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The 'Book Review

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - October 26, 2001

Except as noted, prices are in U.S. dollars, bold links are to outside sites, and regular links lead to 'Book profiles on Low End Mac.

• Pink Pismo Screens
• Apple PowerBook/iBook Omnibus Power Adapter Guide
• Madsonline Makes Apple's Older AC Adapters Usable With Newer iBooks And G4 PowerBooks
• MCE PowerBook G3 Expansion Bay Devices On Sale
• MCE FireBay FireWire Expansion Bay Docking Station
• J.R. Hill & Company Vinyl and Leather Laptop Screen Protectors
• Kingston Technology Releases 5 GB PC Card Hard Drive
• Adaptec Brings USB 2.0 Connectivity to Notebook Computers
• Bargain 'Books

Pink Pismo Screens

There is a quickly growing thread over at MacInTouch about 14.1" screens on Pismo and Lombard PowerBooks developing unsightly pink-shaded blotches, often shortly after the warranty expires. We would be very interested in knowing how widespread this problem is.

Apple PowerBook/iBook Omnibus Power Adapter Guide

Confused about what Apple power adapters will work with your 'Book?

Apple has posted a comprehensive chart of portable power adapter specs and compatibility information that provides information for all PowerBook power adapters, batteries, and battery chargers, from the PowerBook 100 through the latest TiBooks and iBooks, and how to identify them.

Madsonline Makes Apple's Older AC Adapters Usable With Newer iBooks And G4 PowerBooks

Madsonline's new $20 Generation Gap adapter connects older (black M4402 or "yo-yo") power adapters to the new, smaller AC adapter plug introduced with the Titanium PowerBook.

Generation Gap adapters are tested on the following Apple AC Adapters: M7332, M4402, M4896, M4895, but are incompatible with MadsonLine's own Micro and some other third party adapters.

Now if they will only come out with one that does the vice-versa, so users with older 'Books can use the cool, new portable power adapters Apple unveiled last week!

MCE PowerBook G3 Expansion Bay Devices On Sale

The MCE Xcarét Pro 2000 Expansion Bay CDRW and MCE Xcarét Pro Expansion Bay CDRW are CDRW drives designed to fit into the right-side expansion bay slot of the WallStreet PowerBook. Now you can write data to standard recordable (CD-R) and rewritable (CD-RW) CD's at up to 8x speeds anywhere you can use your PowerBook. In addition, the devices will read prerecorded CDs at up to 24x speed. The new 8x8x24 speed expansion bay CDRW drives also feature "Buffer Under-run Protection" to prevent making "coasters" or bad discs.

The MCE Xcarét Pro 2000 Expansion Bay DVD/CDRW Combo Drive allows you to burn CDs and read DVD-ROM discs on your PowerBook G3 1999 (Lombard/Bronze Keyboard) or PowerBook G3 2000 (Pismo/FireWire) with a single expansion bay drive.

These drives also allow WallStreet PowerBooks to read writable CDs, which the stock Apple WallStreet CD-ROM drive won't.

MCE Xcarét Pro 8x8x24 Expansion Bay CDRW Drive

• Designed for PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet)
• Regular price: $399
• Sale Price: $379

MCE Xcarét Pro 4x4x6x24 Expansion Bay DVD/CDRW Combo Drive

• Designed for PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet)
• Requires DVD CardBus Decoder Card (part # DVDMPG2 below) for DVD movie playback
• Regular price: $479
• Sale price: $449

MCE Xcarét Pro 2000 8x8x24 Expansion Bay CDRW Drive

• Designed for PowerBook 2000 (Pismo); and: PowerBook G3 1999 (Lombard)
• Regular price: $399
• Sale price: $379

MCE Xcarét Pro 8x8x24 Expansion Bay CDRW Drive

• Designed for PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet)
• Regular price: $399
• Sale price: $379

MCE Xcarét Pro 2000 4x4x6x24 Expansion Bay DVD/CDRW Combo Drive

• Designed for PowerBook 2000 (Pismo) and PowerBook G3 1999 (Lombard)
• 333 MHz model requires DVD CardBus Decoder Card [part # DVDMPG2] or built-in hardware decoder)
• Regular price: $479
• Sale price: $449

