Hey! I came on Thursday down 2 hours from up north in a rare day off to Free Geek to buy something to play games from my childhood on and ended up walking out with your laptop! I just came home from work and saw this video and literally couldn't believe my eyes! I went to my storage unit, dug out my games and am patiently waiting for my roommate to come home and recap the power supply for me. Thank you so much! Free Geek has slowly helped me get back all the machines I used or owned growing up and this one was the last one I needed to get them all! My district was using these as late as 2001, when the clamshell iBooks ran out we had 5 of these in my kindergarten class just so we could play games or write short stories. Sometimes I got one of these and they always were more fun for me. Again, thanks for doing what you do, a sub well earned.
The Quantum GoDrives died like flies when they were about 15 years old. I don't think I've ever had a 3.5" Mac HDD fail, at least none of the early-90s ones, but almost all of the 2.5" Powerbook SCSI ones are dead by now and have been for a long time. It's a pity because I loved the sound of those GoDrives! Unlike the 3.5" ProDrives they were quite soothing to listen to. The ProDrives were noisy even when new.
@@Ragnar8504 quantum and Conner, some of the crappiest HDD makers of the 90s. I remember when I got my first pc and I immediately voided the warranty to swap that crappy drive for a WD Caviar. Way better than any of those other 2 brands
@@DiabloXL69 I don't think I've ever had a 3.5" ProDrive or Fireballone fail (not even the almost discarded one I managed to drop from almost 2 m onto the floor, still worked). Only the 2.5" GoDrives from Powerbooks all died. The 3.5" ones were extremely noisy though, a horrible high-pitched whine. I don't think I've ever owned more than one Conner drive, a 425 MB IDE fitted to one of my Pentiums. Worked fine the last time I tried that machine, probably around 20 years old at that time.
Vintage Macs, 3D printing, and even cracking open a hard drive! Super fun. I enjoy these a lot. I like that your channel is a mix of different kinds of videos.
I'm surprised this video hasn't done better, this is a REALLY GOOD flashback to the days.. back when, as you're showing off the manuals that are wire bound and very premium, to be read not just once and tossed, but kept with the system for its life.. there was a time that I remember VERY well when things that you paid a premium for were actually PREMIUM. This, this was the epitome of highest class in the Mac ecosphere. Nothing like today. Today you're lucky to get 4 or 5 years of out of a MacBook. Then? That thing would have lasted you a decade, EASY. I mean my wife's MacBook pro is probably 10 years old today and it still works fine, but I installed an SSD and ram, boosted it a little.. but it still does the job. It's nothing like they were back then though.
8:52 "We're at a point where pretty much everybody knows how to use a computer" My mother-in-law is an elementary school teacher, with the lockdowns she was surprised to find out that some of the younger kids don't know their way around a PC because for them tablets and smartphones are the computers.
Yup, I keep seeing kids try to tap the computer screens at work all the time! Surprisingly many of them have never used a mouse before! I've been thinking about setting up some System 7 emulation running Mouse Intro for a while but haven't gotten around to it. You can use a laptop or phone for distance learning but might run into trouble when you're required to run specific apps or do things like screen sharing. The apps might not be available for Android or iOS at all and things like screen sharing require permissions etc. and not everyone is tech-savvy enough to go into the settings and give those permissions. Some web sites won't work properly either and require a desktop browser.
@@Ragnar8504 In my experience with old electronics and real young kids, they're respond is either "meh who really cares tho" or "ewww why is it so old?!"
@@Ragnar8504 Haha My mom does that sometimes. She gets so used to using her phone and iPad, sometimes she'll just instinctively reach out and touch the screen on her laptop when she opens it every six months or more... :-)
Man this brings back memories. Our family started with a Performa 550 one evening in November 93 and quite literally watched the Sears truck bringing the 575's off the truck Poor mom and dad looked at each other after months of shopping with 4 kids and said stick with what we bought or we'll never own a computer. Since, we've had numerous macs. Love your content Colin, regardless of format because it reminds me of when computers were work to own and you had to figure most stuff out on your own or pay serious bucks to a expert. Kids now don't know how lucky they have it to not have to run a sneaker-net or survive with dial-up with one phone line in the house and family wanting to talk on the phone.
You're a genuinely good teacher! I wish I could be thankful enough for videos like this, the narrative, tone, shots and pacing are really pleasing, and your thorough and careful methodology is really valuable and easy to follow, especially with a rewind button. Thank you a lot and good job, Colin!
