Wow, didn't realize the iBook G3 Clamshell is so expensive!

[ScreenSavers]

It'd probably fall apart if he tried. The plastics tend to be very brittle due to their age.

True. The cream colored plastic that holds the CRT in place on my lime G3 is in very bad shape. The machine still works just fine though.

 

[Johnny365]

Okay

 

[bobesch]

To be fair, the machines still function after he's done with them. [...]

Billing like coming from a cheap plastic surgeon - results are likewise the same.

 

[retta283]

@ScreenSavers From what you could gather, does he generally abduct just the Clamshells, or does he get the Snow models too?

Apple iBook G4 12" + BOX 1.2 GHz . OS X Leopard + 60 GB HD 768 RAM Working GREAT | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook G4 12" + BOX 1.2 GHz . OS X Leopard + 60 GB HD 768 RAM Working GREAT at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

He does have G3 and G4 white iBooks from time to time, but they aren't customized, just priced crazy high and sometimes bundled with other items but still not worth his asking price. (Not my auction, of course.)

 

[retta283]

Also, just noticed he doesn't even offer returns, at his asking prices that is absurd. I can get it for the iMac G3 or something similar, but these are laptops...

 

[Amethyst1]

Also, just noticed he doesn't even offer returns,

Absurd creations, absurd prices, absurd service.

 

[weckart]

Also, just noticed he doesn't even offer returns, at his asking prices that is absurd. I can get it for the iMac G3 or something similar, but these are laptops...

Dunno how this works in the US but a seller's stating "no returns" is pretty meaningless in the UK. if something isn't right, the seller doesn't get a penny and eBay pretty much always sides with the buyer. As for buyer's remorse, if there is nothing wrong with the item, what sort of fool parts with $$$ and then thinks nah?

 

[mode11]

Objection! "Pretty but useless" is a really unfair description of these old "tools", since they might cover >50% of basic things expected from a computer and in combination with a mobile device even more. And they might be a 100% distraction-free.
But basically you're right: they are pretty, they are vintage and collectible (but still not useless).

Unfortunately, the other 50% of basic computer use is surfing the Internet / YouTube, for which a G3 iBook wouldn't be many people's weapon of choice. I take your point about being distraction-free on that count, though.

 

[mode11]

Absurd creations, absurd prices, absurd service.

For that kind of money, he could at least rebuild the battery packs with new, high-quality cells. That would be adding actual value. Rather than selling a $700 laptop that needs to stay tethered to the mains. Plus all those 'gifts' are just useless tripe like old MacAddict cover CDs, crap headphones, a mousepad and the original 3GB HDD he took out of the iBook. What a joke.

 

[1221320]

Unfortunately, the other 50% of basic computer use is surfing the Internet / YouTube, for which a G3 iBook wouldn't be many people's weapon of choice. I take your point about being distraction-free on that count, though.

But they do have probably the best keyboards that Apple ever had on a laptop. Remember the old days, when the quality of the keyboard just a given and you never really had to think about it?

 

[mode11]

I certainly do - I was using my Pismo just the other day. I also just pulled the ol' toilet seat (iBook) off the shelf to drum the keyboard - it is solid. The whole machine is built like a tank, though is commensurately thick and heavy. The screen is quite nice too, though the resolution was a bit low, even for the era.

One thing that always catches me about old Apple laptops is the lack of two-fingered scrolling. Having to use Ctrl is a bit of a drag.

 

[Amethyst1]

One thing that always catches me about old Apple laptops is the lack of two-fingered scrolling. Having to use Ctrl is a bit of a drag.

Yep, having that is a huge convenience factor.

 

[Amethyst1]

Plus all those 'gifts' are just useless tripe like old MacAddict cover CDs, crap headphones, a mousepad and the original 3GB HDD he took out of the iBook.

Throwing in useless crap is much easier than rebuilding the battery. And perhaps the kind of person who buys these machines thinks that stuff is of some value.

 

[mode11]

Throwing in useless crap is much easier than rebuilding the battery.

