PowerBook_G4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia PowerBook G4 PowerBook G4 PowerBook G4 (Aluminium) included with the 17 inch model since its debut nine months earlier. The PowerBook G4 line was the last generation of the PowerBook series, and was succeeded by the Intel-powered MacBook Pro line in the first half of 2006. Titanium PowerBook G4 PowerBook G4 (Titanium) Aluminium PowerBook G4 (15.2") Developer Type Discontinued CPU Apple Computer, Inc. Laptop May 16, 2006 PowerPC G4, 400 MHz 1.67 GHz Titanium PowerBook G4 (nicknamed TiBook) Developer Type Release date Discontinued CPU Apple Computer inc. Laptop January 2001 September 2003 PowerPC G4, 400 MHz - 1 GHz The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers that was manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor business under that name in 2004. The PowerBook G4 had two different designs: one enclosed in a titanium body with a translucent black keyboard and a 15" screen; and another in an aluminium body with an aluminium-colored keyboard, in 12", 15" and 17" sizes. Between 2001 and 2003, Apple produced the Titanium PowerBook G4; between 2003 and 2006, the Aluminium models were produced. Both models were hailed for their modern design, long battery life and processing power. When the Aluminium PowerBook G4s were first released in January 2003, however, only 12 and 17 inch models were available. The 15 inch retained the titanium body until September 2003 when a new aluminium 15 inch PowerBook was released. In addition to the change from titanium to aluminium, the new 15 inch model featured a FireWire 800 port, which had been The first generations of the PowerBook G4 were announced at Steve Jobs’ keynote at MacWorld Expo in January 2001. They featured a PowerPC G4 processor running at either 400 or 500 MHz. They were just 1 inch (25 mm) thick, 0.7 inches (18 mm) thinner than their predecessor, the PowerBook G3. The PowerBook G4 Titanium also featured a front-mounted slot-loading optical drive into which optical discs (initially DVDs or CDs) could be inserted. The notebook was given the nickname "TiBook", a portmanteau of titanium, the material used for the computer’s case, and the brand name PowerBook, Apple’s professional-oriented line of laptop computers. Industrial design The initial design of the PowerBook G4s was developed by Apple hardware designers Jory Bell, Nick Merz and Danny Delulis. A smaller 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia company Quanta, also helped in the design. The new machine was a sharp departure from the black plastic, curvilinear PowerBook G3 models that preceded it. Apple’s industrial design team, headed by British designer Jonathan Ive, was to continue toward simple, elegant, and minimalistic designs—the Titanium G4 laid the groundwork for the Aluminium PowerBook G4, the Power Mac G5, the flat-screen iMac, the Xserve and the Mac mini. PowerBook G4 Aluminium PowerBook G4 PowerBook G4 (Aluminium) Quality issues The hinges on the Titanium PowerBook display are notorious for breaking under typical use. Usually the hinge (which is shaped like an ’L’) will break just to the left of where it attaches to the lower case on the right hinge, and just to the right on the left hinge (where the right hinge is on the right side of the computer when the optical drive is facing you). At least one manufacturer began producing sturdier replacement hinges to address this problem, though actually performing the repair is difficult as the display bezel is glued together. In addition some discolouration, bubbling or peeling of paint on the outer bezel occurred, notably around the area where the palm would rest whilst using the trackpad. This appeared on early models but not on later Titanium PowerBooks. Aluminium PowerBook G4 (17") Developer Type Release date Discontinued Apple Computer Laptop January 2003 28 February, 2006 (15") 24 April, 2006 (17") 16 May, 2006 (12") PowerPC G4, 867 MHz – 1.67 GHz CPU Display issues The video cable is routed around the left side hinge. With heavy use this will cause the cable to weaken. Many owners have reported display