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Fixing the Mac laptop everyone loved to hate (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-06 22:09:45
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

In 1995, Apple released its first Mac laptops based on the PowerPC processor. It didn't go quite as planned.

The version on YouTube is available here: https://youtu.be/B4i8W2fnVug

Sources:
Cupertino aerial footage by The Bureau (https://www.thebureau.co).
"Apple offers 700 million reasons to question health," Computerworld, April 1, 1996.
"Apple recall sours premium price plan," Computerworld, May 13, 1996.
"RISC Workstations," PC Magazine, May 31, 1994.
"Apple takes proactive approach to system glitches," InfoWorld, May 13, 1996.
"Apple Recalls PowerBook 5300 Series," Macworld, December 1995.
"More PowerBook 5300 Woes," Macworld, February 1996.
"Apple preparing itself for a long, cold winter," InfoWorld, December 25, 1995.
"New Apple PowerBook," MacUser, December 1996.
Udagawa subway photo: https://www.japan.go.jp/sustainable_future/skillstoshare/01.html

----------------------------------------­-------------------------------------

Music by Epidemic Sound (https://www.epidemicsound.com).
Intro music by Dan Mason (https://danmason.bandcamp.com) based on elements by BoxCat Games (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/BoxCat_Games).

Files

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Comments

John Boren

Hey Colin, have you changed your microphone setup? Your voice sounds a bit different than typical videos

Dan Vincent

Like you I always appreciated what the 5300 was trying to do (and was eventually realized in the 3400 series). But good ideas still need good execution... My 5300ce is in decent enough shape (and in the AA serials) but I still have it stored with the screen open because it has mild display bezel separation. The thing creaks ominously every time I open it, and it's showing other signs of plastic degradation. I'm not sure if it ever had the hinge fix recall done to it either (which was separate from the display bezel problems). Opening or closing the display is a gamble, and I don't have a parts machine to fix the hinge when it inevitably snaps. We have to think about survivorship bias with the ones we have... so many were scrapped over the years because they crumbled or hinges snapped or display cables failed. The 5300 series could've come out positively from the battery snafu or even the display bezel issue, but there were tons of in-field service problems with these things. We're lucky that they were so easy to service because techs I know from the era said they were always breaking. Apple was losing gobs of money from warranty claims and repairs. And Apple had grown very dependent on PowerBook sales which tanked hard. I'd say the 5300 did earn its reputation as one of the worst PowerBooks, but we're far enough beyond the era that we can appreciate it for both what it was trying to do and how it changed Apple going forward.

thisdoesnotcompute
>>160504664

No changes to the setup, I just wasn't feeling well the day I recorded the VO on this one. It's surprising how many things can affect your voice!

Nick Soong

Loving the new intro - quite a fitting start to kick off 2025! I remember that you previously discussed about the PowerBook 5300 series as part of the PowerBook 3400’s history, so revisiting that vintage Mac was a nice trip down memory lane, especially when this year marks the 30th anniversary of that specific Mac model. Although I can see the 5300 series as another failure from Apple, especially during its financial-struggling era, I can also see it as a turning point for Apple, as the product would eventually lead the company to introduce drastically improved laptops, not to mention the return of Steve Jobs and the streamlining of the Mac lineup. And Apple would learn a lot from its mistakes when transitioning to the PowerPC architecture with the 5300 series as it would go through two more transitions in the chip architecture, most notably Apple Silicon, which I don’t see Apple making other transitions for the Mac in the nearby future. It’s crazy to see how farther we’ve come over the past 30 years in the history of laptops and computing overall, and the dedication and time to restore those broken machines is always something that should always be appreciated. All in all, this was a great first video of the year!

Dan Fry

An enjoyable and informative video as ever - thanks! In the description of the cache issue at around 3:27, did I misunderstand or did you mean to say “smaller” rather than “larger”? (This type of thing doesn’t bother me personally but I thought I should mention it in case it’s an error you’d like to fix before the video goes live).

thisdoesnotcompute
>>160541979

Oh yikes you're right -- I meant to say "smaller". I think I rewrote that sentence a few times and must not have caught it -- I'll try to get that fixed! Thanks for pointing it out!

Patrick Bianchi

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new intro!! It's so refreshing, yet completely familiar!

Alan Grassia

I enjoyed this video greatly! The use of the interview footage in addition to reports from the trade rags at the time really help fill in the history and backstory of some of the machines that I supported while working on a corporate help desk.

Brett Walton

The Powerbook 190 was my very first laptop. So cool back in the day to have your own laptop. Than I got a Powerbook 1400 which I have on display today.