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What should I do with a Snow iMac G3?

C

coupdetat

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
451
0
I have a perfectly working Snow 600mhz/768mb/DVD with an 80gb laptop hard drive in it. It's a really cool looking machine and totally silent, but I honestly have no idea what use it could serve since I already have a Powerbook that does everything I need. Right now it's running OS9 with Clarisworks, Office '98, and some other useful apps. I also have a copy of Pagemaker, but it makes my computer unable to boot/shut down properly for some reason. Oh, the joys of OS9!

Sooo anyways I'm heading off to college in a few weeks and wanted to bring this along. I've always just used my PB 12" for all college related work, but I wanted to bring the iMac along just since it looks nice and would be cool to have around.

So, what can I possibly do with it? I was considering making it a dedicated paper-writing machine since it's silent and relatively free of distractions, but OS9 isn't stable enough for critical work and Clarisworks can't really compare to Pages in terms of versatility. iWork is marginal on my PB, so I wouldn't want to try Tiger with Pages on the iMac either.

It might be cool to use as a TV/DVD player--is there a firewire TV tuner out there?

Otherwise..er.I'm out of ideas. Dedicated Oregon Trail machine? Eh? Eh?
 
Upgrade it to OS X, install itunes and other OS X freeware programs, and use it for writing papers, listening to music, etc. There are firewire TV tuners out there, but I don't recall what models they are. Also, it isn't the best idea to mention you have a bootlegged copy of pagemaker on this forum...the forum rules forbid discussion of illegal software.
 
macEfan said:
Upgrade it to OS X, install itunes and other OS X freeware programs, and use it for writing papers, listening to music, etc. There are firewire TV tuners out there, but I don't recall what models they are. Also, it isn't the best idea to mention you have a bootlegged copy of pagemaker on this forum...the forum rules forbid discussion of illegal software.
Click to expand...

I believe you mean the Canopus tuners. They're nice, but they're damn expensive!

Don
 
macEfan said:
Upgrade it to OS X, install itunes and other OS X freeware programs, and use it for writing papers, listening to music, etc. There are firewire TV tuners out there, but I don't recall what models they are. Also, it isn't the best idea to mention you have a bootlegged copy of pagemaker on this forum...the forum rules forbid discussion of illegal software.
Click to expand...

I have a graphite with OS 10.3.9, could put Tiger on it, and it does make a handy luggable DVD player that can be plugged in anywhere.

It has Open Office and OSX freeware on it including part of the iLife suite as well.
 
I have a clamshell iBook from slightly before your iMac. I will use it for word processing and keeping track of homework and references/examples.

It's not totally a waste, but I have a couple of Macs that are much newer and more powerful and I will use those for email, internet, and graphics/games.
 
63dot said:
I have a clamshell iBook from slightly before your iMac. I will use it for word processing and keeping track of homework and references/examples.

It's not totally a waste, but I have a couple of Macs that are much newer and more powerful and I will use those for email, internet, and graphics/games.
Click to expand...

That 600MHz iMac will run circles around ANY clamshell iBook. I've got the exact same machine and Its no lie that those extra MHz are a blessing. Its much quicker running everything including internet stuff than you might expect. I actually used mine for 3 weeks as my main Mac while the MBP was in the shop. Not a speed demon, but it got the job done.
 
Hrududu said:
That 600MHz iMac will run circles around ANY clamshell iBook. I've got the exact same machine and Its no lie that those extra MHz are a blessing. Its much quicker running everything including internet stuff than you might expect. I actually used mine for 3 weeks as my main Mac while the MBP was in the shop. Not a speed demon, but it got the job done.
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Desktop spec HDD is the kicker there. Clamshells had a 4200rpm drive so the iMac would spank it in that area too.
 
Classic games, er research machine.

iTunes media server.

Web server if your into it > share files with your friends.

You could even have it as a mess-around system, learning Terminal or even just programming.

Partition the drive into manageable sectors, and load it up with stuff! Free your laptop from congestion. Give your laptop a break from hard work and boost it's usable life.
 
Upgrade it to 10.3.9 and use it as a word-processing, email and MacMAME box - that's what I do with my Graphite G3
 
It's currently running happily in Tiger with Office '04, Appleworks, iTunes, and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse :) I love it! It may become my main email/internet/IM machine, with the PB as just a study and note-taking computer.

One issue though, the screen is really dim for DVDs! It looks great with regular usage, but when playing DVDs you can hardly see anything. Seems like a software issue, anyone else experience it?
 
I think the snow and graphite G3 iMacs are the nicest. Why not put it on display? I have a design/interior interest and it would look great on a nice big sideboard. Not as sleek as a G4 iMac though.

Actually the eMac is slightly nicer than the snow iMac all round but not everyone thinks that way. ;)

There's no reason why you can't give it to someone who can use it. Even if it's just a loan.
 
I also have a Lime Green iBook Clamshell, and even though it's VERY slow (366 MHz), I use it as my kitchen computer for basic internet—that's it. Because let's face it, it's too cool to get rid of.

I love it and it looks so cool sitting on my kitchen counter/bar area—next to my gumball machine. :rolleyes:
 
This is seriously one of the coolest computers I've ever used, even though it's still pretty common. I plugged in a generic brand bluetooth dongle and OSX instantly recognized it and the bluetooth icon popped up in the menu bar. Hooked up my Apple keyboard and mouse, and everything is working perfectly!

I keep it at home, since I don't even use my Powerbook much at school anymore. I'm looking for ways to display it in my dorm or house, though. It's just too cool looking to leave hidden in a bedroom.
 
I'd take it with you to college and use it as a backup, general use machine. I'm typing this to you on my graphite iMac G3, 400mHz, 512MB of ram. My girlfriend is sitting next to my on my MBP and I've got no problem working on this. It runs 10.4.11 just fine and right now I'm running iTunes 8 with Firefox 3 without much of a problem. G3's really aren't obsolete yet, besides, they're damn cool.
 
ddeadserious said:
I'd take it with you to college and use it as a backup, general use machine. I'm typing this to you on my graphite iMac G3, 400mHz, 512MB of ram. My girlfriend is sitting next to my on my MBP and I've got no problem working on this. It runs 10.4.11 just fine and right now I'm running iTunes 8 with Firefox 3 without much of a problem. G3's really aren't obsolete yet, besides, they're damn cool.
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i still use my graphite alot, and the inbuilt speakers are still amazing:cool:.
 
coupdetat said:
I was considering making it a dedicated paper-writing machine since it's silent and relatively free of distractions, but OS9 isn't stable enough for critical work
Click to expand...

OS 9 was used by millions of people for critical work before X was released. Yeah, it's not nearly as stable as OS X and a single app can bring down the whole box (although I've had this happen with OS X too), but it's not as bad as people think. That's a great iMac you have there. There's plenty you can do with it - even under 9.x.
 
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