I was at a friends house for a BBQ last weekend, and when I was taken inside after dinner to be shown his new toy (a 8 mp digital SLR) i noticed he still had his Pismo on his desk, on, and still being used. This made me think, will Apple ever make a laptop of the same calibre of the Pismo? My PowerBook is great, but I can't see it holding up as well as the Pismos have. We here are still recommending them to new Mac users. What do you think made them such a good Laptop, and when do you think Apple will make another comparable one?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Will We Ever See Another Pismo?
- Thread starter paxtonandrew
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hmm...Pismos are quite the topic of conversation lately...
I would say that it is their flexibility/versatility that has allowed them to remain so well-regarded over the years. The wealth of upgradeable components, practical features (like dual-battery bays) and subdued but elegant styling are all reasons that I continue to use my Pismo daily.
As for whether Apple will make another "pismo-esqe" notebook, is debateable...the current PB's still allow for upgrading of the HD's and Optical drives, but I do not know if a daughtercard cpu design (that makes processor upgrades possible for pismos/lombards) is practical/relevant to the direction Apple is going with it's internal designs. With the development by Nvidia of module-like GPU interfaces, allowing upgradeable GPUs, we might see future PB's with that capability, something even the Pismo cannot do. As Battery technology continues to improve, the need for dual-batteries becomes less relevant.
I believe that the Pismo was Apple's attempt at solving the needs of the mobile computing individual in the late 90's, and it succeeded admirably...who knows how Apple will solve these same needs in the future.
I would say that it is their flexibility/versatility that has allowed them to remain so well-regarded over the years. The wealth of upgradeable components, practical features (like dual-battery bays) and subdued but elegant styling are all reasons that I continue to use my Pismo daily.
As for whether Apple will make another "pismo-esqe" notebook, is debateable...the current PB's still allow for upgrading of the HD's and Optical drives, but I do not know if a daughtercard cpu design (that makes processor upgrades possible for pismos/lombards) is practical/relevant to the direction Apple is going with it's internal designs. With the development by Nvidia of module-like GPU interfaces, allowing upgradeable GPUs, we might see future PB's with that capability, something even the Pismo cannot do. As Battery technology continues to improve, the need for dual-batteries becomes less relevant.
I believe that the Pismo was Apple's attempt at solving the needs of the mobile computing individual in the late 90's, and it succeeded admirably...who knows how Apple will solve these same needs in the future.
while the pismo is/was a great machine, i don't see the need for such a design anymore.
i have a zip drive. havn't used in in several years. i don't see the point in being able to get one internal if there is such a small need for it. when i had a 3400/c, i used my internal zip all the time, but now with high speed wireless networks, i see little need to physically move a few hundred Mbs when i can do it over the air. If i need to move many gigs, I burn a dvd.
as was said, i can upgrade my hd, so i see no point in needing multiple in my machine. but- if i do need that extra space for video or something, i have a 2.5" external drive which gets its power from my powerbook. it is tiny, so it isn't too hard to bring with me.
the ability to use two batteries at once is nice, but i can just put my laptop to sleep and swap batteries in 10 seconds. that is pretty close to the same. and, once again, as was said, the next gen of batteries will hold more charge and this need will disseapear mostly.
the upgradeable processor is nice, but i have never been one for upgrading a proc. i would rather just put my money towards a new laptop than upgrade just one part of a whole. when you do a large jump at the proc, the bus bottleneck gets even worse...
so- basically, the only gain i see by the pismo's design is the ability to have third party internal drives. i would never use the feature, so i see no point.
ymmv
i have a zip drive. havn't used in in several years. i don't see the point in being able to get one internal if there is such a small need for it. when i had a 3400/c, i used my internal zip all the time, but now with high speed wireless networks, i see little need to physically move a few hundred Mbs when i can do it over the air. If i need to move many gigs, I burn a dvd.
as was said, i can upgrade my hd, so i see no point in needing multiple in my machine. but- if i do need that extra space for video or something, i have a 2.5" external drive which gets its power from my powerbook. it is tiny, so it isn't too hard to bring with me.
the ability to use two batteries at once is nice, but i can just put my laptop to sleep and swap batteries in 10 seconds. that is pretty close to the same. and, once again, as was said, the next gen of batteries will hold more charge and this need will disseapear mostly.
the upgradeable processor is nice, but i have never been one for upgrading a proc. i would rather just put my money towards a new laptop than upgrade just one part of a whole. when you do a large jump at the proc, the bus bottleneck gets even worse...
so- basically, the only gain i see by the pismo's design is the ability to have third party internal drives. i would never use the feature, so i see no point.
ymmv
That flexibility introduced a big cost in portability. I wouldn't want one: they're just too big.
blackfox said:
They still had the ability to shrink things back then.
