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Powerbook XXXX

S

steveca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 9, 2005
256
0
Malta
Hi everyone...

I have a powerbook XXXX. I have had it for quite some time to be honest. I would love to know how much I might get for it, in other words what the value of such a machine is... I have seen prototypes going for thousands and others for hundreds, is it a question of luck???

the machine is in great physical condition and works perfectly :)

It is a PROTOTYPE so it is incredibly rare... not sure how many prototypes one can find of the same model so this might be unique...

some of the plastic is different than the other machines of the same type...

being a prototype it has not been approved by the FCC and the device was not for sale or lease...

another interesting point is that when it loads up it displays a message in an icon stating: "I dont do windows" :) very cool indeed

it loads a version of mac os 7.5 if i remember correct

what i noticed is that it is similar to the one used in the movie Independence Day. Apple say it used powerbook 5300 but if you check out the movie you can see it is a powerbook XXXX :cool:. However on the laptop it says Model number M3047 in other words a powerbook 190 series...


any ideas??
 

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From what I can gather it's not a prototype in the sense that it's a developmental unit destined for production. These usually had clear plastic casings etc.

This is a modified PowerBook 5300 made specifically by Apple for the movie Independence Day. They wouldn't have made that many but just enough to cover any loss or damage during production. I'm guessing maybe half a dozen at most.

Do you know what the history of this specific unit is? It would likely have been on the set (or in the props dept at least), but is it the actual one used in the movie? That would increase it's value immensely as movie collectors tend to pay more than computer collectors. Not many people have a computer that has destroyed an alien mother ship invading Earth.
 
After a bit of googling I see it also appears in the first Mission Impossible movie, so it may indeed be an early prototype of the 5300 taken to full production for placement in movies and other marketing purposes before the actual release of the final 5300 version.

PS. What's confusing is the 190cs part number. Maybe they used parts from the 1995 PowerBook 190 before the 1996 5300 parts were available. Or maybe they just mocked-up a 190 to look like the new upcoming 5300. Does the XXXX actually have a PowerPC processor?
 
awmazz said:
From what I can gather it's not a prototype in the sense that it's a developmental unit destined for production. These usually had clear plastic casings etc.

This is a modified PowerBook 5300 made specifically by Apple for the movie Independence Day. They wouldn't have made that many but just enough to cover any loss or damage during production. I'm guessing maybe half a dozen at most.

Do you know what the history of this specific unit is? It would likely have been on the set (or in the props dept at least), but is it the actual one used in the movie? That would increase it's value immensely as movie collectors tend to pay more than computer collectors. Not many people have a computer that has destroyed an alien mother ship invading Earth.
Click to expand...


if that is the case (and believe me I hope you are right :)) it is rarer than I first thought :D. However have no idea of the history of this machine. A friend of mine got it off ebay and I got it off him...
 
Whatever it is, it's a genuine Apple computer with probably the smallest production run in Apple's history and never meant for general sale.

You have the Apple version of the Batmobile. :D
 
awmazz said:
After a bit of googling I see it also appears in the first Mission Impossible movie, so it may indeed be an early prototype of the 5300 taken to full production for placement in movies and other marketing purposes before the actual release of the final 5300 version.

PS. What's confusing is the 190cs part number. Maybe they used parts from the 1995 PowerBook 190 before the 1996 5300 parts were available. Or maybe they just mocked-up a 190 to look like the new upcoming 5300. Does the XXXX actually have a PowerPC processor?
Click to expand...

so i turned it on and in the about this macintosh i have something written omega... using OS 7.5.4

how do i get more info on OS7 systems??? like the processor etc?

got some screenshots of the XXXX booting up
 

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The OS appears to be just as rare as the computer itself. 7.5.4 was withdrawn from sale due to some components being left out of the installer by mistake. So you obviously have an original Apple installed version as there is no known working 7.5.4 installer ever available for sale.

