Make Your Own Transparent iBook

Blackstealth sent in linkage to an attractive and clever mod for the Apple iBook. The TronBook takes the idea of a transparent iBook and takes it a few steps further. I wish we'd see more laptop mods of this quality.

Comments

Picture Mirror...

[FyRE666]

Here for when the site inevitably goes down :-)

Re:Picture Mirror...

[2nd Post!]

Somehow I have a hard time believing homepage.mac.com can be slashdotted... but we'll see, won't we?

Re:And lose the magnesium cover?

[Hast]

The iBook doesn't have magnesium cover, that's the TiBook. The iBook just have painted plastic. (Which is why these hacks are so easy to do.)

Pro shops?

[DataSquid]

Any chance someone has started doing this commercially, like these guys do for GBAs and the like? I'd like to get this done, but to source the parts and have the time/skill is a definite problem. Especially in the skill area. A friend of mine trashed his LCD trying something like this. I guess the paint ran off into the back or something.

Re:Pro shops?

[jbrw]

Are there any alternatives to the colorconsoles.com people listed above? My flatmate promises he'll get a PS2 as soon as he can get his hands on a white one (yup, it's a fashion accessory), and Sony Europe hasn't released their limited edition yet (or, alternatively they have, and we didn't notice).

If there's someone doing good case kits, and i'm sure there must be, i'd appreciate the linkage.

RE:

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple produces transparent pre-production models of every product. Sort of a final debugging - that way, if a chip blows, or there's a stress on the plastic somewhere, it can be identified quite easily...they've been doing this for years...

plastic?

[AlaskanUnderachiever]

While I commend apple on both their design and marketing (who else could manage to sell "of course it's going to be more expensive now, you understand don't you?") I can't get over the fact that it's so plastic. I've had a few different laptops over the year and my favorites are invevitably the ones with metal exteriors. A device that's meant to be portable should be durable, and I'm afraid that while plastics have made great strides in impact resistance, for sheer maleability (sp?) of impact and ability to stay in one piece, alloys in use today still win hands down. I wanted an ibook. I lusted after one. Then I picked one up and played with it. No thank you sam. Give me something that's gonna survive daily duty in the back of a pack or the bottom of a briefcase.

Re:plastic?

[inburito]

I suppose how it works is that you get what you pay for.

plastic=cheap - metal=expensive
from here we can deduce that
ibook=plastic=cheap - tibook=metal=expensive

this is all relative apple-pricing of course.. ;-)

Re:plastic?

[stripes]

A device that's meant to be portable should be durable, and I'm afraid that while plastics have made great strides in impact resistance, for sheer maleability (sp?) of impact and ability to stay in one piece, alloys in use today still win hands down.

Metal is durable, I'll give you that. However the metal used in laptops tends to be chosen to be light so you get very little of it. I doubt the Ti book is more durable then the iBook for example because so little Ti is used. More importantly high impact plastics tend too dissipate more of the force then metal. I don't have lots of impact experience with laptops, but with metal cameras you can get some dings and keep going, but you can also get some that transmit enough force to the camera innards that even though the body has not shattered the camera is dead. With plastic camera you tend to not manage to break the innards without breaking the body. The (better) plastics can take a whole lot of impact. I would rather use the plastic EOS-3 to hammer nails then the metal EOS-1v...

Then I picked one up and played with it.

Well the metals frequently feel better then plastics. Of corse rubber is frequently even more tactile. None of that speaks to how durable the thing is though.

Re:plastic?

[stripes]

because so little Ti is used? Check again my ignorant friend, the casing is a sheet of pure titanium, just like on the wings of aircraft and sattellites.

Yes? And? It is pure Ti, and it is pretty much the only exterior case material, but very little is used. How could that be? Well it is thin ! That's right the iBook has maybe a 1/4inch of plastic, and the TiBook has maybe 1/16th of an inch of Ti.

Re:plastic?

