On Saturday I liberated another Mac, my second liberation and the 10th Mac to enter my life. At a garage sale I saw a black case with the nearly-forgotten kangaroo logo of Outbound Systems. (The logo is similar to the kangaroo on the backside of those old, large Australian pennies.) Inside the black nylon pouch was an Outbound notebook computer.The owner/seller proclaimed the machine to be "the first notebook computer ever" and a "real antique." Needless to say, such bogus boasts put me in fear for my wallet. Nor was the machine in the best of shape; the battery was missing entirely, and there were two hideous fuzzy velcro patches plastered in the space between the keyboard and screen. The owner also claimed that the assortment of junk that came with it included all manuals, etc. (In reality the manuals consisted of a Quicken Manual and an old Peachtree Accounting box, software, manuals, etc.) But, I bought it anyway.
I half remember some of the history of this machine and the company (corrections and amplifications from those more knowledgable will be welcome). The company made an unauthorized Macintosh notebook at about the time that the luggable appeared. Becuase it was not officially sanctioned by Apple, somehow you had to get a set of ROMs to make it work (I recall that the company would convert a Mac Plus, or something like that). And, indeed, an easy-to-remove hatch revealed a "ROMSIMM" with two Apple-labeled ROM chips and a paper label citing a PO# for the computer. The company also had some sort of trademark difficulties with their name (I can't remember, but I think that changed the name to or from "Kangaroo computers").
Getting it home, I plugged the machine in but then wondered how to turn it on (there was no obvious switch or power button). Fortunately hitting the ubiquitous "Any" key brought the sweet "bong" sound of an early 68k Mac and an Outbound kangaroo startup/splash screen. I heard the disk spin up, heads moving, but then I waited, and waited. The heads moved a few more times, and still I waited, and waited. Finally, I got the inevitable disk-n-question-mark icon of a Mac sans startup disk. Rats, thought I, a dead hard-disk.
But then I tried killing the power and booting again. After a bit of a wait, I was rewarded with a happy Mac and a normal start (subsequent starts have been trouble-free, but I keep my fingers crossed). After startup, the screen was looked really yucky, dim, low contrast, with a significant darkening of the lower half of the screen. Fortunately, a control panel called "Notebook" offered controls for brightness and contrast that let me create quite an acceptable image. The screen is a monochrome (Unfortunately, the PRAM battery is dead or the machine relies on the now missing battery pack, because each time I unplug it, it loses the improved screen settings.)
Why the machine did not start promptly the first time is a total mystery (it wasn't the dreaded "stiction" as I am reasonably sure that I heard the drive spinning.) Anyway, the machine has an 80 MB HD, 8 MB RAM, and system 7.1. The "Notebook" control panel also had an icon with a computer and question mark that when clicked offered these salient facts about the configuration:
Outbound Model: 2030E Notebook
Processor: 68030 -- but no indication of the speed
ROM Type: Macintosh Plus
ROM Version: 117, rev B
ROM Checksum: 4D1EEAE1
Appletalk Version: 57
Physical RAM: 8192k
System RAM: 7936k -- I assume the missing 256k runs the display
(I found more info at lowendmac)
The machine, like all Outbound computers, also has an unusual pointing device in the form of a trackbar. The bar is a finely-gridded metallic rod that sits below and parallel to the space bar. The bar rolls and slides to move the pointer vertically and horizontally, respectively. It only has about 1.7 inches of left-right travel (which is not enough for edge-to-edge travel at slow speeds). At the limits of sideways travel, a gentle push accelerates the pointer in the appropriate direction. Two mouse buttons, one on either side of the bar, round out the input controls. The backside of the machine features a power jack, DB-25 SCSI port, two serial ports, ADB port, and audio-out jack. A flip-down cover conceals all but the power jack. The machine also has a 1.4 MB floppy drive, and a easily removed hatch for the harddisk (although I have not tried to yank the HD out yet.)
As for software, I suspect that the previous owner stripped it before selling it. The only software on disk was a non-functioning copy of version 4 of Microsoft Orifice, a motley assortment of other Microsoft products, and Macwrite II. But the preferences folder had files for a number of other missing applications (Stuffit, Diskdoubler, atOnce!, Spectre, Quicken, etc.). The one bit'o manual from Outbound Systems alluded to a SCSI application that let you do direct computer-to-computer SCSI transfers. Alas, this application was not on the disk.
The junk with the computer included a battery-powered "Pocket Fax Modem" (9600 baud fax/ 2400 baud data). This little modem had the matching velcro hook patches so the prior owner could affix the modem to the computer. There was also a second power supply that might be for the computer (or not), and assorted cables. With the junk as a long, rubberized handle-shaped metal rod that proved to be the back feet/prop-up bar for the machine. It also came with a small Torx wrench in a ziploc bag with the label "Screen Brake Wrench" This adjusts the friction on the screen swivel and also fits the screws that hold the case together.
I have yet to open the case to probe its innards. The machine has stymied my attempts at entry ( I suspect there is a latch and/or extra screws in the trackbar area).
Sorry for the long posting (I did warn you in the title), but I am quite elated to both find this old computer and to find a community of like-minded Mac users.
Happy hunting to all, and to all a good night,
G4from128k
P.S. The price for the "first notebook computer ever." $3!!!!!!!!!!
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Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Found Outbound (long posting)
Posted - 28 Apr 2002 : 17:47:53
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What if Microsoft buys Starbucks? Does that mean that Microsoft will bundle a coffee maker into the OS? (New! Improved! Windows Dark Roast!) Will the machine use the copious quantities of heat from Intel processors to brew coffee? Will coffeemakers occasionally have the blue screen of death? Will security holes mean that hackers will switch my morning blend to decaf??!!!!!!
68k of the Week: kastegir's PowerBook 180.