Goodbye to PPC for now?

[mectojic]

I've recently gone full-time, and work has really ramped up.
I used to have a solid day or two each week at home, where I could tinker with my PPC Macs, improve their functionality, and enjoy using them for personal projects.
But the sad thing is, in the modern world, it's just too difficult to integrate a PPC Mac into a workflow that involves Outlook, endless Google Sheets docs and lots of web browsing. Perhaps I could still manage it with a Power Mac G5, but I'm not particularly wedded to a power-hungry machine like that.

As part of starting the new job, I decided to treat myself to a Mac I've been hunting on Ebay for a while now – a 16GB M1 Mac Mini. They're at a fantastic price now, and damn, this machine is so nice and responsive. Once settings are fiddled with, you can get MacOS to behave a little like Tiger used to (shut up, notifications).

So yeah, other than old software, I can't find much reason to get out my PPC Macs lately. I wonder if any of you faced something similar.

The best part about the M1 Mini though is this – I can still enjoy the vintage hardware of the PPC era! (And the Mini can hide behind the desk.)

 

[retta283]

So yeah, other than old software, I can't find much reason to get out my PPC Macs lately. I wonder if any of you faced something similar.

I haven't been able to use a PowerPC Mac in a productive manner since at least 2020. I had only used them as side machines during their heyday, the Intel switch was what enticed me to move to Mac full-time, but I retained a suite of PowerPC laptops as I saw no reason to replace them. They functioned well for years as my main laptops, and I rolled with the gradual changes of the internet on them.

Things have changed a lot in the last 5 years or so however, and I no longer consider them sufficient for even intermediate connected use. They are simply not worth it other than the novelty factor. I was willing to do some tweaking to keep things running, but it has simply become too much. The clock is ticking on any potential remedy regardless, which is further demotivation.

For offline use these machines retain usefulness depending on ones' software collection, of course. I had clung to Tiger based on a particular piece of homemade software for work, which refused to run on even Leopard. Finally I was able to find a suitable alternative a few years back, ironically also sticking me with an old OS in Windows 2000/XP, but this is what my work uses anyway (CNC machines that have been running for decades).

Regarding Windows, this is a point that I have been making a lot recently. I have Windows equivalents for the overwhelming majority of my PowerPC and 32-bit Intel Mac apps, and believe it or not most of them still work in Windows 11 today. These are apps that were written by one or a few persons, and haven't been updated in perhaps 25 years. It is very nice to be able to use current hardware to maintain this suite of applications, and even if I want to run them in the contemporary OSes, virtualization is a breeze and real Windows hardware for them is still easy to piece together compared to the rapidly scarce parts for PowerPC Mac computers.

In this way, my interest in 'vintage' computers has shifted to the more reliable and easy to maintain Windows environment, a complete 180 for me. Perhaps I am unique in making this move, but I have found it wholly sufficient as a replacement for PowerPC Macs, whether it be a 2002 or 2022 machine accomplishing the same tasks. This depends on the type of software you have of course, but it is an option if you can put up with Windows.

I will maintain my stable of PowerPC Macs (and maybe nab a blue and white G3 tower if the price is right just for posterity) but when their time is up that will be the end for me. I will likely maintain my early Intel Macs a while longer, as they do cross-pollinate with my software suites and can run Windows.

 

[mortlocli]

I've recently gone full-time, and work has really ramped up.
I used to have a solid day or two each week at home, where I could tinker with my PPC Macs, improve their functionality, and enjoy using them for personal projects.
But the sad thing is, in the modern world, it's just too difficult to integrate a PPC Mac into a workflow that involves Outlook, endless Google Sheets docs and lots of web browsing. Perhaps I could still manage it with a Power Mac G5, but I'm not particularly wedded to a power-hungry machine like that.

As part of starting the new job, I decided to treat myself to a Mac I've been hunting on Ebay for a while now – a 16GB M1 Mac Mini. They're at a fantastic price now, and damn, this machine is so nice and responsive. Once settings are fiddled with, you can get MacOS to behave a little like Tiger used to (shut up, notifications).

So yeah, other than old software, I can't find much reason to get out my PPC Macs lately. I wonder if any of you faced something similar.

The best part about the M1 Mini though is this – I can still enjoy the vintage hardware of the PPC era! (And the Mini can hide behind the desk.)

View attachment 2198951

but...just look at that thing!!
If that ain't a 'objet d'art..wot the heck is?

