Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
If I wanted to use Linux I would buy a cheap used PC from 2007/2008 for use with that.

I'd definitely agree with this if you want to buy a system to use Linux on - x86 and x64 are far better supported in general, even on Debian, and to my knowledge Yellow Dog has kind of abandoned PPC Macs as well. (Please let me know if I'm wrong, though!)

If you've already got the hardware, though, I honestly can't see why you wouldn't want to at least give it a try and see how it suits your needs. I've got my iBook dualbooting Leopard and Debian and both OSes run reasonably well.
Unfortunately, graphics acceleration under PPC Debian doesn't seem to be in the best state, so I've stuck to Leopard as my primary OS for the time being. I could see myself running Debian full-time if not for this, and TenFourFox definitely keeps things from feeling unusable on the internet, at least for the near future.

As for MorphOS... well, it certainly looks intriguing, and I'd like to try it, but I can't justify plopping down about what I paid, or in some cases several times what I paid for the machines themselves for an OS that I don't even know will suit my needs. (111EUR is about $150, last I checked, and I'm pretty sure people don't even value iBooks at that anymore! And there's no way I feel comfortable spending that much on an OS for a G5 I managed to grab for a dollar...) Not to mention, the licensing scheme makes me uncomfortable...
 
I'd definitely agree with this if you want to buy a system to use Linux on - x86 and x64 are far better supported in general, even on Debian, and to my knowledge Yellow Dog has kind of abandoned PPC Macs as well. (Please let me know if I'm wrong, though!)

If you've already got the hardware, though, I honestly can't see why you wouldn't want to at least give it a try and see how it suits your needs. I've got my iBook dualbooting Leopard and Debian and both OSes run reasonably well.
Unfortunately, graphics acceleration under PPC Debian doesn't seem to be in the best state, so I've stuck to Leopard as my primary OS for the time being. I could see myself running Debian full-time if not for this, and TenFourFox definitely keeps things from feeling unusable on the internet, at least for the near future.

As for MorphOS... well, it certainly looks intriguing, and I'd like to try it, but I can't justify plopping down about what I paid, or in some cases several times what I paid for the machines themselves for an OS that I don't even know will suit my needs. (111EUR is about $150, last I checked, and I'm pretty sure people don't even value iBooks at that anymore! And there's no way I feel comfortable spending that much on an OS for a G5 I managed to grab for a dollar...) Not to mention, the licensing scheme makes me uncomfortable...

If MorphOS was a x86 OS that I could try on my Dell Latitude D630, Lenovo ThinkPad T60, or some other PCs I have from the era, then I would. But to take one of my Macs which all see daily use, is a bit of a large undertaking financially for something that I may not even like.
 
i may get one later this year. i plan on putting it on a display table and not using it at all.
 
I'd run an older flavor of Linux and use it strictly as a UNIX terminal to manage my servers.
 
Wow £10 for an eMac is AMAZINGly cheap! The Tiger disks are worth a lot!!

Oh nvm someone bumped this ancient thread
 
lol

----------



Really? I might sell some then... make some casshhh



Hmmm... I don't know if i wanna spend money on airport cards.
Besides, they would be rare to buy in the UK im guessing...
You cant even buy a iBook G4 logic board here... so yeah.

You would have to sell locally to make any profit---unless someone is willing to pay the shipping costs (and I know that locally, people aren't wanting those eMacs at your school).

Tiger is old, but genuine OSX discs go for a good amount of money; check sold listings for Tiger discs, and it could be in your interest to sell 'em. This is all assuming that they are not those restore DVDs that come with the computer new (those gray ones).
 
i agree with 53kyle, I use mine to play music, but since my model is only a 700MHz, there isnt much i can do with it. I wish i could run os 9 through classic, but every install disk i try that i download doesnt work. I got mine for free from my school, so I didnt have any disks.
 
i agree with 53kyle, I use mine to play music, but since my model is only a 700MHz, there isnt much i can do with it. I wish i could run os 9 through classic, but every install disk i try that i download doesnt work. I got mine for free from my school, so I didnt have any disks.
macintoshgarden.org might have an eMac specific OS 9 disc available for download.
 
Most of mine are running Leopard although they do run better on Tiger. The coupon printing software requires Leopard now.

I have the original base model, so technically I can't get Leopard, and I don't think I would want to anyway with having 700-something MHz. It serves it's purpose as a jukebox and OS 9 computer fine
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.