the greatest vintage apple-collection

From peak to lowpoint

The PowerBook Duo 270c was brilliant, but noticeably outdated in terms of performance. The next step wasn't long in coming: First, the Duo 280c with the 68040 processor appeared, and finally, the true star of the Duo series – the PowerBook Duo 2300c with the PowerPC processor.

The Duo 2300c was ahead of its time – and practically unaffordable. It was so expensive that hardly anyone could afford it. I've held this device in my hands several times and have been impressed every single time. One innovation in particular stood out: the trackpad. It was the first time with the powerbook 520/540-series it had been integrated into a notebook – and it was a revelation.

The small trackball of the earlier Duos had never been particularly precise. The trackpad, on the other hand, felt intuitive, accurate, and groundbreaking. In retrospect, it's safe to say that this decision continues to shape mobile computing today.

Then came the turning point. With the next generation, the PowerBook 5300 series, also featuring PowerPC and a trackpad, I found myself in a personal dead end. At the same time, IBM (ThinkPad 760), Compaq (5000 series), and Toshiba launched notebooks with integrated CD drives – Apple, however, did not. Furthermore, higher screen resolutions of 800×600 or more were emerging, while Apple hesitated for a long time.

For the first time, I seriously considered leaving Apple and buying a ThinkPad or Toshiba notebook. The competition seemed more modern, more sophisticated, and more uncompromising.

Ironically, it was Microsoft that brought me back. A discounted offer got me a PowerBook 5300ce with an 800x600 display—and a magneto-optical drive.

Magneto-optical in a PowerBook? I was thrilled and couldn't resist. The magneto-optical drive worked perfectly—and still does. I'm still using it in my PowerBook 5300. But the euphoria didn't last long, because the build quality of the 5300ce was simply poor.

Today, over 30 years later, the entire PowerBook 5300 series—including the PowerBook 190—is a nightmare.

The hinges are often so tight that the plastic casing cracks when you try to open it. The capacitors are almost always defective, and the color displays frequently suffer from acetic acid corrosion. Mechanically and electrically, these devices are extremely problematic.

In retrospect, this generation was probably a low point in Apple's hardware design. After the visionary Duo models, much seemed underdeveloped, rushed and of questionable quality – a rare but significant stumble in Apple's history.