PowerPC Macs: Still good computers; great for curbing distractions!

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I am sure many can relate to this....

So as much as I use PowerPC Macs, given that my only desktop Macs are PowerPCs, I need to get back to using my 2009 MacBook Pro again. Since I like desktops way better than laptops, I shifted back to one of my PowerPC desktops for school work.

I was considering hooking my MBP up to a monitor, so it will be more desktop-like, which I still will end up doing; however, there are a couple things that may hold me back again.

1. I am currently looking at a cheap listing for a Quad-core PMG5, which I badly want, and another listing that may be a quad (seller getting specs soon). It looks like that has drawn me back a little...

2. The most important reason, which I have not considered in a long time; this is a reason that possibly many can relate to: DISTRACTION.... I admit it, I do tend to get a little distracted on my computer. Many people do, but there are a few who realize that using an older computer, which limits yourself, really helps curb many of these distractions. I have started using my MacBook Pro some more again, even though I don't have the display cable yet, and I find that I can easily dive into any distracting business other than my work!

Well, I guess this is something that I will have to work with, as I definitely cannot let this MacBook Pro go to waste and collect dust! However, still will not let go of PowerPC for a long time. I can definitely say that I am just as productive, or in-fact MORE productive on an older machine than I am on a newer machine.

I switched back to mainly using PowerPC Macs, in 2013. There is some part of me that feels like I am deserting it by using an Intel Mac again, but I definitely won't part with these systems. We will all eventually have to leave them as primary-ish computers anyway.

 

[gavinstubbs09]

Lately I've been using my unibody MBP like a mac mini since the trackpad/keyboard were ruined by coffee. The unfortunate thing about this is my G5 now sits on the other side of my room and hasn't been powered on in two weeks now. I can do so much more with the MBP like iMessage with Yosemite, watch 720p YouTube videos with ease, browse every single website in existence, it's great.

The only PPC machine I've used recently was my iBook, which still serves its purpose of being a quick take and go machine and even has two brand new official Apple batteries each under 30 cycles.

So as sad as it may be, Intel is slowly taking over my room. Time to start selling some stuff, although I will always keep a G4/G5 of some sort around. Anyone want to purchase my Dual 1GHz QS

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Lately I've been using my unibody MBP like a mac mini since the trackpad/keyboard were ruined by coffee. The unfortunate thing about this is my G5 now sits on the other side of my room and hasn't been powered on in two weeks now. I can do so much more with the MBP like iMessage with Yosemite, watch 720p YouTube videos with ease, browse every single website in existence, it's great.

The only PPC machine I've used recently was my iBook, which still serves its purpose of being a quick take and go machine and even has two brand new official Apple batteries each under 30 cycles.

So as sad as it may be, Intel is slowly taking over my room. Time to start selling some stuff, although I will always keep a G4/G5 of some sort around. Anyone want to purchase my Dual 1GHz QS

Yeah, I feel the same way. It's sort of sad, but I will definitely try to get less distracted on a more-capable computer such as my MacBook Pro. I like my G5, but it's such a bestial machine for how it performs compared to my little MacBook Pro. I do still want a quad G5 though As for PPC laptops, I don't really take my MBP places, so my 800Mhz iBook G4 is a great companion on-the-go.

 

[Cox Orange]

I still have no Intel device and I fear the day, when I have to decide how to go on.
Not that I am planning to change something at the moment, but for me I find the idea tempting to drop Apple (though still keeping my PowerPC-stuff) and build a HTPC with an Intel Haswell Celeron G1840 (or what will be the current Intel CPU line, when I have to change). It is incredible, what these Haswell Celeron platforms can handle these days at very low price and low power consumption. I would probablee run Linux "luna" elementary OS, which is intended to mimic OS X.
It will be my first selfowned none Apple-PC ever.
(I am hesitant with the new Intel stuff for different reasons, one is that they made the price-/performance-ratio worse, I would have probably bought the last Macs before they dropped FW800 and optical drives and the possibility to upgrade the RAM on the iMacs yourself. With the ommission of the optical drive and the RAM-user-upgradability they also raised the prices in Europe by 200,-EUR for each model).