So Misstersack is my roommate/friend; I just cracked into the powersupply tonight while watching this video! Every single one of the low voltage caps was leaking pretty badly. One had even started getting to work on the traces! Nothing too bad though! Lost a bit of the solder mask and there's some blackened bits on the very edge of the copper trace; nothing needing a trace repair thankfully, but plenty of clean up.... Only took maybe an hour or so, but it's working well now! Thanks for all the work you put into this machine even though you were just donating it!
Dude, make the videos you like making, but since you asked, I love these types of videos. Long-form, rambling videos show your thought process and your operating process. All of the ingenuity you employ to get these old machines running inspires me to get back into fixing stuff again. Keep up the amazing work, and thank you for your badass videos.
I definitely like this style of video. I love watching repairs, but I also really like learning more about the machine and why certain issues can be resolved they way that they are. I especially found the hard drive disassembly interesting.
I love both formats! Longer is usually nicer for me though since I can put it on while I do other stuff and not have to keep finding new videos to queue up :P
Wow, so lucky with the battery! As you said it is not common. I got a couple of PowerBook 100s series and both of them had a leaking battery and a lot of electrolytic all over the motherboard. Very nasty.
Colin - Your documentary-style technology retrospectives are top-notch, but I think a lot of people also enjoy these rambling tear-down and exploration videos on specific machines. Please keep 'em both coming!
@@BrainSlugs83 No, Apple never built SuperDisk (LS120) drives into Macs, only Zip drives. The trademark SuperDrive was used twice by Apple, first for the HD floppy drive (1.44 MB instead of 800 kB), then for the DVD writer (instead of the ComboDrive that could write CDs, but only read DVDs).
To me, it feels like a mistake for older Macs to only use 1440 KB floppies when they could have easily supported 1600 KB. Sure, it allowed compatibility with PC disks, but the reason PCs used the slightly smaller MFM drives was because it was cheaper than the GCR drives Apple used. But because they needed to be backwards compatible with older disks, they got both lower capacity and higher cost
I appreciate the longer format as long as it doesn't add significantly more to your workload. I love the deep dives. The section on the manuals was terrific. These longer format videos capture a time in history so well.
I really enjoy this type of longer form content, especially with vintage Apple products, but really anything retro. It’s fun to watch at this more relaxed pace.
I absolutely love all your videos. They're always descriptive and educational. Seriously, I'm 42 and untouched by most of the tech you show here. For example, I don't have a single Apple model and I don't plan to, but many of these repair techniques can still be used on other machines. Knowing how to get inside a Walkman is useful too. I think you should make videos as you feel it, no matter the length and amount of rumbling (I'd hardly call it that). It's always good stuff.
Really like the longer format and appreciated the time spent on the additional details and explanations (ex. the HD fix and screw mount printed parts).
Keep up with these long format videos, you're great at describing things in details while keeping it very interesting. Looking forward to more of them.
My girlfriend in high school in the 90s had one of these handed down to her… we were so jealous… Apple displays were so crisp and clear, lovely fonts. Great video!
I enjoy the longer form restore/explanation videos as well as the truncated quick ones for items which don’t necessarily need all that much time. I enjoyed this since I have an old PowerBook 140 that I’ve been waiting to try and restore. Thank you for the video and ideas how to go about it!
I very much enjoyed this one, it showed a genuinely sympathetic restore of a classic Mac. I have a pb150 that I now feel empowered to repair thanks to the detail you go to and care you show to these aging machines.
I love the longer more in detail videos--but certainly also appreciate the diversity of different video lengths. Thanks for the great video! I learn a lot from everyone that I watch.
Genuinely enjoy these longer-format videos. The short, sweet, and to-the-point ones are really cool and have their place, but these are excellent as well! I'm a DevOps Engineer with ADHD and these types of videos give me the PERFECT amount of additional "brain stimulus" to get work done! Please make more!
I absolutely love the fact that you got manuals with devices, and even ones intended for future reference. I wish those were necessary today because I like holding a paper manual and learning new stuff out of those. Even today I'm learning new features in for example an OS (like shortcuts) and then be disappointed I didn't find that out earlier (blaming the lack of a proper manual)
Love, love, LOVE these long form videos. I was already excited when I saw you posted a new vid, but then I saw it was over 40 minutes and I’m pretty sure I audibly cheered. This sort of stuff is my favorite kind of RUclips content right now and has inspired me to start doing tech repairs of my own. So yeah. Please keep doing the long stuff.
Very very lucky with the battery, Colin! I had one PB's logic board half coated in blue, corrosive chalk. It was totally destroyed. The plastics were in exceptional condition, so I kept them for spares. I very much enjoy the longer-style videos and always appreciate your commentary! I have had plenty of frustration working on electronics (especially vintage things), from childhood to present (I am 20, presently), due to my hand tremors, which seem to worsen when I concentrate more. I hope you don't mind me commenting on this, but I feel better that I am not alone in that frustration.
