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skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
Just got my first Apple notebook! :D

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iBook...=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

It's a 14.1' iBook 1.42 GHz G4 1.5 GB Ram 60GB running Leopard. So far I've retired a Bondi Blue iMac to my Grandpa so he can play his hoyle card games and my eMac to my Mom as her sole computer for email, web, and spotfiy.

It was this or a tablet, of course I'd rather have an iBook. :D

Nice. The RAM is maxed out and you get the SuperDrive. Nice price too. I'm jealous.
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
Looks like a nice Mac. Congratulations!

Nice. The RAM is maxed out and you get the SuperDrive. Nice price too. I'm jealous.

Haha thanks, sooner or later you're bound to find a good deal on ebay :D
I saw a late 2006 intel iMac for around $160, really great price almost criminal not to buy it, but I'm in the market for a laptop and already have a hackintosh running ML. Needless to say I'm excited. I kinda miss Leopard. I like the traffic lights better and the dock better than ML. It's good to know the Ram is maxed out, I thought I might have to buy some ram down the road but apparently I'm all set!

I gave my last PPC to my Mom to replace her Compaq. She absolutely hates Windows now, all because of her 7 year old eMac :). She also doesn't mind used Apple hardware as the eMac was also bought off ebay for a measly 40 dollars hasn't failed her like that Compaq. Its a dependable, great machine that best of all runs OS X.
 

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
Haha thanks, sooner or later you're bound to find a good deal on ebay :D
I saw a late 2006 intel iMac for around $160, really great price almost criminal not to buy it, but I'm in the market for a laptop and already have a hackintosh running ML. Needless to say I'm excited. I kinda miss Leopard. I like the traffic lights better and the dock better than ML. It's good to know the Ram is maxed out, I thought I might have to buy some ram down the road but apparently I'm all set!

I gave my last PPC to my Mom to replace her Compaq. She absolutely hates Windows now, all because of her 7 year old eMac :). She also doesn't mind used Apple hardware as the eMac was also bought off ebay for a measly 40 dollars hasn't failed her like that Compaq. Its a dependable, great machine that best of all runs OS X.

Used PowerPC hardware is typically superior to equivalent Windows offerings. That's why the prices are what they are. Always been that way.

I got my Mom an iMac about ten years ago when she was 73. She took classes (completely clueless when it comes to computers) and loves it. Now she uses an iPad almost exclusively.
 

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
Used PowerPC hardware is typically superior to equivalent Windows offerings. That's why the prices are what they are. Always been that way.

I got my Mom an iMac about ten years ago when she was 73. She took classes (completely clueless when it comes to computers) and loves it. Now she uses an iPad almost exclusively.

We replaced a 6 year old Dell with an 8 year old iMac. It looks and runs so much better.
 

Ariii

macrumors 6502a
Jan 26, 2012
681
9
Chicago
Haha thanks, sooner or later you're bound to find a good deal on ebay :D
I saw a late 2006 intel iMac for around $160, really great price almost criminal not to buy it, but I'm in the market for a laptop and already have a hackintosh running ML. Needless to say I'm excited. I kinda miss Leopard. I like the traffic lights better and the dock better than ML. It's good to know the Ram is maxed out, I thought I might have to buy some ram down the road but apparently I'm all set!

I gave my last PPC to my Mom to replace her Compaq. She absolutely hates Windows now, all because of her 7 year old eMac :). She also doesn't mind used Apple hardware as the eMac was also bought off ebay for a measly 40 dollars hasn't failed her like that Compaq. Its a dependable, great machine that best of all runs OS X.

Congratulations on your new iBook :)!

By the way, have you tried using xSlimmer? It increases the speed incredibly on Leopard, especially for PowerPC hardware.
 

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
Congratulations on your new iBook :)!

By the way, have you tried using xSlimmer? It increases the speed incredibly on Leopard, especially for PowerPC hardware.

The newest version (1.9.1) does not support Leopard IIRC, so watch out for that (get 1.8.2). I think I should use it as well, but I'm too cheap to buy it.

EDIT: It supports Leopard, not PowerPC. Version numbers I posted still apply.
 
Last edited:

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
The newest version (1.9.1) does not support Leopard IIRC, so watch out for that (get 1.8.2). I think I should use it as well, but I'm too cheap to buy it.

EDIT: It supports Leopard, not PowerPC. Version numbers I posted still apply.

