Fossil WallStreet PowerBook G3 Still Useful after 10 Years
- 2008.05.05 - Tip Jar
Bookmark in del.icio.usLow End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $192 / 2GB kit $109. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 1GB $23--Free shipping available.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or Click Here.
Other World Computing: Go Longer Between Charges with a NewerTech NuPower Batteries! Not just another battery, NuPower available for PowerBook and iBook models, is built in the USA to offer the longest Run Time + the longest useful LifeTime too! In Stock at OWC from $99.95
Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB Kit $ 90 / 4GB Kit $140 / 8GB Kit $278 Click to Maximize your Macs...
This column is supposed to be about fossils. Digital fossils.
The machine on which I am typing is one such fossil by any objective definition. It feels weird to refer to it as such, however.
When it debuted, the PowerBook G3 "WallStreet" was
anything but a fossil. It was a racehorse of a laptop: a big, serious
machine with a big, serious screen and a big, serious keyboard. Mine is
a 250 MHz model with a 14" display sporting as much viewable turf as
the 17" CRT hooked up to my primary desktop at the time.
Only the littlest of touches remind one that this is no longer cutting edge computing. There are no USB ports, for instance. That's probably the most noticeable piece of evidence: no built-in way to connect a thumb drive, USB mouse, or iPod.
The iPod - that brings up another glaring difference. While the WallStreet G3, backed up with over a quarter gigabyte of RAM, will stumble along in OS X, it is so fast and smooth in Mac OS 9.2 that it seems a shame to hobble it with the newer, bulkier OS. So much for iTunes and docks and so forth.
On the other hand, OS 9's classic interface is as comfortable as an old shoe. Lord knows there's an absolute ton of software out there for it. With an 802.11 PC Card, AirPort is hardly missed; my Farallon card lets me surf the Web as easily as the internal AirPort card in my iBook.
And the keyboard - oh, the keyboard! No modern Apple 'Book has a keyboard to match it. (Note: I finished writing the rough draft of this column and, reluctant to part with the keyboard, went on to write another 1,500 words for my book project....)
There are prices to pay for this, of course. The big, long-stroke keyboard and roomy screen mean the WallStreet is a hoss of a laptop. Produced before Slim was In, the WallStreet is a burden for most laps; not just big, but heavy, too. By modern standards, it's really more of a portable than a true laptop. It was targeted as a desktop replacement for people who needed serious computing power on the go. (And people who had access to a table or desk while on the go at that, because the heat from this beast will barbecue your lap in short order should you set it there for too long.)
When you're on the go, however, the WallStreet still gets respect. Mac fans at the coffee bar will see it and nod at you; they recognize a machine still much loved among the cognoscenti. People with Wintel books will ogle it out of the corners of their eyes.
Its bold styling marked the PowerBook's return to the haute couture days of the Blackbirds after several years of wandering in the plebian-looking charcoal gray wilderness of PowerPC 'Books. The swoopy case, with its neoprene-textured panels and organic curves, is so different from the run-of-the-mill notebook: businesslike, still modern in appearance, maybe even faintly menacing. The person using a computer that looks like this is obviously writing another New York Times bestseller, leveraging a corporate buyout, or hacking into a Russian aerospace company's mainframes in a Hollywood thriller.
Worries include the display on 13" models, which suffered from wonky ribbon cable connections, and especially the hinges on all WallStreets. That heavy lid with its big screen comes at a price, and it is best to open and close your WallStreet gently, paying careful attention to support it evenly on both sides so that the torque of its own weight doesn't damage anything. Replacement batteries on these pre-Lombard/Pismo G3s are priced like imported sin as well, so it's important to practice good charging behavior.
So, is it still useful? There's no doubt that it is; it's an outstanding writer's tool with a fantastic keyboard, and the batteries have more life than a Led Zeppelin album if you ditch the optical drive in the extra bay and double up on the juice. It's no portable media-editing suite, but it's just fine for surfing the 'net, playing older games, or doing scutwork in MS Office. With the availability of PC Card WiFi, files are easily transferred to more serious production machines as well without having to resort to sneakernet.
WallStreets can sometimes be snagged quite cheaply on eBay, but anyone who watches the selling prices on no-reserve auctions or notes the prices that these old 'Books fetch from commercial resellers can tell that they're still held in quite high esteem. [Editor's note: See Low End Mac's Best PowerBook G3 Deals for current pricing.]
There's no denying it has its drawbacks and no use pretending that
it's not a fossil, but as anyone who's ever gotten careless with a
petrified shark's tooth knows, fossils can still do what they were
designed to do years and years ago.
