[kertong]

I am about to buy a wallstreet g3 powerbook for $400.

It has:

333MHz, 14" screen, dvd, cd, zip-internal, 2 extra batteries, usb pc card, scsi, adb, 56k modem-internal, 8gb HDD, 256mb RAM

first, is this a good deal? How were the g3 wallstreets, and how does it run osx?

Also, is it possible to get airport in these machines? I did a search on the web and read some weird things,b ut never a real set answer...

all i want is a laptop that'll do osx smoothly (well somewhat, for osx), and do itunes, web, and email with ease.

any info is appreciated, thank you!

[dogzilla]

I just replaced my Wallstreet 333mhz with a TiBook, and I've been running OSX since the public beta, so I think I can answer intelligently.

First: My personal experience is that the Wallstreet ran OSX quite well. Depending on what you're used to, your feelings may be different. A few things to note: OpenGL sucks on these machines, as do games requiring video acceleration, so forget all that. Geting plenty of RAM and a big, fast HD (IBM TravelStar 20gb for example) will go a long way to speeding up the OSX. You will not be able to use an Airport card in these machines, but you can get a third-party card and use it. I recommend a Lucent/Orinoco/Agere Wavelan Silver. Under OS9 you can use Apple's Airport software. Under OSX you can use the open source wavelan driver (http://wirelessdriver.sourceforge.net/)

As for running iTunes, surfing web, and email: I think this machine is plenty for that. You can even do web development on it (I did). What you can't really do is run, say Medal of Honor or Max Payne on it, so don't try. At $400 for what you're describing it sounds a good deal. I'd add RAM and a bigger/faster HD, tho.

[seanyepez]

There is no 333-megahertz Wallstreet that I know of. The computer you're referring to is the Lombard PowerBook G3 that came in 333- and 400-megahertz configurations. They're thinner than Wallstreets, have bronze keyboards, and have USB.

[iBorg]

Originally posted by seanyepez:
There is no 333-megahertz Wallstreet that I know of. The computer you're referring to is the Lombard PowerBook G3 that came in 333- and 400-megahertz configurations. They're thinner than Wallstreets, have bronze keyboards, and have USB.

Exactly. "Wallstreet's" first generation topped out at 292 MHz (I still have one in my collection!), followed by "Wallstreet II" or "PDQ," which topped out at 300 MHz. They lacked USB or Firewire, but had an ADB port.

"Lombard's" followed, and were available in 333 and 400 MHz, were 20% thinner and 2 pounds lighter than "Wallstreets."

Lombard should run OS X, but it's going to be slow. Your goals for iTunes, web browsing and e-mail should be no problem, though.



iBorg

[shatten22]

You should also check on that "DVD" option. The 333 came standard with a CDROM and couldn't play DVD's without the use of a decoder card (in the PC Card Slot) and a DVD drive. VST made these I think.

The 400's motherboard had the DVD Decoder Card installed right on it.

Another note: You won't be able to play DVD's in OSX; Apple doesn't support it.

I just bought my gf a lombard 333 and it's great for what she does: email, web, word processing, basic iTunes stuff. She likes it. I could never go back to a g3 from a g4 though... The best thing about the Lombard (and all the black case Apple books) was that you could use two batteries at once, or swap a zip drive into either bay.

$400 is a pretty good price...

[icruise]

Everything he is describing sounds like a wallstreet except for the 333mhz -- probably just a mistake for the 300mhz model. The reason I say this is that as someone mentioned the 333 didn't come with DVD-ROM and also it doesn't make sense for it to come with a USB PC card, since the Lombard has onboard USB.

The best thing about the Lombard (and all the black case Apple books) was that you could use two batteries at once, or swap a zip drive into either bay.

The expansion bay drives were great, but the Lombard and Pismo could only use them in the right bay -- the left was strictly for the battery. This is one area in which the Wallstreet was superior, as it can use any device in either bay.

[iBorg]

Originally posted by Icruise:
The expansion bay drives were great, but the Lombard and Pismo could only use them in the right bay -- the left was strictly for the battery. This is one area in which the Wallstreet was superior, as it can use any device in either bay.

Agreed - to clarify, though, all of the G3 PowerBooks (Wallstreets I and II, Lombard, and Pismo) could run 2 batteries simultaneously, which I really miss with my Ti SD ......



iBorg