[eric434]

I'll vouch for that. Prior to getting a Tom Bihn Mitre case (if you have a Tibook, you need AT LEAST a Mitre), my bag with tibook inside was dropped from the height of about a foot and a half onto concrete. The front of the bottom panel deformed a good deal (it's a messenger bag, so the laptop was front-edge down), and although it's only a cosmetic thing (The non-titianium(?) silver band between the screen and bottom panel [when the laptop is closed] took the shock well), it's still kind of stupid.

Oh, and the titanium on the bottom panel looks to be about 1/32" thick. Not even CLOSE to 1/16.

Re:plastic?

[phillymjs]

Take it from someone who made this decision almost a year ago. The 12" iBook is *much* more durable than the TiBook.

The TiBook is too flexible; if picked up in one hand, it will bend-- in early models, it could bend enough for the battery contacts to lose contact with the battery. The iBook is made to be used by young kids in school, and put up with what they can dish out-- this makes it the ideal machine for a support tech like me who's out on the road all the time. My iBook goes with me everywhere in my backpack. I have no doubts it'd be fine in there by itself, though I did indulge in a padded SleevCase from Waterfield Designs to provide a little more protection. I highly recommend their cases, they ship quickly and are responsive to their customers-- they very quickly made a 'top loader' version of their iBook SleevCase when asked, so I don't even need to take the case out of my backpack, and I still have the 'side loader' model for when I take the iBook somewhere without my backpack.

~Philly

Re:plastic?

[phillymjs]

The SleevCase is basically an envelope of about 1/2 inch of foam padding. The opening has one velcro strap that goes over it. There is just enough excess length to the case that if you velcro it tightly, it effectively completely encloses the iBook in a foam cocoon. And it fits wonderfully in my backpack, I have no trouble at all getting it out or putting it away quickly, while the (top-loading) case remains in the backpack. I think you can get a model with loops for a shoulder strap, but mine is just bare bones, never meant to be used outside of my backpack.

~Philly

Re:plastic?

[laserjet]

I second your experience. I bought my white iBook (dual USB) about a year ago, and love it. I carry it around in my backpack and beat the hell out of it and it works fine. it is VERY durable. Apple laptops are very well built.

The Future.

[upstairs]

AC sent in linkage to an attractive and clever mod for the Apple G4 Tower. A beige box conversion! I wish we'd see more boxen mods of this ingenuity.

Wow

[jaavaaguru]

That is so cool. It makes me wonder though, why Apple doesn't come up with designs like this themselves. yeah sure, they come up with a lot of original stuff and cool designs, but having more to choose from would surely be an advantage. The transparent cover over the hard drive and battery could do with being tinted blue - it's just a wee bit too clear I think. Wish I could afford an iBook to do this to :o)

Re:Wow

[crawling_chaos]

In the end, it comes down to economics. Every time Apple comes up with something interesting, there's a whole group of people who jump all over them for their prices being too high. If they had more choices, they'd be ordering parts in even smaller numbers and the prices would be even higher. They need to walk a fine line between having too many choices and being boring. I think Steve would rather die than be boring.

Re:Wow

[stripes]

If they had more choices, they'd be ordering parts in even smaller numbers and the prices would be even higher. They need to walk a fine line between having too many choices and being boring

Harley has a "factory custom" program. The dealers don't stock these bikes (or at least they don't expect to sell the ones they stock). They are not cheap (you pay for having custom body work). They are not common (many people may buy them, but very very few will buy their "custom" bike with the exact same set of options). The changes are all cosmetic. A factory custom bike isn't really cheaper then buying stock, and having a local shop do the mods (even though Harley saves by not putting on the original parts that they will just take off and replace).

So why do people buy them? Well it is simpler the finding a reputable skilled local body shop to do it, and you keep the warranty. There are some mods I would do to my TiBook (external antenna port, different color logo, maybe some other things) except I want to keep the warranty. I'm sure a lot of people would pay extra (and since they are already buying Apple, pay a lot extra for a custom, maybe not one of a kind, but could be the only one in the state set of mods).

Re:Wow

[crawling_chaos]

I thought the Harley custom program was largely a response to a thriving modification aftermarket. They essentially saw that the demand was there and moved in to take a piece of it.

