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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > what was the best ever mac laptop?

what was the best ever mac laptop?
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omac
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Apr 28, 2002, 01:31 PM
 
i always liked the pismo..

the ti seems a bit clinical..
     
seanyepez
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Apr 28, 2002, 02:10 PM
 
The best Mac laptop is currently the 667-megahertz PowerBook G4. Do you mean "for its time"?

In that case, it would have to be the Pismo. It was fast, sleek, and unique. No other PC notebook looked like it. There weren't cooling issues and AirPort problems, and the machine was incredibly stable. It combined the latest graphics technology with a solid processing platform (a 500-megahertz G3 was the fastest on the market at the time) and a wide data path (100-megahertz bus clock). The Pismo had fast FireWire, and there were no conductivity issues! It truly brought digital video editing to mainstream consumers on the road.

If I were going back in time to select the "golden age" of PowerBook computing, it would have to be early 2000 when the Pismo was first released.
     
hamiltondj
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Apr 28, 2002, 02:19 PM
 
I might agree with the pismo but I think another good candidate is the 600 mhz ibook (jr pismo?)
     
J��n
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Apr 28, 2002, 02:21 PM
 
I would say the Pismo to; Fast , light, nice screen, durable, reliable, good looking, expandeble. I never had one problem with my pismo that was related to the hardware.

But I guess it is what you are used to. If you started with a Ti those would be your choise.
I'm going to wait for an upgrade if they change the case, it is very nice
and sleek but a little to fragile for me!

This doesn't help the World a lot but it is always nice to bring an ode to my Pismo.

J�rn
Los Angeles, California
     
omac  (op)
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Apr 28, 2002, 02:31 PM
 
is a ti that much faster than a pismo , anyway ?

it seems like apple hit a peak with the pismo , maybe when the ti gets re-designed we can get our removable bays back..
     
Back-to-Mac
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Apr 28, 2002, 03:22 PM
 
The best Laptop Apple has made to date is the Pismo. Yes, the Ti is nice but in real terms it is not as robust and for the time scale were are on now it is anaemic. IMO the Pismo is the best looking as well. I'm still not temped by the Ti book. I hope the next will be better in all respects.
     
fisherKing
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Apr 28, 2002, 03:34 PM
 
i love my pismo, but my fave mac laptop was the...
2400c. fast (for the time), small, lite, sturdy.
gave it up for the pismo (obvious reasons).

wanted: ibook-sized pro g4 laptop...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
art_director
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Apr 28, 2002, 03:49 PM
 
i love the pismo and never had any problems with mine. i always thought the removable bays were a pain in the *** though. that said i wouldn't trade my ti 667 for any pismo. i simply love this machine. the screen alone makes it worth the $.
     
seanyepez
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Apr 28, 2002, 04:05 PM
 
The screen on the Pismo was nice, too. The newer, LGE panels were better at displaying a correct "white point", though. Original Pismo PowerBooks came with a lame Samsung display. Also, the PowerBooks that included 10- and 20-gigabyte hard drives had CPU's that could run their CPU to cache ratio at 2:1 rather than 5:2 with cache overclocking programs.
     
rambo47
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Apr 28, 2002, 06:05 PM
 
Without taking into account things like price, its hard not to give the nod to the current Ti 667. For it's day I would have to say either the 2400c or the Pismo. The sun definitely has not yet set on the Pismo, and as long as they're available I would choose one over the 14" iBook. For a fast little portable I still have fond memories of my trusty little Comet 2400. The last couple of years showed how tough it had become to keep the little guy up to speed, and it was fast becomming a money pit. With the price of the 12" iBooks and built-in AirPort support I went for one and parted with my beloved 2400. Digital cameras and an iPod were the final nail in the coffin for my Comet. *snif*
     
seanyepez
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Apr 28, 2002, 06:28 PM
 
I liked the build quality of the Comet especially. IBM made those things!
     
PeteWK
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Apr 28, 2002, 07:18 PM
 
While I've never owned a Ti G4, I have had 6 Apple laptops. And the Pismo is still the best machine (in relation to time or not) that I've ever touched.

PeteWK
     
skyman
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Apr 28, 2002, 09:02 PM
 
Originally posted by omac:
<STRONG>i always liked the pismo..

the ti seems a bit clinical..</STRONG>
PISMO...PISMO...PISMO!!
MacBookPro 1.83GHz - 1.5 GB RAM - OS 10.4.6
     
maffioso
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Apr 28, 2002, 09:18 PM
 
On this one i would have to agree with omac, the Pismo was an amazing machine, and if it was possible to build a TiBook with the capacity that the Pismo had, then that would truly be an amazing machine.