I use Xslimmer 1.8.2 and it works like a charm. There are ways to accomplish the same thing without using Xslimmer somewhere on this forum. Leopard rocks without all the Intel baggage.
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
Used PowerPC hardware is typically superior to equivalent Windows offerings. That's why the prices are what they are. Always been that way.

I got my Mom an iMac about ten years ago when she was 73. She took classes (completely clueless when it comes to computers) and loves it. Now she uses an iPad almost exclusively.

We replaced a 6 year old Dell with an 8 year old iMac. It looks and runs so much better.

Amen. PowerPC was superior in architecture, it's too bad Apple parted it's ways.

Congratulations on your new iBook :)!

By the way, have you tried using xSlimmer? It increases the speed incredibly on Leopard, especially for PowerPC hardware.

The newest version (1.9.1) does not support Leopard IIRC, so watch out for that (get 1.8.2). I think I should use it as well, but I'm too cheap to buy it.

EDIT: It supports Leopard, not PowerPC. Version numbers I posted still apply.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out when my iBook arrives.

I use Xslimmer 1.8.2 and it works like a charm. There are ways to accomplish the same thing without using Xslimmer somewhere on this forum. Leopard rocks without all the Intel baggage.

And thanks for the context clues, lol. I've heard about Xslimmer before, but didn't really know what it was.
 

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
Amen. PowerPC was superior in architecture, it's too bad Apple parted it's ways.





Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out when my iBook arrives.



And thanks for the context clues, lol. I've heard about Xslimmer before, but didn't really know what it was.

Early on, it was clear that making great gear was in Apple's DNA. One of my early laptops was a 250MHz Kanga. Compared to everything else that was available then, it was a beast. Same with the G3 300MHz PowerBook. You won't ever see that kind of quality (relative to the rest of the market) again.

I'm sure you'll let us know when your baby arrives. I do hope that everything is in good working condition.
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
Early on, it was clear that making great gear was in Apple's DNA. One of my early laptops was a 250MHz Kanga. Compared to everything else that was available then, it was a beast. Same with the G3 300MHz PowerBook. You won't ever see that kind of quality (relative to the rest of the market) again.

I'm sure you'll let us know when your baby arrives. I do hope that everything is in good working condition.

I miss the old, late 90's early 2000's Apple. Think Different. My Bondi Blue is still a great machine in 2012, it is living with my Grandad (he loves it, he plays hoyle card games on OS 9).

Playing the waiting game is not easy. It's been two days without any tracking updates!! I'll be sure to resurrect this post and give you all an update ;) and some pics too!

----------

On XSlimmer increasing speed, anybody have benchmarks for this?

I don't have benchmarks, but I ran Molingual (sp?) which is similar but free and it seems to have boosted the eMac's performance all the while recovering 3 gigs of HDD space.
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
Horrible service.

To anyone else ordering a PowerPC Mac (or anything really), stay clear of USPS Priority.

My order was processed on the 3rd. No activity on the fourth. Then on the fifth it was processed once again at 3 or so in the morning. Then more downtime until around 6 PM in the evening when they finally updated the tracking to say that it has departed. Estimated to reach my house on the 6th, it is now the 7th and the mail just arrived and it is still not here. There isn't even any activity for the 6th! That's TWO business days it just sat in their ALASKA facility.

I've called the USPS each day the last three days and each time they told me call back tomorrow if it doesn't arrive and we'll find the package for you. Each time I call back they remind me that the shipping I paid $11 dollars for only gets a courtesy scan, and that my item is in transit. I finally just hung up on the lady.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I should have at the VERY least an updated arrival time so I can ensure I am there to accept the package. I want to know where this damn package is. :mad:

If I had known it would be like this I would have paid more for actual service. I see why the USPS is about to go under. Good.

Sorry. I am just so very frustrated.
 

zackkmac

macrumors 6502a
Jul 7, 2008
879
129
Denver
No worries your frustration is understandable! I've had this kind of thing happen a lot with USPS which is why I do not give them my business unless I have to.

On the plus side, at least your package isn't lost and will arrive sometime soon. :)

Just keep waiting, remember that your iBook will be worth the wait. :D
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
No worries your frustration is understandable! I've had this kind of thing happen a lot with USPS which is why I do not give them my business unless I have to.

On the plus side, at least your package isn't lost and will arrive sometime soon. :)

Just keep waiting, remember that your iBook will be worth the wait. :D

Haha thanks. I needed a little optimism. I too will no longer use them unless need be.

