Here's a look at older, less-expensive Macintosh laptops for those of you who are interested in portability and the convenience of computing "on the go", all those road warriors out there. I'm going to cover the models which, though older, can handle at least Mac OS X 10.3.9 Panther, an excellent version of OS X which offers very good contemporary operability. I'll go over them roughly in order of age and CPU speed.

The oldest of the PowerBook G3s which fall into this category would be the PowerBook G3 code-named "Lombard". Available with two CPU speeds, 333 MHz & 400 MHz with a 66 MHz system bus speed and accepting up to 512 Mb of RAM, this one will handle Panther nicely, and the 400 MHz version can run movies on DVD.

The Lombard has the capacity to use two batteries for up to 10 hours (claimed) of uninterrupted computing without use of external power, a nice advantage for real road warriors who are on the move a great deal. This is one of the lightest-weight models in the Powerbook line, and the last to allow connections of SCSI devices.

Skipping over to the original Clamshell iBook, we begin with the first 300 MHz models. These also have a 66 MHz system bus with the capacity to accept up to 544 Mb of RAM (one 512 stick, 32 Mb on motherboard). Their original 3.2 Gb hard drive is too small for OS X, but the 6 Gb drive in the "Rev. B" model is fine, along with an upgrade of motherboard RAM to 64 Mb.

Later model Clamshells upped the CPU speed to 366 & 466 MHz, the latter of the two including a DVD drive capable of running movies. 10 Gb hard drives were standard in these.

Clamshell iBooks, besides their unique collectible design, have a solid reputation for ruggedness and reliability. Upgrading RAM in these is a snap if you're careful; hard drive upgrade or replacement is best left to certified Apple techs.

Next comes a classic in the Apple Macintosh PowerBook line, a design that has never been improved upon, Apple's first demonstration that a laptop can have all the practical functionality of a desktop, and the last of the PowerBook G3 line, the fabulous "Pismo". Introduced in 2000, still fully usable in original form today (and very upgradeable), this review is being written on one of them.

The Pismo comes in 400 & 500 MHz G3 speeds with 1 Mb Level 2 cache and a 100 MHz system bus. It will accept a full gigabyte of RAM, and owner replacement or upgrading of RAM, hard drive, and even CPU (G4 upgrades are available) are easy and straightforward if you're careful. It has the same dual-battery capacity of the Lombard, and a movie-capable CD/DVD player (SuperDrive upgrades available).

The Pismo can connect to the internet with its built-in 56k modem, or 10/100 ethernet. You can hook up two FireWire 400 devices and two USB 1.1 devices. It has outputs for sound, video, and an external monitor, as well as S-Video out. It has a PCMCIA slot for, well, any compatible PCMCIA card with functionalities such as wireless access (it will also take an Airport card), FireWire 800 connectivity, and I have even seen a card that purports to add 32 Mb of video RAM to the Pismo's 8 Mb!

The Pismo, in its lifetime, has established a reputation for ruggedness and reliability, its curvy black plastic case still has style, and it has that indescribable charisma of Macintosh design at its best. It will run Panther and its replacement Tiger nicely.

Moving on to the G4 PowerBooks, we start with the PowerBook Titanium G4s. This line featured CPU speeds from 400 MHz to a full 1 Gb, RAM capacities up to 1 Gb. This series of PowerBooks fetches up to $800 or more on eBay, which puts it close to the top of the "less expensive OS X capable category".

The aluminum G4 PowerBooks which followed the Titanium can sometimes be had for under $800 on eBay and are to be considered an excellent buy in that range.

The iBook line in G3 & G4 processors are also to be considered good buys with the following caveat: iBook G3 (IceBook) laptops had difficulties with video function, necessitating extended-warranty replacement of the motherboard, and are to be approached with caution. I have known IceBook G3 owners who have used these laptops for years without a single problem, but it is something of which the potential buyer should be made aware.

The G4 models have not been shown to have this issue.

IceBook G3s in the 500-600MHz CPU range can be had for as little as $250-300 on eBay.

And that's about it! Bear in mind that, whichever laptop you choose, for running OS X Panther, you require an absolute minimum of 256 Mb of RAM and no smaller than a 6 Gb hard drive. Double those figures for faster, smoother performance, and go up from there for power users.

I hope this information is helpful to you, and I wish you success in your eBay shopping!