Pismos is a Mac clasic?

[illumin8]

Pismo is outdated

Get with the times folks. The Pismo is horribly outdated and way overpriced. Most of the used ones selling on Powermax are going for between $700 and $1000. On top of that, you'd have to put a $400 Superdrive, $250 G4 upgrade, and $150 worth of memory in it just to make it half as fast or capable as a 12" PowerBook. Plus it's several years old so you'll probably need to buy new batteries for it as well.

Once you've spent $2000+ on your Pismo and realize you have an antiquated piece of crap that can't even run Quartz Extreme and is crippled by a 100 mhz. bus you'll be kicking yourself wondering why you didn't just buy a brand new 12" PowerBook in the first place.

FW800 in a Pismo? Are you smoking crack? A 500mhz. processor and 100 mhz. system bus wouldn't even come close to handling any task that requires FW800.

To me computers are tools to do a job. I want the most capable tool for the job. If you want to collect antique computers and put them in a museum or something that's fine, but they cease to be useful as tools at that point. They are now "works of art" or "collector's items".

The same people that are nostalgic for Pismos are probably the same fools still running Mac OS 9.2.2 and wishing Apple would stay in the "good ol' days". This is the same mindset of people that keep their old non-electric typewriters to write letters on because they're so much better than those "new-fangled word processors".

Go back to the stone age, luddites...

 

[5300cs]

And get of that stupid Atari 2600, too

For you, if you want to shell out the clams and buy a new machine, that's cool, but there are some people here who still remember their roots and actually like collecting, believe it or not!

Get some respect

 

[Flowbee]

Re: Pismo is outdated

Originally posted by illumin8

To me computers are tools to do a job. I want the most capable tool for the job. If you want to collect antique computers and put them in a museum or something that's fine, but they cease to be useful as tools at that point. They are now "works of art" or "collector's items".

Not everyone needs to render video or huge graphics files all day long. As a writer, there is no way that a $3000 17" Powerbook would make me any more productive. FW800? Don't need it. Superdrive? No thanks. The Pismo runs Panther just fine, along with MS Office, Dreamweaver, Safari, iTunes, etc.

The only *fools* here are the ones that think everyone needs to have the fastest computer on the market to be productive. Talk about buying into Apple's marketing machine hook, line, and sinker.

Did someone mention tool?

 

[joscobo]

I agree that the newer computers are generally better than the older ones. But I think you are basing the concept of utility on the premise of speed. The utility of the Pismo is premised upon several factors. The two drive bays are a big plus in certain applications. I personally use a computer primarily for writing and the Pismo's keyboard and ergonomics make it an excellent machine for that task. I also do some video editing, photoshop and illustrator work. The Pismo does these tasks very well. It doesn't do most of these things as fast as the newer book, but there are other factors to consider. So the overall utility makes it a good choice for anyone I feel. I'll be upgrading soon to a new 15 inch powerbook. But I want anyone who is considering a Pismo because they don't want to pay the premium for a new powerbook to know they aren't making a bad decision. I doubt I'll sell my Pismo after i purchase a new one. Its just that good. Not fast mind you but still very good.

 

[beefcake]

I don't think illumin8 was suggesting that everyone run out and buy a 17" PB. It seems to me that he was arguing that it is pointless to pay $2,000+ for a Pismo when you can buy a new 12" PB or iBook. I don't think there's anything wrong with using an old computer, in a few years I'll be using one and hopefully love it as much as Pismo owners love their's. However, I would not recommend that anyone (aside from collectors) buy Pismo now. I, like many (but not all), use my computer as a tool, and if I can get more speed for my money with minimal sacrifice (casing, extra ports) I'll do it 100% of the time. Buying a Pismo now, while not wrong, is impractical.

 

[illumin8]

Re: Re: Pismo is outdated

Originally posted by Flowbee
Not everyone needs to render video or huge graphics files all day long. As a writer, there is no way that a $3000 17" Powerbook would make me any more productive. FW800? Don't need it. Superdrive? No thanks. The Pismo runs Panther just fine, along with MS Office, Dreamweaver, Safari, iTunes, etc.

The only *fools* here are the ones that think everyone needs to have the fastest computer on the market to be productive. Talk about buying into Apple's marketing machine hook, line, and sinker.

Did someone mention tool?

In that case I think a 800 mhz. G4 iBook would cost less and perform better than a Pismo. And it would be more future proof.

 

[illumin8]

Originally posted by beefcake
I don't think illumin8 was suggesting that everyone run out and buy a 17" PB. It seems to me that he was arguing that it is pointless to pay $2,000+ for a Pismo when you can buy a new 12" PB or iBook. I don't think there's anything wrong with using an old computer, in a few years I'll be using one and hopefully love it as much as Pismo owners love their's. However, I would not recommend that anyone (aside from collectors) buy Pismo now. I, like many (but not all), use my computer as a tool, and if I can get more speed for my money with minimal sacrifice (casing, extra ports) I'll do it 100% of the time. Buying a Pismo now, while not wrong, is impractical.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was trying to say. You just did it without making as many people mad.

 

[yadmonkey]

Forgetting the members here who are obviously uncomfortable with reminiscing, I too have a fondness for the Pismo. Anyone who would insinuate that these things are less sturdy than the TiBooks or especially the new Aluminum ones has probably not owned both.

Another nice thing about the Pismo - it was the first powerbook to feature software-based DVD decoding, meaning you didn't need a PCMCIA card to watch a DVD. While there probably aren't many times you'd want to use the PCMCIA slot for something else while watchng a DVD, its just nice to not carry an extra card or bother with swapping them.

And hot-swappable drives/batteries are great! I hadn't though about it before, but Pismo probably is the sweet-spot on the powerbook line.

 

[mms]

Besides Firewire and and increased processor speed, what's different in the Pismo than my Lombard? I think they have the same casing and haven't noticed many drastic changes.

Also, are there good G4 processor upgrades for the Lombard as well?

 

[yadmonkey]

Originally posted by mms
Besides Firewire and and increased processor speed, what's different in the Pismo than my Lombard? I think they have the same casing and haven't noticed many drastic changes.

Also, are there good G4 processor upgrades for the Lombard as well?

There's not much difference aside from what you mentioned, plus the switch from hardware-based to software-based DVD decoding. I believe there is a G4 processor upgrade available, though I haven't looked in a while.

 

[GeeYouEye]

The Pismo is one of a few truly 'classic' PowerBooks. Some other notable ones: the 540c, the 100, and the Duo 280c. Personally, I think the TiBook will become a classic too, but only time will tell for it. I had a Pismo for a few months (it was a school computer), and I loved it. Could do pretty much anything for as long as you needed it to, thanks to the dual battery bays. I did a lot of video editing on that thing... ah, the good old days.

 

[Powerbook G5]

My Lombard also feels lonely. It sucks, the Pismo is just a super awesome version of the Lombard. Mine looks like the Pismo but lacks the Airport, Firewire, speed bumped G3, etc.