I will then keep my PPCs for some old software that I will still be running and light audio recording and for tinkering and old games. Though I have to say, that I could still do a bit more optimization on my PowerPCs... but I always don't have the time and just do what can be done quick or I skip something, when it doesn't work.

 

[ClamshellOfDoom]

I am sure many can relate to this....

2. The most important reason, which I have not considered in a long time; this is a reason that possibly many can relate to: DISTRACTION.... I admit it, I do tend to get a little distracted on my computer. Many people do, but there are a few who realize that using an older computer, which limits yourself, really helps curb many of these distractions. I have started using my MacBook Pro some more again, even though I don't have the display cable yet, and I find that I can easily dive into any distracting business other than my work!

Yup. That's the big reason I use a Pismo for writing. There are apps for blocking websites, and you can modify your own hosts file, but those are all tricks which if you're determined enough, you can get around. Obsolescence works best.

 

[CYB3RBYTE]

I have the opposite of this right now... While I used to only use PPC Macs as my go to machines for laptops and desktops, that all changed after I got my Mid-2007 MacBook for school in 2013. I needed something that I could actually run flash and other Intel programs on.

Later in November 2013 I was donated my Late-2006 20" Intel iMac, which came from the factory with a 256MB Radeon X1600, a 500GB HD (which was a BTO at the time!), and 4GB of RAM. I love that machine, and I used it for gaming and more heavy duty applications, because while my MacBook had the same exact processor and RAM, it had horrible integrated graphics.

Then came September of 2014, where I finally got the opportunity after a summer of working for and saving money, to buy my first NEW Mac ever, My MacBook Air Early 2014 13". Its my baby, and I couldn't go without this machine, as I use it for school and everything in-between.

But also in September, I switched back to using my PM G4 Quicksilver as my desktop, because the iMac could no longer play my favorite game (TF2, which for some reason still says it supports the iMac's graphics card). And then in October I got my MDD, and I have been using Intel for my portable side and PPC for my Desktop side ever since!

 

[Mnowell69]

My desktop is a 450mhz CUBE with a 20" cinema display. Sadly only used for music and e-mail and VERY light browsing. Fantastic machine still serving me well

 

[Jessica Lares]

My MacBook Pro is also serving as a Mac Mini because the keyboard is dead. My iPad Mini has become the laptop.

I think the whole distraction thing is BS. That's why I no longer have Kindles. I don't need separate devices to keep me from getting on YouTube and whatever. Learn how to be self-controlling and you'll manage.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I have the opposite of this right now... While I used to only use PPC Macs as my go to machines for laptops and desktops, that all changed after I got my Mid-2007 MacBook for school in 2013. I needed something that I could actually run flash and other Intel programs on.

Later in November 2013 I was donated my Late-2006 20" Intel iMac, which came from the factory with a 256MB Radeon X1600, a 500GB HD (which was a BTO at the time!), and 4GB of RAM. I love that machine, and I used it for gaming and more heavy duty applications, because while my MacBook had the same exact processor and RAM, it had horrible integrated graphics.

Then came September of 2014, where I finally got the opportunity after a summer of working for and saving money, to buy my first NEW Mac ever, My MacBook Air Early 2014 13". Its my baby, and I couldn't go without this machine, as I use it for school and everything in-between.

But also in September, I switched back to using my PM G4 Quicksilver as my desktop, because the iMac could no longer play my favorite game (TF2, which for some reason still says it supports the iMac's graphics card). And then in October I got my MDD, and I have been using Intel for my portable side and PPC for my Desktop side ever since!

Interesting the way your PPC outcome is! Personally, my best desktop Mac is my PMG5. I guess I would be more attached to a brand new computer and switch to that. I still like my hand-me-down MacBook Pro though, and I will start using it again.

