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The PowerPC thread about nothing

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Original poster
Apr 19, 2014
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For stuff that doesn't really merit its own thread, but you want to talk about in the PPC forum anyway (or to avoid derailing other threads). Let's try to keep it at least vaguely PowerPC/old computer related to keep the mods happy, but I'm sure tangents are fine.

Anyone else have a faster computer that they don't use often because they just don't like it as much as older ones? My X201 has been sitting unused for months since I got my T42. I've switched to the T42 as my main machine and have used that and my PowerBook to do everything. I like them both much better. I'll probably replace them with identical models when they die and do the same thing.
 
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Thank you, I've grown tired of seeing nearly every thread in this forum get derailed.

556fmjoe said:
Anyone else have a faster computer that they don't use often because they just don't like it as much as older ones?
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I like to use my PPC Macs once in a while, but unfortunately they just can't replace a modern Mac with an SSD and Retina display. Tiger and Leopard do look very nice though, and are definitely different from Yosemite :)
 
I do prefer to use my eMac (when it's working properly, it isn't at the moment) above all my other machines; I've got a pretty decent HP EliteBook that gets passed over in favor of it often. :)
 
I would love to get tiger running on my MBP 17 (2009), Win XP is no problem but an old Apple os? go figure. Thankfully i have my G4 CUBE to keep me happy.
 
I got a T42 over ten years ago as my first decent machine at work. Nowadays we're still unearthing them from the back of cupboards when people move offices. As long as the GPU lasts you're golden. First laptop with Radeongate, about 10% of ours suffered it after a few years.

I'd rather use the X201 if I'm honest.

Reminds me, I was going to stick Windows 8 on the next T42 we unearth for a laugh... ;)
 
I think I will go back to Tiger on my PowerBook G4 and use that more. I currently have my mid-2012 MacBook Pro dedicated to Windows at the moment.
 
MagicBoy said:
I got a T42 over ten years ago as my first decent machine at work. Nowadays we're still unearthing them from the back of cupboards when people move offices. As long as the GPU lasts you're golden. First laptop with Radeongate, about 10% of ours suffered it after a few years.

I'd rather use the X201 if I'm honest.

Reminds me, I was going to stick Windows 8 on the next T42 we unearth for a laugh... ;)
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Yeah I'm definitely keeping an eye on the GPU, but considering it's 11 years old, I think it would have failed already if it was a bad one. I'm careful with how I carry it so as not to bend the chassis though. It's held up to daily driver use quite well so far.

The X201 isn't bad, but it isn't as good as it should be. That's what really annoys me. The quality dropoff from my T42 and T60 to the X201 is pretty noticeable, even if it still is an above average laptop. I like the PowerBook better than it as well.
 
Dronecatcher said:
I put Windows 8 on a standby (ie stored away and not used) PC that has a 3 Ghz Celeron - it's quite snappy, doesn't feel any slower than XP...or maybe I just haven't used it properly :)
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I've done it on a T43, ran OK apart from the graphics. The X300 ran Windows 7 Aero alright-ish but no proper driver support under 8.x
 
556fmjoe said:
Yeah I'm definitely keeping an eye on the GPU, but considering it's 11 years old, I think it would have failed already if it was a bad one. I'm careful with how I carry it so as not to bend the chassis though. It's held up to daily driver use quite well so far.

The X201 isn't bad, but it isn't as good as it should be. That's what really annoys me. The quality dropoff from my T42 and T60 to the X201 is pretty noticeable, even if it still is an above average laptop. I like the PowerBook better than it as well.
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LOL, you'd hate the newer stuff then. I really rate the X200/201 (same chassis). They've been one of the most abuse proof laptops we ever had along with the T4x series. Most got L-series as replacements (due to austerity cuts!) and they're not holding up well...

Most of the X200s have gone on to a second life donated to the local schools who were killing cheap netbooks by the dozen. If I were a betting man, the X200 will win in a fair fight. ;)
 
MagicBoy said:
LOL, you'd hate the newer stuff then. I really rate the X200/201 (same chassis). They've been one of the most abuse proof laptops we ever had along with the T4x series. Most got L-series as replacements (due to austerity cuts!) and they're not holding up well...

