ebay

My Sort of First Mac, Again

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Back in November while I was searching for the iBook G3 clamshell I got curious and was looking up other Mac’s that I might be interested in. I immediately was drawn to  the first Mac that I ever bought, the iBook G3 12 inch in white. I was pleasantly surprised to see this model plentiful on eBay and also relatively inexpensive at about $50-$75 depending on condition. For that price I kind of wanted to buy one. What I ended up searching for and buying was not the exact model that I owned. That was because the advice I was given was that model is prone to issues. So I stayed away from the G3 polycarbonate white and got the last version made in that body type that was a G4. It was harder than I thought to find one that did not look visibly beat up. After a while I did find one in order to.

After getting the laptop the screen feels a little washed out however I’m not sure if it’s this particular computer or if I just don’t remember the screen being like that on those older computers. It’s still very usable and I was happy to see that the keyboard and hand rest was in good shape. I purchased some headlight cleaner from a recommendation that is perfect for cleaning polycarbonate. I haven’t yet however I intend to clean the shell of the computer to get looking in better shape.

As with the G3 clamshell I have specific plans in mind for this computer. It is not just an impulse by to sit around. Now that I have them however I’m not sure if I’m going to swap what I intended them to do or not. I might end up just keeping the clamshell G3 for show since it looks awesome. I would then use the polycarbonate white G4 to do what I wanted to with the G3. Use it as an educational computer for the girls. I have my eyes on my favorite PowerBook of all time. The 12 inch PowerBook that I owned three or four different versions of over the years. If I do get that I would use it as my off-line writing computer that the polycarbonate white computer would have been used for.

As I am slowly preparing to install software on these computers I’m surprised at how much software I saved that is in my backup archive of Mac software that will run on the later variance of OS 10 at work on the PowerPC chips. There is a bunch of things that I’m missing from my latest backup that I have online. I need to go to some off-line hard drives with backups circa 2009 or so to get a few more applications. In any event I should be able to easily do what I want to do with this computer.

Now all I have to do is find time to work on this and other projects I would like to take on.

My Sort of New Vintage Keyboard

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In addition to the vintage computers I picked up I also bought an Apple Pro keyboard from the early 2000’s. Over the summer when I bought my wireless Bluetooth mechanical keyboard I did so because I thought fondly of my old black Apple Pro mechanical keyboard. As I was shopping for vintage Mac laptops I started to look for how much a pro keyboard would cost me. Most of the ones I found were pretty dirty shape. The going price was somewhere in the range of $30. I searched around and want to bid on one that looked pretty decent. With shipping I think I paid less than $40. For a good mechanical keyboard that’s not so bad.

When I got it I was eager to tried out. It typed as I remember it did. After using it a bit I did realize that my new Matais mechanical keyboard based on the same movement typed nicer. I found myself able to type faster and more comfortably on that one however the old Pro keyboard is still pretty slick.

I was using the Pro keyboard on my second computer set up for a while at home. A few weeks ago I decided to bring it into the office to use so I can bring home the Matais keyboard. The computer it’s plugged into I delight amounts of typing on however having the mechanical keyboard on it has been an improvement over the newer white and silver Bluetooth Apple keyboard that I had.

My experience with the Pro keyboard versus the Bluetooth Matais makes me want to get a new wired mechanical keyboard. The only issue I have with the Matais is it loses its Bluetooth connection with my laptop much more frequently than I would like. I had many more problems with it than I do with my Mac keyboards. That was one of the reasons why I took it home.

I Bought a Classic iBook G3 Clamshell Laptop

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One of the guys at work has been talking about some of the old computers he’s been buying and reconfiguring or restoring to get working. It’s fascinating to talk to him about it partly because he’s very passionate around the topic. Also it’s something that I have thought about doing with one or two computers but never had the space or time to want to do it.

I’m finding it very funny that for some time now I have wanted a classic iBook G3 Clamshell laptop circa 1999. I never owned one however they always did look pretty cool. I personally did not get into Max until the G4 around 2002. I’ve also wanted a lampshade iMac. For some reason I keep thinking about the 15 inch version although the 17 inch is better and the same physical footprint. I owned a 20 inch version of that computer and loved it. I was reminded of my desire to want the iMac when I was at my sister-in-law’s I saw that she had one and she commented about oh that old thing or something like that. I told her I’m jealous since I actually want one.