The Apple Menu's System Profiler wasn't available in OS 7 and I can't remember how to find out the machines specs back then. I think you needed third party software at that time. I wouldn't play around with installing any new software on it at all now though as there's no way you can reinstall System 7.5.4 if it crashes on you.
 
awmazz said:
The OS appears to be just as rare as the computer itself. 7.5.4 was withdrawn from sale due to some components being left out of the installer by mistake. So you obviously have an original Apple installed version as there is no known working 7.5.4 installer ever available for sale.

The Apple Menu's System Profiler wasn't available in OS 7 and I can't remember how to find out the machines specs back then. I think you needed third party software at that time. I wouldn't play around with installing any new software on it at all now though as there's no way you can reinstall System 7.5.4 if it crashes on you.
Click to expand...

thanks a lot for the info... it is really really really rare :) if only there was a way to know its value :) ehhhh. it is a good addition to my collection
 
awmazz said:
there's no way you can reinstall System 7.5.4 if it crashes on you.
Click to expand...

I'll correct myself as I seem recall they used to just give the OS updates away for free back then, but stopped doing that at 7.6 or something so I should have said withdrawn from circulation instead of withdrawn from sale.

But I've been thinking that I used to be able to just copy the whole system disk to another disk and boot up from that, so you could make copies of your working 7.5.4 if you have an HDI-30 SCSI cable and external hard drive, then move the drive over to another Mac and burn it onto CD to sell on ebay (illegal?). I'll take a free copy for giving you the idea, thanks. ;)
 
awmazz said:
I'll correct myself as I seem recall they used to just give the OS updates away for free back then, but stopped doing that at 7.6 or something so I should have said withdrawn from circulation instead of withdrawn from sale.

But I've been thinking that I used to be able to just copy the whole system disk to another disk and boot up from that, so you could make copies of your working 7.5.4 if you have an HDI-30 SCSI cable and external hard drive, then move the drive over to another Mac and burn it onto CD to sell on ebay (illegal?). I'll take a free copy for giving you the idea, thanks. ;)
Click to expand...

good idea to keep a copy just in case :) need to get a hard disk and the cable before however...
 
DoFoT9 said:
SO amazing!!!! im pretty darn jealous! lucky you. what an idiot who sold it hahaha.
Click to expand...

i think the seller never had an idea of what the machine actually was... if he did he wouldnt have sold it, probably...

I think I might wait for 20 years and then sell it and make a small fortune like a hundred thousand dollars... (which would be equivalent to a couple of thousands of todays money) :D :D :D
 
steveca said:
i think the seller never had an idea of what the machine actually was... if he did he wouldnt have sold it, probably...

I think I might wait for 20 years and then sell it and make a small fortune like a hundred thousand dollars... (which would be equivalent to a couple of thousands of todays money) :D :D :D
Click to expand...

im liking your plan, in 20 years i plan on being rich anyways so i may be the one buying it off you eheh
 
Wow. What a rare find. Lucky you.

A few bits of information for you.

The early production PB5300 & PB190's had bad case plastics. They were so brittle that the display housing, top and bottom case would be replaced by Apple free of charge. However, being an engineering version, the plastics used are more than likely different but I would still be very gentle with the beast.

Secondly, I notice that it says that the battery is a Lithium Ion. This was to be the first Apple laptop to use a Lithium Ion battery pack but AFAIK, of the first production run that shipped, Apple had several battery packs that caught fire. This resulted in a recall of the first production models (thankfully still in the reseller channel) and Apple replaced all the batteries with the older Nickel-Metal-Hydride batteries (Ni-MH) and shipped a floppy disk with re-written System resources to change the charging software. I guess I'm trying to say that since yours has the Li-ion battery, be very careful ! :eek:

What does the AC Adapter look like? Any pics?

:)
________
buy magic flight launch box
 
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MacTech68 said:
Wow. What a rare find. Lucky you.

A few bits of information for you.

