iBook G3 900 on 2017?

[AphoticD]

Slap Ubuntu Mate on those suckers and they'll work like new. From the bit of experience I've gotten with it, there are no rough edges besides drivers, but that's expected and easy to take care of.

Did you get MATE working?

 

[EugW]

So I was just checking out eBay, and it seems the going Buy It Now rate is US$200 for a late 2009 13" MacBook6,1 with 4 GB RAM. This is officially supported all the way to and including High Sierra 10.13.

That's somewhat more expensive though at 170 Euros, although it does come with a 3 month warranty. It's cheaper through private sale on the used market.

Slap Ubuntu Mate on those suckers and they'll work like new. From the bit of experience I've gotten with it, there are no rough edges besides drivers, but that's expected and easy to take care of.

I thought of putting a Linux install on those but I prefer the trip down memory lane once in a while. Plus I didn't want to deal with the hassle.

Truthfully I have too many Mac laptops right now in active use anyway:

2017 12" MacBook Core m3 High Sierra
2009 13" MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.26 GHz High Sierra
2008 13" MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz High Sierra
2008 13" MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz Lion <-- Semi-retired, due to Lion.

Hm... So does that mean a 2006 Mac Pro is non-functional by modern standards because it is 11 years old and just barely misses that mark?

Actually the cheese grater 2006 Mac Pro is a big problem these days, as it maxes out at 10.7.5 Lion. I wouldn't buy one of those either. You can't even run the latest iTunes on it, or any of the latest versions of the big three Mac browsers.

So not quite non-functional, but very problematic. Not recommended as a primary machine.

 

[z970]

Actually the cheese grater 2006 Mac Pro is a big problem these days, as it maxes out at 10.7.5 Lion. I wouldn't buy one of those either. You can't even run the latest iTunes on it, or any of the latest versions of the big three Mac browsers.

So not quite non-functional, but very problematic. Not recommended as a primary machine.

Screw that. A 2.66/3GHz quad-core 32GB RAM monster isn't problematic, neither not-recommendable in any conceivable way. There's simply too much power present. Either edit the EFI file and get an El Capitan bypass installation assistant or put Ubuntu on it. Preferably the latter as it is "free in every sense of the word". Much better supported too.

And when you're transitioning from a PowerPC main, it's a galaxy of difference in ability and potential.

 

[EugW]

Screw that. A 2.66/3GHz quad-core 32GB RAM monster isn't problematic, neither not-recommendable in any conceivable way. There's simply too much power present. Either edit the EFI file and get an El Capitan bypass installation assistant or put Ubuntu on it. Preferably the latter as it is "free in every sense of the word". Much better supported too.

And when you're transitioning from a PowerPC main, it's a galaxy of difference in ability and potential.

Ubuntu isn't a Mac.

As for it having 32 GB, them's the breaks. This is a problem when buying Macs. 32 GB is great and all, but it doesn't really help much if I can't log into my income tax account or sync my iPhone to iTunes.

Arguably, for mainstream use, many might actually get more use out of $200 MacBook. Now, if you're talking about video encoding or scientific calculations, that's a totally different story.

BTW, this is one of the reasons I typically do not buy used Mac Pros. By the time they're actually cheap enough for mainstream users to tinker with, they've often already become obsolete... like the 2006 cheese grater Mac Pro, 32 GB and all.

On the other hand, a 2008 cheese grater could be more useful, but then again, they're not as cheap.

 

[z970]

Ubuntu isn't a Mac.

As for it having 32 GB, them's the breaks. This is a problem when buying Macs. 32 GB is great and all, but it doesn't really help much if I can't log into my income tax account or sync my iPhone to iTunes.

Arguably, for mainstream use, many might actually get more use out of $200 MacBook. Now, if you're talking about video encoding or scientific calculations, that's a totally different story.

BTW, this is one of the reasons I typically do not buy used Mac Pros. By the time they're actually cheap enough for mainstream users to tinker with, they've become obsolete... like the 2006 cheese grater Mac Pro, 32 GB and all.

Ah well... Is what it is.
[doublepost=1505964288][/doublepost]

Did you get MATE working?

I'll update the original thread.

 

[amagichnich]

But the OP hasn't mentioned syncing - no mention of iPhones plus he's said the movies would already be transcoded ie not via iTunes.
I've worked on the information given and the conclusion is, yes a G3 iBook can do that.

There is something we forget right now. We are talking like we are on the hunt for 'the one laptop to rule them all'
But I for example usually have at least 3 PPCs in concurrent use that do different things. Maybe OPs situation is similar

 

[AphoticD]

One does not simply... own just ONE PowerPC.

 

[weckart]

Actually the cheese grater 2006 Mac Pro is a big problem these days, as it maxes out at 10.7.5 Lion. I wouldn't buy one of those either. You can't even run the latest iTunes on it, or any of the latest versions of the big three Mac browsers.

So not quite non-functional, but very problematic. Not recommended as a primary machine.

It maxes out at El Cap, actually. Mine also dual boots Win 10. Plenty of life left in it yet and mine was so cheap to buy.

 

[z970]

It maxes out at El Cap, actually. Mine also dual boots Win 10. Plenty of life left in it yet and mine was so cheap to buy.

That's one more perk.

For what they bring to the table, suckers are CHEAP!

 

[EugW]

It maxes out at El Cap, actually. Mine also dual boots Win 10. Plenty of life left in it yet and mine was so cheap to buy.

Not the 2006. It maxes out at 10.7.5.

It’s the later cheese graters that go to El Capitan.

Unless you’re talking about a hacked install that is.

 

[G4fanboy]

GOD! What a lot of replies and I were working all day with no time to reply until now.