Im retired so have lots of free time. I go into macintosh garden every day to see wot four items of software is displayed on their home page (old) .. looks like a free treasure to me..and all that graphics stuff to dabble with.

and I know I wont have enough time to explore it all.

 

[eyoungren]

I'm still using certain Macs for specific things, most notably my G4 as a headless, glorified NAS. It takes backups of the media folder on my real NAS every day at 5pm.

But as my primary Mac? No.

That period ended in May 2020 for me.

 

[m1maverick]

For me PPC essentially ended when Apple made the transition to Intel. I do have a PowerMac G5 that I keep for nostalgia reasons but it doesn't see regular use. For daily use my Intel Macs do everything the PowerMac can and more.

I recently acquired a PowerBook 5300ce but that was for a specific purpose (to write Macintosh floppies for even older Macintosh systems [think 68K era Macs]).

 

[AphoticD]

I completely understand your position @mectojic. Thank you for sharing, and congrats on the M1 score!

It can be hard to keep old hardware relevant up against all the modern systems, as you know...

Personally, I’m not exclusively attached to PowerPC in any way, I just loved the pre-2006 Mac era for what it was, or maybe for where I was in life at that time. So I found myself collecting all those Mac models from the G3 to G5 that I liked (and could have never afforded new). Portables being more practical in terms of space/storage. The PowerPC platform just had something unique and special about it that the Intel Macs didn’t quite capture.

I don’t see myself ever being able to do the same with beige PowerPCs, pre-G3 PowerBooks and 68k Macs - now they are truly rare to find. And ten years from now perhaps these PowerPC Macs will have that same hard to find rarity.

Intel Macs will join the boneyard soon enough and we’ll be wondering just how to keep our Intel Core Macs relevant in a world of Apple Silicon.

Maybe you can’t fight progress, but can find happiness in a Mac setup that works for you (and that you can afford without having to bust out the credit card).

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I never truly used PPC as a 100% replacement for current computing hardware, so navigating away from that has not been painful or surprising. I've always used a current windows platform for at least work. Around 2013-2016 I had time to indulge pumping up PPC hardware for modern uses but I simply dont have the luxury now. I have alot of PPC macs that are very cool but even now at home, I use early Intel macs with El Cap or newer macos and for cont Ed work, a current machine is an absolute must for me if for no other reason that I dont have the time anymore to jerk around trying to make stuff work. Its not just me time anymore. It's me, my wife, our three boys, work, family, cont Ed etc. and all the time sucking manure that life unceremoniously dumps all over your plate. At this point, I just need stuff to work and current stuff like your M1 mini does exactly that - it just works (congrats btw!). I totally get that. What I have done in the wake of this lack of putzing time is sell/trade/give away some of my extra macs/mac stuff that I probably will not touch for another 10 years lol and tidy up and appreciate the meaningful sections of my collection. I know my wife certainly appreciates mac projects/junk not constantly migrating onto the guest bedroom bed.

Love the ADC cinema display with the M1. That is a great looking pair - very sharp

 

[mortlocli]

I never truly used PPC as a 100% replacement for current computing hardware, so navigating away from that has not been painful or surprising. I've always used a current windows platform for at least work. Around 2013-2016 I had time to indulge pumping up PPC hardware for modern uses but I simply dont have the luxury now. I have alot of PPC macs that are very cool but even now at home, I use early Intel macs with El Cap or newer macos and for cont Ed work, a current machine is an absolute must for me if for no other reason that I dont have the time anymore to jerk around trying to make stuff work. Its not just me time anymore. It's me, my wife, our three boys, work, family, cont Ed etc. and all the time sucking manure that life unceremoniously dumps all over your plate. At this point, I just need stuff to work and current stuff like your M1 mini does exactly that - it just works (congrats btw!). I totally get that. What I have done in the wake of this lack of putzing time is sell/trade/give away some of my extra macs/mac stuff that I probably will not touch for another 10 years lol and tidy up and appreciate the meaningful sections of my collection. I know my wife certainly appreciates mac projects/junk not constantly migrating onto the guest bedroom bed.

Love the ADC cinema display with the M1. That is a great looking pair - very sharp

Time is a luxury ..

 

[swamprock]

I use my G4 Mini running OS 9 for game development (details posted somewhere else on the forum), although that's not a daily use case. However, my 667mhz TiBook is used at work daily, with my recipes and various documents created and collated in a combination of Appleworks and Office 2001. My staff consults an original iPad that is now used as a recipe book, that I update via FTP (jailbroken). I also create the staff schedules on the TiBook, and send the resulting PDF to my phone by FTPing the PDF to my server from the Powerbook, and grabbing them on my iPhone, where I print them from. My use case is pretty simplistic, and I don't need anything modern for my work, although modern tools are most definitely available and could be used.

