Recycled Computing

School Year Means Clamshell iBook and Aluminum iMac

- 2009.08.24

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Short link: http://bit.ly/9zQ2e

I haven't started my job in our local school just yet, but I will preview the situation. I have been upgraded with a new 20" brushed aluminum iMac. And . . . and my boss' daughter updated her laptop with an IBM ThinkPad, so I will be getting my hands on a Blue G3 Clamshell!

(Pause for effect.)

Yes! I have always wanted one of these iBook dinosaurs, because they do not look any other computer ever made.

indigo clamshell iBook Yes, they look like the alien beings from the future that occasionally rear their multiple heads in the Apple Design department and just go crazy, then design this laptop. I mean, it has all those computer parts - screen, keyboard, CD drive, network port, USB port, and FireWire port, but it looks like a toilet seat from the future! It's just crazy!

I'm going to have so much fun seeing what I can do with this clamshell iBook. What's really nice is the FireWire connection - I can use Target Disc Mode to load OS X from a Mac with a DVD drive. That's real cool.

I am hoping to max out the RAM and see if I can get Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" to run on it. No matter what, it will be an adventure - and you will be the first to know!

brushed aluminum iMac I am really looking forward to working with the 20" iMac. This will be the largest screen I have ever used, and I have no idea what to do with all that real estate. I will have to avoid the temptation to watch video on this huge thing. This will be fun! And I will give you a review of this desktop monster.

From the Dark Side: Windows XP still runs fine on my son's MacBook. Very shortly, he will be going off to college, and I will have to answer any tech questions on the phone. I am hoping to install Microsoft Office on the Mac side of his MacBook before he goes to school.

I just had another Yo-Yo Power Adapter die on me. Fortunately, I have a bunch of them, so the Pismo was able to survive, but the batteries are going south. I think I have to bite the bullet and buy a brandy new battery (or batteries) to keep the old gal going. Still, it is my day-to-day computer and still has (IMO) the best keyboard I have ever used on a computer.

The future looks bright, and I can promise to keep you informed on my new school year projects.

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Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, introduced 1994.05.16. 'Blackbird' includes a 25 to 33 MHz 68040 along with smart batteries and grayscale or color displays.
May 16 in LEM history: 98: iMac reconsidered - 01: The exclusivist Mac - Cubed - Troubleshooting - 02: SE/30 catharsis - Microsoft free - 03: SCSI and OS X on a beige G3 - 05: Failures: Apple III and Lisa - Bigger, faster, more - 06: MacBook - PowerBook 3400 still useful - 07: 3 GB in a MacBook - 08: Mac Pro beats HP and Dell - Limited USB power in Santa Rosa Macs
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