The PowerPc now entering the hobbiest era?

[justperry]

I'm not sure if you're asking for help, but for all of the distros I looked at you're supposed to boot it from Open FirmWare (Apple-Option-O-F).

Not really(Asking for help), I am quite sure you can start them from the start up screen(Option button upon start), why should I start from Open Firmware?
Well, maybe you are right, to set certain parameters before booting into Linux.

I think the psychedelic colors has to do with having the wrong bit depth set for the colors? Anywyas the biggest problem I have been finding is hardware graphics acceleration.

I guess it has to do something with the graphic drivers, probably I need to configure a certain file before I burn them to disk.
On the other hand, I thought those CD/DVD should run out of the box.
If I had a fast and non capped internet I would probably download a few again but I have only 2 GB a month.(Far east Dev. country).

 

[adcx64]

I'm going to continue using my MDD as my main computer. It does everything I need it to do. However I will be making the switch to an Intell (pun) Mac sooner or later, as I'm finding myself cramped software wise.

Call me a hobbiest or a Mac user, I love my PowerPC

 

[MajorOwned]

PPC fan as the frugal choice here:

I would of jumped to an intel mac years ago if I hadn't been offered a PPC Power Mac G5 (with 20 inch monitor) for £100 three years ago - I had a iSight iMac G5 and that was definitely struggling!

I do about 5% of my non-working life's computing away from iOS - so the G5 does everything I need still (which isn't very much) and there's something quite satisfying about getting such a good life span out of a quality (cheap) product - and spending the money on an iPad and a 4S instead!

 

[Starfighter]

I use my Mac for browsing (Camino), listening to mp3 files (every version of PPC iTunes does the job), schoolwork (TextWrangler, Bean, Photoshop) and socializing (Adium). This means my Mac experience is not affected at all by iTunes 11 being intel only.

Gaming, frequent podcast editing and the occasional file conversion is done with my PC - which I also will use to sync for example a future iDevice that runs iOS 6.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

I use my Mac for browsing (Camino), listening to mp3 files (every version of PPC iTunes does the job), schoolwork (TextWrangler, Bean, Photoshop) and socializing (Adium). This means my Mac experience is not affected at all by iTunes 11 being intel only.

Gaming, frequent podcast editing and the occasional file conversion is done with my PC - which I also will use to sync for example a future iDevice that runs iOS 6.

Pretty similar story with me, though when I have a lot of video heavy lifting to do I just send it over Ethernet to my little Macbook and let it do its' thing.

 

[orestes1984]

My G5 Xserve does an excellent job of serving HD content to my network and can be remotely administrated and woken up without any of the bonjour crap. It's still ridiculously faster than what anyone needs for a home media/time machine server and does a better job than any NAS box as a seed box running transmission as well. So long as its tucked in nicely behind a VPN and doesn't exist to the outside world there isn't a single issue with it running 24/7.

There's pretty much nothing hobiest about it.

 

[Tyroler]

I know that i can't download Flash 10.2 but i didn't notice that iTune is gone.
I still run it on my G4

 

[Jessica Lares]

The iMac G4 has become my brother's main computer, replacing the aging PC notebooks we have around here. I showed him Pages '06 which he was able to write a paper on easily. I will try upgrading it to a newer version when I get time.

He's been using it for a flash based educational game program too. No problems so far, but then again, those things are always targeted towards cheaper machines. Just need to grab some other apps, and we're pretty much good to go as making this machine work another four years.

And still trying to decide whether upgrading the RAM to install Leopard and have it run more smoother is worth it. But honestly, the kid is only 10, and has an iPod Touch for everything else, which is not much, considering that, again, he's only 10.

And he must like it, considering he's been coming home every day and using it for three hours or more with no breaks.

 

[rjcalifornia]

I'm gonna share my story on this...

My dad is a long time Windows User. He is 64. I had an iMac G4 on my bedroom, but I did not use it much since I had my ibook G3 (now G4) Anyways he uses it now, and it took him only 3 hours to get the hang of it and likes it better because the excel sheets do not change position unlike the windows version. So no hobby there.

I use my ibook G4 for some heavy picture editing. See here: http://www.flickr.com/rodol for web browsing, and....

