Higher ed veteran PowerBook 180: kickin' it old school

[Firepowerforfreedom]

Just received a PowerBook 180 as a gift from a middle-aged couple who had no use for it and were going to dump it. b:

For an 18-year-old computer, this thing is sharp. It came with all the disks (and then some), it's got an aftermarket battery that'll run for about 30 mins (I'm actually thinking about spending $30 to get a new battery for it), and everything seems to work great. The back flip cover is missing, but hey, you can't have it all.

Anyway, it's going back into service as a school/writing machine for my younger brother (we're a homeschooling family).

The hinge still feels really strong – definitely a guy computer.

 

[jwmcfarlin]

PB180s are great--congrats! They are built like tanks and definitely are mannish in their lines. I sent one to an old friend of mine who absolutely couldn't afford one at the time they were on the market and he was speechless. He reported himself strangely drawn to it, and this is a guy who does high end interface design so I guess there's something to it. The only downfall that I can ascertain is that eventually, the hard drive will take a dump and the fix it is either a moderately pricey set of adapters or a replacement vintage drive.

Best,

John

 

[LCGuy]

Great score, the PB180 is one of the greatest PowerBooks ever made, I have its cousin, the 180c - similar machine but with a 8.4" colour display and I love it. Sounds like its in great condition too, mine has a dead battery but is otherwise in showroom condition, definitely one of my favourite machines

 

[jwmcfarlin]

For anyone interested, there's a clean-looking 180 up for auction right now on eBay.

Best,

John

 

[Scott Baret]

Be careful about aftermarket batteries. I have a thread in the PowerBook forum about a $30 model that didn't work out too well. I too have the 180c, very nice computers. Any of the active matrix PowerBook 1xx computers are worth it, just make sure you have a good drive under the hood.