The final straw for me was when my friend was talking about how he bought and restored and upgraded the G3 iBook. I started asking questions around how we found a good one and how much it costs. He gave me a bunch of pointers on what to look for on eBay and I started to search. The prices weren’t too bad however I was surprised that a 18-year-old computer was worth even that much. It goes to show you that this particular model was in demand. I found a blue G3 that had its internals upgraded to slightly better variant that did not come in blue. It also had an SSD instead of an IDE hard drive. Even had a new power brick.

I was ex cited get the laptop however when I got it I realized there was something wrong with it. The LCD backlight was out. The seller on eBay was extremely accommodating and I sent back the laptop. He fixed it and send it back to me. I had a choice of a full refund or options on a different model but after I got the laptop it was in perfect shape other than the backlight and one hairline crack in the case. The crack was visible in the auction pictures even though I didn’t see it myself the first time. The computer was still functionally fine with the crack and he barely noticed it so I was happy to keep this particular computer if he could get the LCD to work. Thankfully he was and shipped it back the same day he got it after fixing it.

The girls wanted to play with it. Originally that was my idea to get it working with some educational software for the girls to use. Now that I have it however not so sure I want them playing with a vintage laptop. Just because it’s so cool I don’t want them to break it. It’s very heavy I’m not sure other than the LCD if they could break it but I don’t want to chance it. I do have a few use cases in mind for it.

My friend needs to own up and take responsibility for all the money I spent since knowingly or not he gave me the idea to go out and buy this laptop. I was just following is very bad/very good footsteps regarding vintage computers.

The Android Experiment

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A few weeks ago I purchased a used T-Mobile G1 on eBay. It was party to see check out the Android OS, as well as check out T-Mobile service near where I live and work.

Firstly the G1 I got was a bit more beat up than I would have liked, but for the price I paid I kinda knew what I was getting into. I found it harder than I originally expected to separate my experience with the Android OS with my feelings about the G1 hardware. I was not a fan of the G1 at all. It was big, heavy, and I could not stand the curved bottom of the phone, nor could I really use the keyboard because of that uncomfortable bulge at the bottom of the phone.

The Android OS on the other hand was OK. I looked for equivalent applications to what I typically use on my iPhone. I didn’t do a complete search but looked for the top 5-10 apps that I use every day. I was able to find apps that performed the same functions. That was the good news. The bad news was that several of them were just not as polished as the iPhone equivalent. Maybe I am biased, but the iPhone apps just seem more polished than the Andriod counterparts. There were a few exceptions, but in general I wasn’t too impressed with the Andriod apps. On the up side I was happy with some of the types of applications that I couldn’t get on my iPhone. I loved the call blocking app especially since the T-Mobile number I got seemed to have a lot of people calling it. I also loved the Google Voice integration. For me as a Google Voice user it was perfect. I didn’t even tell anyone I got a new #. I just routed calls to the G1 and then used Google Voice to make outbound calls. For me that was the best part of the Android OS. I really miss that functionality on the iPhone.

The second part of my experiment was how is the T-Mobile service. The short answer is it is just as poor as AT&T is where I use it most. I don’t get any reliable signal inside my apartment with T-Mobile. By my window I get 3-4 bars but inside I only get 1-2 if any. Without a signal booster the service is useless in my apartment. If the Android phones supported T-Mobile’s Wifi calling like some of the Blackberry’s do that wouldn’t be an issue, but right now it is a major show stopper. At work in mid town I got slightly better results. I sometimes got decent signal at my desk, but other times it was spotty. Not consistent enough for me.

The bottom line is as tempting as T-Mobile’s no contract plans are, the service where I spend 75% of my work week (home and work) I had spotty service. That means if I want to stick with a GSM carrier I am stuck with AT&T. As much as I refuse to use Verizion I might need to consider. I may end up getting a Verizon Mifi anyway so that might be the trade off that keeps me with my iPhone an AT&T but more on that later.

