Snookered me a clamshell iBook!

[stoid]

So a friend of mine wanted to try out an Apple laptop, and got an old clamshell iBook. He's done nothing but bash Apple ever since getting it. So tonight after we watched 24 I offered to buy it off him for $75. I am now test driving a 466Mhz /192MB ram/10GB HD/DVD-ROM/buffalo 802.11g (wireless card alone worth at least $60). The terminal claims the battery is 2.75 mAh (original capacity 4.5 mAh). It's the latest and greatest graphite clamshell iBook. Link to apple-history for complete specs. I'm currently changing the battery and loading a fresh install of Tiger on it. Cosmetically it's missing the main chunk of the Apple logo from the top and the F1 key, both he claims that he has in a drawer somewhere. The F1 nub functions, and there are no dirt stains on it, and the track-pad looks immaculate.

I think that I'm getting such a good deal, that I'd feel guilty for taking advantage of a friend if he hadn't been such a jerk about Apple, and doesn't deserve this machine!

What do you think this computer is worth? I'd say that if I didn't really want to use it I might be able to sell it for at least $250 (maybe $300).

 

[Josh396]

That's a great deal. I've seen computers with similar specs for around $300 so you could make a good profit if you do decide to sell it.

 

[stoid]

The crazy idea I have is that this iBook will be enough power to word process and E-mail on the go, and so I'll sell my 1.25 Ghz PowerBook for 1300 or so and get an early G5 tower so I have more power at the desk.

BTW, I'm posting from the iBook now, and this Buffalo Wi-Fi card is 'teh rox0r' I live in a house that's none to near other houses, and I'm picking up two signals that aren't from my house, which no other card I've ever used had even noticed.

 

[California]

The crazy idea I have is that this iBook will be enough power to word process and E-mail on the go, and so I'll sell my 1.25 Ghz PowerBook for 1300 or so and get an early G5 tower so I have more power at the desk.

BTW, I'm posting from the iBook now, and this Buffalo Wi-Fi card is 'teh rox0r' I live in a house that's none to near other houses, and I'm picking up two signals that aren't from my house, which no other card I've ever used had even noticed.

Yeah, that's a good buy. I've seen a lot of accessories for clamshells on eBay, you might want to check it out.

Also, I read somewhere you can put a 60gb 7200rpm Travelstar Hitachi hard drive in a clamshell -- no problem. I'd also bump up the ram and you'll have a great little emailer/ word processory on your hands. Do those things have firewire?

 

[stoid]

Yeah, that's a good buy. I've seen a lot of accessories for clamshells on eBay, you might want to check it out.

Also, I read somewhere you can put a 60gb 7200rpm Travelstar Hitachi hard drive in a clamshell -- no problem. I'd also bump up the ram and you'll have a great little emailer/ word processory on your hands. Do those things have firewire?

The model I have is the only clamshell iBook to sport FireWire!

edit: just finished charging the battery. It estimates 3 hours of battery life, and that's with brightness all the way up and set to best performance. If i get the high capacity battery, I could be able to squeeze 7 or 8 hours easily! My PowerBook gets 2.5 hours at best, and the battery is still pretty good.

 

[kmarketing]

Hi,

That's a good deal and similar to what I did. I sold a couple of aluminum powerbooks that I had, which often seemed overkill for a laptop for me, and picked up the powerbook in my sig for $300. Then I picked up my g5 for $900. Best moves I ever made, and I have a nice chunk of change back in my pocket. Great thing is that when I am out and about, I'm not worried about my powerbook at all, unlike the aluminums.

Have fun with your new machine(s)!!

 

[gammamonk]

Hi,

That's a good deal and similar to what I did. I sold a couple of aluminum powerbooks that I had, which often seemed overkill for a laptop for me, and picked up the powerbook in my sig for $300. Then I picked up my g5 for $900. Best moves I ever made, and I have a nice chunk of change back in my pocket. Great thing is that when I am out and about, I'm not worried about my powerbook at all, unlike the aluminums.

Have fun with your new machine(s)!!

Did you get that on ebay? That's a good deal. Or did you pimp it out yourself? (The harddrive / ram)

 

[kmarketing]

Hi,

Yup got them on ebay. The price that I paid was total after upgrades (80gb hard drive, memory, airport card, combo drive). I actually got the titanium powerbook for about $200. The coolest thing is that it is in mint condition, not a mark on it. Since then I sold the airport card for $100, so my total price is back to $200.

The g5 I bought for $1000, but after I sold my single g5 for $1100 (and kept the memory and took out one hard drive). So the total became $900. My original g5 came from a swap several years back for my 17" 1ghz powerbook (I bought that cheap also). That trade was my powerbook for the single 1.8 g5 and a 22" Apple Cinema Display.

Probably the best purchases that I have ever made. More importantly, both do exactly what I need them to do.

 

[mkaake]

I'll never understand why people who want to try out macs will do it on 5 year old hardware...

But anyway, congrats on the good price! That's great!

p.s. yes, I know so that they don't have to spend a lot of money, but if they stopped and thought about the fact that they're trying to judge the current operating system based on old hardware... it's like trying out vista on a 500mhz P2...

 

[kmarketing]

Hi,

Not sure if I understood your post correctly. Both the original poster and I had g4 aluminum powerbooks which were not cheap in any sense of the word. We got our hand on older laptops that serve our purpose nicely. And that's probably because the aluminum g4's, which are pretty recent, just don't blow anything out of the water. I know for me that's how I felt. I have my ti400 doing basic things that i want my laptop doing - email, typing, internet, watching movie, burning cd's, music, etc. Sure the aluminums may be faster, but I didn't notice much improvement.

Just like the original poster, I felt to get even greater performance, a g5 was/is the way to go. So I just thought a strong desktop and cheaper laptop would be the best investment. I think that's what the original poster is considering.

I don't think anyone is testing anything on 5 year old machines. We're just trying to practical and save a little, especially as the new more powerful machines roll out. Personally, I'm grateful that I sold my aluminum powerbooks, when I did, because I actually made a decent chunk of change on them a few months ago whereas now, they don't get nearly as much.

My advice is to anyone right now, get a great desktop, and save on the laptop unless if you are a travelling professional.

Apples have been great, but I think the true apple performance machines are just hitting the market.