Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 15:45:10 -0500 Subject: Getting a PowerBook 520c soon, some questions From: Luca Rescigno <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I'm getting a PowerBook 520c quite soon, and I'm curious about a few things:
1. It only has 12 MB of RAM and a 120 MB hard drive. What's the best OS for it? Would 7.6.1 be okay? Should I get more RAM?
7.6.1 runs fine on the two I have around here - one with a PPC upgrade and 540c screen, the other with the 33mhz upgrade and 520c screen. 12MB is a little low, but if you're only running one application at a time then it shouldn't be a real problem. Actually, even with 40MB, I try not to run too many apps at one time either. Get some small-footprint apps like Eudora Light, Word 5.1a, iCab for browsing. You might also be able to pick up a rev-B PC card cage and use a compact flash card for extra RAM and/or storage space. Only a 120MB drive? I thought 160 was the lowest available for these.
2. How difficult is it to replace the screen? I have heard the passive matrix color screen isn't very good, and I wouldn't mind moving to a grayscale screen if it made things easier to see. How do the various screens compare - would going from the passive matrix color to an active matrix grayscale even be worth the increase in sharpness and clarity? Or should I just get the active matrix color if I'm going to replace the screen?
The screens are relatively easy to replace, with the exception of the microphone cover. Does anyone here have a good technique for not breaking the little tabs off on removal? The active matrix screen is a little sharper, but with either one you still get only 256 colors at the normal resolution. The passive screens are better for battery life, or if you plan to use it outside or near a bright window. A bonus for the active screen is the choice to run thousands of colors, albeit at 640x400. This can make pictures look good, in 256 mode they aren't attractive.
3. How expensive are PPC upgrades? I've heard of 100 and 117 MHz ones, but I haven't seen more than one or two on the swap list. I'm guessing they're fairly expensive?
Plan on spending around $75 to $100 for the 100 or 117 mhz, from what I've seen on eBay lately. They also come with an additional 4MB on the cards if RAM is an issue.
4. Anything in particular I should know about? I've never used or even seen a 500-series PowerBook; the oldest I've used was a PowerBook 1400c (which was pretty nice, excellent keyboard!). So if there are any special issues or things I should know about, general advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Just remember that you're using something that is nine years old now. They were fantastic when they came out (and incredibly expensive by today's terms), but they are starting to show their age. I have two - one I'm giving to my nephew so he can do 7th grade schoolwork on his own computer, the other I keep around here because it works better as a fax machine than the TiBook and the iMac I also have. It either gets passed on to the niece or one of these days it gets turned into a picture frame.
----- JSH TiBook
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