MacDan has posted a number of Macintosh related hacks, help and other foolishness. Some of my favorite PowerBook-related pages from MacDan:
- Fried chip in a DVI TiBook – Blank white LCD on a 667 DVI ‘Book, toasted chip and a solution.
- TiBook display take-apart, re-assembly and various other related info – TiBooks break LCDs, hinges, how to get the dang things apart so’s you can fix ‘em.
- PowerBook Video Display Subsystems – from Wallstreet to Ivory
- Sandblaster! – Fun with a sandblaster
- PowerBook Wallstreet hinges – Yet another display hinge repair solution
- PowerBook Expansion Bay Module upgrades and hacks – opticals, HDs, etc.
PowerBook 5300 power jack replacement – Where I replace the crappy original power connector with a regular-style PowerBook power connector. Hey, whaddya know?!?! It works great!
Nice weekend reading for the geek in you. That last 5300 article was a flashback to 1995 when I started the PowerPage because of a defective Global Village modem in my PowerBook 5300. Stay tuned for more on our tenth anniversary in the coming weeks. -Ed

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Sterling Anderson has posted a pictorial on how to change the color of your PowerBook’s Apple logo. That’s pictorial, as in, just pictures. Obviously, you’re doning this at your own peril, ok?

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In the following article I will discuss how to build a Intel based computer that comes very closely to meeting the specs of the OSx86 Development machines. We will discuss exactly WHAT hardware you want, WHERE to find the software, and HOW to install it…”

i-hacked.com

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German blog Der Eigenbroetler claims to have overclocked a PowerBook G4 17-inch to 5.86 GHz. In order to keep it cool they’ve added a liquid cooling system that uses distilled water. According to the Blog it’s a “little bulky.” Original German page, translated English version. The author admits in the comments that it’s a hoax.

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Speaking of blowing out iPods, if you want to throw caution to the wind and open your iPod mini, iPoding.com has posted the autopsy photos. They don’t tell you how to do it, but a little bird told me that the procedure involves a holding a hot hair dryer to the top panel to soften up the glue. You’ll obviously be voiding your warranty (yadda, yadda) but with new iPods on the horizon, who cares? You can pick up a new one next month. Oh, the price of being an early adopter!

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The SWIPE Toolkit is a collection of web-based tools that sheds light on personal data collection and usage practices in the United States. The tools demonstrate the value of personal information on the open market and enable people to access information encoded on a driver’s license or stored in some of the many commercial data warehouses.
Decode Your Barcode unveils the mystery of the 2D barcode. Currently 39 states use 2D barcodes to digitally store personal information on the backside of drivers’ licenses. What information is encoded on your license that machines can read and you cannot?

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Is your iPod’s Firewire cable coming apart at the seams? Several of my iPod cables have started to de-sheath. What about you? Click through for a fix…

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While we anxiously wait for Madsonline to start shipping their 65 watt Lucille AC adapter for PowerBooks, you may find that your current ride is in need of repair. PowerBook AC adapters take a lot of abuse, in addition to being wound and unwound thousands of times (especially if you only have one) they constantly get pulled-on, tugged, stretched and yanked. And if you’re like me, your cats love to scratch at the white Apple logo on the darned things!
If you’re not afraid of a soldering iron Tony Korologos of The Apple Blog has a fix for an AC adapter with a frayed cable.

This week my 2nd adapter shorted out completely. And since my battery only lasts about 7 minutes I was dead in the water. I really didn?t want to fork out more bucks on another new supply so I decided to crack it open. I was able to fix the problem and put it back together, just like new?.sort of.
First I had to crack open the casing. The supply was obviously designed to be disposable and the casing had no latches or screws holding it together. I had to hammer a thin screwdriver around the edges and eventually cracked the egg open.

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