PowerBook Upgrade Deals from OWC, DVD Player Update for PowerBook G4/550 and 667, and More

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - March 1, 2002

Except as noted, prices are in US dollars.

• PowerBook G4 and G3 Upgrade Deals
• Legacy Netscape Browsers Available
• Apple DVD Player Update PowerBook G4 1.0 for 550 MHz or 667 MHz Models
• TT-35 3.5" FireWire Hard Disk Enclosures
• Screen Protectors for 14.1" iBook
• Spire Icon Backpack for Titanium PowerBook and iBook
• Tom Bihn Eclipse Laptop Cases
• Bargain 'Books

PowerBook G4 and G3 Upgrade Prices Reduced

Other World Computing lowered its price on the PowerLogix BlueChip processor upgrades for G3 Series PowerBooks to $499.99.

The processing power of the PowerPC 7410 G4 chip will give your WallStreet PowerBook a real B-12 shot. The stock processor card pops out and the BlueChip G4 goes in its place.

Note: You must have a working CPU module in your machine prior to installation of the BlueChip. The ROM transfer must be completed from a working CPU before the BlueChip can operate. BlueChip G4 and BlueChip LS G4 are currently only compatible with OS 10.x. The cards will work under "Classic." The cards will function under OS 9.x, but will not sleep properly. PowerLogix is working on a software patch for the sleep issue.

The PowerLogix BlueChip WS G4/500 MHz is also offered bundled with a Lucent WaveLAN Silver Airport Compatible Wireless PC Card for $537.50

This same Lucent WaveLAN Silver PC card can be used worldwide for the Enterprise, ISP, Public Access or Home/SOHO markets using any of the Lucent WaveLAN Silver access point infrastructure products. The card provides high-speed wireless networking at 11 Mbit/s, and secure Internet access for laptop and desktop computers, as well as a wide range of mobile client computing devices. The Lucent WaveLAN Silver suite of products builds on Agere's industry-leading WaveLAN® wireless LAN technology.

There is also the PowerLogix BlueChip G3/500 MHz Upgrade for the Wallstreet PowerBook G3 for $399.95, which will make a WallStreet run up to four times as fast as before. A 500 MHz G3 processor is combined with 1 MB of high-speed backside cache on a 250 MHz cache bus - the fastest cache bus available. The stock processor card pops out and the BlueChip G3 goes in its place.

Features:

• PowerPC 750 @ 500 MHz
• 1 MB backside cache
• No downtime or trade-in hassles

Compatible with the following computers:

• PowerBook G3 Series 233 (no cache)
• PowerBook G3 Series 233 (233/117/512 KB)
• PowerBook G3 Series 250 (250/125/1 MB)
• PowerBook G3 Series 266 (266/133/1 MB)
• PowerBook G3 Series 292 (292/146/1 MB)
• PowerBook G3 Series 300 (300/150/1 MB)

See Accelerate Your Mac! for additional configuration information about the BlueChip upgrade.

PowerLogix BlueChip upgrades are also available for Lombard PowerBooks

The PowerLogix BlueChip LS G4/500 MHz w/1024K 2:1 cache for PowerBook G3 Lombard (1999) sells for $465.97

Note: BlueChip LS G4 requires OS 10.x or later.

Features:

• PowerPC 7410 @ 500 MHz
• 1 MB backside cache
• No downtime or trade-in hassles

The PowerLogix BlueChip LS G3/500 MHz w/1024K 2:1 Cache For P Lombard(1999) sells for $379.99.

Features:

• PowerPC 750 @ 500 MHz
• 1 MB of backside cache
• No downtime or trade-in hassles

BlueChip LS upgrades are compatible with the PowerBook G3 "Lombard" - Bronze Keyboard

BlueChip upgrades carry a 2 year Warranty.

Legacy Netscape Browsers Available

Over the past few years, I have frequently hears from users of older, low-end Macs looking for a browser that can run decently fast on '030 and '040 machines. Unfortunately, Netscape stopped posting versions of the Netscape browser older than version 4.x on their download site several years ago, and Netscape 2.x in particular became very difficult to find.

Happily, Netscape has once again posted an archive of their complete suite of legacy Communicator and Navigator browser versions back to versions 2.0x for download. including:

• Versions 6.2x
• Versions 6.1x
• Versions 4.7x
• Versions 4.6x
• Versions 4.5x
• Versions 4.0x
• Versions 3.0x
• Versions 2.0x

Netscape 2.0.2 is the fastest, but it doesn't support JavaScript at all.

Netscape 4.0x has lots of features, but tends to be sluggish. (I prefer 4.0.4 on 68k machines.)

Netscape 3.x is probably a good compromise for '030 machines, and it is a solid browser.

Apple DVD Player Update PowerBook G4 1.0 for 550 MHz or 667 MHz Models

This Mac OS 9 DVD Player update is for PowerBook G4 systems that feature either a 550 MHz or 667 MHz G4 processor. It fixes an issue issue that occurs when using the DVD Player for extended periods or while using it simultaneously with other applications that use the graphics processor.

System requirements:

• Mac OS 9.2.1 or higher
• PowerBook G4 systems that feature either a 550 MHz or 667 MHz G4 Processor

For more information, visit <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120105>

TT-35 3.5" FireWire Hard Disk Enclosures

The PowerBook Zone has purchased a quantity of TT-35 units, and offers them to PBZ readers at the price of $115 plus shipping of $5 via UPS Ground.

The Triumph Technology TT-35 is an external case for a 3.5" IDE hard drive. You purchase a drive on your own (120 GB drives are around $200 right now) and the installation takes about five minutes. The TT-35 enclosure allows you to connect what used to be an internal 3.5" IDE drive to the external FireWire interface on any FireWire-equipped Mac.

