Just how far can we go?

[Altemose]

Why am i a "jackass" and why should i "S TFU"? If you think that computer is good, you would be extremely amazed by intel computers, not because they use intel but because they are newer. Why does it matter if you were "late" to the computer game? So if someone starts skateboarding in 2012 why would they buy an old board from 1999? Or if someone gets their first phone, why would they buy an old nokia or sony instead of a iPhone or any other smart phones?

I'll let you two settle this one. Though it is possible Gavin couldn't afford a new Intel at the time...

----------

If he could get that rock to run Vista, then I'd be impressed.

Figure of speech. He essentially enjoys whatever he has and pushes it to the limits. He had a USB hub daisy chained twice so he could use a Pentium 1 as a file server over USB 1.0...

 

[Jessica Lares]

I am beginning the process of getting rid of my old PPC equipment. Anything under a G4 is being given to this budding computer geek I know. He could take a rock and run Windows 8.1 on it...

Technically to today's standards, the clamshell G3 is a rock.

Nothing wrong with old hardware as long as it works for you. Rather it be on someone's desk being enjoyed than rotting with junk in a landfill.

 

[Altemose]

Technically to today's standards, the clamshell G3 is a rock.

Nothing wrong with old hardware as long as it works for you. Rather it be on someone's desk being enjoyed than rotting with junk in a landfill.

I use every machine I have and that is quite a few. PowerMac G5 (Daily Driver, Dual Displays, etc.), MacBook Pro (Mid-2012, main portable), PowerBook G4 1.5 (Project so far since I haven't gotten it running right), PowerBook G4 1.67 (Project, check out my hinge tightening guide on it), iBook G3 600 MHz (Gone to a Friend after baking the board), iBook G3 900 (My MacRumors Posting Mac), PowerMac G4 QuickSilver (My Tinker with Machine), PowerMac G4 MDD (The painful beater that I can't get running right), iMac G5 (Money Project, Needs board and PSU rebuilt), Dell Latitude D630 (my iFixit guide machine), IBM ThinkPad T60 (My trusty W7 test bed), Dell Latitude D420 (Basic Hackintosh), and there is plenty more in my room. Being 16 and having this many computers sure is fun to have them all running...

 

[eyoungren]

Why am i a "jackass" and why should i "S TFU"? If you think that computer is good, you would be extremely amazed by intel computers, not because they use intel but because they are newer. Why does it matter if you were "late" to the computer game? So if someone starts skateboarding in 2012 why would they buy an old board from 1999? Or if someone gets their first phone, why would they buy an old nokia or sony instead of a iPhone or any other smart phones?

Just had to ask. If someone is only interested in Intel Macs why do they keep posting in PowerPC Mac forums?

If converting us is your aim then you've failed. If it's telling us about how much better Intel is than PowerPC then you're telling us something we already know. If you're just confused about why we continue to hold on then you don't understand why we are here. If you're here to brag about Intel being better, well done!

You have achieved your objective and we all understand your thoughts about Intel versus PowerPC Macs. Do you have anything else to add to this conversation that will move it forward other than comments about how we all should be using Intel Macs or why we should have bought them and not PowerPC Macs to begin with?

 

[iamMacPerson]

3 years? What!? isn't The only reason people use PowerPC macs is because they have there old ones left? Why would you buy a PowerPC as your first mac in 2011?!?!? Sure i would have understand if you had bought one in 1994-2006.



Seriously? What? Why did you not get a intel? PowerPC is outdated!!!

Technically to today's standards, the clamshell G3 is a rock.

Nothing wrong with old hardware as long as it works for you. Rather it be on someone's desk being enjoyed than rotting with junk in a landfill.

No computer is a rock, and PPC machines, while limited, are still useful to this day. Directly to my left, I have an iBook G4. Mid-2005, 1.42GHz, 1.5GB of RAM, and a 60GB hard drive. Is the machine old? Yes, but is it still useable? Heck yeah! It hops right on the web and will even do YouTube with the right apps. Sure, it isn't like my rMBP or Mac Pro, but it is a perfectly decent laptop that does almost anything I through at it. And further off to my left, I have an iMac G3, 300MHz, 1GB of RAM, 40GB hard drive. This machine in from 1999, but it still can hop on the web and browse with no problem. Plus, it makes an awesome SimCity machine.

