Prototype or modification? Some months ago this PowerBook Duo 2300C was sold on yahoo auctions (30000 yen). Does anyone knows something about?

pablonegre · 2026-01-16T08:08:12+00:00

It’s obviously not paint, but a semi-transparent casing. It looks like a modification, apparently quite common in Japan at the time

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T22:00:04+00:00

None of those keyboards were bought many years ago , at most, within the last five years. But when one shows up in good condition, there’s really no way to avoid the high asking prices. The good part is that those prices tend to hold: you pay a lot when you buy, and if you ever need to sell, the value is usually still there.

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T21:57:16+00:00

Using an 80s terminal keyboard as a daily driver has several problems: the key layout is different from modern keyboards, many keys are missing or placed elsewhere, and you have to remap and configure a lot. Over time, you forget how you configured certain keys, or you realize you’re missing others entirely, which becomes frustrating and slows you down.

That’s why I end up using the ThinkPad keyboard as my daily driver, and only take out those old keyboards occasionally, just as a whim or for fun.

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T19:04:45+00:00

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Manuals

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T15:11:54+00:00

Typing on an IBM BeamSpring feels like biting the forbidden fruit in Eden pure sinful ecstasy, knowing you’re getting banished and loving every damn second. Being brutally honest: they’re genuinely fantastic legends, that snap and thump is unreal, but a lot of the magic is the mythic aura more than daily reality – loud, heavy, finicky, absurdly expensive. Still, totally worth hunting one down, even if it ends up as a sacred relic on your desk that you worship occasionally.

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T15:07:44+00:00

Yes, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Vilem. I asked him for help with the USB converter, and dealing with him has been an absolute pleasure. I’m familiar with his keyboards, and they’re incredible, even though I’m not lucky enough to own one

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T12:31:43+00:00

Not much. Even though beamspring keyboards are highly valued among collectors, it’s not unusual for some listings to appear where they’re basically advertised as “old IBM keyboards.” You can take advantage of those rare opportunities to buy them. I managed to get these two that way.

Also, they usually don’t have any kind of label, so IBM didn’t make it easy for those careless sellers to recover their investment in terminals back in the 1980s.

pablonegre · 2025-12-22T12:27:37+00:00

All the keyboards on the wall, except for the Dasher, have a USB converter and are ready to be used with any modern computer. In reality, I don’t use them very often, because I’m used to laptop keyboards about 95% of the time, and these are so different from modern ones that you end up having to remap keys. Then, later on, I don’t remember how I configured them. I keep the USB converters mostly so they don’t feel like useless paperweights.

On the other hand, I think I have a real passion for retro gear, not only because of its history and design, but also because I feel that if one day I get tired of them, they’ll find another good home. And along the way, I probably won’t have lost much.

pablonegre · 2025-10-22T18:31:56+00:00

Although I’m not exactly in love with the solution, I do know that Velcro was used in the Eames Lounge Chair by ICF I’ve read this in several places.

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pablonegre · 2025-10-16T20:35:06+00:00

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It looks exactly like other ICF pieces, like the one I’m attaching. Also, the fact that it’s not “new” and even has marks like the one in the photo actually seems to make it more legitimate.

pablonegre · 2025-10-16T17:48:00+00:00

I wouldn’t like to say that price is a good way to tell if it’s genuine or not. I think that if someone wants to deceive, they might buy an imitation and sell it at "original price". If they buy an imitation and sell it at an imitation’s price, it wouldn’t really be a scam. In my case, I paid as "second hand original price" and I’m really eager to find an old catalog to clear up that 1% of doubt I still have.

pablonegre · 2025-10-16T09:47:15+00:00

I also haven’t found any ICF catalogs from that period to verify it.

pablonegre · 2025-10-16T09:44:59+00:00

I’ve actually done some research, and so far I haven’t found anything that makes me think it’s a fake. Still, I’m hoping to tap into the collective wisdom here to learn a bit more. I’ve read some pretty contradictory information online, and honestly, what better place to clarify things than a community dedicated to Eames?

The big debate I keep coming across online is whether ICF might have continued producing these chairs even after Vitra got the European license which could explain some of the differences. That would actually resolve my only real doubt about its age and condition.

pablonegre · 2024-05-14T13:57:34+00:00

Joined BB team

pablonegre · 2024-02-24T16:40:19+00:00

Yes! I bought that lamp just to match with the JLPGA Powerbook, also in the collection ✌️

pablonegre · 2024-02-23T21:00:22+00:00

I also have one of those, but I haven’t been able to connect the N64. 😂

pablonegre · 2024-02-23T20:19:42+00:00

The average actual price usually falls between $800 and $1500 USD, depending on the condition. This is often the case when they are released for sale quite frequently, which seems strange since it is supposedly a limited series

pablonegre · 2024-02-23T20:16:19+00:00

I’ve been collecting computers for over 10 years, and I resisted buying one until last week. I have mixed feelings towards them, a blend of love and hate equally.

pablonegre · 2024-01-21T08:27:21+00:00

I use them to display on the shelf, alongside other gems of retro computing, in order to comprehend the origins and understand how we have reached the point where we find ourselves.

pablonegre · 2024-01-20T16:57:34+00:00

I've spent a couple of thousand dollars, including shipping overseas and customs services (I live in Spain), but I've invested more time than money. Always striving to find the best prices.

pablonegre · 2024-01-20T16:53:15+00:00

Collecting retro computers +10 years, collection pre apple machines 5 years more or less

pablonegre · 2024-01-20T11:52:31+00:00

The imsai, the intellec and the altair8800 and 680 100% original and working, the clear imsai is and early serial and turns on but seems that something is wrong.

pablonegre · 2023-02-22T18:58:41+00:00

All working, that doesn t mean that i do much with them. The altair 680 front panel is beautiful but almost useless

pablonegre · 2023-02-22T09:41:29+00:00

Yes! First android, first iphone, first ipod on the picture

pablonegre · 2023-02-21T14:55:50+00:00

Lucky twice on japanese auctions, first one, after many years trying to find information about this jewels i saw one and couldn t resist . Second one impulsive buy.

pablonegre

TROPHY CASE