How to pickle a PB12?

[dubhe]

I was thinking today about how much I love my 12" PowerBook, after five years of service, with only a battery and HDD replacement it still runs beautifully, albeit in its new position of 'sofa surfer'.

I was thinking, I don't want to sell it, I feel more attached to it than £300 or so on eBay will compensate, but I also don't want to see it break and become a worthless ex-accessory.

So, my question, and this is kind of for fun, what would be the best way to promote the longevity of my PB, how can I guarantee it is still chugging along in another 5 years time?

I'm not talking about spending money on it, more changing my use of it. For example, should I avoid graphic intensive tasks? Should I reinstall Tiger? Should I leave the battery at half charge and stick it in a drawer for six months?

Many thanks for your thought

 

[Nipz]

Frame it

Or when the day finally comes when it sleeps its last sleep, you should stuff it and put it on the table as a piece of art

 

[MacPil0T]

This reminds of how much I love the PB12 size and design. I really want a Apple notebook this size but I'm not sure I can bring myself to pick up an old used one off eBay. All I'm saying is, if Apple released a 12" MacBook Pro or even a 12" MacBook tomorrow, I'd buy it and love it forever.

As for your question I don't feel like I have the experience or expertise to answer. The longest notebook I've ever had was 11 months..

 

[dubhe]

I don't really get it, everyone who has owned a PB12 loves it, and wishes apple would make another. So why was it discontinued? Did it compete too much with the iBook replacement, the MacBook? I am thinking of getting an Air when I next upgrade, it is pretty close to the PB12 in terms of size etc, and with the new graphics can do all I need, but I would love a 12" MacBook Alu

 

[Huked on Fonick]

I LOVED MY 12 INCH POWERBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My DC was quickly failing which is next to impossible to replace, and then someone stole it. HAHA

 

[California]

I just recently sold my 12" here on MR.

I miss it. It was maxed out.

The biggest issue was the ram limitation for me.

I even emailed Daystar to see if they could possibly solder a 1 gig chip on the logic board to replace the measly 256mb chip that is on it. They said that the soldering wasn't the issue, but reconfiguring and reprogramming the logic board and firmware to recognize the new chip would be a real b i t c h.

They are small, great and the last revision had 2.0 bluetooth and scrolling trackpad etc.

If some smart Mac person could stuff more than 1.25 gigs of ram in there, there would be a run on the old PBs...

I heard when the 13.3 Macbooks came out that Apple was making a switch to this size screen forever.

I guess it is for "movie watching width of screen" or something.

I just got the new al macbook and I do not LOVE it like the PB.

My 3 cents.

 

[Mercellus]

I'd recommend simply calibrating the battery once a month or so to keep it in good health and make sure that you leave some free space on your hard drive.

When was the last time you reinstalled the operating system? If it has been a few years at least, you might want to consider a re-installation to clean up any old data that you don't have a use for anymore, make sure you install using the discs that came with your computer and then apply the latest combo update from Apple's website, as it seems to work better compared to Software Update in some cases.

You may also want to pick up an optical grade cleaning cloth (perhaps from a photography store) and a bottle of simple LCD cleaning solution or a packaged kit such as iKlear's Apple Polish, use it every few weeks on the display and the actual computer itself (while it is off, mind you) to keep it looking pristine.

Also, make sure you don't leave it on all the time... turn it off at night or put it into sleep mode, that way it does not build up excess heat after a while, and make sure you use it on a flat surface. If possible, you may want to take a can of compressed air and simply blow out around the keyboard and the vents as well to clear out any dust. If you want it really cleaned up inside, you might be able to take it into an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider and have them open it up and clean it out for a small fee; by removing dust and other build up the computer should run a little bit cooler which will definitely help.