Apple has been soliciting feedback from developers about the TiBook and one reader sends us his list:
All in all, I love this machine, but there are some glitches, and definitely room for improvement.
Things that need improvement:
1) Need NVIDIA graphics on board – no more of this weak ATI stuff. We need GeForce To Go. Oh yeah, and make the graphics chip upgradeable or have a motherboard swap.
2) The battery issue – just received my two replacements due to the “flex and shut off” issue. This problem should have been fixed before the model went into production. My big gripe on this problem is that resetting the clock to 1904 makes my Find-by-content files useless, requiring a 20 hour re-indexing.
3) To prevent resetting to 1904, please bring back the auxiliary battery – which I believe Apple removed starting with the iBook. It is really important.
4) Compartmentalize. Installing the Airport card is a royal pain – I have 15 years experience with Macs and is was tough for me even the first few times (installed on mine and for 3 clients). Either make it accessible by having a door pop off (i.e. like on IBM Stinkpads) or, without massive redesign to the current case, put a slot in the case accessible through the battery bay. I’d say do it that way – make it similar to the Pismo – make a small cutout in the battery bay to slide the card in (so it would be rotated 90 degrees from the current positioning in the case) slide it in to the slot and have an antenna cable easy to plug in.
Oh yeah, why not incorporate the Airport antenna into the big connector of the rest of the Airport card? Could you do this for the 45 Mbps “Airport 2”??
Another item that could / should be compartmentalized is the hard drive. I immediately upgraded my drive when I got it, and again, it is not an upgrade for the average user.
5) Airport reception – poor compared to Pismo. C’mon guys, I’m sure you could have wired a thin antenna wire around the display…. That is why Pismo and iBook Airport reception is much better.
6) Keep it Titanium – Please no goofy colors in the professional line of products. Apple is not Dell.
7) Power management in OS X – need I say more?
8) Second Firewire port.
9) Incorporate a small video camera into the computer – or have it as a clip on accessory to the top of the display with integrated connector for the video and power (like a mini-firewire port).
10) Apple branded cases!! (In my opinion, it should come with the system – and design it well – another “screw you” to the Windows dweebs).
11) Apple branded USB hubs.
12) Bring back the analog audio input!
13) ADC Monitor connector (using external power supply) – I would like to hook up my Apple Cinema Display to the PB when I’m at home. Also make a switch box for multiple ADC equipped Macs to share a ACD.
14) Buy out Metricom (Ricochet wireless Internet – www.metricom.com) – They are running out of cash and I’d hate to loose them!.
While Apple only sent the email to members of its Apple Developer Connection program, I am sure that they would like to hear from you too. If there are features that you would like to see or issues that need to be addressed with the Titanium, send them in a coherent, logical email to powerbookg4@apple.com before 30 April 2001. It’s good to see that they are asking for feedback.
