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New item in my collection! Powerbook G4 12"

marcosfisica

marcosfisica

macrumors member
Original poster
May 1, 2020
44
70
Brazil
Hi everyone!
I bought a Powerbook G4 12" for my collection. It is not in perfect conditions, but I think it's ok to a 17 year old computer.
As can be seen in the pictures, the screen seems to be "bended" (I'm not sure if this is the right word).
Do you think it's possible to fix it? May I just gently and manually try to straighten up the screen?
I'm very happy with this powerbook. What a nice machine! It's just beautiful! The keyboard is amazing! Much better feeling that my MacBook Air!

Photos: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0vQ1tGOZN9-wZ_QoTA8Hvc3WA


Cheers!
IMG_20201023_203359640.jpgIMG_20201023_204522629.jpg
 
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Congratulations! You got the box too, that's cool.

I cannot really see the bend you're mentioning in your photos. Maybe you can take closer, specific pictures?

In any case, try not to mess with that too much. As nice as the 12" PowerBooks are on the outside, they are difficult to work with on the inside. A screen replacement means taking the entire Mac apart (the logicboard has to come out to remove the screen).
 
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Amethyst1 said:
Yeah back then the boxes had not yet been reduced to the bare minimum and it felt that you were getting something BIG for your money.
Click to expand...

Yeah I remember when those came out, no way I could afford a new one at the time. I always day dreamed about walking out of an Apple store with one of those black boxes though. Had I enjoyed that experience, surely it would be one I’d not forget from the (IMHO) best era of Apple Computing Software & hardware design.

One of the guitarists I played music with at the time who also had a studio picked one up new as the computing foundation of a mobile Protools 002 recording solution and yes, it was freaking awesome when compared to the Portable win options of the time. Once I reel in the heat mine is experiencing, I think I’ll put it back into rotation despite being the slowpoke 867mhz model.
 
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RhianB said:
Yeah I remember when those came out, no way I could afford a new one at the time. I always day dreamed about walking out of an Apple store with one of those black boxes though. Had I enjoyed that experience, surely it would be one I’d not forget from the (IMHO) best era of Apple Computing Software & hardware design.

One of the guitarists I played music with at the time who also had a studio picked one up new as the computing foundation of a mobile Protools 002 recording solution and yes, it was freaking awesome when compared to the Portable win options of the time. Once I reel in the heat mine is experiencing, I think I’ll put it back into rotation despite being the slowpoke 867mhz model.
Click to expand...

There was simply no competition back then, when computers were beige or black plastic. Apple truly did things differently. It was a special time. The only Windows hardware I thought was interesting at the time was Sony's Vaio series; they made some really interesting, ambitious products. I believe Steve Jobs himself was a fan also.
 
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Amethyst1 said:
And although they were ugly (IMO - sorry fans!), ThinkPads were awesome too.
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While Thinkpads are indeed ugly, at least the Thinkpad knows what it is, and excels at it (well, used to). If I was forced to have a Windows computer, it would be a Thinkpad or last-generation Vaio.

Sony Vaio's ultraportable lines were most interesting to me. Not ergonomic at all, but it looks unlike any other device:

dims


Front/back cameras, backlit keyboard, fingerprint scanner, cool docking station... A shame it was underpowered :p
 
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The legendary UX - I hear you on the underpowered front but (1) at least Sony couldn't put an Atom in there 'cause the UX predated it and (2) there were DIY Core 2 Duo upgrades :D
 
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Amethyst1 said:
I love their industrial look too, they're just not "beautiful" in my eyes.
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I have four (3 L420s and 1 T420). I got them because I had three people that needed dependable and reliable computers for school. As much as I love my PowerPC Macs, it's not me trying to interface with school systems and programs. So, I went with the kind of computer almost everyone uses - a Windows PC.

Having used my own L420, and being a big fan of industrial design (hey, I wear Dickies every day), I really like and appreciate the Thinkpad. Yeah, it's ugly, but in a serious and businesslike way.

PS: When, I was looking for my daughter's T420 I ended up passing on an auction for a larger hard drive because someone had one with a 256GB SSD. Not sure what brand this SSD is, but it's faST!. Like blink or snap your fingers fast. Would have loved to have gotten that system for myself.
 
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eyoungren said:
PS: When, I was looking for my daughter's T420 I ended up passing on an auction for a larger hard drive because someone had one with a 256GB SSD. Not sure what brand this SSD is, but it's faST!. Like blink or snap your fingers fast. Would have loved to have gotten that system for myself.
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My work-provided SSD-equipped T420 (we'll be getting new laptops any day) is no slouch but the display is total junk.
 
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Amethyst1 said:
My work-provided SSD-equipped T420 (we'll be getting new laptops any day) is no slouch but the display is total junk.
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Mine is (as I mentioned) an L420. It's got ports out the wazoo and until the new Mac Pro I got was how I was playing movies and tv shows on the HDTV. Hell, it's even got an eSATA port, which is how I had that G5 like drive enclosure of mine connected to it.

I suppose if I was using the display everyday though I'd feel the same way. But I mainly use mine for controlling other things and therefore the display isn't so important.
 
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eyoungren said:
I suppose if I was using the display everyday though I'd feel the same way. But I mainly use mine for controlling other things and therefore the display isn't so important.
Click to expand...
We all run two external displays at the office. My working from home setup is the same so I never have to look at the laptop's screen. If I had to I'd go insane :p
 
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ervus said:
Nice find; I like the 12" powerbooks!



This is probably a broken solder joint that needs to be repaired. I've fixed a few of these.
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Can you elaborate? Is there a specific plroblematic spot to look for cold solder joints?
 
Amethyst1 said:
I love their industrial look too, they're just not "beautiful" in my eyes.
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Ah, yea, I get that. If I'm being perfectly honest, my concept of "beautiful" as it pertains to man-made objects is a bit strange, as I oftentimes find things that aren't trying to be anything other than creations of man and the industrial stylings which can come out of that (such as what is seen on ThinkPads) more beautiful than things trying to emulate nature.

I guess it's no surprise I enjoy modern art! :D
 
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This picture pretty much explains it. If you search, it has been covered here before in other threads too.

powerbook12.jpg
 
Oh, you’re referring to the heatsink screws breaking off. Yeah that happened to my now dead 1.5ghz 12”.
 
RhianB said:
Nice 12”. Mine is running horribly hot as of late and in need of repaste. If yours is running hot and you feel
up to it, a repaste & SSD swap are nice upgrades. Love the box - very cool. :D
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Mine is not repasted. It works stably between 40-50 C (mostly in passive mode, via G4FanControl app). I listen to music on it all day. There is a small vent on the left, and I put a tiny quiet usb fan there.
 
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OP - feel free to join...

forums.macrumors.com

PowerBook G4 12" Club

Figured Club 17 could do with a less etitist little brother :) Admission to Club 12 is in ownership of a 12" PowerBook G4. No iBooks or pre-G4 PowerBooks! I'll go first: Left: 867MHz, 1.12GB RAM, 40GB 4200rpm HDD (stock), SuperDrive, AirPort Extreme upgrade. Mac OS 9.2.2. Right: 1.33GHz...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

:)
 
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