The thing is, a lot of people don't use these machine as everyday computers anymore. They do have Intel Macs, however the PPC machines are web browsers and other things. Don't just go and label all PowerPC machine as "too obsolete to use". The G5 is no slug. Sure, it can't run modern apps, but it is one fast machine that I could use on a daily basis if needed.

What a lot of people don't seem to realize is that it is still a luxury to have a computer. Here most of use Intel Macs and have T1 connections, but there are those who don't, those who are just getting their first computer, whether it be a Mac or PC. You think they can afford the latest and greatest?

Then there are the collectors out there like me. I work on them, fix them, and hold onto them. Plus, being a total geek I can work on them and not worry about voiding a warranty.

 

[Altemose]

Just had to ask. If someone is only interested in Intel Macs why do they keep posting in PowerPC Mac forums?

If converting us is your aim then you've failed. If it's telling us about how much better Intel is than PowerPC then you're telling us something we already know. If you're just confused about why we continue to hold on then you don't understand why we are here. If you're here to brag about Intel being better, well done!

You have achieved your objective and we all understand your thoughts about Intel versus PowerPC Macs. Do you have anything else to add to this conversation that will move it forward other than comments about how we all should be using Intel Macs or why we should have bought them and not PowerPC Macs to begin with?

Money is my clincher. $50 for a perfectly capable G5 vs. $200 for a early Intel that is only going to be doing the same thing. Down the road that will change but here and now I am with PPC.

 

[gavinstubbs09]

Why am i a "jackass" and why should i "S TFU"? If you think that computer is good, you would be extremely amazed by intel computers, not because they use intel but because they are newer. Why does it matter if you were "late" to the computer game? So if someone starts skateboarding in 2012 why would they buy an old board from 1999? Or if someone gets their first phone, why would they buy an old nokia or sony instead of a iPhone or any other smart phones?

You don't think I'm impressed with intel - then explain why I have 2 intel-powered Macs at the moment, and owning 5 of them in the past. Yeah it's nice to have newer stuff no doubt. It matters that I was late to the computer game, it's the fact I had like no money and couldn't afford really what I wanted at the time (since changed a bit, but like I said in my first post on this thread my money is going into my first truck - not a computer). Items that are old age... oh boy. Are you 16 and going to buy a brand new 2014 Silverado? Hell no! All you can get at this time is something most likely from 1997-2002. Phones? What if you use pre-paid, or have a carrier and cannot afford to upgrade to something new? The old tool still does the job, why get new if it's not needed? Sometimes it's better to go older. And like Altemose said, $50 for a G5 or $200 for a iMac that will do the same thing, what's the f'n point?

 

[eyoungren]

Money is my clincher. $50 for a perfectly capable G5 vs. $200 for a early Intel that is only going to be doing the same thing. Down the road that will change but here and now I am with PPC.

Right. It's the same for me.

I got my first PowerBook free as a Christmas gift. But by 2009 I was struggling with it. 400mhz, 768mb ram and a 40GB hard drive. And OS X 10.4.11. App devs were departing in droves by that point and if they supported PowerPC it was Leopard only.

So, when this PB died (the first time) $152.50 was my cost of entry to a more modern PowerPC ecosystem. At that time the lowest priced Intel Macs were going for $600+. I probably could have gotten a real low spec MacBook, maybe one that wasn't working for even cheaper. But I figured why not get what I always wanted. So, I got the 17". Never regretted it.

But now we're getting to the point where I have to move on. Unfortunately, my finances are roughly the same as they were in 2009. So, any Intel Mac is going to need to run around $100-200 before I can afford it. And that's going to be either with a tax refund or a paycheck where we can afford to let that go.

Again, my price of entry to the Intel Macs. Or price of upgrading if you prefer.

 

[iamMacPerson]

The old tool still does the job, why get new if it's not needed?

Thats very true! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I love my PowerPC Macs, and they still do a lot for their age.

 

[Altemose]

Right. It's the same for me.

I got my first PowerBook free as a Christmas gift. But by 2009 I was struggling with it. 400mhz, 768mb ram and a 40GB hard drive. And OS X 10.4.11. App devs were departing in droves by that point and if they supported PowerPC it was Leopard only.