I love these longer videos. They're interesting and calming. I can either pay attention or zone out and get great enjoyment either way. Keep up the good work!
It’s a nice format for something to listen to while I do something else, while the more documentary style format requires more of my attention, which is also good in its specific context. :) If it allows you to produce more content without adding more pressure to your schedule, it’s a win-win IMO. Good stuff as always!
Great video, I enjoyed the longer format. Then again I’ll watch any retro computer restore video cause I absolutely love seeing these machines being brought back to life. Thanks!
longer and more detailed episodes are extremely good and more exciting to watch, So yes longer is better :D Thank you So much we are learning from you sir I'm a resident doctor in the Oncology surgery department & I love your episodes on old Mac tech your doing a great effort to an extent, amount and intensity considerably above average
Obviously a good balance between the two video formats is nice, but I do like the longer styles of video. It's oddly relaxing to watch! Enjoyable as always!
I like both. But these long rambling videos are fun and entertaining. As someone that enjoys collecting and fixing old retro stuff for me to keep and enjoy. These videos tend to give me some info big or small to look out for when I'm purchasing something old. In my mind it's more of a "If I purchase this can I fix it with what i know"? If I feel I can, I go ahead and get it. If I feel I cannot? I just let someone else give it a chance. Though, to be fair, It would be nice to see a bit of both. Long videos and short ones. It just means more content to watch.
I like both your main video formats, but I think I prefer these more in depth rambly videos. I come back to rewatch them and pick out new details of your narration or of the tech in question again and again.
I'm coming to this one rather late in the game, but in case you're still seeking feedback: I loved this video. Actually I like almost all your work, but found the depth and detail in this one especially pleasing. It didn't seem rambling at all. The time was well spent.
I am for seeing more of these. I enjoy both types. The rambling is often very interesting. I may have to watch it in more than one sitting but oh well.
Hello This is absolutely amazing. I love early 90's Macs. Those photos from the Apple assembly plants are wonderful. I came across this RUclips channel a few days ago, I've been watching videos about Macs one by one. I have an LC II, unfortunately I found the problem with the capacitors late, and there was a slight damage to the connections on the board, I fixed it with wires, the board does not look very nice now, but everything is 100% functional. I also have a brochure written in Czech for System 7. Greetings from the Czech Republic John R.
I absolutely love your longer style and more detailed videos like this one! I would like to see more videos like that, especially when it comes to vintage macintosh computers. Very cool 👍🏼
I'm watching this many months after you posted it, but many things come to mind while I'm watching. Here's some of my rambling thoughts in response. Regarding the "how to use a mouse" - I still remember when the 128k Mac came out. We had our only dealer demo system sitting right as you came in the front door. I was giving a demo to a customer with the two of us sitting side by side. I kept hearing the door open and close behind me, when I turned around to look there were 30 people watching a demo of MacPaint.
This was great to watch. I learned some nice repair tricks, if I ever needed to them. I still have my PowerBook 170 that I bought brand new back in the 90’s. I still turn it on once a year for fun.
Love the long format videos! Back in the day I had a PowerBook 100. A friend who was in university got it through some sort of super discount through their school. (This was in addition to the usual academic discount pricing.) I think this was either close to, or shortly after, the model got discontinued, so it was probably a final close-out type sale thing. Anyways I loved that machine, it was my first laptop computer, and I remember marveling at how thin and light it was compared to the PC laptops of the day. Part of me wants to get one again and restore it for nostalgia's sake, but I am afraid of what eBay pricing is for these, and the few Craigslist searches I've done in my area have turned up nothing.
If the plastic repair is going to be internal for things like screw standoffs I recommend using the Super Glue and Baking Soda method. It can be used to reconstruct or reinforce any brittle or lose plastics and dries almost instantly with a stupidly good bond. Ive used it on brittle plastic standoffs that receive a lot of stress from hinge movements and the results have been great
I like the long format restoration videos. I had a look at my brothers old Dell laptop to restore it. Grubby fan assembly and put a filter strip on the vent. Replaced power/USB socket daughterboard. Replace the hard drive with 2 terabytes. Used to be Windows 7 now installed with Windows 10. The machine is working but the touchpad ribbon connector socket was broken so I throw in a wireless Microsoft mouse which was better in my opinion. Great repair show. Thanks.
There are loads of other videos that go to the point, dunno whenever you're in a hurry to repair something then I think it's due, but since we are not super hurried here I guess I really like detailed explanations and rambling here and there. So yeah, keep the long videos man
Love your retro Apple videos :) Long-form content is nice to just kick back and relax to. If you asked me 5 years ago if I'd want to watch long-form content on RUclips, I'd say no - but now that I'm a little older, I do appreciate the details and nuance a lot more.
