The iPod was on its third generation of monochromatic display glory, and the PowerMac G5 was new.  It was early 2004 and that was the last time I purchased a “Mactop” before I recently jumped into an Intel based Mac laptop this December. My trusty six year old PowerBook G4 still kicks, and while it no longer kicks butt processor-wise, it’s still a very viable computer, aside from not being able to view You Tube videos due to the Mactop’s lack of a hardware decoder.

That trusty PowerBook really served me well. It went to events in California and London with me and I’ve used it to record many hours of audio, edited a fair amount of video, and created thousands of web pages with associated imagery. Despite rigorous use, the PowerBook has never failed me aside from normal maintenance with a NewerTech Battery replacement (years before I worked here at OWC), and a hard drive swap out not due to failure, but rather just being smart about replacing original 2.5″ drive since it was five years old.

I’m no hardware curmudgeon though…. I got an iMac in late 2008 to replace a 2003 PowerMac G5 so I could do things only an Intel Mac can do, plus my personal fleet of computers was aging, so it was time to begin the replacement process. The G5 proved just as reliable as the PowerBook. The darn thing keeps ticking… and now serves as a secure internet computing station at my parents house. Article Continues…