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

The PowerPc now entering the hobbiest era?

chibiterasu

chibiterasu

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 5, 2012
337
24
London, The United Kingdom
With many of our dear friends leaving from supporting the PowerPc Macintosh with the latest version e.g spotify etc. but now with iTunes having left the building is it?? I know you had to love the quirks which came with owning a PowerPc G3, G4 or G5. Before you go there, yes I know the high end PowerMac G5 is still powerful (probably just avoided some hate mail there :) ) But is the PowerPc Macintosh now more than just loving the quirks, is it now a true hobbyist machine?? One that you tinker with like and old car I know it been like this for some but is this the day when it started becoming a true hobbyist machine?? This should be interesting to hear your opinions on this :)
 
jbarley

jbarley

macrumors 601
Jul 1, 2006
4,023
1,893
Vancouver Island
Nothing has changed for me, still use my G5 quad for my day to day tasks.
I will admit though, I do not own an iPhone and have no interest in iTunes for my music needs, which are few and mostly classical.
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
As of now, PowerPC support from Apple is hanging on by a hair in the form of Airport Utility. Not much, but it's there.
 
Zotaccian

Zotaccian

macrumors 6502a
Apr 25, 2012
645
7
Well old software can still be used like before and I think that many new apps on the editing side (audio, video) don't provide any new significant features that you absolutely need unless you are really high end professional, as for making music for example, great tracks have been made by using PowerPC machines in the past so why couldn't you use one now?

But it is true that support is dropping and it sometimes becomes troublesome if you are trying to mix old and new devices as well as software. My iBook feels very slow compared to what I usually use so time and habits are slowly making machines which basically could do a lot things obsolete because lots of people do not want to use them because they know something much faster and with decent software support is available at low price.

I personally have this PowerPC iBook for fun, it is not essential by any means and selling it wouldn't hurt.
 
TSE

TSE

macrumors 68040
Jun 25, 2007
3,972
3,303
St. Paul, Minnesota
Late PowerPCs still write documents with close to modern and somewhat compatible software, still play music, and still browse the web well enough to be used everyday by some people. Until those things change, it is not a hobbiest activity to use a PowerPC computer.
 
Last edited:
tom vilsack

tom vilsack

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2010
1,880
63
ladner cdn
So are you saying because ppc are no longer itunes supported it make them just a hobby computer? So does this mean my other computer that i use on a daily basis that run various versions of Linux are also hobby computers? ;-)
 
chibiterasu

chibiterasu

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 5, 2012
337
24
London, The United Kingdom
tom vilsack said:
So are you saying because ppc are no longer itunes supported it make them just a hobby computer? So does this mean my other computer that i use on a daily basis that run various versions of Linux are also hobby computers? ;-)
Click to expand...

Humm not really, its not just about software support from apple although that counts a lot and seems to get worse every day but its everyone from 1st to 3rd party support. If linux works for you then thats what you should use but I have tried it over the years and never really got on with it and for me it was more. of a hobby to try linux.

Zotaccian said:
I personally have this PowerPC iBook for fun, it is not essential by any means and selling it wouldn't hurt.
Click to expand...

Yes thats more like I mean, you don't need it but its fun, same here with my iMac G4.
 
Last edited:
Jessica Lares

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,056
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
Not at all. As I pointed out in the legacy thread, I can use Adobe Creative Suite CS4, I can use Unity, I can use Blender, Bryce, and some of the other 3D apps on both my iMac G4 (well, different versions anyway, but still) and Power Mac G5. It's good for educational reasons. Even better, there are more/cheaper resources available for those versions than current era ones. So it's even better for someone who doesn't want to invest too much into these things.
 
T

thorns

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2011
96
0
Spotify will move away from standalone applications and be browser based, that's what I heard..
 
Zeke D

Zeke D

macrumors 65816
Nov 18, 2011
1,024
168
Arizona
Jessica Lares said:
Not at all. As I pointed out in the legacy thread, I can use Adobe Creative Suite CS4, I can use Unity, I can use Blender, Bryce, and some of the other 3D apps on both my iMac G4 (well, different versions anyway, but still) and Power Mac G5. It's good for educational reasons. Even better, there are more/cheaper resources available for those versions than current era ones. So it's even better for someone who doesn't want to invest too much into these things.
Click to expand...

I still use CS3 for Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Can you do contact prints in CS4?
 
I

Imixmuan

Suspended
Dec 18, 2010
526
424
Speaking of hobbies...

