Hell no!In retrospect, we really didn’t need iSight cameras built into aluminium MBPs.
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G4 PowerBooks getting more scarce?
- Thread starter retta283
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I mean, I understand why Apple did it at the time — proud of the technical ability to take something which, only three years earlier, existed in an external clip-on cylinder, with basically the same 480p specs, and eager to market it as a “must-have”.
Whatever the demand was at the time to embed a video camera into a laptop (and I don’t recall it being substantial), for most users, it was at most a neat-to-have added feature which the previous generation lacked. It technically one-upped the high-end, camera-equipped Sony Clié PDAs from 2003–04 (like the Clié NX-series, which itself wasn‘t a strong case for having a camera on-board), but that’s about it.
For the aluminium MacBook Pros, it was disappointing how there wasn’t a BTO/CTO option to delete the iSight on either the 15 or the 17-inch models. A deletion option could have afforded the former with an option to switch to the slightly higher LCD resolution of the DLSD 15-inch PowerBook.
[Anecdotally: for my first Mac with built-in iSight, a factory-refurbished 2007 Santa Rosa 15-inch MBP (stolen less than a year after I got it, and along with it, a bunch of thesis research and primary data aggregation), I got it to replace my increasingly frail 2005 14" iBook G4 1.42 (which had taken up daily driver duty over a Rev. indigo clamshell iBook). It was several months before I found a need to use the iSight camera. To this day, I’ve never felt a need for having iSight built into my laptops.]
I’ve been away for a while and having returned noticed the decline in PPC stuff on eBay and the like. Not surprising really, time moves on. Somewhere I came across PPC and intel Mac sales figures up to 2009; total intel Mac sales for the first 3 years exceeded the total PPC sales going back to 2000 so quantity and age are both a factor. However, the biggest change is in parts availability. I’m thinking of doing a full restoration of a 1.5Ghz PB 12 which has lived on a shelf for the last 9 years and can I find a UK keyboard? I might as well be looking for Saxon gold in a field with a teaspoon. On the other hand, there seem to be some genuine Apple batteries available but who knows what state they’re in...
Hi !
if the PB G4 you have has the same keyboard as all models, including the DLSD 15 and 17 inch models, I have a brand new keyboard I bought, but never used it. Need to check the keyboard part number to see. You are right, eBay doesn’t have much with regards to PPC Macs, and most are beat up or sold as non-working.
if the PB G4 you have has the same keyboard as all models, including the DLSD 15 and 17 inch models, I have a brand new keyboard I bought, but never used it. Need to check the keyboard part number to see. You are right, eBay doesn’t have much with regards to PPC Macs, and most are beat up or sold as non-working.
Definitely do see a lot of listings that are sold for parts and some really destroyed stuff. I saw a Titanium for sale that was banged up and scraped all over, the paint was almost completely gone and duct taped the whole way around including the hinges had multiple layers. Duct tape looked worn too, like it had been on there for 15 years.
If only I could find a nice 17" that doesn't have bad dents already or is "as-is" condition never been tested to boot. I don't want to have to buy donor units in the event the Parts I need are not available individually. Logic would compel me to say all Aluminum PB/MBP keyboards should be identical because they are the same key layout and size but they may have changed the internals. Wish I could find the info easier on that because I haven't seen anything concrete yet
I feel you.. these idiots who sell their computers don't give a damn.. they just want to throw away POWERPC because its useless garbage to them.. yes, you heard me right.. to them its garbage, useless and slow. I think differently though.
Not that particular model, though. It took me four years to land one that wasn't bashed to pieces and for a reasonable price. Since it was figured out how to get OS9 to run on it natively with few compromises, the price has gone through the roof. I don't expect to see one very often at all for sale generally, and when they do, even a tatty one will easily hit three figures in the UK. I expected the boxed version (came with some extras) to easily surpass £200, hence my inclusion of that final hammer price in this thread.
Sadly, the keyboard on the PB12 is different. From a distance it looks the same but the others are backlit so even the key caps won’t fit. I don’t want to have to buy a complete unit just for a keyboard when there’s no way to tell if it works or even if it’s original Apple (I’ve had some non-Apple examples in the past and they feel very different). Never mind, will keep looking.
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The truth is they don't have to give a damn. Everyone can treat their stuff how they like. The only thing you can do is not to buy banged-up machines.
It's more likely they're getting rid of it simply because it's no longer of use to them. Not because "zOMG I H4TE PPC SO MUCH!!!". I'm seeing plenty of banged-up Intel Macs too by the way.
Unfortunately. That means those who want one for some other reason will have to put up with insane prices.
OK, time to dispel fact from myth:
1) the keyboard assembly for the PowerBook 12" models are unique to the 12" PBs, replete with unique connection points to the chassis hidden underneath some of the keys and, of course, the absence of a clear-laminate or a backlit laminate sandwiched underneath.
BUT
2) the actual individual keys and mechanisms of the PB G4 12" are identical not only to the 15 and 17-inch aluminium PowerBook G4s, but also the aluminium MacBook Pro 15 and 17-inch models.
I gutted a 12" PB a few years ago to use various parts for donor sourcing (LCD, keys, RAM, etc.). I use my set of removed keys from the 12" as spare parts for my other aluminium PBs and, eventually, for my 17-inch Penryn MacBook Pro.
On the attachment, you’re seeing the donor “Option” key from that 12" PB, in place of the OEM “Enter” key, on my 17" DLSD PowerBook G4 (I use DoubleCommand to reassign that key to be a right-side “Option” key). The only reason why the “alt” portion seems dark here is because there is no micro-etching on the area of the clear backlit-laminate directly underneath the “alt” area.
So, no, the keyboard from the PowerBook 12" is unique to the 12" series, but the keys, individually, and the mechanisms beneath? They’re identical to all aluminium-series ‘Book-series Macs (PowerBook G4 and MacBook Pros), 2003 to 2008 inclusive.
Attachments
Plus we're dealing with something that hasn't been produced since 2006. Stuff gets broken. What we see in decent condition is certainly rarer than when it was new.
I'd love to snag a PB G4 to run as a MorphOS box (the one thing a 2009 MacBook truly can't do compared with a PowerPC), but I also know this is something that I might need to bide my time on. Until then, I'll look for a brand old Intel Mac or hit the lottery...my bet isn't on the lottery.
Thanks, that's useful to know. Unfortunately I'm missing the entire keyboard but I do have a spare set of key caps 😁
I took a punt on one of these. Came boxed too. Turned out it was the graphics chip and the only fix was a new logic board. Somehow I managed to find one for about £20, again taking a punt that it wasn't dead itself and I lucked out but it took the overall purchase from a bargain to closer to the going rate at the time.
Gotta be in it to win it, though.
A friend in the US sent me one a few years ago and I’ve got in storage. It’s supposed to be ok but if not, there’s always the hot air station I got for Christmas. Once the chip goes, it can’t get much worse. I had a 1.33 iBook the chip went in. Was lovely condition otherwise; wish I’d kept it now. Oh well, learn from my mistakes...
While on the subject of things that are hard to come by, does anyone know where to find the little feet fitted to all aluminium PBs and MBPs?