Archive No. 58
PowerBook 540c
(Blackbird) PowerPC Upgrade
Circa 1994RareFully Operational
Historical Context
The PowerBook 500 series introduced the built-in trackpad to personal computers before anyone else — a feature so obvious in retrospect that every laptop on earth has used it since. The 540c 'Blackbird' was the top of the line: active-matrix color, 33 MHz 68LC040, stereo speakers. Its benchmark scores embarrassed PC laptops that cost twice as much.
Specifications
Technical Blueprint
Ref: M4880
Processor
PowerPC 603e 133MHz
Memory
40MB
Storage
2GB BlueSCSI v2
Graphics
9.5” color
Operating System
MacOS 8.1
Gallery
Detailed Observations
The Story
PPC upgrade card from 68040 processor Rev C PCMCIA module Brightness up button doesn’t work.