I will keep my T-Mobile SIM until after my vacation but I don’t see myself keeping it long term. As for the G1, I am going away at the end of the week so I wont have time to sell it before I go, but it will go up on eBay before Christmas. If a AT&T compatible 3G (85mhz & 1800mhz) Android phone comes out I may give it a try again but until then I am sticking with the iPhone. Like I tell anyone when they ask if i like it, the iPhone is the best phone I ever had, but I would love to be able to get rid of it!

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T-Mobile Again

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My frustration with AT&T has finally come to a head. I had another week of not really being able to use my iPhone at the office, so I finally broke down and went to the T-Mobile store. I signed up for an Even More Plus plan. I figured with no contract I had nothing to lose from trying it out. I am testing the service at home and work with an old Motorola Razr I have had since 2005. So far I am having signal issues in my apt, but I already knew that non-3g service would be spotty in my apt. Friends with T-Mobile have had problems there before.

To really test the system out I just bought a used G1 Android phone from Ebay. I will see if T-Mobile 3G is as good as their map says it is in my neighborhood. I also need to be happy with the G1’s Android OS. I am skeptical about that, but hopeful I will like it enough to give up my iphone. There is a lot of “if’s” but I am willing to give it a try since the iPhone may be nice and slick and a great all around device, but if it doesn’t work half the time I try to use it I don’t care how nice it is.

I really hope this works out. I really like the no contract concept even if the phones are more money (thanks ebay). I also like the fact that I can get unlimited voice for $50. I currently pay $59 for 900 minutes that I can’t use since the phone doesn’t work most of the places I need it to. I always liked T-Mobile. I only got rid of them when I gave up my own mobile to use the Partsearch issued one. After that I got AT&T because of phone selection and the iPhone.

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My Love / Hate Relationship With eBay

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This summer I have been keeping busy cleaning up my apartment and getting rid of or digitizing stuff. Part of that project has been to sell off stuff on eBay. I go through cycles of selling stuff and buying stuff. I am trying to offload stuff that I don’t need, is in good condition, and actually still has resale value.

In the past few weeks I have sold an old iPod Classic 160gb that I haven’t really used since I got an iPhone last year. I finally decided to part with it when I realized that it still has decent resale value. I sold my iPhone 3G when I realized it too could be sold even with all of AT&T & Apple’s limitations on it. I was amazed at how much one could go for. It didn’t pay for the new 3GS I bought at non-new contract price. It did come pretty dam close though. I also finally sold my old Airport extreme base station I had, and an old IP phone I had. I have a few more phones to clean up and sell, plus I am pondering a sale of my netbook since I like the size but the screen makes it hard for me to use it much. I am looking at some slightly larger screened stuff. There is a dell with an 11.6″ screen and some 12″ models are coming down in price. I am not ready to buy yet, since I think I want to wait till Windows 7 comes pre-installed but I am looking.

eBay and Paypal was nice and easy to use. I have used ebay for years, but the shipping of stuff was always a pain. I had previously bought some labels for shipping. After I realized that the USPS will pick up packages and my door man will hold stuff to be picked up my life of selling stuff got a lot easier. I can setup shipping and print out labels right from Paypal. That makes the system great. What really sucks about eBay and Paypal are their rules and all the fee’s. I had an auction that I wasn’t happy with the buyer so I refunded the money and canceled the auction. eBay only refunded me the final value fee. I still had to pay the insertion fee. Granted it was the cheaper fee, but the auction was made null. Why should I have to pay for buyers stupidity? What really got me was when I refunded the payment via Paypal I was charged a fee for returning the money. I could swear that in the past I was able to refund money without any fee’s. Now I have to pay money to return money? Come on. If there was competition I would say fine fee away, but Paypal is owned by eBay. What other payment system works with it like Paypal does? The answer is none. I won’t get started on the inability of sellers to leave negative feedback anymore. That is just stupid.

In the end my only real options on selling stuff is ebay or Craigslist. Both are good for some things, and not so good for others. I haven’t tried Amazon marketplace after they wouldn’t let me sell a mobile phone without a contract, but I should give it a try in the future.

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