There aren't very many mod shops for Powerbooks yet. If it becomes a viable business, it would make sense for Apple to try to grab a piece of that pie.

Re:Wow

[stripes]

I thought the Harley custom program was largely a response to a thriving modification aftermarket. They essentially saw that the demand was there and moved in to take a piece of it.

According to the history channel at least a Harley VP was at a show and saw a bunch of people selling bike mod kits and a light bulb went off. The guy that did the "tron book" bought his kit at a show, so maybe all we need is the right VP going to the show :-)

There aren't very many mod shops for Powerbooks yet. If it becomes a viable business, it would make sense for Apple to try to grab a piece of that pie.

I have no idea how many or few mod shops there are for Apple's (or Wintel hardware). However there was an existing similar business (body shops) for bikes, but computer repair shops pretty much do wholesale part replacements, not repair. So I don't think there is a close enough shop to mutate. Also motorcycles had more interchangeable parts, so you could take some other companies chopper parts and put 'em on a Harley to get a low rider Harley. It would be hard to take a Viao shell and put it on an iBook... (or an iBook shell on a JetBook).

You are right though, if Apple waits for mod shops to become common then they know they have a sure thing. If they decide the demand is there before something proves that it is, well they could be wrong (they could also find out they are right years or decades before it is a "sure thing").

P.S. I think the 2 line laser etching on the iPods does sort of count as factory custom, but it is only on one (er, two) product(s), and only one option. Still it is a start. Or if it sells poorly, an end.

Re:Wow

[dfluke]

Yep, Apple should at least ship iBooks with different colours-choices if not transparent, sort of like the "old" iMac line.. mmm, Pink iBook..

Re:Wow

[stripes]

Wish I had thought of this before, but there is another common iBook/TiBook mod other then color/light changing. The old iBook ("toilet seat" iBooks) had a built in handle. Very useful. The new iBook doesn't, no PowerBook ever did. some places sell handle kits fot the TiBook and new iBook. I have one on my TiBook, slightly unwealdy, but way better for carrying then no handle (not cross town carry, for that a backpack is better, but to go from your office to someone else's to show something, or moving from room to room in your house). However if Apple had done it they could have made it from Al and put the TiBook antenna in it. I think a lot of people would pay a modest extra ammount for the handle and better 802.11 reception...even if that made it a BTO option.

So where...

[Anonymous Coward]

...is the LAST part of the mod? You know, the part where they guy sprays all that foam all over the iBook, and makes it look like a lump of elephant poop....

...oh wait. Wrong article. :P

Re:And lose the magnesium cover?

[xTina]

The iBook doesn't have a magnesium cover but it does have a magnesium frame:

<snip>
That's why it's made of ultratough polycarbonate - the same material used in bulletproof glass - and has an internal magnesium frame for added strength.
</snip>

(from http://www.apple.com/ibook/)

More pics...

[netsharc]

A few links on the left side of the page goes to pages of pictures that show the construction phase, wow what resources these geeks have. I like the banner on top too, a colourful "The chamber of fussiest people.". Can we steal that and make it the new Slashdot motto?

Re:Transparent prototypes

[Draoi]

I can vouch for that, having worked there in diagnostic engineering. Early models were made in perspex as soon as the basic form was decided upon. The product design team used this to ensure that everything would fit in the final unit, that the airflow was going to work out, etc. Also, you could easily look through a unit and immediately know if it had a modem, the latest processor card, etc. Cool stuff. The *really* early units were made of of sawn-up sheets of perspex which had been glued and taped together. The components were glued or velcro'd into place & the whole box was about three times bigger than the normal product. I can recall the first TiBook looking like this in the lab .....

Another thing Apple does is colour their PCBs according to the design/manufacturing phase. EVT boards (engineering trials) were red, DVT boards (design trials) were blue & PVT/production were the standard green colour

Re:Does it come in black?

[jlower]

Get some plastic scratch remover if the surface isn't painted. It's a lot like rubbing compound for cars. You should be able to find it at bigger hardware stores.

