The Magic Of TenFourFoxBoxes

[Dronecatcher]

Despite the sad news of Cameron putting TenFourFox to bed, I think we can safely say it'll still be with us and fairly useful for a good few years yet - and of course, the same goes for TenFourFoxBoxes.

Here's a round up of the FoxBoxes I use on my G3 iBook.

Gmail - Using a Nokia N90 user agent this gives a very compact rendition of Google Mail.

Facebook - Again with a N90 user agent pointing to the mbasic version of the site.

68k - Wonderful text only news aggregator from Action Retro.

Flickriver - An alternative window into Flickr - same content but with no overheads.

Google - Compact little search window again using a Nokia user agent.

pCloud - Portal to my personal cloud storage.

MacRumors - Needs no introduction

I think it's incredible that in 2021, using an 18 year iBook I can browse Flickr, keep an eye on Facebook and listen to SomaFM web radio with CPU cycles to spare!

 

[eyoungren]

My preference is still Fluid, relinked to LWK, but FoxBoxes have been handy where Fluid has failed me.

 

[Dronecatcher]

My preference is still Fluid, relinked to LWK, but FoxBoxes have been handy where Fluid has failed me.

Yes, I use both but unfortunately Fluid doesn't reach back to Tiger.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Drat...I forgot SDR that connects to an online Software Defined Radio - amazed that this plays so well on a G3 as it's quite CPU intensive.

 

[Imixmuan]

Despite the sad news of Cameron putting TenFourFox to bed, I think we can safely say it'll still be with us and fairly useful for a good few years yet - and of course, the same goes for TenFourFoxBoxes.

Here's a round up of the FoxBoxes I use on my G3 iBook.

Gmail - Using a Nokia N90 user agent this gives a very compact rendition of Google Mail.

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Facebook - Again with a N90 user agent pointing to the mbasic version of the site.

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68k - Wonderful text only news aggregator from Action Retro.

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Flickriver - An alternative window into Flickr - same content but with no overheads.

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Google - Compact little search window again using a Nokia user agent.

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pCloud - Portal to my personal cloud storage.

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MacRumors - Needs no introduction

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I think it's incredible that in 2021, using an 18 year iBook I can browse Flickr, keep an eye on Facebook and listen to SomaFM web radio with CPU cycles to spare!

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Me thinks perhaps this merits another "Squeezing the Apple" youtube video. And how many of the youtube playback methods you showed us earlier on your ol' ibook G3 still work? Agree, utterly amazing that a machine many people would toss in the dumpster without a second thought is still so inherently usable in 2021...

 

[Amethyst1]

Agree, utterly amazing that a machine many people would toss in the dumpster without a second thought is still so inherently usable in 2021...

Even more amazing is that people trash much more modern and otherwise capable machines because they can't do "something".

 

[Dronecatcher]

And how many of the youtube playback methods you showed us earlier on your ol' ibook G3 still work?

The shifting sands of Google...alas, none of them work now.

The only method to work for sure now on G3 is using PPCMC with or without my extra scripts and possibly TFF/Grease Monkey/Viewtube/FFplay which I'll be trying soon.

 

[Dronecatcher]

The only method to work for sure now on G3 is using PPCMC with or without my extra scripts and possibly TFF/Grease Monkey/Viewtube/FFplay which I'll be trying soon.

TFF plus Grease Monkey does indeed work on my G3 iBook but with variable results depending on the videos.
Plus point is instant playback - minus point is the poor CPU at 100% most of the time - a less intensive option is to download and play with MPlayer.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Even more amazing is that people trash much more modern and otherwise capable machines because they can't do "something".

Yeah and it's also downright demoralising because very often, a workaround actually exists for that "something" and they're simply unaware of its existence. Even more demoralising is that most of those people probably aren't even utilising a fraction of their new machine's capabilities anyway.

 

[Zaren]

I was using a FoxBox to listen to SomaFM on my G4 iMac. Then I got the bright idea to try Linux on that machine... and after much hoop jumping and CCC work, finally turned it back into a Mac running 10.5... and am now running SomaFM and Youtube streams(!) on my C2D Mac Mini.

 

[Imixmuan]

Yeah and it's also downright demoralising because very often, a workaround actually exists for that "something" and they're simply unaware of its existence. Even more demoralising is that most of those people probably aren't even utilising a fraction of their new machine's capabilities anyway.

Most people only use a fraction of their brain's capabilities, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised...

 

[Imixmuan]

Even more amazing is that people trash much more modern and otherwise capable machines because they can't do "something".

My main machine these days is a Librebooted T400 Thinkpad. I also have a faster Lenovo Yoga Pro2 I inherited from my wife. Both run MX Linux, I had the FSF approved, Ubuntu based Trisquel running on it but Trisquel is kinda flaky and FSF people are very cultish (way more than Mac people), and I don't want to support that. The Yoga Pro is absolute garbage, the keyboard and trackpad are utterly awful (and the reason my wife gave up the machine and got a Thinkpad P51), the wifi card perpetually drops the connection. I bought one of those 2 dollar wifi USB dongles and it gives me perfect, if slightly slower wifi. Gets hot as hell playing any definition video. I use it for Zoom calls only. The 2008 Thinkpad on the other hand has the best keyboard on any computer ever, no camera (a feature not a bug IMHO), a Thinklight (cool AF) stays cool playing 1080p (can't handle 60fps but that's not a surprise). I intend to use this as my main machine for at least another five years, maybe longer. "Progress" be damned.

 

[Project Alice]

Despite the sad news of Cameron putting TenFourFox to bed, I think we can safely say it'll still be with us and fairly useful for a good few years yet - and of course, the same goes for TenFourFoxBoxes.