The early production PB5300 & PB190's had bad case plastics. They were so brittle that the display housing, top and bottom case would be replaced by Apple free of charge. However, being an engineering version, the plastics used are more than likely different but I would still be very gentle with the beast.

Secondly, I notice that it says that the battery is a Lithium Ion. This was to be the first Apple laptop to use a Lithium Ion battery pack but AFAIK, of the first production run that shipped, Apple had several battery packs that caught fire. This resulted in a recall of the first production models (thankfully still in the reseller channel) and Apple replaced all the batteries with the older Nickel-Metal-Hydride batteries (Ni-MH) and shipped a floppy disk with re-written System resources to change the charging software. I guess I'm trying to say that since yours has the Li-ion battery, be very careful ! :eek:

What does the AC Adapter look like? Any pics?

:)
Click to expand...


i will take pictures of the adapter but it looks to be a plain standard 45W adapter, looks production to me... Thanks MacTech you gave me some good information :) If you have any idea of how to get more information on the system I will try them out...
 
DoFoT9 said:
im liking your plan, in 20 years i plan on being rich anyways so i may be the one buying it off you eheh
Click to expand...

we have a deal :D

in the meantime if any millionaire wants to make a multi million offer just tell me... after all this thing saved the world right ;)
 
steveca said:
i will take pictures of the adapter but it looks to be a plain standard 45W adapter, looks production to me... Thanks MacTech you gave me some good information :) If you have any idea of how to get more information on the system I will try them out...
Click to expand...

I can't recall but TechTool Lite might run on 7.5.x. I'd only use it for the system information part.

These machines had many problems covered by the Repair Extension Program. Internal PSU Shield to prevent falling off an AppleTalk network, the power connector at the rear cracking or breaking it's solder joints (pins were way to short and the connector way too small IMHO). There were a few other problems involving the motherboards but I can't recall the specifics.

IIRC, there was an easy way to check if the case plastics had been done by looking for a number stamped on the bottom housing inside the battery bay, but I don't expect that this engineering unit will have one there at all.

If you're using the AC Adapter (since you won't be attempting to charge the Li-ion battery :eek: ), don't make the mistake a lot of users made in raising the front edge with the AC adapter plugged in. This would break the connector inside the machine at the rear. :(

The plug on the end of the AC Adapter was pretty weak too. The plastic molded housing was too flexible and the cylindrical metal shaft would break off the wires inside rather easily. :confused:

Some models included an external video card with Apple's standard PB External video connector.

That's about it..... for now.

Have fun with that new toy. About the best & rarest thing I have is an Apple IIc logic board that was pulled off the production line before being completed. Only some of the components were soldered in. It has the 'break-off' parts of the PCB still attached.

Oh, in looking at the pics, the palm-rest looks very shiny. Is it completely flat or textured like the close-up of the "Powerbook XXXX badge" ?

Edit: Apparently "Omega" was the codename of the PB190

and

Apple's statement re 7.5.4 to developers:

http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn1069.html#RTFToC3

which is interesting because these systems originally shipped with only 7.5.2
________
easy vape
 
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Thanks for the info MacTech68. I appreciate it a lot. The palmrest is just a little shinier than the rest and it is not textured at all.

I checked out ebay and found out some really really really sky-high prices for movie memorabilia; like the wizard of oz reconstructed cowardly lion costume selling for an amazing $700,000!!! and a trophy for $499,000!!! some people have a lot of money indeed, wish I was in that category :)

as awmazz said movie stuff do get more money than apple laptops...
 
steveca said:
if that is the case (and believe me I hope you are right :)) it is rarer than I first thought :D. However have no idea of the history of this machine. A friend of mine got it off ebay and I got it off him...
Click to expand...

Would this machine not have gotten a lot of bids in the first place on eBay? How much did he give for it and how much did you give him for it? Even after the pictures, Im not 100% sure this machine is not some kind of fake.

And why in the screen shot is it congratulating windows 95??
 
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