I bought a PB1400cs/166/40/1G on eBay a couple of months ago for £225 (say
$350), mainly to use as a wordprocessing machine for the 'Great UK Novel'
which will probably never happen ;-)
I also own a Pismo (Powerbook G3 400 Firewire), which whips through all
manner of digital video and audio tasks like the proverbial hot knife
through butter. In comparison the PB1400 is dog slow, but I must admit that
it does do the task I bought it to do with remarkable aplomb, and all the
raving about its wonderful keyboard is IMHO well justified.
The main reason I went for the 1400 was because of the rave reviews it got
across many Mac sites as a bargain quality machine. I've stuck a Global
Village Platinum Pro PC card in it which gives me an (admittedly slow) 28.8
modem and (also relatively slow these days) 10baseT ethernet, but it only
cost me $40 or so (from the US). I also stuck another 24Mb RAM in it for
$50, again from the US (happily I was so paranoid about winning the auction
that I bid on two chips simultaneously and won both for just over $100...I
then sold the spare one (only 64Mb allowed in a 1400 alas) for 50 of our
English pounds which made my memory a bit of a bargain)
In retrospect, I've watched 1400s and 3400s on eBay since I got mine, and my
feeling now is this:
Perhaps 6 to 12 months ago the 1400 was the powerbook to go for because
3400s were still commanding relatively high prices. As our Lord and Master,
Mr Dan Knight, and his consort, Mr Charles W Moore (apols, guys), might put
it, the 1400 had hit the 'sweet spot' of price vs features. I suspect that
the 3400 now occupies that spot, given that some of the older G3 Powerbooks
can now be had for around $1000 or less, and 3400 prices have fallen
accordingly.
Three points:
1. Will it do what you've described you want it to do? Yep, both will, the
3400 a little quicker
2. Whichever you plump for make sure you're getting as much RAM as
possible. I got lucky, but RAM for these beasts is propriety, rare and
expensive. Plus other toys, particularly an ethernet/modem PC card with the
1400.
3. Wanna fly? The 1400 is G3 upgradeable, the 3400 not (as yet). But if
you only want to do what you say, that's maybe not important.
Hope that's helpful (and hasn't just added to the confusion...
Mike
On 27/8/01 6:56 pm, "T.J. Kozikowski" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I am interested in purchasing a laptop for my 14 year old daughter and am
> looking for recommendations related to either the PB 1400 or 3400. While I
> am sure that she would prefer an Indigo iBook 366 or a G3 Wallstreet system,
> these systems are not in my budget.
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