The only model from that time period able to take Ethernet out of the box (with an AAUI adapter, of course) is the 500-series; no other PowerBook before the 3400 shipped with Ethernet onboard. Though the 1400 could accept an expansion Ethernet card, it didn't often ship with one. LocalTalk, or a SCSI/Ethernet adapter is about the only way to network the 100/200-series machines.
I personally would either go with a 180/180c, or a Duo 270c. The 180s are large, fast, and have all ports integrated (along with an onboard FPU) with a fantastic grayscale (180) or colour TFT (180c) display, where the Duo would need a Dock of some sort for the ports (and a full Dock for the FPU), though it also comes with a very nice colour TFT.
I'd really rather have the Duo, mostly because it's tiny, and the full-size Duo Dock II has: NuBus expansion slots (for networking and better video), an FPU AND a small L2 cache, and can be fitted with an internal hard disk for extra storage. Just don't go with a 280 - sure it's an '040, but it's an LC040, and is incapable of using the FPU and L2 caches of a Dock, thus it's forever coprocessorless. Its performance isn't all that great when compared with the other '040 'Books, either.
You can also get a PPC-based Duo 2300 and substitute its trackpad for the trackball of an older model.
The only real negative to the Duos is, of course, the keyboard. Once the keyboards are back in full operation, though, they tend to remain usable if they're used regularly.
You could also get a Portable - with a fully charged battery, the backlight-less models lasted for between 6-12 hours (a runtime few other computers can claim). Plus, these had a large trackball, and shipped with System 6. They also had a relatively decent keyboard and a fantastic TFT display.
The 150's only positive in most peoples' eyes would be its 640x480 resolution, though the STN screen's quality in itself leaves much to be desired. The lack of many ports (I think that all these things have is SCSI and serial) is also a negative. Unless you find one with a memory upgrade already installed, it's a bit of a challenge to find the necessary adapter to install more than the base 4MB of RAM in the thing. I only have one to complete my collection.
I personally would either go with a 180/180c, or a Duo 270c. The 180s are large, fast, and have all ports integrated (along with an onboard FPU) with a fantastic grayscale (180) or colour TFT (180c) display, where the Duo would need a Dock of some sort for the ports (and a full Dock for the FPU), though it also comes with a very nice colour TFT.
I'd really rather have the Duo, mostly because it's tiny, and the full-size Duo Dock II has: NuBus expansion slots (for networking and better video), an FPU AND a small L2 cache, and can be fitted with an internal hard disk for extra storage. Just don't go with a 280 - sure it's an '040, but it's an LC040, and is incapable of using the FPU and L2 caches of a Dock, thus it's forever coprocessorless. Its performance isn't all that great when compared with the other '040 'Books, either.
You can also get a PPC-based Duo 2300 and substitute its trackpad for the trackball of an older model.
The only real negative to the Duos is, of course, the keyboard. Once the keyboards are back in full operation, though, they tend to remain usable if they're used regularly.
You could also get a Portable - with a fully charged battery, the backlight-less models lasted for between 6-12 hours (a runtime few other computers can claim). Plus, these had a large trackball, and shipped with System 6. They also had a relatively decent keyboard and a fantastic TFT display.
The 150's only positive in most peoples' eyes would be its 640x480 resolution, though the STN screen's quality in itself leaves much to be desired. The lack of many ports (I think that all these things have is SCSI and serial) is also a negative. Unless you find one with a memory upgrade already installed, it's a bit of a challenge to find the necessary adapter to install more than the base 4MB of RAM in the thing. I only have one to complete my collection.