$3500 in the early 1990s was like 10 grand today... $4500 was like $12k. I certainly couldn't have afforded to spend that much on a computer! Well my parents couldn't. I got my first x86 computer in 1989/1990, a monochrome Amstrad with a single 5.25" floppy and a dot matrix ribbon printer for just under $1500. Didn't get my first laptop tho until 2008 or something. Now I got three of them, and all three together were less expensive than that old PowerBook in 20-teens dollars. Computing today is way more powerful, reliable, useful, and accessible. But pretty much all the magic and wonder is gone. We take it for granted now, which is why, I suspect, there is such an interest in this retro computing. An effort to recapture some of that wonder of discovery we felt in the before times. A truly deep seated nostalgia.
Good video, watched it all the way through. I recently got into these era of PowerBooks, so nice timing. I like this format, I think you should do both this and what you already did. I watched the 145B video several times, but I think I'll watch this one a single time.
Holy cow that thing, with the battery condition, is basically a museum piece! I can NOT believe that battery didn't leak ONE BIT! That's just amazing, what a find.. I'll bet that thing was NOT cheap.. great find!
Your videos are fascinating! I'm a fan. Must save the history of technology. I turn 49 on Dec. 18. My first computer I bought as an adult was a 1998 Grape iMac DV. After that the 2000 Graphite iBook. They still boot and work and connect to my Wifi.
Loved this detailed video! I think having more of these detailed vids will be great for some fans and the shorter more edited version pleases the other fans. Best of both worlds if you ask me! Will support you and your videos regardless 👍
I remember the first mouse I used, it was on an Amstrad PC1512. I like these in-depth videos when you are doing the appropriate item, somethings don’t require long videos.
These were great for music composition. You didn't need much more than a TFT greyscale screen for music notation. I had a professor at Berklee who kept one of these in an industrial strength briefcase with a midi interface and speakers. He would use this for instructional demos in his jazz counterpoint classes. This was in 1994 before every class was equipped with a computer and we were lucky if there was an overhead display.
I really enjoyed the explanations of the documentation and overall info of the laptop. I was always interested in computers in those days but not afford one or experience with humble surroundings as a kid. Excellent video and topics so far on your channel thanks for the great ride!
Hey! I came on Thursday down 2 hours from up north in a rare day off to Free Geek to buy something to play games from my childhood on and ended up walking out with your laptop! I just came home from work and saw this video and literally couldn't believe my eyes! I went to my storage unit, dug out my games and am patiently waiting for my roommate to come home and recap the power supply for me. Thank you so much! Free Geek has slowly helped me get back all the machines I used or owned growing up and this one was the last one I needed to get them all! My district was using these as late as 2001, when the clamshell iBooks ran out we had 5 of these in my kindergarten class just so we could play games or write short stories. Sometimes I got one of these and they always were more fun for me. Again, thanks for doing what you do, a sub well earned.
That’s awesome, what are the odds?
Your comment is underrated AF dude. That's sick AF.
Woah
Very cool👍🏻
Darn. I was thinking of driving the 30 miles to grab it, just for the momentous of seeing it being fixed. How much it sell for?
I do like the longer “rambling” style video. The more in-depth the better 👍🏼💻
i do like these ones more too
Same here!
Same
So many videos these days are really short and super fast, it's nice to have a more relaxing and substantial video!
I also want to see 10 seconds restoration videos too!
This is great. I was a Apple repair tech in the 90’s. The Coner drives always failed even new. Loved this!
Apparantly they also lost the extra letter “n”.
@@ernstoud so smartt
The Quantum GoDrives died like flies when they were about 15 years old. I don't think I've ever had a 3.5" Mac HDD fail, at least none of the early-90s ones, but almost all of the 2.5" Powerbook SCSI ones are dead by now and have been for a long time. It's a pity because I loved the sound of those GoDrives! Unlike the 3.5" ProDrives they were quite soothing to listen to. The ProDrives were noisy even when new.
@@Ragnar8504 quantum and Conner, some of the crappiest HDD makers of the 90s. I remember when I got my first pc and I immediately voided the warranty to swap that crappy drive for a WD Caviar. Way better than any of those other 2 brands
@@DiabloXL69 I don't think I've ever had a 3.5" ProDrive or Fireballone fail (not even the almost discarded one I managed to drop from almost 2 m onto the floor, still worked). Only the 2.5" GoDrives from Powerbooks all died.
The 3.5" ones were extremely noisy though, a horrible high-pitched whine.