So, when this PB died (the first time) $152.50 was my cost of entry to a more modern PowerPC ecosystem. At that time the lowest priced Intel Macs were going for $600+. I probably could have gotten a real low spec MacBook, maybe one that wasn't working for even cheaper. But I figured why not get what I always wanted. So, I got the 17". Never regretted it.

But now we're getting to the point where I have to move on. Unfortunately, my finances are roughly the same as they were in 2009. So, any Intel Mac is going to need to run around $100-200 before I can afford it. And that's going to be either with a tax refund or a paycheck where we can afford to let that go.

Again, my price of entry to the Intel Macs. Or price of upgrading if you prefer.

Can't agree more. I was given a Dual 800 MHz QuickSilver in 2011. It was just too underpowered as a daily driver, but much faster than what I had before. When Newegg had a sale of PowerMac G5s I scraped together every penny I had ( I was 13 at that point) to order one. Arrived the same day I ordered it. Ran that one through to the end of 2012/ beginning of 2013. I ran it overnight to encode video and burned out the video card. Threw in another one for more encoding and the heatsink came off the processor (the pins failed) and cooked itself. Got a MacBook Pro as a gift but still wanted a desktop.

Ordered my current PowerMac G5, a dual 1.8 GHz with the ATI 9600 XT card. Runs great and does everything I ask of it for $100.

 

[reco2011]

Thats very true! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I love my PowerPC Macs, and they still do a lot for their age.

Isn't the whole point of this thread about how this is becoming less true?

 

[Member2010]

no farther

Interesting that you mention that. Here is a copy of a comment I just posted today on one of my PowerMac G5 videos in response to a similar question about compatibility with various pieces of software, hardware, and peripherals:

Well, the PowerMac G5 talks a big game but isn't actually that great as a computer. We have two Pentium4 machines in the house and I'm pretty sure that they both not only get more use than the G5, but are also more powerful; and that's not to mention the fact that they're still useful because they can run supported operating systems (XP and 8) and modern software with some semblance of competence. The only things that the G5 can do well (local audio/video playback, light web surfing, emulation) can be done just as well on any halfway decent smartphone (grab a video-out cable, a mouse, and a keyboard, and you've basically got a computer that fits in your pocket that is infinitely more useful and somewhat more powerful than the PowerMac G5; a smartphone sucks a lot less power too). That's right, the PowerMac G5 gets its ass whupped by any modern smartphone in terms of performance.

Going back to the Canon camera you were talking about that I use - the G5 falls flat on its face for video editing too. Even though it has a half dozen firewire ports, it doesn't support many (if any) peripherals (the microphone jack isn't actually a microphone jack, so screenrecording is silent too). Even my Canon camera (which is only a few years older than the PowerMac and shouldn't have any problems) simply refuses to work with it. Even if it did work, it's not like there's any good intermediate video editing software either.

As you mentioned flash player not being updated, that's just the way it goes. Even if it were updated, the PowerMac G5 sucks for web browsing in general too (even with the renowned best-of-the-best TenFourFox browser installed) - it's slow, unresponsive and is just a lackluster experience in general because of this computer's complete lack of power [and modern javascript-heavy webpages].

Lastly, being an unsupported processor architecture, you can't install Windows. And while you can run a couple Linux-for-PowerPC based operating systems, none of them work at all out-of-the-box with the useless NVidia video card that the thing comes with (which is completely incompatible with the PowerPC linux drivers). As if to add insult to fatal injury, video card upgrading is a ridiculous game that involves finding a compatible video card (of which there are very few) and using a normal computer to flash its bios before it'll even work in the G5.

Maybe some of this complete lack of performance can be chalked up to the crappy video card that's in there, but I keep in mind that other P4 machine that doesn't have a very hefty GPU either, and it still powers through a lot of stuff that the G5 struggles with. At the end of the day, the PowerMac G5 requires so much hand holding (that is, help of a regular computer) to complete everyday tasks that I just avoid using it. It's currently set up in the basement serving as an emulator computer for NES, SNES, and other retro game systems, and as sad as it is to say, that's all it'll ever be good for.

I might do a video summarizing the thoughts of this comment before I sell the G5, but that's the only plans I really have for it the way it is. Like I mentioned before, its pretty case talks a big game, but it's just not practical for any task that can't be done with a halfway decent smartphone these days.

