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Please talk me out of this. :o

SkyBell

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Power...63947179?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item19edcefaab

A little battered and beat, and obviously that price isn't a certainty by any means; but it looks to be in reasonable working condition with a minor defect or two, and I just couldn't stop the gears in my head from turning when I saw how much the same models seem to go for.

When I bought my MacBook a little over a year ago, I bought it on a line of credit. I'll spare the details, but shortly after making that purchase my life flipped upside down; I lost my job and apartment, and couldn't make any payments on it. I purchased it for $365, but now I owe about $700 on it. It's been a flawless machine, but I just haven't "cared" about it - it's just a machine to me, cold and heartless.(to be fair, a super-smooth looking BLACK colored machine :cool:)

I have this probably really dumb idea about selling it to make up at least some of the cash I am short on what I owe for it, and grabbing a bargain like this PowerBook to replace it.

Besides the obvious jump backwards in technology which I am well-prepared for... I just feel like there's a counterpoint or flaw in my plan that I'm not seeing here which invalidates it. :eek:
 
G

gooser

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2013
514
51
did you borrow the money from a loan shark? if you can live without flash video ( i can but some can't) then it may work out for you. last year i bought an ibook g4 at around the same specs and i have no regrets. don't use it daily but i still like it.
 
R

reco2011

macrumors 6502a
May 25, 2014
531
0
gooser said:
did you borrow the money from a loan shark? if you can live without flash video ( i can but some can't) then it may work out for you. last year i bought an ibook g4 at around the same specs and i have no regrets. don't use it daily but i still like it.
Click to expand...

Ironically Flash in one plugin I do not have installed on the system I am currently writing this post on. And that's because of the security risk Flash adds. For the most part I have not missed it.
 
2

2984839

Cancelled
Apr 19, 2014
2,114
2,239
I use that same computer as my daily driver, though I am an extreme minimalist so make of it what you will. I have found it more than fast enough for most daily uses.

I'd go for it, but don't overbid. There are lots of them out there. I'd suggest selling the Macbook first so you know how much you have to spare.
 
Hrududu

Hrududu

macrumors 68020
Jul 25, 2008
2,299
627
Central US
I absolutely LOVE my 12" 1.5GHz PowerBook. It is probably my all time favorite portable. In many ways, it feels faster than my 17" 1.67GHz PowerBook with high res screen. It won't feel like your MacBook, but it is still a very usable computer today with 1.25GB of RAM installed. You already know how a 1.42 G4 performs, so if you think you can live with that kind of speed on your portable, then go for it! I wouldn't pay too much though. Try and keep the total cost under $80.
 
Altemose

Altemose

macrumors G3
Mar 26, 2013
9,189
487
Elkton, Maryland
SkyBell said:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Power...63947179?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item19edcefaab

A little battered and beat, and obviously that price isn't a certainty by any means; but it looks to be in reasonable working condition with a minor defect or two, and I just couldn't stop the gears in my head from turning when I saw how much the same models seem to go for.

When I bought my MacBook a little over a year ago, I bought it on a line of credit. I'll spare the details, but shortly after making that purchase my life flipped upside down; I lost my job and apartment, and couldn't make any payments on it. I purchased it for $365, but now I owe about $700 on it. It's been a flawless machine, but I just haven't "cared" about it - it's just a machine to me, cold and heartless.(to be fair, a super-smooth looking BLACK colored machine :cool:)

I have this probably really dumb idea about selling it to make up at least some of the cash I am short on what I owe for it, and grabbing a bargain like this PowerBook to replace it.

Besides the obvious jump backwards in technology which I am well-prepared for... I just feel like there's a counterpoint or flaw in my plan that I'm not seeing here which invalidates it. :eek:
Click to expand...

It would be best to get out of debt. If you can get it for an affordable price then I recommend you check out this thread! There are quite a few tips in there that may help you out!
 
SkyBell

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
I went ahead and took the plunge with a bid; so far so good. But I couldn't help but wonder why the starting price is so low, and why no one had gone for it yet. I think I might have a better idea now that I know a DC-in board to hopefully fix that charging issue is $80 on iFixIt. :eek: I remember paying around $15 or $20 for the one I got for my iBook G4 way back when and assumed this one would be around the same area. :eek: Luckily there does still seem to be a few salvaged boards floating around for much more reasonable prices.

It sure is a bummer in a way that PPC Macs are pretty much officially transitioning from the era of cheap "junk" parts and machines to "vintage and collectable". I'm glad I picked up a few of these when people couldn't throw them away fast enough. :D

Altemose said:
It would be best to get out of debt. If you can get it for an affordable price then I recommend you check out this thread! There are quite a few tips in there that may help you out!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link! I am just a little partial to Tiger (;)) but should I actually acquire one of these PowerBooks, I am going to pull the 'ol Leopard DVD out of storage and test run it for a week or so, see how it does.
 
Last edited:
Altemose

Altemose

macrumors G3
Mar 26, 2013
9,189
487
Elkton, Maryland
SkyBell said:
I went ahead and took the plunge with a bid; so far so good. But I couldn't help but wonder why the starting price is so low, and why no one had gone for it yet. I think I might have a better idea now that I know a DC-in board to hopefully fix that charging issue is $80 on iFixIt. :eek: I remember paying around $15 or $20 for the one I got for my iBook G4 way back when and assumed this one would be around the same area. :eek: Luckily there does still seem to be a few salvaged boards floating around for much more reasonable prices.

