WTB: old-inexpensive powerbook G4 12''

[xirtyllo]

I've never opened apart a Mac, and i'm pretty curious to do it..
G4 (pre-intel) laptops should be quite inexpensive now, and I'm dreaming of a 12'' powerbook G4 (metallic body) to install Linux on : -)

[am I the only one that has this insane passion to tweak and restore old machinery..?!]


anybody wants to sell one?

[PizzaPaul]

Dude!

Not a great place to start. If you want to take apart a Mac, pick up a G3 like a Lombard or Pismo. The iBooks and the 12 Aluminum Powerbook are nightmares. Seriously.

[DrThinkpad]

The Linux route to keep PPCs alive isn't very enticing either to be honest, sadly.

[pianowizard]

Just a couple days ago, I was thinking about a 12.1" Powerbook G4 that I had played with. I think that remains the cutest laptop Apple has ever made, though it's insanely heavy for a 12-incher. However, the most unique Apple laptop would be the last 15.2" Powerbook G4 (the M9969LL/A model released in Oct 2005), due to its 3:2 1440x960 screen. While it's not that hard to find, it's one of the rarer G4 Powerbooks since it was discontinued only about 3 months after its release. An interesting fact is that the 1440x960 Powerbook G4's successor, the 15.4" MacBook Pro, actually had a lower resolution (1440x900) until June 2012, when two things happened: a 1680x1050 option finally became available for the "regular" 15.4" MacBook Pro, and the "Retina" MacBook Pro with 2880x1800 was also released.

I won an M9969LL/A on eBay over the weekend and should receive it tomorrow. After tossing in a 320GB hard drive (the largest it can take since it uses PATA drives), I will upgrade the RAM and install OX X Leopard on it.

[xirtyllo]

yes, I'm aware of the limitations... i.e. Leopard is unsupported, linux doesn't fit perfectly, and some things like flash will never run on PPC.

How does it compare performance-wise? like a T40..?

[pianowizard]

Leopard is unsupported

Leopard (OS 10.5) can be installed on a Powerbook G4 if the CPU is at least 867MHz.

[xirtyllo]

@Pianowizard yes, I meant, Leopard is an OS that is not supported anymore... and some modern programs you can't install on it.. (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, recent Microsoft Office... for Firefox there is a derivative called FirefoxOneFour)

[synchromesh]

Just a couple days ago, I was thinking about a 12.1" Powerbook G4 that I had played with. I think that remains the cutest laptop Apple has ever made, though it's insanely heavy for a 12-incher. However, the most unique Apple laptop would be the last 15.2" Powerbook G4 (the M9969LL/A model released in Oct 2005), due to its 3:2 1440x960 screen. While it's not that hard to find, it's one of the rarer G4 Powerbooks since it was discontinued only about 3 months after its release. An interesting fact is that the 1440x960 Powerbook G4's successor, the 15.4" MacBook Pro, actually had a lower resolution (1440x900) until June 2012, when two things happened: a 1680x1050 option finally became available for the "regular" 15.4" MacBook Pro, and the "Retina" MacBook Pro with 2880x1800 was also released.

I won an M9969LL/A on eBay over the weekend and should receive it tomorrow. After tossing in a 320GB hard drive (the largest it can take since it uses PATA drives), I will upgrade the RAM and install OX X Leopard on it.

To be fair I have an early '11 MBP that has the 1680x1050 matte-option screen that came from the factory. I think they started in either '10 or '11.

[pianowizard]

To be fair I have an early '11 MBP that has the 1680x1050 matte-option screen that came from the factory. I think they started in either '10 or '11.

Thanks for the correction. I rechecked Apple's specifications site (http://support.apple.com/specs/#macbookpro) and confirmed that the 15.4" 1680x1050 option started on April 14th 2010. I don't know why I missed that when I checked that same site last week.

My 1440x960 Powerbook G4 arrived yesterday but the AC adapter I ordered is still in transit, so I still haven't powered it up. I did increase its RAM to 1.5GB and the HDD from 80GB to 320GB. Hopefully the charger will get here soon -- I have OS X Leopard, Office 2004, Acrobat 8 and Photoshop CS2 standing by.