The only modern Apple products I use for work are my 5th generation iPad (for my walking-around product ordering) and my iPhone 14 Pro, to send off said order.

UPDATED- July 2014

 

[eyoungren]

Time is a luxury ..

Time is also a priority. We prioritize what is most important to us.

For me, time to myself for whatever I want to do (or nothing at all) has always been a major priority of mine. It's a major priority for my wife. We are both loners who ended up together and we have made choices over the course of our lives (separately and together) that respect that priority.

I respect what others choose to prioritize, even if it is not what I prioritize for myself. But priorities are conscious choices we make, even if sometimes we give little thought to those choices.

Time is a luxury…that I consciously make a priority to maximize. And there are things that I have sacrificed for that luxury and will sacrifice for it again in the future. My wife as well.

 

[GMShadow]

I stopped using PPC with regularity in 2016 - it was still possible then, but it was getting harder. At the time my financial situation was slowly starting to improve, so I managed to get a 2010 polycarbonate MacBook that year and have stayed on the current macOS release since then. I still have a decent amount of my Power stuff (and just picked up a G5 again last year) but they're just things I pull out from time to time for a reminder of the older days.

 

[VirtuallyInsane]

To be honest for me, iBook G4s are still brilliant for writing on, and for reading things because of the 4:3 aspect ratio giving me more room to read things. As for actual real world everyday usage, they're not great for it outside of tinkering and for upgrading/throwing Linux/Sorbet Leopard on. If Apple ever made a 4:3 14 inch laptop again (I know they won't), I'd snap it up in an instant. I'd be the first in line.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Time is also a priority. We prioritize what is most important to us.

For me, time to myself for whatever I want to do (or nothing at all) has always been a major priority of mine. It's a major priority for my wife. We are both loners who ended up together and we have made choices over the course of our lives (separately and together) that respect that priority.

I respect what others choose to prioritize, even if it is not what I prioritize for myself. But priorities are conscious choices we make, even if sometimes we give little thought to those choices.

Time is a luxury…that I consciously make a priority to maximize. And there are things that I have sacrificed for that luxury and will sacrifice for it again in the future. My wife as well.

To your point, time itself is not inherently a luxury, rather the luxury lies in how we choose to prioritize that most precious human commodity. More so, simply to have the opportunity to exercise the choice.

 

[eyoungren]

To your point, time itself is not inherently a luxury, rather the luxury lies in how we choose to prioritize that most precious human commodity. More so, simply to have the opportunity to exercise the choice.

When I was younger, living at home with no bills to pay, my job choices reflected my priorities. As I got older, I had to make other choices.

I suppose by this time in my life, had I done things 'right', I would be much better off financially and materially.

I don't regret anything. Well, mostly anyway.

But again, what other people choose to prioritize with their time is their own business and their own situation. I hold no disrespect or condemnation about other peoples choices.

 

[2aw]

Ok, so for you guys, what is the best way to spend time?

 

[MysticCow]

To be honest for me, iBook G4s are still brilliant for writing on, and for reading things because of the 4:3 aspect ratio giving me more room to read things. As for actual real world everyday usage, they're not great for it outside of tinkering and for upgrading/throwing Linux/Sorbet Leopard on. If Apple ever made a 4:3 14 inch laptop again (I know they won't), I'd snap it up in an instant. I'd be the first in line.

Mine have all become either writing stations (9 and Office 2001 are beautiful together as is Tiger and Office 2004) or retro game Macs.

I know at some point they will blow up or something. I’m not worried, but I’m not going out of my way for another PPC Mac either. When these go, my time in PPC land is over.

 

[VirtuallyInsane]

Mine have all become either writing stations (9 and Office 2001 are beautiful together as is Tiger and Office 2004) or retro game Macs.

I know at some point they will blow up or something. I’m not worried, but I’m not going out of my way for another PPC Mac either. When these go, my time in PPC land is over.

Fair enough. I definitely like having a couple around, just in case. I have 2x 1.42 GHZ 14 inch and 1x 1.07 12 inch iBook G4 still working. I had a 1.33 GHz 14 inch but it blew up. I am using it to harvest parts for the other ones, i.e. memory.

 

[mortlocli]

Time is also a priority. We prioritize what is most important to us.

For me, time to myself for whatever I want to do (or nothing at all) has always been a major priority of mine. It's a major priority for my wife. We are both loners who ended up together and we have made choices over the course of our lives (separately and together) that respect that priority.

