iBook G4 - is it worth it?

NikkeNok said:

I've been looking at an iBook G4 12", 1.33 GHz and 1GB of RAM.
I'm not gonna use it as my main computer as I have a 27" iMac as my main.
It's going to be used primarily for surfing the internet, watching a movie while riding the train and so on.

It's gonna cost me about 180$ including a GIMP sleeve and a new battery.

So what do you guys think - is it worth the price?

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I'd say $180 is a tad over what I'd pay for one, but any G4 laptop is going to be absolutely fine for surfing the web & watching movies. Offer him/her 150 and see what they say.

I wouldn't say any G4 laptop is good for movies and the Internet. My 550Mhz Ti book can't do those thing very well or at all.

But that iBook should have enough power to be able to do both without too much stress or waiting.

I have been trying to sell my iBook G4, the exact one you are looking to buy. I'll be very straight forward. Don't expect a miracle.

Mine runs Firefox slightly sluggish and even youtube on standard quality isn't that great. Just understand you're going to notice this machine is old when you get it. I'd say it's much more worth your while to save another couple hundred and get a used Macbook or something.

Light internet browsing is fine on it though.

NikkeNok said:

I don't expect a lot from it. I am going to save up for a MacBook Air at some point (which is why I'm not really sure I want to buy this)
It's nice getting some input from someone with the same iBook specs. I'm probably going to visit the seller and try out the computer and then make up my mind.

Are you running Leopard or Tiger on your iBook?

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Thats what i would do save your money for a MBA so you can spend more time getting stuff done instead of buying an old machine and spending days and money trying to make it do what you want it to do

NikkeNok said:

It's nice getting some input from someone with the same iBook specs.

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I had the same iBook, but with half the ram. It died on me a couple of years ago, but it was fine for surfing the web, except for streaming video. It played DVD's just fine. I had Tiger running on it.

So as long as you're aware of the few limitations (like problems streaming flash videos and not being able to run the newest apps), and it seems like a fair price in your country, go ahead.

I'd recommend using Mactubes to get around the problem of streaming youtube videos. I'd also recommend either Camino as your browser or TenFourFox, both are optimized for your G4 chip and faster than other browsers that aren't. There are many more recommended apps to get the most out of a G4, just do a search here.

NikkeNok said:

I don't expect a lot from it. I am going to save up for a MacBook Air at some point (which is why I'm not really sure I want to buy this)
It's nice getting some input from someone with the same iBook specs. I'm probably going to visit the seller and try out the computer and then make up my mind.

Are you running Leopard or Tiger on your iBook?

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I'm running Leopard and have 1.25gb of RAM in it. At one point I went back to Tiger to see if I'd get a speed boost, but it wasn't much and it's funny how quickly you realize the previous OS feels so arcane.

That's too much for a ibook....max i would offer would be $120

-you can use internet,but with limitations...pages will load slower,flash video are watchable (dont use fullscreen and at 240p)....wait for them to load...

-dvd movies will play just find...but even newish batteries expect 2-3hr at best.

-if your looking for a small ppc laptop try considering a 12" powerbook with a 1.5 or 1.67 GHz and max out the ram...you would find even though slow compared to a macbook,they are considerably faster then ibooks.

tom vilsack said:

That's too much for a ibook....max i would offer would be $120

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But the OP is in Denmark, and the price includes I believe a brand new battery (which I think is not included in the iBook sale, OP is purchasing separately?)

Bottom line, I don't think many of us on this forum live in Denmark and are familiar with prices there to know if that is too high or just right. In the U.S. it's high, but telling the OP that doesn't really help for comparison since prices are all over the place depending on what country you live in.

I have an iBook (in my sig), and I use it for everyday tasks. Not a bad machine. I do not need any better. Of course I barely watch youtube HD, and flash I try to avoid as much as I can.

I almost paid the same amount here in Hungary, so the price could be reasonable here in Europe, I guess.

I had a G4 for a short while, and I found it more than capable of doing those things. Even with leopard installed, it was wonderfully fast