Category: PowerBook G4 Aluminum

  • Nostalgic CD/DVD burning thread posted, brings about horror stories of early media authoring

    Nostalgic CD/DVD burning thread posted, brings about horror stories of early media authoring

    Ok, this is just kind of retro, fun, and geeky.

    Threads user Drew Thaler has offered several continuous posts as to the trials and travails of burning CD-ROMS and DVD-ROMS in the late 90s and early 2000s when the authoring and editing software was in its earliest stages.

    Thaler makes an excellent point as to how fragile all this was, and how even the smallest variable could cause the burn to go south:

    In the 1990s, CD burning, well, *existed* but was famously fiddly. The drives needed to spin the disc perfectly and send a steady stream of data in real-time, and the slightest vibration on the table or hitch from your CPU getting too busy would fail the burn.

    It’s an excellent thread, complete with the heartfelt passion of trying to burn content as of 20+ years ago, feeling the rush of victory when it worked, and potentially going through half a stack of CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs trying to get it right.

    If you have any CD or DVD authoring/mishap stories to share, please let us know about your experiences in the comments.

    Via threads.net

  • Tekserve closes fabled New York store, will auction off its Macintosh collection in September

    tekserve-nyc

    An amazing collection of Apple and Mac history is going on the auction block next month.

    Tekserve, once the go-to third-party repair shop for Apple products in New York City, announced last month that it would be closing shop on August 15 after being in business since 1987. Now that Tekserve has officially closed shop, Apple fans will have the opportunity to purchase some museum-worthy vintage Apple and NeXT gear through auction.

    An assortment of the auction items are valued at relatively low prices and there’s even a Tekserve store sign up for grabs.

    (more…)

  • Other World Computing Releases Free Online Library of DIY Videos for Apple Notebook Owners Looking to Upgrade Components

    applelogo_silver

    Accessory manufacturer Other World Computing announced the completion of its series of Do It Yourself videos for Apple’s entire MacBook and MacBook Pro product line on Tuesday. The videos cover all of the DIY options for these laptops, including memory, hard drive and/or optical drive components for all of Apple’s laptop line from the Titanium PowerBook G4 to the latest Unibody line as well as include warnings for the issues customers should be considering and other instructions needed to do the upgrade.

    The installation videos are being offered for free, and OWC has made them available in low, medium, and high resolutions.

  • PowerBook Etch-A-Sketch

    RedHanded has posted a story about hacking the motion sensor in the 2005 PowerBooks.

    The amstracker commandline is really all you need to get started, as evidenced by this Python script, which controls iTunes by either “bumping” the laptop to advance a track or by rocking the laptop to move around the playlist.
    Joey DeVilla has further challenged the scripting world to turn the PowerBook into an Etch-A-Sketch. So you can reboot your laptop by evoking the familiar Flip-N-Pull-A-Seizure manual restart of the kiddie canvas.

    (more…)

  • Quality Issues Plague 2005 PowerBooks

    MacFixIt has posted a special report on Troubleshooting 2005 PowerBook G4s. Some of the topics include:
    * Erratic Trackpad behavior
    * Oversensitive Ambient Light Sensors, solutions
    * Hacking the Sudden Motion Sensor
    * Kensington USB trackball issue
    * Brighter screens, keyboards
    * Installation and iLife on same DVD
    * Developer Note for 12″ model
    In related news MacInTouch’s PowerBook report digs into trackpad problems with the new models, offering some interesting insights and diagnosis. PowerBookZone is also covering the the new PowerBook’s defective trackpad.
    All it takes is a brief surf through Apple’s PowerBook discussion forums and any number of troubleshooting Web sites to realize that Apple has a big problem on its hands with 2005 PowerBook G4s. One colleague had to send his brand new PB 17-inch back for a complete replacement, and there are innumerable reports of defective trackpads, bad displays and problems with hard drives. We’re starting to see a pattern here.

    (more…)