Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Vintage Mac Living

Modern Computing: First Impressions of a $10 PowerBook G3

- 2006.04.26

A few days ago, I was talking with a friend of mine at work. We were talking about computers, and I was told him about how I acquired my Apple Lisa (You can read more about that in my article Retro Computing: First Impressions of a Newly Acquired Apple Lisa).

Anyway, when I told him how I acquired my Lisa, he piped up and said, "Hey, Ted, I have an old G3 Mac laptop that I bought from a friend of mine for $20, but I have no use for it. Do you want it?"

The first question that I asked myself was, "I wonder how he got it for so cheap?" So I asked him, and he said that his friend got it from his Dad, who had used it at his office. His friend didn't want it, so he sold it.

I figured it was either a Kanga or a WallStreet. Wondering which one it was, I asked him if it had a solid white Apple Logo on the top. He said it did, so I was sure it had to be a Wall Street.

Then I asked him how much he wanted for it. I'd given him $5 earlier so he could get some lunch, since he forget his wallet at home, so he said, "Give me another $5, and we'll call it even."

I said, "Cool, sounds great."

So the next day I went over to his house and picked it up - little did I know what I was getting.

I got a laptop bag, power adapter, and a Lombard PowerBook G3. I was really surprised that it was a Lombard, so I knew I got a good deal from a really good friend - it's the 400 MHz model with 320 MB RAM, 6 GB hard drive, and DVD.

Mike, if you're reading this, thank you again. It means a lot. Now I can be working (or playing) while I'm on the road. For instance, I'm writing this at the dentist's office while my sister is getting her teeth cleaned.

It only has a few problems:

There is a dent on the screen near the bottom. It looks like someone might have dropped something on the screen. It's not bad though.
Graphics performance in OS X isn't great due to no 3D acceleration (see Rage at Being Left Behind for more on that topic),
The battery is dead. That's not a really big problem, but it's so dead that the computer doesn't even stay asleep on battery power - the battery has so little power that the 'Book shuts off. I'm sure I can find an inexpensive used battery that works on eBay.

Even with those problems, you can't beat it for $10.

Anyway, I can't wait to watch DVDs, surf the Web, play games, and write articles while I'm on the road. All I have to do is get a working battery.

Recent Vintage Mac Living articles

If a Mac Plus can run System 7.5.5, why can't an 800 MHz G4 run Leopard?, 10.19. Apple supported the Mac Plus for over 10 years after its introduction. Why should Leopard cut off support for Macs released 4-6 years ago?
60 Mac models left behind: The ridiculously high cost of Leopard, 10.17. Mac OS X 10.5 officially doesn't support any G3 Macs, most G4 Power Macs, most titanium PowerBooks, half the G4 iMacs, early eMacs, or the first 12" G4 iBook.
What a waste! Some schools would rather store old computers than put them to use, 09.12. Denver Public Schools is one example of a school district so ready to buy new computers that it has tens of thousands of old, usable computers sitting in storage.
Why I don't want an iPhone - and really want an iPod touch, 09.06. The iPhone offers a lot of capabilities, but at too high a cost for someone who doesn't need a mobile phone or doesn't want to change carriers. The iPod touch is nearly perfect.
More in the Vintage Mac Living index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, Mar. 1990 - This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
Group of the Day: StarMax List is for anyone using Motorola StarMax Mac clones.
March 19 in LEM history: 90: Mac IIfx - 99: Fool me twice? - 01: Add FireWire, USB to older Macs - Time to replace your iMac? - 02: The Mac Challenge - Installing Linux on a low-end Mac - 03: Value of the Lombard PowerBook - Your portable should have WiFi - PowerBook 1400 upgrades - 04: The video iPod - 07: Troubleshooting an iMac - 08: Intel Mac mini value
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best Intel iMac Deals, 03.17. Used 17" from $600; 20" from $750; 24" from $825; refurb 21.5" nVidia, $999; new, $1,099; refurb Radeon, $1,299; new, $1,399; refurb 27" 3.06, $1,499; more.
Best G5 iMac Deals, 03.17. 17" 2.0 GHz, $380; 1.9 GHz iSight, $479 shipped; 20" 1.8 GHz, $509 shipped; 2.1 GHz iSight, $549 shipped.
Best Time Capsule Deals, 03.17. Close-out 500 GB, $140; new 1 TB, $279; used 2 TB simultaneous dual-band, $400; new, $455. Shipping included.
Best iPad Deals, 03.16. 16 GB iPad, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; 16 GB with 3G, $629; 32 GB 3G, $729; 64 GB 3G, $829. Free ground shipping.
Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Vintage Mac Living articles copyright ©2005-07 by Ted Hodges. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 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, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, 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.