By: Todd Kelly

Every day my PowerBook goes from a portable machine at home to a desktop replacement machine at the office, and I have a cable of some kind plugged into every port. Having been a satisfied owner of a BookEndz docking station for my previous Wall Street PowerBook, I couldn¹t wait to get one for my new Pismo book. The simplicity of plugging the ŒBook in to the dock and starting it up was, for me, a welcome escape from the hassle of finding all of my cables and trying to plug them in from the front of the ‘Book. I ordered my BookEndz from UpgradeStuff.com for $199 (shipping is extra).

The BookEndz arrived and I immediately put it to use. Short answer: it works well and as advertised. I had no problems with any port not responding, and for the most part I was happy, but there are a few issues to note about this new version.

My Wall Street BookEndz was functionally identical, but had an ADB and serial port instead of USB ports and a 25-pin SCSI port instead of twin FireWire ports. On this new model for the Pismo ‘Books, they include two USB cables that trail out of the back, as well as two FireWire cables. I would have preferred ports instead of cables, but I suppose there is a reason that Pilot Technologies built them this way. I decided to open the BookEndz to see how it was constructed. Note that I DO NOT recommend doing this ­ you may damage the BookEndz if you are not careful.

Inside, most of the ports on the back of the BookEndz are simply connected via cables to the front ports that fit into the PowerBook. In the case of the USB cables, there are simply two short male-to-female cables held in place by the plastics of the unit. The male ends are inserted into the PowerBook, and the female ends extend out the back. No problems there, just plug in any male USB cables from your peripherals, and you’re all set.

For FireWire, however, Pilot Technologies includes two very long 6-pin male-to-male FireWire cables. This bothers me, as it limits what you can plug in. For example, if your digital camcorder has a 4-pin FireWire jack (and most do), you could get a 4-pin to 6-pin cable and plug it directly into the female 6-pin port on your PowerBook. However, since the BookEndz dock has a 6-pin male connector, you can only plug 6-pin peripherals into it. On the Pilot Technologies web site, they state that a 4-pin cable can be purchased and installed into one or both of the FireWire areas on the dock. If you plan on using FireWire with any regularity, I would personally recommend that you get one 6-pin and one 4-pin cable when you buy your BookEndz. I may be replacing one of my 6-pin cables as well.

The only other issue that I have with this version of the BookEndz dock is that there are no rubber pads on the bottom to keep it from slipping around your desk. If I remember correctly, the Wall Street version that I used previously did have these. I ended up using small rubber pads for furniture that I bought at a local Wal-Mart–but it seems to me that this would have been a simple and inexpensive thing for Pilot Technologies to add themselves.

Overall, the dock works well and is truly useful for those home-to-office travelers who can’t stand having to plug in and remove all of their peripherals. At $199, it is cheaper than previous versions (my Wall Street version was at least $25 more). Is it for you? That’s a personal choice. But I can recommend it, if you can deal with the minor issues mentioned above.

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