iMaculate Conception

Death of the Desktop II

I've spent the last month trying to ignore my desktop G4s - and do EVERYTHING on my TiBook. I've kept track of pros and cons, played with some new and old products, and basically come to a conclusion I admit is startling for a desktop designer - used to big screens and big workspaces.

The death of the desktop is inevitable.

Once again, the real obstacle

In order for Jane/Joe Designer to bust the cubicle shackles and break free from the buttoned-up realities of modern day office existence - their employers are going to have to realize that strategic creativity is not limited to 8 hour workdays five days a week. Positive creativity flows from freedom and happiness - and the fluorescent daymare called office life is not exactly the womb that springs great ideas.

Obviously - ALL WORKERS would be happier with flexible hours and more pleasant, comfortable working environments - and it's going to take a while before this sinks into the Bill Lumberghs of the world.

In the meantime, please feel free to work some evangelical mojo in your own workplace - because the more this idea gets around - the sooner the cubicle walls fall.

Back to reality

For someone who spends a lot of time complaining about creative freedom - I have to admit I'm given a pretty long leash at my university. I can take a couple of days every week to disappear off the radar and work where I'm comfortable.

Strangely enough - one of my favorite workplaces is my office - which bears a striking resemblance to my old dorm (oops - residence hall) room. The walls are covered with posters and artwork (and I mean COVERED) - there are bookshelves full of books, magazines, software, tiki glasses, volleyballs and basketballs, various promotional relics, lightsabers, sith lord and bounty hunter helmets, lego people, action figures (Professor X and Shaft being my favorites this week) and the occasional item of electronica. Ah, my home away from home.

I also have a nice G4 tower with a Cinema Display - which I tried hard to ignore over the last month. I still find myself scratching at the inside of my elbow, shifting my weight from right foot to left, jonesing for the wide expanse of sunny pixels blowing beautiful photons in my face as I think about my Cinema Display - just in case you think it's easy to switch to only mobile design for a month.

There are a couple of activities that still required a desktop for the last month - gaming (I am not giving up use of my GeForce 4 Ti in my Wolfenstein squad games for any article, thank you very much) and DVD/music entertainment (because the iSub sounds so damn good). As a matter of fact - my work desktop has more or less been a TV/jukebox for the last month. Considering the workout it often gets, I bet it has enjoyed it's vacation.

What I have discovered about mobile computing - is that you need some good gear to get the job done right. Without some of this gear - you'll damage your notebook, back muscles and psyche. The following list is the best stuff I've gotten to play with - and now permanent staples of my new mobile productivity. Keep in mind, some of these items are pricey, but worth the outlay for the comfort and peace of mind.

1. Save your screen

Anyone who uses a notebook has seen the damage that hand oils do the the screen when transferred from the keys. I have seen folks try paper, foam, and all kinds of other stuff laid between keyboard and screen to protect the screen from damage.

I bit the bullet and picked up an OWC Laptop Screen Protector when I ordered my TiBook - so I could avoid the damage done to my Pismo screen. For 15-20 bucks, it's a good value for a durable piece of leather that has kept my screen pristine for nine months. I'm sure they will be available for the new PowerBook sizes soon. If you blow off everything else on this list - at least save your screen.

2. Save your back

Now that we've worried about the PowerBook, worry about yourself. If you are a "huncher" - or somebody who tends to lean over a keyboard - you might want to consider a "workstation" setup for your primary workplace. Here is one of my biggest knocks about notebooks: they don't "fit" me really well. I'm a big guy - about 6'1" with a football build. I tend to hunch over my PowerBook, which gets my upper back, neck and shoulders pretty sore by the end of the day. Granted - this is in an office environment - not stretched out on an easy chair at home. And let's be honest - the PowerBook G4 is NOT a laptop - this puppy gets WARM, and I'd prefer to avoid sterility.

So - I have a few suggestions for those who are going to work "Paladin-style" (have notebook will travel) but from a central office location.

Get yourself a Griffin Technology iCurve. This thing is not only a workstation work of art - it really does it's job quite nicely at a good price. It raises the notebook closer to eye level, while still providing access to the keyboard and drives.

