Mac Fallout Shelter

Configuring a PowerBook for Months in Iraq without Internet Access

- 2005.12.13 - Tip Jar

What do you need to keep yourself entertained and be able to work for months without Internet access?

A Mac.

Here is the hardware I used with my Mac in Iraq, a continuation on last weeks article on my field computer, PowerBook G3 Lombard.

RAM: The Lombard I bought came with an extra 128 MB for a total of 192 MB of RAM, which was more than enough than my original plan of having just 128 MB (which is the minimum for running Mac OS X 10.3 Panther). The maximum Lombard supports is 512 MB, and it's very easy to upgrade.

Hard Drive: a 6 GB hard drive was okay for Mac OS 9 - but not for OS X, so I upgraded to a 40 GB drive, which was bigger and a bit faster. With 10 GB for Mac OS 9 and 30 GB for Panther that met my requirement for of both OS's, games, software and music.

Wireless: The Lombard doesn't have a slot for Apple's AirPort card, only for the Pismo and later. I did some research and got a Belkin F5D7010 Version 1. The good thing about this card is that it uses the same Broadcom chipset as Apple's AirPort cards, so it's fully compatible with Apple's AirPort drivers. There are a few other brands that also use the Broadcom chipset, but be careful with different versions of the same card that may not work with OS X.

Zip Drive: I needed a reliable, durable way to do minimal backups. I know CD-RW discs are cheap, but I really liked the fact that I found a Zip drive that would work with the internal bay of my Lombard for only $10 on eBay. Another fact is that you're limited to only Military Post Exchange (PX) stores for your shopping, and they tend run out of blank media very quickly. Lastly, Zip disks never get scratched, you can erase them very easily, and they are easy to store.

USB to Serial: Working with routers and other communications equipment, an RS232 connection is a must. IOGear UC232A was my choice. It was short, easy to store, and proved to be very reliable, even in mission critical situations.

GamePad: I play a lot of first person shooters, and the Lombard's keyboard looks great with its bronzed clear look, but it wasn't cutting it for game play. Instead of getting a normal keyboard, which was too big for my storage space, I got a Belkin Nostromo n52. Its like a small keyboard with just the right keys and very ergonomic.

Mouse: After ordering an Apple Pro Mouse and receiving it in pieces, I picked up a cheap two-button mouse with a scroll wheel.

DVD-ROM: the stock DVD-ROM drive worked very well. Later on, near the end of the deployment, it started giving problems when reading original media. In future articles I'll touch on the topic of upgrading to a CD-RW and even a SuperDrive.

AC Adapter: if you still have the black square power adapter that came with many G3 PowerBooks, please contact Apple. They might send you a new yo-yo style adapter. Apple sent me a new one, and I kept my old one (which eventually died, just as described in the recall article).

Next week is going to be a long article on software, the software that kept my mind and soul on track in the combat zones of Iraq. LEM

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

Recent Mac Fallout Shelter articles

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Mac Fallout Shelter articles copyright ©2005-07 by Joe Rivera. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, 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.
  Advice is 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.
  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. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Share

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Quantcast

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac Museum
DealMac
Deal Brothers
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

Low End Mac's Amazon.com store

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link