Photonic Torpedoes

In the past, I’ve relied on a four-year replacement cycle for PowerBooks. I got my first one in ‘97 (a 1400, the ones with the customizable ‘bookcover’ on the back, named Milhouse). It was replaced in 2000 by a Pismo PowerBook G3 (named Buttercup), which itself was replaced by a PowerBook G4 (1.25 Ghz aluminum version, named Frylock) in 2004. All my books get named after cartoon characters

If I were to stick to my schedule, the G4 would be slated for replacement by whatever the then-current line of MacBook Pros is next summer. I’ve been planning the purchase for a while now, but I got to thinking the other day about whether it was really necessary. Sure, I’d love to take advantage of the increased speeds and capabilities, but honestly my current ‘Book has treated me well and really does everything I need a portable computer to do.

Three years ago, it was a no brainer. My PismoBook was literally falling apart. I had put a lot of use into it and it showed. I replaced the hinges myself after the constant opening and closing wore them out. The hard plastic case had already been replaced once by Apple and it was already crack and breaking again. The sound card no longer worked and my attempt to re-solder only resulted in partial headphone sound (though sometimes it surprises me by actually working). The batteries barely held any charge. Plus the machine was proving to be underpowered for most of the applications I wanted to use.

Fast forward to today. My current G4 is by no means top-of-the-line, but it continues to work well. It still renders web pages and plays movies and lets me write from the comfort of the couch or the bed or wherever I happen to be. Dreamweaver works; Photoshop works; InDesign works; QuickTime performance is acceptable. Likewise for iLife and iWork. And it doesn’t take much processing power to handle Sudoku, which is about the only gaming activity I have time for these days.

I have an Intel iMac if I need to do heavy duty processing like video encoding or RAW image editing in Aperture.

But after three years, I think I’m most impressed by the laptop’s sturdy aluminum construction. The machine has been turned on four to eight hours a day, nearly every day, but other than a couple scratches on the cover, the thing still looks and feels brand new. From Boston to San Diego, Texas to Florida it has travelled, and it has travelled well.

So I’ve made the decision not to buy a MacBook Pro next summer; I’ll keep using ol’ Frylock until circumstances force me to purchase a replacement. To that end, I’ve also decided to do a little upgrading, extending the life and performance of the PowerBook as much as possible.

I know I’ll eventually need a new battery; the one I have will get me about 30-45 minutes of regular use. It’s not that big of a priority as I am rarely away from an outlet for any significant length of time. However, all the other user-replaceable parts have been upgraded or replaced in the past month.

I’ve maxed out the RAM at 2GB and the AC apapter has been replaced as it finally died after two years (it was damaged by one of my cats tripping over it as he zoomed past the bed. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did after that.

I’ve also taken the measure of upgrading the hard drive from the stock 80GB 4200 RPM to a 100GB 7200 RPM. The task was daunting because, unlike the ol’ Pismo G3, that sturdy metal case took some considerable effort to disassemble and reassemble. I’ll detail that experience in a future post.