I respect what others choose to prioritize, even if it is not what I prioritize for myself. But priorities are conscious choices we make, even if sometimes we give little thought to those choices.

Time is a luxury…that I consciously make a priority to maximize. And there are things that I have sacrificed for that luxury and will sacrifice for it again in the future. My wife as well.

I better re-phrase that:
Free time is a luxury.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Ok, so for you guys, what is the best way to spend time?

Intentionally - Sharing my time with my wife, boys and family. Being in the service of others is a fine use of time as well.

 

[eyoungren]

Ok, so for you guys, what is the best way to spend time?

Remember!

You ASKED!

The absolute BEST way to spend time? A 6 to 8 hour RPG gaming session on a Friday, Saturday AND Sunday night! With good friends, a good GM (Game/Dungeon Master), a great adventure/story and lots of character building/action. Bonus! Plenty of snacks, awesome coffee and other beverages. Toss in candles and incense and we've got a killer time*!

*Yeah, I know, I'm weird. It's not Satanic though, so don't go thinking anything. It's mood setting and I'm a Christian.

The game, would specifically be 2nd Edition Rolemaster by Iron Crown Enterprises. But since very few people know what the heck I'm talking about (except for those here who always hear me go on and on about it) I'll just say 'Dungeons & Dragons' and you will probably get what I mean.

PS. This is EXACTLY WHAT I WAS DOING FROM 1986 TO 1999!

Note, not me or any group I've ever been a part of - just a visual example. I believe that would be the D&D red box set there next to the DM screen.

 

[eyoungren]

Intentionally - Sharing my time with my wife, boys and family. Being in the service of others is a fine use of time as well.

Good call. My wife and I, pre-kids, would always find time to share a cup of coffee out at Starbucks. Our idea of the best dinner out would be to go to a restaurant (usually Hometown Buffet when it existed), get our food and then sit and eat reading our books.

My wife and I, I mentioned previously, are both loners. So sharing time in that way is our type of thing of being together and having a good time with each other.

I will just say that my wife knew I was a gamer when she met me. To my eternal love and devotion of her, she has NEVER asked me to give that up. She understands that whole thing (and all the computers/tech/devices I have too) and we long ago reached a fair agreement about time with family/kids and gaming.

 

[eyoungren]

I better re-phrase that:
Free time is a luxury.

LOL!

"Free time is a luxury, which I prioritize, and make every attempt to maximize to my (and my family's) benefit".

 

[mortlocli]

An important life lesson my wee dog taught me:
Live in the moment

I think humans forget to do that.

 

[whiskersld]

I have a 16" MBP I use for normal tasks, but i still use my '01 iMac to animate :3

 

[joshjohnson]

Honestly I almost wish my whole life could be on my Mac mini g4. I wish Apple had loaded it with a fx5200, but it’s otherwise great. I think I wanna put FCP 5 or something on it. The critical part to remain connected is the community port of 10.4 fox which if you have time to compile gives the machine a shocking amount of functionality. The key is to work with it’s limits. 10.5 has a really great version of libreoffice 5, you can use it to browse anything except YouTube, and if I got a usb drive for my iPhone I could even share videos and files, long as I turn on h.264 haha. Getting work done doesn’t mean google docks, and frankly I’d rather use a desktop app anyway. I don’t like the move to the web for everything and I actually want to own my software, not rent it. If I need to share something via the net, hotmail likely still works, iCloud did at least until it was updated, and I’m sure I can convince OneDrive to work though I have not tried. I don’t need to share files with anything outside my home though and I also have a 2012 Mac mini running Mojave that is honestly my main Mac.
Anyone willing or wanting to use a ppc Mac as a work machine will need to recompile TFF from source once a year, run libreoffice, or iWork 09, and use 10.5.8 or likely sorbet leopard. Of course for videos and photos it works good. Save your self some trouble and while you can edit videos and export them on a ppc upload them using a raspberry pi or iOS device. Of course resolution and such come in to play, I find 720p best on my Mac mini in iMovie HD but others can run whatever they can handle. A dual g5 can do 1080i or p30. Computers remain useful tools within reason and ppc late models from 2005 are shockingly so. Online collaboration and working tools require more cpu power and may be doable on a g5 more then a g4. I have not personally tested google docs Or Google drive but maps work, and you can always upload And download files in any number of formats using secondary or tertiary devices that are plentiful and cheap. Libreoffice really is great and was last updated in 2016 for leopard.