I just bought a clamshell iBook on eBay for $50 with OS9 included, and I couldn't find a consistent source of information. What are the parts that are most important to upgrade, and should I get OS X if I upgrade the RAM? And what is the best web browser for it? Oh, and one more thing (sorry): is there a good terminal emulator for it? Thanks!
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Just bought a new iBook! Any advice?
- Thread starter Ariii
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Try and find the specs, if I remember correctly, some of the clamshells were powerful enough to run OSX 10.4 Tiger, but without specs I can't advise further. Punch in the serial number online/google Apple product serial sites, they'll tell you all the specs of your machine 
Try and find the specs, if I remember correctly, some of the clamshells were powerful enough to run OSX 10.4 Tiger, but without specs I can't advise further. Punch in the serial number online/google Apple product serial sites, they'll tell you all the specs of your machine
Oh, thanks! Actually it's 400 MHz with 64 MB of RAM. Eventually, I'm going to upgrade it to 512 MB.
For OS 9 classilla is your best bet browser-wise.
http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases/
http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases/
400MHz..really? if thats what it says then im thinking you have a hacked overclocked clam...
does it have a firewire port?
does it have a firewire port?
400MHz is unlikely to be honest.
clamshell iBooks were made with either 300, 366, or 466 MHz G3 CPUs. The later two had firewire versions, and memory could be expanded to 576 MB (with one 512 MB stick - OWC sells it for macs, as 32 MB is on board).
Both lovendmac and everymac provides information about clamsheels - I linked the 466MHz version.
Provided you can max out the memory to 576MB (and I suggest to put in a faster hard drive), you can run Tiger on the 466 MHz version just fine. In any other case I suggest OS9 only.
clamshell iBooks were made with either 300, 366, or 466 MHz G3 CPUs. The later two had firewire versions, and memory could be expanded to 576 MB (with one 512 MB stick - OWC sells it for macs, as 32 MB is on board).
Both lovendmac and everymac provides information about clamsheels - I linked the 466MHz version.
Provided you can max out the memory to 576MB (and I suggest to put in a faster hard drive), you can run Tiger on the 466 MHz version just fine. In any other case I suggest OS9 only.
on my 300MHz with 288mb,panther does not run "like a dream"...also as safari version for panther is so old,and other browsers like camino have to be older version...browsing the web can be painful at best! (don't even bother using yahoo web pages...script errors/timeouts/crashes ect ect) unless you have 466MHz version with maxed ram and tiger...i would stick with os 9.2.2 and use classilla browser...even graphic intense pages like yahoo's run fairly well!...also os 9 has lots of great older software for free at places like macgardens...
I used Panther on my 500mhz iBook with 256mb RAM for the short time I had it & it ran absolutely fine, so a difference there between your clamshell but not that much of a difference. I found browsing on Panther with both Safari & Camino pretty damn good for such an old OS, of course there were a hiccups here & there but still pretty good. I personally think though OS X runs extremely light on the CPU but decides to use more RAM.
yes a ibook not a clamshell ibook!
im using my clamshell 300MHz now...and trust me panther and safari or older camino are a pain...
im using my clamshell 300MHz now...and trust me panther and safari or older camino are a pain...
What about iCab? The latest version still supports Panther. Just sayin in might be better than Camino. Opera 10 runs on Panther too. I love Classilla, but it is limited. Oh for a modern OS 9 browser.
I love clamshells, have owned two in the past but would find it hard to justify buyin one today. It's shocking what a big leap the dual USB ibooks were compared to the clamshells, even the 466 mhz Paris ones. I had a 600 mhz dual USB and it literally ran circles around a key lime 466 clamshell I owned at the same time, and I would be still be using it today were it not for the dreaded logic board failure. After it died I transplanted the screen, hard drive and disk drive from the dual USB into a "dead" ibook G4 which also (after three years use) sadly just died. Not the best build quality on the ibooks, have to say....
Yeah, thanks... it's supposed to have 466 MHz, but the seller listed 400. Did they like underclock it or something? From what I see, it has the graphite top except for the Apple logo, and it has the indigo trackpad, and I'm not exactly sure about the bottom. Oh, and it has a 10GB hard drive. Actually now that I did this, I'm moderately worried about the seller. It clearly presented it as an indigo bottom with a graphite top, but I'm unsure looking at the product specs. Also, is there any way to replace the bottom housing on it? And where could I find out how?
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I agree. I have a 300Mhz iBook and 10.2 is slow with Safari or Camino. It definitely needs a ram upgrade. Only 164mb of ram though. On the other hand, OS 9 runs great, really great.
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The only one I see that ended at or near $50 on eBay in the last couple of days is all Indigo.
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Oh yeah, sorry! Heres the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iBook...52202197?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item256d93f1d5
That looks like the entire thing is Indigo to me, no Graphite top. That makes it a 366Mhz model. eBay's product listing makes it impossible to change the specs on a machine's pre-filled stats, and if the seller isn't certain what the model number is, they just picked the wrong item out for the pre-filled stock info. Looks like they picked out M7720LL/A, which is the 466 Graphite SE, which means eBay's stock info is wrong, listing that model as 400Mhz. But from the item pictured, it's the Indigo M7721LL/A, 366Mhz.
Here's the proper stock specs for a 366Mhz Indigo: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/stats/ibook_366.html
Sorry I've been annoying with the posts, but have you seen the other photo? It looks like the Graphite with an Indigo logo.
It looks more Indigo to me, and if you look at the edges of the top on the first pic that looks Indigo. Can't say for a fact, but it just looks like an Indigo iBook to me, which if I were the buyer, I would prefer it be all one color instead of mixed.