I just set up a circa-2006 Core2Duo MacBook with Windows 8.1, and I've got to say that that laptop is leaps and bounds ahead of the G5 in terms of performance, even being only a couple years newer. I didn't see it before, but I do now: the PowerPC processors were dead in the water from the beginning, no matter how much will-power and cheerleading steve jobs provided. Even game console manufacturers (aside from Nintendo) have left PowerPC for the same reasons - it's hot, slow, and just doesn't have the muscle. The G5 will always be known for having one of the best and nicest looking computer cases of any oem system, but not much else.

 

[eyoungren]

Interesting that you mention that. Here is a copy of a comment I just posted today on one of my PowerMac G5 videos in response to a similar question about compatibility with various pieces of software, hardware, and peripherals:





I just set up a circa-2006 Core2Duo MacBook with Windows 8.1, and I've got to say that that laptop is leaps and bounds ahead of the G5 in terms of performance, even being only a couple years newer. I didn't see it before, but I do now: the PowerPC processors were dead in the water from the beginning, no matter how much will-power and cheerleading steve jobs provided. Even game console manufacturers (aside from Nintendo) have left PowerPC for the same reasons - it's hot, slow, and just doesn't have the muscle. The G5 will always be known for having one of the best and nicest looking computer cases of any oem system, but not much else.

Hmmm¬I think you're missing my point here.

I get all that. You aren't saying anything new, although there are others here that will debate the merits of G5s and audio/video with you. And all of us are quite aware that Apple dropped us a long time ago.

This thread isn't about bashing PowerPC because of it's deficiencies. It was about getting the thoughts of other PowerPC users about just how far we could each go in using our PowerPC Macs based on what we use them for in our daily lives.

I use mine for web browsing mainly. Not audio or video production. If I did, I would have been gone from PowerPC a long time ago. But just because (and this can be argued) PowerPC may not have what it takes for audio and video anymore doesn't mean it's crap for web browsing or any other purpose for which we use these Macs.

 

[Member2010]

point taken

Hmmm¬I think you're missing my point here.

I get all that. You aren't saying anything new, although there are others here that will debate the merits of G5s and audio/video with you. And all of us are quite aware that Apple dropped us a long time ago.

This thread isn't about bashing PowerPC because of it's deficiencies. It was about getting the thoughts of other PowerPC users about just how far we could each go in using our PowerPC Macs based on what we use them for in our daily lives.

I use mine for web browsing mainly. Not audio or video production. If I did, I would have been gone from PowerPC a long time ago. But just because (and this can be argued) PowerPC may not have what it takes for audio and video anymore doesn't mean it's crap for web browsing or any other purpose for which we use these Macs.

On second thought, it can be useful for some stuff - torrenting, for starters (thanks to the expandable storage), and if I recall correctly, it does have gigabit Ethernet for those who wish to do large file transfers on the local network. I was just trying to point out that even simple tasks like web browsing slow it down where it wouldn't slow other equipment down (modest laptops, smartphones, Pentium4 desktops).

 

[Altemose]

Interesting that you mention that. Here is a copy of a comment I just posted today on one of my PowerMac G5 videos in response to a similar question about compatibility with various pieces of software, hardware, and peripherals:





I just set up a circa-2006 Core2Duo MacBook with Windows 8.1, and I've got to say that that laptop is leaps and bounds ahead of the G5 in terms of performance, even being only a couple years newer. I didn't see it before, but I do now: the PowerPC processors were dead in the water from the beginning, no matter how much will-power and cheerleading steve jobs provided. Even game console manufacturers (aside from Nintendo) have left PowerPC for the same reasons - it's hot, slow, and just doesn't have the muscle. The G5 will always be known for having one of the best and nicest looking computer cases of any oem system, but not much else.

The Pentium 4 was always a POS in my mind. The G5 and even some G4s ran circles around it due to RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) and most P4s has slow FSBs. Couple that with Intel's craze to add MHz any opportunity they got rather than actually doing some engineering and you have a chip that is very hot, looks good on paper, and sells well. In reality it was a total piece of garbage with the NetBurst architecture.

