Do you have a PowerBook 5300 or 190 kicking around somewhere? If so, it may finally be worth something. Longtime Apple watchers will recall that the 5300 was the first PowerPC-based PowerBook, and the 190 was a 68040-based unit with the same boring PC-laptop-wannabe chassis and plastics; however, both units received less-than-stellar reviews, both from the press and from the user base. For one thing, the 5300 may have had a PowerPC at its core, but it was still dog-slow. And both laptops lacked a CD-ROM drive, when such equipment was standard fare in the Wintel portable world. What's worse, quality control problems with the 5300 and 190 resound even to this day; Apple was forced to offer a seven-year "repair extension program" because the bezel around the screen was so prone to cracking, and if memory serves, problems with the 5300 motherboard caused such wild instability that Apple eventually offered a motherboard replacement to fix the problems. Then, of course, there was the infamous 5300 battery combustion problem. Not a lot of fun, all told, especially since the prices of these two gems were quite high. Mix it all up and see why we at AtAT refer to the 190 as "the sucky PowerBook" and the 5300 as "the flammable sucky PowerBook."

And yet, you can get up to a thousand bucks off of a brand new PowerBook G3 if you trade one in. According to O'Grady's PowerPage, Apple's offering special trade-up prices to anyone willing to send back their old 5300 or 190. The way it works is like this: you call (800) 767-2775, say you want the "PowerBook 5300 Limited Time Offer Upgrade," decide whether you want a G3/266 for $1899 or a G3/300 for $2199, give them a credit card number (preferably a valid one), and then wait for up to three weeks for delivery. Apple will also send you shipping labels so you can send back your old PowerBook-- your credit card is charged at full price when your G3 ships, but you get a $900-$1000 credit once they get your old 5300 or 190 back. Pretty cool.

The 5300 and 190 represent the PowerBook's darkest days. Now it's as if the "new Apple" is apologizing on behalf of the "old Apple" by offering to buy back those less-than-compelling systems for up to $1000. If you ask us, it's a great deal-- even if it's motivated by Apple's obvious attempt to clear its inventory of current G3 PowerBooks in preparation for the newer models. As for what Apple's going to do with all the cracked, slow, crash-prone, and flammable old PowerBooks that they get back as a result of this promotion, well, that's entirely a matter of speculation. The PowerPage hints that they'll be used for parts, but personally, we suspect something more spectacular is in the works. Think "bonfire."