Help a newer user optimize his PowerBook?

[redheeler]

Use the Secrets prefpane or Onyx to turn off the transparency for the menubar (even if your Mac does not support transparency). Select either gray or white for the menubar and apply.

It took me about a year before I discovered that and I tried everything. Transparency has to be off on the menubar before the black will apply.

Umm... There's a setting in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver that will turn off menu bar transparency...

 

[eyoungren]

Umm... There's a setting in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver that will turn off menu bar transparency...

Not on all PowerBooks and the one on mine (if present) does nothing because the onboard GPU does not support transparency.

Thus, I have to use Onyx to do this.

 

[redheeler]

Not on all PowerBooks and the one on mine (if present) does nothing because the onboard GPU does not support transparency.

Thus, I have to use Onyx to do this.

The OP's menu bar in the screenshot is clearly transparent, and in my experience the setting to disable the transparent menu bar is always present in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver when this is the case.

No need to tell someone to go to additional trouble if all they have to do is glance at System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver and more likely than not see it there. Apple doesn't always go to the trouble of adding a courtesy setting like this, you know

 

[eyoungren]

The OP's menu bar in the screenshot is clearly transparent, and in my experience the setting to disable the transparent menu bar is always present in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver when this is the case.

No need to tell someone to go to additional trouble if all they have to do is glance at System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver and more likely than not see it there. Apple doesn't always go to the trouble of adding a courtesy setting like this, you know

All I can tell you is this…

At the time I was looking for a solution I was using a 17" PowerBook G4 with a failed external cache. My menubar would not turn black for anything. I tried everything. There was NO checkbox for transparency in my Desktop & Screensaver settings. But still my menubar was white/gray.

When I found this setting in Onyx, it was set as transparent. When I changed it to either white or gray I got the black menubar.

 

[redheeler]

All I can tell you is this…

At the time I was looking for a solution I was using a 17" PowerBook G4 with a failed external cache. My menubar would not turn black for anything. I tried everything. There was NO checkbox for transparency in my Desktop & Screensaver settings. But still my menubar was white/gray.

When I found this setting in Onyx, it was set as transparent. When I changed it to either white or gray I got the black menubar.

I now get what you mean, transparency can be turned on even if a GPU doesn't support Core Image. I recommend anyone who's GPU doesn't support Core Image in Leopard to run the following simple command and log out/back in:

defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences AppleEnableMenuBarTransparency -bool NO

Before:

After:

 

[flyrod]

What else can be done to make one more usable in 2015...

I'd say an SSD would make a noticeable improvement.