----------

My MacBook Pro is also serving as a Mac Mini because the keyboard is dead. My iPad Mini has become the laptop.

I think the whole distraction thing is BS. That's why I no longer have Kindles. I don't need separate devices to keep me from getting on YouTube and whatever. Learn how to be self-controlling and you'll manage.

Well, I manage time well and I am a very hard worker, but sometimes I get a little distracted on a more-capable device. I nod-off loading chunky websites on an older computer, whereas I would do so with ease on a newer one.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I still have no Intel device and I fear the day, when I have to decide how to go on.
Not that I am planning to change something at the moment, but for me I find the idea tempting to drop Apple (though still keeping my PowerPC-stuff) and build a HTPC with an Intel Haswell Celeron G1840 (or what will be the current Intel CPU line, when I have to change). It is incredible, what these Haswell Celeron platforms can handle these days at very low price and low power consumption. I would probablee run Linux "luna" elementary OS, which is intended to mimic OS X.
It will be my first selfowned none Apple-PC ever.
(I am hesitant with the new Intel stuff for different reasons, one is that they made the price-/performance-ratio worse, I would have probably bought the last Macs before they dropped FW800 and optical drives and the possibility to upgrade the RAM on the iMacs yourself. With the ommission of the optical drive and the RAM-user-upgradability they also raised the prices in Europe by 200,-EUR for each model).

I will then keep my PPCs for some old software that I will still be running and light audio recording and for tinkering and old games. Though I have to say, that I could still do a bit more optimization on my PowerPCs... but I always don't have the time and just do what can be done quick or I skip something, when it doesn't work.

I won't switch from PowerPC for a while, but I want to get back to my MacBook Pro again. It truly would be a waste to let it sit. I don't want it to be idle while it's still "non-obsolete", if you know what I mean. Still, my best desktop Mac is NOT an Intel Mac, and I do prefer using desktops. I will try my best to make my MBP more desktop-like, but I will still use my PPC desktop. I DID briefly consider a Hackintosh, but I don't really need one... maybe someday.

 

[redheeler]

I won't switch from PowerPC for a while, but I want to get back to my MacBook Pro again. It truly would be a waste to let it sit. I don't want it to be idle while it's still "non-obsolete", if you know what I mean. Still, my best desktop Mac is NOT an Intel Mac, and I do prefer using desktops. I will try my best to make my MBP more desktop-like, but I will still use my PPC desktop. I DID briefly consider a Hackintosh, but I don't really need one... maybe someday.

Before I got my 2010 27'' iMac my best desktop was also a PPC G5 tower (DP 2.0 GHz original). Both computers were just fillers while I waited for the Retina iMac, but that's another story

I remember quite distinctly playing Farm Heros Saga on that poor old G5. Actually did the job just fine for a Flash game.

Even got a second CPU for it from eBay (it was missing one). Big mistake, CPU works just fine (which is amazing considering it looks like it was literally ripped out of another G5) but the stupid thing sounds like a jet now. Tried thermal calibration but still... That's when I retired it and soon after got the iMac.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Before I got my 2010 27'' iMac my best desktop was also a PPC G5 tower (DP 2.0 GHz original). Both computers were just fillers while I waited for the Retina iMac, but that's another story

I remember quite distinctly playing Farm Heros Saga on that poor old G5. Actually did the job just fine for a Flash game.

Even got a second CPU for it from eBay (it was missing one). Big mistake, CPU works just fine (which is amazing considering it looks like it was literally ripped out of another G5) but the stupid thing sounds like a jet now. Tried thermal calibration but still... That's when I retired it and soon after got the iMac.

As I mentioned to you in some other thread, it's cool that you have a Retina iMac. How are you liking it? I saw it at the Apple store a couple weeks ago and its display is striking.

