Apple Titanium PowerBook Report
This page contains discussions of a frank, technical nature, intended for mature Mac propellerheads. The interested Mac user may find this useful as well; your mileage may vary. No PowerBooks were harmed in the preparation of this article.
To learn more, visit the Apple PowerBook Page.
This is an edited version of an email I wrote to the Titanium (Ti) PowerBook Users maillist (http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/Titanium.html), describing my initial experiences with the new Ti PowerBook. This email list is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in this sort of thing.
CAVEAT: Don't try this at home unless you feel confident you can tear apart a $2500 piece of equipment and put it back together without pieces left over. If you would like some of the following behaviors performed on your Ti by an experienced Mac tech, this is a service I provide (to those in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area only). Contact me for exciting details.
Why Me
I work for the University of Michigan. (Disclaimer: The UM neither knows about nor condones this sort of thing. The opinons expressed below may not relect the belief structure of my employers. This is not a UM site. All models are 18 years old.) I ordered my Ti through UM Stores (after the Federally-mandated 24-hr. cooling-off period) in January 2001, after watching Steve announce this puppy at MacWorld. I got the first one of 10 that just (2/16/01) arrived in Ann Arbor. I opted for the 400MHz jobbie, intending to soup it up as soon as I got it. I am a Web developer and Mac consultant (my UM job description sez "Alpha Mac Geek"), and intend to use this for Email, Photoshop work, and schlepping around to clients as a source of diags, etc. I also do Final Cut Pro behaviors, and may use this for that as well. I have a G4 450 tower that does most of my heavy lifting. Many of my clients have various versions of G3 PB's, and having this Ti will help me to support them better.
Tear Down
I got my Ti home on Friday and immediately tore it apart. I replaced the existing 10G IBM Travelstar drive with a 20G Travelstar, upped the RAM to .5G, and installed an AirPort card. I had no problems with my bottom screws, although several of them were in pretty tight. Ditto putting them back in. In response to the problems several folks have reported with stripped screwheads on the bottom of the Ti:
This usually happens when the screwdriver doing the work is not an exact match for the screw. In this case, the oft-quoted use of a #1 Phillips is not necessarily a good match. I bought a nice one at Sears that was just loose enough to screw things up (so to speak).
A client brought me his Ti from which he'd removed all the screws but one, and that one was almost completely stripped. This prompted me to set out to find the perfect screwdriver. After months of searching on 3 continents, I stumbled upon the perfect fit at a True Value hardware store here in Ann Arbor. I took a screw from a Ti in with me and tried all the drivers on display, finding the perfect fit in their "Master Mechanic 125 187 USA TS312" model ($2.49 USD). Another reader of the Ti mailgroup (thanks, Jenn!), found the URL for this item: Click here for link.
I had read about the Torx issue on www.xlr8yourmac.com/ and was prepared with a T8 head which fit into a nut driver I had (seen in front the Ti in the photo above, along with a #1 screwdriver). I was unable to find the proper tool for this at 3 different hardware stores, but have since found one on the Web at:
You might be able to do this with a teeny-tiny screwdriver, but I recommend the right Torx.
Drive, He Said
I shopped around for the 20G drive, and settled on one from http://www.gogocity.com/;
1 IBM 20GB DJSA-220000 ATA 66 IDE 9.5MM 4200RPM NB HD[07N4388] at $185.00.
An excellent means of tracking down the cheapest drive can be found at The PowerBook Source Drives Page.
Here is a step-by-step description on hardware upgrades for the Ti: http://www.themacnut.com/pbg4ramhd.htm
I had previously formatted my 20G drive by putting it in an external USB case I got from CoolDrives (http://store.yahoo.com/cooldrives/usblap25ideh.html) ($59), initializing it from my tower G4. But after installing the drive in the Ti, it wasn't recognized by the system restore CD. I tore the Ti apart again, reconnected the HD cables, put it back together again, no joy. Then it occured to me to fire up Drive Setup, which found and initialized the drive. I partitioned it into 2 2G parts, and one partition with the rest of the space. I am using the first 2G part as a 9.1 system disk, the second as a backup for the first and eventual home of OSX, and the rest for apps and files.
One note about the USB case: USB is s l o o o w for file transfer; I am thinking about getting a FireWire unit instead, although these cost around $100 (http://www.firewiredirect.com/product/products/drivekit.shtml). I had a problem with my MacAlly USB hub providing enough current to spin up the drive; the drive just sat there going tic-tic-tic. I plugged it into a Belden hub I have plugged into the MacAlly unit as an extension, and it fired right up. This gave me the clue I needed that the problems I had been having with my MS Intellimouse were current-related, and moving the mouse to a different port on the same MacAlly hub fixed it. I keep the MacAlly hub only because it is the only USB hub that will pass the Mac keyboard 0n-key event. But I digress...