Summary: I am an Android guy (No iOS devices). For me everything past 10.6 is iPhone Kool Aid. Bloated and absurd. (No offence guys)

I have 3 Intel Core 2 Quad desktop machines at home for DAW + internet + facebook + torrent + "modern" games. Two of them are hackintoshed with Snow Leopard (via iAtkos S3 v.2), my favourite Intel feline. I have 95 % of what I need on Mac-Intel land with them. To name a few: Protools 10, Premiere CS4/5. I will embrace Crapitan on only one of them, but only for browsing the web.

I also had an MSI 15.6" Core 2 Duo 1.86 GHz with GMA 950 as my main HackBook on Snow too. That machine allowed me to play "Summer Hits" with iTunes 9 IIRC on the 20.000 Watts sound equipment I use as sound engineer for different bands. That portable also helped me to do RealTime Audio-Spectrum analisis to calibrate the sound equipment.

That HackBook has gone to heaven(I am unable to boot it). I need a replacement, at least for the iTunes part.

I have in my Studio Room at home an Focusrite LS56 as my main sound card on my main DAW and that thing is Firewire. So I decided to get a "modern" (2006-2009) MacBook to make a portable studio. (And to reuse the 4 GBytes of RAM and the 2.5" 7200 RPM SATA HDD I had on the dead MSI).

Then I realized that most MacBooks were GMA **** but the 2/3 latest nVidia batchs, that allowed most Mac OS past Lion. But they are +130 €. Core Duo MBP are 90-130 here. And the later Core 2 Duo MBP are prone to fail sooner than later.

I will get a MacBook but probably more later than sooner when I get a good offer.

I also have 4 PM G4 (sawtooth 1.8 dual, QS GHz dual and 2 MDD 867 dual). All of them have DieHard "Instant DAW" Mac OS 9 and Panther + Tiger + Leopard that I use on my studio aside 2 intel hacks.

The point about my ModernAppleLaptop/Daily driver needs is covered.

While I found that offer, I need a iTunes "player". Any version would serve me as I am an Android guy, I dont need to sync files but USB 2.0 pen drives with mp3/mp4 files. Now I got an offer of a PBG4 12" 1.5 at 60€, and I were thinking on getting BOTH.

900 iBook G3 Pros: Audio output also carries Composite Video with an cheap and easy to find cable Mini jack to 3 RCA.

1.5 PB G4 has USB 2.0, but any Mini DVI cable is €€€.

 

[Dronecatcher]

900 iBook G3 Pros: Audio output also carries Composite Video with an cheap and easy to find cable Mini jack to 3 RCA.

Wow - I never knew that!

 

[amagichnich]

1.5 PB G4 has USB 2.0, but any Mini DVI cable is €€€.

I have approx. 40 of 'em lying around. Some eBay seller added them to my 12" G4 iBook for free

 

[AphoticD]

I have approx. 40 of 'em lying around. Some eBay seller added them to my 12" G4 iBook for free

I was going to say I have seen non-genuine adapters for about $10 on eBay. Many are mini-DVI to HDMI if that suits better.

I can recall the clamshell G3 iBooks had the composite RCA-out via the headphone jack for video mirroring, but I didn’t realize the white iBooks did. Actually, I am almost 100% sure I had to buy a mini-VGA to s-video/composite adapter for my 800Mhz model.

All this talk about the G3 iBook has left me with an urge to “save one”. And there I was thinking my portable PowerPC collection was complete. I really want a clamshell G3 too, but not for ~$1 per Mhz.

 

[weckart]

I can recall the clamshell G3 iBooks had the composite RCA-out via the headphone jack for video mirroring, but I didn’t realize the white iBooks did. Actually, I am almost 100% sure I had to buy a mini-VGA to s-video/composite adapter for my 800Mhz model.

They do but I could never get mine to work. Having said that, all they can do is mirror so no real benefit over what you already have on those small screens.

 

[zappaesque]

Not the 2006. It maxes out at 10.7.5.

It’s the later cheese graters that go to El Capitan.

Unless you’re talking about a hacked install that is.

The only real hack to get El Capitan running is changing the EFI to 32-bit to get it to boot. An upgraded video card is also required. I also replaced the processors on mine with dual 3ghz quad cores, dropped 32gb of RAM in it, and flashed it to 2,1. All for around $200, including the $50 I spent on the Mac Pro itself.

But yeah, other than that, 10.7.5 is the max.

 

[Mac03ForLife]

In 2017 the G3 Macs - all of them - are a complete waste of time. If the desire is to waste time for fun and nostalgia then that’s fine but the machine is completely useless otherwise.

Yes the Intel Macs are over 100 Euros but they are fully functional machines. For example I just bought a MacBook5,1 Aluminum Unibody model for less than 125 Euros and installed High Sierra on it. With High Sierra, this machine can be used in 2017 as a primary laptop, although you’d want to install an SSD and more RAM.

I wouldn’t pay 30 Euros for a G4 MacBook, much less a G3. In fact, I have a G4 MacBook sitting on my shelf at home. It has not been touched in over 5 years. I replaced it back then because it was too much of a waste of time to try to get anything done on it. Even just checking email was painful.

Plus, as mentioned, those specific G3 models have a habit of dying because of a manufacturing flaw with the logic board at the GPU.

Would you be willing to send that macbook over to the US?

 

[EugW]

Heh. I was going to give away the early 2008 white MacBook4,1 that I have. It will be replaced by the late 2008 aluminum MacBook5,1 I bought for under US$150, in Canada.

I noticed though in the US it’s pretty common to find the fully supported MacBook6,1 for under US$200. Runs High Sierra officially, unlike my MacBook5,1 which runs it unofficially.