Lucky me. I'm using a brand new Powerbook. It's running OS X 10.3.4 after I was prompted to update during the welcome sequence. So now I can't tell how much of the speed increase I'm experiencing is from the .4 upgrade and how much is from the book. Either way, this is really nice.
I was surprised this morning to see the Powerbook on my porch when I glanced outside. I had been tracking with FedEx and the book was in Indiana last night and due to arrive Friday morning at 10:30 am. I guess both Apple and FedEx are conservative. Whoopee!
I've got my Titanium hooked up as a Firewire drive and have transferred most of my Home folder over. I've installed FileMaker Pro 6, NetNewsWire and Ecto so far - from scratch. Email is working including all my mail from the Tibook. My addresses are in the Addressbook. My bookmarks are in Safari. I'm connected to the Net, my local printer and network - no problem.
One thing. I called my old Titanium Powerbook, Titanium for short. Aluminum doesn't have the same ring to it. Albook doesn't work like Tibook worked for me. So, until I think of something better, I'm just calling this new machine, Powerbook15. I hope to find a better name soon. If this is my hardest problem, I'm doing good.
One other little nitpick thing. The keyboard feels different. I'm afraid I'm going to scratch it with my fingernails. I didn't get that feel with the Ti keyboard. Not sure I like it, but guess I'll get used to it. It will help when I find out that these keys don't scratch easily - which is my hope.
Some things I like besides the obvious speed and brand new qualities: the aluminum case texture and look, the better bigger hinge for the screen - the feel is really smooth and solid.
I'll do some tests and comparisons soon between my two powerbooks to see what kind of speed differences I see with my real world apps. I'll also do a comparison or two to my PowerMac 867 dual with 7200 rpm drive. Meanwhile, this new Powerbook stays with me 24/7. It's my new baby, after all.
John Siracusa seems to have the ultimate Powerbook 15 AL review (for a 1 ghz model) on Arstechnica. It's long and leisurely and personal.