January 31st held the promise of a major winter storm. The grocery store was full of folks stocking up. Gas stations had lines. In addition to taking care of those basics, I decided that this was a good time to lock myself in with candidates for a new laptop computer.
My old H-P laptop is dying. It still works, but the screen has started flickering, the keyboard drops characters with regularity, the hard drive is full, it's old and slow, the battery is practically dead - which means it's not really portable, and it is just too big (a 17" screen) to be comfortably portable.
So, I had ordered a new 17" H-P Envy and when I went to pick it up, I told the salesperson I would REALLY like to take home two computers and be locked down comparing them during the storm for the next few days. No problem, she said, I had two weeks to bring them back with no re-stocking fee. Wonderful! So I picked up a Macbook Pro (I've always admired their style) to see what all the fuss was really about.
Well, unpacking the H-P Envy, it was quickly apparent that it was NOT a portable computer. despite being 17". it had a separate optical drive that I would have to take with it if I wanted to burn a CD while I was away. The power 'brick' was also huge and weighted nearly a pound! But the screen was said to be simply amazing, so I went ahead and set it up.
I am a photographer, so the screen simply HAS to be color calibrated for photo-production work. I could get by with almost anything for office work and web work; but for photo production, I had to have a color calibrated monitor. I downloaded my color management software and plugged it my puck to calibrate the screen. The software simply wouldn't load. It just came up with an empty window - really, just a blank window! Hmmm, a setback, but let's move forward and get it resolved before making any rash decisions. I'll uninstall the 'junkware' and call tech support tomorrow, since it's already late.
I then unpacked the Macbook Pro 13". It was immediately apparent what all the fuss was about. The attention to detail was apparent from the first moment opening the box. Minimalist design, done very nicely. The overall effect is one of quality and care, you know you're opening something special. Apple even included a screen cleaning cloth - nice touch. No junkware to uninstall - nice. In a few minutes, I am connected to my wireless router and am browsing the web; and I have put a couple of my email accounts into the email program that comes with Mac OS X. Hmmm, that really WAS easy!
The operation of the touchpad is very smooth on the Mac. I notice how the H-P touchpad is "jerky" and hesitant by comparison. The Macbook is also very small. The Power brick is tiny and can be operated with just one cord that wraps up with it (you can also extend it if you need, but generally you don't need the extra cord extension to re-charge the battery). Overall, the Mac is a machine that was designed to be portable - the 17" H-P was not designed to be portable.
I am beginning to formulate ideas as to my requirements. Portability is a big issue, I want to be able to easily move about and keep working on the computer. I know the screen and keyboard are big factors in daily useability - now I am starting to think that the touchpad is important for portability as well.
Interesting.....
So, I spent two days on the phone with tech support, trying to get the H-P Envy to load my color management software (EyeOne Display, really a basic standard). They even did a remote screen connection to try to resolve the issue. All to no avail. Finally, they gave up (I was getting impatient) and said they couldn't explain it ("unstable operating system" was the label used) and suggested I return the unit - it was a refurbished unit, maybe still had "issues".
By then, it was fine with me, as I had by then decided that it wasn't the machine for me anyway. Too big, loud, and unwieldy for my new portable. By now I had started to form some guidelines for what was needed. For example, I have never had a backlit keyboard. All these years of struggling to see the keys in low light (remember, I am a photographer, color work is done is low light conditions), tilting screens to see the keys had just become a habit. I never thought about it until one evening when the keyboard on the Macbook lit up - nice.
So, I pack up the H-P Envy for return, and continue researching other makes and models. I have begun to develop my list of requirements, but there are still about a million candidates. More time spent trying to get details, as most manufacturers are deliberately vague in their descriptions and many reviewers are not looking at what I am looking at. I read about a bazillion reviews while the winter storm rages on outside. And playing with the Macbook helps me further refine my ideal criteria. It begins to be a valuable process for me - internally as well as externally.
After a few days of this feverish activity, the storm passed, the H-P Envy had been sent back as requested, and I had a great start on a list of criteria:
* Small and portable. No larger than a 14" screen. No more than 5.5 lbs.
* Screen. The Macbook has an excellent screen, so it set the standard.
* Keyboard. simple and uncluttered. Backlighting would be a big plus.
* Battery. Must have at least 5-6 hours of battery life to be portable for me.
* Well-made. I want to find something that is well-designed and implemented. It makes a difference. It's my soul speaking here. I really appreciate things that are "well-crafted."
I notice that performance is not high on my list. almost any current computer will meet my needs afor photo-production. I have certain needs for specific software, but otherwise, I'm pretty easy to please. The web won't go any faster than my internet connection; office work (email, word processing, spreadsheets, etc.), won't be any quicker; as long as I have a decent mid-range processor, it will be able to run several processes at once (downloading a file while browsing the web and working on a document.).
I also notice that I have begun to place great value on the "user experience". By this I mean something that is designed for use, rather than for specifications. I find myself responding to the latest iPad 2 ad - the one that talks about the technology getting out of the way. I am starting to feel that a computer should be pleasurable to work with - after all these years of being someone who labored to help make technology "touchable" to non-technical people, I am finally looking at it for myself as well.
This is bringing up some interesting feelings ..... more later.
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