The Perfect Notebook Computer

When you spend as much time as I do using a laptop (or notebook... or whatever you want to call it) - you want it to be perfect. You want it to do everything. You hate limitations and drawbacks and the small annoyance.

I migrated from a 12 inch Dell Inspiron 700m to a second hand Apple 12 inch Powerbook G4. This is, of course, all obsolete equipment. The Powerbook is a great form factor with a great keyboard. I only really need it for writing, but I wish it was powerful enough to do other things. But it isn't. It's not great for much of anything else - it doesn't even stream video very well. The battery isn't too great anymore, with a maximum capacity of about 3 hours. The screen is also the old 4:3 aspect ratio, unlike the 700m - and most new computers - that have a widescreen.

And here's a dirty little secret. I like Windows 7 more than OS X. I just do. They do all the same things, but I feel a greater sense of control with Windows. That's probably because I was an avid PC gamer and simply grew more accustomed to the dreaded Microsoft OS over the years. But Windows 7 is a vast improvement - and despite what the Mac ads tell you - it works exceedingly well.

However, I don't much like any of the currernt models of Notebook offered by PC vendors. Almost all of them are a bit too bulky with poor battery life and a tiny, tiny track pad. How is it that only Apple has figured out the large track pad suitable for multi-gesture use that also doubles as a button? And how is it that nearly all of Apple's notebooks have a battery life of about 7 hours. I get that the battery is built in - but I've never believed in the usefullness of a swappable battery. It adds weight to your bag, and if you really need more power you find an outlet and recharge. But that's just me.

So for me - it seems the best option is to get a Macbook Pro with a lot of hard drive space and install Windows 7 through bootcamp. That's an expensive option - because Windows 7 is expensive to buy without a system, and configuring a Macbook Pro with a 500gb hard drive adds at least a $100 to an already $1200 or $1500 system.

The other thing that sort of sucks is that Apple STILL hasn't made Blu Ray drives available on their system. I get it's not a widespread technology, but people with the cash to spend on Apple computers are likely the types to also have HD setups and Blu Ray players. So now I have a bunch of movies I can't watch on my laptop.

Oh, the quandry.