Here's why this 20 year old Mac looks like a new one

The PowerBook G4 Titanium is arguably the genesis of modern Apple design, featuring an array of modern aesthetics and features that don't look too far from what we're used to in 2022. This 21 year old laptop was a real game changer back in 2001, and today I'll go through some of the parallels to the modern world, both flaws and benefits!

Gear:
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[lukemiani]

If you saw a TiBook in the wild without knowing what it is, how old would you think it is?

[clckristians]

I switched to G4 Titanium from my previous Power Book 3400c in 2002. I bought it used from my Canadian friend. Initially, it came with 9.2.1. MacOS, later I upgraded to Cheetah -> Puma -> Jaguar -> Panther, and finally Tiger (10.4). It was damn good looking and fast for that time. In 2009 the left hinge finally broke off, but I still have it, and it still runs. Was used primarily as a Final Cut editing station for my documentary and commercial works as it was easy to capture material via FireWire straight from DV/DVCAM. Great machine! Thanks, Luke!

[txa]

The TiBook was one of my absolute faves, and looking back I wish I’d hung on to it! But, as you say these weren’t cheap and power was ramping *fast* … at the time I was alternating buying new PC and Mac laptops every year so had to sell stuff off to afford the cycle!

[manaphyex]

I think the most modern part is the keyboard font. It's cooler than the current one. I really like it.

[timg]

I love these videos featuring old hardware. I started using Macs a bit over 20 years ago, so I had a lot of this hardware when it was new. It's a nice trip down memory lane. Thank you!

[seankenno]

I’m extremely impressed by how thin the Bezels on the G4 are

My M1 13” Pro had bigger bezels

This is surely the most narrow MacBook bezels until the new M1 Pro 16”

[AndyWoodall]

You knocked it out of the park with this video, I was there in 2001 following that keynote and the stoke was massive. The design was a big deal (and I’d just bought a Pismo PowerBook G3 about a month earlier) and I eventually sold my G3 and bought the second revision in late 2001 (550Mhz version).

I loved the Titanium PowerBook G4, it was glorious to use and the industrial design (as you say) still holds its own today. I still have mine, but it doesn’t look as good a condition as yours. Iused mine for years and years and it was only the battery failing that led me to get a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo in 2007 and I never liked it as much as the G4. Mine never had any build issues, it was faultless. But the case wore very badly where the wrists rested on the chassis.

[terrencegillon]

I've got a final revision Titanium G4 with the 1GHz chip and in very good condition for its age. No chips in the white paint and everything functioning perfectly. Still use it pretty frequently for some writing projects and to play around with the classic environment. Great video as usual, Luke!

[Piketom]

Is it just me or does the TiBook actually look pretty cool when when it is beat up? The second unit Luke shows has a very cool, almost cyberpunk vibe to it.

[AaronPinero]

I loved my TiBook. After a few initial problems (the motherboard was replaced a couple of times) this was a great machine. I upgraded to a unibody MacBook only because OS support fell behind and I wasn’t able to run modern versions of the Adobe Creative Suite. Titanium might not have been the best material choice, but you are right to say the design is timeless.

[Epicgamer_Mac]

So pretty! That thing looks like a 2020 - modern and I’d never have guessed how old it is. And titanium!? Holy $h!t its nuts!

[midnightsnack]

That Keybote video of Steve Jobs was cut for some reason and I cant seem to find the complete version on youtube. I recall that the "sex" Steve Jobs was talking about were Sony's Vaio notebooks that were amazingly sleek designs for its time. I remember he candidly admitted it during this keynote and in his slides.

[NickCutroneo]

This was my first laptop for college! Used it through all of undergrad and part of my masters. It was a BEAST! The only reason why I upgraded we because of the change to Intel. Unfortunately the hinge was a bit crap, so I had to get that fixed a few times. Such a great laptop!

[MudkipOnYT]

Everyone's talking about how MacBooks look so good, but not about how Luke looks so good.

[kingdave]

I worked for Dell in the early 2000s, and I remember when they first started copying this design. Only instead of actually being made of metal, the systems were just made of silver-colored plastic rather than the old dark gray plastic.

[mpinchi]

WOW I was amazed when you popped that keyboard up I didn't know the TI book had that feature. I love this design I think it looks modern, the only thing I don't like is it kinda looks like two laptops stacked together when you close the lid

[blackcoffeegarage]

I've got a mint TiBook 867mhz which I restored with NOS display housing and lower case... it's a joy to use and those keyboards were better than anything before and most models after... running Sorbet Leopard I find myself opening it up more often than most in my collection. I was an Apple sales/service guy for CompUSA when the TiBooks were released and let me tell ya... the first two generations were problematic to say the least. By the final gen a1025 they'd solved most of the paint and hinge problems! Worth mentioning, the original G3 series WallStreet made in Ireland was a disaster as well. Not only the shortcomings of the device itself including lack of zoom video support, but overall quality control and even poor design such as an over-short ribbon cable for the displays on the 13.3 inch models. The second revision WallStreet PDQ, that was the real winner. Best machine they made (maybe ever)... So long as you don't mind an 8 pound chunk of lead in your backpack, but back then that's all we had lol... If you saw my PowerBook collection you would probably have me committed.

[minecraftcart]

Yes definitely make a video with it, but watch out for high bit rate even with 480p. I reckon it couldn’t handle it.

[BrianOlmsted]

now they are making the iPhone 15 Pros from Titanium

[luckyduck]

Absolutely, this laptop holds up well 21 years later. I also love the vents on the side. Makes it seem so sleek as well, like it has industrial gills.

Am I the only one who loves the idea of ports on the back? I would love to see this on a modern laptop.