Web hosting Custom Email SiteBuilder

Left: PowerBook 170
 
 
 
 
 

The successors to the original ground-breaking PowerBook 100, the 140 and 170 PowerBooks introduced the 68030 processor to the PowerBook line. In addition to the increased CPU speed, the 140 and 170 added a number of improvements - but they also had some surprising omissions, which we'll come to shortly. We'll look at these models all together as the key variations are largely in terms of screen type and CPU speed. The 140, 145 and 145B are the same Mac essentially, with the differences mostly limited to CPU speed and loaded software (originally the 145 was a 'budge' model).

Features:

- Released 1991 (PB140 and 170), 1992 (145) and 1993 (145B)
- 68030 CPUs, 16-25MHz
- 2MB soldered RAM
- 8MB maximum RAM
- ADB, SCSI, serial ports
- Support Systems 7.0 to 7.6.1
- 32-bit clean ROMs
- Trackball pointing devices
- Internal floppy disk drives included
- 20-80MB SCSI hard disk drives
- Full-size keyboard
- Support soft-power on/off with external keyboards (with System 7.5 or later)
- Over 300,000 sold (PB 100, 140 and 170 collectively)
 
 

Model	CPU	FPU	SCSI*	Video out	Screen	Display	Resolution	Battery
140	16MHz	na	Yes	na	10"	passive matrix, B&W	640x400	NiCAD
145/B	25MHz	na	Yes	na	10"	passive matrix, B&W	640x400	NiCAD
170	25MHz	Yes	Yes	na	10"	active matrix, B&W	640x400	NiCAD

* Do not support SCSI disk mode.

As you can see from the table above, although the 140/170 improved upon the PB100 by including NiCAD batteries and an internal floppy drive, they did not include the SCSI docking mode capability of the 100. Sony added the SCSI capability to the 100's ROM, but the 140/170 ROM was not ready for this innovation and Apple were busy working on ROMs which would work with the Quadra series. SCSI disk mode had to wait until the PowerBooks 160 and 180 were released in 1992.
 

So how does an old PowerBook compare with a desktop Mac of similar vintage?

Very well. Put it this way: the PB140 is a bit faster than an LCII, as the 140, despite the fact it runs at the same processor speed as the LCII, has a 32-bit data bus (like the LCIII), whereas the LCII has only a 16-bit bus. The 145 and 170 are as fast as an LCIII, and faster than a IIsi, IIcx or IIvx. The 170 is particularly speedy where maths or graphics are concerned, due to its built-in 68882 FPU. In terms of web browsing where graphics capabilities are crucial, this aids the 170's speed somewhat.

Below: PowerBook 170

The downside is you can't turn an early PB into a true desktop as it doesn't have external video as the later ones do. Some manufacturers did come up with innovative SCSI attachments which permitted external monochrome or colour displays (the 030 CPUs in all of these PBs support Colour QuickDraw). But they're quite hard to find and hog your SCSI port anyway. But you can plug and external keyboard in if you need a numeric keypad, or an ADB mouse. You can also sometimes find those very cool (they're still available I think) black Kensington numeric keypads that plus into your ADB port.

These low-end PBs can do everything a desktop Mac can do - and more because they're portable. You can still hook up external hard drives, Jazes, Zips, Syquests, CD-ROMs (no audio playthrough though), printers, scanners, graphics tablets and a whole host of other equipment. Docks were very popular for these PBs: (not to be confused with the docks for the  PowerBook Duo): you might find one the docks (many 3rd party varieties) which simply plug into the back of your PB. You can then attach all your printer./SCSI/ADB cables to it and when the time came to whiz out the door, you just yanked the PB out of its dock and ran. Some of these docks came in kit form and were pretty flimsy, but there were good ones too. Go for the most solid ones and test all their connections before you purchase. You can get these for less than $50 if you look hard. Again, try the odd PC shop (some very odd) that takes trade ins: the Windoze weenies dunno what they've got 'til they've sold it for 10 bucks. They don't want Apple/Mac parts anyway. They don't understand them and all that happens is Mac people come 'round and say, "why have you got a #$%@*!?!? PII for demoing Photoshop? Why don't you get a real computer?"
 

Can I get on the Net with an old PB?

You betcha. All you need is a modem, an ISP and FreePPP. A few bits of software help too. For a rundown, check out the PowerBook software page. But for now, all you need is, say, email, browser and news. Even the lowly 16MHz PB140 will run Netscape Navigator 4.05 (standalone edition). Netscape 2 or 3 are also options. I just had an email the other day from a reader who thought I was a bit tough on Cyberdog in the PowerBook software page, so I apologise. I think Cyberdog is a superb browser etc. but wonder how slow it might become on a 68Free030 machine. I agree as an integrated package, Cyberdog is unbeatable, providing browser, telnet, news, mail and ftp services. You need 5MB of RAM to install OpenDoc 1.2 (68K) and Cyberdog 2.0. Apple no longer supports Cyberdog (or has it available for download, except v.1.2), but you can find a link to it under 'browsers' at Pure Mac. The new iCab from www.icab.de is also a real contender in the fully-featured-but-light-on-resources browser market. Requires on 2MB to run. Try it. Make sure you have at least (previiew) version 1.3. For text only browsing, try Wannabe 68K, the best, the fastest and most stable text-only browser in the world. Or MacLynx, alternatively.

