Brave G3-based PowerBook User in a New Intel-based/v10.5 World
| by Joe Leo, Columnist |
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Kanhai has two Pismos, his first, the 400MHz Pismo acquired when they first were released in 2000, paying $400 more than the year it came out. ($2400). In 2004, he bought a second one--the 500MHz high-end model, one which was long retired by that time--for his wife.
"I had been trying to encourage my wife to learn to use the Mac. I thought if she had her own, she would be more likely to play with it, and so I thought I thought I would just buy her the best portable Apple ever made, a Pismo," Kanhai says. He seems to be one who likes to stay with the tried and true versions of things.
Like the G3 PowerPC-chipped Pismo, the best ship in the PowerBook fleet.
"I work with Mac users on the Apple Discussion forums, who have the latest computers with all the bells and whistles, and they have issues I have never had with my Pismos. The Pismo is tough, versatile, serviceable, and reliable. It has features like two expansion bays and a PC card slot, which provides for a host of hardware add-ons and increased power."
He adds, "The truth is I have not yet exhausted the possibilities of the Pismo. Indeed, I am still learning some of the things it can do." Further proof of the stability and reputation of the Pismos. Like the Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade from FastMac which installs in the aforementioned expansion bay slot with no need for breaking open the case to do any work or installations.
Which you'd probably end up doing if you tried to upgrade your G4 PowerBook or Intel-based MacBook or MacBook Pro! (Breaking the case).
Even with the Pismos, upgrading the processor is simple as opening the keyboard, removing the daughtercard from the inside, and switching it out with a new G4 processor-- a popular upgrade that has been available for quite sometime.
No evidence from the interview whether Kanhai has traveled that high-end route. But he has upgraded his system software, telling us that he upgraded to Jaguar back in 2004, a year after it debuted. He has also replaced the stock 10GB 4200RPM hard drive with a 100GB 5400RPM Toshiba one. And maxed out the RAM as well.
Kanhai is able to do everything with his Pismo. Online banking, word processing and e-mail, and today's everyday Mac tasks like iTunes (he has 50GB worth of music on his drive), and organizing photos in--what else?--iPhoto, and burning them to disk with Roxio's "Toast."
He even uses Windows via Virtual PC on his wife's machine to run software that his wife's business requires. Kanhai tells us--and here's the amazing part--his wife's Pismo is still pretty much configured the same, yes the same, way it was when they acquired it. 12GB 4200RPM hard drive, 640MB of RAM, with the only difference being an OS upgrade to... Mac OS X Tiger!
Why not get a MacBook or a MacBook Pro that runs Windows natively in Boot Camp, or in virtual mode with third-party software, at faster speeds than those found on similarly-equipped PCs? Though not a direct answer to that question, he says, "I won't exchange mine for a MacBook Pro, at least, not until they have made them as tough and as reliable as the Pismo."
With Leopard now on the stage, what does that do to his two Pismos, and his outlook for his future computing needs (which might mean finally--and sadly--getting rid of the Pismos)?
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