I've finally had a chance to sit down with the PowerBook G3 again. Both Mac OS X Panther and Mac OS 9.2 are running from the primary partition, although i'm considering a repartition of the HDD to allow for fast multi-booting on startup as the Startup Disk control panel is becoming tedious.
At the moment though, i'm spending time getting reacquainted with Mac OS 9. Specifically iTunes 2. I've copied a few hundred of my tracks to the PowerBook and must say that these old machines have seriously good audio circuitry. Using a set of external earbuds connected to the G3 outperforms the sound quality coming out of the MacBook with the same set of earbuds. The sound is clearer at the top end, with minimal distortion. The low end is deeper with more presence. It's almost like i'm hearing the entire waveform, not just the samples that make it through the modern Intel DSP, it's a real treat to the senses.
It becomes more and more apparent that this purchase was a good one.
I almost remember why I became interested in Apple machines to begin with. Over the years i've lost a lot of the look and feel I came to love as the computer becomes less of a passion, a joy to use, and rather a tool that only ever seems to do very little towards enjoyment of user experience. My iMac G3 had it, and this Pismo has it.
Keep in mind folks that I will be looking to purchase a genuine PowerBook G3 Pismo optical drive module at some point. The idea of modifying another slot load drive is tempting, but i'd rather keep the machine as clean and genuine as possible. The slot load Pioneer drive in there currently (from an iMac Core Duo) works, and I like the slot load mechanism, but the face plate is the big issue.
For those interested in current specs, it still has the 400MHz G3 Processor and the ATI Rage Mobility 128. Memory is 512MB in a 256 + 256 configuration. Hard Drive is a 40GB Toshiba as the old 30GB Hitachi was making some awful clicking sounds during use. It's been completely stripped down, cards and connectors reseated, components cleaned. Thermal paste renewed (used Apple Genuine ShinEtsu MicroSi compound). Battery is toast, as in it charges but only lasts about 10 seconds off the battery, but i'll replace it or re-cell it soon. LCD hinges are good, a small amount of play (although it feels like loose screws rather than a bad clutch), so I may open it up, tighten the screws and regrease the assembly soon as well.
At the moment though, i'm spending time getting reacquainted with Mac OS 9. Specifically iTunes 2. I've copied a few hundred of my tracks to the PowerBook and must say that these old machines have seriously good audio circuitry. Using a set of external earbuds connected to the G3 outperforms the sound quality coming out of the MacBook with the same set of earbuds. The sound is clearer at the top end, with minimal distortion. The low end is deeper with more presence. It's almost like i'm hearing the entire waveform, not just the samples that make it through the modern Intel DSP, it's a real treat to the senses.
It becomes more and more apparent that this purchase was a good one.
I almost remember why I became interested in Apple machines to begin with. Over the years i've lost a lot of the look and feel I came to love as the computer becomes less of a passion, a joy to use, and rather a tool that only ever seems to do very little towards enjoyment of user experience. My iMac G3 had it, and this Pismo has it.
Keep in mind folks that I will be looking to purchase a genuine PowerBook G3 Pismo optical drive module at some point. The idea of modifying another slot load drive is tempting, but i'd rather keep the machine as clean and genuine as possible. The slot load Pioneer drive in there currently (from an iMac Core Duo) works, and I like the slot load mechanism, but the face plate is the big issue.
For those interested in current specs, it still has the 400MHz G3 Processor and the ATI Rage Mobility 128. Memory is 512MB in a 256 + 256 configuration. Hard Drive is a 40GB Toshiba as the old 30GB Hitachi was making some awful clicking sounds during use. It's been completely stripped down, cards and connectors reseated, components cleaned. Thermal paste renewed (used Apple Genuine ShinEtsu MicroSi compound). Battery is toast, as in it charges but only lasts about 10 seconds off the battery, but i'll replace it or re-cell it soon. LCD hinges are good, a small amount of play (although it feels like loose screws rather than a bad clutch), so I may open it up, tighten the screws and regrease the assembly soon as well.