Oh the frustration…
I am waiting patiently for my new computer to become available. Well, maybe not patiently.
Apple recently released a new round of MacBook Pro notebooks (well externally indistinguishable from Version n-1), using the new Intel Penryn CPU, faster clock speeds, more L2 cache, bigger disk drives, and a LED-backlit 17″ high-resolution display option (1920×1200). Oh yeh.
So I rush on down to the Apple Store only to find that the hi-res screen option is nowhere to be found. They do have a top-o-the-line model advertised in the store, but have no idea when they will arrive.
The web site claims 7-10 business days to ship a build-to-order model, but I’d rather buy from the store, since if it is a lemon I can just take it back. If it’s BTO, you can’t return it for your money back. I’d also like to run my hands over it before I start waving the credit card.
Oh the frustration…
Why a new computer? Well, several reasons:
- I don’t have a Mac Intel computer to test the Mac Intel version of AstroPlanner.
- It will be several times faster than my existing top-o-the-line G4 PowerBook. This will save me at least an hour a day waiting for compiles to complete.
- It will let me put 4GB RAM in it. I am working with 2GB now, but my G4 spends a lot of time swapping virtual memory, since the IDE + AstroPlanner uses a goodly proportion of that 2GB.
- 200GB 7200rpm disk drive. I’m currently running on a 100GB 7200rpm drive and it’s a constant struggle to avoid filling it up. I demand a 7200rpm drive, since it makes a big difference when you’re manipulating thousands of little files.
- It will allow me to test against Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). Yeh, I could buy it for my G4, but that’s $120, and I doubt it will improve the G4’s speed.
- It will allow me to run Windows (XP and Vista) at full speed in parallel with Mac OS X, which will help enormously with Windows development and testing (which I’ve been putting off until the new computer arrives). Yes, I could go buy an el-cheapo piece of cr*p from Fry’s with Vista on it, but that’s a few hundred dollars and more desk space, and I can’t carry it with me.
- That feeling of exquisite pleasure one gets from a fine new computer with a freshly installed OS.
Oh the frustration…