Fun stuff for PowerPC

[MysticCow]

So with the Uli's Moose thread, I was really waxing nostalgic and thinking about all the FUN stuff for PowerPC.

So let's Wiki up a thread for all of the FUN stuff we can use on our old PowerPC Macs. Please do not confuse "fun" with "games." This is a thread for the silly and decorative side of fun, not gaming.

MacLampsX (Want some Christmas lights? Maybe Easter eggs? All that and more can be placed on your desktop to light up the night)

Application Enhancer (the APE framework allows for several "flavor items" to work. Your system IS a bit less secure with APE. However, PPC is "security through extreme obscurity" so I think we'll be all right.)

Uli's Moose (It's a talking Moose that shows up every so often and says something corny/witty/silly)

Cat in the Dock (Want a cat in your dock?)

Neko (want a cat to follow your cursor?)

Growl (before Notification Center took over our lives, Growl...took over our lives.)

 

[eyoungren]

Application Enhancer (the APE framework allows for several "flavor items" to work. Your system IS a bit less secure with APE. However, PPC is "security through extreme obscurity" so I think we'll be all right.)

Just a caution with APE. There's not much it works with on Leopard (certainly NOT Shapeshifter) and be SURE you get the latest version.

Versions of APE that were not updated to work with Leopard will cause a bluescreen on Leopard and the login window will never appear.

 

[Slix]

I really enjoy using (it's also practical for cleaning up desks and such) Teleport with my PowerPC Macs and my Intel Macs alike. If you want to use them cross-processor, use v. 1.0.1 for PPC and 1.0.2 for Intel.

I've set this up across like 6 Macs in a row, and it's a blast for showing off and actually using more than one for various tasks.

 

[eyoungren]

How about: Geektool, Yahoo Widget Engine and Simple Floating Clock

 

[QSDP-User]

Not Erik's fault, but the developer page for Simple Floating Clock must have a wrong version for download.

[Dev Page Quote] "Wait. I'm still on PowerPC. It's getting continuously tougher as a small developer to develop and provide support that I consider acceptable for software for older platforms. Version 1.7.1 is still pretty good. It's PPC/x86 and runs on 10.4+." [Unquote]

The linked v1.7.1 doesn't run on PPC Tiger for me (wrong version error). Then I googled for a v1.6.2 but that download caused the same problem. *shrugs* Might work for PPC Leopard but I haven't checked that out yet.
The page for Yahoo Widget Engine may have also change the version download that before worked for Tiger at least.

I remembered Erik put together a Desktop Customization zipped collection a year or two ago; I Spotlighted Geeklets & discovered it buried in a PPC drive of software downloads but forgot about & never fully checked it out. Probably a bunch of Tiger goodies in there.

 

[eyoungren]

Not Erik's fault, but the developer page for Simple Floating Clock must have a wrong version for download.

[Dev Page Quote] "Wait. I'm still on PowerPC. It's getting continuously tougher as a small developer to develop and provide support that I consider acceptable for software for older platforms. Version 1.7.1 is still pretty good. It's PPC/x86 and runs on 10.4+." [Unquote]

The linked v1.7.1 doesn't run on PPC Tiger for me (wrong version error). Then I googled for a v1.6.2 but that download caused the same problem. *shrugs* Might work for PPC Leopard but I haven't checked that out yet.
The page for Yahoo Widget Engine may have also change the version download that before worked for Tiger at least.

I remembered Erik put together a Desktop Customization zipped collection a year or two ago; I Spotlighted Geeklets & discovered it buried in a PPC drive of software downloads but forgot about & never fully checked it out. Probably a bunch of Tiger goodies in there.

Don't know what to say regarding Simple Floating Clock and Tiger. Just assumed, based on what I read on that page that the linked app would work on Tiger.

In regards to my desktop customizations zip file (have to find that, I seem to have deleted it off Dropbox) though, I doubt that much of that will work on Tiger. The last time I was using Tiger as my main system was 2009.

 

[QSDP-User]

In regards to my desktop customizations zip file (have to find that, I seem to have deleted it off Dropbox) though, I doubt that much of that will work on Tiger. The last time I was using Tiger as my main system was 2009.

Well, my Quicksilver does have a Leopard drive. I just tried its Yahoo Widgets app in a Sawtooth w/Tiger; It does run, but maybe scripting is outdated for apps like weather & maps to show the data. Widgets open but just sit there blank, lol.
Here's a screenie of what the zip contained.

EDIT: I should mention that the preference for Tiger widget fun is for my iBook G4 [12" 1 GHz 512 RAM].
I disabled Dashboard (among other things) to lower background processing. A more manually on/off widget setup would have taken Dashboard's place.

 

[eyoungren]

Well, my Quicksilver does have a Leopard drive. I just tried its Yahoo Widgets app in a Sawtooth w/Tiger; It does run, but maybe scripting is outdated for apps like weather & maps to show the data. Widgets open but just sit there blank, lol.
Here's a screenie of what the zip contained.

View attachment 691223

Yahoo Widgets still work, but there is a limited (very) amount of widgets that will still function. I am using Werewolf monitor and Widescape Weather. Fortunately, whomever developed Widescape Weather chose a weather service that is still fully functional in 2017. I have not found any other weather widget that works including Yahoo.

A lot of the stuff in the folders you show were Geeklets for Geektool.

 

[AmazingHenry]

Fun stuff, especially that moose.

I've never really used APE for anything other than ShapeShifter. What are some of the best things it can do?

 

[eyoungren]

Fun stuff, especially that moose.

I've never really used APE for anything other than ShapeShifter. What are some of the best things it can do?

It's not really an app that does anything on it's own. It's an enabler.

Essentially it 'cracks' Apple's proprietary code to enable things like Shapeshifter, Color Labels, WindowShade X, etc to do what they do.

Look up Unsanity if you want to see what apps they offered.

 

[MysticCow]

It's not really an app that does anything on it's own. It's an enabler.

Essentially it 'cracks' Apple's proprietary code to enable things like Shapeshifter, Color Labels, WindowShade X, etc to do what they do.

Look up Unsanity if you want to see what apps they offered.

You can't look up Unsanity anymore. They don't exist and the site shows nothing.

You have to go under the internet archive link I have here. At least they preserved the downloads there also.

 

[eyoungren]

You can't look up Unsanity anymore. They don't exist and the site shows nothing.

You have to go under the internet archive link I have here. At least they preserved the downloads there also.

Well, I was more meaning a Google search. I know the site is gone, but the Wayback Machine is good too.

There's a short writeup about them on Wikipedia.

 

[dustinschings]

"security through extreme obscurity"

I like this. It goes for Old Macs and my AIM account!

 

[AmazingHenry]

I like this. It goes for Old Macs and my AIM account!

Main reason I take absolutely no extra security measures on my PowerPC's! Besides using TFF of course, but I don't use it for the security.