the greatest vintage apple-collection

Mobility unlimited

The PowerBook 140 was my first PowerBook—and thus the beginning of a completely new way of living with a computer. I had to save up for it for a long time. The moment it finally arrived was all the more significant. Suddenly, mobility was a reality. No longer being tied to a desk, but being able to work, play, and write anywhere was a true revelation.

The feeling of sitting outdoors and still having a fully functional Macintosh with me was particularly impressive. The PowerBook 140 made exactly that possible. The integrated trackball—located in the center under the keyboard—was something completely new to me at the time and worked surprisingly well. It made working on the go truly practical.

Of course, the device also had clear limitations. With the standard 4 MB of RAM, you quickly reached its limits, especially with more demanding applications. An upgrade to 8 MB would have been technically possible, but prohibitively expensive—around 800 euros, an amount that was simply beyond my means at the time.

Compared to the other models in the series, the PowerBook 140 was still a very good choice. It was significantly better than the PowerBook 100, which was noticeably slower and more limited. The PowerBook 170, with its excellent active-matrix display, would undoubtedly have been the dream model—but it was beyond my budget. The 140 was therefore a sensible compromise that allowed me to enter the world of mobile Macs.

More than 30 years later, the weaknesses of the passive-matrix display are particularly evident. Loss of contrast and blurring are typical signs of age. The only remedy today is to overhaul the capacitors in the display area. The original hard drive has also been replaced—an SD card solution makes the PowerBook quiet, reliable, and suitable for everyday use.

And yet: Or perhaps precisely because of this?

I still thoroughly enjoy working on the PowerBook 140. Launching Word 4.0, writing texts, and experiencing that original feeling of simplicity and focus has a timeless quality. The PowerBook 140 wasn't perfect – but it was the beginning. And that's precisely why it still holds a very special place in my collection.