Archaeological Notes: This column was written in Microsoft Word '98 on a 250 MHz WallStreet with 288 MB of RAM running Mac OS 9.2.2. It was sent as an .rtf attachment through Gmail using a Farallon WiFi card to my G4 "Sawtooth", where final editing was done in TextEdit before being emailed to Low End Mac. There is was massaged in TextSoap, pasted into Claris Home Page, then styled, proofread, edited, and uploaded in Classic Mode on a Mirror Drive Door G4.
Recent Digital Fossils Columns
- 10 cult Macs adored by collectors, 05.13. Macs are not only noted for their longevity, but also by the passion which collectors have for some of the most interesting models ever made.
- Perfect timing: The iMac's introduction in May 1998, 05.06. Apple was in dire straits in 1997, but Steve Jobs had a vision for an Internet Macintosh. 10 years ago he unveiled the iMac.
- In praise of the refreshingly different Clamshell iBook, 04.29. After seven years of faithful duty, the rugged notebook with a handle remains a favorite field computer.
- More in the Digital Fossils index.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- BlackBerry's bold challenge to iPhone, Zune sales still flat, 3G iPhone launch nigh, and more, iNews Review, 05.16. Also a new Google Reader for the iPhone, an iPod-based supercomputer, remote Mac access from iPhone and iPod touch, new cases, and much more.
- Open source virtualization for Macs, iMac shutdowns, Psystar reviews, and more, Mac News Review, 05.16. Also aluminum iMac USB power concerns, Penryn iMac twice as powerful as fastest G5 iMac, Radeon vs. GeForce in top-end iMac, Odysseus email client in beta, and more.
- Limited USB bus power in Santa Rosa Macs, 1 TB in your 'Book, MacBook cooler, and more, The 'Book Review, 05.16. Hitachi first to market with 320 GB 7200 rpm notebook drive, Apple to refund for sparking power adapters, 10 hour external MacBook Air battery, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Best iBook G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo w/AP, $350; 1.33 GHz w/o AP, $400; 14" 933 MHz w/AP, $400; 1.07 GHz, $425; 1.33 SuperDrive, $450; 1.42, $500.
- Best iPhone deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.16. New 8 GB iPhone, $399; 16 GB, $499.
- Best Mac Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.16. Refurb 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,888; 2.8, $1,999; 3.0, $2,299; 8-core '07, $2,499; new 2.8 4-core, $2,199; 8-core, $2,598 after rebate; 3.0 '08 $3,399 a/r; 3.2, $4,169 a/r.
- Mac Pro beats HP and Dell at their own game: Price, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.16. Whether comparing the top-end or low-end of Mac Pro options, comparable models from Dell and HP cost more.
- Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, May 1994 - 25-33 MHz 68040 powered PowerBooks with smart batteries, grayscale and color displays.
- List of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks.
- May 16 in LEM history: 98: iMac: A second look - 00: Raised in a 6-color world - 01: The exclusivist Mac - Troubleshooting your Mac - 02: MP3 and the Mac - SE/30 catharsis - 03: Don't confuse a pretty interface for an easy OS - SCSI and OS X on a beige G3 - 05: The Apple III and Lisa era - Bigger, faster, more: Enough! - G4 upgrade for iMac A-D - 06: MacBook - PowerBook 3400: Surprisingly useful and spry - 07: MacBook value equation - 3 GB in a MacBook
- Leopard is the way to go, even on most old G4 Macs, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 05.14. The useful and just cool features in Mac OS X 10.5 make this the biggest step forward in the history of the Mac OS.
- Windows on Macs: Three paths for integration, Jason Packer, Macs in the Enterprise, 05.14. Mac users have three routes for running Windows apps: Run Windows using Boot Camp or virtualization, or use a compatibility layer such as WINE.
- Mac OS 9 still nice, anticipating Odysseus, PowerBook 1400 upgrades, and more, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 05.14. Also rebuilding PowerBook batteries, FastMac vs. NuPower replacement batteries, and only one G4 upgrade left for WallStreet PowerBooks.
- Up-to-date or low-end, we need technology in our schools, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 05.14. Modern computers are great educational tools, but sometimes less distracting options (like no Internet) make more sense.
- Best iMac G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.14. Used 15" 800 MHz Combo, $320; SuperDrive, $380; 1 GHz Combo, $400; SD, $485; 17" 1.25 GHz, $459; 20", $750.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.14. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $40; 10.1, $49; 10.2, $60; 10.3 DVD, $50; CD, $100; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $109; 10.3 Server, $130.
- Best MacBook Air deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.14. 1.6 GHz, 80 GB, $1,694 after rebate; 1.8 GHz, $1,994 a/r; 1.6 GHz, 64 GB SSD, $2,689 a/r; 1.8 GHz, $2,950 a/r; SuperDrive, $99.
- More links in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Have a question?
Ask an expert!
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
