Downsides of using Panther or Tiger on a powerbook

Don't know which model of 1.67 you have. 15" or 17", but the earliest you could run would be Panther 10.3.7. That's what those models came with.

BTW, your PowerBook is not the oldest. The 1.67's were the last in the aluminum series and introduced in 2006. The PowerBook I am typing this on right now is older than that by three years. 1.0Ghz 17" introduced in 2003.

If you include the Titaniums then the oldest would be the TiBook/400, introduced in January 2001.

Then there are the Powerbooks before that.

Maybe you meant newest?

As to what you'd miss.

WPA security on WiFi. WPA2 is rapidly starting to become the minimum type of secure connection. Most secure networks now don't use WEP which would be the max you could get with Panther. So, you'd have an Airport Extreme card, but would be unable to connect to most Wifi hotspots.

Access to most late versions of programs. Development of apps for Leopard alone ceased quite a while back. Very few developers include Panther anymore. Let's take Firefox for example. The highest you could go would be Firefox 2 as Firefox 3 requires Tiger. You won't be able to run TenFourFox on Panther because it also requires Tiger.

That's just off the top of my head.

 

Well, I don't know much about Keynote, but you should be ok with Skype. You'll want a firewire webcam with Skype (if you do video calling) or a USB webcam that works efficiently.

I have a USB webcam that I got before my external iSight and it drove my 1.67Ghz Mac to 100%CPU just with Skype running. Once I got the iSight everything was fine.

You'll be limited to older versions of browsers. I think Panther will limit you to Safari 2. Be aware that a lot of sites you may visit utilitize features that only later browser versions can support. You may or may not use Facebook, but I'll cite it as an example. All the javascript eye candy there goes away with older browsers. The problem with that is that FB uses that eye candy to allow you to post and upload. So, without it you're limited.

I'm not trying to convince you to choose any particular OS, just informing you of what you may run into.

 

Depending on which 1.67ghz Powerbook you have -- the early 2005 or the late 2005 -- I'm not sure in either case you can run Panther. Tiger came out in 2005 and was stock on the final version 1.67ghz that took DDR2 ram with the High Resolution screen and Dual layer superdrive.

The previous 1.67 took DDR ram and had a lesser superdrive and standard screen. I am not sure it shipped with panther either -- you may not be able to run it on either of the 1.67 Powerbooks.

I own the final revision 1.67ghz and I see no reason to run Tiger on it. Leopard is great.

 

No, it's one of (if not) the newest of the PBs.

I'd run Leopard if I were you. The machines still going to be fast on it.

 

-forget panther for simple web browser choice (safari,camino,icab,opera all to old errors ect ,won't run ten4,)
-this leaves you with either tiger or leopard... i used to have a older pb 12" 1.33 i installed tiger and leopard then ran geekbench on both,and leopard came out with slightly higher score.

bottom line...use leopard.

 

Leopard runs better than Tiger in my PPC experience. The reason Leopard is fat is because it carries intel Leopard code, too.

For example, you can boot a Leopard Intel Machine like an early 2009 Mac Mini off a target disked Powerbook G4 running Leopard. That was my favorite set up for a long while, I could use my PPC laptop with my Intel Mac.

 

Your better off running Leopard and then using Xslimmer. Either way if you install Leopard or Tiger its going to have intel binaries.

 

Max out the RAM and put Leopard on it. I have Leopard on my 12" 1.33, and it runs pretty well. Boot times are horrifically slow, but applications all start up quickly and work well. The only application that lags is safari...

Keynote works well on Leopard as well. I'm using 09 right now.

 

Xslimmer is not free and you do NOT need it, a simple terminal command will make it PPC only, bit more work but does the job.

I already told this in another thread started by Zoran but keeps asking about it.

I have the exact same powerbook, Leopard runs just fine.
Also cleaned My whole system of non PPC code and got rid of many other non needed stuff.
I recommend the sticky FAQ in the PPC section.

