Once in a while, a diehard 2400 user needs to (re)convince himself and others ;-) on 4/24/01 Donald McCaig <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've a 280c which I use daily in the dock and on the road. On the > road, weight is important. For serious travelling, I find bulk reduction even more important than weight. Less bulk at higher density will still have less net weight. The 2400 ergonomically is excellent--its nice rounded edges/size work well and feel comfortable nearly everywhere in just about any position. > Thanks to help from this list, mine is a tuned > unit but it is slow with email and my server hates a slow CPU. I use it > for word processing (much) and email (daily). > I can buy a 2300c for about $200 and plug it into my dock. Early PPC is much slower than 68k code running on an 040 CPU. Early PPC PBs are ram crippled as well. IMO a waste of time. I downgraded my old 540c from PPC 117mhz back to 040 some years back--everything went much faster. I keep an old 630 Performa (040) on 7.6.1 w/12 mb ram just for the heckuvit. You wouldn't believe how FAST it is and how much we are victims of Apple's propaganda (and our own delusions) that later is greater and faster. With the right software it can outrun my G4-tower in tiny compact code (eg: Write Now & early Excel). (I also keep it around just in case I need Apple ROMs to run Mac emulation someday on a little 1024 x 480 Sony VAIO at >1 ghz--don't laugh!--that day is coming faster than Apple will get rival speeds stuffed into a subnotebook). > Or I can buy a 2400c G3 240 (320?) for about $1300. The G3 upgraded 2400 is sufficiently fast for word processing and email for at least the next decade. Considering CPU upgrades (pre/post G3) are a big deal when increasing speeds 20-30%, the G3 upgrades were (and probably will remain) the greatest ever by boosting processing speeds 250-350%. No other upgrades have come close to this quantum jump. Any G3 speed makes the 2400 a truly pleasurable tool, even with the 112mb ram limitation. A Yu-Plan translucent keyboard is highly recommended (for functionality even more than the aesthetics). Mis-struck keys are reduced by 2/3 just by the improved layout and pitch (I'm a lousy typist). The screen size is OK--but 11.3" would have fit in the same bezel. Brightness/clarity remain excellent--IMO the 2400/3400 had the first of the really good displays. > Or I can buy a Tbook for $2500. Sooner or later I'll buy the next generation. I looked hard here but G4-400/500 wasn't noticeably faster/snappier than G3-400/500 or even G3-2400 400/320. For WP/email, speed in this range is not an issue like keyboard or screen size--those tradeoffs are very individual. The thin titanium skin is very delicate for hard travelling and easily damaged. I use a system of a smaller unpadded bag inside a larger unpadded bag inside my main carry-on. This gives enough padding (between my docs) and instant flexibility to be (bag) sized to my immediate needs no matter what the travel situation--max versatility at min bulk. I do not intend to drop anything but PB plastic is more impact resistant than thin titanium skin. One 2400 has survived a 4' drop (insulated by only one layer of unpadded nylon) onto pure concrete pavement so it's reassuringly rugged. The 2400 plastic cover can be refreshed cosmetically with the right grit of fine *400-600 sandpaper. > The 2400 c seems to be less reliable(GLOD), hot, has expensive > hard-to-find batteries and doesn't slip into a dock. GLOD comes and goes, depending on the individual 2400. No rhyme or reason. One does it fairly regularly (always revived), another never--you might get lucky. Look at it this way--those that have survived this long are already reliability tested--hence likely to survive a lot longer. > Replugging everything > whenever I return from the road would be a major pain. Actually quite fast to reconnect. I have a dock I don't even use because it's so easy and quick. > The Tbook seems to have startup glitches . > Unless I'm traveling to a weird place like Albania, I can live with > my 90 minute 280c battery. Good 2400 power management will get battery time upwards of 2.5 hrs. If just WP on airplanes, use a ram disk. > Judicious use of sleep helps as do the cleaner's > plugs in terminals. After the first three or four hours, airline booze > makes working moot anyway. I don't watch movies. Amen & ditto for me. Don't underestimate the use of a PC card drive for additional file swaps or emergency bootup repairs (the latter impossible w/Ti), or even the venerable floppy (in Albania or even in USA). > I would appreciate your thinking. Bottom line--when I buy G4-Ti/v.2, I'll still travel with my 2400 (which packs vertically or horizontally). Curiously, the longer I use it (and the more I want to get tired of it), the more I appreciate it. The Type III PC slot lets me make every connection. Prices are such that I keep a fully configured G3-320/20gb to backup my main unit--for less than I was paying for 2gb drives just before the 2400 came out. If I want to do some light work on vacation, I'd take my backup unit (psychologically feeling that I could better "afford" to lose it) because G3-2400s are getting rarer all the time. Finally, I love keeping a 5 year old computer running competitively in the modern age. For WP/email it can and most definitely will serve a lot longer. Sidney Ho ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Need help from a real person? Try. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------- Dr. Bott | 10/100 Ethernet for your 2400 is finally here! MPC-100 | <http://www.drbott.com/prod/mpc100.html> NineWire | If they are cool enough to host this list... Digital Solutions | ...you should check them out! http://www.NineWire.com/ Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com> After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][ MacResQ Specials: LaCie SCSI CDR From $99! PowerBook 3400/200 Only $879! Norton AntiVirus 6 Only $19! We Stock PARTS! <http://www.macresq.com>