MCE Xcarét Pro 4x4x6x24 Expansion Bay DVD/CDRW Combo Drive

• Designed for PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet)
• Requires DVD CardBus Decoder Card (part # DVDMPG2) for DVD movie playback
• Regular price: $479
• Sale price: $449

MCE CardBus DVD Decoder Card

• For PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet) or 333 MHz PowerBook G3 1999 (Lombard) that did not come with a DVD player and respective MCE Xcarét Pro DVD/CDRW Combo Drive.
• $129

Bundle: MCE Xcarét Pro 2000 4x4x6x24 Expansion Bay DVD/CDRW Combo Drive with CardBus DVD Decoder Card

• For the 333 MHz PowerBook G3 1999 (Bronze) that did not come with a DVD player. Includes BOTH Xcarét Pro 2000 DVD/CDRW Drive AND CardBus DVD Decoder Card (decoder card required for DVD move playback on this computer).
• $549

Bundle: MCE Xcarét Pro 4x4x6x24 Expansion Bay DVD/CDRW Combo Drive with CardBus DVD Decoder Card

• For the PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet)
• Includes both Xcarét Pro DVD/CDRW Drive and CardBus DVD Decoder Card (decoder card required for DVD movie playback on this computer).
• $549

MCE Xcarét Pro 2000 4x4x20 Expansion Bay CDRW Drive

• Includes expansion bay CDRW mechanism only. Compatible with Apple's free iTunes and Disc Burner CD-recording software.
• Designed for PowerBook 2000 (Pismo) and PowerBook G3 1999 (Lombard)
• $299

MCE Xcarét Pro 4x4x20 Expansion Bay CDRW Drive

• Includes expansion bay CDRW mechanism only.
• Compatible with Apple's free iTunes and Disc Burner CD-recording software.
• Designed for:
• PowerBook G3 Series (WallStreet)
• $299

MCE FireBay FireWire Expansion Bay Docking Station

Thought you could only use expansion bay devices in your PowerBook? With the MCE FireBay, your expansion bay devices become portable FireWire devices and can be used on any machine with a FireWire port.

Simply plug a PowerBook 2000 (Pismo) or PowerBook G3 1999 (Lombard) expansion bay drive, such as your PowerBook's original CD/DVD expansion bay drive, into the FireBay, and you've got a portable, bus-powered FireWire device which you can use with the PowerBook G4 Titanium, the Power Mac G4 minitower, or any other FireWire-equipped Macintosh or PC computer. The FireBay is compatible with Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X.

If you've got more than one expansion bay device, you can now use them simultaneously by stacking multiple MCE FireBay docks using their built-in stacking mechanism - no need for an extra FireWire cable, the stacking interface is built in.

Supported expansion bay devices include Hard Drives, CD-ROM drives, CD-ROM/DVD drives, CD-RW Drives, CD-RW/DVD Combo drives, and LS120 SuperDisk/Floppy drives.

The MCE FireBay sells for $169.

J.R. Hill & Company Vinyl and Leather Laptop Screen Protectors

PowerBooks since the introduction of the Lombard have been plagued with the keyboards contacting the display surface when the 'Book is closed, which causes unsightly marks to appear on the screen.

In many cases these are just finger residue transferred to the screen, which can be washed off, but in others actual abrasion of the plastic occurs.

The PowerBook G4 is affected, but iBooks (old and new) and WallStreets are not.

J.R. Hill & Company's Full Size Vinyl Screen Protector solves that problem by covering the entire keyboard and track pad area. The PowerBook G4 screen protector measures 12-3/4" x 8-3/8" which fits the Apple PowerBook G4 laptops perfectly, and sells for $9.99.

The PowerBook G3 Series screen protector measures 11" x 5-1/2" and sells for $6.99.

The iBook version fits the 2001 iBook and any other laptop that has a keyboard of 11" x 5" or less, and sells for $7.49.

Also offered is a Full Size Leather Screen Protector that measures 12-3/4" x 8-3/8" which fits the Apple PowerBook G4 for $17.49.

Kingston Technology Releases 5 GB PC Card Hard Drive

The Register's James Watson reports that Kingston Technology is releasing a new version of its DataPak device, which is essentially a 5 GB hard drive on a PC card. The previous device from the company was only able to store 2 GB of data.

