>From a few days back, the devil's advocate's advocate will argue that since we presumably agree (maximum ease of) portability is the main interest of the Duolist, either you have the option of carrying the minimum (safe/required) configuration on the road for whatever tasks are anticipated, or, if you are using an "all-in-one mini-mainframe iB2" (or a mainframe Ti), the necessity to carry substantial additional peripherals is self-defeating.
On 3/29/02 makmac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Very good points. However: > iB2 can boot from CD for repair by simply holding down the "C" key (granted > this isn't hands free like automatic boot priority but gee, you're only > using one finger). Yes, when it works. Not all self-burned CDs work when/where they are needed, especially if read from one machine and burned by another. Many CD drives these days FAIL to mount self-burned CDs so I consider this highly unreliable for emergencies. Also, nothing more can be written to CDs if more is needed to bolster the rescue attempt. I've nothing against CDs but do not want to be in a country with poor Mac support solely dependent on a CD. I like aircraft level safety redundancy for emergencies. > >> --bootup repair from PCMCIA via ATA, CF, SM, HD (Type II & III) > Got me there. However it would be interesting to see if one could create a > bootable "disk" with one of those USB flash drives (key-chain storage > devices). Might be fun to try. Might well work but USB flash capacities are still limited and prices relatively high. Moreover transfers are much slo-o-wer over USB 1.0. On other types of flash standards with multi-device common usages, capacities easily run 128 mb - 1 gb which allow running a full OS and apps set, data, even if the internal HD is toast. That is an extremely important advantage for a mission critical situation. PLUS the Type III slot allows a modem or another drive as well (analogous to the old 2 floppy drive of years past), and vital info disappears credit card sized into your shirt pocket. Current files are readily preserved and easily transported to other computers. And, in a really critical situation for a current document (assuming it's PC compatible) you can even finish it on a PC/Win platform. Apart from my Mac formatted emergency repair PC card, I leave others in PC format so they mount immediately on either platform. > >> --bootup via ram disk (great for extreme power management), you can then >> push battery life up to 2:45-3 hrs > iB2 already getting 3 hours MINIMUM and I've stretched to 4.5hr. Besides, a > second battery is only $129 from Apple. No argument on batteries. In the future we'll just have to hollow out dead 2400 batteries and convert them to fuel cell technology to run 20 hrs! > >> --bootup by external SCSI HD or CD > iB2 can boot from it's internal CD and can also boot from external FireWire > HD or CD. Plus FireWire is much more reliable than SCSI and so compact (can > you stick a SCSI drive and cable in your pocket without people staring ;^). Since we're talking about portability first, the idea of having to carry a Firewire drive on the road seriously defeats the idea of all-in-one "mainframe" laptop solutions. A PC card is tiny by comparison. Then there's no value/speed in a 2.5" Firewire drive; you might as well max out on a cheaper, faster, larger 3.5"--which obviously is not something traveling well. EIDE 2.5" drives fit in small PCMCIA/Firewire/USB cases (some are even now multipurpose) and SCSI 2.5" drives fit in similarly compact cases. In the office everything should be readily available so no arguments there--and all Macs will boot from external HD/CD so nothing new there. > >> --repair/bootup via SCSI mode over another computer (probably even a PC >> configured with SCSI and Mac compatible file readers, although I've never >> tried this) > If you mean in SCSI disk mode. The iB2 has Target Disk mode via FireWire > which is so much easier than SCSI since you don't have to shut down, restart > the host machine. Correct, but same as above--an extra boat anchor (or computer) to travel with. Think slim, light, small, versatile, TINY--this is the Duolist "(devil's advocate)" > >> Wallstreet or later eliminates floppy, PCMCIA and ram bootup by open >> firmware, leaving CD & external SCSI. Pismo or later eliminates floppy, >> PCMCIA, SCSI and ram bootup by open firmware, leaving CD & external >> Firewire/USB but none of these are foolproof with a badly crashed computer. > Hmmm, my Wallstreet came with a floppy drive and you could get a floppy for > the Lombard and Pismo. However I can't recall the last time I had to boot > from a floppy to save a badly crashed Mac. For that matter, I can't recall a > Mac that I couldn't resuscitate with the help of a repair/system CD. Yeah, I stand corrected on the WS floppy detail. I explained some "half-boot" situations where boot priority can become an on-the-road issue. OS 8.6 and 9.x can get badly corrupted directories which quite easily stymie all of the software remedies out there, including Disk Warrior. > > And as I've said in previous posts, I'm not anti-2400, I love them and had > always wanted one. I just like being a devil's advocate }:^). Besides, the > newer technologies like FireWire and USB are making things so much easier. Agreed, and I'm not anti-iB2/Ti either but the Duolister's driving computing philosophy is everything as compact as possible. You make my point if you have to carry around Firewire/USB cables, add-on devices etc.--the bulk becomes substantial. Even a multi-format flash USB reader just does CF, SM and maybe Microdrives, but travels worse than a floppy because of its irregular packing shape. On the road it's enough to retain options to hook up to Firewire/USB devices without carrying them. The 2400's PCMCIA Type III slot allows both Firewire/USB cards simultaneously, each dual port for 4-port access. So if you want to do heavy duty external work, say A/V, multiple devices are the rule. iB2 only has 1 Firewire/1 USB port and Ti crippled Firewire speed and Airport range. > > Heck, I have an external 18BG laptop drive in a FireWire/USB case that is > bus powered which means I can pull the drive and cable out of my pocket, > plug it into my iBook, and I'm up and running. Again agreed, just like a PCMCIA based HD (which automatically comes up on its own) but I avoid carrying extra appendages. A PCMCIA 10 gb HD is much smaller and doesn't need a cable (to lose or forget). A PCMCIA w/CF even leaves room in my pocket for a 4-5 mpxl digital camera (Olympus D40, Pentax 430, Canon S40 etc.) at much less total weight and greater versatility. > > Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the whole idea of owning a PowerBook is > portability. I have an iBook with DVD/CD-RW so all my file transfer, > emergency boot needs are met in one 5 pound package. I also have an 18GB > drive that weighs 10oz (12 with cable). Everything above goes against portability (and convenience). You have to configure/burn a CD or network to file transfer and seriously interrupt computing and anything else you are doing. A flash card transfer in any format is a few seconds to 2-3 minutes total for, say, 256 mb, runs in background, and I'm otherwise free to keep computing or continue in a meeting, uninterrupted with all under my control. No Type I/II PC card weighs even one ounce. > > How much does the 2400 weigh with floppy drive and CD-ROM? How about with > extra battery to match my battery life? 4.4 lbs w/floppy, plus a few ounces for extra PC cards/cables. I never needed a CD-RW on the road (yet), and rarely carry a 2nd battery. I might carry an auto/air adapter. Subnotebooks are not the best solution for people who watch DVDs on their own computers. This again gets down to individual on-road computing/traveling philosophies. In this forum, less is more--and it is to that compact versatility, best achieved via the PCMCIA (Type III) slot (on which there were continuing inquires by other listers), that I made the original "devil's advocate" post. Unfortunately, Apple knows perfectly adding a PCMCIA slot to "prosumer" iB2 would seriously dent "pro power user" Ti sales--so they are just not going to do that. Subnotebook sales remain mired between 5-10% of total laptop industry sales so Apple isn't going to do another any time soon... Sidney Ho ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Need help from a real person? Try. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------- Dr. Bott | 10/100 Ethernet for your 2400 is finally here! 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