I don't think I've ever owned more than one Conner drive, a 425 MB IDE fitted to one of my Pentiums. Worked fine the last time I tried that machine, probably around 20 years old at that time.
Vintage Macs, 3D printing, and even cracking open a hard drive! Super fun. I enjoy these a lot. I like that your channel is a mix of different kinds of videos.
I absolutely prefer the long form videos.
I'm surprised this video hasn't done better, this is a REALLY GOOD flashback to the days.. back when, as you're showing off the manuals that are wire bound and very premium, to be read not just once and tossed, but kept with the system for its life.. there was a time that I remember VERY well when things that you paid a premium for were actually PREMIUM. This, this was the epitome of highest class in the Mac ecosphere. Nothing like today. Today you're lucky to get 4 or 5 years of out of a MacBook. Then? That thing would have lasted you a decade, EASY. I mean my wife's MacBook pro is probably 10 years old today and it still works fine, but I installed an SSD and ram, boosted it a little.. but it still does the job. It's nothing like they were back then though.
8:52 "We're at a point where pretty much everybody knows how to use a computer" My mother-in-law is an elementary school teacher, with the lockdowns she was surprised to find out that some of the younger kids don't know their way around a PC because for them tablets and smartphones are the computers.
That’s a surprise!
Makes sense, though! Why bother using a computer when the iPad has all the Fortnite games and Fortnite RUclips videos?
Yup, I keep seeing kids try to tap the computer screens at work all the time! Surprisingly many of them have never used a mouse before! I've been thinking about setting up some System 7 emulation running Mouse Intro for a while but haven't gotten around to it.
You can use a laptop or phone for distance learning but might run into trouble when you're required to run specific apps or do things like screen sharing. The apps might not be available for Android or iOS at all and things like screen sharing require permissions etc. and not everyone is tech-savvy enough to go into the settings and give those permissions. Some web sites won't work properly either and require a desktop browser.
@@Ragnar8504 In my experience with old electronics and real young kids, they're respond is either "meh who really cares tho" or "ewww why is it so old?!"
@@Ragnar8504 Haha My mom does that sometimes. She gets so used to using her phone and iPad, sometimes she'll just instinctively reach out and touch the screen on her laptop when she opens it every six months or more... :-)
Man this brings back memories. Our family started with a Performa 550 one evening in November 93 and quite literally watched the Sears truck bringing the 575's off the truck Poor mom and dad looked at each other after months of shopping with 4 kids and said stick with what we bought or we'll never own a computer. Since, we've had numerous macs. Love your content Colin, regardless of format because it reminds me of when computers were work to own and you had to figure most stuff out on your own or pay serious bucks to a expert. Kids now don't know how lucky they have it to not have to run a sneaker-net or survive with dial-up with one phone line in the house and family wanting to talk on the phone.
You're a genuinely good teacher! I wish I could be thankful enough for videos like this, the narrative, tone, shots and pacing are really pleasing, and your thorough and careful methodology is really valuable and easy to follow, especially with a rewind button. Thank you a lot and good job, Colin!
So Misstersack is my roommate/friend; I just cracked into the powersupply tonight while watching this video! Every single one of the low voltage caps was leaking pretty badly. One had even started getting to work on the traces! Nothing too bad though! Lost a bit of the solder mask and there's some blackened bits on the very edge of the copper trace; nothing needing a trace repair thankfully, but plenty of clean up.... Only took maybe an hour or so, but it's working well now! Thanks for all the work you put into this machine even though you were just donating it!
Dude, make the videos you like making, but since you asked, I love these types of videos. Long-form, rambling videos show your thought process and your operating process. All of the ingenuity you employ to get these old machines running inspires me to get back into fixing stuff again.
Keep up the amazing work, and thank you for your badass videos.
More long form vids pls. Ramble all you want.
I definitely like this style of video. I love watching repairs, but I also really like learning more about the machine and why certain issues can be resolved they way that they are. I especially found the hard drive disassembly interesting.
I love both formats! Longer is usually nicer for me though since I can put it on while I do other stuff and not have to keep finding new videos to queue up :P
Wow, so lucky with the battery! As you said it is not common. I got a couple of PowerBook 100s series and both of them had a leaking battery and a lot of electrolytic all over the motherboard. Very nasty.
Colin - Your documentary-style technology retrospectives are top-notch, but I think a lot of people also enjoy these rambling tear-down and exploration videos on specific machines. Please keep 'em both coming!
I am having a rough day and this video is exactly what I needed. Thanks for what you do!
Also I do like the long detailed videos, especially the Sony walkman videos.
Me too..
The FDHD actually means "Floppy Disk High Density", the drive later called "SuperDrive" in marketing.