Here's a round up of the FoxBoxes I use on my G3 iBook.

Gmail - Using a Nokia N90 user agent this gives a very compact rendition of Google Mail.

View attachment 1754462


Facebook - Again with a N90 user agent pointing to the mbasic version of the site.

View attachment 1754463


68k - Wonderful text only news aggregator from Action Retro.

View attachment 1754464


Flickriver - An alternative window into Flickr - same content but with no overheads.

View attachment 1754465


Google - Compact little search window again using a Nokia user agent.

View attachment 1754467


pCloud - Portal to my personal cloud storage.

View attachment 1754468


MacRumors - Needs no introduction

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I think it's incredible that in 2021, using an 18 year iBook I can browse Flickr, keep an eye on Facebook and listen to SomaFM web radio with CPU cycles to spare!

View attachment 1754470

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I was honestly super impressed but then I noticed this was a 900MHz G3... Lol I doubt the experience would be as decent on the likes of more common 500MHz G3s or slower.

 

[Amethyst1]

FSF people are very cultish (way more than Mac people), and I don't want to support that.

Double-full ACK.

 

[Dronecatcher]

I was honestly super impressed but then I noticed this was a 900MHz G3... Lol I doubt the experience would be as decent on the likes of more common 500MHz G3s or slower.

Well I used to have some of these on my 600Mhz iBook - just uses more CPU.

 

[Imixmuan]

Well I used to have some of these on my 600Mhz iBook - just uses more CPU.

Did that one die or did you sell it? I had a 800mhz G3 and found it quite usable even in 2012 with the old MintPPC, until the graphics chip just gave up the ghost.

 

[Jubadub]

FSF people are very cultish (way more than Mac people), and I don't want to support that.

Those that are, indeed are. A lot aren't. The issue is, as usual, the loud ones are by nature always the most noticeable. It's the same for i.e. vegans: some are overbearing to the point of defeating the purpose (and those are the most visible ones), but some others actually care about the cause by being more mindful about the end-result (and so will try to talk about it constructively rather than finger-point and curse destructively). Of course, this goes for everything.

All I say is, speak against specific individuals and acts, but try not to dismiss a good cause (in this case: end-user ownership, privacy and protection) behind which they hide.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Did that one die or did you sell it? I had a 800mhz G3 and found it quite usable even in 2012 with the old MintPPC, until the graphics chip just gave up the ghost.

Sold it as part of my periodical PowerPC cull

 

[bunnspecial]

This is phenomenal. Thanks for sharing it!

I've been mostly out of using PPCs for a year now, but in a sense despite the "end" of TFF it looks like a lot of stuff is working well.

Great work as always @Dronecatcher . It takes a lot of work to find and keep this stuff going, especially when, in my experience, sometimes the "Back doors" to site folks find get shut about as soon as someone figures out how to really use them.

 

[skinniezinho]

Despite the sad news of Cameron putting TenFourFox to bed, I think we can safely say it'll still be with us and fairly useful for a good few years yet - and of course, the same goes for TenFourFoxBoxes.

Here's a round up of the FoxBoxes I use on my G3 iBook.

Gmail - Using a Nokia N90 user agent this gives a very compact rendition of Google Mail.

View attachment 1754462


Facebook - Again with a N90 user agent pointing to the mbasic version of the site.

View attachment 1754463


68k - Wonderful text only news aggregator from Action Retro.

View attachment 1754464


Flickriver - An alternative window into Flickr - same content but with no overheads.

View attachment 1754465


Google - Compact little search window again using a Nokia user agent.

View attachment 1754467


pCloud - Portal to my personal cloud storage.

View attachment 1754468


MacRumors - Needs no introduction

View attachment 1754469


I think it's incredible that in 2021, using an 18 year iBook I can browse Flickr, keep an eye on Facebook and listen to SomaFM web radio with CPU cycles to spare!

View attachment 1754470

View attachment 1754471

Great work.
Any chance to explain how to choose user agent in tenfourfox box ?
I don’t see that option

 

[skinniezinho]

I was using a FoxBox to listen to SomaFM on my G4 iMac. Then I got the bright idea to try Linux on that machine... and after much hoop jumping and CCC work, finally turned it back into a Mac running 10.5... and am now running SomaFM and Youtube streams(!) on my C2D Mac Mini.

Maybe dumb question, but why not using iTunes for somafm and other internet radios?

 

[eyoungren]

Maybe dumb question, but why not using iTunes for somafm and other internet radios?

Yeah, all you have to do is drop the downloaded PLS file that SOMA FM provides in to iTunes.

 

[eyoungren]

Great work.
Any chance to explain how to choose user agent in tenfourfox box ?
I don’t see that option

I believe Foxboxes have prefs files inside the app itself (riglt click on app, Show Package Contents). You'd add the Firefox/Mozilla pref for useragent with the UA string you want to use. Going from memory as it's been a while.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Any chance to explain how to choose user agent in tenfourfox box ?
I don’t see that option

After creating your FoxBox, right click on it to Show Package Contents, then navigate to prefs.js as shown in the screenshot.

In the prefs file add a user agent string like below:

pref("general.useragent.override", "NokiaN90-1/3.0545.5.1 Series60/2.8 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1");

You can also add any optimisations you might have from your normal TFF prefs file too.

 

[Zaren]

Maybe dumb question, but why not using iTunes for somafm and other internet radios?

After making that post, I ended up doing just that. I didn't expect that iTunes was still working in that way, and was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise.

Now, I have an old Windows box fulfilling my audio needs, and can listen to Sirius, Youtube, Pandora, and anything else I find.