Random Access Memory

Adam Banks eulogizes the Apple laptop that put the mold back together

UNVEILED BY STEVE Jobs in 1999, the iBook converted the iMac’s brightly colored translucent plastics into portable form. With its fast PowerPC G3 processor and groundbreaking wireless network option, it pushed the limits of what anyone was expecting from a notebook computer. It was also barely smaller or lighter than a small trash can lid, a factor that — despite the thoughtful inclusion of a carrying handle — partly explains why many customers decided that they would be happier sticking with some of their expectations.

Codenamed “Snow”, the second– generation iBook arrived in May 2001 at a low–key press conference in Cupertino. Just two months later, on stage at Macworld Expo New York, Jobs was able to announce that the new machine, hailed by press critics as a revolution in portable price/performance that PC makers couldn’t match, had already sold 182,000 units. This beat Apple’s previous record for the most notebooks shipped in any quarter.

Starting at $1,299 — calculated by The

New York Times’ David Pogue as $500 cheaper than the nearest competitor — the iBook G3 was less than half the size of its predecessor by volume and, finished in translucent white and silver magnesium, weighed less than 5lb. Besides the still market–leading CPU, features included an ATI Rage 128 graphics card, CD or DVD burner and high–speed FireWire port. And with 10/100 Ethernet, a 56k modem and optional 802.11b Wi–Fi built in, it was the perfect embodiment of Apple’s “digital hub” concept.

Some users, indeed, recall the iBook G3 as one of the greatest ever Apple portables. Sadly, others only remember that its reliability was among the worst, with as many as half the units made requiring major repairs. Revisions initially made the failure rate worse, and eventually the problems were acknowledged by an Apple warranty extension program. RIP the iBook G3: you were nearly perfect.