- 2006.06.07
My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
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I am writing this on one of my 13 Mac laptops (I have examples from
a 1991 PowerBook 100 through a
newly purchased MacBook), a
circa 1996 PowerBook 1400c.
Actually, I have nearly 40 Macs, ranging from a 1990 Classic through my new MacBook.
And they all still are working!
Obviously, I am a serious Mac addict, an addiction that began in
full force in late 1997, when I acquired my PowerBook 100 at Goodwill
ComputerWorks here in Austin. I had always been a Mac fan since first
using a Mac Plus back in
1986, and later using Performa models in
the early 1990s.
Anyway, I felt compelled to write this, because last night I got out
my old PowerBook 1400c, which I haven't used for nearly two years.
A little history here: I got my 1400c in February 2002 from an
eBay auction I won for $300. My 1400c had been G3-upgraded to 333
MHz via a Sonnet
Crescendo card, and it's RAM was maxed at 64 MB. It was (and still
is) running Mac OS 9.1.
This was the PowerBook I bought to use as a main laptop after using
my PowerBook 540c from February
2000 to February 2002, and it was also the first PowerPC PowerBook I
had owned. The 540c was a step up from my PowerBook 100, and the 1400c
was a step up from the 540c.
After heavily using my 1400c from February 2002 through April 2004,
I moved to a PowerBook
3400c/180 as my main laptop, which I used through December 2004,
when I won a PowerBook
G3/233 MainStreet on eBay. That was my main PowerBook until
December 2005, when I won a PowerBook G3/266, also on eBay.
Then, on May 20, 2006, I bought my first new Mac laptop, a MacBook
(the base model in white), which is simply amazing, the best Mac
consumer laptop to date, in my opinion!
Since getting my first PowerBook, the 100, I have also collected
many other members of the PowerBook family, as well as Power Macs,
Quadras, Performas, classic Macs, an iMac, an eMac and even a original,
working Newton Message Pad! I have amassed quite an amazing Mac
collection over the years.
Powering up the 1400
last night was a real blast to the past. OS 9.1 booted up quickly, and
my Dell TrueMobile wireless card immediately connected to my router.
Using IE 5, I was soon surfing the Web, surprisingly quickly for
this old workhorse. I connected to my eMac and transferred some files
and pictures, launched AOL 5.0, and checked my mail all with no
problems. I read online articles early into the a.m. and found the
active-matrix screen very crisp, bright, and easy to read. While
surfing, I popped in an audio CD and listened through headphones.
Even as I type this, I am amazed by this old PowerBook. It's
keyboard feels great, and I love the 1400's small form factor. My
PowerBook G3s are awesome, but they are pretty large and weighty by
comparison.
My 1400 is about as maxed out as it can go. Yes, I know that Sonnet
makes a G3/466 processor upgrade for this machine, but I already have
it upgraded to a G3/333, and with the 1400's 64 MB RAM ceiling, I don't
think there would be much of a performance improvement. As it is, my
1400c is still a highly capable machine for basic tasks: Web, email,
word processing, older programs/games, and playing audio CDs.
As mentioned, it even does WiFi via a compatible PCMCIA card in one
of it's two PCMCIA card slots.
I think that the PowerBook 1400 is one of the best PowerBooks of all
time. It's still a great machine, nearly ten years on!
Also by Heather Anne Hurd
- Mac Obsession, My First Mac,
200.09.18. "So, in 1997, I went to Goodwill Computerworks, and, after
awhile spent looking over their huge selection of old Macs, I came away
with a PowerBook 100."
- The Wonderful PowerBook 100, My
Turn, 2000.12.11. "The PowerBook 100 is my favorite PowerBook to this
day."
- PowerBook 100 Series Still
Rocks, My Turn, 2002.01.16. A decade after their introduction, old
PowerBooks are still great tools that put PDAs to shame.
- The Underrated PowerBook 190, My
Turn, 2002.07.01. How a seven-year-old PowerBook became a personal
favorite.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
