Why an Apple PowerBook will probably be my next notebook computer

The Background

I last acquired a new notebook computer in 2000. That one was a replacement for a glitchy one I'd bought in 1999. They were both Intel-based machines that arrived from the store running Windows 98SE. I chose those computers because I had built my own Windows and Linux desktop computer, I wanted to be able to dual-boot Windows and Linux on the notebook, and I knew that the software I would want for law school either ran only on Windows or had Mac versions that lagged the capabilities of the Windows releases.

I stopped using my notebook computer during my third year of law school because it was too heavy to lug around. I had several pairs of jeans with a small hole where my computer bag brushed against my leg and wore through the denim. I also wanted to write my notes more selectively instead of transcribing classroom events.

In the meantime, I've continued to upgrade my workstation at home, but the notebook is sitting unloved because its piddly 64MB of RAM can't handle anything that's currently out there. Once I load Windows (or Linux and a desktop environment), running just one worthwhile application starts the hard drive a-grinding as the computer constantly relies on its swap space. And the battery is dead.

So as soon as I've re-established positive cash flow, I need a new notebook computer. But this time I plan to make a different choice. I plan to buy an Apple PowerBook.

Why?

Several reasons. I could probably analyze it out into seven to ten reasons. But instead, let me tell a story.

I like playing with different operating systems and interfaces. I've been a computer hobbyist since I was about seven years old. My experimentation has taken me from Apple ProDOS (on the //c) to MS-DOS to OS/2 to "old" MacOS to OpenVMS to Windows XP and Linux — and those are only some of the steps along the way. Since 1999, though, I've used Windows for all my "real work," because that's what law school and my firm required.

For years, my hobbyist background meant that user-interface quirks and technical glitches didn't bother me as much as they bother most people. I usually had enough time that I could treat a computer problem as an interesting puzzle to be solved rather than a brick wall across my path.

Law school, and law practice especially, have robbed me of that point of view. When I have free time, I don't want to spend it solving computer problems — unless, of course, I've chosen to spend hobbyist time on them. Several times over the course of the last two years, I've found myself hacking away at a computer problem instead of finishing my "real work" while under deadlines.

I have several friends who have used Windows, Linux, and OS X. They agree that OS X has given them the greatest amount of flexibility with the least amount of frustration. One of them said, "I didn't use Linux because I wanted a challenge or because I necessarily needed it for something; I used it because I wanted a computer that would do what I wanted it to, and I was willing to invest some effort in that. The Mac does what I want it to, and I don't have to put any effort into it. It just works."

Of course, I'll grant that a computer won't just work all the time, even in the Mac world. But it just works more of the time, and it works more intuitively. That translates to increased efficiency.

Interface design in the Apple world also plays a big role in my decision. Apple, and people who design software to run on Apple equipment, do really impressive things with interface design. I want to take advantage of that. I've spent too much time in the last year cursing programs for getting in my way.

Even better yet, the Mac will still let me experiment if I want to. Part of the guts of OS X is based on a BSD-flavored UNIX called Darwin. I'm already familiar with a few flavors of Unix, so once I figure out some of Darwin's unique quirks, I'll be in a good position to play around with it a bit.

There's still one area where software tends to be a little sparse on the Mac in a way that affects me. It remains true that a lot of specialized legal software runs on the PC only. My next firm will probably require me to use Windows XP. They'll probably keep time with Timeslips or TABS3, or maybe even Amicus Attorney. CaseSoft doesn't run on the Mac, and I haven't yet found any reports of whether it works under Virtual PC. So I'll have two computers at work. But that's worked well for an increasing number of people (Ernest Svenson is my model in this regard). I'll need to cough up four to five hundred dollars for Microsoft Office. But then I'll be set.

I'm heartened to see that Apple is again targeting the legal market, particularly small and mid-sized firms where the costs of transition are lowest and the necessary software is most robust. If I were to start out on my own, I'd probably do it like these guys. It's good to know that law practice management software is out there for the Mac.

I replaced my old Macintosh Performa with a PC in 1997 because I wanted to experiment, because I wanted to run Linux. At the time Apple looked like it was in a slump. Now I want to spend my time getting things done, making things happen. So I'm going to buy a Mac.

(Now that I've gone and said all these things, I guess I'm really going to have to go through with it.)