The Notebook: MacBook Pro

I got my wish. After five years deliberating on whether I should buy an Apple portable computer, I got to try out a MacBook Pro this week. I have been coveting the portable size and sleek design of Apple notebooks since my days in Paris, when D and I used to shop at Surcouf and Fnac. If PowerBooks ran Windows back then – and if they were cheaper – I probably would have bought one. Here are my first impressions after a few days playing around with the high-end Apple portable computer.

Design. The MacBook Pro looks great. I like the matte aluminum finish and the keyboard, which lights up when the lights dim. The big widescreen is great for watching films but it makes the computer less portable. 

I am also a fan of the magnetic power adapter that, if yanked, detaches effortlessly so the computer doesn’t topple. I have done it before. I almost yanked my computer off the coffee table last year after tripping over the power cord. And when I work on the sofa, our dog will invariably sit on the cord, putting a strain on the physical connection. Magnetic connections should be an option for all notebooks.

Noise/Heat. The MacBook Pro is one hot machine. Literally. It heats up quickly and gets very uncomfortable my lap, which is my preferred work surface for notebook computing. How come they didn’t mention this in any of the commercials? What’s more, the The fan inside the computer makes a loud, humming noise that makes you think the computer is overheating. Perhaps I’ll become oblivious to the noise over time, but for now it’s distracting, especially compared to my quiet Toshiba Satellite.

The MacBook Pro is, nonetheless, a powerful machine and the heat and humming do not seem to hinder its performance. Now if only I could locate the butteon to disactivate the WiFi…

Bubbles

Ca petille chez les voisins!

Norbit

Last night, we sat through Norbit, the story of the failed marriage between meek, scrawny and eager-to-please title character Norbit (Eddie Murphy) and his huge, hateful and harpy wife (Eddie Murphy), who keeps throwing him through walls and windows. The film’s dreadful caricatures, which include pimps wearing purple suits and an Asian Chinese restaurant/orphanage owner, chronicle the doomed marriage through farts and fat jokes that are deliberately in poor taste.

Some of the jokes you can see coming a mile away: in one sequence, the plump wife vehemently denies sneaking a slice of cake, despite the crumby evidence around her mouth. I appreciated the wife’s trendy hairstyles and her morning face and at least two jokes made me smile.

Apocalypto

"You must admit that he has a penchant for gore," I say to D of director Mel Gibson as the closing credits roll, and as he starts to skim through the special features on the dvd of Apocalypto. D counters that the violence in the film is not gratuitous (my brain reprocesses images of a beating Mayan heart being extracted without anesthesia) and does not detract from the film’s message (Maya’s demise and a bloody jungle pursuit). Okay, I admit that D was right when he cut my post-film rant short by stating that I let my disappointment with The Passion of the Christ cloud my opinion of Apocalypto.

Indeed, once I got over the bloody and brutal violence – pillaging, impaling, and beheadings – and the brutish villains scowling and relishing torture, I found Apocalypto entertaining. I just can’t believe this film got the same rating as Amelie Poulain.

Derby Days

The City of Redmond’s annual summer festival

13 Tzameti

If you like dark thrillers, rent 13 Tzameti. Do not, however, read anything about it if you want the best experience. Just know that it is set in France and that it’s about an immigrant laborer who overhears a conversation about a get-rich-quick scheme: his employer is expecting a letter that’s supposed to hold the key to a possible payoff. When the employer dies suddenly, the laborer steals the letter, containing a one-way train ticket and hotel room receipt, and takes on a challenge, for which the rules and stakes are unknown. Not bad for a hook. Once he gets on that train, things off with kinetic energy.

 

The pic is very dark, but not because it is shot in black and white.

July 4th

Adele’s handiwork.

Super sweet 16

Save the Date: Gabriela’s Super "Sweet" 16

 

Saturday, July 28, 7:00pm

 

 

 

How Gab will get better with age:

 

-Her math skills are abysmal, which means she’ll only get younger

-She’ll keep her spirit of adventure. She introduced me to gyrotonics and ballroom dancing last year

-Two down, five to go. We have only crossed paths on two continents

-Seattle is a lot like Greece.

iPhone

Judging from the media coverage, Apple’s new iPhone has consumers swooning, either from their first brush with the ethereal gadget or from their time camping out in front of Apple stores in the middle of a heat wave. This Saturday, D sauntered into the Apple store in the Redmond Town Center to judge the phone for himself.

 

Me: So were you impressed?

D: It lives up to the hype.

 

Me: How does this fruit stack up to the berries and the Treos on the market?

D: You have to hand it to Apple: they design their software with users in mind. L’iPhone est ultra simple a utiliser. It’s very easy to navigate the user interface with your finger; however all the flicking and tapping gets the screen smudgy, so the device will look filthy unless you clean it off after every use.

 

Me: But $500-$600? That’s a lot of money. My Motorola RAZR was free with my cell phone plan and it has withstood every ailment Tiggy has inflicted on it.

D: The iPhone has over a dozen functions.

 

Me: Yes, I have read about the features, like Internet access. I have also heard that AT&T’s network is mediocre in some areas, and web access can be excruciatingly slow. Would it worth switching to At&T from a carrier like Verizon, for example? What’s the point of having a phone with GPS if you can’t even get the GPS to work?

D: The iPhone doesn’t have GPS. Plus GPS has nothing to do with the wireless network. What are you talking about?

 

Me: I’m just testing you. ‘Sounds like you want an iPhone!

D: No. I already have a phone and a Zune, so I don’t need an iPhone. Plus an iPhone would cost me at least $59 more a month and I would hardly ever use its super duper features. So what’s the point? The device is very cool, the interface is brilliant, but that doesn’t make it a must have for me. What about you?

 

Me: I’m tempted because I like shiny, pretty things that work properly. And while I’m willing to forgive the foibles of first-version gadgets, it seems that most of the minor glitches affect the gadget’s primary function: telephoning. It would probably be like buying a Nokia phone with a camera for the purpose of taking pictures.  Maybe next year.