I am Titaaaaniiuummm! (New PB G4)

[MultiFinder17]

That is an absolutely gorgeous TiBook; congrats mate, may it serve you well!

 

[MacCubed]

Wow, that adapter is at an almost give-away price, which translates to only 12euros! Are they good quality & function ok? I'm all for a great bargain, but not for a Schenzen cheap/not very cheerful model. But I may be very wrong, could you please confirm?
I've purchased and installed 2 of THESE (in a TiBook and G4 1.67GHz Powerbook) at 33euros each ($37), together with THESE 128GB Transcend mSATA SSD's (were 67euros each when purchased). Very satisfied with the compatibility and the performance, but wiil certainly consider something cheaper in future.

From what I can tell, the more expensive adapter you linked uses the Marvell chipset, which is the more desirable chip as it it faster than the one that is found in cheaper alternatives like the one Erik linked. The one I have in my TiBook has the Marvell chipset, and I have run into no issues when using it, a speed test between two identical SSDs in the same machine but with different adapters should really show if the extra expense is worth it

 

[galgot]

Congrats, beautiful Titanium example. Indeed it's more and more difficult to find some in good shape.

Great score! These are becoming increasingly rare, especially in good condition (no paint chips, etc)

As timing has it I also got myself a Titanium 'Book (867Mhz, 768MB, 32MB VRAM) which arrived yesterday. Also in excellent condition. No paint chips, tight hinge and access door, clean, no warping and the battery appears to hold a charge. The original 40GB 4200rpm drive was noisy, so I swapped it out with an 80GB 4200rpm'er I took from my G4 mini 1.42Ghz. This drive is quiet and appears to be quite a bit faster (being 2 years it's junior). The keyboard is beautiful to type on, although there is a little lag in Leopard, Tiger and older OSes operate silky smooth.

I've re-partitioned the drive and setup to boot Leopard, Tiger, Panther, Jaguar and Mac OS 9. This is my only native OS9 capable Mac, so I'm going to have fun diving into my archives of old software that refused to run in Classic. Woohoo!

Yes, I've spent my Tuesday in nostalgic nerd heaven and neglected to get any actual work done!

View attachment 705995 View attachment 705996

A nice one here too. Please what is that black theme on the 12" Al PowerBook ? I'm looking for a simple black theme for Leo or Tiger...

 

[zen]

Oh man, the days when Apple made great laptop keyboards! I never had a TiBook but I did have a 12" G4. That thing rocked.

 

[AphoticD]

A nice one here too. Please what is that black theme on the 12" Al PowerBook ? I'm looking for a simple black theme for Leo or Tiger...

The theme on the 12" PowerBook is Mac OS X Leopard with a combination of:

1. Mountain Leopard Theme

Installed first for subdued sidebar icons.
​

2. Leopard Rebirth

Plus my patched NIB for "About This Mac".
​

3. Aqua Extreme Marble (scroll down to "Legacy versions" at the bottom)

This improves the look of the scroll and progress bars in my opinion.
​

4. Nocturne

Has an option to invert the menu bar for a "Dark" look. It also inverts hues to give a more consistent look (the blue highlight remains blue, instead of going orange). This feature must require a Core Image enabled Mac as the dark menu bar doesn't appear to work on my Mac mini with the Radeon 9200 or my 'new' PBG4 Titanium with Radeon Mobility 9000 graphics.
​

Also, not exactly part of the theme, but to enable "Full Screen" mode for most apps I've also installed SIMBL and megazoomer. This lets me go full screen with a Ctrl-Cmd-F key combo. The front window zooms to full screen and the menu bar, dock and window title bar disappear in the process. Hit the combo again and it zooms back down to size.

-AphoticD

 

[eyoungren]

4. Nocturne

Can be used to invert the menu bar for a "Dark" look. It also inverts hues to give a more consistent feel (blues remain blue, instead of going orange). This must require a Core Image enabled Mac as the dark menu bar doesn't appear to work on my Mac mini with the Radeon 9200 or my 'new' PBG4 Titanium with Radeon Mobility 9000 graphics.
​

There's a way to get a black menu bar without using Nocturne (and having it run in the background) if you're interested.

