In July Mac repair and parts vendor MacResQ announced the availability of “SuperDrive” optical drive upgrades for PowerBook G4 systems. At the time, the company required users to send their PowerBooks in for the upgrade, but now they’re offering a “self-service” upgrade as well, with a hefty difference in price.
The offer enables users of PowerBook G4/400MHz-1GHz owners to replace their existing optical drives with a unit that can burn CD-Rs, CD-RWs and DVD-Rs. The “SuperDrive” option has been available on some PowerBook G4s for a while, but many units don’t have the drive.
MacResQ’s drive is natively compatible with the Mac OS and requires no third-party drivers or patches to operate. It’s compatible with Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, iDVD, iTunes, Disc Burner, and Apple DVD Player, according to MacResQ, as well as third-party applications.
MacResQ continues to offer its full-service upgrade for US$399, but technically savvy users who feel up to doing the job themselves can buy it for $299 instead. That price includes installation instructions and a return shipping label to be used to send the old optical drive back to MacResQ.