I’ve just upgraded to Leopard on my Macbook Pro, and apart from managing to screw up the booting becuase I was messing around with some of the display options (which messed up com.apple.windowserver.plist) and having to fix this by running and Install and Archive from the Leopard DVD, I am know starting to think about what nice new shiny Apple kit I want to purchase.

My Macbook Pro is nearly two years old (well I will be by the end of April), and has been used almost all day, everyday for that period time (yes, even when I’ve been on holiday!!!), and although the MBP is still running great (apart from running hot which all early MBP with Core Duos do apparently), the time has come to think about replacing it. This must be the longest time I have ever used one single computer without replacing it.

The choices I think I have (as I still want to run Apple based kit) is:-

• Macbook Air
• Macbook Pro
• Modbook
• 12″ Powerbook

I do like the look of the Macbook Air, I don’t have a problem with the non removable battery – as I’ve never replaced the battery in my MBP and still get around 2 hours runtime. I don’t mind the fact that it only comes with one USB port as all my USB devices are plugged into a USB hub. The only problem that I can think of is that it only has an 80gb hard disk (for the non SSD version). My current 90gb drive has about 15gb as long as I don’t keep my Parallels Windows XP session on it.

I could also get the latest version of the Macbook Pro (hey Apple, when are you replacing the MBP ?). It does meet all my computing needs, but I just wish it could be a little.

Then there is the Modbook from Axiotron.  I don’t have a problem of using a computer without a real keyboard, I’ve used enough PDAs (since the old Palm 3s) and smartphone not to worry too much about the need for a keyboard. Most of the use my current setup is mainly webbrowsing when I am at home, and when I’m in the office, I use and external wireless keyboard anyway. I have just started using a pen & tablet setup at work too, since I kept getting pains in my finger tips. Its only been a few days so far, but the signs are looking good and the pain doesn’t seem too bad. So using a pen setup isn’t so much of a leap for me. And I guess it would look cool in meetings drawing on the screen.

My final option is an old (from ebay) 12″ Powerbook. The Powerbook is previos incarnation of the Macbook Pro, but Apple released the small 12″ screen. The smallest we can get from Apple today is the 13.3″ screeen. I’ve seen these in the flesh and they are soooo tiny. The power of the processor isn’t too much of an issue for me, as most of my heavy number crunching at work is all done on Microsoft Access databases and remote servers.

Now all I have to do is to get my gadget fund up…