 

[AphoticD]

There's a way to get a black menu bar without using Nocturne (and having it run in the background) if you're interested.

I am interested. Do tell...

 

[eyoungren]

I am interested. Do tell...

Here is the theme I found a long time ago, Black Mac OS X

It requires Magnafique to execute the theme, but that's included in the download. I also included Candybar, but if all you're looking for is the menubar change, the theme alone should cover you.

Using Magnafique I'd just apply the windows portion if you want to keep your dock and other things. That should apply the menubar.

Note that this has the potential to wipe out your carefully constructed application of the themes you used so just keep that in mind. You may have to apply them again.

I don't use the themes you mention so I can't be sure if it will wipe it out or not, which is why I am cautioning you.

 

[jbarley]

Menu Bar Tint is very customizable and allows for a good dark menubar.

 

[galgot]

The theme on the 12" PowerBook is Mac OS X Leopard with a combination of:

1. Mountain Leopard Theme

Installed first for subdued sidebar icons.
​

2. Leopard Rebirth

Plus my patched NIB for "About This Mac".
​

3. Aqua Extreme Marble (scroll down to "Legacy versions" at the bottom)

This improves the look of the scroll and progress bars in my opinion.
​

4. Nocturne

Has an option to invert the menu bar for a "Dark" look. It also inverts hues to give a more consistent look (the blue highlight remains blue, instead of going orange). This feature must require a Core Image enabled Mac as the dark menu bar doesn't appear to work on my Mac mini with the Radeon 9200 or my 'new' PBG4 Titanium with Radeon Mobility 9000 graphics.
​

Also, not exactly part of the theme, but to enable "Full Screen" mode for most apps I've also installed SIMBL and megazoomer. This lets me go full screen with a cmd-Enter key combo. The front window zooms to full screen and the menu bar, dock and window title bar disappear in the process. Hit the combo again and it zooms back down to size.

-AphoticD

Thanks !

 

[Slix]

Turns out the SSD I ordered is out of stock, so they gave a refund. I think I'm going to order this instead. Hopefully it shows up soon!

 

[AphoticD]

The postman just delivered my (AU)$6.00 (including shipping) stick of PC133 RAM straight out of Hong Kong.

Installation was a breeze, simply flip up the TiBook's keyboard and in it goes! No screw, no fuss.

867Mhz of power is now stretching out with 1 GIGABYTE of RAM and I'm feeling the G4's G-forces!!

(Well.. Maybe.. it's... a ... little.. faster...?) Oh wait, I just switched off Javascript and zooooom!

Anyway, I love this Titanium PowerBook!

 

[CooperBox]

I'd be interested to know what brand of RAM that was. Was that for a single stick of 1GB PC133 RAM or 512MB? I guess the latter, but whichever, it seems like an excellent deal as (AU)$6.00 can't be more than approx 5 euros.
When I maxed out my TiBook, I purchased several sticks of 512MB from this location at 10euros each. On-line reviews of that particular brand are controversial, but I have purchased numerous times and, just for info - have never had a problem. Regarding review of products, I maintain that for every disgruntled customer, there are probably 2 or even more contented customers. People are more inclined to write and complain about a product, rather than say nothing if it meets their satisfaction.

 

[philgxxd]

@AphoticD That's a really neat working space ! Keep coding!!!

I see you are also in music making.

 

[AphoticD]

I'd be interested to know what brand of RAM that was. Was that for a single stick of 1GB PC133 RAM or 512MB? I guess the latter, but whichever, it seems like an excellent deal as (AU)$6.00 can't be more than approx 5 euros.
When I maxed out my TiBook, I purchased several sticks of 512MB from this location at 10euros each. On-line reviews of that particular brand are controversial, but I have purchased numerous times and, just for info - have never had a problem. Regarding review of products, I maintain that for every disgruntled customer, there are probably 2 or even more contented customers. People are more inclined to write and complain about a product, rather than say nothing if it meets their satisfaction.

Yes, a single 512MB SO-DIMM. The RAM chips are Samsung branded. The seller was ssou88 on the 'bay.

