iBook good for documents?

[MatthewLTL]

It's not like there aren't plenty of other options out there. IBM Thinkpad's have excellent keyboards- I'm not sure if the NetVista is similar, but I can understand it feeling too heavy. I still think investing in the desktop is the better option.

I'm not sure if you used an iBook G3 keyboard. They are very "light" I guess but in my opinion they're way too light and most people I know don't particularly like them. They really just don't have a quality feel to them, lack good control, and if you don't hit the button squarely in the center the keys bind up.

The NetVista keyboard is the keyboard they provide with all Windows 8 Lenovo desktops and is pretty much identical in appearance to the black IBM keyboards that came with the Black Windows XP IBM ThinkCentre's

Looks like this its on the bottom:

NOTE: NOT MY PICTURE!

 

[tevion5]

iBook G3's might have smelly keyboard

My god, I was just tinkering with my mom's iBoom G3 last week and thought it smelled really odd under the keyboard too! I suspected the previous owner had just spilled something pungent on it at some point.

Seems like a weird issue...

 

[bunnspecial]

My god, I was just tinkering with my mom's iBoom G3 last week and thought it smelled really odd under the keyboard too! I suspected the previous owner had just spilled something pungent on it at some point.

Seems like a weird issue...

You really didn't forget to wear deodorant...and the previous owner(probably) didn't either.

That's just how they smell!

 

[Altemose]

You really didn't forget to wear deodorant...and the previous owner(probably) didn't either.

That's just how they smell!

That is a shame because finding a G3 keyboard that isn't as ripe as a dumpster is going to get harder and harder. Fortunately, my 900 MHz does not stink at all...

 

[tevion5]

You really didn't forget to wear deodorant...and the previous owner(probably) didn't either.

That's just how they smell!

I just got it the other week. Still waiting for a new battery to arrive and haven't used it at all yet, so it ain't my BO! My 4 year old MBP doesn't smell like that, or even close.

 

[Altemose]

I just got it the other week. Still waiting for a new battery to arrive and haven't used it at all yet, so it ain't my BO! My 4 year old MBP doesn't smell like that, or even close.

It is due to the glue Apple used in construction of the keyboards. Machines that were run with heavier usage (high CPU usage = more heat) generally have this issue more than others.

 

[bunnspecial]

Does anyone know if the Clamshell keyboards do this? The certainly look similar to the later iBook keyboards.

Mine doesn't smell, and I'm hoping that it won't start.

I have a few iBook G4 keyboards...I'm halfway tempted to try fitting one to my snow G3(the G4 keyboards are a lot better, smell aside).

 

[redheeler]

Does anyone know if the Clamshell keyboards do this? The certainly look similar to the later iBook keyboards.

Mine doesn't smell, and I'm hoping that it won't start.

I don't think Clamshells have this problem, mine certainly doesn't.

 

[Altemose]

Does anyone know if the Clamshell keyboards do this? The certainly look similar to the later iBook keyboards.

Mine doesn't smell, and I'm hoping that it won't start.

I have a few iBook G4 keyboards...I'm halfway tempted to try fitting one to my snow G3(the G4 keyboards are a lot better, smell aside).

I think only in some circumstances would they have an issue.

 

[tevion5]

It is due to the glue Apple used in construction of the keyboards. Machines that were run with heavier usage (high CPU usage = more heat) generally have this issue more than others.

Strange that got through the design process. Tim must have been trying to cut corners in production a little too much!

Mine is more faint and only noticeable when I removed the keyboard and the machine was close to my face. You wouldn't notice during normal use...yet.

 

[bunnspecial]

Strange that got through the design process. Tim must have been trying to cut corners in production a little too much!

Mine is more faint and only noticeable when I removed the keyboard and the machine was close to my face. You wouldn't notice during normal use...yet.

If you can only smell it with the keyboard removed, you're probably okay.

The bad ones hit you in the face as soon as you open the lid.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

If you want a dedicated writing machine, you can go for *REALLY* old school if you want. Microsoft Word 5.1 writes files that are compatible even with the latest versions of Word. (They're not the '.docx', but rather the older '.doc', so you won't be able to read modern Word files; but you can write files that modern Word can read. Unfortunately, editing in a modern Word makes it no longer compatible with Word 5.1.)

I knew a writer that used an old Macintosh II-era computer with Word 5.1 to write novels as recently as 2006.

Word 2001 can read/write .doc files that are bidirectionally compatible with modern versions of Word.

And, of course, you could save in .rtf format, which basically every word processor from 1990 on can read and write.

 

[bunnspecial]

If you want a dedicated writing machine, you can go for *REALLY* old school if you want. Microsoft Word 5.1 writes files that are compatible even with the latest versions of Word. (They're not the '.docx', but rather the older '.doc', so you won't be able to read modern Word files; but you can write files that modern Word can read. Unfortunately, editing in a modern Word makes it no longer compatible with Word 5.1.)

I knew a writer that used an old Macintosh II-era computer with Word 5.1 to write novels as recently as 2006.

Word 2001 can read/write .doc files that are bidirectionally compatible with modern versions of Word.

And, of course, you could save in .rtf format, which basically every word processor from 1990 on can read and write.

I have a copy of Word 1.0 for Mac around here-the first GUI based version of Word. I really need to image the disks and make backups of them(I'd put them up on Macintosh Garden if I didn't think Microsoft would come after me).

In any case, I still say that for word processing on old Macs, Word Perfect is where it's at. The fact that 3.5E is officially, unambiguously and legally a free download helps a lot. The downside is that most of the formats it can save to are proprietary-not just to Word Perfect, but to Word Perfect Mac. It can do txt, RTF, HTML, and a couple of other more "portable" formats too, though.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I have a copy of Word 1.0 for Mac around here-the first GUI based version of Word. I really need to image the disks and make backups of them(I'd put them up on Macintosh Garden if I didn't think Microsoft would come after me).

In any case, I still say that for word processing on old Macs, Word Perfect is where it's at. The fact that 3.5E is officially, unambiguously and legally a free download helps a lot. The downside is that most of the formats it can save to are proprietary-not just to Word Perfect, but to Word Perfect Mac. It can do txt, RTF, HTML, and a couple of other more "portable" formats too, though.

The entire set of Word 1-5.1a is available on the Garden. And Microsoft made Word 5.5 for DOS free, too.

 

[bunnspecial]

The entire set of Word 1-5.1a is available on the Garden. And Microsoft made Word 5.5 for DOS free, too.

Good to know-that saves me the trouble

I have a pretty decent collection of hard to find system disks and other stuff that a professor at school gave me a while back. Some folks over at the Garden are encouraging me to image an upload them-a project which I'm fully onboard with. The problem is that really the suitable computer I have for doing the imaging work at the moment is my Quadra 700, and it currently doesn't have a functioning floppy drive(and I'm not sure it can be revived-I've tried cleaning and lubing it). My beige G3s are too new to read the old 400 and 800K floppies.

I suppose I could also install system 7.5 on my 7100(I think that one's a free download from Apple)-I just need to find the time to do it.