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Need to get my MDD business ready

WalnutSpice

WalnutSpice

Suspended
Original poster
Jun 21, 2015
456
92
Canton, Oh
Both my parents have rented out a very nice space and are starting two separate businesses. My dad has everything he needs but my mom needs a computer so I figured I'd get my 1.0GHz MDD set up for her. I'm going to throw a new hard drive in it and have redone the thermal paste (very nice temps compared to before).
Any recommendations on how I should set this up for her? The video card should be fine. Its mostly software at this point.

She'll be doing light internet stuff (pintrest and things like that, google docs) and word / excel.

Here's the hard drive I'm going to grab for her
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Dig...397618?hash=item25af64a132:g:SyAAAOSw5ZBWHGmq

Also, if the MDD doesn't work out I have a very nice Pentium 4 PC with a 128MB 5200 that I'll have her use.
 
If she runs into any sites requiring moderate to massive amounts of javascript she's going to be in trouble.

I am a very BIG fan of PowerPC and TenFourFox, but that's solely from a personal level. There is no way I would run a business from a PowerPC Mac - except if it's something that is supplemental income. I just couldn't trust the Mac to have enough power and be flexible enough.

With that caution though, if what your mother is doing will not require the latest apps nor will require timely execution of tasks then you should be ok.
 
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eyoungren said:
If she runs into any sites requiring moderate to massive amounts of javascript she's going to be in trouble.

I am a very BIG fan of PowerPC and TenFourFox, but that's solely from a personal level. There is no way I would run a business from a PowerPC Mac - except if it's something that is supplemental income. I just couldn't trust the Mac to have enough power and be flexible enough.

With that caution though, if what your mother is doing will not require the latest apps nor will require timely execution of tasks then you should be ok.
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I was thinking she'd be okay, and I guess we will try it out. We're just trying to use what we have as remodeling is expensive enough as it is. But if the G4 doesn't work I will put my P4 in there for her because then that'll run modern software and have no issue with anything she'd do on it. I was wanting to the G4 mostly because it looks a lot more professional than my scratched up and banged to hell P4.
 
Dronecatcher said:
I hate to say it but in this instance I'd advise to use the Pentium 4 instead - add more memory and install Elementary OS Linux. It'll cope better on the internet without workarounds etc.
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I agree as well. Even on my Quad PMG5 TenFourFox can feel a bit too sluggish, I can't imagine on anything lesser.
 
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MagicBoy said:
Another vote for the P4. Much as it pains me.

Better probably to keep an eye out for a cheap secondhand Core 2 Duo PC and run Windows 7 on it.
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An older Core 2 Optiplex, like the kind every business ever has had for years, can be had at around the $100-150 point these days, and would be a much happier performer on the modern web. I'm all for PowerPC, but to set someone up on a new business? Not so much these days :(
 
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I hate say it too, but I agree with the above that a P4/CD/C2D based system would be a much better choice given the stated uses. If you want to go with a Mac(I would), a C2D Mini or iMac would be cheap and a lot better.

PPC Macs are still churning away in business all over the place(such as the G5 at my aunt's print shop) but you'll often find them being used for things like graphic design or layouts and running older software(i.e. CS2-CS4) where they are still perfectly capable. I would NOT want to depend on one to do anything that required significant internet activity, especially with a heavy reliance on cloud-based storage.
 
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Google Docs is going to be unusuable on PowerPC. As the budget allows, provided your mother's needs are basic you may want to look at a Chromebox for her needs.
 
Altemose said:
Google Docs is going to be unusuable on PowerPC. As the budget allows, provided your mother's needs are basic you may want to look at a Chromebox for her needs.
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I use Google Docs everyday on my PowerBook G4 and PowerMac G5 and it runs just fine, so I don't get you there. But I've decided I'm just going to have her use my Pentium 4 computer with windows 7. It's a very nice spec PC as I planned on using it for a vintage (1997-2006 era) gaming computer.
 
WalnutSpice said:
use Google Docs everyday on my PowerBook G4 and PowerMac G5 and it runs just fine, so I don't get you there. But I've decided I'm just going to have her use my Pentium 4 computer with windows 7. It's a very nice spec PC as I planned on using it for a vintage (1997-2006 era) gaming computer.
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I tried Google Docs and Gmail sites on my G4 and it was not functioning properly and to what extent it did function was unbearably slow. What browser/configuration are you using?
 
Altemose said:
I tried Google Docs and Gmail sites on my G4 and it was not functioning properly and to what extent it did function was unbearably slow. What browser/configuration are you using?
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I use TFF 17 for Google Docs and Safari works just fine with Gmail
 
I also think the Pentium 4 with some kind of easy to use Linux is the way to go. If necessary, you can find faster computers on ebay pretty cheap. Just don't run Windows, especially XP or earlier. One virus can crush a small business's productivity.
 
Have a backup power supply on hand, or another machine with PATA or a USB to ATA adapter handy. Aside from the iMac G5, I don't think I ever dealt with another Mac that had such a nasty history of dying PSUs. Last thing you want is for her to walk in some morning and push a power button and have nothing happen. Thats bad news if there is anything important on the machine.
 
Hrududu said:
Have a backup power supply on hand, or another machine with PATA or a USB to ATA adapter handy. Aside from the iMac G5, I don't think I ever dealt with another Mac that had such a nasty history of dying PSUs. Last thing you want is for her to walk in some morning and push a power button and have nothing happen. Thats bad news if there is anything important on the machine.
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I've just decided to not go with the MDD. The money that would go into upgrading it could just buy a cheap Mac Pro 1,1 or a nice dual 2.0GHz G5.
 
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