I haven't run Apple Hardware Test or anything, but so far so good with no crashes. I have purchased lots of Mac-specific RAM over the years from local Apple authorised resellers at top dollar and also shipped internationally from OWC. Only recently have I decided I would take a gamble and buy the cheap stuff for my PowerPCs.

I maxed out two G5s on the cheap to 16GB and 8GB each with no issues at all (also shipped from HK). So, for $6 it seemed like a no brainer, and if it didn't work, I don't think I would have worried about it too much either.

@AphoticD That's a really neat working space ! Keep coding!!!

I see you are also in music making.

Thanks. It may look neat, but my office floor was covered in Lego from my 4y/o today. He keeps telling me that he has 3450 pieces of Lego, but I don't see him counting anything...

Yes... Music making was a big part of my life B.C. (before children) and I just tinker with ideas now. The time will come for me again. It's not something I can force, so I just have to be patient!

-AphoticD

 

[Dronecatcher]

Yes... Music making was a big part of my life B.C. (before children) and I just tinker with ideas now. The time will come for me again. It's not something I can force, so I just have to be patient!

Sounds familiar

 

[philgxxd]

Sounds familiar

I'm in that club too. I'm waiting for autumn so that life gets a little bit quieter again and the nights are belonging to me again so that my Macs are getting some love (again).

 

[Slix]

Just wanted to pop back in finally and give some updates!

I got the SSD and installed it (very simple!), and did a fresh install of 10.4.11 and Mac OS 9.2.2, and got all my apps on there. I also tried out the battery again, and man, does it last a while! I'll take it on further test runs when I get time.

I ended up buying a second Titanium PowerBook G4 from the same guy that sold me the first one, this time a 500 MHz original model, also in great shape and with a working battery! My dad said he'd want it to add to his small collection, since he used to have a TiBook back when he did work on them in the early 2000's.

However, sad news: My model seems to have an issue with the charging connector staying connected since I did the SSD install, but my dad said it was a simple fix if he remembered right. Any suggestions from you guys would be appreciated in the meantime!

 

[CooperBox]

Would the adapter you purchased be THIS ONE, and the same as recommended in post #16? If so, and if its without the Marvell chipset - which has been commented on, what would be the downside compared to the more expensive Delock 62495 adapter?
Also, could you please provide a link to the TiBook battery you have installed. I recently purchased an Ansanor aftermarket battery for a MacBook Pro from Amazon, and extremely pleased with it's performance. Cannot see that an Ansanor is available for the TiBook, and am very wary of buying a cheap(ish) battery unless particulary recommended.

Edit: Since posting I see that the adapter ref above uses a JMicron JM20330 chipset. Must admit, that doesn't mean a lot to me. Any enlightening comments on this?

 

[weckart]

However, sad news: My model seems to have an issue with the charging connector staying connected since I did the SSD install, but my dad said it was a simple fix if he remembered right. Any suggestions from you guys would be appreciated in the meantime!

Just gently bend the collar on the charger jack ever so slightly out of true so that it grips the charge socket barrel in the TiBook a little better and doesn't fall out. Most likely, the collar on the jack is coming apart very slightly where the join is which makes for a loose connection that falls out.

 

[Slix]

Would the adapter you purchased be THIS ONE, and the same as recommended in post #16? If so, and if its without the Marvell chipset - which has been commented on, what would be the downside compared to the more expensive Delock 62495 adapter?
Also, could you please provide a link to the TiBook battery you have installed. I recently purchased an Ansanor aftermarket battery for a MacBook Pro from Amazon, and extremely pleased with it's performance. Cannot see that an Ansanor is available for the TiBook, and am very wary of buying a cheap(ish) battery unless particulary recommended.

Edit: Since posting I see that the adapter ref above uses a JMicron JM20330 chipset. Must admit, that doesn't mean a lot to me. Any enlightening comments on this?

I am indeed using the SSD adapter here, and so far, it seems to be working just fine. I bought that one because I couldn't find the Delock on Amazon.

The TiBook battery installed is the original one it came with. Can't comment on any of the ones online for sale right now.