I waited a while before giving in an buying one - and I have a few statistics: my average Mondays and Wednesdays start around 7:30 in my office, where I hunch over the PowerBook until I go into class at 10:30. After I emerge from classes at 3:30, I spend another hour hunching before I head out. On Tuesdays - I hunch from 7:30 to 11, then hunch again from 1-4. Monday through Wednesday - I have neck aches when I go home, that occasionally turn into headaches.

Since setting up my iCurve workstation at work - I have no aches whatsoever - I sit up straight, and have even been observed working while leaning back in my chair. At about 40 bucks - this thing is worth it's wait in platinum. Easily the second-best notebook purchase.

3. Save your dignity

I work in an academic environment - which means no typo goes unnoticed. I'm excellent at spelling, but LOUSY at typing. Actually, I can type like the dickens on my PowerBook, but I'm a joke at my desktop.

It took me a while to figure out why - but I finally had a moment of inspiration when I saw a picture of the Macally IceKey online. Some people are going to be more comfortable typing on low-profile keys, and this is a very slick alternative for these people. I LOVE this keyboard.

I'm not used to decent keyboarding away from my PowerBook - but I felt right at home with the IceKey. It has low-profile notebook keys, USB ports at both ends, media keys for volume and ejecting discs, and a very low profile. I've even hooked this thing up to my Desktop G4 and typed away like a madman. It's like that scene in the Matrix when Neo learns Kung-Fu after a quick brain-upload. I feel like I learned to type in an instant.

I still really struggle with normal keyboards, but hey, with the this baby - I don't need to use them anymore. And - I also don't look like a schmuck when I send a quick message to the faculty list serve or sit in a chat room.

Now - I'm not going to recommend a mouse - because that seems to be a touchy feeling with the Mac crowd. One button or five? Optical or roller? Trackball or mouse? I have my preferences, mostly because they fit a XL hand. I also like optical mice with a ton of buttons, but that's me.

So why did I recommend a keyboard? Frankly because I had no idea that low-profile full-size keyboards existed, and it's possible that you, the noble reader (and seriously, thanks for hanging around thus far) might not know they exist either. So if your struggle with typing - try one out. It might not be you with the problem...

4. Save your sanity

Now that you have dropped a couple grand for a nice notebook, you'll go berserk when you scratch it, drop it or lose it. So, save your sanity (and the finish of your notebook) with some nice sleeves and a bag.

Last summer I visited DC with my (then) new TiBook, and finally had a chance to visit an Apple Store. I picked up an Incase laptop sleeve to add an extra layer of protection inside my old computer bag. I had read that the finish on the TiBooks scratched pretty easily - so I wanted to get some extra padding for the my TiFighter. I'm thrilled with the way the TiBook was protected in the sleeve - and the sleeve also doubles as a quick carry case when I'm just running across campus for a meeting.

I also decided to pick up a new computer bag in DC - and I'll admit this is my one extravagant purchase. In a luggage store I latched onto a Oakley computer bag that I LOVE. Sure, it was pricey - but it's sturdy enough to have survived countless drops, plops, a car accident and a bad fall on the ice. Not only is it sturdy - it looks like the kind of bag the Terminator would carry - and that appeals to me.

It has plenty of room for all my gear - including whatever books and CDs I need to carry, my Wacom, my FireFly and the iPod.

5. Save your career

So, in the face of buying all this cool stuff, and taking my studio with me wherever I go - what are the other cons of this setup? Well, you lose that big monitor unless you buy an adapter (and I'm not quite that far - YET). You also need to bulk up on RAM and think about energy maintenance in often painful ways (especially when you cut processor performance to conserve battery time.

On the flip side, my productivity is WAY up. I let the walls fall between work and play - and I'm much more comfy working at home and the office. I'm happier working on my PowerBook, and with regular backing up - I have one central, portable clearing house of information and design tools.

I love it. Right now - I think my next faculty computer request is going to be the 17 inch PowerBook - with the adapter for the Cinema Display, of course. This is the way that things are headed in mobile computing, and I think Apple is going to redefine what mobile means in the next few years. In the meantime, I'm sure enjoying the current paradigm...

- Joel Davies

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