problems such as random lines or a jumbled screen. Few have replaced just the video cable to successfully resolve this problem. There is also a backlit cable that might fail. Try replacing either or both cables before buying expensive LCDs. Models In 2003 Apple introduced a new line of PowerBook G4s with 12- 15 and 17-inch screens and aluminium cases (prompting the new moniker "AlBook"). The new notebooks not only brought a different design to the PowerBook G4 line but also laid down the foundation for Apple’s notebook design for the next five years, replaced initially in January 2008 by the MacBook Air and the subsequent MacBook and MacBook Pro redesigns in October. The 15" Titanium was still available until September 16 2003 when the Aluminium model replaced it. Notably, the 12" model brought a welcome return to the Apple subnotebook configuration, conspicuously lacking in their product line since the discontinuation of the PowerBook 2400 in 1998. While the Titanium PowerBook G4s were capable of running Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X operating systems, the Aluminium PowerBook G4s could only boot in Mac OS X from startup. Both series of machines could run Mac OS 9 in Classic mode from within Mac OS X. Industrial design The Aluminium PowerBook G4 was designed by Apple’s VP of Industrial Design Jonathan 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Component PowerPC G4 Model Jan 2001 (Mercury ) [1] [2] PowerBook G4 Oct 2001 (Onyx) April 2002 (Ivory) Nov 2002 (Antimony) 15.2" TFT matte LCD display, 15.2" TFT matte LCD display, 1280 x 854 Display (widescreen) 1152 x 768 Processor 400MHz or 500MHz PowerPC G4 with 1MB backside L2 cache ATI Rage Mobility 128 with 8MB of SDRAM, AGP 2x 550MHz or 667MHz PowerPC G4 with 256KB backside L2 cache ATI Mobility Radeon with 16MB of SDRAM, AGP 4x 667MHz or 800MHz PowerPC G4 with 256KB backside L2 cache and 1MB backside L3 cache ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32MB of DDR SDRAM 867MHz or 1GHz PowerPC G4 with 256KB backside L2 cache and 1MB backside L3 cache Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 with 32MB or 64MB of DDR SDRAM Hard drive1 10GB or 20GB 20GB or 30GB Ultra ATA/66 Ultra ATA/66 Optional Optional 48GB 30GB Memory 128MB (two 64MB) or 256MB (two 128MB) of PC100 SDRAM Optional 2x DVD-ROM 128MB (two 64MB) or 256MB (two 128MB) of PC133 SDRAM 30GB or 40GB Ultra ATA/66 at 4200-rpm Optional 60GB at 5400-rpm 40GB or 60GB Ultra ATA/66 at 4200-rpm 256MB (two 128MB) or 512MB (two 256MB) of PC133 SDRAM AirPort Internal Slot-Loading Drive3 Optional or Integrated 802.11b 2x DVD-ROM 8x DVD read, 8x CDOptional 24x R write, 24x CD-R CD-ROM read, read 8x CD-R write, 8x CD-RW write DVI Output 1/8" audio output/input 8x DVD read, 8x CD-R write, 24x CD-R read or 1x DVD-R write, 6x DVD read, 8x CD-R write, 24x CD read Connections 2x USB 1.1 VGA Output 1x Firewire 400Mbit/s. 1/8" audio output 10/100 Megabit Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet Ive, and used a radically different design from the preceding Titanium models. The most obvious change was the use of Aluminium, not Titanium, to manufacture the body. The keyboard, which was originally black, was changed to match the color of the body. Additionally, the aluminum keyboard was backlit on the 17" model and on one of the 15" models. The design was considered superior to most other notebooks when it debuted in 2003, and consequently it made the PowerBook G4 one of the most desirable notebooks on the market. The external design of Apple’s professional laptops continued to remain similar to the aluminium Powerbook G4 until the Spotlight on Notebooks event on 14 October 2008. 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia PowerBook G4 Various sites have been set up documenting this issue.[9][10] and a campaign seeks to get Apple to acknowledge that a defect exists. Posts regarding this in Apple forums have been heavily censored. No official word from Apple on the issue. Quality issues People have experienced failure of the lower memory slot, with the typical repair being the replacement of the logic board. Apple had started a Repair Extension Program concerning the issue,[3] but it has been noted that some models displaying the issue have not been included. Apple have previously had an Repair Extension Program to fix the "white spot" issue on its 15" PB displays.