Computer Heresy
I’m about to commit heresy and order a 12″ Powerbook G4. Yes, that’s right, a beast with horns that runs MacOS.
I wanted a portable laptop that I could take travelling, so that means something smaller than a 14″ screen. Unfortunately, all the Windows laptops are so damn expensive at that size. For a little over $2000 (including a nice student education discount) the Powerbook comes with USB2, 802.11g, 5 hour battery life and a burner. In terms of software compatibility, MacOS is a Unix base. It has Apache and I can do all the web development I need. It runs Office, Photoshop and is compatible with Windows file formats. It runs WoW.
The only real downsides I can see with the Powerbook are that it only has one button on the trackpad (this is really annoying) and no PCMCIA slot (though this is only an issue if I need to subscribe to iBurst). The software compatibility issue isn’t so bad because I still have my desktop for when I need to do real work.
I think MacOS still has some crappy UI aspects, like a dodgy maximise button. I much prefer the Windows nested windows UI rather than the Mac’s floating palettes UI. Maybe it’s just a matter of adapting.
11:58pm (GMT +10.00) 
It really is a matter of adapting. I made the same decision nearly two years ago (has it been that long?) when I bought a 17″ powerbook. It’s a good decision. I love having a Unix system that actually looks pretty and works properly.
Don’t believe the 5-hour battery life – it’s good, but it’s not that good. Perhaps it lasts 5 hours if you’re not using the screen.
Hey Stu happy birthday and congrats on the switch – I’m considering the same…
Good choice. :)
Owen is right about the battery life, though.
I’m the exact opposite on the “nested windows UI”, however. I can’t stand using Windows applications that use that sort of interface (Word in some cases, Access, etc), as I then can’t see other windows behind the front-most application… and on a 12″ screen, that’s a problem, for me.
Mind if I suggest an absolutely essential application?
LaunchBar indexes your hard disk (a lot like Spotlight does… but with a lot more features) and allows you to run applications, open files with certain applications (rather than right/control-clicking -> “Open With”), run searches without opening browser windows, and plenty of other things.
You will never go back.
Learn to use and love expose and window thing will not be a problem.