 

Only 1 GB because the lower memory slot does not work, this is a known "defect" of these powerbooks, I say "defect" because actually it is not really one, if only Apple released a firmware update for it but never did for obvious reasons.
Just google Powerbook lower slot and read about it.
There is actually a workaround for it but some are lucky and some not, not me.

80 GB Harddisc, that's enough for what I do, have an external for all the music, photo's and backup.
Buying the biggest PATA available disc won't give me enough, have about 500 GB and the biggest PATA is 320 GB.

 

Too expensive, there aren't that many PATA SSD's, not only that, it's limited to ATA 100 speeds so it won't make that much of a difference.

Spending $100 on a machine that is 7 years old and going back to 64 GB just won't make me happy.
Not only that, I am pretty sure they are not available where I am and ordering online makes it even more expensive.
Better would be to get a secondhand MacbookPro from 2006-2008 or so, cost more yes but would also be faster, more compatible with current software.
Maybe a low capacity PCMCIA SSD would work, but I don't even know if they exist and would probably still not make that much of a difference.
Just did a quick search, they seem to exist but finding a place where they sell them is hard.
If for instance there would be a 8-16-or even 32GB available at a reasonable price at higher speeds than the build in HD I would consider one and then move the VM to the PCMCIA.

Anyone has suggestions?

BTW, I tried tricking My powerbook into recognizing 1.5 GB of memory by mapping out the second lower memory slot in Open Firmware, but as soon as the system tries to access the second RAM the system crashes, I think the problem here is that the memory is mapped but the speed is unknown to the system.
If I go into System Profiler it sees the extra 512 MB RAM module but no mention of it's speed.

Here's the site where I found that trick:

Mapping lower slot memory

 

Theorey isn't everything, especially incomplete one. ATA 100 limit has nothing to do with benefits of SSD. IOPS and almost zero-ish acces time do matter a lot more than maximum speed of copying files.
Average PATA SSD even in Clamshell with its ATA-2 bus will outperform any mechanical drive which you'll be able to fit in there.
Please first try yourself (or at least do some good research) then make an opinion, doing in reverse way makes your opinion worthless.
There's quite number of PATA SSDs on the market, obviously not as much as SATA ones, but one still have some choice.

 

Maybe time for you to update your reading skills

Meaning is: It is too expensive for what I get in return.

FYI you conveniently left out this:
Spending $100 on a machine that is 7 years old and going back to 64 GB just won't make me happy.

 

I got that, but how you can really know without experiencing it? Numbers aren't everything. Only things that SSD does not speed up res processing and memory performance. If you have SATA SSD and FW800 enclosure by the hand, you can test it yourself without buying PATA one.
It will make a great difference even via FW800.
If you plan on using this computer for a while longer, investment will be worth it. I have one in Clamshell and I want to buy next ones for PB and Cube. And I can live with 64GB easily.

 

Yup, you will get better performance via firewire 800 than you will the internal drive bay and these machines will boot off firewire. You can also easily get a Firewire to SATAII caddy. Even if it doesn't make a difference you just put the disk in a newer machine.

 

Why didn't I think of that

I DO have an external case, capable of eSata-firewire 400 and 800 and USB, might give that a try, but then I need to buy another one for the backup disc which is in that enclosure now.

Cheers Guys

 

Do not strip your OS from G5 code and you will be able to run multiple PowerPC computers off this drive.

 

Too late, I already did, whole my system is PPC only.

But, that's not a problem, I don't own a G5 and probably never will, only have laptops, or Apple comes out with the infamous Powerbook G5

Edit: Now that I think of it, several months ago I got a 2.5" disc in that 3.5" enclosure and I got strange behavior, clicking and think it didn't start up, but this was a toshiba disc which in it's own enclosure needs an Y USB cable, it draws too much current, even on a single USB cable connected to an USB 1 Ampere hub it won't start up normally.
Sata=Sata is what I believe even if it's a 2.5" or 3.5", is this statement true?