The Apple Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, was one of the earliest computers to be built into a laptop format. While the first one, the Mac Portable released in 1989, was so non-portable at 16 pounds that people in the computer industry called it the "Mac Porkable," it nonetheless was a first. Over the next two decades, Apple introduced many more firsts, including the first color screen on a laptop and the first trackpad (replacing the ubiquitous trackball). Because laptops always have been made up of components, you can build a Mac laptop yourself, although Apple frowns upon this.

Basics

You can essentially build any type of laptop computer you want into almost any laptop shell you happen to have. Your best bet, however, is to start with an older model Mac laptop, such as the Powerbook Lombard or Powerbook Pismo. These were the code names used by Apple during development, but they stuck with the public because otherwise all the Mac laptops for many years were just called "Powerbook." You can acquire the shell to a Lombard or Pismo relatively easily from online sources that specialize in Macs or, usually less expensively, on sites such as eBay. The reason to start with this type of shell is that every component you need is readily available and the models are easy to work with. You can work up to a more modern Mac laptop later if you want to. You will need the shell--which has a bottom and top half--a screen for the same type of computer, a processor, RAM chips, a hard drive and possibly other components, depending on what comes with your shell.

Head Start

You can give yourself a head start by acquiring a shell that has a keyboard, the touchpad, the PCMCIA slots and rear outlets already in it. You can buy all these separately, but this will make it easier to connect everything. Assuming you want the latest model of black Powerbook, circa 2000, you will be getting a Pismo. You can tell it's a Pismo because it is the only black Powerbook of the era with two Firewire plugs in the back. So then you will need the Pismo motherboard or logic board and the processor. Everything is attached directly or indirectly to the logic board, so you will need to install this first. You can start adding components to it once it is attached to the bottom part of the shell. You can buy a standard 500mhz G3 Pismo processor or an upgraded processor which is a 550mhz G4 unit. This unit, however, is not made by Apple and may need to be installed by the company that makes it, Daystar Technology.

Advantages

The prime advantages of working with the Pismo are that the battery and various CD or DVD or Zip Disk drives are snap-in components. You don't have to hard-wire them into the computer because they just clip out. Another advantage is that you can get up to a gigabyte of RAM into a Pismo and you can install an Airport wireless card without the need to use a PCMCIA card. Once you have a hard drive installed and connected to the processor, you can format it from an Apple Mac system software disc. It will work with as late a Mac OS X as Tiger (10.4). All you need to do is have a DVD drive clipped into the Pismo, insert the system disc, hold down the "C" key and start the computer. This will start the Mac from the DVD and give you step-by-step instructions about setting up the system.

Source:

PowerBook G3 Pismo Repair Manual

Daystar Technology