The Powerbook G4 Backlit Keyboard on a Mac Mini!!!!

[nietzsche2131]

Well I've brought a Powerbook G4 Backlit Keyboard awhile back even before I got my mac mini. Anyways is there a connector out there so I can hook the keyboard up to my mac mini. I just LOVE the backlit keyboard on the Powerbooks. It's useful and not gimmicky. Anyways is there some sort of connector out there to help me hook up the keyboard or should I return it and get my money back??? Please help!!

[Zammy-Sam]

Hi nietzsche2131 and welcome to the forum.
There is no hardware solution for using your powerbook keyboard on your mac mini. However, if you are not doing any video intensive work, you could remotely steer your mac mini, which could work completely wireless if you have a wireless network installed. You would see the screen output on your powerbook screen..
The software for this purpose: VNC

[DeltaMac]

If you have JUST the keyboard, the backlighting will not work. The light sensors that control backlighting are in the powerbook. The keyboard, by itself, cannot do backlighting. And, there's no way to connect a Powerbook keyboard to the Mac mini.

[hederasegnis]

is there a way to...upgrade...my non-backlit keyboard without lighting assembly assembly to a backlit keyboard with lighting assembly ? i know, if i think about it, that there is probably some obvious technical or space issue preventing it, but it never hurts to ask.

[DeltaMac]

sure, it's possible to upgrade to the backlit keyboard. You need the backlit keyboard, and the top case with the fiber optic panel built-in, that comes with the backlit model. And you need to add the ambient light sensors that mount underneath the speaker grills. Looks like about $375 just for those parts. Then you will need various tiny screws and other misc hardware to put all this together. I doubt even an Apple specialist would tackle this. It's just not an after-market kind of upgrade.