[Don Pickett]

Posting this for non-techie friend.

She has a 280c, and loves it. Would like to know if _ANY_ upgrade path exists for the machine.

Does it?

Don

You can upgrade the processor to a PPC and of course add more memory and a bigger HD.

Check out: http://www.powerbookguy.com/ and http://www.preowned.com:80/store/upgrades2.asp

The first guy is on the high side for prices but has a decent selection. For the second link, I don't know if the prices are great or not, and you may need to return your orignal processor board BUT its cheaper than a new laptop and you won't find that small a form factor anywhere else.

I own 3 Duos, 2 Duo 230s and 1 Duo D80. It is still the best laptop form factor that Apple ever made. I wish Apple would reintroduce the concept. A twin porcessor model (one staying in the dock when the Duo was removed could serve as a slower 2nd computer) would be revolutionary.

I upgraded all three to 2300s. Problem is that this is a PPC 601e and for the cost is rather this is very slow by todays standards. After the upgrade you are still stuck with 19.6 max modem (unless you use external, but don't count on much faster connections!) and a max of 56MB memory. Unless you don't plan to do much, I'd consider buying an iBook or a closedout PB G3.

I still use the upgraded 2300 Duos in our company.One is a timeclock (Virtual TimeClock) and two are used for dictation voice to disk (MicNote Pad).

At the time I upgraded they became the fastest laptop and continue served me well. But, I would not pay more than $200 each to upgrade them now. I bet the upgrade kit and labor would be more than this? (This is not a do-it-yourself project!)

Yep, those are your options. The 2300 motherboard upgrade is not for the weak of heart!

I would recommend buying one outright and keeping the 280c as a backup. YOu can probably get a maxxed out 2300 for around $400. Check with the sources listed above (both are great folks) as well as MediaGuide (who are good people as well).

The Duo 2300 actually had a 100MHz 603e fitted with no L2 cache, but this was not its greatest performance shortcoming - that was caused by the 33MHz 16 bit data bus which caused its poor performance, particularly for things like booting up and loading applications. This was accentuated by the fact that the I/O bus (including the drives) was a 68k compatible bus that was only run at 22MHz, the conversion between the two buses being performed by the memory controller IC. All of this was done for compatibility raesons with the earlier Duo models (and, I suspect, to reduce time to market).

I love my 2300 still, but it is SO slow!!

[Don Pickett]

Thanks everyone for your info

[Don Pickett]

Anyone have experiences using the two websites posted? Good? Bad?

[finboy]

Don:
I've bought lots of stuff from both powerbookguy and preowned electronics, and both are great folks to deal with. Prompt, courteous, and friendly.

Powerbookguy is a small operation, but he can get anything you'll ever need. Preowned is a huge organization, but they have lots of stock and refurb equipment, plus service parts. Preowned will generally be more expensive. At preowned, ask for Dottie Beatty (x4417 I think). She is my usual sales rep.

And no, I have no business affiliation with either company, but I think it is a good thing to keep good firms in bidness by supporting those who try to take care of their customers.