It was actually such a piece of garbage that Intel went back and designed the Core series off of the Pentium 3 with no inspiration from the Pentium 4. You may ask, "Why is a Gx PowerPC so hard to use now, when a P4 from the same era works well enough for day to day use?" The answer is bad software. If you put bad gas in a sports car it isn't going to go anywhere with decent performance, in fact it will sputter and just flat out cut its performance. Same thing with PowerPC, developers put heavier and heavier code to work without optimizing it for PPC. What you have left is bad code going into our powerful sports cars of computers and they are left stuttering and sputtering as we try to do something as simple as the web....

If you don't believe me, look at the benchmarks. A 1 GHz G4 could out run a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 by a large margin. In fact, the single G5s were only slightly lower in floating point then the high end Xeons of the era. A dual G5 creamed the Xeons, which was Intel's premium cream of the crop workstation and server CPUs.

 

[jruschme]

I didn't see it before, but I do now: the PowerPC processors were dead in the water from the beginning, no matter how much will-power and cheerleading steve jobs provided.

Actually, until the Pentium-M era, I think the conventional wisdom was correct in that clock-for-clock a G-series could outperform a contemporary Intel chip. Try running a G3/400 Pismo against a P-III/450 Dell and you'll see that. The split was even more so with the G4 vs. the poorly performing P4.

When you get to around 2004/5, though, the tables turn somewhat. Match a late G4 laptop (1.33/1.5/1.67) against a contemporary Pentium-M laptop and the Intel laptop starts to outperform it, especially at things like Flash videos. (The sort of tasks we've been talking about in this thread.)

The other side of the argument, though, is "how much power is enough"? Personally, I think we hit a point around that same 2005 timeframe where the systems were powerful enough already for all but the most demanding tasks (gaming, engineering, etc.). That's why we can be comfortably happy with a PPC system for many common tasks. It's the point where computers become more like toasters or gas grills- you buy a new one because the old one breaks or wears out, not because of some advance in cooking technology.

 

[2984839]

I am beginning the process of getting rid of my old PPC equipment. Anything under a G4 is being given to this budding computer geek I know. He could take a rock and run Windows 8.1 on it...



Linux on PPC is always going to be a workaround scheme like we have in OS X since the kernals were ported by the community. Heck, Ubuntu hasn't had a Canonical release of PPC Ubuntu in years. It has always been community support, and that is pretty much what we are working with on MacRumors.

BSD would be a better way to go than Linux IMHO, especially Ubuntu and its derivatives. PPC is actively supported on the big 3 BSD flavors by the respective developers.

 

[Imixmuan]

Bsd

Requires quite the learning curve. Just sayin'.

PPC Linux is a mixed bag, depending on the machine it can be a pleasure, or an absolute pain. Read the MintPPC forums sometime to see what I mean. Apple used some interesting hardware back in the day, and by interesting I mean not very compatible with open source, particularly when it comes to graphics cards. If you can get a G4 or G5 tower with the right graphics card Debian, Lubuntu and even Ubuntu can work well.

My last Powermac has now finally bit the dust, a G4 upgraded Blue and White G3. Motherboard is shot. I don't see the point in investing in any more Powermacs in 2014. The writing is on the wall, Kaiser is having a hell of a time building a shippableTenfourfox 31. Tobias Netzel says Leopard Webkit is done. So, I am going Linux only. My next computer purchase will be a System 76 or Think Penguin with Mint or Ubuntu. It won't be anywhere near as much fun as keeping an old Powermac current, but at least I know I'll have a future with it.

See ya.....

 

[Altemose]

Requires quite the learning curve. Just sayin'.



PPC Linux is a mixed bag, depending on the machine it can be a pleasure, or an absolute pain. Read the MintPPC forums sometime to see what I mean. Apple used some interesting hardware back in the day, and by interesting I mean not very compatible with open source, particularly when it comes to graphics cards. If you can get a G4 or G5 tower with the right graphics card Debian, Lubuntu and even Ubuntu can work well.



My last Powermac has now finally bit the dust, a G4 upgraded Blue and White G3. Motherboard is shot. I don't see the point in investing in any more Powermacs in 2014. The writing is on the wall, Kaiser is having a hell of a time building a shippableTenfourfox 31. Tobias Netzel says Leopard Webkit is done. So, I am going Linux only. My next computer purchase will be a System 76 or Think Penguin with Mint or Ubuntu. It won't be anywhere near as much fun as keeping an old Powermac current, but at least I know I'll have a future with it.



