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My hopes for a lengthened PPC lifespan rested with Linux but I don't think that will go anywhere fast, no decent graphics drivers and a few (for me) key apps like Skype being unavailable are still making this a non-option for me. Mines been relegated to an XBMC centre but it does this extremely well, even HD runs fine (far better than when I used it as a computer with VLC).

It's a bit sad to see such a once great machine doing such a mundane task but it does it flawlessly and means it's still of use.
 
Running Windows through VPC to accomplish tasks is barely keeping it together.... Emulating an x86 to get things done isn't exactly proving the usefulness of a PowerPC Mac. :)

Naw, It was only to run a jailbreak app. I do that stuff once a year.

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My hopes for a lengthened PPC lifespan rested with Linux but I don't think that will go anywhere fast, no decent graphics drivers and a few (for me) key apps like Skype being unavailable are still making this a non-option for me. Mines been relegated to an XBMC centre but it does this extremely well, even HD runs fine (far better than when I used it as a computer with VLC).

It's a bit sad to see such a once great machine doing such a mundane task but it does it flawlessly and means it's still of use.

Can't you surf the web with it? Or use docx with updated office 2008?
Collect all your pictures with iPhoto? Edit your holiday movies with imovie 6HD?
I have the latest iMovie (intel) but I prefer to edit with iMovie 6HD. That and owning all the slick plugins is far better choice.

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Can't you surf the web with it? Or use docx with updated office 2008?
Collect all your pictures with iPhoto? Edit your holiday movies with imovie 6HD?
I have the latest iMovie (intel) but I prefer to edit with iMovie 6HD. That and owning all the slick plugins is far better choice.

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Surfing is hit and miss, either slow or sites not loading properly, it may only be a few but it's a hassle I just don't need - would swap between Webkit and TFF to solve but just got tiring.

Photo editing (RAW) in Aperture was a) slow and b) on an incompatible version of Aperture to that which I use on my Intel Mac, the slowness may not have been an issue but I was finding myself moving pics to my MBP as it was smoother and faster to edit there, so then asked myself "whats the point?"
As for movie editing that is super slow on the G5 (used a Elgato x.264 to speed that up for 264 codes), again most times I let it re-encode etc overnight as i was in no rush but sometimes I needed something doing that day and then it was again a question of firing up the laptop or sweating watching the progress bar labour its way to 100% over many.....many....hours..

Updates to some of my heavily used apps (Evernote, Skype, Dropbox etc) stopping etc etc. Finally work switched to Linux and gave me a desktop so I had a spare MBP i7 which now sits with the G5's ACD, keyboard and mouse (like a small desktop) at home so it was kinda silly to keep using the G5 as my home machine. Now I have Steam, the right version of Aperture, up to date apps etc. I loved the G5 and I'm happy its still doing something useful but the MBP is a SERIOUS order of magnitude faster (on CPU heavy tasks) and if my old MB is anything to go by (that was on 24/7 and had been for 2.5 years in a hot room) should be just as reliable (fingers crossed).
 
Surfing is hit and miss, either slow or sites not loading properly, it may only be a few but it's a hassle I just don't need - would swap between Webkit and TFF to solve but just got tiring.

Photo editing (RAW) in Aperture was a) slow and b) on an incompatible version of Aperture to that which I use on my Intel Mac, the slowness may not have been an issue but I was finding myself moving pics to my MBP as it was smoother and faster to edit there, so then asked myself "whats the point?"
As for movie editing that is super slow on the G5 (used a Elgato x.264 to speed that up for 264 codes), again most times I let it re-encode etc overnight as i was in no rush but sometimes I needed something doing that day and then it was again a question of firing up the laptop or sweating watching the progress bar labour its way to 100% over many.....many....hours..

Updates to some of my heavily used apps (Evernote, Skype, Dropbox etc) stopping etc etc. Finally work switched to Linux and gave me a desktop so I had a spare MBP i7 which now sits with the G5's ACD, keyboard and mouse (like a small desktop) at home so it was kinda silly to keep using the G5 as my home machine. Now I have Steam, the right version of Aperture, up to date apps etc. I loved the G5 and I'm happy its still doing something useful but the MBP is a SERIOUS order of magnitude faster (on CPU heavy tasks) and if my old MB is anything to go by (that was on 24/7 and had been for 2.5 years in a hot room) should be just as reliable (fingers crossed).

