Hard question. There is no reason you couldn't go all the way back to the original PB140 (or PB100?). I used one for over a year and it served me well. Typing is such a simple task any PB would do.
More seriously, a newer book would be easier to use as it would be easier to get support - more familiar connectors, replacement batteries, AC adapter for example.
Low-End Mac might be a good resource to review.
I think the PB1400 was a nice machine.
The bigger problem will be finding an older book in good condition. There are shops here in Japan that sell refurbished Macs. There are a couple of places around Silicon Valley that sell Macs as-is. I think We-Fix-Macs in Palo Alto sells refurbished Macs. You could also try your luck on e-bay.
If you want to go really cheap, I saw a fully working Powerbook 140 with a good battery and wordprocessing software for $15 at a garage sale. One thing to watch out for though is a printer. Assuming you want to eventually print whatever you type, you will need a computer that can handle a recent printer. You need a recent printer so you can get ink cartidges. But you also need to keep track of what kind of connection the printer uses. I don't know if you can even buy a relatively new printer that uses Apple's serial ports like the old powerbooks have. Based on the above reasons, I would pick an old ibook. It will have USB ports so finding a printer is easy. It can even run OS X if you give it enough memory.
Inkjet printers tend to last for a lot less time than laser printers. That's why you can't find ink cartridges for old printers. However, my family's HP LaserJet 4MP is over ten years old and there are still toner cartridges for it at Office Max. We used it to print from our IIcx and SE/30, and we still use it now. Laser printers cost more initially, but they cost less to maintain, they last longer, they have better print quality, and they print faster. No color though. The only problem is that even old used ones are expensive, because they're often very reliable. But you could afford one with the money you save when you get a super cheap PowerBook.
Here's the only problem with getting an old PowerBook: battery life. Maybe you only need the battery to last an hour or two, but most of the old ones only lasted two hours when new, and over time they've degraded to half an hour or less of battery life. And it's difficult to find new batteries for them. I thought I heard someone mention going to a battery specialist who custom built a battery for his laptop, but I don't know if you could do that or how expensive it would be.
I think a PowerBook 100 would be fine. It's very light (only 5 lbs) and it's really all you need for typing.
Comments
Moving there now...
J :cool:
More seriously, a newer book would be easier to use as it would be easier to get support - more familiar connectors, replacement batteries, AC adapter for example.
Low-End Mac might be a good resource to review.
I think the PB1400 was a nice machine.
The bigger problem will be finding an older book in good condition. There are shops here in Japan that sell refurbished Macs. There are a couple of places around Silicon Valley that sell Macs as-is. I think We-Fix-Macs in Palo Alto sells refurbished Macs. You could also try your luck on e-bay.
The low-end iBook would probably be a good choice. It's durable, has a good screen, and would run office and stuff just fine.
Otherwise, e-bay tends to have a lot of good deals on laptops.
Here's the only problem with getting an old PowerBook: battery life. Maybe you only need the battery to last an hour or two, but most of the old ones only lasted two hours when new, and over time they've degraded to half an hour or less of battery life. And it's difficult to find new batteries for them. I thought I heard someone mention going to a battery specialist who custom built a battery for his laptop, but I don't know if you could do that or how expensive it would be.
I think a PowerBook 100 would be fine. It's very light (only 5 lbs) and it's really all you need for typing.
[ 07-02-2002: Message edited by: Luca Rescigno ]</p>