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Is this worth it??? Help!!!

Ariii

Ariii

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 26, 2012
681
10
Chicago
I found a Clamshell iBook from somebody, and they want to sell it to me. Ultimately, it will cost me $45 to get running. It is a 300 MHz version with 64 MB of RAM, and my parents say that it will not work well at all if I run OS9 (Most stuff will be uncompatible with other computers), and that 64 MB of RAM is way too little to run OS X. If I do get it, which OS should I run? I think I'll get a terminal emulator and Classila (Sorry if I spelled that wrong), and I'll get DGen as an emulator for the Sega Genesis if I run OS9. What should I do? Oh, and I love how the old ones look with the colors and stuff!

UPDATE: I have an extremely low budget, by the way.
 
Last edited:
It all really depends on what you want to do. Is the computer worth it to you? Also, consider what kind of condition it is in as well. Clamshell iBooks are starting to become collectors items and they seem to be pretty sought after if they are in good condition.

As for running OS 9, it should probably be fine... again, depending on your usage. 64MB RAM isn't a lot, but for most simple tasks it'd do ok. I used my iBook to run classic games and 64MB was plenty for that purpose. I don't know much about emulators though, so I can't help you there. Also, I wouldn't recommend installing OS X on it with those kinds of specs. Puma (OS 10.1) MIGHT be able to run, but there isn't much software available for it and it would more than likely just slow you down. Panther (OS 10.3) would be the highest OS you could run on it if you maximized your RAM. Tiger isn't supported by your model but people have found ways to install it anyway.

Good luck!
 
If you want to get this for any work to be done then do not buy it. But if you want to hold a piece of history, then ok.

Considering your last sentence... I would not recommend it.
 
i have same clamshell (however 288mb ram and upgraded hd to 40gigs)..my thoughts

-does it include airport card? is battery working? (most original batteries would be doa by now)
-64mb is gonna be very taxing...can you afford (or even find) say 256 or 512mb pc100/133 stick? (if only 64mb stick with os 9.2.2)
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-iBook-G3-Clamshell-RAM/107/1
-i have installed a number of os on my machine...
-osx puma,jaguar,panther,tiger (using XPostFacto4.sit)...puma and jaguar are basically useless if you want internet browser as safari won't render most pages now days,or simple stall machine...panther is best of the osx but still even safari,firefox 2.0.0.20,camino browsers have lots of issues loading pages...tiger can be installed if you install os 9 and then use xpstfacto software,but trust me you don't want to be that slow on a old 300 clamshell
-linux different versions...all run to slow and use older browsers that once again render poorly web pages
-stay with mac os 9 or above (last being 9.2.2) it runs great on my clamshell (288 ram)...i also use browser classilla 9.2.3 (stay away from latest 9.3..as buggy as all get up) it renders most web pages very well...you can find tons of free older software at macgardens ect

if you get and need any help with it feel free to bug me :) love my clamshell....
 
tom vilsack said:
i have same clamshell (however 288mb ram and upgraded hd to 40gigs)..my thoughts

-does it include airport card? is battery working? (most original batteries would be doa by now)
-64mb is gonna be very taxing...can you afford (or even find) say 256 or 512mb pc100/133 stick? (if only 64mb stick with os 9.2.2)
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-iBook-G3-Clamshell-RAM/107/1
-i have installed a number of os on my machine...
-osx puma,jaguar,panther,tiger (using XPostFacto4.sit)...puma and jaguar are basically useless if you want internet browser as safari won't render most pages now days,or simple stall machine...panther is best of the osx but still even safari,firefox 2.0.0.20,camino browsers have lots of issues loading pages...tiger can be installed if you install os 9 and then use xpstfacto software,but trust me you don't want to be that slow on a old 300 clamshell
-linux different versions...all run to slow and use older browsers that once again render poorly web pages
-stay with mac os 9 or above (last being 9.2.2) it runs great on my clamshell (288 ram)...i also use browser classilla 9.2.3 (stay away from latest 9.3..as buggy as all get up) it renders most web pages very well...you can find tons of free older software at macgardens ect

if you get and need any help with it feel free to bug me :) love my clamshell....
Click to expand...

Thanks! Is there any word processors that can do formatting things like double spacing, and is there any that can save in the .doc word format?
 
Ariii said:
Thanks! Is there any word processors that can do formatting things like double spacing, and is there any that can save in the .doc word format?
Click to expand...
If you're staying on Mac OS 9.2.2 for better performance, try Microsoft Office 2001, it's an equivalent to Office 2000/XP for Windows so is still very usable and the .doc etc files it creates are 100% compatible with the current Office versions.

If you go up to OS X Tiger then any Office version right up to 2008 will work provided you have enough memory (while MS say you need a G4 it does in fact run on a G3, albeit slowly). Don't go for OS X unless you max out the RAM though.
 
647156 said:
Don't go for OS X unless you max out the RAM though.
Click to expand...

and even then on a clamshell 300MHz (with best osx version being panther for this model) if you want a internet browser your stuck with safari,camino,icab...all of which run horrible compared to just using classilla 9.2.3 in os 9

trust me..try loading yahoo home page with osx panther and safari (won't work)..camino (script errors...and good chance machine will stop responding)...it's just a bigger pain then it's worth.

with os 9 your machine will feel snappy...you can surf the web with casssilla,run all sorts of fun old games (macgardens ect)...
 
tom vilsack said:
and even then on a clamshell 300MHz (with best osx version being panther for this model) if you want a internet browser your stuck with safari,camino,icab...all of which run horrible compared to just using classilla 9.2.3 in os 9

trust me..try loading yahoo home page with osx panther and safari (won't work)..camino (script errors...and good chance machine will stop responding)...it's just a bigger pain then it's worth.

with os 9 your machine will feel snappy...you can surf the web with casssilla,run all sorts of fun old games (macgardens ect)...
Click to expand...

OS 9 seems definitely the right choice, but is there any terminal emulators for it? Thanks for the advice!
 
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