Trust me, I had until 2 months ago an iMac i7 Quad with the best gfx card they ever put on a mac.... so I know the speed trade off. Of course, you make valid points but it's quite apparent that we both use the computers very differently. I actually still have an intel 17" MBP but I dont use it anymore.
What started as a fun test to see If I could survive with PPC only turned out to become a lifestyle. And also, I have to say that I'm mostly surprised for the better when it comes to PPC usefulness in 2013.

I understand that the App store, steam and other sites providing software and games are out of the question, but apps like skype hasn't offered me anything new besides some cosmetic front-end gui changes. Webkit (nightly builds) have proven to cope with anything I've thrown at it. I haven't tested TFF since version 15 I think, and it was a resource hog :(
 
When I have to switch to x86 it will be going to AMD. I will also be using linux. I do not want to use a mac that is just an overpriced PC. I loved macs when they were special, when they were different, when apple actually thought different. But now AAPL is more focused on iCrap (iPhone, iPad, iPod) than producing quality computers. Now AMD is the company to switch to after PowerPC macs become too slow for use. With AMD you get to be part of a new rebel CPU architecture. Even though AMD is just a small company, much smaller than intell or nVidia, they can still produce great quality products.
:apple:
 
Even though AMD is just a small company, much smaller than intell or nVidia, they can still produce great quality products.
:apple:

AMD is not at all a small company. They own ATI, and build a lot of ARM processors.

Their processors are also definitely not faster than Intel CPUs. It's not like it was 10 years ago, ARM is competing on price, not speed.
 
I've always been a rabid PPC fan; there's something about these machines that the Intel Macs just cannot compare to, no matter how shiny or powerful.

I've always enjoyed using Macs -- from the Motorola 6800 chip, to the G4 PowerPC. During all that time, I never even approached the same enthusiasm when using Windows. I was around when the "Mac vs. Windows" war erupted on the Internet and everywhere else. Windows was only an "option" for me when I needed to use it at work.

To me, there certainly is something compelling about those early Macs -- call it character, personality, style, usability, responsiveness or just plain fun. I could tinker with OS 9 to my heart's content and not worry about trashing the whole system. Because I made myself knowledgeable about both Windows and the Mac OS, I would frequently get calls from Windows users about one problem or another. And I spent a good amount of time teaching people who switched from Windows to use the Mac OS. It was great fun for me.

It was a special time. The Amiga (which I owned) was still relevant, and every new iteration of Apple's PowerBooks drew a great deal of attention. And then, of course, there was the original iMac. Each time I got a new rig from UPS or FedEx was a magical event. From the 520c, to the Kanga, to the Wall Street and the Pismo. Always great fun to crack open the box of a freshly minted Mac.

I've commented here before that I won't purchase another PowerPC, unless there is a compelling reason to do so. It's very late in the game for PowerPCs, and my tinkering days are generally behind me. A lot of the "newer" technology is of little or no use to me. But I'll hold on to my iBook forever. A reminder of Apple's better days.
 
When I have to switch to x86 it will be going to AMD. I will also be using linux. I do not want to use a mac that is just an overpriced PC. I loved macs when they were special, when they were different, when apple actually thought different. But now AAPL is more focused on iCrap (iPhone, iPad, iPod) than producing quality computers. Now AMD is the company to switch to after PowerPC macs become too slow for use. With AMD you get to be part of a new rebel CPU architecture. Even though AMD is just a small company, much smaller than intell or nVidia, they can still produce great quality products.
:apple:

I agree with you on amd being the new rebel processor arch. But I think that some of us like Gotfrey powerpcfan4ever and myself have grown tired of wondering if support was going to drop for our architechture or whether or not something would have drivers. So we went intell for the "main" machine which gives a person a good anchor to the supported world to dive into the world of powerpc to tinker with things
 
like Goftrey

Please stop referencing me in your posts. If I have something to say I'll say it myself - I don't need someone speaking on my behalf.

I didn't make the switch because I grew;
tired of wondering if support was going to drop for my architechture or whether or not something would have drivers
I switched because the price margins between say a quad G5 & a 1,1 Mac Pro, or a 1.67GHz DL/HD PBG4 & a Core Duo MBP are very minimal now & in terms of both speed & support - it's a no brainer.
 
AMD is not at all a small company. They own ATI, and build a lot of ARM processors.

Their processors are also definitely not faster than Intel CPUs. It's not like it was 10 years ago, ARM is competing on price, not speed.
This.

AMDs processors suck. I speak from experience. I had one of theirs last year and it took four cores running at 3.1GHz each to compare to a dual core 13" Macbook. Since Intel went to Core, AMD gets demolished unless you're strapped for cash and are building something cheap. Plus, their GPUs are great, but that's *only* because they bought ATI, a company that already knew what they were doing in regards to GPUs, AMD itself doesn't interfere with whatever goes on as far as Radeon development.
 
