Speaking of 17 inches ;-)

[Andrew Forgrave]

Re:

> I would buy a BookEndz unit that would allow me to run the ports to the back
> if it was offered.

Me too!  

The BookEndz people are going to be offering a new dock for the 12" PB.

Check out:  (posted today)
http://www.macdirectory.com/4u/wire.fm$RETRIEVE?value=4009479&field=Serial&h
tml=wirelessdetail.html&doscript=findall

An excerpt:
The new docking station will replicate all of the connectors and ports from
the side of the 12 PowerBook and route the connectors, through its unique
design, to the back of the dock. The dock allows for all of the peripheral
devices normally connected to the side of the PowerBook - Power, Ethernet,
Modem, FireWire, USB, Audio In, Audio Out to be plugged into the back of the
dock, and remain plugged in, independent of the computer. The dock also
converts RGB to VGA.

---  I wrote and told them that discussion on this list suggests there would
be a market for a cable-out-the-back dock for the 17" PowerBook.


> Holy Cow this [external] keyboard is killing me!!

My preference tends (I'm afraid to say) to the M$ ergonomic keyboards (they
have a USB connector and downloadable Mac drivers) -- whenever I have to use
a non-angled keyboard now (even the notebook keyboard) it feels
uncomfortable.  The two additional degrees of angle (elbows out and keys
sloping down from the center split) really make a difference in comfort.

> 2a) If I put a lcd with the PB, do I lose anything in the process,
> like any speed, etc. of the pb?

My PB (550) only has 16MB of video ram and I run it daily with an external
15" LCD -- for the benefits offered by the expanded desktop, I don't notice
anything problematic.  I have noticed (qualitative observation only) that a
CRT monitor seems to give a better effect of "hand-eye immediacy" than an
LCD, but I can easily live with the benefits of smaller footprint, reduced
radiation and much lower power consumption.

If you're running a 17" PB with 64 MB of video ram (and Quartz
acceleration), you should have a great response.



Andy