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Apple Powerbook Duo in Hackers (1995)

Kate's new laptop is a Powerbook Duo 280c. Eugene attempts to bribe Dade by sending him a new clear-cased Duo 280c.

Importance: *****
Kate uses the Powerbook for all her hacking exploits.

Realism: ***
Silly graphics, and of course this is the Apple that is infamously described as having the "new P6 chip".

Visibility: ****

Comments:

Name

Comment


Year of feature (shown above)


alex(rus)

hi! but Kate used powerbook duo 280c! it`s very good laptop.
2017-07-26 13:02


alex(rus)

hi! but Kate used powerbook duo 280c! it`s very good laptop.
2010-06-20 13:49


Mark Walsh

Hey...I see one in the scene near the end when they're in the Lower Level of Grand Central Station & they're doing Mass Attack on the "Gibson Supercomputer"...if you take a good look at Dade, he's wearing this like eye piece thing...& what that is, is a Tiger Electronics R-Zone Headgear...it was a Stiff Red LED Graphics attempt at headgear gaming (remember the Nintendo Virtual Boy? that turned out to be a MASSIVE FAILURE...the Tiger R-Zone was a much cheaper, low-end attempt at that same market...)
2017-07-26 13:02


Fortrix""/

Yes, the 2300c had a touchpad and there's a trackball. So it's 280c indeed. Anyway, it was really great machine for the time.
2017-07-26 13:07


1337""/

I wish i had a p6 chip:(
2011-01-25 23:32


gadgetboi

does anybody know what computer that he use in the begining of the movie when he hack the network tv?
2011-12-03 23:16


mouse

I think it is safe to say that the writers did not mean to say that the Duo had a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P6_%28microarchitecture%29?">P6</a> Intel CPU. They made a big deal out of it being a RISC CPU. At the time there were a lot of exciting RISC CPU options. The 280 was the last CISC duo, a little over a year later the RISC based 2300 came out.
2012-02-27 23:12


Overdose

Mr Mouse, the P6 was being based on a new risc subsystem. The powerpc which was coming was a fully risc cpu. You can play this both ways. The problem is in 1995, how many chips are known by general audience. Yeah, they play with words here, but movie is not knowing for realism. It is very unrealistic movies, much less realisms than earlier Sneakers movie. Also to note are two more details. Computer has 'millions' of colours (actually is only 16bit, although a 24bit palette), and 28.8k modem (internal modem was only 14.4). I like this film, but wonder what other computers are using? There is computer used by bad man, computer used by lamer Joey (some kind of apple desktop) and computer/s used by Dade (Crash Overide) himself. So much to explore.
2012-06-26 14:10


Grendel

Pretty sure that Kate's laptop was a PowerBook Duo 2300c.
2014-07-07 18:05


thehinac

Technically you all could be right. The clear duo is a apple prototype. Her laptop could be a 280c with a 2300c logic board they are interchangeable. If they had a prototype Apple which would at the time almost impossible to get your hands on. They could have given them another prototype which would be the 280c upgraded. Thus RISC chip. The 2300c comes with a touch pad from what I've seen. Unless there was a track ball version I've never seen. Even today people rebuild the 280c and place a 2300c logic board in it for fun. P6 chip would refer to the PowerPC 600, the Powerbook 2300c came with a PowerPC 603e. Thus more reason to believe it was a 280c base unit with a 2300c logic board. Also at the time of 1995 NexGen produced the first x86 chip with RISC built-in to break down the x86 instructions. Later this company was bought by AMD to become AMD's K6 chip. I own a couple NexGen products. Intel did not add RISC until the Pentium 4. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5806589/why-does-intel-hide-internal-risc-core-in-their-processors (Starting with Pentium 4, Intel redesigned it's microprocessors and used internal RISC core under the old CISC instructions. Since Pentium 4 all CISC instructions are divided into smaller parts and then executed by mentioned RISC core.)
2014-10-23 23:55


thehinac

Technically you all could be right. The clear duo is a apple prototype. Her laptop could be a 280c with a 2300c logic board they are interchangeable. If they had a prototype Apple which would at the time almost impossible to get your hands on. They could have given them another prototype which would be the 280c upgraded. Thus RISC chip. The 2300c comes with a touch pad from what I've seen. Unless there was a track ball version I've never seen. Even today people rebuild the 280c and place a 2300c logic board in it for fun. P6 chip would refer to the PowerPC 600, the Powerbook 2300c came with a PowerPC 603e. Thus more reason to believe it was a 280c base unit with a 2300c logic board. Also at the time of 1995 NexGen produced the first x86 chip with RISC built-in to break down the x86 instructions. Later this company was bought by AMD to become AMD's K6 chip. I own a couple NexGen products. Intel did not add RISC until the Pentium 4. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5806589/why-does-intel-hide-internal-risc-core-in-their-processors (Starting with Pentium 4, Intel redesigned it's microprocessors and used internal RISC core under the old CISC instructions. Since Pentium 4 all CISC instructions are divided into smaller parts and then executed by mentioned RISC core.)
2017-07-26 13:23


TheHinac

To build Kate's laptop you will need; The bezel case piece in front of the keyboard from a 270c because there is no writing. The screen or screen bezel from a 280c screen assembly because it has no writing only Apple emblem. System board from a 2300c However the plastic is a darker color that only seems to match the case color of the Newton. Which means the laptop is probably also a prototype. Paint or plastic lacquer might work. Have been unable to find a 28.8 or 19.2 bps modem that was ever made. Most of what was said was Apple marketing information. This might at one point been a planned option...?
2015-03-11 23:53


TheHinac

To build Kate's laptop you will need; The bezel case piece in front of the keyboard from a 270c because there is no writing. The screen or screen bezel from a 280c screen assembly because it has no writing only Apple emblem. System board from a 2300c However the plastic is a darker color that only seems to match the case color of the Newton. Which means the laptop is probably also a prototype. Paint or plastic lacquer might work. Have been unable to find a 28.8 or 19.2 bps modem that was ever made. Most of what was said was Apple marketing information. This might at one point been a planned option...?
2015-03-12 00:02


TheHinac

Prop Replica or Kate Libby's Laptop. https://plus.google.com/u/0/+TheHinac/posts/Sy1HyrPMEmD
2018-10-08 07:29


wannano

I wanna no how they did the graphics? how did they do the effect? i kno its probably not done on this laptop so where and how was it done? sorry for my english
2019-06-07 13:46


Doc

What was the computer with the folddown/detachable keyboard they camo'd? Been wondering for like 20 years.
2021-11-26 13:44


Taek

IN the movie at the scene where Dade is "hacking"the T.V. network, the computer he was using was a Compaq Portable 486c Beige. https://retropaq.com/the-compaq-portable-486/
2024-02-02 08:56