This.

AMDs processors suck. I speak from experience. I had one of theirs last year and it took four cores running at 3.1GHz each to compare to a dual core 13" Macbook. Since Intel went to Core, AMD gets demolished unless you're strapped for cash and are building something cheap. Plus, their GPUs are great, but that's *only* because they bought ATI, a company that already knew what they were doing in regards to GPUs, AMD itself doesn't interfere with whatever goes on as far as Radeon development.

Honestly, I'm speechless. Do you actually believe all that, or do you just pass it on without your brain progressing it?
 
This.

AMDs processors suck. I speak from experience. I had one of theirs last year and it took four cores running at 3.1GHz each to compare to a dual core 13" Macbook. Since Intel went to Core, AMD gets demolished unless you're strapped for cash and are building something cheap. Plus, their GPUs are great, but that's *only* because they bought ATI, a company that already knew what they were doing in regards to GPUs, AMD itself doesn't interfere with whatever goes on as far as Radeon development.

Amd is far more overclockable and will give you a better performance per dollar.


I still prefer intel because I can afford it but my previous statement stands
 
Honestly, I'm speechless. Do you actually believe all that, or do you just pass it on without your brain progressing it?

Well, in general AMD CPUs aren't as fast as their Intel counter-parts.

However, they have better integrated GPUs, most can manage power better (But Haswell will be out soon, so we'll see), most have more cores and they are also cheaper too.

IMHO I prefer Intel for their better computing-power and Haswell will be bringing better integrated GPUs and less power-consumption which will bring Intel to a better footing against AMD in those areas.
 
How about the Power8? I could see it possible for IBM to returning to the desktop PC market if they launched a desktop version. They will most likely not do it although I would love to see that. Like the PPC970 was compared to the Power chips of the time.

Wouldn't it be amazing if Power 8 chips were released and sold reasonably well? If they did, companies would start supporting PowerPC again, and possibly some of their software would work on G4s and G5s as well as modern ones. Highly unlikely, but it would be brilliant if support and software could return as a result of new age PPC processors.
 
Amd is far more overclockable and will give you a better performance per dollar.

Sure, but that maxes out at a certain point. The Pentium 4 gave better performance per dollar but still got steamrolled by the G5. If you could buy an AMD processor faster than an Intel for better bang per buck, that would be great, but you can't. They even have trouble keeping up with Intel's i3s on the low end.

AMD vs. Intel is a lot like x86 vs. PowerPC back in the day. AMD, like x86 ten years ago, is cheaper but slower processors, while Intel, like IBM/PowerPC ten years ago, is producing faster, more expensive (but more sophisticated processors.)

If you take a look at the technology in a current i7, it's actually really impressive compared to PowerPC. Current Intel chips gave up on the Pentium 4 path and look much more like PowerPCs now. SSE is Altivec. You have a bus much more like and better than the G5's (and I suppose AMD's) HyperTransport. Probably Apple's influence at work there.
 
This.

AMDs processors suck. I speak from experience. I had one of theirs last year and it took four cores running at 3.1GHz each to compare to a dual core 13" Macbook. Since Intel went to Core, AMD gets demolished unless you're strapped for cash and are building something cheap. Plus, their GPUs are great, but that's *only* because they bought ATI, a company that already knew what they were doing in regards to GPUs, AMD itself doesn't interfere with whatever goes on as far as Radeon development.

I prefer AMD because it's cheap. Not as fast as Intel but fast enough for my work and entertainment :)
 
In late 2011, I bought an iBook G4. It was my first Mac, and it ran very smoothly and browsed the web with ease. However, it gradually slowed down and although I cleaned it up and reinstalled the OS, web browsing was becoming difficult for it. About a year after getting the iBook, I bought a Powermac G4 MDD dual 1.25ghz. (I also have a 2007 MacBook, which the Powermac easily keeps up with) I use it daily as my primary computer. It's much faster than the iBook, and still is able to browse the web very well with Webkit. For a 10 year old computer, the MDD has got to be the absolute fastest out there. Dual processor Powermac G4s, late G4 laptops, and iMac and Powermac G5s aren't dead yet.
 
