It's a bright yet cool June day in Bloomington, Indiana and I'd love to be sitting in the graveyard right now. Its thick grass and inviting shade beckons, nay taunts me, through the window. But here I sit, typing a review of a Powerbook 100 "portable" computer in my bedroom.

Take the computer outside, you say? I'd love to. Anybody got a functioning lead-acid battery? Anybody figured out a way to see on a crappy black-and-white LCD screen under sunlight? For that matter, anybody figured out a comfortable way to sit on the ground and type on this thing? Believe me, I'm all ears.

I know, I know...I shouldn't expect too much from a computer that I bought for $200. Hell, I can still remember when this very laptop retailed for more than $2,000. For my money, I got a working CPU with enough memory (8 meg RAM, 20 meg hard drive) and speed (16 MHz) for basic word processing and low-bandwith online activities. And it's portable, in the sense that I can shove it into my London Fog laptop satchel and take it any place.

It's somehow fitting that the only picture
we could find of the PB100 was a low-res B&W one.

Still, a working battery would've been nice (I was told that I was getting one when I bought the computer...I was lied to). At least I knew in advance that the AC adapter needed to be replaced (the previous owner ran over his original AC adapter with a Ford Bronco). I was able to pick up a brand new AC adapter from Battery Technology, Inc. (model #MC0732) for about $65.

The battery proved to be more trouble. Three days of phone calls to small companies around the country turned up nothing. Several of the companies' phone operators initially thought they had what I needed; but I knew better than to buy a battery built for the "PowerBook 100 series." Apparently, that series doesn't include the PowerBook 100 (go figure). The 100 is unique among Mac laptops, in its use of a lead-acid battery (all other models require a NiCad). Finally, I discovered Dynamic Engineering, which offers the original Mac lead/acid battery for $89 plus shipping. Unfortunately, I'm too broke to buy one right now (and they're notorious for not holding a charge, anyway).

So I remain dependent on AC power. This ain't so bad for most needs. I don't fly the friendly skies very often, and I get sick if I type in a car. The only time I long for battery power is when I simply want to get outside for awhile, and still remain productive. Like now...to the graveyard.

That brings up a basic problem with the design of this and every other laptop computer: They're all built to be used while sitting in a chair, preferably at a table. Try placing your laptop on the ground sometime and typing on it. You can't see the screen and can't reach the keyboard, unless you're a yoga instructor with the eyesight of the Six Million Dollar Man. If you lie on your stomach, you risk massive nerve damage from resting on your elbows. And you get ants in your ports!

Simply stated, laptops weren't designed for nature lovers. They were made for people who are too nomadic to rely on a stationary computer.

So, for those fast-moving types, how does the PB100 stack up?

The speed and model of the CPU (a blazing 16 MHz on a 68HC000 processor) means that it can't run most new software. Newer versions of Netscape, for example, will not run on this machine; you'll have to track down version 1.1. You can't run Microsoft Word 6.0 on the 100, but who would want to? Perhaps more significantly, System 7.5.5 is the last Mac system software upgrade to run on the PB100; Macintosh has officially left all 68000-based machines in the dust with future system software.

Nonetheless, the PB100 will run System 7.5.5, Microsoft Word 5.1, Telnet 2.6, Eudora Light, Stuffit, Fetch, DateBook Pro and other basic on-the-road necessities, with no apparent glitches (although, at 8 megs of RAM max., things can get a little hairy with memory-intensive programs). It's also worth noting that the Powerbook 100 is a classic favorite among MIDI users.

Port-wise, this machine is pretty weak, by modern laptop standards, anyway. There's one serial port, one ADB port, a headphone jack, and two drive ports (an HDI-20 for the external floppy and an HDI-30 SCSI). That's it. No PC card slot, no audio in, no stereo out. The only way to connect both a printer and modem simultaneously is with a serial adapter.

Drive space is scarce (at either 20 or 40MBs), and file transfer is a pain in the ass due to the lack of an internal floppy drive. If I want to transfer files to another machine, I can SCSI-dock mine to another Mac; but, of course, this means turning both machines off, hooking up the SCSI cable and rebooting (hardly the process preferred by road warriors and on-the-fly executives). External floppy drives are available and pretty much any SCSI drive will work, provided you have a HDI30-to-SCSI adapter...but, again, these external solutions require reboots and (usually) AC power.

Still, there's a certain charm to the PB100's simplicity. Indeed, its design was considered a breakthrough at the time of its release, and served as the model for laptops that followed. Old system software and commercial programs oftentimes run leaner and less buggy than their newest updates (I'm one of those folks who still prefers Word 5.1 to later versions). The machine itself is small (8.4" x 10.9" x 1.7") and lightweight (5.1 pounds) -- again, in contrast to many newer machines. The height-adjusting legs are notorious for their feebleness; both mine and Street Tech Editor Gareth's are broken. The keyboard is on the cramped side, but easy to adjust to. I removed my Shift-Lock key after months of accidentally hitting it; but that's probably due more to my imperfect touch-typing than the design of the keyboard. Another problem that a number of PB100 owners report (including myself and Gareth) is the power cable connection, where it plugs into the back of the computer, becoming intermittent and causing a "battery low" message even though the machine's plugged in. I solve this problem by looping the cable underneath the case and putting the case on my lap or a tabletop. As long as downward pressure is put on the connection, it works.

The Powerbook 100 first hit the market in October of 1991. We've come a long way, baby. But, if all you need is a low-cost home computer, a cheap second machine for the road or something that'll let you keep working while you watch TV (how Gareth uses his PB100) or sipping coffee and looking trendy near the AC outlet at Border's Books (how I use mine), this machine (or one of its 68030-chip successors) might be worth considering. They can usually be had for a song.
- Joe Nickell [7/22/97]