Time Frame

• Apple released its first Powerbook notebooks in 1991. Over time, Powerbooks transitioned from 68000 Motorola processors to G4 PowerPCs and from trackballs to trackpads. Apple released a second, less-expensive notebook, the iBook, in 1999. It retired both names after it released the Intel-based line of MacBooks in 2006.
  
  

Features

• Apple offers MacBooks in 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch screen sizes. It announced an 11-inch version of the MacBook Air in October 2010. Specifications vary between models and change as Apple upgrades the line from year to year.
  
  

Insight

• The Apple menu, located in the top left corner of the screen, provides information about the computer. It offers detailed technical specifications on MacBooks, as well as PowerPC Powerbooks. To check specifications on a working Mac notebook running OS X, choose "About This Mac" from the drop-down Apple menu and click on "More Info."
  
  

Fun Facts

• The first Powerbooks had monochrome screens and ran on Motorola 68000 and 68030 chips. Prices ranged from $2,500 for the Powerbook 100 to $4,599 for the Powerbook 170, according to a 1991 New York Times article on their debut. The top-of-the-line 170 had a 40MB hard drive.