For my job!! I do my work from here, web templates, themes, plugins, etc. If you google my name you'll see I'm for real. The iBook G4 is my work machine, not a hobby

I hate iTunes. I use 'Vox' because its interface reminds me of WinAmp and I love WinAmp.

I am using fluid for facebook and it FLIES!!!! What does that mean? It means the ibook G4 it is still good, the problem is the lack of development.

Many people mark Microsoft as the evil guys, but look guys we are in 2012 and my windows xp machine (I have for visual studio purposes) is still downloading security updates, bugs, and I still can use official microsoft applications, unlike apple.

It is sad that an old Pentium 3 machine still gets the newest flash player, and can use any software made in the world, and my iBook G4 can't run most of those 'cause of lack of support, not because it is slow. Sad...

 

[skateny]

It means the ibook G4 it is still good, the problem is the lack of development.

Many people mark Microsoft as the evil guys, but look guys we are in 2012 and my windows xp machine (I have for visual studio purposes) is still downloading security updates, bugs, and I still can use official microsoft applications, unlike apple.

It is sad that an old Pentium 3 machine still gets the newest flash player, and can use any software made in the world, and my iBook G4 can't run most of those 'cause of lack of support, not because it is slow. Sad...

You raise a very good and salient point.

Very often in online reviews of Apple and Apple products, writers tell us how Apple has a "large and loyal following," or some such nonsense. Samsung's TV ads showing long lines of people waiting in line to get the new iPhone parodies this very well.

I'm not a "loyal follower." I've liked what Apple has to offer since my first purchase, a PowerBook 520c. And that came only after I reluctantly abandoned my Commodore Amiga 1000, having seen the handwriting on Commodore's crumbling wall.

I admired Steve Jobs and much of what he accomplished. (How can you not?) But my loyalty isn't to any particular brand, product or individual; loyalty is for people, not for things. I have truly enjoyed and continue to enjoy what I have done and can do with my Macs, and I love seeing what other people are up to with their PowerPCs in this forum.

I'm sure most people here would agree with your sentiment regarding lack of development. If Apple users have been loyal to their brand, many of us likely feel that this has not been sufficiently reciprocated.

 

[wobegong]

You raise a very good and salient point.

Very often in online reviews of Apple and Apple products, writers tell us how Apple has a "large and loyal following," or some such nonsense. Samsung's TV ads showing long lines of people waiting in line to get the new iPhone parodies this very well.

I'm not a "loyal follower." I've liked what Apple has to offer since my first purchase, a PowerBook 520c. And that came only after I reluctantly abandoned my Commodore Amiga 1000, having seen the handwriting on Commodore's crumbling wall.

I admired Steve Jobs and much of what he accomplished. (How can you not?) But my loyalty isn't to any particular brand, product or individual; loyalty is for people, not for things. I have truly enjoyed and continue to enjoy what I have done and can do with my Macs, and I love seeing what other people are up to with their PowerPCs in this forum.

I'm sure most people here would agree with your sentiment regarding lack of development. If Apple users have been loyal to their brand, many of us likely feel that this has not been sufficiently reciprocated.

Fully agree with this sentiment, I'm not a 'fanboy' I like Apple because it provides a computing platform that is reliable and intuitive so helps me get the job done. I just ditched my iPhone4 which is my second generation iPhone after my 3G after realising that the iPhone5 is just a "4SS" a slightly taller screen is a turn off for me and I don't see the need yet for a faster CPU when the 4 works fine without any lag. Now use a Nokia N9 and love it, don't miss the iPhone at all.

To be honest how much of this decision is to do with Apple abandoning the PPC so abruptly I'm not sure, get angry at people saying "it's a 5 year old machine..." - Just look at Microsoft, they still support ancient machines MUCH older - I understand Apple's decision to switch to Intel but they should have accepted that they would be required to support PPC for a little longer than they have, some of these (PM's) were SERIOUSLY expensive machines. I don't trust Apple any more, they seem blatantly greedy nowadays and have absolutely nothing in common with their previous perceived ethos. To me a fanboy is a blind, hypnotised lemming heading for the cliff - funnily enough they are exactly like the the characters in the famous 1984 Apple commercial.