...all PPC mac owners should seriously start looking at Linux PPC solutions. MintPPC and Lubuntu are highest on my list. I find Leopard still plenty usable, but all mozilla browsers are about to hit judgement day with Firefox 18, which means the end of source parity for tenfourfox, aurorafox seamonkey etc.

Camino is still "current" but lets face it, already looking long in the tooth. Leopard webkit and iCab might be usable for awhile yet (Alexander Clausse seems to really care about users of older Mac OS's) but the writing is clearly, inescapably on the wall.

I know his name is mud around these here parts, but zen.state has been reviewing Lubuntu 12.04 on his blog and finds it most agreeable, even on older Powermacs. Lubuntu with Openbox as the window manager on a Powermac G4 450 mhz is like a new modern machine he states.

Linux might be the only way forward for us here in a bit, at least for serious web use.
 
Jessica Lares

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,056
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
Imixmuan said:
...all PPC mac owners should seriously start looking at Linux PPC solutions. MintPPC and Lubuntu are highest on my list.
Click to expand...

If I wanted to use Linux, I would have bought an old PC to run it on. For someone that actually is invested into the Mac ecosystem, I don't want to have to find replacements for every app I use either. And honestly, I haven't come across ANY issues using Safari so far, and I load the heaviest of the heaviest websites.
 
92WardSenatorFE

92WardSenatorFE

macrumors regular
Dec 29, 2008
145
0
USA
I don't think a lot is going to change for a while.

Just because Apple is going to drop iTunes support doesn't mean everyone is going to flock and buy new Macs. I mean seriously, I think anyone who was going to upgrade because their "PPC Mac" is out of date would have done it by now.

I still find a lot of schools that still use PPC Mac's for a lot of things. City based school systems in the US have probably started phasing out most of their PPC macs due to support and age/ replacement cycles. But from what I hear, a lot of the more rural school districts are still using Macs as old as G3's on a pretty regular basis.

Considering this, you still have to realize there is a lot of usefulness in PPC Mac's left. As long as you have the appropriate software, you should be fine. The main thing that lacks now is web based development for these machines, but I don't predict this being too much of a problem for a while. A lot of websites still load fine on Firefox/ Safari (or at least I haven't had any problems).

In conclusion, I do believe that PPC machines will start to get rarer, but I don't think they are going to completely drop off the map just yet. As long as a computer does everything you need it to do, you really have no reason to upgrade (unless you just want the latest/ best of everything ;) )
 
G51989

G51989

macrumors 68030
Feb 25, 2012
2,530
10
NYC NY/Pittsburgh PA
I like my PPC Macs, I had them back in the day, they sat for awhile, and as some of you know, I forgot about them, bought another G5 and got back into them.

They are scattered around my house as the Kitchen Computer, or garage computer, or basement computer. And for basic stuff, they work great and I love em.

Sometimes I like to bring my work home with me, and while there are SOME PPC Nix versions of some of the software I work with, the old PPC macs don't have the power to do what I need them to in a timely fashion.

So, I leave my small freelance simulation projects to my iMac, my BIG freelance simulation projects to my GAMEPC Gaming tower, and my work simulations at big blue, stay at big blue.

I gotta say tho, every time I fire up my G5, I get a nice little " this is awesome sensation "

I was playing DOOM III on my Quad 2.5 decked out G5 the other day, and this might sound totally stupid, in the back of my head I'm like " this is totally not x86 ".

But the OP has a point, for lots of people with more seriousness needs, or even basic iTunes needs. Its time for move on from PPC.

Don't get me wrong, I love PPC macs big time!

But they Intel ones aren't so bad :p Trust me, Intel does a much better job for Apple than IBM ever did.
 
Last edited:
chibiterasu

chibiterasu

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 5, 2012
337
24
London, The United Kingdom
92WardSenatorFE said:
I don't think a lot is going to change for a while.

Just because Apple is going to drop iTunes support doesn't mean everyone is going to flock and buy new Macs. I mean seriously, I think anyone who was going to upgrade because their "PPC Mac" is out of date would have done it by now.

I still find a lot of schools that still use PPC Mac's for a lot of things. City based school systems in the US have probably started phasing out most of their PPC macs due to support and age/ replacement cycles. But from what I hear, a lot of the more rural school districts are still using Macs as old as G3's on a pretty regular basis.

