Yesterday I was given a hard time by several of my friends that claim I am obsessed with my iBook heating issue. They were mocking me for going on and on about the heat problem and wither I should have gone with a Thinkpad instead.

Well, in my defense, I don’t see it as being obsessed. The iBook is no small purchase for me. And using it in my lap is a must. I think I have a legitimate concern and I just happen to be sharing that concern with my friends that I talk to on a daily basis. So maybe I do bring it up on a hourly basis, but is that obsession?

Ok, so maybe I am concerned to an obsessive level. But the good news is that I’m no longer worried about wither a Mac was the correct choice or not. I’ve been experimenting with the Chill Mat and think I will be able to work something out so that I don’t burn my lap with the iBook anymore.

I’ve been using the Chill Mat for a couple days now and it’s not the greatest, but it does help. The past couple times I’ve used it without turning on the fans and it still keeps the iBook much cooler. So, I think if I return the Chill Mat and get the Lapinator (which holds up the back of the iBook even more than the Chill Mat) I’ll be good to go. I’d still rather not carry around extra gear, but I guess it’s work it to have such a cool laptop.

I’ve had my new Apple iBook for over two weeks now and I’m having mixed feelings about it. I love Mac OS X. It’s elementary to use, spyware and virus free (at least for now), and just straight up easy on the eyes. There has only been a couple of Windows only applications that I have not been able to find a perfect match for on the Mac side (w.bloggar & TopStyle Pro). But, that’s not a big deal, there are apps that are close enough for now. And having a portable computer has been really great. Sometimes lugging around the extra weight is a drag and makes my neck and shoulders hurt, but it’s worth it to be able to more productive. Sounds like I’m really happy with my purchase, right?

Well, there is one thing about the Apple laptops that is really making me a little regretful with my purchase. The heat this thing produces is ridiculous. The G4 processor puts out some major heat when it gets going and my leg is taking a lot of abuse because of it. I got a laptop so I could do work during my long train rides each day. So, using the iBook in my lap is a must. But, without anything under it my leg hurts big time. I’ve been looking into getting something to put under it to help to distribute the heat better. Last night, I purchased a Targus Chill Mat which has two usb powered fans. This helped quite a bit, but my leg still got pretty warm and hurts from this mornings use. I like that the Chill Mat is so light and thin, but I don’t think it’s going to meet my needs and will probably be returned later this week. The next product I hope to try out is the Lapinator. This product looks like it might protect my leg a little better, but not actually cool the iBook as much. That’s fine with me as long as it keeps my leg from getting so hot. But what bothers me most about all of this heat stuff is that to use the iBook in my lap I have to carry around even MORE crap! That really doesn’t make me happy and is what is causing me the most regret about going with the Mac.

So, should I have gone with the IBM Thinkpad like I originally was planning to? I don’t know. I really love the Mac OS, but is it worth cooking my leg for?

We spent the majority of yesterday removing the carpeting from our living room. It’s a lot more work than I realized it would be. Pulling up the carpet and padding is the easy part. It’s the removal of all the staples, used to hold down the padding, that takes up so much time. There were so many staples to pull out that both my wife and myself have very soar palms from squeezing the needle nosed pliers so much. But it was all worth it. The hard wood floor that was underneath looks really good, except for one spot that has a water stain. I hope to have the time to refinish the floor sometime in the near future.

Hopefully, the main benefit from doing all that work will be improved breathing for the whole family. Quincy has been sneezing and stuffed up a lot and we think it’s probably allergies. So, removing the carpet will help us keep the dust and other irritants at bay. And I hope that this will benefit Mahra and myself as well.

Now, if only I could get the bathroom remodeling finished. Maybe this fall.

My 33rd birthday is less than a month away. So, it’s that time of year when everyone starts asking me what I want for my birthday. I figured I’d make a wishlist and post it on my site this year. Plus, it gives me a good reason to actually update my site with something. I really want to get better at posting more regularly.

So, without further ado, here is my wishlist for this year. Most of these are related to my new iBook, of course.

• Macally BTMICRO Portable Bluetooth Optical Mouse (Cause sometimes the trackpad just doesn’t cut it.)
• Lapinator (Cause those Apple laptops get really hot and my leg is starting to hurt all the time now.)
• iSkin ProTouch - Arctic (Cause even a keyboard and screen should use protection.)
• 2GB or 4GB iPod Nano (Cause it doesn’t hurt to dream.)

Too bad I won’t get all of this stuff. But, I’ll be happy with whatever I receive.

Back in college I bought my first Mac. It was one of the first PowerMacs made. A PowerMac 7100/AV. I continued to use the Mac platform for several years both at work and at home. Even when I started doing mostly web design I would use a Mac and have a PC for testing. But in late 2000 I took a job that would not buy me a Mac. I was stuck with only a Windows PC. And after using a PC all day I was getting frustrated with going home to a different keyboard layout. So, I sold my fairly new Mac G3 tower and built a couple Windows PCs. And I have been using Windows ever since.

Well, recently I decided to purchase a laptop to be able to do more work during my hour long train ride each day. After doing a lot of research on hardware, I decided to go back to Apple and buy a 14″ iBook G4 (1.42Ghz). It arrived today and I love it!!!

Oh how I missed you Apple. I’m so glad to be back. But I still only have a Windows PC at work. Oh well, life can’t be perfect.