I've used it to remove scratches from plexiglas aquariums. Takes some patience and elbow grease but it works.

Re:And lose the magnesium cover?

[crumbz]

yes, the bodies are titanium.

What were the ramifications?

[Dynedain]

So what did his wife say when she got home? He did mention that she wouldn't be happy about him pulling apart her ibook.

Re:Two words.

[stripes]

Ummm TiBook?

The TiBook while it is very nice does have a few drawbacks. It is physically wider. As a more costly item it may be more of a theft target. Worst of all (to me) it has a whole lot less 802.11 range (the iBook and PowerBook G3 tends to have much better range then most PCMCIA 802.11 cards, the TiBook has somewhat worse range then 802.11 cards). There are a lot of good things about the TiBook though.

Easter...

[Jace of Fuse!]

Um! Doesn't this guy know you're supposed to paint EGGS on Easter, not APPLES!

Japanese imports

[jchristopher]

Mods for Apple laptops are apparently incredibly popular in Japan - they have all kinds of stuff like replacement colored light up keyboards, etc. Not just one-off mods, but actual production parts that you can buy at retail.

There are plenty of links to replacement keyboards and such for other Powerbooks like the Wallstreet, Pismo, etc, but for some reason, nothing has appeared yet for the IceBook. Anyone have any links to cool mods for it? A keyboard would go great with a paint mod.

Realistic here

[2nd Post!]

The iBook is covered in polycarbonate plastic. The same stuff they use in ultra hard shatter resistent eyeglasses and in bulletproof glass.

Unless you're carrying steel surgical instruments and diamond cutting blades in the bottom of your briefcase or in your backpack, the iBook will probably suffer, at most, cosmetic scratches from the run of the mill stuff.

Alloys will deform *and stay that way* where the polycarbonate will flex and return it's shape. The iBook itself has a polycarbonate shell, a magnesium frame (you wanted alloys? you got it), rubber mounting for the drives and other components, and it's got an extra sturdy hinge for the screen.

The only stronger laptop I can imagine would be the Panasonic ToughBooks. Everything else I've seen (even my Titanium PowerBook) pales in comparison to an iBook.

Re:Realistic here

[jafac]

Also used in cockpit canopies for fighter jets.

I'm fashioning some bits of my SCA armor from this stuff. Very light, very excellent impact distribution, dimensional stability, and it's easy to work with. It heat-forms at about 330 degrees F.

However, I'd be careful with this type of modification, because the one thing Polycarbonate and Lexan (the GE brand-name for the stuff) are is sensitive to chemical solvents. So the wrong paint thinner, or contact with cyanoacrylates causes crazing, and what was once flexible and tough will shatter like safety glass when exposed.

Electronics Are Inherently Ugly

[Petersko]

I stand by a statement I made a long time ago - circuit boards and manufacturing labels are inherently ugly. Perhaps I'm not geek enough to appreciate them properly (although I still find the new-electronics smell a pleasant one), but I'm very glad my computer has a case you can't see through.

In fact, I don't even like my computer looking like a computer - it doesn't fit my decor as it is. Make the whole thing invisible, and I'll be happy.

Re:Does it come in black?

[phillymjs]

Yeah, I think an ultra-glossy black iBook would look really cool.

Myself, I'm happy with the white... though I have thought about redoing the top panel of mine in an arctic-camouflage look, just to differentiate it a little bit.

~Philly

Re:Transparent prototypes

[Draoi]

I can recall the first TiBook looking like this in the lab .....

are there pics of this? that'd be really interesting...

Hell, no! I can recall my brother-in-law getting into major trouble for photographing my baby daughter out in the parking lot one day. No cameras, no nothing!

The time the C1/iMac was under development, we were brought into a room in Cupertino which was under guard & shown an early prototype which was stored under a cloth. Major paranoia. :) The iMac was translucent plastic, not the infamous Bondi Blue & had a laptop CD-ROM bodged into place. Interestingly enough, when the LifeSavers project went ahead, the first time we became aware that the iMac colours had changed was when they trundled down the manufacturing line! Here's a pic of the production line from Apple PR

As for the TiBook - it's wasn't much to look at. A big 3" thick perspex box with some Pismo and EVT parts inside. The wide LCD screen was naked and held in place on a sheet of plastic with Kapton tape. The whole display 'hinge' was propped up behind the case. The slightest jiggle was enough to crash the beast as all the flex connectors were just pushed onto free-floating pcbs. There was a honking big piece of metal stuck over the processor card & a conventional CPU fan was attached.