Are you thinking of Super Disk (the Zip Disk competitor)? Or is that different from Super Drive?
@@BrainSlugs83 No, Apple never built SuperDisk (LS120) drives into Macs, only Zip drives. The trademark SuperDrive was used twice by Apple, first for the HD floppy drive (1.44 MB instead of 800 kB), then for the DVD writer (instead of the ComboDrive that could write CDs, but only read DVDs).
Yup, you’re correct. SuperDrive are those that read 1.44MB, 800k, and 400k floppy disks.
@@BrainSlugs83en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperDrive
To me, it feels like a mistake for older Macs to only use 1440 KB floppies when they could have easily supported 1600 KB. Sure, it allowed compatibility with PC disks, but the reason PCs used the slightly smaller MFM drives was because it was cheaper than the GCR drives Apple used. But because they needed to be backwards compatible with older disks, they got both lower capacity and higher cost
Love the longer format when it suits the topic, such as this one. Thanks Colin.
Both styles of videos are good. a longer one once in a while makes for good balance
More rambling = better, longer video = even better, longer video with more rambling = perfect! Thank you so much for your amazing videos, Colin!
I appreciate the longer format as long as it doesn't add significantly more to your workload. I love the deep dives. The section on the manuals was terrific. These longer format videos capture a time in history so well.
I LOVE THIS "rambling" style of video! Thank you for doing this!
I really enjoy this type of longer form content, especially with vintage Apple products, but really anything retro. It’s fun to watch at this more relaxed pace.
I absolutely love all your videos. They're always descriptive and educational. Seriously, I'm 42 and untouched by most of the tech you show here. For example, I don't have a single Apple model and I don't plan to, but many of these repair techniques can still be used on other machines. Knowing how to get inside a Walkman is useful too. I think you should make videos as you feel it, no matter the length and amount of rumbling (I'd hardly call it that). It's always good stuff.
Really like the longer format and appreciated the time spent on the additional details and explanations (ex. the HD fix and screw mount printed parts).
Keep up with these long format videos, you're great at describing things in details while keeping it very interesting. Looking forward to more of them.
I always prefer the longer rambling videos of yours :).
My girlfriend in high school in the 90s had one of these handed down to her… we were so jealous… Apple displays were so crisp and clear, lovely fonts. Great video!
I enjoy the longer form restore/explanation videos as well as the truncated quick ones for items which don’t necessarily need all that much time. I enjoyed this since I have an old PowerBook 140 that I’ve been waiting to try and restore. Thank you for the video and ideas how to go about it!
just commenting to say that i absolutely love the style
Definitely a fan of the longer/more rambling videos. I watch your videos while cleaning or working on my own projects.
I very much enjoyed this one, it showed a genuinely sympathetic restore of a classic Mac. I have a pb150 that I now feel empowered to repair thanks to the detail you go to and care you show to these aging machines.
I love the longer more in detail videos--but certainly also appreciate the diversity of different video lengths. Thanks for the great video! I learn a lot from everyone that I watch.
i love the longer rambling detailed video format
I personally love these videos. I play them while working ( photo retouching ) and I love the info and tid bits I get from watching.
Genuinely enjoy these longer-format videos. The short, sweet, and to-the-point ones are really cool and have their place, but these are excellent as well! I'm a DevOps Engineer with ADHD and these types of videos give me the PERFECT amount of additional "brain stimulus" to get work done! Please make more!
I absolutely love the fact that you got manuals with devices, and even ones intended for future reference. I wish those were necessary today because I like holding a paper manual and learning new stuff out of those. Even today I'm learning new features in for example an OS (like shortcuts) and then be disappointed I didn't find that out earlier (blaming the lack of a proper manual)
Love, love, LOVE these long form videos. I was already excited when I saw you posted a new vid, but then I saw it was over 40 minutes and I’m pretty sure I audibly cheered. This sort of stuff is my favorite kind of RUclips content right now and has inspired me to start doing tech repairs of my own. So yeah. Please keep doing the long stuff.
Very very lucky with the battery, Colin! I had one PB's logic board half coated in blue, corrosive chalk. It was totally destroyed. The plastics were in exceptional condition, so I kept them for spares. I very much enjoy the longer-style videos and always appreciate your commentary! I have had plenty of frustration working on electronics (especially vintage things), from childhood to present (I am 20, presently), due to my hand tremors, which seem to worsen when I concentrate more. I hope you don't mind me commenting on this, but I feel better that I am not alone in that frustration.
I'm a simple man. I see you uploaded a video, I watch it. The longer it is, the better. Keep up the awesome work.
I like the longer format, it’s link of nice to be along for the ride. Thanks for the great content.