It sure is a bummer in a way that PPC Macs are pretty much officially transitioning from the era of cheap "junk" parts and machines to "vintage and collectable". I'm glad I picked up a few of these when people couldn't throw them away fast enough. :D


Thanks for the link! I am just a little partial to Tiger (;)) but should I actually acquire one of these PowerBooks, I am going to pull the 'ol Leopard DVD out of storage and test run it for a week or so, see how it does.
Click to expand...

Any luck SkyBell?
 
jrsx

jrsx

macrumors 65816
Nov 2, 2013
1,057
18
Tacoma, Washington
Altemose said:
We don't speak of GainSaver on this site! Dirtbag scammers!
Click to expand...

LOL, I totally feel you man! While they may be pretty much the only store that still sells a lot of PowerPC Macs, they are insanely overpriced. A 867 MHz PowerBook G4 for $89 with NO upgrades and a smaller hard drive than it originally came with? And a low-end PM G5 for $399, again, with no upgrades at all? Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous. And they don't offer a Leopard upgrade for any of the PPCs at all.
 
Altemose

Altemose

macrumors G3
Mar 26, 2013
9,189
487
Elkton, Maryland
jrsx said:
LOL, I totally feel you man! While they may be pretty much the only store that still sells a lot of PowerPC Macs, they are insanely overpriced. A 867 MHz PowerBook G4 for $89 with NO upgrades and a smaller hard drive than it originally came with? And a low-end PM G5 for $399, again, with no upgrades at all? Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous. And they don't offer a Leopard upgrade for any of the PPCs at all.
Click to expand...


I have never seen machines (PC or Mac) with more missing screws, botched CPU thermal paste jobs, and misaligned parts than from GainSaver.
 
Intelligent

Intelligent

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2013
922
2
I dont understand why people don't like newer machines, i dont understand the "PowerPC feels like they have a soul". I LOVE PowerPC and they are nostalgic to me, i dont understand why you would use one as your main.
 
Nameci

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
Intelligent said:
I dont understand why people don't like newer machines, i dont understand the "PowerPC feels like they have a soul". I LOVE PowerPC and they are nostalgic to me, i dont understand why you would use one as your main.
Click to expand...

Well I guess, it is different strokes for different folks.
 
S

SimonUK5

macrumors 6502
Nov 26, 2010
476
7
I enjoyed my 12'' PB when i had it, but the GFX chip just randomly died without warning one day, so i parted it out and got more for it than i paid.

Enjoy!
 
jrsx

jrsx

macrumors 65816
Nov 2, 2013
1,057
18
Tacoma, Washington
SimonUK5 said:
I enjoyed my 12'' PB when i had it, but the GFX chip just randomly died without warning one day, so i parted it out and got more for it than i paid.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Nowadays 12" PowerBook motherboards are pretty cheap. You can pick up a 1.33 GHz MB for no more than $25!
 
bigfatipod

bigfatipod

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2011
358
178
congratulations, that's a nice little machine.

for anyone that has access to macrumors marketplace - how does that compare to other online options, such as ebay in this case?
 
SkyBell

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
Well, I received the little guy in the mail a few days ago, I've just been so busy at work lately I've hardly had any time to spend with him. :p It's actually in much better condition than the seller led me to believe; there's some wear on a couple of the keys on the keyboard, same with a spot or two on the underside, and one very small dent on the bottom left corner of the machine, but other than that pretty much flawless. Even the "darker corners" the seller described seem to not exist.

It also turns out the charger is indeed the problem it had, not the port itself; right near the base of the "brick" is a small little nick/tear that you have to manipulate to get it to work, but I'm just glad it isn't the machine itself that is the problem.

So far, I'm loving it! I've been updating Tiger to it's fullest extent and downloading a few apps; I haven't transferred my personal data from my eMac and MacBook yet, because I intend to get a clean install of Leopard on this machine at some point. For now, I'm sticking with Tiger due to it only having 512 MB at the moment but I must say, it isn't as slow and laggy as I was expecting with only 25% of the memory I'm used to having on my other Macs.

The keyboard is perhaps the nicest surprise of all; I admit, I had never used a 12" PowerBook until I bought this one, but I was expecting the keyboard to be like the 15" and 17" PowerBook/MBP's I had used before; cheap and flaky. However, this keyboard is more like the 12" iBook G4 keyboard I was used to years ago, except even more solid and nice feeling. I'm typing this post on the PowerBook right now, and though it is taking me a little effort to unlearn the spaced "chiclet" keys I have on my MacBook (and also the keyboard I use for my eMac) it's much easier than I thought it would be.

I'm so glad to be back on a PowerPC mobile machine, espescially the 12" form factor I loved in my iBook G4 years ago; the few times I have used my 13.3 " MacBook since I got this thing, it just feels so wide and "flattened", or "squashed". :p There is only one big complaint I have; why doesn't this thing allow a two finger tap to right click? I keep finding myself trying to do that every single time, and I do really miss it. :(

Pictures will come later, but it really is a great looking little laptop for it's age, and for the $70 or so I paid for it altogether, completely worth it! :D
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,772
26,838
SkyBell said:
There is only one big complaint I have; why doesn't this thing allow a two finger tap to right click? I keep finding myself trying to do that every single time, and I do really miss it. :(
Click to expand...
It doesn't have the later trackpad. My 17" 1.0Ghz PowerBook does not have it either.

Install iScroll 2 though and the problem will be solved.
 
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