Switching? Not…

Apple says get a Mac So you know, I replaced my lovely 12” iBook with a lovely 12” powerbook back in 2006. Since then, I’ve travelled miles and miles on motorcycle and Eurostar and the whole time my mini workstation has been powering through… I tend to have Virtual PC, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Omnigraffle, BBEdit, three or four browsers and Omnioutline all running at the same time (while downloading podcasts and listening to iTunes) with snappy response and power to spare…

Now, I know that’s no big deal in modern laptop terms but for me (as I create my own unique value in partnership with apple’s products) it’s both great and exactly what need. Unfortunately, everything is beginning to run on Intel macs, Adobe CS3 looks like Leopard only so if I upgrade I’m also gonna need a new system… add to that the running Windows without VPC and I really need to update my Powerbook.

So, dammit Steve, I thought you were going to anounce the new 12” powerbook last month, but nooooo, you had to go and do the Air™ thing:-(

Steve, this is a machine I cannot use. For starters, I don’t need thin, I need small. I need bounce-resistance (speed bumps and motorways) and I need crush-resistance (as I get kicked out of the conference room again and hastily stuff reports and coiled cables into my already overstuff laptop bag).

So where does that leave me…

I need a new laptop with an optical drive, an ethernet, an intel processor and a 12” form-factor. I need it soon, so if I can’t get a 12” Powerbook, what are my options? I may actually have to shudder switch to a PC and go with a Dell or a Toshiba…