Mike Friese <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Am I missing something? Do you guys ever bring your 2400's on the road? > What do you do for batteries? That's why I bought a iceBook: I could not > get batteries for the 2400.
John Amaral <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Unless we can get more RAM, greater speed seems not worth the considerable > effort. Did I miss something here? ERGONOMICS. In a word, including portability and versatility--it fits to hand and eye better than any other computer I ever used. Some of us like to tinker, to extend, to modify, to customize--it seems to be continually customizable. For a computer to maintain a competitive life 5 years after its birth is really extraordinary. A few of us are perverse enough to enjoy making a 2400 continue to work well, even as a form of reverse snobbery. But it all depends on what you really need to do, want to carry, and maybe have as a computing philosophy. Then, basically, every 6-8 months or so I get bored with my 2400 but none of Apple's other offerings are sufficient to displace my "mainframe" 2400 as lead computer. So, "frustrated" I consider tweaking it further, like a classic customized sports car--and Sonnet's 1400 upgrade is a good motivator to move us into 600 MHz territory. So, to paraphrase...if you have to ask..., or,... you just don't get it..;-) SERIOUSLY, here's what is/could be afoot: CPU--Some 48 hours after floating the idea just in the Duolist community, 21 users are wanting 26 (hypothetical) 500-600 MHz upgrades. Not bad, but far from what we need. I thank Duolisters offering server space to publicize the matter more and will soon get around to doing something. Perhaps we'll get "request for interest" into the greater Mac community. This automatically leads to issues of extending other 2400 capabilities. RAM--someone is and will be encouraged to research retrofitting ram, possibly up to 256 mb (which seems to be the upper limit as 512 mb has definitively failed), but it might be 144 mb. BATTERY--if someone has a dead battery and someone can "engineer" a suitable logic board or get the schematics, I can probably arrange to have upgraded batteries built. My idea would be to turn it over to our offices in PR China, a country which is already building most of the world's batteries now for Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and for laptops--by the tens of millions (conveniently allowing the US/EU to avoid hazardous ops). Since this would be very limited production, and the mold costs comparatively quite high, the other alternative is to go high end with IIRC polymer ion film technology. Apart from the technical issues I don't think BTI ever felt the 2400 market is deep enough to warrant the effort. Does anyone really know how many 2400s were produced? (AND, a word to the wise...I generally always use AC/DC power, despite its inconvenience, whenever possible. All batteries have a finite number of charge/discharge cycles, Lions around 500 (less with age). None of our 10+ batteries are close to failing, and the ones that show weaker charges by time estimate algorithms, say falling to 20-30 minutes quickly, actually easily run 1.5 hours or more with minimal power conservation measures. I rotate them every 1-2 months.) VERSATLITY--Richard Fozzard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > $1/MHz is fair, and would keep me married to my 2400c for years to > come. I confess to lust in my heart lately for those sexy young > iBooks, but I know that 2400c and I should stay together for the sake > of our four children: Scsi, Adb, Serial, and Pccard. That talented PC card kid begets Firewire, USB, ISDN, GSM, HSCSD, GPRS (tri-band USA compatible), GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, 10/100BT, ADSL, Microdrives, HD/HDD, SCSI2/3/UW, SRAM, Flash-RAM, ATA, CF, SM, MMC, SD, Memory Stick, alarm/security modules, VGA analog & DVI video, sound cards etc. etc. IrDA, a bit of an orphan, works too (wireless GSM for emergencies, is great). That's a lot of talent, at least half inaccessible to iBooks. GRAPHICS/VIDEO--beyond the Type III Road Rocket, external PC cards allow VGA analog and DVI digital. I use a Type II Cardbus Margi 4mb Display-to-Go which allows 24 bpp at 1280 x 1024 and 16 bpp at 1600 x 1200. Now there is a new card coming out in Europe mid-year at 32 mb VRAM, (REPEAT 32 MB VRAM) running DVI & VGA, in mirror and dual monitor mode at up to resolutions of 2048 x 1536 pixels, and maintains 100 Hz refresh rates up to 1600 x 1200 pixels. So no problem for the 2400 video, even with 2 mb VRAM on board problematic. For the other 2-10% of the time anyone needs to run heavy duty CADD, gaming or serious Photoshop, high end desktops blow away laptops, CRTs maintain their superiority over LCDs in color critical work, PCs run the individual apps as fast as/faster than Macs (flame away)--but Macs are much better integrated and enjoyable. The 2400 is still suitable for over 90% of most people's computer work but, with its upgraded power and versatility, travels 100% better than any other Mac--and I, for one, hate computing on airplanes, so battery drain is not such a big issue. Finally a well selected bag, studiously space packed for minimum bulk, including most necessary road warrior extras, leaves a footprint little larger than the 2400 itself. As for sexy iB2, nice as it is, artificially anemic in-line cache doesn't impress me, shiny white on laptops wouldn't survive my rough treatment, I don't like side loading cables or squared edges (doesn't fit/feel in hand anything like the 2400) or the drop down screen in the lap or the contiguous track button/pad combo or the absence of PCMCIA (Type III no less) or the missing IrDA (for urgent cell phone wireless connections) etc. etc. It's all in what you need to do, and how badly you want to do it a certain way with/without the concomitant omnipresent compromises. The 2400 is a "compromise", since inception. 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> RoadTools $30 PodiumPad available at Apple retail stores, $20 Traveler CoolPad at Staples. Both in white for iBooks at <http://roadtools.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>