The best features i would say were the drive bays and the ability to hold 2 battreries at the same time...

Although for speed wise, there was a laptop that when it was released was faster then the desktop, which one was that?

Chris
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Macintosh
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Apr 28, 2002, 09:20 PM
 
Steve Wozniak thinks the TiBook is the BEST computer Apple has ever released.
     
seanyepez
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Apr 28, 2002, 09:23 PM
 
Steve Wozniak is also disappointed with what Apple has become. He envisions computer design as being done by scientists in a lab environment. He also envisions computer manufacturing being done at the source where it is invented. While he might be good at designing Apple I's and hacking phone systems to sell "free long distance boxes", I am inclined to disagree with him. Computer design is no longer a "lab coat" science.
     
Macintosh
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Apr 28, 2002, 09:35 PM
 
Originally posted by seanyepez:
<STRONG>Steve Wozniak is also disappointed with what Apple has become. He envisions computer design as being done by scientists in a lab environment. He also envisions computer manufacturing being done at the source where it is invented. While he might be good at designing Apple I's and hacking phone systems to sell "free long distance boxes", I am inclined to disagree with him. Computer design is no longer a "lab coat" science. </STRONG>
Hence the first person that posted, "clinical" when refering to the TiBook. Labcoat design..blah!
     
romeosc
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Apr 28, 2002, 10:56 PM
 
I have (or still have most) all of Apple's PowerBooks.

I loved :

2300c (fast sleek)
Pismo 500 (dependable like a tank)
TiPB (Nice but a little to cosmetically fragile )

Apples only way to sell the PowerBooks is on style since we pay a premium & give up some speed & power to "the dark side"
     
seanyepez
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Apr 28, 2002, 11:16 PM
 
Yeah. The PC is the "easy path" Vader chose. The true way to become a Jedi master is through the good side, Apple computers.
     
SSlothBear
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Apr 28, 2002, 11:43 PM
 
Pismo. although woulda been super nice if pismo had a handle! for that matter all apple laptops had one like a brand signature...
..........................................
Sloth bear facts
     
maffioso
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Apr 29, 2002, 01:27 AM
 
If the rumors regarding the revision of the Powerbook are true then i would say that it will be the best powerbook ever, 800Mhz, higher screen res, new video card, everything that I have ever wanted in the Powerbook, now only if there was a drive bay so i could run two batteries...

Chris
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rhansen_x
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Apr 29, 2002, 09:33 AM
 
TiBook TiBook TiBook
Forget the curveball Rickey, give 'im the heater.
     
maffioso
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Apr 29, 2002, 09:51 AM
 
I would say that the new TiBookis the best Apple laptop ever!!

I want one!!
CHRIS SMITH

     
Voch
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Apr 29, 2002, 10:09 AM
 
Does the iBook (Dual USB) count in this? I really like mine and my PC-owning friends drooled all over when I got it ("God...that screen is niiiiice!"). But, admittedly, the Titanium is extremely cool.

I also really liked my Duo 230 a lot when I got it in college.

Voch
     
JohnD
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Apr 29, 2002, 12:13 PM
 
I think the Wallstreet was the best quality PB but a little heavy.
I had lots of fun with my 292 Mhz.
I always thought the Pismo was flimsy with cheaper plastics.
I am very happy with my Ti400 al the moment but I am always afraid I might break something......
     
bighead
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Apr 29, 2002, 03:05 PM
 
I'd say it's all about the 540c. That was just a rockin PowerBook. I wish they'd have stuck with that form factor a while longer rather than going with the 5300 body.
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C33
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Apr 29, 2002, 04:42 PM
 
my vote goes to the pismo as well. 2 years and it's still my dependable little buddy.
     
rampant
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Apr 29, 2002, 07:05 PM
 
2400 or the duodock.
     
D'Espice
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Apr 29, 2002, 07:59 PM
 
IMHO the PB1400.
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one
pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"
     
Fyre4ce
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Apr 29, 2002, 11:33 PM
 
The 5300ce was an amazing machine for its time; it was smokin!

Fyre4ce

Let it burn.
     
seanyepez
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Apr 30, 2002, 05:22 AM
 
Originally posted by D'Espice:
<STRONG>IMHO the PB1400.</STRONG>
The 1400c was a venerable machine of its time. It was the first Mac portable to include a CD-ROM drive, and it came with the ability to add solar panels onto the top of the machine for recharging without a terrestrial power source. Man, that machine was cool.
     
   
 
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