This past week, the future missus and I made our first big purchase, a brand spankin’ new G4 PowerBook, and surprisingly, it wasn’t for me. I know, I know, I wrote about my lust nearly a year ago, and sad to say, I still have not purchased a new machine (the iMac DV SE is holding up quite nice, though). However, Renae recently quit her job to go freelance (nothing like going through several big life changes all at once), and needed a new computer for her home office.

Well, perhaps “need” is too strong a term. She didn’t really need a 1.5 GHz G4 processor, a 15.2″ widescreen display capable of resolutions up to 1280x854, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, a backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor (which is so freakin’ cool when you see it in action), built-in Bluetooth and wireless, built-in Gigabit ethernet…

Whew, I better stop right there or else I’ll need to take a cold shower.

In the end, we figured that, since she’s starting a brand new business, she might as well do it right. Or, I suppose I should say we are starting a brand new business, so we might as well do it right. (I’m still getting use that…)

The PowerBook arrived yesterday, in a sleek black package. Opening a brand new Mac is a big event, a religious ritual almost, and that’s doubly so when it’s your first. Although I’ve seen the aluminum PowerBooks in stores, actually handling one is a whole other thing. It’s stylish, stylish, stylish — absolutely seamless in its construction. You almost don’t want to turn it on, but rather, set it up on the mantle for all to behold.

But nay, this is a work machine, so start it up we did. Of course, it’s running Panther, which I’ve been running for quite some time on my iMac, and absolutely love. Seeing as how Renae is coming from a Windows environment, there will be a learning curve, but the beauty of Macs is that they invite you to play with them and learn that way. It makes for a much more intuitive environment. I’m looking forward to seeing how she takes after the Mac, and all of the cool things she does with it. Naturally, I’m looking forward to all of the cool things that I will do with it as well, but we must have priorities.

Okay, enough rambling. Here are some pictures from the momentous occasion, along with the sort of pithy commentary you’ve come to expect.

Only Apple’s packaging would deserve a photo in a blog entry about a brand new computer. Seriously folks, that’s a darn fine box.

I almost don’t want to turn it on, for fear of ruining the moment.

The two sexiest things in my life right now. (And no, the piano isn’t one of them.)

Enjoy reading Opus? Want to support my writing? Become a subscriber for just $5/month or $50/year.
Subscribe Today
Return to the Opus homepage