[4] There has also been a rash of reports concerning sudden and pervasive sleeping of 1.5 and 1.67 GHz models.[5][6][7] Symptoms will include the PowerBook suddenly entering sleep mode, no matter the battery level or if plugged into the mains. One cause is the ambient light sensing, and associated instruction set coding, with possible keyboard backlight and sleep light issues accompanying the so-called "narcolepsy". Another cause is the trackpad heat sensor monitoring the trackpad; system logs report "Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.". To correct this, service groups will often replace the motherboard or power converter, but the actual fix (depending on the model) for the first cause is to replace or remove the left or right ambient light sensors; and for the second cause, disconnect, remove, or replace the heat sensor, or the entire top case which holds the trackpad heat sensor. Alternatively, there are reports which detail success in removing certain sensor kernel extensions or rebuilding the kernel using the Darwin Open Source project after commenting out the relevant sleepSystem() call; though permanent solution of the sleep issue in this manner is little documented.[8] The 1.67 GHz model may suffer from manufacturing or design defects in its display. Initial reports pointed to this only being a problem with type M9689 17" PowerBooks introduced in Q2 2005, but then this problem was also seen in displays replaced by Apple Service Providers in this period (e.g. because of the bright spots issue). The devices were the last 17" models shipped with the matte 1440x900 pixel low resolution display. After many months of usage, the displays may show permanently shining lines of various colors stretching vertically across the LCD. Often this will start with 1 pixel wide vertical lines being "stuck" in an "always-on" mode. Models Discontinuation The PowerPC G5, which powers Apple’s nowdiscontinued Power Mac G5 and iMac G5 computers, proved to be too power-hungry and heat-intensive to use in laptops.[21] This, along with the stalling development of the G5, is said to be one of the main reasons for Apple’s transition from PowerPC to Intel processors. It should also be noted that development of x86-based Mac OS X had been occurring for some 8+ years before its release to the public.[21] On January 10, 2006, Apple released its first Intel-based laptop, the 15" MacBook Pro. A 17" version of the MacBook Pro followed on April 24, 2006. The 12" PowerBook G4 and the G4 iBook were discontinued and replaced by the 13.3" MacBook which was released on May 16, 2006, ending the whole PowerBook line. However, an immediate replacement for the 12" subnotebook form factor was not immediately forthcoming. Apple’s current subnotebook offering is the MacBook Air, released in 2008. Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted during the introduction of the MacBook Pro that Apple wants the word "Mac" in the name of all its Mac hardware products. Consequently, the trademark name "PowerBook" was retired in early 2006 despite the G4 version still on support. Timeline of portable Macintoshes See also: models Timeline of Apple Macintosh 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Component PowerPC G4 Model Display (15" and 17" widescreen) (all matte) Jan 2003 (Rev A )[11][12] 12.1", TFT LCD display, 1024 x 768 17", TFT LCD display, 1440 x 900 Sept 2003 (Rev B)[13][14][15] 12.1", TFT LCD display, 1024 x 768 15.2", TFT LCD display, 1280 x 854 17", TFT LCD display, 1440 x 900 PowerBook G4 April 2004 (Rev C)[16][17][18] 12.1", TFT LCD display, 1024 x 768 15.2", TFT LCD display, 1280 x 854 17", TFT LCD display, 1440 x 900 Jan 2005 (Rev D 12.1", TFT LCD display, 1024 x 768 15.2", TFT LCD display, 1280 x 854 Processor 867MHz PowerPC G4 with 256KB of L2 backside cache or 1GHz PowerPC G4 with 1MB of L3 backside cache nVidia GeForce4 