Note: The drive in this unit is probably the same Toshiba 1.8" 5 GB hard drive that is used in the new iPod.

Adaptec Brings USB 2.0 Connectivity to Notebook Computers

Adaptec, Inc. has announced USB2connect for Notebooks, a new two-port USB 2.0 CardBus adapter. This latest addition to Adaptec's USB 2.0 product line offers consumers more flexibility for connecting multiple USB devices and peripherals to their laptop computers. Now consumers can have access to high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity anywhere they travel.

Adaptec's USB2connect for Notebooks kit includes a high-speed 2-port USB 2.0 CardBus adapter for PC and Macintosh notebooks, providing laptops with plug-and-play connectivity for USB 2.0 devices such as hard drives, CD-RWs and scanners. IDC has estimated the size of the portable computer market to be over 31 million units in 2002. Adaptec's USB 2.0 drivers for Microsoft Windows 98SE, Me and 2000 are also included with USB2connect for Notebooks to ensure a complete, reliable solution for consumers.

USB2connect for Notebooks is fully backward compatible with USB 1.1 devices and has full USB 2.0 high-speed certification from the USB-IF. Products that pass this program's tests are deemed USB 2.0 compliant and are added to the USB-IF's Integrators List. This list allows consumers to verify before making a purchase that a particular product is a quality USB 2.0 compliant device.

With data transfer rates of 480 Mbps, USB 2.0 is forty times faster than the USB 1.1 specification. USB 2.0's high-speed performance makes it perfect for handling the growing demand of increased bandwidth/high-speed multimedia applications and products on the market today.

Adaptec's USB2connect for Notebooks has an MSRP of $99 and will be available at the end of October through select retailers, resellers, mail order and Adaptec's web site at:

Amazon.com

Amazon was offering the best price I've seen yet on a refurbished Lombard this week. When I was there, it said there was only one left.

• PowerBook G3/400 (Lombard), 128 MB RAM/6 GB /DVD-ROM, Refurbished, $999

ExperCom

ExperCom also has some pretty attractive refurb. deals:

• PowerBook G4/400, 128/10 GB/DVD/56k/15.2", Apple 1 year Warranty, Factory Refurbished, $1,699
• PowerBook G3/400 Pismo, 64+256 MB/10 GB/DVD/56k/14.1" (USB/FireWire), $1,399 includes Free 256 MB RAM ($19 installation fee required)
• PowerBook G3/233 WallStreet, w/DVD, Apple 1 year Warranty Factory Refurbished, $999

MacSelect

And check out these prices at MacSelect:

• PowerBook G3/400 Pismo. 128 MB/10 GB/DVD/56K/14.1", 90 Day MacSelect Warranty, Refurb, $1,149
• PowerBook G3/300 Wallstreet, 128 MB RAM/8 GB/DVD/100 MB ZIP/56K/14.1", Refurbished, $999
• PowerBook G3/266 Wallstreet, 64 MB RAM/4 GB/20x CD/100 MB ZIP/56K/14.1", Refurbished, $849

MacResQ

• PowerBook G3/500 Pismo, 128/12 GB/DVD/56k/14.1" LCD, $1649.99

LA Computer Center

• PowerBook G4/400, 128 MB/10 GB/6x DVD-ROM/15.2 New, $1,775
• PowerBook G4/500, 256 MB/20 GB/6x DVD-ROM/56K/15.2 New, $2,093

PowerMax

• PowerBook G3/250, 32 MB/4 GB/CD/FD/13.3"/Factory Refurbished, $1,029
• iBook SE, 366 MHz, 64 Mb/6 GB/CD/ethernet/56K/Factory Refurbished, $988

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Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: Mac LC III, Feb. 1993 - The first LC without compromise: 25 MHz 68030 CPU, 32-bit memory, up to 36 MB of RAM.
• List of the Day: G4 'Books an email list for G4 iBooks and PowerBooks.
  
• September 8 in LEM history: 99: Big sound from the little iMac - Ethernet alternative to USB drives - 00: Building a back-to-school bundle - 03: 17" 1.25 GHz iMac G4 - My Mac Plus revisited - 06: Inside your notebook's battery - Andy Hertzfeld, software wizard - OS X is a pleasure to use - MacBook random shutdown - Core2 7% faster

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