Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What to do with old PowerPCs

L

LoveAndPeace

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
17
0
Hey guys, its been awhile sense I ask any questions here. most of the time I get a negative backlash from people on here; Pretty much telling me how stupid I sound and mock my paragraph structure but I will try again.

I often find myself with old PowerPC desktops like G4 imacs, G5 PowerMacs(PowerPC Chipset) and G4 ibooks. I wonder sense its not possible to update to the current OSX, what can you do with them? I am a artist I mostly use PC windows based system because of the ability to swap out parts when needed. but it would be cool to maybe include one of these computers in my process. I am currently downloading any old software I can find that will work with osx 10.5.?. any help or advice about these would be great..
Thank you for your time..:)
 
Zotaccian

Zotaccian

macrumors 6502a
Apr 25, 2012
645
7
Well, you can run mostly outdated software and run everything slower than on modern computers :)
 
G

gooser

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2013
514
51
Zotaccian said:
Well, you can run mostly outdated software and run everything slower than on modern computers :)
Click to expand...

most people feel this way. some of us don't. a few of us even prefer some of this "outdated" software and are frustrated that modern computers won't run it. my girlfriend is currently borrowing my ibook to watch dvd's in bed. she seems happy with it. myself, i access my music and movies from some firewire drives. so much easier to access it from a computer that had firewire on it in the first place.
 
catzilla

catzilla

macrumors 6502
Dec 15, 2013
384
29
Rhode Island
As an artist what is your medium? I'm sure you could find some process or procedure to run on a a PPC to integrate into your workflow. I'm not a artist but I appreciate the design of the G4 iMac, I'm always looking for a 20", completely realizing it's limitations in the current era.
 
G

gooser

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2013
514
51
be aware that at the time that most of these power pc's were made that most software was installed from cd's and dvd's and not by download. i've never used it but some people like the painting program that was built into appleworks. may or may not be too basic for you.
 
Dronecatcher

Dronecatcher

macrumors 603
Jun 17, 2014
5,209
7,783
Lincolnshire, UK
Research the age of the machine you're using and use software from that period. Don't forget, at some point these PPC machines were the absolute cutting edge and were used by designers, artists, film makers and musicians to produce their work. There's absolutely no reason why, for example, a magazine produced in Adobe Indesign CS3 on a G5 will be in any way inferior when printed to one made with a current machine and software.
 
S

stewart1981

macrumors member
Sep 4, 2014
58
18
Dronecatcher said:
Research the age of the machine you're using and use software from that period. Don't forget, at some point these PPC machines were the absolute cutting edge and were used by designers, artists, film makers and musicians to produce their work. There's absolutely no reason why, for example, a magazine produced in Adobe Indesign CS3 on a G5 will be in any way inferior when printed to one made with a current machine and software.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. My G5 runs CS2 as sweet as the day it was new and for artwork Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign provide much of the basic's you may want for publishing. You can add to it cheaply with other software of te era to handle most tasks. And it still edits audio in Logic Pro and Reaper well even if slower than my windows machines. Video can be tackled as well in various guises. Try them out. A G5 can do so much even in comparison to a modern Mac, just slower.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD

PowerMac G4 MDD

macrumors 68000
Jul 13, 2014
1,900
277
Although I'm a PowerPC enthusiast, I would just go with a newer Intel Mac if you are an artist. You can pick up a pretty cheap early Intel Apple computer. If you are a 'n00b' in terms of PowerPC computers, it will take some adjustments in order to get proper software, etc.

However, if you want one to toy around with and play classic games on, or, heck, even use one as your main Apple computer, you could do so just fine. I tend to prefer using PowerPC Macs even though I hadn't previously.

I would usually recommend a PPC Mac to a hobbyist or someone who wants a dirt-cheap Mac experience.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ESSENTIAL PowerPC SOFTWARE: http://ppcarchive.dyniform.net/
 
L

LoveAndPeace

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
17
0
Thanks guys I am a digital and traditional artist. I use maya, 3ds max, cinema 4d, photoshop quite often..I just upgraded the g4 imac to 1.5 gb ram and the powermac to 2gb and a 500gb hardrive..I went on a huge downloading spree and got logic , motion , finalcut that will work on osx 10.3..another question what tablets like wacom intous 3 or 4 works with 10.5.?..
 
L

LoveAndPeace

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
17
0
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
Although I'm a PowerPC enthusiast, I would just go with a newer Intel Mac if you are an artist. You can pick up a pretty cheap early Intel Apple computer. If you are a 'n00b' in terms of PowerPC computers, it will take some adjustments in order to get proper software, etc.

However, if you want one to toy around with and play classic games on, or, heck, even use one as your main Apple computer, you could do so just fine. I tend to prefer using PowerPC Macs even though I hadn't previously.

I would usually recommend a PPC Mac to a hobbyist or someone who wants a dirt-cheap Mac experience.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ESSENTIAL PowerPC SOFTWARE: http://ppcarchive.dyniform.net/
Click to expand...

Thank you that link really helped !! I always had a philosophy no matter how old the computer pc or mac it can still serve a purpose..
 
poiihy

poiihy

macrumors 68020
Aug 22, 2014
2,301
62
The best thing that a PPC Mac can do is be a file server.
The G4 towers make the best servers because they have lots of space inside for hard drives, and they just look nice to sit somewhere. You can use it to store all your files, and after you set up port forwarding, you can access your server from anywhere! You can go traveling and connect to your server whenever you have an internet connection, wherever you are on the planet! You can even use to host a small website.
While you're at it, you can setup a home surveillance/automation system with your Powermac server, with cameras and controls, etc, connected to it. Then while you are away from home, you can surveil and control your house from afar. You can connect a fish feeder to it and feed your fish from the other side of the planet!

Other than that, there is not much else they can do well.
 
M

Member2010

macrumors regular
Jun 28, 2013
144
7
Security inquiry

poiihy said:
The best thing that a PPC Mac can do is be a file server.
The G4 towers make the best servers because they have lots of space inside for hard drives, and they just look nice to sit somewhere. You can use it to store all your files, and after you set up port forwarding, you can access your server from anywhere! You can go traveling and connect to your server whenever you have an internet connection, wherever you are on the planet! You can even use to host a small website.
While you're at it, you can setup a home surveillance/automation system with your Powermac server, with cameras and controls, etc, connected to it. Then while you are away from home, you can surveil and control your house from afar. You can connect a fish feeder to it and feed your fish from the other side of the planet!

Other than that, there is not much else they can do well.
Click to expand...

Are there actually any capture cards and security software that are compatible?
 
L

LoveAndPeace

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
17
0
Old PPC

thanks guys again I really appreciate all the tips, I found Maya 8.5 for mac osx Ill give that I try. I might try hooking up some old tablets to see what works..I just found some cool software that might work for some artists. http://al.chemy.org/download/
 
Last edited:
S

SusanK

macrumors 68000
Oct 9, 2012
1,676
2,655
Troubleshootig printer today

Not able to print today. MBA automatically downloaded an updated driver that did not help. I deleted that. Tried another MBA. Nothing. The printer turned on but didn't make any noise indicating that it received a print command.

This only happens when you need to print something now and it's important. Love that. Finally I booted my much loved iBook G4. Saved!

The iBook gave an error message that the color cartridge should be replaced. There will be residual ink but time to replace. I did and the printer worked.

I never even considered the color cartridge. I was printing a black on white text document. So it ended well thanks to my trusty iBook!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom