Apple has seen both extremes of the notebook computer market; the terrible ridicule of its first attempt - the so-called 'portable' that was only slightly easier to carry than a sewing machine - and the runaway success of the PowerBooks.
With the introduction a few years ago of the PowerPC chips, much has been expected of Apple and for the most part it has delivered.
So the promise of a PowerPC-based PowerBook was truly something. The chip they were to use was the 603, a chip that uses less power so it would last longer but be as powerful as a 601.
The expectations of true 'portable multimedia' - with the incorporation of a CD-ROM drive - were high indeed.
In the end, there was great disappointment. First, there was no CD-ROM drive, not even an expensive option. Secondly, the batteries were not just wonky, they were rumoured to blow up in your lap.
The top-of-the-line PowerBook 5300ce was, therefore, delayed and the batteries were fixed. So, was it worth the wait? In my attempt to review this machine, I had to get two from Apple. The first one not only kept crashing on me, it behaved most strangely, indeed. Applications would simply stop working for what seemed to be no reason at all. I took it back, was told the battery was bad and was given a new one. The problems, by and large, stopped, but they did not go away entirely.
I was then given a new machine. I have the second machine for a few weeks now and it is wonderful. I think it gave up on me once and that was when the batteries were low. I installed the Chinese language kit so that I could have both Chinese and English and, once again, I have had no problems.