Most of the X200s have gone on to a second life donated to the local schools who were killing cheap netbooks by the dozen. If I were a betting man, the X200 will win in a fair fight. ;)
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Yeah the new ones are a tragedy. I agree about the X201's overall sturdiness; it's mainly the keyboard that feels like lower quality. I still think it's better than most laptops built today, but using it after the T42 makes it feel cheap.
 
My favorite game to play on a Power Mac is Glider Pro, well on any Mac to be honest. I used to own a eMac, but the DVD drive was practically toasted, and now I own a iBook G4. Leopard can be sluggish at times, but it could be because I use a external monitor at 1600 x 900 resolution (screen spanning hack).
 
@MagicBoy Windows 7 on a T42 in my experience is about the same as Windows XP. When XP was still on SP2, the T42s flew but after SP3 and all of the bloated updates that came out, comparing XP and 7 were about the same in terms of performance. I really wish they came out with a true Windows 7 driver for the T42s, but then again they didn't even come out with Windows 8 support for T61s to my knowledge.
 
Altemose said:
@MagicBoy Windows 7 on a T42 in my experience is about the same as Windows XP. When XP was still on SP2, the T42s flew but after SP3 and all of the bloated updates that came out, comparing XP and 7 were about the same in terms of performance. I really wish they came out with a true Windows 7 driver for the T42s, but then again they didn't even come out with Windows 8 support for T61s to my knowledge.
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I think there were one or two drivers but the underlying Lenovo utility and hardware support just isn't there, much like the X200, which I use daily. I like the X200 more than the T61 - cooler and quieter.
 
@weckart I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a good daily driver like a T420. I have a T60 and recently had a T400. I sold the T400 and made quite a profit since it was a freebie that needed all of $12.00 worth of parts. I currently also own a ThinkPad 11e Yoga Chromebook and may sell that to fund it. Do you have any recommendations on models other than a T420?
 
You can usually get away with Vista or 7 sound drivers and the like, but the utilities that are useful like Power Manager and the Hotkeys won't work on the later versions so your dependent on what support Microsoft deigned to give it out of the box. I was running it on a T43 for a while as part of the initial testing and that ran Aero very nicely if a bit noisily. My T42 had been passed on to someone else by then, do seem to recall they didn't support Aero though.

Never tried Windows 7 on a T61 if I'm honest for political reasons. Work had hundreds that were well out of warranty and needed to be replaced so we specifically didn't support it for Windows 7 to force them into replacing the T61s.

T420 is decent and the refurbs are down to sensible money now. For some inexplicable reason the T410/T420 are bigger and thicker than the T400. I used one for a couple of years but never really gelled with it like I did with some of the older machines. Swapped it for an X220 when I got the opportunity. Same core hardware, just with no optical bay and a 12.5" screen.
 
With all this talk about ThinkPads I need to represent for my Latitudes. They've just keep getting better over time and run all Intel stuff so Open Source support is always great. :)
 
I'll admit I'm a bit biased! Used to work for Big Blue, now work for a company that happens to buy ThinkPads. Used to buy the desktops as well but they lost the contract for that one.
 
lowendlinux said:
With all this talk about ThinkPads I need to represent for my Latitudes. They've just keep getting better over time and run all Intel stuff so Open Source support is always great. :)
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Do they use Intel wireless chipsets? I use ThinkPads because I run OpenBSD on all my machines and they are generally well supported, but if I ever need to replace my X201 I would consider a Latitude over the new production Lenovos.
 
556fmjoe said:
Do they use Intel wireless chipsets? I use ThinkPads because I run OpenBSD on all my machines and they are generally well supported, but if I ever need to replace my X201 I would consider a Latitude over the new production Lenovos.
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Yes both NICs
 
p70.JPG
Altemose said:
@weckart Do you have any recommendations on models other than a T420?
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I'm probably the worst to ask about this. The next Thinkpad I have coming my way is a T21 and this is my current IBM portable.
 
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So, I see this thread is about nothing. It should be renamed to "The PowerPC Seinfeld Thread" ( it was a show about nothing, and shame on you if you never watched it), lol. So I'll bring up a topic, who is using iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Cap-I-tan (hate the name, a lot)?
 
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