This article is from the public number:Geek Choice (ID: GeekChoice), author: Liu Diudiu, title figure from: vision China

iBook G4 is iBookFinally a series of models, many of the first generation MacBook design, are borrowed from this machine.

Speaking of productivity tools, many people may think first MacBook, it has a slim body, magic trackpad, of course, easy to use macOS. Whether you are looking for lightness or want higher performance, you have a choice of models. The iBook G4 we are going to introduce today is inextricably linked to the MacBook series.

Before MacBook, Apple’s notebook series was mainly divided into two lines, one for the professional crowd of PowerBook, corresponding to the current MacBook Pro, and the other is the iBook for the average consumer, corresponding to today’s MacBook Air. Our protagonist today is the last model of the iBook series. Many of the original MacBook designs borrowed from this machine.

detachable keyboard, feel “smash” MacBook

From the outside, the iBook G4 seems to be a far cry from the word “light and thin”. It has a thickness of 3.4 cm, which is thicker than the two latest MacBook Airs, and the 4:3 screen looks like Not modern enough, the resolution is only 1024 × 768. But you have to know that this is a machine released in 2003 (later updated in 2004 and 2005), it’s a lot The design was still very avant-garde at the time.

The first thing to say is this detachable keyboard. You can easily remove it by simply unscrewing the top lock switch and then pushing the two snaps. The keyboard that Apple sells now is very similar to it. I don’t know if I borrowed the design here.

There is also a cable connection between the removed keyboard and the notebook. In addition, you can see Apple’s AirPort Extreme (Wireless network card) . Before the iBook series appeared (1999), the main way people go online is by dial-up connection, and Apple’s iBook(series) for the first time Wi-Fi function (based on IEEE 802.11 standard) is placed on a consumer notebook.

However, Apple only initially offered the AirPort module as an optional accessory, which users need to purchase separately. Later in the October 2004 update, AirPort Extreme was integrated into the iBook G4. Of course, the later MacBook series were all equipped with wireless networking capabilities, and Wi-Fi has gradually become the industry standard.

The detachable keyboard also brings an advantage to the iBook G4, which is convenient for replacing the memory. Simply remove the AirPort component and unscrew the four screws to see the memory slot. The machine in our hands has only 256M of memory. After adding the memory stick, it can be expanded to 1.25GB, which is enough at that time.

Review of the current notebook, in order to pursue integration, the internal space is getting more and more compact. Especially Apple’s own MacBook series, the difficulty and cost of repair is very high. Like the iBook G4, this detail designed for easy disassembly is really memorable.

Return to the keyboard itself, its keystroke is longer than the current butterfly keyboard, the surface of the button is concave, and the feel is much stronger than the current MacBook. According to foreign media news, Apple is likely to abandon the butterfly keyboard in the next year, re-use the scissors design, hope that MacBoo will arriveThe typing experience of k can be improved.

Familiar Apple Belief Light

But the experience of this trackpad on the iBook G4 is not so good. It is much smaller than the trackpad on the MacBook. The April 2004 version of our hand only supports Single touch, no two-finger scrolling, right-click operation needs to match the Ctrl key. If you use it now, it is more convenient to connect a mouse.

Another nostalgic, and familiar Apple belief lamp. The iBook G4 has a white plastic body and is lighter in weight, which is why its name Snow comes from. Although the shape of the iBook G4 is not as unique as the previous generation iBook G3, the simple shape looks very advanced. When opened, the apple logo on the back cover will light up, close the lid, and have a white breathing light in front that reflects sleep.

The iBook G4 has an interesting design on the lid. It supports the snap lock, but the lock is usually hidden at the top of the screen. Only when the lid is closed quickly will it be attracted by the magnet hidden under the keyboard and quickly locked. If you don’t deliberately observe, you will hardly notice this detail.

rich extension interface

The iBook G4 is a bit different from the current MacBook, which is rich interface support. On the left side of the notebook are a telephone line interface, a network cable interface, a FireWire Firewire interface, two USB, Mini VGA, and 3.5mm headphone jacks. At that time, the FireWire interface was very popular with geek users. This is an interface standard developed by Apple. It can supply power and transmit data at the same time. The actual speed is higher than USB 2.0. However, due to the dispute over the patent license fee, it was not implemented. Later, Apple replaced it with the Thunderbolt lightning interface.

In contrast, the increasingly thin and light MacBooks now have no rich interface support, and users can only rely on the docking station to connect various devices. It is a pity.

The right side of the notebook is the optical driveAnd power interface. At this time, the iBook has not used the magnetic interface on the MacBook. The power output is 45W, and the indicator light will display different colors when charging and charging. It uses a slot-loading optical drive, eliminating the tray and saving internal space. Press and hold the F12 next to it to exit the disc.

The battery design at the bottom of the fuselage is also very interesting. With a coin, you can open the battery lock with a button on it. When pressed, it will display the remaining battery, much like the current charging treasure.

The iBook G4 is an important turning point for Apple’s notebook to become unified. Many of its designs were borrowed from the original MacBook. After that, Apple redesigned the entire product line in 2015. The Air series and the Pro series complement each other. In the pursuit of thinness and performance and at the same time, there will be some trade-offs, but there is no doubt that the MacBook is now one of the first choice for people to buy notebooks.

Now looking back at the iBook G4, whether it’s a boot tone similar to an iMac at boot time or a familiar operating habit on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, I’m familiar with this 15-year-old Apple notebook.

This article is from the public number:Geek Choice (ID: GeekChoice) , author: Liu Diudiu