I wish I had more patience.
 

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
To anyone else ordering a PowerPC Mac (or anything really), stay clear of USPS Priority.

My order was processed on the 3rd. No activity on the fourth. Then on the fifth it was processed once again at 3 or so in the morning. Then more downtime until around 6 PM in the evening when they finally updated the tracking to say that it has departed. Estimated to reach my house on the 6th, it is now the 7th and the mail just arrived and it is still not here. There isn't even any activity for the 6th! That's TWO business days it just sat in their ALASKA facility.

I've called the USPS each day the last three days and each time they told me call back tomorrow if it doesn't arrive and we'll find the package for you. Each time I call back they remind me that the shipping I paid $11 dollars for only gets a courtesy scan, and that my item is in transit. I finally just hung up on the lady.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I should have at the VERY least an updated arrival time so I can ensure I am there to accept the package. I want to know where this damn package is. :mad:

If I had known it would be like this I would have paid more for actual service. I see why the USPS is about to go under. Good.

Sorry. I am just so very frustrated.

I'm very sorry about the frustration these delays are causing you.

I do know that the USPS updates on this kind of shipping are very unreliable and often just inaccurate.

I've order about a half-dozen items from eBay in the past six months (two items the week after Hurricane Sandy), and all arrived within two or three days of purchase, and the tracking data was almost always inaccurate.

I'm wondering whether or not the delay is because the item is shipping from Alaska all the way to Connecticutt?

In any event, I'd be surprised if you didn't get it by tomorrow or Monday.
 

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,795
26,886
To anyone else ordering a PowerPC Mac (or anything really), stay clear of USPS Priority.

My order was processed on the 3rd. No activity on the fourth. Then on the fifth it was processed once again at 3 or so in the morning. Then more downtime until around 6 PM in the evening when they finally updated the tracking to say that it has departed. Estimated to reach my house on the 6th, it is now the 7th and the mail just arrived and it is still not here. There isn't even any activity for the 6th! That's TWO business days it just sat in their ALASKA facility.

I've called the USPS each day the last three days and each time they told me call back tomorrow if it doesn't arrive and we'll find the package for you. Each time I call back they remind me that the shipping I paid $11 dollars for only gets a courtesy scan, and that my item is in transit. I finally just hung up on the lady.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I should have at the VERY least an updated arrival time so I can ensure I am there to accept the package. I want to know where this damn package is. :mad:

If I had known it would be like this I would have paid more for actual service. I see why the USPS is about to go under. Good.

Sorry. I am just so very frustrated.

My experience with USPS has been generally very positive – if the seller ships. I know I'm lucky though as your experience is generally what everyone encounters.

I don't recommend UPS though, as my experience with them has only been middling. They aren't bad, but I've seen packages just sit for days. It's worse for me because I worked for UPS for 7 years and I KNOW what's going on. Somebody was late and so the package sat until the next sort that handles those packages came back on. Or they are letting it sit because they don't HAVE to move it because they only have to meet the extreme end of the delivery requirement.

It ticked me off to no end to watch my iPhone 5 get flown via UPS from TN to KY and then just SIT there in a container on their ramp going nowhere for 3 days. The damn air container didn't move until the day before delivery.

Granted that was Apple preventing UPS from delivering early, but still.

Once, a package I was expecting didn't get tracking updates for three days because the trailer was on a flatcar being moved by train. I had no idea what was happening.

FedEx seems to move things through their system much better.
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
I'm very sorry about the frustration these delays are causing you.

I do know that the USPS updates on this kind of shipping are very unreliable and often just inaccurate.

I've order about a half-dozen items from eBay in the past six months (two items the week after Hurricane Sandy), and all arrived within two or three days of purchase, and the tracking data was almost always inaccurate.

I'm wondering whether or not the delay is because the item is shipping from Alaska all the way to Connecticutt?

In any event, I'd be surprised if you didn't get it by tomorrow or Monday.

Just as the lady and several before her said "Priority mail only offers courtesy tracking." Well this is not very courteous of them :rolleyes:

My experience with USPS has been generally very positive – if the seller ships. I know I'm lucky though as your experience is generally what everyone encounters.

I don't recommend UPS though, as my experience with them has only been middling. They aren't bad, but I've seen packages just sit for days. It's worse for me because I worked for UPS for 7 years and I KNOW what's going on. Somebody was late and so the package sat until the next sort that handles those packages came back on. Or they are letting it sit because they don't HAVE to move it because they only have to meet the extreme end of the delivery requirement.

