This Old Mac

23 May, 2008
By Holden Scott

Amazing computers, even today.  The clam design, complete with the handle and sturdy case has, in my opinion, stood strong throughout the years.  I have a SE Graphite 466 MHz with 576 MB RAM (maxed) and enjoy using it.  

History: The iBook Clamshells were the first iBooks, an alternative to Apple’s expensive PowerBook line: a line that began in 1989 with the Apple Portable.  Jobs needed to generate revenue (Apple was still lacking financially as a company) and he did so by offering consumer products to increase his market share.  The Clamshell is one of the best examples of Apple’s push to capture a larger percentage of the computer user market.  The Clamshells complemented the colorful, first iMac line.

They (family part number M2453) debuted at $1599 USD in 1999, with a 300 MHz (G3) processor with 512 KB of L2 cache (running at half processor speed), 4 MB VRAM (ATI Rage Mobility with 2x AGP), 32 MB RAM and 3 GB Hard Drives (later, in 2000, upgraded to 64 MB RAM and 6 GB Hard Drives in the revision Bs).  Two flavors were offered: the Tangerine colored model and the Blueberry colored model. Both models were identical save for the color.  Each came with a tray load 24x CD-ROM drive, 1 USB port, a 10/100 Ethernet Port and an 800×600 12.1″ Active Matrix display.  The display is perhaps the biggest drawback of these machines, since the screen is generally too small to use in OS X.  For OS 9, it is quite nice, however.

Some overlap in models… while Apple refreshed the 300 MHz iBooks at the beginning of 2000, it also released a Special Edition (SE) model around the same time, which added 66 extra MHz to the G3 processor, and cost $200 more than the 300 MHz iBooks.  It came in one color: an iced graphite. Toward the end of 2000, both the 300 MHz Clams and the 366 MHz SE iced graphite machines were discontinued.

Both models were replaced by two other revisions.  The first not as dramatic as the second.  Consumers now had the option of either a Blueberry or Key Lime clam, still set at 366 MHz like the iced graphite model before it (with faster L2 cache speeds running at full processor speed), but with an added firewire port and onboard video out.  Additionally, the “Firewire iBooks” increased Hard Drive space to 10 GB, and doubled the VRAM to 8 MB.  

The SE model, sometimes referred to as the ‘Paris iBooks’, was available in darker Graphite or Key Lime, this time packing the most punch of them all.  To be sure, processor speed was set at 466 MHz, and it included a DVD-ROM drive.  

This was the model that everyone was talking about.  Should you buy the Pismo, or the SE 466 MHz Clamshell iBook?  That was ‘the’ question during the time.  While some knew that the Pismo simply had more to offer (i.e. 14.1″ 1024 x 768 screen), others were not as convinced.  Barefeats released a speed comparison test between the Pismo and the SE 466 that did not help to untangle the confusion: the numbers were close in most tests.

While laudable in many respects, as mentioned, the biggest drawback to the Clamshells is the screen size.  I erased Tiger on my Clamshell SE 466 because the screen is just too small to take OS X seriously.  For instance, it was painful, both in terms of speed and in terms of screen size, whilst trying to use iWork’s Numbers application under Tiger on my SE 466 MHz machine. OS 9?  Much better and much more usable.  

Outside of the small screens, there really is little to complain about the Clamshells.  They are a joy to use, and, under OS 9, fast and stable.  Perhaps one of the most attractive feature that has enabled them continue to be useful is their support for Apple’s internal Airport cards.  If you have ever used older PowerBooks with wifi PC Cards that stick out, you will understand just how nice it is to have a machine that accepts internal Apple Airport cards; although, 802.11g is unsupported – only the slower 802.11b is supported.  

Something else… the design.  Yes, while the Clamshell lacks in some departments, its design provides some compensation.  

For instance, as long as it is not raining, Clamshell’s don’t really require that you take them in a laptop bag whilst trucking down the street to the Cafe to get out of the apartment.

How is this latter so?  Two reasons: its design and battery life.  The Clamshell’s have some of the best battery life of any laptop ever.  Brand new batteries can provide the user with over 4.5 hours of solid, real-world runtime.  So, not much need for a power brick.  When coupled with the fact that the Clamshell sports a ‘usable’ handle, and an incredibly sturdy case, a laptop bag is not needed, unless books are required.

With all of this said, my preference is for the first/second revision iBooks, although the firewire iBooks are nice too.  That is to say, the SE 466 is a bit of overkill.  Sure, nice to have all those features, but the Clamshell is really an OS 9 machine, and the first and second revisions have no problem running it.  Additionally, I like the more ‘clear’ plastics used on the first and second revision iBooks (as well as the first SE 366 iced graphite model), in comparison to the later models that have less clear, more solid looking plastics.  The appeal of the plastic’s translucency is twofold: it looks better and it feels better.  It is more silky smooth, and the ‘clear’ keyboards on the first and second revisions is nicer too.

To close off, the SE 466 and the firewire iBooks were finally replaced in mid 2001 with the first revision, dual-USB iBooks.  If you have a chance to pick up a nice Clamshell for field work, or something focused like writing a book, it is recommended.  T-O-M