12" PowerBook fits great on my lap. By the way, I am neither lazy nor out of shape, and the extra pound or more of a large laptop DOES make a difference when carried all day. My 12" PB weighs a bit under 2lbs less than my Pismo, and for carrying around town as I go from place to place, in and out of the car, or across an airport, it makes a real difference. Of course, the bag for the 12" itself is much lighter than the bag for the 14", despite both being Brenthavens with similar construction and materials. With the 12" I tend to travel light, bringing only a lightweight universal power supply (AC/Auto/Air) and as little else as possible, kind of forced by the small bag. With the larger bag there is a tendency to throw more stuff into it, stuff that gets heavy and can usually be done without anyway, like portable printers, scanners, drives and the like. With the 12", I just throw a few DVDs into clear plastic CD sleeves (cases are bulky) and any papers (or pages copied from books) that I may need into the case and that is it for my computer case.
I used to carry a 7lb monster and it is so liberating to carry a 4.6 pound lightweight in its place. Andrew On 1/1/05 1:14 PM, "Brian Rule" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've used laptops larger an more bulky than my 14" on airplanes with no > issues, although, airplane use doesn't matter much to me since I don't > really travel like that these days. My 14", like i've said, goes > nearly everywhere with me, and with no effort. I often hear people > complain about how difficult it is to move and travel with such "big" > and "bulky" computers. My experience has been that such people are > either too lazy or too out of shape to realize how light and compact > these laptops really are. > I've tried smaller laptops, sure. Wanna know how I use that extra > space on either side of the computer? To keep the thing on my lap. A > 12" laptop slips around and is unstable in my lap unless i hunch myself > in as though I were typing on some playing card. Using a 12" LAPTOP on > my LAP is very uncomfortable. As for weight, one extra pound really > isn't that much. Sure I COULD find a smaller laptop, but to be honest, > I only have one bag in which my laptop does not fit well, and that's > because it's the smallest gym bag I could find. > The extra palm space does indeed come in handy, since I do use it to > rest my palms often, whether it's proper typing or not. And, as > surmised, it does come in handy for writing a note or post it. > Brian > > On Jan 1, 2005, at 2:15 PM, Andrew F. wrote: > >> The 15" and 17" PowerBooks are much wider machines than the 12", but >> the 14" >> iBook and older 14" PowerBooks are not wide enough to get any benefit. >> Of >> course, to be wide enough to give some benefit (15 and 17" PB) makes >> the >> machine too wide to be used well as a portable, making it really a >> portable >> desktop. >> >> Personally, I bought my 12" to use as a true portable, a decision I >> have >> never regretted, especially when I see people trying to use bigger >> laptops >> such as Titanium PowerBooks in crowded airplanes. I actually saw some >> poor >> idiot's 17" PowreBook get pushed by a passing flight attendant, the >> result >> was a spilled drink on another passenger, the flight attendant visibly >> in >> pain and the PowerBook face down on the floor with a sickening crunch, >> followed by a whole lot of shouting by the fool who tried to use a >> massive >> shelf of a computer in a confined space. >> >> The 12", in contrast, is so small that even if the passenger in front >> of me >> reclines, I won't have my screen crunched. That, and of course I >> still have >> room on my tray table, as opposed to bleeding over into another >> person's >> space. The 15" isn't that bad, but it still can't touch the 12" for >> portability and light weight. Of course, the 12" is such a delight to >> type >> on that I've never wished for anything larger for that purpose. >> >> Speaking of RSI, by the way, your hands shouldn't be touching the >> palmrest >> AT ALL, making a wider one of dubious benefit. The only time I can >> see a >> benefit of a large palmrest area is for sliding around a small optical >> mouse >> or as a surface to write rest your post-it pad on for writing real >> pen-and-paper notes. The 12", by the way, has a very generous >> palmrest and >> is an ergonomic delight, as far as laptops go with their low screens >> that >> force bent necks. >> >> Andrew >> >> >> On 1/1/05 11:58 AM, "Marcin Wichary" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >>>> Hands never rest on the 3/4" strip of plastic on the sides of the >>>> keyboard, >>>> and that space has no ergonomic benefit. The deeper palmrest may >>>> have >>>> some >>>> benefit, but the difference is very minor. >>> >>> That space has no ergonomic benefit indeed, but the corresponding >>> space >>> on the palmrest has. When you type, you shouldn't have your arms >>> perpendicular to the space bar, but at a certain, comfortable angle. >>> If >>> your palmrest is not wide enough, this forces your arms to use a >>> different angle (people tend to do that subconsciously), which >>> translates to more chances of RSI in longer run. >>> >>> Now, I don't say that it's exactly the case with 12" vs. 14" iBook, >>> but >>> I presume it's the same situation with 12" vs. 15" PowerBook. I have a >>> PowerBook 15" which is great, and I tried 12" once, but it was just >>> much less comfortable, for the reason I outlined above. >>> >>>> The only reason the 14" iBook and larger PowerBooks have space >>>> alongside >>>> their keyboards is because those large screens are much wider than >>>> the >>>> standard Apple laptop keyboards. Now if Apple used that space by >>>> fitting >>>> larger keys, or on the 17" PowerBook by including a full numeric >>>> keypad, >>>> that would be an ergonomic improvement. >>> >>> I seriously disagree here. As far as I see, the keys on Apple's >>> laptops >>> are roughly the same size as standalone keyboards, and I see nothing >>> but trouble with bigger keys. >>> >>> With full numeric keyboard, you'd have to have your hands moved to the >>> left most of the time (for the alphanumerical part), which is just bad >>> for your posture, would probably necessitate moving trackpad to the >>> left as well (bad aesthetics), and your left palmrest would be too >>> narrow, as I mentioned above already. >>> >>> >>> Marcin Wichary >>> e:\> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> w:\> www.aci.com.pl/mwichary >> Attached >>> w:\> www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/gui >> Graphical User Interface gallery >>> w:\> www.10yearsofbeingboring.com >> 10 years of Being Boring >>> w:\> www.usability.pl >> Usability.pl >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... >> >> Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished >> Drives | >> -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! >> | >> >> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> >> >> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> >> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; >> Send list messages to: <mailto:G-Books@mail.maclaunch.com> >> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> >> >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------- >> iPod Accessories for Less >> at 1-800-iPOD.COM >> Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal >> www.1800ipod.com >> --------------------------------------------------------------- >> > -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:G-Books@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
