Concur, given the title, I was trying to ignore it but got sucked in, the last thing I need is encouragement for this addiction.
Bought my beloved PowerBook 100 when Apple surplussed them out. Promptly maxed it out with goodies from APS, putting its stock 20MB drive in their external case, their faster Modem, 8MB upgrade card and 270MB HDD in BabyPB. Used the heck out of it for years until I needed the used Duo 230/Docks collection a friend needed to sell in order to run code that had rendered its 68000 useless.
After the Passive display and small KBD of the 100, the 230 MushBoard and screen never bothered me much. But I may be the only one here that can say that? Using things IRL in the day gives a very different frame of reference. Then again I'm probably one of the few who took the NoteBook path?
I appreciate what you said about passive screens, they didn't matter all that much in use back then, but collectors now say they could never work on one. Can't understand that attitude, you used what was available and affordable back in the day and were very happy to have had the luxury of having a 'Book at all.
What I don't understand is your dislike of the 1400, its KBD is reputedly the best, better than 190/5300/3400/Kanga? Haven't used my PDQ enough to make a judgement. Do you think it's better than the 1400 KBD?
Dunno, I think it might be enough when you've bottom fished the 'Bay for a two foot stack of 1400s in order to assemble a few good ones? Then again, if you wind up with a couple of spare G3 cards in the process . . .
ATM I'm running AI8 on a Lombard I wound up with in an eBay mishap. Never wanted one, but it sure is handy right now with the QS on the fritz. KBD's not as good as the 1400's though. Of the three PowerBooks G3, which KBD is your fave?
I have no real idea why I have never liked the 1400, but right from the start I was not really happy with it. I wasn't a laptop person, and still not right up until I bought the 145B that I began this thread with.
The first thing that soured me on the 1400 though was the trackpad. I'd liked and much preferred the trackball on the 100-series - and still do. It's actually much easier to use and more precise (for me, that is). In terms of keyboards, the 1400 is actually pretty good. It's the rest of the system I'm not all that pleased with!
Over time from about the 1400 onwards, key caps became flatter and squarer, and key travel less and less. Obviously this was inevitable since laptop designs were getting thinner. But in the process, keyboards also became less and less usable for me for the same reasons. A notable change in this was between the PDQ and Lombard.
Some of my preferences in systems also comes down to form factor, and the 100-series suits me pretty well, which also means the 190/5300 too once I had ventured off and got those. The Wallsteet/PDQs are large and heavy by comparison, though otherwise I really like these, while the Lombard is certainly lighter, but the keyboard is not anything like as good as the PDQ's.
Funnily enough, one of the best PowerBooks I used was my Duo after I'd treated the key stems to a small amount of vaseline once. I had a fairly tight deadline on a training outline, and after that I was able to use it at full speed, clattering through several pages of ideas really quickly. Put a 1400 keyboard in it, and I'd be very pleased!
I wouldn't be so troubled by some of the more modern systems (the G4 PowerBooks for example) if the keyboards were more consistent, otherwise I think one of my favorites would be the 12-inch G4. That's mighty cute, small and light. Maybe a 1400 keyboard in
that!