Ok, my wife's powerbook should be here in a few hours and I have been looking around at all the accessories available. Which accessories do you find most useful with your laptop?
I don't like either of those two. Tilting your keyboard toward you is moving toward bad ergonomics. The iCurve puts the screen too high. More bad ergonomics.
I do a lot of traveling ... sitting in a hotel bed and using the computer
I find a trackball, while it takes up more space, is better suited to travel than a mouse ... I don;t always feel like setting up shop at a desk (which may or may not exist), but I still want something other than the trackpad for a pointer.
I have a "sleeve" for my iBook. It offers excellent (soft-sided) protection. I can sling it over my shoulder or stuff it in my work bag and I know its all good.
An external keyboard and mouse are nice for desk work. I use an ibm with a built in 2port usb hub and a basic logitech wheel optical. I can also leave my printer plugged into the keyboard hub so I only use one usb on the book and can still have my camera attached at the same time.
An external monitor is not necessary with the powerbooks in my opinion (saw a 1GHz tonite and it was sooooo bright and beautiful). But with my iBook I will put it up on my 19" monitor for extended iPhoto sessions.
An extra power adapter is a luxury item but definitely a plus. I got an extra one because applecare screwed up and its now seems indespenable. I can leave one set up at my main docking area in my computer room and have another in my entertainment room for when I hook it up to my stereo.
Coolpad is mandatory, it swivels, it cools, its small and it kicks ass, and you can reverse the tilt if you are so inclined! geddit, inclined... heh heh
Speakers! You need external speaker for your book for sure. Laptop speakers are a crime, thank god for headphones.
Almost forgot! Airport, you want airport. I love wireless anything and this rocks for sure... I used to have two 50 foot strips of cat5 running accross my pad, but no more. Airport is great.
You see, there are too many accessories and that is the problem. oh yeah... and my most desirable and unjustifiable item the little aluminum blue-glowing volume knob thingy. that is super-sweet [you have to say that cartman style to get the full effect].
and then theres the other little thing with the dongle and the........ ok I have a problem
Got the laptop, its sweet! I let my wife open the box, right now I am 'testing the battery life' It came with a free airport extreme card and I got a normal airport card for my 800 mghz iMac so I got the wireless thing goin which is really nice, I'll have to wind up this 25ft cat5 cable she used with the old PC laptop <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
Should I get some kind of protector for the palm rest area?
Can I use the same quicktime pro key I used on my iMac? She doesn't use any of the features of quicktime pro but I do
The trackball is a good idea, i use a trackball with my iMac and this little pad thing is driving me nuts.
Thanks for all the input people! I'll check back later for more ideas <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" />
Well, it's actually possible to use a single Quicktime Pro key on any number of different computers. However, if you bought the license, you are allowed to use it on one computer at a time. I don't know if you should remove the Pro license from the old computer, but I do know that you shouldn't be using QT Pro on both computers at the same time, legally.
Comments
<strong><a href="http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/icurve/"; target="_blank">http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/icurve/</a></strong><hr></blockquote>;
If you get one of those then you have to get one of <a href="http://www.shopmod.com/modpod/"; target="_blank">these</a> for your iPod.
<a href="http://www.coolpad.com/"; target="_blank">http://www.coolpad.com/</a>;
I find a trackball, while it takes up more space, is better suited to travel than a mouse ... I don;t always feel like setting up shop at a desk (which may or may not exist), but I still want something other than the trackpad for a pointer.
An external keyboard and mouse are nice for desk work. I use an ibm with a built in 2port usb hub and a basic logitech wheel optical. I can also leave my printer plugged into the keyboard hub so I only use one usb on the book and can still have my camera attached at the same time.
An external monitor is not necessary with the powerbooks in my opinion (saw a 1GHz tonite and it was sooooo bright and beautiful). But with my iBook I will put it up on my 19" monitor for extended iPhoto sessions.
An extra power adapter is a luxury item but definitely a plus. I got an extra one because applecare screwed up and its now seems indespenable. I can leave one set up at my main docking area in my computer room and have another in my entertainment room for when I hook it up to my stereo.
Coolpad is mandatory, it swivels, it cools, its small and it kicks ass, and you can reverse the tilt if you are so inclined! geddit, inclined... heh heh
Speakers! You need external speaker for your book for sure. Laptop speakers are a crime, thank god for headphones.
Almost forgot! Airport, you want airport. I love wireless anything and this rocks for sure... I used to have two 50 foot strips of cat5 running accross my pad, but no more. Airport is great.
You see, there are too many accessories and that is the problem. oh yeah... and my most desirable and unjustifiable item the little aluminum blue-glowing volume knob thingy. that is super-sweet [you have to say that cartman style to get the full effect].
and then theres the other little thing with the dongle and the........ ok I have a problem
Hope this helps
[ 02-12-2003: Message edited by: I-bent-my-wookie ]</p>
Should I get some kind of protector for the palm rest area?
Can I use the same quicktime pro key I used on my iMac? She doesn't use any of the features of quicktime pro but I do
The trackball is a good idea, i use a trackball with my iMac and this little pad thing is driving me nuts.
Thanks for all the input people! I'll check back later for more ideas <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" />