Apple have declared the 12″ G4 PowerBook obsolete. If you can be bothered, you might notice that the document is dated December 2008, but the news has only recently attracted attention, in my case via The Register.
This is something of a blow. Our venerable PowerBooks are still very useful, although my wife’s has lost its optical drive (probably because she dropped it hard enough to buckle the case). For all its faults (like rubbish wireless), it’s still one of those laptops that every technical generation just hits the spot. Around 2000, it seemed like everyone I knew was buying a Sony Vaio 505; it was exactly the right weight and felt very solid to use.
So, now we’re on borrowed time. Apple don’t make a laptop which I can open properly when travelling coach, or just pop into whatever bag I happen to be carrying. There must be an alternative…
