So I've finally decided that I'm going to buy a new PowerBook. I've been trying to decide whether to spend that much money or buy an iMac as a replacement server, because at that point I needed a new server more than a new PowerBook. But I'm using Virtual PC more and I can't get our C++ code to compile on CodeWarrior. C++ is not portable without writing it that way from the get-go. The code we're using is Windows specific so when I try to compile it on my Mac I get way too many errors. So the alternative is to compile it on Virtual PC, but that turns a two minute job into a 15 minute job on an otherwise idle system.

Another factor is rate of replacement. If I replace my PowerBook every two years then it'll usually be pretty close to top of the line. It also means that the server machine will only be up to 4-5 years out of date. That's about the point when computers start getting too old to be useful, although servers can last longer. And if I get the iMac, I'll still have to get another PowerBook in a year. I don't want too many old machines lying around in my apartment.

Now that the matter is decided, it's time to shop. I'm not going to order this stuff until I get my new credit card, which has 6 months of 0% interest, long enough for me to pay it back if I don't buy so much junk. A refurbished PowerBook G3 500 at MacConnection is about $3150 with shipping. Now, I want a lot of RAM since 240 MB (with RAMDoubler) is not enough for my job. Smalldog has Pismo memory, 512 MB high profile for $540 with shipping. That'll make it 640 MB which is much more than I should ever need. But then again, I thought that 160 MB 2 years ago was more than I needed and I feel the same about 384 MB today, so the next step is 640 MB.

Hard drive. The PowerBook comes with a 12 GB HD, not bad but I already have an 18 GB HD on my current PowerBook and I'm starting to run out of space on that. So let's go all the way and buy a 30 GB HD from Mac Components Engineered. It's about $625 with tax and shipping. I bought my 18 GB HD from them and it's worked fine. A bit pricey, but they test their equipment so I know it'll work.

Now, the Pismo PowerBooks have USB and Firewire, no serial, ADB, or SCSI ports. SCSI I don't use anyway, so that's no problem. Serial though, I really need my Ricochet modem. As far as I can tell the new Ricochet modems are Windows only and not USB. So I'll need a $65 adapter from Belkin Components. ADB is the keyboards and mice. One of my mice I'll need to replace anyway. It's a Kensington and it doesn't work quite right with my PowerBook. Plus it's going to my mom when I lose the Performa 6400. An optical mouse would be really nice, but Apple makes the best ones. So I can get a USB to ADB adapter for $45, or take the plunge and buy 2 sets of Apple keyboards and mice, for $165 or so. Let's say I go with the new equipment option.

At this point the total would be almost $4700, but it would be a top of the line system until the next PowerBooks are introduced within three months. Not that it should matter as I wouldn't be able to buy a new PowerBook until at least three months after it's announced which is a long time. That and I'm not too sure if it'll be all that much faster because Motorola has been having problems making fast CPUs.

$4700 for a PowerBook G3/500 wth 640 MB RAM and 30 GB HD, DVD-ROM too. I'll also then have a PowerBook G3/233 with 160 MB RAM and over 30 GB of storage space (almost half of it external storage). That should be quite nice for the next couple of years. A good every day machine and a good server machine, for once.