The Powerbook and the Candy

Plotnik has forgotten to mention another addition to his life: an Apple Powerbook G4 laptop. He bought it used from his partner D-Blue. It's a few years old and, except for the catch on the front and a few minor dents, is in pretty good shape. It's a whole lot more -- well, portable than the Dell desktop. It'll be fun to have on a trip. And the icons are cute. I guess.

But the deal is: you shouldn't have two computers. Plot has to make up his mind which of the two he is going to use most of the time. The laptop's keypad is a pain in the ass to use and the email program is usable-at-best. On the other hand, it boots up twenty times faster than the desktop. But the monitor is much smaller. The icons -- so what?

But let us not forget one MAJOR difference between Apple and Dell: When you call Apple Care you get a person, fast, who speaks your brand of English, knows your problem, doesn't ask you a zillion useless bureaucratic questions, and fixes your problem immdediately. When Plot got off the phone with Apple Care, he shouted up to Ducknik: "You won't believe what just happened!"

Plot and Duck are used to calling Dell, waiting for half an hour to talk to someone named Uh, Ed from Bangalore who sometimes resolves the problem and sometimes does not. Uh, Ed is always trying to sell you a newer version of the very thing you're calling to complain about. That by itself argues for the Mac.



Meanwhile, who says you don't get percs when you're a hotshot reviewer.

'Wicked' is coming back. Plot and Duck saw the first San Francisco run and it was a fabulous show, well worth spending the money for. Now, it's back for a second tour and the p.r. company is sending out chocolates! And green glasses!



As for the first question, Plot is pretty sure he'll dump the desktop in favor of the laptop, and maybe hook up the laptop to the larger monitor. But then he'll have a crappy keyboard with a clearer picture. Perhaps some of you have had this same issue?

Memo to Cousin Brother Two: No plans to see the Plotzers in S.P. this weekend. They don't need help right now. Next week, help and lots of it. They'll play next weekend in Stiletto, right? Hmmm...