See ya.....

I agree. We should run them until they die. For a while TFF 24 or 31 will be enough, and Cameron does one great job. That being said, maybe we shouldn't buy new PPCs anymore.

 

[boneskid1]

Why am i a "jackass" and why should i "S TFU"? If you think that computer is good, you would be extremely amazed by intel computers, not because they use intel but because they are newer. Why does it matter if you were "late" to the computer game? So if someone starts skateboarding in 2012 why would they buy an old board from 1999? Or if someone gets their first phone, why would they buy an old nokia or sony instead of a iPhone or any other smart phones?

I don't think you get it.......
Not only did it sound like he didn't have much money to work with that was what he wanted. So if you want a brand new Intel machine that you will only use for browsing then be my guest go buy one. Its not all about the usability, each PowerPC user has their reasons for holding on to an older generation of machines and I respect that.

Nobody needs you to come in and request that we buy intel.

 

[Altemose]

I don't think you get it.......
Not only did it sound like he didn't have much money to work with that was what he wanted. So if you want a brand new Intel machine that you will only use for browsing then be my guest go buy one. Its not all about the usability, each PowerPC user has their reasons for holding on to an older generation of machines and I respect that.

Nobody needs you to come in and request that we buy intel.

If I didn't have the community support on MacRumors then I would have probably stopped getting new PowerPCs. If you look on other sections of this site like the MacBook Air and Pro forum they generally are not as good of people. eyoungren for instance is one of the nicest people you could ever meet, Intell is quite possibly more knowledgeable on everything about these systems than an Apple Engineer. There are loads more people here working together on these machines, and as a whole are a close knit community. I never thought a community would be so diverse in skills yet work together so well on the topic of computers. There are topics on here that AppleCare back in the day couldn't answer.

2012 really was the last year of the prime time. It is only downhill from here, and we do need to start considering other options. Before this thread, I wasn't even considering another choice, but it really has made me realize that the clock is ticking for a true "daily driver" computer. That being said, Intelligent did not respect our reasons for still using PowerPCs, which some are very well founded, and therefore we don't need to respect his urge to go Intel.

This forum is not for argument but rather to help each other, and seeing two forum members going at it saying insults and derogatory marks is not benefiting us as a community. I am surprised a mod did not put in a note here yet.

 

[Member2010]

g5

The Pentium 4 was always a POS in my mind. The G5 and even some G4s ran circles around it due to RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) and most P4s has slow FSBs. Couple that with Intel's craze to add MHz any opportunity they got rather than actually doing some engineering and you have a chip that is very hot, looks good on paper, and sells well. In reality it was a total piece of garbage with the NetBurst architecture.

It was actually such a piece of garbage that Intel went back and designed the Core series off of the Pentium 3 with no inspiration from the Pentium 4. You may ask, "Why is a Gx PowerPC so hard to use now, when a P4 from the same era works well enough for day to day use?" The answer is bad software. If you put bad gas in a sports car it isn't going to go anywhere with decent performance, in fact it will sputter and just flat out cut its performance. Same thing with PowerPC, developers put heavier and heavier code to work without optimizing it for PPC. What you have left is bad code going into our powerful sports cars of computers and they are left stuttering and sputtering as we try to do something as simple as the web....

If you don't believe me, look at the benchmarks. A 1 GHz G4 could out run a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 by a large margin. In fact, the single G5s were only slightly lower in floating point then the high end Xeons of the era. A dual G5 creamed the Xeons, which was Intel's premium cream of the crop workstation and server CPUs.

That's interesting that you mention that; I read an interesting thread a few weeks ago talking about that kind of stuff. I guess if the software sucks, the entire experience will be lacking.

Requires quite the learning curve. Just sayin'.

PPC Linux is a mixed bag, depending on the machine it can be a pleasure, or an absolute pain. Read the MintPPC forums sometime to see what I mean. Apple used some interesting hardware back in the day, and by interesting I mean not very compatible with open source, particularly when it comes to graphics cards. If you can get a G4 or G5 tower with the right graphics card Debian, Lubuntu and even Ubuntu can work well.
...
See ya.....

