I've recently been thinking about the MacBook Air... and how I'd love to get one. However, the $1800 is holding me back a bit. A couple of days ago an idea popped into my head; and thus, the pursuit to create a DIY MacBook Air begins.
The 12" PowerBook G4 was a great machine. So many people were upset to hear that the 13" MacBook was a replacement for the little machine. The ultra-portability was long lost.
Fast-forward to 2008. The MacBook Air was introduced. Many have raved about the machine, but no disputes have been settled. But, the good news is... the portability has returned.
Almost.
The thing with the MacBook Air is that its 13" screen doesn't work well with the portability factor as well as the 12" did with the PowerBook. Apple made it seem like they were being "generous" when putting the larger screen in with the Air, but they were making it less of an ultra-portable machine. It's just not the same.
However, the form factor is amazing. The Air is slim, sleek and beautiful. I think everyone can agree on that. Also, the Air comes in at an astounding 3 pounds, which is really the kicker when comparing it to the PowerBook.
So, how can the PowerBook be MacBook Air-ised? Let me show you...
I think the PowerBook can be made into something marvellous, and almost on par with the Air in terms of weight. This can be achieved by the following:
(a)
Replace the hard drive with flash. I recently came across an article at
Low End Mac which details one user's experience with this. It allows the PowerBook to become lighter and noticeably quieter. And yes, 16GB
can be enough space.
(b)
Remove the optical drive. This is a pretty key factor. The optical drive has seen far better days, and Apple has made this clear with the Air. This should also drop down the weight a bit.
(c)
Max out the RAM. Even though the 12" PowerBook can only support up to 1.25GB of memory, it should be just enough to give it a slight power boost. While this doesn't affect the form factor of the machine, it certainly plays a factor in performance, which is lacking when compared to the Core 2 Duo found in the Air.
With a bit of dirty work, the ageing PowerBook can be revived into something very Air-like: extremely portable and light-weight.
Right now, I haven't the funds to conduct the project, but I will certainly have my eye out for a used PowerBook.