Lombard: A Great $400 Field Computer

Low End Mac Reader Specials

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.

OWC: Mercury Elite FW800/FW400/USB2/eSATA up to 2.0TB TOP-RATED Solutions offer High Performance, Reliable storage for all your data storage needs. 500GB $159.99, 750GB $199.99, 1.0TB from $299.99

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.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $90 / 4GB $134 / 8GB $264. Click to Maximize your Macs...

- 2005.12.06 - Tip Jar

I'm going to take you back in time. The year was 2004.

I know it wasn't that long ago, but that was an important year to me. It was the year I got deployed to Iraq. I can't go into details, other than say I spent a whole year there, mostly in Baghdad.

I had never used a laptop 24/7 in my life. Before leaving the States, I researched different Mac laptops to see which one would fit my needs and my budget. My PowerBook would become my best friend and companion.

This is what I needed:

USB
14" or bigger screen
Video out
Wireless capable
Ethernet port
Long battery life
Easy to clean the insides
Mac OS X capable
Capable of playing DVDs

After all my research, I had to decide between Lombard, Pismo, and the original titanium PowerBook G4.

My budget was $400 shipped. Unfortunately, I could not buy any of them before I left (due to unexpected expenses), so I took an old PC laptop that some one had given me as a gift. I used the PC laptop for a month-and-a-half before I sold it. Then I purchased a Lombard - the Pismo was around $100-150 more, and a titanium was even more expensive.

My initial comparisons (mostly based of info from LEM):

Lombard

Pros:

Has SCSI and target disk mode
Has two interchangeable bays
Can support easy battery changes
Can use two batteries at the same time
Has a built-in DVD decoder and drive
Has two USB ports
Easy access to important components
S-video out
Ethernet port
PCMCIA slot

Cons:

No widescreen display
Small hard drive
Can't hold a lot of RAM (512 MB max.)
No AirPort slot

Pismo Compared to Lombard

Pros:

More RAM space (1 GB max.)
Built-in AirPort slot
FireWire (but I didn't have use for it at the moment)

Cons:

None really, other than price

Titanium compared to Lombard

Pros:

Widescreen display
Holds more RAM (1 GB max.)
Built-in AirPort slot
G4 processor
FireWire

Cons:

Price
Requires more storage space
Seem more fragile
Only one battery
No interchangeable bays

I decided to go with the Lombard. I bought it on eBay for $350 very carefully and had it shipped home to my wife. She then mailed it using FedEx, and I got it three days after that at a cost of $125. It was a lot, but they took good care of transporting it all those miles. My other option was to use normal mail, and that would have take anywhere from 3-6 weeks.

PowerBook G3 Once I got it, the first thing I did was take it apart and clean everything. I like the Lombard because of the two bays: I can use two batteries at the same time, maximizing operation time. Another Lombard plus is that it has a hardware DVD decoder and the S-video port out so you can watch movies on a TV.

The sleek black case looks great along with the black rubber, making a bit more rugged. The screen was big enough for me to watch movies and surf the Web comfortably.

While the Lombard didn't have AirPort compatibility, I could add wireless networking using a PCMCIA slot.

The last best thing is that my Lombard is very easy to clean - being in the desert, there's a lot of sand and dust. All I had to do was pop up the keyboard and hit it with compressed air. I could easily reach all the important areas of the Lombard with ease.

Next week I will talk about what accessories, upgrades, and software I used with my Lombard in Iraq.

If you find Joe's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Mac Fallout Shelter articles

My Newton: Why I won't buy an iPhone or iPod touch, 09.07. The iPod touch and iPhone sound wonderful, but I love the handwriting recognition, fax support, and email abilities of my Newton MessagePad.
Network administration tools for Mac OS X users, 06.25. Thanks to Mac OS X, today's Macs are great network citizens and excellent tools for doing network administration.
Apple's secret battery reset utility for WallSteet and Clamshell iBooks, 07.05. If your old 'Books battery isn't taking a charge like it used to, Battery Reset 2.0 could help recover its useful life.
More in the Mac Fallout Shelter index.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Mac Fallout Shelter articles copyright ©2005-07 by Joe Rivera. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.