I will continue using Apple hardware for computing, I love my MBP and I love my iPad - I also love my PM and I think Leopard is still better than Linux today, but I'm keeping a close watch in MintPPC etc. hopefully by the time Leopard is impractical Linux will be at a point where it can take over because I do believe these machines have plenty of power left in them to continue giving good service, so long as they are given the opportunity (software) to do so..

 

[Starfighter]

I like Apple purely for the sake of being an alternative to Windows/Microsoft. It also makes me feel somewhat nostalgic since I worked with Macs in school when I was a kid but that is just a feeling. I truly hate many of the decisions and policys that Apple enforce and I have at no point defended them in any discussion. I do however support alternatives and free choice and therefore Apple is important for me none the less.

 

[FrozenMacUser]

I know this is an old thread but I am new and wanted to add my two cents.


Anyway, I am not sure if we are into hobbyist territory. Me still using 35mm film SLRs from the 60s and 70s is hobbyist territory. This may come across kind of rambling and unfocused but I will try and make this as coherent as possible.

For me the Power Mac G5 I just acquired is a beast of a machine and is more then useful for my purposes and will be for sometime. Apple's lack of support really is a non issue for me. Furthermore with the cost of Apple hardware PPC is the best option. Where I live even on the second hand market intel hardware commands ridiculously high prices (very near full retail) and Apple is leaving early Intels in the dust anyway so I would be using a computer with no real support either way. And with a dual boot with OSX and Linux or BSD which I have experience with I will be set for sometime yet to come.

But even if we do enter the Hobbyist territory is it really that bad? If we want to keep our good machines running for years to come perhaps we don't have it so bad. Look at Amiga and the MorphOS group. Their company did not just stop support but went down in flames in the mid 90s and a dedicated group of users have kept their platform alive on "old" Apple ppc G4 hardware if you please. I think since computers went mainstream users have been giving more and more control over to the companies that make the hardware and software and feel trapped into the brilliant marketing ploy of planned obsolescence. As a side note I seem to remember part of Apple's deal with Intel being to kill support for PPC as a condition of the agreement since Intel is a direct competitor of IBM and Intel was able to make PPC support a conflict of interest issue. Not sure how accurate that is. I guess where I am going with this is the computers will continue to be useful for as long as they keep working and still fill a need in our lives and we need to remember we have a lot more say in how useful our computers are then Apple's Marketing department.

Personally I was disappointed when Apple made the switch to intel. Windows support was a non issue since I like many Mac users chose the Mac specifically because we did not want to use Windows on the software front. Plus with PowerPC the Mac truly was different and the switch was like Ferrari announcing the are now getting their engines from Ford consumer division. The Mac became just one more PC OEM. I can't see Apple making claims like they did with the PM G5 that I am typing this on about it being the fastest desktop in the world. How can they when the use the exact same hardware as everyone else? But I think apple has also gone from being a high end computer company to an electronic media appliance company. The ipad is not a computer it is an appliance at best and at worst a tech toy. And with the insane new high speed planned obsolescence I don't feel like this is the same Company that I have been happy with since my very first Apple 2 GS. I guess I took Think Different literally. lol

Rant over.

 

[chibiterasu]

I know this is an old thread but I am new and wanted to add my two cents.


Anyway, I am not sure if we are into hobbyist territory. Me still using 35mm film SLRs from the 60s and 70s is hobbyist territory. This may come across kind of rambling and unfocused but I will try and make this as coherent as possible.

For me the Power Mac G5 I just acquired is a beast of a machine and is more then useful for my purposes and will be for sometime. Apple's lack of support really is a non issue for me. Furthermore with the cost of Apple hardware PPC is the best option. Where I live even on the second hand market intel hardware commands ridiculously high prices (very near full retail) and Apple is leaving early Intels in the dust anyway so I would be using a computer with no real support either way. And with a dual boot with OSX and Linux or BSD which I have experience with I will be set for sometime yet to come.