I also have an original 2.0Ghz PMG5--they are nice computers. It's a shame what happened to yours. You haven't tried just retiring the second CPU you bought for it? My DP G5 may be short-lived, as I plan to pick up a quad-core machine this weekend, from a Craigslist seller. That will obviously be my main desktop, and hopefully the DP one can be a spare computer somewhere. It's sort of a shame though, as I upgraded this thing to 8GB of RAM and everything. Well, at least that boosted its value, in case I want to sell it later.

You'd be surprised how much even a 1.8Ghz (single core) PMG5 goes for. Sure, they actually aren't THAT much, and are especially cheaper than a PMG4 MDD, but they still have demand.

 

[gooser]

what are these distractions you guys are talking about?

 

[redheeler]

You'd be surprised how much even a 1.8Ghz (single core) PMG5 goes for. Sure, they actually aren't THAT much, and are especially cheaper than a PMG4 MDD, but they still have demand.

How could a MDD be worth more than a G5? The G5s have SATA instead of IDE and faster CPUs and GPUs. They also have better build quality and a more modern case structure.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

How could a MDD be worth more than a G5? The G5s have SATA instead of IDE and faster CPUs and GPUs. They also have better build quality and a more modern case structure.

I think it's a novelty thing; I find most of the eBay prices for MDDs to be amazingly high. Sure, there are overpriced G5s all the time, but you could get a dual 2.0Ghz for around $100, while you could find an MDD on eBay for much more. MDDs also have valuable parts, like the PSU. I've seen the PSUs alone go for as much as $90.

 

[weckart]

How could a MDD be worth more than a G5? The G5s have SATA instead of IDE and faster CPUs and GPUs. They also have better build quality and a more modern case structure.

It is the fastest computer that will boot OS9 natively. There is still plenty of usable software married to additional hardware that has not been ported to OSX and will not run properly or at all in Classic mode. To the right person, the MDD is worth something whereas the G5 is worthless.

 

[stewart1981]

My G5 1.6 has been in use 6 days a week for work for nearly a year now and while rather steady online still does the job. I did toy with a G4 for my wife but in the end left her with the G5. As a basic desktop it works well. And if infind I need reminding on good house keeping an hour on it soon gets me back on track.

 

[Imixmuan]

I would probablee run Linux "luna" elementary OS, which is intended to mimic OS X.

elementaryOS is in perpetual beta, everytime I try it I'm like, WTF, when is this "work in progress" nonsense going to stop?

Mimicing OS X is not hard. I do it with Linux Mint Cinammon nicely. Put your menu bar up top, install Docky ( which is much better than elementaryOS 'plank'). Install one of a trillion OS X themes ( I use the Moutain Lion theme) and move the damn traffic lights over to the left, where they belong. You'd be amazed how many times people in coffee shops look at my Dell and are like, "...is that a hackintosh?" Nope. Tried that, and it sucked. Linux Mint does not suck, not even a little bit.

 

[stewart1981]

I agree that you can make a machine look like a Mac easily. My windows laptop dual boots Elementary OS and it did a decent job of fooling my father in law on first glance. However he twigged pretty quick as he has been a Mac man for 20 odd years. When I added a snow leopard theme, leftsider, finderbar and a dock to windows 7 though he really didn't work it out until he realised I was using Office 2010 and not 2011. However even compared to my G5 it doesn't feel thea me, even if it is all in the mind. Yes it is slower but it feels a smoother ride. Like an old Rolls Royce compared to a new smart car.

I've since restored the Windows 7 classic theme as it just hogs too much memory for my liking and it will never be a Mac.

----------

The Mac though still has enough power to let me randomly Google when I should be writing in Sibelius 6 though.

 

[Cox Orange]

elementaryOS is in perpetual beta, everytime I try it I'm like, WTF, when is this "work in progress" nonsense going to stop?