420 Go with 32MB of DDR SDRAM or nVidia GeForce4 440 Go with 64MB of DDR SDRAM 1GHz, 1.25GHz, or 1.33GHz or 1.5GHz 1.5GHz or 1.67GH 1.33GHz PowerPC G4 with PowerPC G4 with 512KB PowerPC G4 with 512KB of L2 backside of L2 backside cache of L2 backside ca cache Graphics nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 with 32MB of DDR SDRAM or ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM Optional ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128MB of DDR SDRAM nVidia GeForce F Go5200 with 64M DDR SDRAM or A Mobility Radeon 9 with 64MB or 128 DDR SDRAM Hard drive1 40GB or 60GB Ultra ATA/100 at 4200-rpm Memory 256MB (two 128MB) of 266MHz PC-2100 DDR SODIMM SDRAM 512MB (two 256MB) of 333MHz PC-2700 DDR SODIMM SDRAM 40GB Ul- 60GB or 80GB tra ATA/ Ultra ATA/100 100 at at 5400-rpm 4200-rpm 256MB (two 128MB) of 266MHz PC-2100 DDR SODIMM SDRAM 256MB (two 128MB) or 512MB (two 256MB) of 333MHz PC-2700 SODIMM DDR SDRAM 80GB Ultra ATA/100 at 5400-rpm 256MB (two 128MB) or 512MB (two 256MB) of 333MHz PC-2700 DDR SO-DIMM SDRAM 512MB (two 256M 333MHz PC-2700 DIMM SDRAM AirPort Extreme Internal Slot-Loading Combo drive[c] Optional or Integrated 802.11b/g 8x DVD n/a read, 24x CD-R and 10x CDRW recording 8x DVD read, 24x n/a CD-R and 10x CDRW recording Integrated 802.11b/g 8x DVD read, 24x CD-R and 10x CD-RW recording n/a 8x DVD read, 24x CD-R and 10x CD-RW recording Internal Slot-Loading SuperDrive3 2x DVD-R write, 6x 2x DVD-R write, 8x DVD DVD read, 8x CD- read, 16x CD-R write, 4x R write, 4x CD-RW CD-RW write write 4x DVD-R write, 8x DVD 4x DVD-R write, 8 read, 16x CD-R write, 4x read, 16x CD-R w CD-RW write CD-RW write 5 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia PowerBook G4 Connections 2x USB 1.1 2x USB 2.0 Mini VGA DVI (12" has Mini DVI) 1x FireWire 400 (plus 1x FireWire 800 on 15" and 17") Bluetooth 1.1 Bluetooth 2.0 [14] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP91 [15] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP92 [16] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP82 [17] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP83 [18] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP84 [19] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP48 [20] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP38 [21] ^ WWDC 2005. Steve Jobs Keynote. (youtube video) • 15-inch PowerBook G4 Developer Note • 17-inch PowerBook G4 Developer Note • Mactracker Detailed information on Apple Macintosh computers. References [1] http://www.everymac.com/systems/ apple/powerbook_g4/stats/ powerbook_g4_400.html [2] http://www.everymac.com/systems/ apple/powerbook_g4/stats/ powerbook_g4_500.html [3] http://docs.info.apple.com/ article.html?artnum=303173 [4] http://www.apple.com/support/ powerbook/displayprogram/ [5] http://knit1spin1.wordpress.com/2007/ 11/14/narcoleptic-powerbook-cured/ [6] http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/ 98931 • Apple - Support - PowerBook G4 [7] http://forums.macrumors.com/ • Video of Jobs launching PowerBook G4 showthread.php?t=182073 Titanium at Macworld 2001 [8] http://dotjava.blogspot.com/2006/10/ • Video of Jobs launching PowerBook G4 powerbook-narcolepsy-issue-hack.html Aluminum at Macworld 2003 [9] http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/ • EveryMac.com - PowerBook G4 06/05/ • 15" Alu Powerbook G4 apple_retail_preps_for_iphone_17_inch_pbg4_defect_eu_deadline.html Narcolepsy Ambient light sensor-sleep issue repair [10] http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/02/ • Alu G4 Disassembly 17-inch-powerbooks-starting-to-see-new• PowerMac G4 Memory Specification vertical-line-screen-defe/ Guide [11] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP59 • DIYBlog.net How to change 15" G4 1.5 [12] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP60 PowerBook’s Hard Drive. [13] http://support.apple.com/kb/SP90 External links Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerBook_G4" Categories: PowerPC Macintosh computers, Macintosh laptops, PowerBook This page was last modified on 12 May 2009, at 15:13 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 6