Tag: laptop

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45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter (OEM packaging, 2019)

This Apple 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter was designed for the MacBook Air laptops including MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015–2017) and the MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015). It could be used with any Mac laptop with the MagSafe 2 adapter, but may not charge as optimally as power adapters with higher wattages.

Apple describes the power adapter:

“The 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter features a magnetic DC connector so if someone should trip over it, the cord disconnects harmlessly and your MacBook Air stays put safely. It also helps prevent fraying or weakening of the cables over time. In addition, the magnetic DC helps guide the plug into the system for a quick and secure connection.”

Further, “Designed to be the perfect traveling companion, the adapter has a clever design which allows the DC cable to be wound neatly around itself for easy cable storage.”

This particular 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter is an Apple OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) part. It ships in a cardboard box with black cardboard and clear plastic wraps instead of the white retail box.

Source: Apple

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Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series Weight-Saving Device (1999)

This Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series Weight-Saving Device (model 825-4548-A) is the exact size of the battery inside a Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series laptop (333 MHz to 500 MHz “Lombard” and “Pismo” models with bronze keyboards). These PowerBook laptops had two bays, each capable of supporting a device module (i.e., floppy drive, CD-ROM drive) or a battery.

To make the laptop lighter, the device modules and/or batteries could be removed and replaced with this Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series Weight-Saving Device. One was included with each Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series laptop. According to the technical information, the laptop could weight nearly 8 pounds:

“Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series with a 14.1-inch display, battery, internal modem, and CD-ROM expansion bay module: 3.54 kg (7.8 lb.)”

Source: Apple

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MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter (2012)

According to Apple, the MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter allowed you to “use the MagSafe connector on your LED Cinema Display, Thunderbolt Display, or MagSafe Power Adapter to charge your MagSafe 2-equipped Mac computer.”

Essentially, this adapter helped to bridge the gap to allow original MagSafe power-equipped devices (2006–2012) to be used after Apple changed to a new MagSafe 2 (2012–2019) standard in 2012.

MagSafe was an Apple technology that allowed power cords (primarily on laptops, but also used on some displays) to provide power using a magnetically attached cord. The technology was extremely effective in preventing damage because if a user would, for example, trip over a laptop power cord or forget their device was plugged in, the magnet would pull out of the socket without damaging the device.

Devices that used this adapter included: 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, Apple Thunderbolt Display, Apple 45W MagSafe Power Adapter, Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, MacBook Pro with Retina display, and MacBook Air with MagSafe 2 power port.

Source: Wikipedia, Apple

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PowerBook G3 (original, 250 MHz, “Kanga,” 1997)

The PowerBook G3/250 is the first Apple laptop to use the G3 processor. It shipped with a 250 MHz G3 processor; contained 32 MB RAM and 2 MB VRAM; used a 5 GB hard drive; and had an internal 20X tray-loading CD-ROM drive. It included “hot-swappable” drive bays—drives could be swapped while the computer was running without restarting—and dual PC card slots. The display was a 12.1-inch color TFT active-matrix display at 800×600 resolution.

The design of the original PowerBook G3 is nearly identical to the PowerBook 3400 that proceeded it. The laptop included the 3400’s notable four-speaker sound system. It shipped with MacOS 8.0 and could be updated to a maximum of MacOS 9.1. Its average weight was 7.5 pounds.

Because of its G3 (third-generation) PowerPC 750 processor that included a backside level 2 cache, the laptop’s performance exceeded that of some desktop systems at the time. When released, its retail price was $5,700.

Source: EveryMac

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PowerBook 20X CD-ROM Module (1997)

Beginning in 1995 with the PowerBook 190 and 5300 models, Apple laptops shipped with an expansion bay for both Apple and third-party drives. The drives were “hot-swappable,” meaning that the user could pull out one drive and replace it with another without restarting the laptop.

This PowerBook 20X CD-ROM Module from 1997 works with PowerBook 1400-series laptops.

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PowerBook 5300cs (1995)

The Macintosh PowerBook 5300c/100 used a 100 MHz processor (PowerPC 603e), shipped with 8 MB or 16 MB of RAM, and included a 500 MB or 750 MB hard drive. The “cs” in the name indicated that its 10.4-inch color display displayed 8-bit color on its 640×480 display.

This was among the first Apple laptop series to use “hot swappable” drive bays (along with the PowerBook 190 from the same year), meaning that users could remove and replace the internal drives without restarting the computer.

This laptop shipped with Macintosh System 7.5.2 and could run operating systems up to Mac OS 9.1. The PowerBook 5300cs weighed 6.2 pounds.

Because this laptop was designed to be as small as possible at the time, it had insufficient internal space for an internal CD-ROM drive. Its design also replaced the rotating back feet of previous PowerBook models with spring-loaded feet that pop out to elevate the angle of the laptop. The case also used a darker shade of grey (almost black) than its predecessors.

PowerBook 5300 computers were infamous at the time for shipping with a few quality problems. Notably, the internal battery on two early models reportedly overheated and burst into flames, a design flaw that Apple corrected by switching from lithium ion to nickel metal hydride batteries. Apple reported that only a few hundred laptops shipped with the early battery and a free replacement was offered. Some users also experienced problems with the display hinges cracking over time and the internal connector ribbons wearing out, leading to screen failure (the screen would show vertical lines or go completely black).

The PowerBook 3400 replaced the 5300 and some of the 5300-series hot-swappable drive bay modules could be used with newer 3400 PowerBooks.

Source: EveryMac, Wikipedia

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PowerBook 5300c/100 (1995)

The Macintosh PowerBook 5300c/100 shipped with a 100 MHz processor (PowerPC 603e), 8 MB or 16 MB of RAM, and included a 500 MB or 750 MB hard drive. The “c” in the name indicated its 10.4-inch color active-matrix display (640×480) that allowed 16-bit color on its display or an external monitor.

This was among the first Apple laptop series to use “hot swappable” drive bays (along with the PowerBook 190 that shipped the same year with a similar design), meaning that users could remove and replace the internal drives without restarting the computer.

This laptop shipped with Macintosh System 7.5.2 and could run operating systems up to Mac OS 9.1. The PowerBook 5300c weighed 6.2 pounds.

Because this laptop was designed to be as small as possible at the time, it had insufficient internal space for an internal CD-ROM drive. Its design also replaced the rotating back feet of previous PowerBook models with spring-loaded feet that pop out to elevate the angle of the laptop. The case also used a darker shade of grey than its predecessors (almost black).

PowerBook 5300 computers were infamous at the time for shipping with a few quality problems. Notably, the internal battery on two early models reportedly overheated and burst into flames, a design flaw that Apple corrected by switching from lithium ion to nickel metal hydride batteries. Apple reported that only a few hundred laptops shipped with the early battery and a free replacement was offered. Some users also experienced problems with the display hinges cracking over time and the internal connector ribbons wearing out leading to screen failure (the screen would show vertical lines or go completely black).

The PowerBook 3400 replaced the 5300 and some of the 5300-series hot-swappable drive bay modules could be used with newer 3400 PowerBooks.

Source: EveryMac, Wikipedia