So frustrated and confused with ibook purchase HELP (OS questions)

Last night, I bought an ibook in a jiff. It was very cheap, and I just want to test the waters before I give it to my dd and splurge on a macbook.
It actually works fine for my purposes (or did) despite it being a bit outdated.

Here are the specs:
600 MhZ
20 GB (or mb, IDK)
256 mhz
G3 ibook

So, I get home and I used it with the guy's stuff still on there. He gave me the reinstall disks for OS X (I think this means 10.0.4, but who knows?). My dh installed firefox 2.0 on there and I started to fiddle around, save links, etc. this morning, though, we did the reinstall so that I could clean up the computer.

When it was all said and done, I was left with a very arachaic copy of IE 5 (can't even open my yahoo mail), and firefox won't install, despite going through the same exact process as last night (my husband copied it onto a usb stick and we just uploaded it to the mac).

I don't know what the heck I lost in the reinstall, but it seems like a different computer.

So here are my questions:
a. How do I find out what OS, exactly, I am working with?

b. Is there a free upgrade somewhere so I can at least install firefox or safari? I feel like I am living in 1980 right now!

c. If it turns out that I have a very low version of OS and there is no way around it, can I install a copy of Leopard (or whatever is a bit better and will allow for safari and firefox)? I don't mind buying it on campus as I get a discount. I just want to make sure that the specs on my computer (listed above) are not too old. I don't want the thing to run suppppperer slow.

I am almost positive I was working with a newer operating system last night. I didn't pay attention, but since it "let" firefox install, I am assuming it was something better than whatever is on here now.

Thank you. I am pulling my hair out right now!

Thanks.

You were absolutely right, btw. I have 10.1.2/9.2.2.

That is what it says on all the reinstall disks in front of me.

So if I buy Tiger 10.4, that isn't going to be too heavy for my system to run?

Thanks a bunch!

Okay, so I am back.

I checked on Tiger. It is no longer available on campus, either.

That means I will have to buy it from ebay. Does anyone know if I need an upgrade or a full install? It is 29.99. Is the exact title of what I am buying:
Tiger 10.4? TIA.

Another question: I was going to buy MS OFFICE 2004 from the campus today to do an install. Is it just going to get erased when I install the new OS.

Thank you for the info. It sounds like I should get Tiger since I have an iphone. This OS would probably not recognize the phone, right?
I just don't want to make the computer run really slow. I only have 600 Mhz, so it is kind of antiquated machine/256, etc.

I do have another question. Does any other third party sell Tiger besides ebay? I really don't want to buy from ebay since a lot of the auctions are kind of ambigious with wording, so I need to make sure this is fresh/never used install. For that reason, I'd rather buy from an online retailer, rather than ebay.

TIA.

I also see that many of the auctions on ebay are saying that you need to upgrade from panther! Is there another line of Tiger products that don't require panther in the first place?

Sorry to serial post. I followed your link and I will probably buy that product as soon as I find out if I have a DVD. In the dock, I have an icon for imovies and I am pretty sure that I remember the dvd in the description.

The only thing I worrry about with the link given is that, again, it says, "Must be able to install panther." Does it matter that I don't have panther right now? TIA.


IN the interrim period, can anyone suggest a browser compatible with my system? IE 5 is ridiculously outdated. It doesn't remember passwords, I can't log on to my bank. It can't be this bad, right? I imagine there are still lots of people who have these machines? There has to be a better browser!

The mystery has been solved. Turns out the seller was running Tiger! I should have just kept using that!

Anyway, the corrected stats on my computer are:

600 MHz PowwerPC G3
384 MB SDRAM
20 GB hard drive
DVD-ROM [can burn CDs, watch DVDs, but not burn DVDS]
Can boot in both OS9 and OS 10. Has ethernet port.
Comes with the four software restore discs, ibook applications disc, OS 9 disc, OS 10.1.2 disc, power and other cables. Does not come with any licensed third-party software, such as Office.


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so, if I buy the thing at megamall, will I be in business? panther will install, right, and then I can use that as an upgrade to tiger. You guys have really saved my day. I would have be so in the dark.