Hard drives were 2.5"
Firewire/USB/Monitor ports all took up the same amount of space then as now.
LCDs were still very thin.
There was Aluminum and Titanium back then.
Airport cards were still the size of PCMCIA cards, and PCMCIA cards were the same size as today.
Processors ran cooler than today, meaning less need for heat syncs and dissipation designs, which take up space.
I don't think technology was stopping anyone from making a thin notebook back then. In fact, I am sure it wasn't because there were many sub-notebooks available to the PC world back then, and there was the 2400 by Apple.
Loved the Pismo. It was Apples version of the swiss army knife. My Pbook is far more powerfull today, but the Pismo was a workhorse.
The Pismo may be great, but my 12" PowerBook can simply do so much more. The USB 2.0 allows me to hook up a flash drive so I can move 128MB+ from computer to computer in seconds. The ability to have a dual-display is amazing. The 5.5 hour battery life, plus sleep-swappable batteries is nice if I ever needed to do that. While I admire the Pismo laptop for its continuing existance, I have faith that my 12" PowerBook will last for at least 3 years, and up to 7. I'm gunning for 5.
The one thing that I do not like about the Pismo...it is black. I like the Aluminium much more than the black of the Pismo, but that really dosn't have much to do with the workings of the computer.
The one thing that I do not like about the Pismo...it is black. I like the Aluminium much more than the black of the Pismo, but that really dosn't have much to do with the workings of the computer.
Easy Answer
First and foremost - it's the last truly beautiful machine that Apple has made. With the possible exception of the new iMac G5, every Apple since the Pismo has taken at least a year to grow on me. When I knew it was time to replace my Performa, I took one look at the Pismo and fell immediately in love.
And workhorse it is. I'm running Panther. I know that my little baby doesn't meet minimum specs (and, as a result, does crash some times), but it still does its job.
It travels back and forth to work with me (where they won't buy me a Mac) and has no dents, dings, or scratches. Say that after owning an Aluminum computer for 4 years! The durable black plastic has a lot to do with that.
Speaking of which, the white apple against the black case - beautiful. Maybe not as beautiful as the graphite on white on the side of the old Power Macs, but still very beautiful.
Could they have made it thinner? Maybe. But, personally, I'd rather have a thicker laptop with excellent inner cushioning that can take all the knocks and bumps my Pismo has taken.
If I could get a G5 into my baby, I'd keep my Pismo going forever. As it stands, you'll probably see my baby framed with an honored spot on the wall when a kitty comes along that the Pismo can't handle.
First and foremost - it's the last truly beautiful machine that Apple has made. With the possible exception of the new iMac G5, every Apple since the Pismo has taken at least a year to grow on me. When I knew it was time to replace my Performa, I took one look at the Pismo and fell immediately in love.
And workhorse it is. I'm running Panther. I know that my little baby doesn't meet minimum specs (and, as a result, does crash some times), but it still does its job.
It travels back and forth to work with me (where they won't buy me a Mac) and has no dents, dings, or scratches. Say that after owning an Aluminum computer for 4 years! The durable black plastic has a lot to do with that.
Speaking of which, the white apple against the black case - beautiful. Maybe not as beautiful as the graphite on white on the side of the old Power Macs, but still very beautiful.
Could they have made it thinner? Maybe. But, personally, I'd rather have a thicker laptop with excellent inner cushioning that can take all the knocks and bumps my Pismo has taken.
If I could get a G5 into my baby, I'd keep my Pismo going forever. As it stands, you'll probably see my baby framed with an honored spot on the wall when a kitty comes along that the Pismo can't handle.