Lying down in bed with a bit of a stomach ache, I decided to swing
over and check out Low End Mac's hardware profiles to divert my focus.
(This is yet another area my iPad excels in - because of its small size
and screen lock, I can use it while lying down sideways.) As I was
lying there, I started looking at the Limited/Road Apples, eventually coming to the
PowerBook 150.
From there, I
clicked on the PowerBook 100 link,
just out of curiosity, and proceeded to read about Apple's first
laptop.
It wasn't anything I hadn't read before. The PowerBook 100 was
lighter, smaller, and more capable than anything that had come before
it. Sure, the two hours of battery life weren't exactly a big plus, but
hey - something that size, back in '91, running for two hours, doing
what it did was nothing to sneeze at.
Anyway, like any curious person with a stomach ache, I decided to
search YouTube for some footage of the old PowerBook, hoping for a
video of Steve Jobs proudly carrying it out onto a stage in front of
hundreds of cheering people.
What I found was a bit more interesting.
I happened upon one of the original TV ads for the PowerBook 100,
which had been uploaded back in 2007 under the title Apple Original PowerBook
Ad. The subtitle - "It's a great way to meet girls!" - was worth a
laugh. I tried to imagine a guy impressing a girl with one of those
things, and the situation just didn't materialize in my mind. An iPad
could impress girls - no doubt about it . . . though I have
yet to employ that particular function with my own tablet (I'm waiting
for the opportune moment). But a PowerBook 100? Ha!
Anyway, I proceeded to watch the video.
I won't go into detail, but I will say it was a slice-of-life
commercial, unlike Apple's more recent ads. Seeing a PowerBook in
public, in the hands of actual people - people with faces, that is -
was very refreshing. It seemed more true to life than Apple's sterile,
device-oriented modern ads.
I was struck by how much the ad resembled my actual experience with
my iPad. The most memorable part of the whole ad was the very end. A
man is typing on his PowerBook in a public area, telling a curious
onlooker "Everything else is a dinosaur."
The onlooker replies, "Can I try it?"
The PowerBook owner answers, "No."
I think something has changed since 1991. The PowerBook 100 was
heralded as a revolution in its day - and it was. It spawned a whole
generation of great Apple laptops, as well as a steady stream of
copycats. The idea behind the PowerBook 100 was clearly to make the
computer not a corporate or business item, but something small and
light enough that it became personal. It was like Macintosh in a pizza
box. I dare say it was the first computer you could hug without looking
awkward.
Fast Forward to April 3, 2010
Apple released another revolutionary device on April 3 of this year.
In Jonathan Ive's words: "It's hard to believe that something so thin
and so light could be so capable" and "I don't have to change myself to
fit the device - it fits me" sound strangely familiar:
It's that go-anywhere, do-anything spirit that has consistently set
the better of Apple's laptops apart from their counterparts in the PC
market. Now it's setting the iPad apart from everything else.
Then, it kind of died off. The G4s were more tabletops than laptops
(with the exception of the well-loved 12"
PowerBook G4, of course), as were the MacBooks. The first to come
close to that feeling again was the MacBook Air, but it just doesn't
bring back the glory days.
The iPad has it. Anyone who's owned an iPad for more than a week can
tell you that it just begs to go anywhere and do anything.
Needless to say, one of the things I must do before I die is hold
and/or use a PowerBook 100.
And what's the thing that's changed since 1991?
When somebody I know sees my iPad and asks, "Can I try it?" I say,
"Sure."
Austin Leeds is a Mac and iPad user - and a college student in Iowa.
Today's Links
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.
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We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
From there, I
clicked on the 