It really wasn't that much to look at but the speed of the thing was phenomenal to us G3/400 types ....

When are we just going to make tough cases?

[gelfling]

All this geekness is way kewl and shit but for 10 years I've been waiting for a rugged affordable laptop you don't have to baby. I want a crack proof shatter proof shock proof case that doesn't weigh 9 lbs.

What should they use? Kevlar and shock foam plastic? Inorganic ceramics? What???

Re:When are we just going to make tough cases?

[Lxy]

Panasonic Toughbooks. Those things absolutely rock, but they're about $7K US last I checked. Local law enforcement uses them so they can leave them in their cars during summer (120F) and winter (-40F) and they take the abuse. Not to mention the touch screen and the touch pad membranes that actually make the pad usable. The case is magnesium, and it could easily be used a shield as well as a weapon.

Re:Two words.

[threephaseboy]

Oh yes, the Powerbook G3 has really great Airport range, what with its LACK of built-in airport

Re:Two words.

[stripes]

Oh yes, the Powerbook G3 has really great Airport range, what with its LACK of built-in airport

Bull, at the very least the FireWire G3 had built in airport (or at least an internal slot for it, and an internal antenna).

I'll bet you $100 I can produce one. Or $3000. Whatever.

Black vs White

[flufffy]

As someone who flunked physics, I was wondering if a black painted case would cool better - would absorb more heat inside and radiate more heat out? Similarly does the white paint increase heat reflection back into the case? Or is this a dumb question ...?

Re:Two words.

[threephaseboy]

Fine. But most of them did not. Also note that "Powerbook G3" technically refers to the Kanga G3, the one in the 5300 case, while "Powerbook G3 Series" refers to the first curvy ones thru the last FW models. Everything up to and including the bronze G3 didnt have a airport slot b/c airport had not come out yet.

So why don't you buy an iBook?

[2nd Post!]

It weighs 4.9lbs (much less than your 9 lb weight requirement), is a rubber mounted (drive and electronics), magnesium alloy framed (for lightness, rigidity, and strength), polycarbonate covered (bulletproof? Probably not.) laptop that you can probably use to stop knife wielding attackers and then write up the incident up in your online journal while wirelessly surfing the net at your local Starbucks.

You think I'm joking, but I'm not. You could probably stop a knife with your iBook, whack the attacker in the head with it, and then walk away with a working iBook :)

Re:Two words.

[stripes]

Also note that "Powerbook G3" technically refers to the Kanga G3

Hmmm, I would have thought "PowerBook G3" would refer to anything that says "PoweBook G3" on the case, especally things that say "PowerBook G3" with nothing in front of or after it, which is exactly what my (er, my wife's) "FireWire" PowerBook G3 says right on the front between the LCD and keyboard where my PowerBook G4 says "PowerBook G4"...

Re:Replacement Keyboards: Where???

[Cryptnotic]

Wow. That is terrible. I hope you forward this to Apple and maybe they can fix it. This would be a dealbreaker for me. For a desktop machine, you can easily plug in a Sun Type 6 USB UNIX layout keyboard, but for a laptop, there isn't really a whole lot you can do. And if you can't remap CapsLock, you're screwed.

I think the best option would be for Apple to offer a UNIX layout for their keyboards just like Sun does. They already build something like 30 different keyboards for different parts of the world. One more isn't going to kill them. In fact, it would probably be popular.

Cryptnotic

Re:Two words.

[threephaseboy]

Look at: http://www.info.apple.com/support/applespec.html
Note that you have Powerbook G3 (Series), Powerbook G3 (Bronze), Powerbook G3 (Firewire), and then just "Powerbook G3"