My second post about my new PowerBook was unfortunately kind of lukewarm (I didn't think the battery lasted long enough). However, now that I've lived with "sylph" for a couple of weeks, I'm pretty much in love. I've been using the machine at work, pretty much as my main development machine, even though they gave me a very fast Windows box. Sylph, which is currently carrying "only" 512M of RAM, compiles our entire source tree to a .war file in about 45 seconds. My manager's 2.4ghz Compaq laptop takes about a minute longer to compile it (under cygwin). So, you could say I'm pretty happy with the PB's performance :-).

It's also proven to be as much of a champ as the household's other Mac laptops (a 900mhz iBook and 550mhz TiBook), in terms of stability. I'm constantly sleeping it, waking it, plugging in, unplugging, switching between wireless and wired networking, adding a mouse and taking it off, etc., and it has never stumbled. I think over the last week I've only turned it off once, and it's been carried in and out of different environments daily.

I can recommend a few accessories that I've been very happy with:

• WildEepz from RadTech. They're little urethane dots that make the case top and bottom mate better when the 'book is closed.
• A PowerSleeve(z), also from RadTech. This is a very nice slipcover that I use before dropping the PB into my bag.
• The size 11 SleeveCase from WaterField Designs. This is a very nice case for carrying the PowerBook on short journeys where you don't need a lot of gear, but want protection for the 'Book. I added the optional D-rings and suspension strap. This is top-notch gear. I originally ordered it along with the WaterField Cargo bag, but decided to send back the Cargo bag and just stick my old tried-and-true Tumi Computer Brief (mine is much older than the one at the linnk) for commuting duties. This is no reflection on the Cargo bag -- it was of very impressive quality. Gary at WaterField was great about processing the return with no fuss whatsoever. I highly recommend this manufacturer of great laptop gear.