FreePPP 2.6.2 works fine on the 140-170 PBs. OT/PPP, Apple's native PPP implementation, is available for free download, but you have to get Open Transport (not MacTCP) to run it. You also need a modem script to run it. For these PBs, with 8MB RAM maximum OT/PPP probably isn't worth the trouble. Install OT 1.1.2 though if you're running System 7.1 with Update 3.0 or later. OT wins hands down over MacTCP IMHO. But you need 5MB minimum to install OT 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 (OT 1.1 will install on less but is regarded as less than stable).For a discussion, go to the PowerBook software page

Eudora 1.3, 1.5 and 3.0 (Lite) run really well on 030 PBs. You can pick them up at Pure Mac or download them from  Qualcomm the makers of Eudora. Claris Em@iler v.1.0 is free (get it at Pure Mac) and is very full featured and runs well on older Macs. You might find v.2.0 around but it's discontinued except in its Palm Pilot utilities for Mac form. If you have several AOL or Compuserve accounts you'll find Em@iler particularly useful. It also supports AppleScript for those of you with millions of pieces of Spam to mail...

NewsWatcher works extremely well on these PBs as it does on everything (you/we are indeed fortunate to have the most talented developer community in the entire world out there writing for the Mac). That means they support 68K apps and old machines generally.

****Great piece of software**** Since the 140/170 PBs can only run up to OS 7.6.1, they miss out on OS 8's 'sticky' menus. Download a tiny system extension called 'StickyClik' (12K) by Steve Zellers (written in 1992!), install, reboot and presto! Your menus pull down and stay down. Hell of a convenience. Doesn't conflict with *anything* and work on a PB100 and anything else pre-OS 8.0. Don't stay here. Go and find it now.
 

Right: PowerBook 145B

What about memory?

Although these PBs are limited to only 8MB RAM, you can still usefully use them for the net and other purposes. You can (slowly) use M$ Word 6.0.1, Excel 5 and PowerPoint 4.0 (i.e. Office 4.2.1) on them. Rethink: use Word 5.1, Excel 4.0 (speedy) and PP 2.0. Or Claris Resolve if you can find it. Or Adobe Persuasion. For word processing, try also NisusWriter, MacWrite, MarinerWrite (shareware) or ClarisWorks/AppleWorks. I've now verified (Claris) AppleWorks 5.0 works and works very well on an 030 machine and provides drawing, painting, spreadsheet, database and a basic communications module as well. Much faster than Word 5.1, esp. on the PowerBook 140. So you can (legally) install a copy from that iMac you bought and put it on your budget PowerBook. Earlier versions of ClarisWorks (2, 3, 4) also work very well but are less full featured than v.5.0. Claris can also work in about 512K of memory if necessary (v.2, 3). Speaking of which you should upgrade that memory. 2MB is not what you can run System 7 on. 4MB is the absolute minimum and 6 or 8MB is obviously much better. 2, 4 or 6MB cards are available and they shouldn't be too expensive for these models, though more on a per-MB scale than, say, a 32MB card for a current model PB. If you have less than 8MB in the machine, I doubt whether it's worth trying to run Netscape. Use 8MB and RAMDoubler. SpeedDoubler 2.0x or SD 8.x (if you have System 7.5.5 or later) is also advisable. Set RD to 2x if you're using RD 2x or 8x. I stress that you're not going to be flying on these PBs (especially the 140), but for light browsing these things're fine. My mother does her browsing on a 8MB LCII with RAMDoubler 8 set to 2 x (yes, cheap aren't I?; but she's soon to get a IIsi once I get it back from someone else I lent it too. Welcome to MacRent...only I don't get any rent...).

System software

Don't buy a PB 140 or 170 with only 2MB of RAM. 4 should be your minimum. With 4, I'd advise System 7.0.1 or 7.1 if you have it. Woth 6 or 8MB you can run System 7.5.3 (free download) fairly comfortably. 7.5.5 is a free bug fix. You could go to 7.6.1 but it takes up a lot more room on a small hard drive and although it's stable, it's slower on these machines. Try and experiment if you want to. But bear in mind that 7.6 demands you run OT which is no good if you're set on using MacTCP.

