What to keep: PB Duo 280c or 2300c?

[Byrd]

Hi,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma - trying to sell a few things before our baby hits town As I've only one Duo Dock I never use both Powerbook Duos at once, so considering selling one or the other. Both are in rather good nick and this is evidenced by both having very "spongy" keyboards. But what to keep? I'm leaning towards the 2300c as it was the best of the Duos, and while PPC software isn't great on it ... it has a bigger LCD and I don't have the difficulty of keeping 2.5" SCSI HDs for it. But then, the 280c was probably one of the faster '040 machines of the day, perhaps even faster than a PB 540c.

- PB Duo 280c 40MB RAM/350MB SCSI HD

- PB Duo 2300c 44MB RAM/10GB IDE HD

Thanks all

JB

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Congrats on the impending 2.1 release of your family hardware. :approve:

Definitely keep the 2300c and the dock . . .

Jettison the 280c and watch for a deal on a 250, for outdoor use, the Active Matrix Grayscale LCD is DA BOMB! [] ]'>

For General & Docked use, a 250/2300c hybrid with spherically correct pointing device is my personal favorite config. With the correct level of ClarisWorks, Illustrator, GraphicConverter, etc. that'll run like the wind! Combined with a 21" 24bit @ 60 Hz capable Graphics Card, it'll letterbox on a BIG@$$ 1080p or 720p LCD Monitor or TV with VGA inputs. Recell a couple of Battery packs and the 250's LCD will be perfect for trips to the playground, park, pool & beach after the baby hits town!

 

[Strimkind]

Definitely the 2300c. I have both as well, and if I were to get rid of a 280c or a 2300c, I would always get rid of the 280c every time. The 2300c has the best of the duo series with being the fastest, largest LCD, IDE and SCSI internal connections, and the largest RAM capacity.

Also, congratulations on the additional family member. I have a 2.5 year old and they can be a ton of fun...and a lot of work (but its worth it)

 

[theos911]

I'd go for the 2300c. The 280c can't do what the 2300c can do, but the 2300c can do what the 280c can do ...and much faster! Go with Trash's advice on the 250c screen, so long as you don't mind grayscale. Go with system 7.5.5 or 7.6.1 . Mine runs 8.5 and it is annoyingly slow. In a few days I will probably finally get sick of it and repartition into a 3 way disk: 7.5.5(or 7.6.1 if I can acquire it) 8.5(to upgrade to 8.6 when I get the RAM to try Classilla) and a partition for data and applications. One handy thing is keeping backups of your system folders on your Dock's HD.

For a browser I recommend Netscape 4.8 . My 2300c currently has Netscape 3 and even under 8.5 it flys and with javascript & CSS off renders pages quite nicely in a surprisingly legible manner. Don't bother with IE 5 or iCab 3, they are both un-usably slow on it.(IE 3 & 4 are also pretty slow) iCab 2.9.9 might be better, but I'm not holding my breath.

One other benefit of System 7 is better compatibility with the Third-Party docks. Most of the drivers were written for system 7 68k. They work alright on PPC, but once you go to OS 8 they get glitchy and lock-up prone. (Experience from my Newertech Ethernet Microdock)

 

[beachycove]

The 280c screen is not a typical colour LCD (and is therefore unlike, e.g., the one on the 540c or the 2300c). In fact, it behaves as well in an outdoor setting as a greyscale LCD — and you can turn it into one if you like by fiddling with the Monitors setting. 280c is a fast 68k machine rather than a slow PPC machine. It is also one of the rare 68k PowerBooks to take a lot of memory (either 36MB or 40MB, I forget). So the 280c has a lot going for it.

Its real failing/limitation is the fact that it must rely on an unobtainium 2.5" scsi drive. For that reason, the 2300c could have the edge.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Interesting, have you seen the 250's Active Greyscale right alongside the 280c's Color LCD outdoors? :?:

 

[theos911]

I can take my 280c outside tomorrow, along with my 270c and 2300c and see which performs the best in direct sunlight.

 

[beachycove]

The 270c and 280c display are identical units.

I don't have a Duo 250 with which to compare my 270c, though I do have a PB180 and the screen on it is indeed a work of art. However, the early Duo active matrix colour screens are also really something, and look more akin to the gem-like screen of a Compact than they do to later colour LCDs — apart from the current crop of screens. They are actually smooth and glassy, like a MacBook's.