But even if we do enter the Hobbyist territory is it really that bad? If we want to keep our good machines running for years to come perhaps we don't have it so bad. Look at Amiga and the MorphOS group. Their company did not just stop support but went down in flames in the mid 90s and a dedicated group of users have kept their platform alive on "old" Apple ppc G4 hardware if you please. I think since computers went mainstream users have been giving more and more control over to the companies that make the hardware and software and feel trapped into the brilliant marketing ploy of planned obsolescence. As a side note I seem to remember part of Apple's deal with Intel being to kill support for PPC as a condition of the agreement since Intel is a direct competitor of IBM and Intel was able to make PPC support a conflict of interest issue. Not sure how accurate that is. I guess where I am going with this is the computers will continue to be useful for as long as they keep working and still fill a need in our lives and we need to remember we have a lot more say in how useful our computers are then Apple's Marketing department.

Personally I was disappointed when Apple made the switch to intel. Windows support was a non issue since I like many Mac users chose the Mac specifically because we did not want to use Windows on the software front. Plus with PowerPC the Mac truly was different and the switch was like Ferrari announcing the are now getting their engines from Ford consumer division. The Mac became just one more PC OEM. I can't see Apple making claims like they did with the PM G5 that I am typing this on about it being the fastest desktop in the world. How can they when the use the exact same hardware as everyone else? But I think apple has also gone from being a high end computer company to an electronic media appliance company. The ipad is not a computer it is an appliance at best and at worst a tech toy. And with the insane new high speed planned obsolescence I don't feel like this is the same Company that I have been happy with since my very first Apple 2 GS. I guess I took Think Different literally. lol

Rant over.

I also agree with most of your points, I also hope that we do get a community like the Amiga that would be fantastic. The reason I asked this question is because its a bit of a yes and no answer at the moment. I know it will grow towards the yes as time moves along.

Thanks for your two cents it was a good read

 

[rjcalifornia]

I know this is an old thread but I am new and wanted to add my two cents.


Anyway, I am not sure if we are into hobbyist territory. Me still using 35mm film SLRs from the 60s and 70s is hobbyist territory. This may come across kind of rambling and unfocused but I will try and make this as coherent as possible.

For me the Power Mac G5 I just acquired is a beast of a machine and is more then useful for my purposes and will be for sometime. Apple's lack of support really is a non issue for me. Furthermore with the cost of Apple hardware PPC is the best option. Where I live even on the second hand market intel hardware commands ridiculously high prices (very near full retail) and Apple is leaving early Intels in the dust anyway so I would be using a computer with no real support either way. And with a dual boot with OSX and Linux or BSD which I have experience with I will be set for sometime yet to come.

But even if we do enter the Hobbyist territory is it really that bad? If we want to keep our good machines running for years to come perhaps we don't have it so bad. Look at Amiga and the MorphOS group. Their company did not just stop support but went down in flames in the mid 90s and a dedicated group of users have kept their platform alive on "old" Apple ppc G4 hardware if you please. I think since computers went mainstream users have been giving more and more control over to the companies that make the hardware and software and feel trapped into the brilliant marketing ploy of planned obsolescence. As a side note I seem to remember part of Apple's deal with Intel being to kill support for PPC as a condition of the agreement since Intel is a direct competitor of IBM and Intel was able to make PPC support a conflict of interest issue. Not sure how accurate that is. I guess where I am going with this is the computers will continue to be useful for as long as they keep working and still fill a need in our lives and we need to remember we have a lot more say in how useful our computers are then Apple's Marketing department.

Personally I was disappointed when Apple made the switch to intel. Windows support was a non issue since I like many Mac users chose the Mac specifically because we did not want to use Windows on the software front. Plus with PowerPC the Mac truly was different and the switch was like Ferrari announcing the are now getting their engines from Ford consumer division. The Mac became just one more PC OEM. I can't see Apple making claims like they did with the PM G5 that I am typing this on about it being the fastest desktop in the world. How can they when the use the exact same hardware as everyone else? But I think apple has also gone from being a high end computer company to an electronic media appliance company. The ipad is not a computer it is an appliance at best and at worst a tech toy. And with the insane new high speed planned obsolescence I don't feel like this is the same Company that I have been happy with since my very first Apple 2 GS. I guess I took Think Different literally. lol

Rant over.

haha I choose Power PC 'cause I believe a real mac is a mac with a ppc processor. The intel switch was lame, I mean there are faster and prettier laptops from Dell at a lower price. I can't remember the name, but there's a luxury line at Dell.

I read somewhere that Apple is saying goodbye to Intel...