I love these longer videos. They're interesting and calming. I can either pay attention or zone out and get great enjoyment either way. Keep up the good work!
It’s a nice format for something to listen to while I do something else, while the more documentary style format requires more of my attention, which is also good in its specific context. :) If it allows you to produce more content without adding more pressure to your schedule, it’s a win-win IMO. Good stuff as always!
Great video, I enjoyed the longer format. Then again I’ll watch any retro computer restore video cause I absolutely love seeing these machines being brought back to life.
Thanks!
longer and more detailed episodes are extremely good and more exciting to watch, So yes longer is better :D Thank you So much we are learning from you sir I'm a resident doctor in the Oncology surgery department & I love your episodes on old Mac tech your doing a great effort to an extent, amount and intensity considerably above average
Obviously a good balance between the two video formats is nice, but I do like the longer styles of video. It's oddly relaxing to watch! Enjoyable as always!
3 years late but I love the long form deep dive videos you do.
I like both. But these long rambling videos are fun and entertaining. As someone that enjoys collecting and fixing old retro stuff for me to keep and enjoy.
These videos tend to give me some info big or small to look out for when I'm purchasing something old.
In my mind it's more of a "If I purchase this can I fix it with what i know"? If I feel I can, I go ahead and get it. If I feel I cannot? I just let someone else give it a chance.
Though, to be fair, It would be nice to see a bit of both. Long videos and short ones. It just means more content to watch.
i enjoy the longer format. I restored a G3 iBook and that was fun this summer. Seeing your techniques and approach is educational.
I like both your main video formats, but I think I prefer these more in depth rambly videos. I come back to rewatch them and pick out new details of your narration or of the tech in question again and again.
This is exactly the kind of video that got me into your channel and keeps me coming back. Love the content and being able to re-experience the past!
I'm coming to this one rather late in the game, but in case you're still seeking feedback: I loved this video. Actually I like almost all your work, but found the depth and detail in this one especially pleasing. It didn't seem rambling at all. The time was well spent.
Loved the video Colin. The style of the video was great. I enjoyed the walkthrough of the manuals and everything, especially the hard drive repair.
Thumbs up for refurbishing this nice classic PB170 Mac, great video, very interesting, perfect order (box, accessories, laptop).
I had one of these back in the 1990s (second hand). Was a nice wee machine from memory. What a great project/video Colin. Thanks for sharing.
I like the long hands on with these old gems. They deserve the camera time.
I am for seeing more of these. I enjoy both types. The rambling is often very interesting. I may have to watch it in more than one sitting but oh well.
Hello
This is absolutely amazing. I love early 90's Macs. Those photos from the Apple assembly plants are wonderful. I came across this RUclips channel a few days ago, I've been watching videos about Macs one by one. I have an LC II, unfortunately I found the problem with the capacitors late, and there was a slight damage to the connections on the board, I fixed it with wires, the board does not look very nice now, but everything is 100% functional. I also have a brochure written in Czech for System 7.
Greetings from the Czech Republic
John R.
“ this video is fairly long and rambling“. That’s music to any retro computing fans ears. Keep the detail coming!
I absolutely love your longer style and more detailed videos like this one! I would like to see more videos like that, especially when it comes to vintage macintosh computers. Very cool 👍🏼
I'm watching this many months after you posted it, but many things come to mind while I'm watching. Here's some of my rambling thoughts in response. Regarding the "how to use a mouse" - I still remember when the 128k Mac came out. We had our only dealer demo system sitting right as you came in the front door. I was giving a demo to a customer with the two of us sitting side by side. I kept hearing the door open and close behind me, when I turned around to look there were 30 people watching a demo of MacPaint.
This was great to watch. I learned some nice repair tricks, if I ever needed to them. I still have my PowerBook 170 that I bought brand new back in the 90’s. I still turn it on once a year for fun.
This 'longer rambling' video's are good too, i always enjoy more details and trivia :)
I like both kinds of videos honestly! Longer more in-depth like this and also the shorter to-the-point ones!
I really like the longer ones with extra detail and the history and flaws of the tech… all round great enjoyable vid this. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻🌟
Love the long format videos!
Back in the day I had a PowerBook 100. A friend who was in university got it through some sort of super discount through their school. (This was in addition to the usual academic discount pricing.) I think this was either close to, or shortly after, the model got discontinued, so it was probably a final close-out type sale thing. Anyways I loved that machine, it was my first laptop computer, and I remember marveling at how thin and light it was compared to the PC laptops of the day. Part of me wants to get one again and restore it for nostalgia's sake, but I am afraid of what eBay pricing is for these, and the few Craigslist searches I've done in my area have turned up nothing.
