PowerBook 1400
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The PowerBook 1400 is a
notebook computer A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper lid ...
that was designed and sold by
Apple Computer, Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
(now
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
) from 1996 to 1998 as part of their
PowerBook The PowerBook (known as Macintosh PowerBook before 1997) is a family of Macintosh laptop computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from 1991 to 2006. During its lifetime, the PowerBook went through several major revisions and r ...
series of
Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
computers. Introduced in October 1996 at a starting price of $2,499, it was the first new PowerBook after the controversial
PowerBook 5300 The PowerBook 5300 is the first generation of PowerBook laptops manufactured by Apple Computer to use the PowerPC processor. Released in August 1995, these PowerBooks were notable for being the first to feature hot-swappable expansion module ...
. After the introduction of the more powerful PowerBook 3400c in February 1997, the 1400 took on the role of Apple's entry level notebook and remained there until its discontinuation in May 1998. Its successor, the
PowerBook G3 Series The PowerBook G3 is a series of laptop Macintosh personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from 1997 to 2001. It was the first laptop to use the PowerPC G3 (PPC740/750) series of microprocessors, and was marketed as t ...
(i.e. - "Wallstreet"/"Mainstreet"), would ultimately go on to replace and consolidate not only the 1400, but the 2400c and 3400c as well. Throughout its 18 months on the market, the PowerBook 1400 was available in a number of different configurations. It was originally released with a 117 MHz
PowerPC 603e The PowerPC 600 family was the first family of PowerPC microprocessor, processors built. They were designed at the Somerset facility in Austin, Texas, jointly funded and staffed by engineers from IBM and Motorola as a part of the AIM alliance. Somer ...
processor; a 133 MHz processor was added in July 1997, and the line topped out with a 166 MHz processor the following December. Each version was available as either a "c" or a "cs" model, differentiated largely by type of
LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...
technology used. While both models came with 11.3" color displays with 800 × 600 resolution, the pricier 1400c came equipped with an
active matrix Active matrix is a type of addressing scheme used in flat panel displays. In this method of switching individual elements (pixels), each pixel is attached to a transistor and capacitor ''actively'' maintaining the pixel state while other pixels are ...
display and the 1400cs came with a less expensive passive matrix, dual-scan display. The optional 6× CD-ROM is implemented using a sleep-swappable module system similar to the one pioneered by the PowerBook 5300; other modules include a
Zip drive The Zip drive is a removable floppy disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late 1994. Considered medium-to-high-capacity at the time of its release, Zip disks were originally launched with capacities of 100  MB, then 250 ...
and the standard 1.4 MB floppy (an 8× CD-ROM would eventually become standard on the 133 MHz model). A pioneering feature of the 1400 is the "BookCover" laptop skin which allows owners the opportunity to give their PowerBook a customized look. Every 1400 shipped with a gray cover, a clear cover, and six inserts; a
ClarisWorks AppleWorks was an integrated office suite containing a word processor, database, and spreadsheet. It was developed by Rupert Lissner for Apple Computer, originally for the Apple II platform and launched in 1984, and was later reworked for the Ma ...
template was also included as an "extra" on the system restore CD, from which users could design their own BookCover. The 1400 was easily upgradeable. System memory modules can be "piggy-backed" onto each other (another feature unique to the 1400), allowing the use of additional RAM. The CPU is located on a removable daughter card, which can be replaced with one containing a faster processor, including a number of commercially available cards with
PowerPC G3 The PowerPC 7xx is a family of third generation 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors designed and manufactured by IBM and Motorola (spun off as Freescale Semiconductor bought by NXP Semiconductors). This family is called the PowerPC G3 by its well-know ...
processors from vendors such as Sonnet Technologies, NewerTech, and Vimage. Aside from its two
PC Card In computing, PC Card is a configuration for computer parallel communication peripheral interface, designed for laptop computers. Originally introduced as PCMCIA, the PC Card standard as well as its successors like CardBus were defined and devel ...
slots, the 1400 also included an internal expansion slot. Although few applications were ever developed to utilize it, Apple did release their own branded video card which included an increased amount of VRAM and an external video port. Other devices included a third-party video card, as well as a relatively rare Ethernet networking card. There are several well-known issues concerning the PowerBook 1400. Like all other PowerBooks prior to the
PowerBook G4 The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the ...
, the drive controller used in the 1400 is incompatible with ATA-6 hard drives. Compatibility issues could also arise with hard drives larger than 8.2 GB, resolvable by partitioning the boot drive to less than 8.2 GB or by using Mac OS 8.6 or later. Additionally, unlike all Apple notebooks to come after it, the 1400 would not boot from a CD by holding down the key while starting the machine; the only workarounds for this were selecting the CD in the Startup Disk control panel before rebooting, or pressing the keys. According t
Low End Mac
the 117 MHz model is a "compromised Mac" due to the lack of a level 2 cache.


Technical specifications


Timeline


Notes


References


External links

* Apple's datasheets
1400cs/1171400c/1171400cs/1331400c/1331400c/1661400cs/166
* Apple-history.com
1400 series specs
* Lowendmac.com
1400 series specs
{{Apple hardware before 1998 1400c PowerPC Macintosh computers Computer-related introductions in 1996