Hairy RAM
I paid way too much for my RAM; $150/256M chip from RAMJet; I bought just before the price plummeted to around $90 or so today. Arrrgh. The RAM is the proper size and 222s speed, and works just fine. Replacing the RAM is the easiest yet for any computer; pop the keyboard and there it sits. You can check out current RAM prices at http://www.ramseeker.com/PB_G4.shtml.
I had no problems with getting the case bottom back on properly, and discovered that you need to exert a slight pressure on the case bottom towards the back of the Ti as you screw in the screws. It also helps to start with the screw in the middle, and then work your way towards the back. I have taken this guy apart 3 times now, and it gets easier every time.
CD ROM - PC Slot
No problem with ejecting the CD ROMs I have put in. I did have a problem with the PC card slot; the door wouldn't close properly. I discovered a conflict with the AirPort antenna wire: you have to bend the wire towards the middle of the case, away from the PC door. This was the 3rd disassembly, and fixed the problem. I didn't need to cut the plastic tab on the AirPort card as others have done.
File Exchange
Once everything was in place with the Ti, the time came to transfer my files from my G4 tower. I started up AirPort-enabled AppleSharing, and it told me the transfer time would be 4 hours for my 8 gigs or so of files. I cancelled that and hooked up using a regular EtherNet cable: 3 hours estimated transfer time. I cancelled that and, after figuring out how to do it via Apple Help, put the Ti into FireWire harddrive mode and transferred the data in about an hour. To do this, you first shut down your Ti. Attach a 6-pin to 6-pin FW cable between the Ti and the desktop G4, then fire up the Ti and immediately hold down the T key. This turns your Ti into an external hard drive which mounts on your desktop's desktop. You drag your files around and you are happenin'.
Getting to the AirPort
Moving my now-loaded Ti from my basement office to the upstairs living room, I watched my Airport lights shrink to nothing in the control strip. My base station is in my office, and the signal wasn't making it up the stairs, past the metal appliances in the kitchen, and into the living room. My wife's AirPort-enabled iBook doesn't have this problem; she got 3 lights all the time. I fixed my problem with a 50-ft. Ethernet cable, moving the base station out of the basement to the first floor. Now we both get 4 lights on constantly.
Here's a tip I learned from the maillist: if you are using an AirPort wireless system, turn on balloon help (Help/Show Balloons) and then hold your cursor over the AirPort strength meter in the control strip at the bottom of your screen. You get a balloon that says something like "The strength of the currently selected AirPort network is '20'". I am currently getting 4 lights and a balloon reading of 25. Holding my Ti next to the base station gets me a reading of 48. Anyone out there have any idea what this number means? If so, please Email me at clikamouse@mondodyne.com.
I will be using this at work at the UM School of Education, where we are rolling out wireless service from a combination of AirPort base stations and Intel units. This is working well with PC laptops and iBooks; I will report here how it goes with my new Ti.
Bagging
As to schlepping, I picked up a $9.99 Eddie Bauer school bag, currently (2-01) on sale at EB's everywhere. This fits the Ti perfectly and transforms between briefcase, shoulder bag or knapsack, depending how you configure the straps. It is not, however, well-padded, so I sprung for the Eagle Creek Computer Vault, $24.95 at magellans.com. This slips into the Bauer bag perfectly, and can be used on its own in a briefcase or for non-strenuous hauling.
Here are a bunch of links to sources of bags recommended by maillist members:
Willow Design -
Mobile Planet -
Sharper Image -
SF Bag Sleevecase -
Magellans Computer Vault (the one I got) -
Kensington Flylight (cool keyboard light)
And here's the ultimate reference; a listing of case suppliers from the excellent PowerBook Source site:
Battery
I have found the battery to last around 4 hours of very active life; file transfers, email, and a lot of surfing. Looking forward to buying another battery and external charger unit once they are available.
Heat
No problems with heat; the fan hasn't kicked in yet. Yeah, it's warm, but the heat is concentrated in the middle of the case, away from your legs if you are laptopping in shorts. I spoke to an Apple rep who was part of the Ti development group; he said that Titanium has unusual heat properties in that the heat will radiate from the central area under the CPU, but won't spread to the rest of the case as much as would be the case with other metals.
Overall; an excellent unit. Go get one, then hire me to soup it up for you!