Yes, I could not resist the siren song of the shiny, new "unibody" notebooks released by Apple on Tuesday. I had gone for just about four and a half years without a machine upgrade, running on my very dependable but increasingly not-state-of-the-art 12-inch PowerBook G4. Without an external screen might I add.

Yes, nearly everything I've done, including this website and all of the artwork on it, was built on that small screen with that small processor, in spite of the fact that much of the work was intended to be produced and seen at much larger sizes. Sparky (so named to extend the "lightning" theme, you understand) has been an absolute trooper and, frankly, runs as well as the day I bought it (better, in fact, since I swapped out the original 60GB drive for a 7200 rpm 100GB drive about a year and a half ago). I have no intention of retiring the machine, or selling it, or packing it away. I now consider it to be a Mac Ultraportable and a very capable music server, or emergency backup or whatever. Apple did not skimp on its capabilities back in 2004 and it still stacks up well to new machines in its size category.

So Sparky will be around for quite some time, I think.

(I should let you know that at this point the fawning really starts, so if you keep reading don't say I didn't warn you.)

To say that the new MacBook Pro is an upgrade for me is to understate the matter by an order of magnitude or two. It could well be argued that the last design generation (as opposed to performance generation) of Apple aluminum portables was the most successful notebook design in the history of computers. That stamped aluminum case, that shape, that look, that grainy silver finish, has been around and looking sharp for over 5 years (going back, virtually unchanged, all the way to the PowerBook G4 days as it did), an unheard-of eon in computer design years. But at no point was it ever considered dated. In fact I think one of the reasons it was so successful for so long is that no one could imagine how one would go about improving on such a clean, workable design. It just kept looking better than anything else year after year. And recently that very design was still outselling just about everything else on the market.

And so now we come to the new machine. If the "current" one still looks modern and effective, the "new" one looks like it's been transported to our time from the future. A future where things just hold themselves together without seams or screws or latches, and the lines and curves are so clean you just think, "Well, that looks good, but no one will ever really build that."

And when you actually see one, and you hold it and turn it and weigh it in your hands the thing feels like a single, solid piece of ... something. If design was a substance and could be alloyed with technology to produce an actual material, that's what Apple has used to pour the new MacBook Pro into existence (see the fawning? I did warn you).

Now, I understand the person who says that this is all a bit overkill. It's nice that Apple puts this much thought into design and all, but is it really that big of a deal? Wouldn't it be good just to have a good looking machine that did more things, or that did them faster?

But this complaint is as old as Apple itself. The modern era of this kind of grousing goes back to the original iMac – all translucent Bondi Blue plastic, USB ports and no floppy drive. And it's just as valid or invalid now as it was then. I'm not dismissing the criticism, but I am saying that Apple has always considered the look and feel to be as important a feature as the raw functionality, because it has everything to do with how a human interfaces with the machine. Apple takes a very holistic approach to design; they don't see it as just "making something look good." It's the way it allows a person to reach the function of that machine as well, and the overall impression that machine makes on its owner, the affinity it engenders.

This new "unibody" production process is not just about making a better-looking machine. It's also about cleaning up and streamlining the insides and the overall structure. Air moves better through the interior. The overall body is stiffer and more solid. Fewer movable parts means better dependability and fewer bits to worry about. The overall impression is one of a device that will do what you need it to do for a long time without having to worry about it much, an impression that is very much the sort of thing Apple is all about.

There are plenty of people who don't care a whit about such things, and fair enough. Clearly this is the sort of thing that impresses a guy like me, but partly because I think I understand what Apple is shooting for and why. Maybe it's because I am a designer, but I appreciate the fact that this "innovation" is really in service of increased function, even if that function isn't expressible as a higher megahertz or framerate.

My favorite Buckminster Fuller quote is, “When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

Alright, so much for the fit and finish; let's talk practicality.

I'm apt to gloss over the speed and performance of the machine in favor of more usability-oriented concerns. It's fast. Just about everything it does seems instantaneous to me. Launching apps is fast, saving files is fast, loading Web pages is fast. But I will be the first to admit that mine may not be the most discerning opinion where all this is concerned; my upgrade delta is pretty steep, so the difference is pretty striking to me. I don't time my processes. I don't clock how long it takes to launch Photoshop or save a 400 MB file, I don't run framerate tests in a battery of games. The numbers don't concern me, per se. Suffice to say everything feels super snappy and I'm damn impressed with the way World of Warcraft looks and how solid it runs, even fullscreen on my 24" external monitor.

There was a time, not too long ago, that I could find a valid use for every last ounce of megahertz and byte, but I'm no longer a bleeding edge power user. I'm not editing HD video or doing heavy CGI animations. Large Photoshop files and some games are my upper limit.
The question I ask is, "Am I happy with how the machine works while I'm using it?" The answer is a resounding, nearly-unqualfied, yes.
Over the years of using the PowerBook, I developed a couple of habits. I use a tablet much of the time, so I always have to take the computer+tablet setup into account. I've always preferred to push my tablet up against the right side of the notebook so the two are square with each other; the tablet stays oriented correctly and the arrangement is easier to manage. One of the problems I've had with every other Pro model Apple's put out in recent years was the fact that some important ports were arranged on the right, interfering with my setup. So, a simple thing like having all the ports on the left now is one of my favorite things about the new MacBook Pro. It's a bit of a trade-off, I know. It probably means that there must be fewer port options (especially on the MacBook, the loss of FireWire has caused a lot of dust to be kicked up; people aren't happy being corralled into change by fewer options even if, in the long run, it might be a better set of options for most people (and for Apple)).