I love these longer video! It's cool to see how you problem solve when it doesn't work.
If the plastic repair is going to be internal for things like screw standoffs I recommend using the Super Glue and Baking Soda method. It can be used to reconstruct or reinforce any brittle or lose plastics and dries almost instantly with a stupidly good bond. Ive used it on brittle plastic standoffs that receive a lot of stress from hinge movements and the results have been great
The contrast on that screen is really amazing!
I like the long format restoration videos. I had a look at my brothers old Dell laptop to restore it. Grubby fan assembly and put a filter strip on the vent. Replaced power/USB socket daughterboard. Replace the hard drive with 2 terabytes. Used to be Windows 7 now installed with Windows 10. The machine is working but the touchpad ribbon connector socket was broken so I throw in a wireless Microsoft mouse which was better in my opinion. Great repair show. Thanks.
I prefer longer videos like this! really entertaining, informative and a joy to watch!
I want you to spend every cent you have buying and restoring old macs.
There are loads of other videos that go to the point, dunno whenever you're in a hurry to repair something then I think it's due, but since we are not super hurried here I guess I really like detailed explanations and rambling here and there. So yeah, keep the long videos man
Love your retro Apple videos :) Long-form content is nice to just kick back and relax to. If you asked me 5 years ago if I'd want to watch long-form content on RUclips, I'd say no - but now that I'm a little older, I do appreciate the details and nuance a lot more.
$3500 in the early 1990s was like 10 grand today... $4500 was like $12k. I certainly couldn't have afforded to spend that much on a computer! Well my parents couldn't. I got my first x86 computer in 1989/1990, a monochrome Amstrad with a single 5.25" floppy and a dot matrix ribbon printer for just under $1500. Didn't get my first laptop tho until 2008 or something. Now I got three of them, and all three together were less expensive than that old PowerBook in 20-teens dollars. Computing today is way more powerful, reliable, useful, and accessible. But pretty much all the magic and wonder is gone. We take it for granted now, which is why, I suspect, there is such an interest in this retro computing. An effort to recapture some of that wonder of discovery we felt in the before times. A truly deep seated nostalgia.
Good video, watched it all the way through. I recently got into these era of PowerBooks, so nice timing. I like this format, I think you should do both this and what you already did. I watched the 145B video several times, but I think I'll watch this one a single time.
Thank you for that soldering iron trick, that's way better than the methods I've tried over the years!
Please more longer videos on such gret topics - Thank you as always for great material :)
This is great video format and pleasure to watch, awesome repair!!!
Holy cow that thing, with the battery condition, is basically a museum piece! I can NOT believe that battery didn't leak ONE BIT! That's just amazing, what a find.. I'll bet that thing was NOT cheap.. great find!
More longer, better, this particularly video was a bless to watch
Your videos are fascinating! I'm a fan. Must save the history of technology. I turn 49 on Dec. 18. My first computer I bought as an adult was a 1998 Grape iMac DV. After that the 2000 Graphite iBook. They still boot and work and connect to my Wifi.
Upvote for these long form videos, but I’ve always loved your “showcase” videos too.
I love the PowerBook 100 series of computers so much. I have a 100, 160 and 180 and they're all wonderful machines.
Loved this detailed video! I think having more of these detailed vids will be great for some fans and the shorter more edited version pleases the other fans. Best of both worlds if you ask me! Will support you and your videos regardless 👍
I abosolutely love this video format. I highly prefer this over everything else.
Don't change anything. Loved it! I have a 1993 165 model. Almost identical.
I remember the first mouse I used, it was on an Amstrad PC1512.
I like these in-depth videos when you are doing the appropriate item, somethings don’t require long videos.
Love this format - more please!
These were great for music composition. You didn't need much more than a TFT greyscale screen for music notation. I had a professor at Berklee who kept one of these in an industrial strength briefcase with a midi interface and speakers. He would use this for instructional demos in his jazz counterpoint classes. This was in 1994 before every class was equipped with a computer and we were lucky if there was an overhead display.
Excellent video! Thanks for your great content! Please keep this format, your content is awesome and I like much more this long videos to watch.
Great job Colin, you're a dab hand at these standoff repairs now. Lives to play another day!
Also what you call rambling others would call very well edited. The length was perfect
I like a mix of the quicker and these more in-depth videos.
I love this kind of videos, long, very informative, please keep on doing them!
Great video! Definitely enjoyed this longer version!
Always happy when I see you have uploaded a new video Collin!
I really enjoyed the explanations of the documentation and overall info of the laptop. I was always interested in computers in those days but not afford one or experience with humble surroundings as a kid. Excellent video and topics so far on your channel thanks for the great ride!