Mimicing OS X is not hard. I do it with Linux Mint Cinammon nicely. Put your menu bar up top, install Docky ( which is much better than elementaryOS 'plank'). Install one of a trillion OS X themes ( I use the Moutain Lion theme) and move the damn traffic lights over to the left, where they belong. You'd be amazed how many times people in coffee shops look at my Dell and are like, "...is that a hackintosh?" Nope. Tried that, and it sucked. Linux Mint does not suck, not even a little bit.

Thanks for the tips. What I read about "luna" is, that it even mimics the structures, the way things are done on a Mac, where stuff is located and how to get there. So not just the looks (though, I'll admit looks go in hand with "how things are done" on a Mac).

 

[repentix]

As I mentioned to you in some other thread, it's cool that you have a Retina iMac. How are you liking it? I saw it at the Apple store a couple weeks ago and its display is striking.

I also have an original 2.0Ghz PMG5--they are nice computers. It's a shame what happened to yours. You haven't tried just retiring the second CPU you bought for it? My DP G5 may be short-lived, as I plan to pick up a quad-core machine this weekend, from a Craigslist seller. That will obviously be my main desktop, and hopefully the DP one can be a spare computer somewhere. It's sort of a shame though, as I upgraded this thing to 8GB of RAM and everything. Well, at least that boosted its value, in case I want to sell it later.

You'd be surprised how much even a 1.8Ghz (single core) PMG5 goes for. Sure, they actually aren't THAT much, and are especially cheaper than a PMG4 MDD, but they still have demand.

I had my 1.8GHz 2003 model with 8GB of ram on craiglist and kijiji for a couple of months and no one serious even messaged me (all the people interested wanted it for 50€ or less). I ended up selling it to a Music producer for 90€ together with an aluminum keyboard. The thing is, the G5 was well documented with the original receipt, CD, manual and brochure and still nearly no one was interested! I still made a profit on it, but I was waiting for a long time to find a reasonable buyer here in Germany
So don't expect too much money for your maxed out G5.

 

[weckart]

I still have Pear OS on a couple of Thinkpads. That was the most OSX-like distro even to the extent of having its own cloud environment. One day it vanished without warning; all links pulled and the forum closed. Rumour was that the developer was recriuited by Apple.

 

[bunnspecial]

The "distraction" thing is a lot of the reason why I use a(personally owned) G5 as a work computer. It runs everything I need for work and with Office 2008 I can readily exchange documents with 2010/2011/2013/365 users. I also have some other specialized software that runs fine on it, but nothing to distract me.

So, in that sense, it's a great work computer.

 

[CYB3RBYTE]

Sometimes I long for a more powerful central desktop, like a Mac Pro or a small Gaming PC.

I live at two houses, and I keep my desktop at dad's (since that's where I actually have a desk!) and I want to start keeping my files off of my portable machine, on a desktop machine where I can just access them from either house.

And while my MBA cuts it for what I do now (school, casual gaming, and photoshop), I really want something more powerful for down the road. I feel that my PPC desktop may not be what I need in the future, but I want to keep it around.

My upgrades on my MDD have been stalled for the moment, due to problems with converting the Radeon 9600XT from a G5 for it. For some reason even though I tape down pins 3 and 11, I still get no video...

Anyhow, I'm just feeling wishy-washy in general today.

 

[repentix]

Sometimes I long for a more powerful central desktop, like a Mac Pro or a small Gaming PC.

I live at two houses, and I keep my desktop at dad's (since that's where I actually have a desk!) and I want to start keeping my files off of my portable machine, on a desktop machine where I can just access them from either house.

And while my MBA cuts it for what I do now (school, casual gaming, and photoshop), I really want something more powerful for down the road. I feel that my PPC desktop may not be what I need in the future, but I want to keep it around.

My upgrades on my MDD have been stalled for the moment, due to problems with converting the Radeon 9600XT from a G5 for it. For some reason even though I tape down pins 3 and 11, I still get no video...

Anyhow, I'm just feeling wishy-washy in general today.

I know that feeling too good , I own about 6 completly different PC/mac's.