Below: PowerBook 140

Peripherals:

Any SCSI device will work with these PBs. There's the odd SCSI-to-ethernet adapter out there if you seriously require ethernnet. You can hook up a 4GB or larger SCSI if you can find it, although the drivers put a cap on it. If you do happen to attach a 4GB hard drive, partition it in 2GB or smaller partitions. Note, however, that PBs (all of them) do not provide active termination on the SCSI bus. An external terminator and hard disk termination may be required. Handily, both Jaz and Zips have manually switchable termination. The Zip Plus has automatic termination (I think). But I'd avoid the Zip Plus for reasons not worth going into here. For more info on SCSI, go to the PowerBook SCSI page.

So how do you connect that old PB 140 or 170 to a fancy new iMac? Well, you'll need Farallon or Asante's USB-to-Localtalk or ethernet-to-Localtalksolution. Note that these don't permit you to talk to an AppleTalk printer. But the PowerBook can be used as a bridge to the printer. You can send the files to PB via file sharing and then print them to a LaserWriter or StyleWriter or whatever legacy printer you have. If you don't have a new printer and no SuperDisk for the iMac, this is a good solution. When you consider you can get one of these PBs for well under $US200, that's a helluva bargain as you get a portable Mac. The other solution is to buy a new printer and you still have no portability. Another point is you can use the PB as a backup hard drive (even a 40 or 80MB drive can usefully back up files). The PB also gives your iMac or new G3 access to a floppy. Better than having two Zip drives (well - not really, but less expensive. If you do have a SCSI Syquest, Zip or Jaz, it means that the iMac can access these at least via file sharing. LocalTalk is as slow as a floppy but it may be your only option with an iMac if you're cash strapped.
 

Buyer's Guide

There are a number of things to look for when buying an old PowerBook. PowerBooks are delicate pieces of machinery and older ones may have had a hard previous life in a corporation. Personally-owned ones are a better bet. Look for signs of scratches or dents on the machines. It's likely the rear port door will have broken off but that's as common as much and happens to nearly every PB at one time or other. Don't worry about it. Get another one if you buy it.

OK, fire up the PB and check it all boots okay. Listen to the hard drive. If there's undue noise, walk away. The HD is about to die (unless you have a spare and are good at working inside PBs). Give it some serious workout for 15 minutes or so. Pull down the Key Caps DA and check every key functions. Click the mouse buttons. Look closely for scratches on the screen. Make sure the display contrast/brightness controls function. Ensure the screen does not have any obvious vertical or horizontal lines. Active matrix screens, like that on the 170, don't really suffer from burn-in so much as desktop CRT's but it is possible. Look for dead pixels on the 170 - active matrixc screens have this fallability; passive ones (140/145/145b) do not. If there're 4 or 5 that's okay. More than that and it's a bit questionble.

Make sure you're happy with the screen. Passive matrix B&W annoys some people. B&W passive screens tend to be easier on the eyes (and less conducive to headaches) than active matrix displays.

Ask the owner to unscrew the ring under the trackball and check for dust and wear of the trackball retainers (a trackball is essentially an upsidedown mouse). A cool new colourful trackball might be the way to go if you buy this baby (in Duos some people use a marble!). Make sure the screen hinges are okay and format a floppy or two. Shut the whole thing down, chat with rthe owner for at least 5 minutes and then reboot the PB. Check the date and time. If they're now reading August  1956, the PRAM battery is dead. You can get another one, but be prepared to pay someone unless you're comfortable inside PBs. Open the Memory control panel and check the amount of physical RAM in the machine. Try running the PB off battery. NiCADs aren't that expensive though, although their longevity is certainly not as great as an NiMH or LiION battery (maybe 1-2 years o f reasonably intensive use), they're reasonably cheap to replace. Often you'll find owners selling old PBs with spare batteries (test them) and SCSI cables. Can be great deals.

So what's the recommendation?

PB 140 - a good 'Book provided your needs are basic: word processing, spreadsheet, email, newsreading, probably - preferably - text-only browsing. That's a fair bit isn't it. But the 16MHz 140 is limited as a web machine - but try iCab and if you do let me know how you go here  (I'm sure enraged 140 owners are going to email me now).

PB145/145B - A better bet. As fast the 170 (25MHz 030) and cheaper. No FPU and passive matrix. Will do light graphics web browsing though.

PB170 - Better still. The active matrix screen and FPU assist more rapid browsing.

*Note: AvoidNetscape 3.x as a general rule on these machines: it can result in certain graphics and pages being presented as solid blacks on a B&W screen. Netscape 2.02 and 4x don't have this problem.

Summary

The PB140, 145 and 170 represent bargain-value PowerBooks that can be excellent investments for little more than an equivalent desktop Mac. They might just free you from your desk too. They run modern versions of the Mac OS, use modern software and internet tools and parts are freely available. Models in good condition are worthy of consideration. For budget portable word processing they cannot be beaten. As a bridge for your iMac or B&W G3 tower, it's a good solution too (with adapter). Enjoy.