The Webb Chronicles

The Pismo PowerBook Is a Great Value and Handles Tiger Nicely

- 2005.12.09

Popularity:

Short link: http://bit.ly/zkv0Dk

Last week I talked about my experience with the "MainStreet" edition of the PowerBook G3 Series notebooks. Now I'd like to focus on the rebuild of a Pismo PowerBook G3.

This machine represents the pinnacle of G3 PowerBooks, and it's one of the most coveted. I purchased two nonfunctional Pismo's from eBay for $55 shipped, knowing that there may not be a chance of salvaging these machines, but risk is part of the eBay game.

At first examination, neither would power on, and one had a cracked LCD screen. I started to take in consideration everything that could possibly be causing the machines not to chime to life. My options: bad CPU card, bad power manager, or maybe a bad logic board.

After swapping CPU cards, I discovered that the unit with the cracked LCD was booting, but that left the problem of the bad screen. I had never changed a laptop screen before, and I knew I needed help. Thankfully, ifixit.com has a fantastic section that shows you how to perform repairs on Apple notebooks from the G3 PowerBooks on up.

PowerBook G3 'Pismo' Screen installation was very easy. All that was needed was a T6 Torx and a Philips screwdriver, and it took less than 20 minutes to complete. With the addition of a 20 GB IBM Travelstar hard drive, I had a fully functional Pismo. My total cost was less than $120.

I decided that this machine would replace my Mom's dying HP OmniBook, a 333 MHz Pentium II laptop, and continue my family's move away from the Windows platform.

One feature I really like about OS X is the multilingual support from the get go, something Microsoft doesn't offer with the standard North American release of Windows XP. Since my Mom is Italian, I thought that setting up OS X Tiger in Italian would be a good way to ease the transition from XP and help in everyday scenarios for her.

This Pismo has a 400 MHz PowerPC 750 CPU with 1 MB L2 cache, 384 MB RAM, and a 20 GB hard drive. I wondered if Tiger would run poorly with only 384 MB RAM; however my fears were put to rest once I was up and running. Tiger performed perfectly.

I installed iLife '05, Office 2004, and Solitaire (probably the most used app on any of my parents' machines), and all performed very well, even up to spec with my G4 PowerBook. I chose a cookbook program called Connoisseur by The Little App Factory for its ease of use and clean interface, and its proven a great success.

My next step was adding wireless connectivity to the Pismo, something that's not easily and cheaply done in comparison to a Windows PC. Apple's AirPort card was priced at $100-$120, and I was unwilling to pay this much for an 802.11b card, so I did a little research. I found that certain card manufactures use the same Broadcom chipset Apple uses in their AirPort Express card, and they would work in OS X just like an Airport card. After considerable research, I chose the Belkin F5D7011 802.11g card, and it worked perfectly, although your results may vary.

Overall, I would rank the Pismo PowerBook a best buy. It's a very capable notebook with good expansion options. The inclusion of two FireWire ports is a big plus for video editing aficionados on a budget. This machine is slimmer and lighter than the WallStreet PowerBooks, which does have its drawbacks.

The only complaint I have about the Pismo is that it doesn't have the sturdy feeling that the WallStreet has. This is a minor concern, however, and given its weight it's necessary.

Pismo runs the latest OS offerings from Apple without a glitch, and the screen is as good as the one on a modern 14" iBook - with the exception of the viewing angle, which isn't as good as on modern notebooks. Still, isn't bad at all.

For someone looking for a starter Apple notebook, this is a good choice. And if FireWire isn't a necessity, the older, slightly slower Lombard PowerBook costs less while performing nearly as well as the Pismo.

Link: eBay
Link: Connoisseur

Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, use our Google+ page, or read our RSS news feed

Recent PowerBook Beat articles

Clamshell iBook still a fun and practical notebook, 2006.08.11. "Granted, this iBook isn't a speed demon in any way, but it's amazing what a 7-year-old Apple notebook can do."
Italy, a virtually untapped market ready for the Mac, 2006.07.27. iPods are everywhere in Italy, but finding a Mac in use or a dealer that sells them is another story.
The PowerBook 3400: Surprisingly useful and spry with the Classic Mac OS, 2006.05.16. The last PowerBook before the G3, the PB 3400 actually outperforms the "MainStreet" PowerBook G3 - and it's generally available for under US$100.
More in the PowerBook Beat index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: PowerBook 5300, introduced 1995.08.25. The first PowerPC PowerBook - known for flaming performance.
June 20 in LEM history: 00: Synergy time for Apple - 01: Towards equality in the high tech workplace - 02: Real people use Macs for real work - 03: Does Mac/Windows convergence threaten innovation? - 05: No need to worry about switch to Intel - Steve Jobs on living and dying - How Gassée changed the Mac's direction - 08: Mac sales up 50%
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

PowerBook Beat articles copyright ©2005-08 by Charles Webb. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Cobweb Publishing. Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all.
Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2013 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad, iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, Mac Pro, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
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.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it, and we don't share the information we have with others. For more details, see our Terms of Use.