You'll receive a brand new product in the original factory box. The box is well padded and includes the enclosure, a five foot high-quality FireWire cable, all the screws needed for mounting the drive and attaching the two halves, as well as a power cable. The drive enclosure is highly portable, but it does require wall power.

The enclosure is a silver color that complements the color of any Mac. There is a status LED in the front right of the unit that indicates if the drive is operational. The enclosure does not include drivers because the Mac OS after 9.0 will mount the unit automatically without any extra drivers. Prior to that version of the Mac OS, we can provide drivers that will work - just put that in the 'comments' part of the order form.

This enclosure has the super-fast Oxford 911 chip. It's the fastest "bridge chip" out there - the chip that converts, in effect, the FireWire bus to the IDE connector inside the enclosure.

Screen Protectors for 14.1" iBook

JR Hill & Co has released the latest versions of their leather and vinyl screen protector keyboard covers for the 14.1" iBook.

• Leather Screen Protector for 14" iBook, 11" x 5.5", $12.49
• Vinyl Screen Protector for 14" iBook, 11" x 5.5", $6.99

Spire Icon Backpack for Titanium PowerBook and iBook

The 2002 Icon is Spire's latest daypack. It includes a padded sleeve (Boot) specially designed for the Apple G4 and iBook. And it's large enough to handle your computer, books, accessories and more.

The Icon can hold your computer snug and secure and looks incredibly cool doing it. Some features of this pack are:

• Includes removable, padded sleeve (Boot) that integrates perfectly with the pack or can be used on its own. The sleeve is held securely in its own compartment within the pack, so your computer won't bounce around.
• For those with small computers, included is a 2" foam ShockPad to ensure your computer doesn't bounce around inside the sleeve. (The pad fits into the bottom of the Boot)
• Exterior is all ballistic nylon - a great, durable fabric that will protect your gear from backcountry to boardroom.
• Double-padded bottom for extra protection where you need it the most.
• Rubber carrying handle for comfort
• Easy-access front pocket for storing keys, airline tickets, etc.
• Ergonomic, die cut shoulder straps - won't rip out or kill your shoulders
• Cushy mesh back to wick away moisture.
• Waist belt to prevent the bag from swinging around while you carry it.
• Interior pockets in the front compartment for carrying cell phone, PDA, etc. There's also room for a book or two.
• 'Spaghetti Pocket' for stuffing gnarly cords and cables away

The Icon is modern, lightweight and functional - without any useless gimmicky features.

Price: $130

Tom Bihn Eclipse Laptop Cases

The Eclipse is a compact, micro-briefcase designed to carry your laptop along with a few essentials. Available in 3 different sizes, you're bound to find one that's a great fit for your laptop.

The Eclipse has the same great bombproof protection as the Lap Dog. Cradled in soft foam padding, your laptop hangs suspended in a corrugated plastic insert covered with 1000 Denier Cordura. The top zips shut with a #9 YKK zipper, and under the buckled flap there is a substantial front pouch for your power supply, cables and/or external drive, etc. Inside the front pouch, an organizer has pockets for your PDA, cell phone & pens, plus a snaphook for your keys. The entire front of the pouch is a zippered pocket. On the back there is a simple, open-top pocket for a file or a magazine. Padded handles and optional shoulder strap.

• Size 3 has interior dimensions of approximately 13" x 10.75" x 2.5" / 330 x 275 x 65 mm, exterior dimensions of approximately 13.5" x 12.5" x 5.25" / 340 x 315 x 135mm
• Size 4 (formerly the G4 Eclipse) has interior dimensions of approximately 13.5" x 10" x 1.25" / 330 x 255 x 30 mm, exterior dimensions of approximately 14" x 11.5" x 4" / 355 x 290 x 100 mm
• Size 5 (formerly the iClipse) has interior dimensions of approximately 11.5" x 9.5" x 1.5" / 290 x 240 x 40 mm, exterior dimensions of approximately 11.75" x 11" x 4" / 300 x 280 x 100 mm

Eclipse by Tom Bihn sells for $85.

Bargain 'Books

There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233 MHz, the cacheless MainStreet version and the later Series II with a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from the vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included links within this paragraph to the two models.

Small Dog Electronics

• PowerBook G4/667, 512 MB/30 GB with Airport Base Station, new with 1 year Apple Warranty, $3,279

Also from Small Dog for DealMac users:

• PowerBook G4/667, 512/30 GB/Combo with Airport Base Station 1.0, the Ogio Jack Pack Carrying Case, and three-years of AppleCare, $3,299

MacSolutions

• PowerBook G4/500. 256/20 GB/DVD/56K, $1,699
• Apple Care For PowerBook, $245

MaxResQ

• iBook G3/366 SE, graphite, 64/6 GB/24x/56k, $829.99

PowerMax

• Blueberry iBook 300, 160/3 GB/CD/56k (worn case), $679
• PowerBook 5300c/100, 16/500 MB/FD, $359
• PowerBook 1400c w/G3/250 upgrade, 64/1 GB/FD, $549
• PowerBook 1400c w/G3/333 upgrade, 64/20 GB/CD, $599
• PowerBook 3400c/200, 16/2 GB/FD/ CD, $479

Global Deals

• PowerBook 3400C/240,16/3 GB/12x CD/modem, $650
• PowerBook 3400C/200, 16/2 GB/6x CD/modem, $525
• PowerBook 1400C/133, 16/1 GB/8x CD, $450
• PowerBook 1400CS/166, 16/1 GB/12x CD, $525
• PowerBook 5300CE/117, 32/1 GB, $425