Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Are there any advantages...
- Thread starter imalonerdottie
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Short answer: OS X is compatible with a lot more recent apps and has a lot more features than OS 9.
Here's my opinion, for what it's worth:
1. In my experience, OS 9 is generally faster and more responsive than OS X. OS X can be very laggy on G3 hardware. If you are going to use OS X, max your RAM(some PB G3s can go up to 1gb) and consider installing a faster hard drive.
2. If you must use OS X, use 10.4(Tiger). Both Tiger and OS 9 have the advantage of having a current, up to date, secure web browser. Versions of OS X earlier than Tiger do not have access to this. Other software is also generally supported better in OS 9 and 10.4 than in OS X 10.0-10.3. Only the Pismo can run Tiger natively, but most others can with Xpostfacto.
3. If you intend to use wireless networking, support is poor in OS 9. If you have a Pismo with a built-in Airport card, you can connect to unencrypted and WEP encrypted networks under OS 9. 10.4 will get you access to WPA networks with an Airport card, but only if they use TKIP encryption(uncommon now in my experience). You also can still only connect at 802.11b speeds.
4. All G3s have a PCMIA slot, and you can use an Airport Extreme compatible PCMIA Wifi card. There are seller on Ebay who sell these for $10-15. The one I have is made by Belkin, although compatibility is dependent more on the chipset used than the specific maker of the card. These get you 802.11g speeds and allow you to access WPA/AES and WPA2 networks. They do not work at all in OS 9, however. I'm not sure what the exact version cut-off is, but I think it's 10.3(or possibly 10.2.8). In any case-going back to the above-you will want to use 10.4 for the better browser support.
5. Again, if you wish to use USB 2.0 peripherals via a USB 2.0 PCMIA card, you will need OS X. I think the cut off for this is also 10.2.8(or maybe a few minor revisions earlier than that-it would likely correspond to what was current when Apple started shipping USB 2.0 machines), although wouldn't swear to it. Again, 10.4 is your safest best.
Of course, there's nothing stopping you from installing both, as I've done on my Pismo and on my iBook G3s. You don't even need to partition the drive-OS 9 and OS X can co-exist on the same partition(use "startup disk" under control panels in OS 9, or system preferences in OS X to change between the two).
1. In my experience, OS 9 is generally faster and more responsive than OS X. OS X can be very laggy on G3 hardware. If you are going to use OS X, max your RAM(some PB G3s can go up to 1gb) and consider installing a faster hard drive.
2. If you must use OS X, use 10.4(Tiger). Both Tiger and OS 9 have the advantage of having a current, up to date, secure web browser. Versions of OS X earlier than Tiger do not have access to this. Other software is also generally supported better in OS 9 and 10.4 than in OS X 10.0-10.3. Only the Pismo can run Tiger natively, but most others can with Xpostfacto.
3. If you intend to use wireless networking, support is poor in OS 9. If you have a Pismo with a built-in Airport card, you can connect to unencrypted and WEP encrypted networks under OS 9. 10.4 will get you access to WPA networks with an Airport card, but only if they use TKIP encryption(uncommon now in my experience). You also can still only connect at 802.11b speeds.
4. All G3s have a PCMIA slot, and you can use an Airport Extreme compatible PCMIA Wifi card. There are seller on Ebay who sell these for $10-15. The one I have is made by Belkin, although compatibility is dependent more on the chipset used than the specific maker of the card. These get you 802.11g speeds and allow you to access WPA/AES and WPA2 networks. They do not work at all in OS 9, however. I'm not sure what the exact version cut-off is, but I think it's 10.3(or possibly 10.2.8). In any case-going back to the above-you will want to use 10.4 for the better browser support.
5. Again, if you wish to use USB 2.0 peripherals via a USB 2.0 PCMIA card, you will need OS X. I think the cut off for this is also 10.2.8(or maybe a few minor revisions earlier than that-it would likely correspond to what was current when Apple started shipping USB 2.0 machines), although wouldn't swear to it. Again, 10.4 is your safest best.
Of course, there's nothing stopping you from installing both, as I've done on my Pismo and on my iBook G3s. You don't even need to partition the drive-OS 9 and OS X can co-exist on the same partition(use "startup disk" under control panels in OS 9, or system preferences in OS X to change between the two).
Thanks for the info.
1. I'm not sure what the max for my model is but as of now it's at 512mb.
2. Thanks for the tip.
3/4. I actually bought one of those Belkin cards and temporarily had OS X 10.3 (just to get it to work, since it didn't I went back to 9) and I couldn't get it to work at all. I now use a crossover cable with my PC for internet access.
Which PowerBook G3 do you have?
1. The ORIGINAL PowerBook G3 can only run Mac OS 9.1 at best.
2. The G3 Wallstreet will run up to 10.2.8.
3. The PDQ model runs up to 10.2.8.
3. The bronze keyboard Lombard model runs up to 10.3.9
4. The PowerBook G3 with FireWire (the Pismo model) runs up to 10.4.11. You can also upgrade this one to a G4 processor.
Every single one of those models supports dual booting OS 9 and OS X. So why not have both?
1. The ORIGINAL PowerBook G3 can only run Mac OS 9.1 at best.
2. The G3 Wallstreet will run up to 10.2.8.
3. The PDQ model runs up to 10.2.8.
3. The bronze keyboard Lombard model runs up to 10.3.9
4. The PowerBook G3 with FireWire (the Pismo model) runs up to 10.4.11. You can also upgrade this one to a G4 processor.
Every single one of those models supports dual booting OS 9 and OS X. So why not have both?
I have the 400mhz Lombard from 1999.
I would dual boot but I don't think I'd have the space for it.
e:
If it's possible I could try and use an external.
Although I need to use the connector for my Mac Mini when I get it in April.
Strictly speaking, they are all Cardbus. The last PCMCIA implementation was in the predecessor to the G3 Powerbooks, the 3400 and even that was capable of supporting Cardbus cards with a bit of modding.