I think this sums it up. It would be a useful skill for this guy to learn, though, as good condition batteries for these machines are essentially non-existent. OTOH, you wouldn't want to burn someone's house down by selling them a laptop with a Li-ion battery pack you had cobbled together yourself.

 

[B S Magnet]

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 1st Series 1999 "Collector" SSD + Dual OS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 1st Series 1999 "Collector" SSD + Dual OS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

(not my auction)

That man makes me feel uncharacteristically violent. Every time.

 

[mode11]

I'm sure the modifications will age beautifully..!

Has anyone tried using Web Rendering Proxy with machines like these? I intend to get round to trying this at some point. Would be interesting to see whether it makes surfing the 'net on an old G3 serviceable.

 

[Amethyst1]

Has anyone tried using Web Rendering Proxy with machines like these?

WebOne - proxy for old browsers to make them Web 2.0-capable

Bumping this to report that I have the WebOne proxy running using the .Net Core Runtime on my 2017 MacBook Pro. Really easy too - dotnet, ImageMagick, and ffmpeg are its only dependencies, and all of those can be had with homebrew. No VPC required. Edit: Mac OS download is here...

forums.macrumors.com

Web Proxy For Old Nokias....and Classilla

Finally got round to trying the web proxy written and hosted by the developer responsible for the Delight firmware upgrades for old Nokia Symbian phones. Access isn't free - to be issued login credentials you need to donate something to the project (you choose how much) but after contributing, I...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[mode11]

Wasn't familiar with those projects - WebOne looks good. I was thinking of this one: https://github.com/tenox7/wrp, which renders pages as a bunch of PNGs in a clickable image map. Should work with practically anything that has a web browser (though won't run YouTube etc, obviously).

 

[Johnny365]

Dunno how this works in the US but a seller's stating "no returns" is pretty meaningless in the UK. if something isn't right, the seller doesn't get a penny and eBay pretty much always sides with the buyer. As for buyer's remorse, if there is nothing wrong with the item, what sort of fool parts with $$$ and then thinks nah?

Same as US, at least when I see a product with "No Returns". It's just a phrase people put on their auctions that doesn't hold up if the product ends up being defective or incorrect. Ebay still allows you to return the item back to the seller, with the expectation of the seller making it 'right'.

 

[djjeff]

Dunno how this works in the US but a seller's stating "no returns" is pretty meaningless in the UK. if something isn't right, the seller doesn't get a penny and eBay pretty much always sides with the buyer. As for buyer's remorse, if there is nothing wrong with the item, what sort of fool parts with $$$ and then thinks nah?

A lot of them out there. The 8-bit guy did a video on his experiences selling on Ebay:

eBay and Craiglist, the reality of doing business.

 

[z970]

@B S Magnet You guys should have a boxing match to settle things the good old fashioned way.

If he loses, he has to stop butchering all the iBooks.

 

[B S Magnet]

@B S Magnet You guys should have a boxing match to settle things the good old fashioned way.

If he loses, he has to stop butchering all the iBooks.

It wouldn’t be a fair fight. I fight dirty and I would tear him to tatters.

Then I’d raid his unadulterated “stock” of parts and give them all away to folks just trying to keep their clamshells running. I’d pay him a dollar for the entire stock — for his trouble and his time.

 

[z970]

@B S Magnet

There are more appropriate things in this world to destroy than a Schizophrenic Florida Man with bad values and questionable motives.

I don't like him any more than you do (actually, I have a history with hotheadedness), but we should both remember that a little perspective in these, and frankly most situations is never remiss...

 

[1042686]

A graphite clamshell just popped up on my local CL for an easy $550 USD. I think I’ll just run right out & but it.

 

[weckart]

A graphite clamshell just popped up on my local CL for an easy $550 USD. I think I’ll just run right out & but it.

Sounds a little cheap compared with the going rate

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 1999-TANGERINE, Excellent Working condition, OSX+OS9

I would steer clear. Who knows what's wrong with it being sold for so little.