It ticked me off to no end to watch my iPhone 5 get flown via UPS from TN to KY and then just SIT there in a container on their ramp going nowhere for 3 days. The damn air container didn't move until the day before delivery.

Granted that was Apple preventing UPS from delivering early, but still.

Once, a package I was expecting didn't get tracking updates for three days because the trailer was on a flatcar being moved by train. I had no idea what was happening.

FedEx seems to move things through their system much better.

Ahh that's just terrible. You know how I feel. FedEx is my favorite, they're 90% of the time reliable and they are quite fast.. I once had a package expected to arrive the following week and it was on my doorstep Saturday. If I could afford to use them exclusively they'd always have my business.

The morale here is that you get what you pay for.
 

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
Just as the lady and several before her said "Priority mail only offers courtesy tracking." Well this is not very courteous of them :rolleyes:



Ahh that's just terrible. You know how I feel. FedEx is my favorite, they're 90% of the time reliable and they are quite fast.. I once had a package expected to arrive the following week and it was on my doorstep Saturday. If I could afford to use them exclusively they'd always have my business.

The morale here is that you get what you pay for.

It's true. In my experience, no one is faster than FedEx. I do have a good UPS story though. About a dozen years ago, I was tricking out PowerBooks for people based on their professions. I had so much fun and met a boatload of interesting people. Even got a few dates out of it.

Anyway, one time I got a low-end PowerBook in very bad condition that didn't meet the specs described in the ad. Back then, eBay did absolutely nothing in such cases to satisfy buyers who'd been taken. UPS delivered it in the winter with a lot of snow on the ground. When I opened the package and realized what I'd gotten, I ran out of my NYC apartment in flip flops and sweat pants, tracked down the UPS guy (who by then knew me because of all my deliveries), and asked him if there was anything we could do. He told me that he wasn't supposed to do things like return packages after they'd been opened, but he took it and took care of everything.

I don't recall how I paid (not PayPal), but I do know that I didn't get stuck for the cash. I switched to FedEx because they had an office a block away from me, so I never missed a delivery.

Seems most people on eBay these days use either First Class or Priority Mail.
As I wrote earlier, I never had a problem with delivery lag, only inaccuracies in their tracking data.

Best thing is, if everything is as it should be, you'll be ecstatic when you get your iBook up and running. Do yourself a big favor and scour this forum for threads that recommend different applications for different functions, and all the tips for making your iBook snappier.
 

76ShovelHead

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2010
527
32
Florida
It's true. In my experience, no one is faster than FedEx. I do have a good UPS story though. About a dozen years ago, I was tricking out PowerBooks for people based on their professions. I had so much fun and met a boatload of interesting people. Even got a few dates out of it.

Anyway, one time I got a low-end PowerBook in very bad condition that didn't meet the specs described in the ad. Back then, eBay did absolutely nothing in such cases to satisfy buyers who'd been taken. UPS delivered it in the winter with a lot of snow on the ground. When I opened the package and realized what I'd gotten, I ran out of my NYC apartment in flip flops and sweat pants, tracked down the UPS guy (who by then knew me because of all my deliveries), and asked him if there was anything we could do. He told me that he wasn't supposed to do things like return packages after they'd been opened, but he took it and took care of everything.

I don't recall how I paid (not PayPal), but I do know that I didn't get stuck for the cash. I switched to FedEx because they had an office a block away from me, so I never missed a delivery.

Seems most people on eBay these days use either First Class or Priority Mail.
As I wrote earlier, I never had a problem with delivery lag, only inaccuracies in their tracking data.

Best thing is, if everything is as it should be, you'll be ecstatic when you get your iBook up and running. Do yourself a big favor and scour this forum for threads that recommend different applications for different functions, and all the tips for making your iBook snappier.

Haha how nice of him, man that must've been the prehistoric/AOL days of the internet huh? I can't remember a time where eBay wasn't linked to paypal or didn't have a buyers protection of some sort. Anyhow it must be scary thinking back to how it used to be compared to now.

The reason I dislike UPS is the 10 or 11 o'clock at night deliveries when they were supposed to be in the morning/afternoon. Another reason is because the Mercedes-Benz case housing my hackintosh (in my signature) arrived all smashed up (including the box) by UPS, I had to RMA the case which set me back another week back in building this machine. But I'd still prefer them over USPS anytime.

