Hello to the few visitors to my website! This is my first post to my new weblog. I have thought about starting a blog for a while now and have finally gotten around to it. I know that I won’t have too much time to post to it often, but nonetheless, I felt it would be a benefit to my website. jonSharp.net has been a place for me to put up information I feel may be relevant for others such as my experience with installing Mac OS X on my PowerTower Pro (Mac Page). This blog should provide a better mechanism for such things and allow me to post them sooner. I also hope this blog allows me to share some of my opinions and insights in the world of computing from time to time. I hope you enjoy my site and enjoy my new blog! Thanks for visiting and stay tuned!
Jon

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new 17″ PowerBook. It is scheduled to be delivered sometime today. I have requested that it be delivered after I return from church, but I’m afraid I may be rather distracted during the sermon today. I ordered a 17″ PowerBook with 1.33Ghz G4 from the Apple Store earlier this week. I expect the case to arrive in the next few days. Anyway, I’m very excited about it and will post pictures soon.

I am now quite impatiently awaiting my PowerBook’s arrival. I feel very much like Amit Singh from kernelthread.com and the drama that accompanied his PowerBook arrival. FedEx was supposed to deliver my package yesterday. As it required a signature, I made absolutely sure that I was there the entire day so as not to miss it. Checking the FedEx online tracking information, I saw that the package was on the truck for delivery since 8:45AM. I continued to check that page periodically throughout the day just in case we had in fact missed the delivery. Well, the page never changed and it grew later and later. Finally, I knew that they wouldn’t be coming that evening, so I called FedEx to see what was going on. A woman was able to quickly tell me that the driver had attempted delivery at 3:45PM. I told her I found that rather incredible considering my wife, myself and my dog were all at home the entire afternoon. I don’t believe the driver ever made it to my apartment because I was fairly vigilant in my anticipation. I assured the woman that the driver clearly made a mistake. I demanded satisfaction. She said she was sorry but the delivery would have to be rescheduled for Tuesday. Tuesday?! Apparently, FedEx Home Delivery only runs from Tuesday to Saturday. I asked her if I could pick up the package at the terminal. Sure. She began making a note to hold it at the terminal for pickup. Then she tells me that the driver will get the note on Tuesday. “So, you’re telling me I’m going to have to wait until Tuesday for them to hold the package so I can pick it up? The whole point of my asking if it could be held was so that I didn’t have to wait until Tuesday!” After going around and around with the woman, it was clear she could not satisfy me. Apparently, FedEx completely shuts down this terminal on Sunday and Monday, so no one would be available at all for me to contact there to get it sooner. So, now I have to wait until Tuesday. In the meantime, my PowerBook is sitting at some FedEx facility 15 miles away. Needless to say, I’m a little upset about the matter and this creates an extra inconvenience because I must be at home during my lunch hour to await delivery. Oh well, I suppose I should take the opportunity to exercise patience.

Well, I have had my beautiful new 17″ PowerBook G4 for just over a week now, and I have to say that it has exceeded my expectations! When I first opened it, it seemed even larger than I remembered from demoing one in the store, yet the more I use it, the lighter and more portable it seems to me. It is remarkably lightweight for it’s size. The 1″ thinness is just amazing and elegant. It stays much cooler than I thought it would. Only when I really push it with 3D gaming does it get hot. Even then, 20-30 seconds after exiting the game, the fan turns off and temperature begins to return to normal. The fan has not come on under any other circumstances yet. My concerns regarding my ability to use the PowerBook on the couch or lying in bed have been laid to rest, as well. In some ways, I find it easier to use the PowerBook than my 12″ iBook in such circumstances, as the greater surface area seems to help me balance the notebook better. I absolutely love the screen! I just can’t get over how much room I have to work with now. I really enjoyed my 12″ iBook, but I had to get creative with managing windows. Fortunately, Mac OS X does so well at providing efficient and flexible window management, especially now that it has Expose. The hinge design blows me away! The action is so smooth! Combined with the latch, this is without doubt the nicest notebook design I have seen. I recently had the task of working on a Sony Vaio laptop with a 16″ screen. The hinge was so stiff and sticky. I had to pry the screen away from the base. If I lifted the screen, the base came up with it. Needless to say, it helped me appreciate my PowerBook even more. I have seen several other desktop replacement PC laptops advertised recently and I smile when I look at their specs. HP’s 17″ notebook weighs almost 10 lbs and is nearly 2″ thick. Dell doesn’t have a 17″ notebook, but their 15.4″ Latitude weighs about the same as mine, but is nearly 2″ thick. I have no complaints right now regarding my PowerBook. I am really, very, truly satisfied with it. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship! ;)

I added pictures to the page describing my Mini-ITX webserver / Freevo media PC. I am very proud of the work I’ve put into it and hope I can help others with such projects of their own. I hope this page with its new pictures helps to inspire others. And if you want to drop in and play some games with me, let me know! :)