[iCol]

In February of 2000 Apple introduced the 'PowerBook (FireWire)', otherwise known as the 'Pismo PowerBook'. And, oh my god, I wanted one of these machines. At the time I was in the market for a laptop as I was about to start university, and this was my dream machine. Unfortunately, I simply could not afford the price-tag, so instead I got myself a clam-shell iBook... and I was happy with it.

The clam-shell was sold and replaced with a white iBook a year or so later, and then in 2004 I got a dual processor G4, and then replaced that machine with a 20 inch iMac G5 in January of this year.

But still over these five years I have wanted a Pismo. I don't know why, but it was the first computer I REALLY wanted, something when it was new was so unobtainable to me. But last week, I was given one. The battery only holds an hour and a half or so, and the DVD drive does not work, but everything else is perfect. The screen is all good, and the computer works mechanically. It is running 10.3.9.

And something hit me. This laptop is over 5 years old. And it still works. And it still runs a very recent operating system perfectly. It is responsive, and seems to be coping with everything I throw at it. Infact, I am typing on it right now!

How many Windows laptops could you say the same about 5 years on? I doubt many would be able to cope with a current installation of XP.

I don't know, it just impressed me. I bloody love this little black beast.

[Salty]

A girl at school had a pismo this year, she got it from someone else and the mac using guys were all impressed when I was fixing it in dorm. Dang it was a nice lil notebook. And upgradable too!

That said the first laptop I wanted was a 12 inch PowerBook, and sadly I settled for a 12 inch iBook but was happy... then my iBook broke and we upgraded to a 12 inch PowerBook! And I was super happy! I love my laptop.

Oh and by the way speaking of machines that last. I'm running X.3.9 on an iMac Rev D in our youth room that is running as a music server. If I could put Panther on it it'd be doing web browsing for the kids. I gota say I'm impressed in general with Apple's machines. There's a guy in the church who should be upgrading his comp within the next few months, and he's got an old iMac (not entirely sure how fast it is) and I'm seriously tempted to ask him if he'd give it to me or sell it to me so I could put it in the youth room too.

[IceEnclosure]

pismos are hot. I had one for a few weeks last year and it rocked. Panther, firewire, G3.. and 80mph on I-95

[willed]

My lowly iBook 500 is over four years old, and it was pretty much bottom of the range when I bought it! Compared to PC laptops of that age though this often feels fast! My housemate's laptop is a 2-3 year old Toshiba and the hard disk 'crunches' all the time whenever it's accessed. It takes ages to open IE. Apart from games though, there's no software that I want to run but can't.

[ShotgunEd]

I have an iBook 500 running 10.4.2 and my dad has a pismo running (at last check) 10.3.9.

I got the iBook when it came out but my dad got the pismo last year. I'd much rather use the pismo if i didn't have to move it with its 14.1 screen around.

Hot swappable media bays and batteries are teh win!!11!

[Kevin]

My 350mhz G3 that I wanted as soon as it came out (Took me a few months to get) Is still in service sitting next to my G4.

I used that machine for almost 5 years before getting the G4.

And I got the G4 soon after the G5 came out.

What a killer deal I got too.

[dav]

i think of all the apple products i've lusted over, the top two are the powermac g4 cube (w/lcd display), and the ipod.
cube is running 10.3.9 and used daily.
an ipod is almost always with me.

[wdlove]

I had a G3 PowerBook also it was called the Wallstreet. Think I purchased it in 1998. Traded it in at my local University Computer Store for my current Power Mac G4 September 2, 2000.

[analogika]

I have, sitting outside this studio in the living room, a perfectly working Macintosh SE 1/40 (in original box, with original system disks and manuals) that a client of mine just *gave* me in return for setting up his new Mac mini.

He had been using this Mac for FIFTEEN YEARS as his main machine (he wanted something with a DVD player and internet now).

I'm waiting with setting it up, as a reward for getting my studio done...it's working, kinda.