On a positive note, USPS finally updated its whereabouts. It arrived at their facility 112 miles away or 2 hours from my city at 8:55 PM. It's probably going to reach another facility before it finally gets shipped to my local USPS. FML.

In the meantime I've been researching about iCloud syncing with Leopard and found a loophole with contacts, mail, and other features using some proprietary organizer. So I am kinda excited to set this up. I honestly like Leopard a lot, it was such a cool release with lots of ooohs and aaahs. All releases since (excluding Snow Leopard) feel gimmicky.
 

ChrisMan287

macrumors 6502
Nov 18, 2012
253
1
NY.
You're going to like Leopard and it should perform well on your iBook. My PowerBook with slightly better specs runs it flawlessly and I enjoy using it with a passion.

It's my first Mac as well :D
 

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
Haha how nice of him, man that must've been the prehistoric/AOL days of the internet huh? I can't remember a time where eBay wasn't linked to paypal or didn't have a buyers protection of some sort. Anyhow it must be scary thinking back to how it used to be compared to now.

The reason I dislike UPS is the 10 or 11 o'clock at night deliveries when they were supposed to be in the morning/afternoon. Another reason is because the Mercedes-Benz case housing my hackintosh (in my signature) arrived all smashed up (including the box) by UPS, I had to RMA the case which set me back another week back in building this machine. But I'd still prefer them over USPS anytime.

On a positive note, USPS finally updated its whereabouts. It arrived at their facility 112 miles away or 2 hours from my city at 8:55 PM. It's probably going to reach another facility before it finally gets shipped to my local USPS. FML.

In the meantime I've been researching about iCloud syncing with Leopard and found a loophole with contacts, mail, and other features using some proprietary organizer. So I am kinda excited to set this up. I honestly like Leopard a lot, it was such a cool release with lots of ooohs and aaahs. All releases since (excluding Snow Leopard) feel gimmicky.

Yeah, the early days of eBay were like fighting through the jungle. Pleanty of abuse and virtually no recourse when you got screwed.

I use Fluid to access iCloud, but I truly don't even use it very much.
 

skateny

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2012
448
0
New York, NY
Haha how nice of him, man that must've been the prehistoric/AOL days of the internet huh? I can't remember a time where eBay wasn't linked to paypal or didn't have a buyers protection of some sort. Anyhow it must be scary thinking back to how it used to be compared to now.

The reason I dislike UPS is the 10 or 11 o'clock at night deliveries when they were supposed to be in the morning/afternoon. Another reason is because the Mercedes-Benz case housing my hackintosh (in my signature) arrived all smashed up (including the box) by UPS, I had to RMA the case which set me back another week back in building this machine. But I'd still prefer them over USPS anytime.

On a positive note, USPS finally updated its whereabouts. It arrived at their facility 112 miles away or 2 hours from my city at 8:55 PM. It's probably going to reach another facility before it finally gets shipped to my local USPS. FML.

In the meantime I've been researching about iCloud syncing with Leopard and found a loophole with contacts, mail, and other features using some proprietary organizer. So I am kinda excited to set this up. I honestly like Leopard a lot, it was such a cool release with lots of ooohs and aaahs. All releases since (excluding Snow Leopard) feel gimmicky.

I just remembered. . .between the time the Wall Street and Lombard PowerBooks were released, there was an entire family somewhere in the Deep South that was these PowerBooks on eBay and other outlets, through their several accounts. Back then, it was unusual for a buyer to offer a sale without first receiving payment, though this often did occur.

Anyway, the Clampets required advanced payment for their PowerBooks. Sadly, I was one of their victims. They offered a discount, but not very steep. I don't know how it happened -- whether I contacted them or they became aware of me -- but I spoke to an upper level FBI agent about my situation. He told me that the theft, resale, and phony offering of PowerBooks was one of the biggest "white collar" crimes in terms of goods and services at that time. He also told me that the Clampets would frequently deliver a single PowerBook to buyers who ordered more than one. He later referred me to Apple's Head of Security who confirmed what the agent told me. Unfortunately, I never recovered my payment.

At that time, the popular belief was that if you bought something through eBay, you'd be protected in the event you got screwed. Thousands of us found out the hard way that this was not the case. As I wrote earlier, eBay took no responsibility for any kind of losses, including outright theft. Fact is, this family remained on eBay despite the fact that the FBI was tracking them.

Unbelievable.
 
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