the greatest vintage apple-collection

Titanium and Carbon

After the success of the G3 generation, it was clear: the next step would be the G4.

For me, that initially meant holding out with the Wallstreet. It was still a great machine, but it only had a CD-ROM drive – DVD wasn't yet available. Apple later offered a DVD upgrade via a separate PC Card, which I also installed in my Wallstreet.

At the same time, G3 and later even G4 processor upgrades appeared, which significantly increased performance once again. This allowed me to bridge the gap between the Lombard and Pismo models.

Objectively speaking, the PowerBook G3 Pismo was already almost perfect:

USB, FireWire, DVD drive, good performance, and a very sophisticated design. And yet, it had one flaw – the bronze-colored keyboard. Functionally flawless, but visually, it remains difficult for me to tolerate to this day.

With the PowerBook G4 Titanium, Apple launched 2001 what is arguably the most beautiful PowerBook of all time. I didn't hesitate for a second and was able to get my hands on one of the first 400 MHz models. The design was groundbreaking – and essentially remains so to this day. Even almost 25 years later, the Titanium looks more modern than many current PC notebooks.

Technically, the G4 offered everything one could wish for at the time. Starting with the 550 MHz models, even CD and DVD burners were added. Apple eventually pushed the series up to 1 GHz – a step that, in retrospect, proved to be too much. The casing could no longer dissipate the heat adequately, the small fan became noisy, and the G4 had to reduce its clock speed.

There were also two major weaknesses resulting from the radical design.

The hinges could break easily and were not repairable, as they were permanently glued into the display frame. The second weakness was the white paint on the carbon frame, which could peel off over time due to contact with sweat.

Aside from that, the Titanium remains a fantastic device to this day. It runs reliably with Mac OS 9 as well as Mac OS X, making it a perfect representative of the transition period between classic Mac OS and the new UNIX-based world.

The PowerBook G4 Titanium is not just a notebook – it is a design statement that shows how bold and visionary Apple was in the early 2000s.