I've always been a rabid PPC fan; there's something about these machines that the Intel Macs just cannot compare to, no matter how shiny or powerful. I still love all my PPC Macs, but even I must admit; their time as jack-of-all-trades machines is nearing the end. My eMac is still able to do pretty much everything I ask of it, but it's requiring more patience and workaround tactics seemingly week by week, multi-tasking in particular. Just last night, I was experiencing severe stuttering and jerkiness while scrolling on some sites in TenFourFox, and some serious slow-downs attempting to run TFF, Safari, iTunes and VLC at the same time. Ripping DVD's can now take up to over 36 hours depending on length. These issues have been around for a while, but they are now reaching the point as to which they are causing me frustration and are hampering my enjoyment of my Mac.

My Powermac G4 started to stutter and be very choppy when scrolling on TenFourFox. Then I found out about WebKit, and I've used it as my main browser ever since. The scrolling is significantly smoother. Give it a try and see if it improves your eMac experiences.
Ps: I also have black MacBook, my only Intel Mac
 
My Powermac G4 started to stutter and be very choppy when scrolling on TenFourFox. Then I found out about WebKit, and I've used it as my main browser ever since. The scrolling is significantly smoother. Give it a try and see if it improves your eMac experiences.
Ps: I also have black MacBook, my only Intel Mac

I've tried everything I could ever scrounge up; all the big name browsers, the lesser known but still-with-a-fanbase browsers, and even those one or two-off browsers some beginner coder made as a test project. In the past, I've been able to find a browser that worked well for all my needs; as time has passed, I've had to migrate to other browsers that are smaller, with less features and less compatibility. I've honestly reached the point where no single browser can adequately meet my expectations. Sure, I could use two or more taking advantage of each iterations strengths, but that is the point in which it has become more hassle than it is worth to deal with.

I have come to accept that this particular facet of my eMac's life is now, for the most part, over with. A hard thing to swallow, at least for me. But I understand that us PPC users have been left behind in nearly every way, and things aren't going to get any better. To try and deny that, web experience at the least, isn't growing harder to cope with would be foolish. I very much appreciate these few developers efforts to keep PPC a viable internet machine, but try as they might, they've never truly achieved making the PPC internet experience better; only slowed its decline.

For some upper-end PowerMac/PowerBook G4's and I would assume most if not all the G5's, I'm willing to bet that they still have the power to maintain a very usable and pleasant experience, and may continue to do so for quite some time. But, their day will come sooner or later. It's best to enioy these magnificent machines while we still can, in whatever ways we can. :)
 
Well, in general AMD CPUs aren't as fast as their Intel counter-parts.

However, they have better integrated GPUs, most can manage power better (But Haswell will be out soon, so we'll see), most have more cores and they are also cheaper too.

IMHO I prefer Intel for their better computing-power and Haswell will be bringing better integrated GPUs and less power-consumption which will bring Intel to a better footing against AMD in those areas.

Agreed. I'm not saying otherwise. However he made it sound like he was comparing the K6 to a i7-3970X. If he had done a proper benchmark with CPUs that actually compete with each other, I wouldn't have said anything about his results because its true. AMD is slower than Intel, but not by that much.

I prefer AMD because it's cheap. Not as fast as Intel but fast enough for my work and entertainment :)

Indeed. AMD makes some of the best compact systems ever. Their APUs are prefect for HTPCs, compact office computers and the like. I've built over two dozen HTPCs with AMD chips, so far no customer had any complaints.
 
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I've tried everything I could ever scrounge up; all the big name browsers, the lesser known but still-with-a-fanbase browsers, and even those one or two-off browsers some beginner coder made as a test project. In the past, I've been able to find a browser that worked well for all my needs; as time has passed, I've had to migrate to other browsers that are smaller, with less features and less compatibility. I've honestly reached the point where no single browser can adequately meet my expectations. Sure, I could use two or more taking advantage of each iterations strengths, but that is the point in which it has become more hassle than it is worth to deal with.

I have come to accept that this particular facet of my eMac's life is now, for the most part, over with. A hard thing to swallow, at least for me. But I understand that us PPC users have been left behind in nearly every way, and things aren't going to get any better. To try and deny that, web experience at the least, isn't growing harder to cope with would be foolish. I very much appreciate these few developers efforts to keep PPC a viable internet machine, but try as they might, they've never truly achieved making the PPC internet experience better; only slowed its decline.

For some upper-end PowerMac/PowerBook G4's and I would assume most if not all the G5's, I'm willing to bet that they still have the power to maintain a very usable and pleasant experience, and may continue to do so for quite some time. But, their day will come sooner or later. It's best to enioy these magnificent machines while we still can, in whatever ways we can. :)

Some of these browsers might have a develop menu when you can choose to open the page you are on in a different browser from a menu.
 
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