For me, these attenuated options are far less problematic than they might be for others. I don't need a port for every occasion. I have FireWire 800 drives for backups, a FW400 pocketdrive (which a simple change of cable makes usable). My scanner and printer and other peripherals are all USB. I've been seeing the writing on the wall for FireWire as a consumer-level protocol for several years now (once they pulled it from the iPod, I knew something was up), so although I'm a little surprised to see even a FW400 option gone from the MB, I kind of figured it would happen sooner or later.

Another controversial change has been the new trackpad. Some people are complaining that it clikcs too loudly, or that it doesn't register clicks sometimes, or that it's just odd having a trackpad without a button. Though it did take a bit of getting used to, it's now one of my favorite things about the machine. Mine registers clicks perfectly well most of the time (as well as any of the previous-gen MBPs I've used – in fact the only thing I've used that's got a more reliable button is Sparky) and my click sound is no louder than any other button I've ever used. Mileage may vary, of course, but I simply haven't noticed anything to grouse about regarding the trackpad.

The glass screen, however, is a different matter. As has been noted, it's glossy. Very glossy. Reflective. Under most circumstances, this isn't problematic, but there are times... I don't like reflections on my screens. They're distracting and they get in the way of seeing what's on the display. The glass probably increases the contrast (and it certainly gives it that "shiny, new" look) but that's much less important to me than displaying accurate color. I don't expect any built-in display to match my calibrated LaCie screen, but one of the things I really like about matte screens is that they seem to better represent print on paper by being slightly more diffuse. The other thing I like about them is the lack of reflections. When I first bought the MBP I didn't consider the glossy display was going to be very problematic, but I have come to the conclusion that it's more of a flaw than a benefit and I really wish I'd had the option of a matte screen. It's no game-breaker, by any stretch (as I say, under most conidtions, it's a non-issue) but matte would be better, hands-down.

I may wind up trying out one or more of the matte-finish screen overlaysonce companies that make such things catch up to the new screen size and shape. I'll report back if I find anything useful.

At any rate, the short of it is that the new MacBook Pro is just about the (nearly) perfect machine for me. Power and portability in a ridiculously good-looking package.

First off, I think they're brilliant.

There are things I'd like to see, or think I will miss (I fully intend to acquire one of the Pros - it will complement my new LaCie 324 monitor nicely).

First off, just to get it out of the way, the glossy-only option I find rather suspect. I'm willing to be convinced, but for design and illustration work, I'm inclined to expect the non-glare screens to be less fatiguing for close work simply because they inherently lack the distracting reflections of glass. It would be very nice to have a non-glare glass option.

I can see the argument for keeping more FireWire options, too (the new Pro only has a single FW 800 port). Personally, the port options closely resemble the set I'm used to (on my beloved but now rather venerable 12" PowerBook G4) – two USBs and a FireWire (though mine's a 400), but I'd think that two FW ports (each on their own bus) would be far more advantageous for some pros, especially ones who work with video.

My expectation is that Apple will likely add more ports when they update the 17" MacBook Pro. Right now, considering where they had to put the battery and drive (along the whole front of the machine), which moved the optical drive to the right side, they had to stack all the ports on the left (which, to my mind is a far superior arrangement anyway - I use my Wacom tablet pushed up against the right side of my PowerBook constantly) and just ran out of room on the 15.

An an obliquely-related note, I wonder how long before Axiotron formulates a response to these new MacBooks. I could seriously develop some lust for a ModBook based on the new hardware. Maybe they could even get the Bluetooth to work :)

This year has not gone exactly according to my original plan, art-wise. I'm busy as hell with work, though, which is exactly what I wanted, so I'm surviving well with some breathing room for a change. The last month has been particularly insane; the Thunderbird finally made too convincing an argument to be replaced so I had to buy a car. While at the same time looking for and moving into a new apartment. One or the other would have been enough, but woof. On the other hand I now have a very comfortable car that's in great shape and will last forever, and a new apartment on the Westside of LA (smallish and pricey, but very well--placed, and enough room to get have a little art space).

In general, things are quite looking up. Nice change after this summer.

Mostly what I'm doing at work is designing and laying out comic books, doing logos for comic/movie properties, and other production-y things. So, that's good :)

As to the title of this post – I've been working my way through Warcraft III again this week, in a sort of post-Blizzcon daze. I'm impressed at how much my appreciation of the lore and characters in World of Warcraft has deepened since I started playing through it again. I'm such a noob.

Okay. So. Been a while. Inexcusable, I know. Except that I have an excuse.

When I got back from Atlanta in January I did some catching up on freelance work (including the lovely wedding portrait, below) then I got really busy. I'd signed up with an agency and they got me a regular gig for two months. Then that ended.

And then, I started a whole new kind of gig: doing design and production for Platinum Studios here in Los Angeles. Platinum makes comics and movies.

I'll say that again so it sinks in. Platinum makes comics. And movies.

So, this is a whole new sandbox for me to play in. Right now I'm being the colorist on my first comic book (about which more later) and that's keeping me very happily busy for a couple of weeks. BUT, the very first thing they had me do was Photoshop up a little teaser poster for a movie (still in pre-production) of a little comic book you may have heard of called Witchblade!

And here it is (best viewed with Safari):

Actually, this is a special full-size standee; there's also a normal poster version that's cropped differently.Since it's still in pre-production there's not much to tell, details-wise, but you can go to the website and sign up for updates.

So yeah, that was my first assignment. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what else these guys have up their sleeves for me to work on!

From this week, a commissioned portrait. Just in time for Valentine's Day!

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