Considering this, you still have to realize there is a lot of usefulness in PPC Mac's left. As long as you have the appropriate software, you should be fine. The main thing that lacks now is web based development for these machines, but I don't predict this being too much of a problem for a while. A lot of websites still load fine on Firefox/ Safari (or at least I haven't had any problems).

In conclusion, I do believe that PPC machines will start to get rarer, but I don't think they are going to completely drop off the map just yet. As long as a computer does everything you need it to do, you really have no reason to upgrade (unless you just want the latest/ best of everything ;) )
Click to expand...

Yes for the most part I think users would of upgraded a long time ago to an intel machine even if they only did basic tasks.

Here in the U.K at the college I went to last year they still had a few e-macs kicking around although most had been upgraded to imacs in the rooms that needed them.

Yes the PowerPc mac is never going to not become useful just in the same way a macintosh II isn't going to not be useful or a macintosh classic for playing old games. Its have we reached this point with the powerpc just becoming a machine for people who love the PowerPc era rather than buying one because they can't afford an early intel mac?

G51989 said:
I like my PPC Macs, I had them back in the day, they sat for awhile, and as some of you know, I forgot about them, bought another G5 and got back into them.

I gotta say tho, every time I fire up my G5, I get a nice little " this is awesome sensation "

I was playing DOOM III on my Quad 2.5 decked out G5 the other day, and this might sound totally stupid, in the back of my head I'm like " this is totally not x86 ".

But the OP has a point, for lots of people with more seriousness needs, or even basic iTunes needs. Its time for move on from PPC.

Don't get me wrong, I love PPC macs big time!

But they Intel ones aren't so bad :p Trust me, Intel does a much better job for Apple than IBM ever did.
Click to expand...

Im glad you have got back into them :) I think you get that awesome sensation when ever you fire on a G series PowerPc.

We all love PowerPc Macs here but I agree Intel has helped Mac out which is great.
 
justperry

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,558
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
Imixmuan said:
...all PPC mac owners should seriously start looking at Linux PPC solutions. MintPPC and Lubuntu are highest on my list.

Linux might be the only way forward for us here in a bit, at least for serious web use.
Click to expand...

I downloaded about 5 different distro's (if you call them that way) and never had any success booting or installing any of them.

For instance, I burn a CD/DVD, then reboot and hold the Option key, then the Linux CD/DVD will show up but after I select it and hit enter it tries to boot but return to the boot selection screen.
Odd thing is that when it returns to that screen it shows the icons with inverted colors?????
Wish I could run Linux.

About PPC iTunes, it sux big time it is not supported anymore, I just bought a iPhone 3GS, will upgrade to iOS 6 yet it seems you need 10.7 to sync but won't run on PPC.

Edit: I have a Powerbook G4 1.67 so it should be able to run Linux.
But, I also have to say My lower RAM slot is not working(yup, that one) so that might be a problem.
 
Ariii

Ariii

macrumors 6502a
Jan 26, 2012
681
9
Chicago
justperry said:
I downloaded about 5 different distro's (if you call them that way) and never had any success booting or installing any of them.

For instance, I burn a CD/DVD, then reboot and hold the Option key, then the Linux CD/DVD will show up but after I select it and hit enter it tries to boot but return to the boot selection screen.
Odd thing is that when it returns to that screen it shows the icons with inverted colors?????
Wish I could run Linux.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you're asking for help, but for all of the distros I looked at you're supposed to boot it from Open FirmWare (Apple-Option-O-F).
 
crewkid89

crewkid89

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2011
242
24
United States
justperry said:
I downloaded about 5 different distro's (if you call them that way) and never had any success booting or installing any of them.

For instance, I burn a CD/DVD, then reboot and hold the Option key, then the Linux CD/DVD will show up but after I select it and hit enter it tries to boot but return to the boot selection screen.
Odd thing is that when it returns to that screen it shows the icons with inverted colors?????
Wish I could run Linux.

About PPC iTunes, it sux big time it is not supported anymore, I just bought a iPhone 3GS, will upgrade to iOS 6 yet it seems you need 10.7 to sync but won't run on PPC.

Edit: I have a Powerbook G4 1.67 so it should be able to run Linux.
But, I also have to say My lower RAM slot is not working(yup, that one) so that might be a problem.
Click to expand...

I think the psychedelic colors has to do with having the wrong bit depth set for the colors? Anywyas the biggest problem I have been finding is hardware graphics acceleration.
 
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