I really wanted to give it a chance. The possibility of Linux seemed like a great idea because I would not only be rid of that pesky OSX mouse acceleration, but I could also have an up-to-date browser and other software, but that unsupported video card killed it (that and there's no sound).

I agree. We should run them until they die. For a while TFF 24 or 31 will be enough, and Cameron does one great job. That being said, maybe we shouldn't buy new PPCs anymore.

Lol, I'm still using TFF17 because the next version up breaks plugin support (have they fixed that in the latest build yet?).

 

[2984839]

Requires quite the learning curve. Just sayin'.

PPC Linux is a mixed bag, depending on the machine it can be a pleasure, or an absolute pain. Read the MintPPC forums sometime to see what I mean. Apple used some interesting hardware back in the day, and by interesting I mean not very compatible with open source, particularly when it comes to graphics cards. If you can get a G4 or G5 tower with the right graphics card Debian, Lubuntu and even Ubuntu can work well.

My last Powermac has now finally bit the dust, a G4 upgraded Blue and White G3. Motherboard is shot. I don't see the point in investing in any more Powermacs in 2014. The writing is on the wall, Kaiser is having a hell of a time building a shippableTenfourfox 31. Tobias Netzel says Leopard Webkit is done. So, I am going Linux only. My next computer purchase will be a System 76 or Think Penguin with Mint or Ubuntu. It won't be anywhere near as much fun as keeping an old Powermac current, but at least I know I'll have a future with it.

See ya.....

Well, yes and no. I spent a lot of time trying to fix non-functional or half working drivers in Ubuntu, but they all worked out of the box in BSD. If you can get a working desktop environment (which is really just a command or two) the rest is pretty straightforward.

If anyone goes the Linux or BSD route, I would suggest going with a Ralink based USB wireless, because Broadcom chipsets like the Airport Extreme are always iffy. The Buffalo N150 works great in my experience. I liked it so much on my PowerBook I bought another one for my MBP. Ralink is one of the best about providing documentation to open source developers, so their stuff generally works very well.

 

[Altemose]

That's interesting that you mention that; I read an interesting thread a few weeks ago talking about that kind of stuff. I guess if the software sucks, the entire experience will be lacking.



I really wanted to give it a chance. The possibility of Linux seemed like a great idea because I would not only be rid of that pesky OSX mouse acceleration, but I could also have an up-to-date browser and other software, but that unsupported video card killed it (that and there's no sound).



Lol, I'm still using TFF17 because the next version up breaks plugin support (have they fixed that in the latest build yet?).

Put garbage in get garbage out. If you take Office 2004, OS X 10.4.11, iLife 06, and all the titles from the 2003-2006 era and you have a blazing machine that feels faster than any PC from the era. The problem is when you have people trying to cram 2009-2014 software and standards on a 2003 piece of hardware. Same way that ethanol and water screws up aluminum engine parts. You put new in something designed for x and you get y which is total garbage.

The G5s have seen less issues with this because they have the pure brute force and power to overcome the sloppy code. The G4s are seeing it badly though, and unless you have a monster that will chew through high strain programming like eyoungren's QuickSilver, you are going to see a major problem. The PowerBooks I have do fine under Panther, Tiger, and Leopard with titles from their release but if I try to cram a 2010 version of the pig known as Flash, work around it to display as 11.5, then use Click To Flash to circumvent its memory gobbling attitude, I am left with a half-decent browsing experience and for what. There were quality videos made on these G5s, they were clustered into super computers, they were state of the art and the first 64 bit PCs, they were cream of the crop work stations. Now we view them as trash, useless for the web, useless for modern formats which only give us more wasted resources and less of what we want and there is nothing we can do about it. It takes people like Cameron Keiser, Tobias, and other devs to keep trucking on and if we lose their support we are finished.

 

[eyoungren]

Lol, I'm still using TFF17 because the next version up breaks plugin support (have they fixed that in the latest build yet?).

Actually, plugin support was deprecated. It's not broken, it's just permanently disabled.

The reason was security. There was a Java malware issue a while back that hit Intel Macs pretty hard, but because T4Fx allowed the use of plugins it also technically made PowerPC Macs vulnerable to attack through the browser.

Cameron Kaiser noted that this actually happened, but because the payload being delivered used Intel specific code it actually didn't affect PowerPC users.

However, Kaiser disabled plugins for later versions of the browser because of that.