько раз… /

    Он вам откроет новый мир
    Земных и неземных желаний
    Он словно Бог, он ваш кумир,
    Источник счастья и страданий. /

    Ему я посвятить бы мог
    Еще немало добрых строк,
    Hе будем следовать примеру
    Других… А будем знать меру. /

    Люблю тебя, мой верный друг
    – Мой старый, добрый ноутбук!

    Feel free to paste this one to babelfish.altavista.com, to get the translation (Russian to English).

  9. Ah, that link goes through to my more loved iBook. This is the battered powerbook in question. Photo does not show elastic band ‘latch’, the ripple from one of its drops on floor, the small crack in the screen, the three missing feet or the burn marks on the screen from the heating vents. But I still love that little battler!

  10. Molly, now you know how I feel about my new 13″ MacBook (I concur with Mr. Shea)!

  11. I wish I knew what software to put on a Mac for doing CSS, graphics, and other web design related things… other than maybe Photoshop and Dreamweaver. But alas, I know so little about Macs. I didn’t even actually see a real Mac in existence or in use until I went to college a few years ago, and before that I honestly thought it was some sort of advertising spoof, I didn’t think they really existed because I never saw anyone using one.

  12. Ian: heh. I looked but didn’t find. Did you see the title text though? 😉

    Jeff: They do exist, and these days there’s nothing you can’t run on a Mac, including Windows, which unless you’re Cameron Adams, you just can’t do the other way ’round . . .

  13. I feel the same way about my trusty little iBook G4… I know I should probably get a MacBook so I can run Windows on it (yech!), but I just don’t want to part with the little bugger.

    There’s something about a Mac that causes one to form more of an emotional attachment to them. I know that I’ve never really cared all that much for my PCs (the data on them is another story), but my Macs get treated with something approaching reverence.

  14. I hear you… When MacBooks went out with the announcement “The family is now complete” I was a bit sad. I was really waiting for MBP 12″ (rev.B. maybe). I’m thinking about getting myself a second-hand PB 12″ from the last series 🙁

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  16. Reminds me of a song by Jonathan Coulton called “A Laptop Like You” — http://www.jonathancoulton.com/lyrics/a-laptop-like-you-demo

    Here you are at last
    To bring my cold lonely soul sweet release
    From my weary past
    Always searching, the one missing piece was you
    And I beg you, come away with me
    And together we will find a place to call our own
    I can’t wait to see what I can do
    With a laptop like you

    It’s not your CD slot
    Or the Unix on which you are based
    You make my lap hot
    Cause underneath your aluminum case there’s love
    And I forgive your strange one-button mouse
    I forgive the way your keyboard leaves marks on your screen
    I can overlook a fault or two
    For a laptop like you

    We will always be together
    In love in spite of everything
    Hang on tight through wind and weather
    Heaven knows what time may bring

    In a year or two
    You will seem big and heavy and slow
    I will carry you
    To wherever it is laptops go to die
    And don’t think it won’t be hard on me
    How’m I ever gonna find a way to justify
    The money I will spend on something new
    For a laptop like you
    For a laptop like you

  17. I do love the classics.

  18. Hey all, I just stumbled on your threads and wondered. Do any of you know anybody that wants to buy a 12″ Powerbook? I need something with a bigger screen as i’m going to start working from home. Don’t want to use an external monitor, though like you guys i’ll be so so sorry to see it go. It’s been so faithful it’s unreal. But still, time to move on.

    Anyway, it’s up for grabs and i’m not greedy.

    Thanks,

    Joe.

  19. oh, p.s.. it’s got an extra 512 in it and is in perfect condition!!

  20. I’ve written extensively on this very topic. I purchased my first 12″ PB less than a month after they hit the market (got a t-shirt and everything!), and loved it dearly until I found out that the 12″ form factor was being dropped as part of the Intel transition. At that point I purchased one of the very last 12″ PBs with all of the bells and whistles, knowing that it could be a long time before Apple releases another machine which meets my needs. I’ve since upgraded the hard drive myself and am still very, very happy with it.

    If Apple released a new 12″ machine I’d snap one up tomorrow, and upgrade my wife’s iBook within a few months. They built a magnificent machine with the 12″ PB, and set a very high bar for themselves. Like you, I’m now hooked on that form factor, to the point that I’m willing to be left behind as CPU speeds and HD capacities increase in order to stick with my beloved form factor.

    Shaving a fraction of an inch off of thickness was a neat accomplishment with the MacBook Air, but that’s not the dimension that really counts. I recently had an opportunity to work with an HP 2510p, and as much as I hate to say it it’s the first time I’ve ever felt envious of a Windows machine. If HP can do this, surely Apple can do better!

    Oh, and “Laptop Like You” by Jonathan Coulton made me cry the first time I heard it. 🙂 It really does match my love for my little 12″ symbiont.

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