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Where to buy? : Old iBook G3 Clamshell

A

~*allison*~

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 17, 2008
121
0
Somewhere You've Never Heard Of, NJ
I wanted to buy one of those iBook G3 Clamshell's for my 3 year old. You know, the one's that came in the colors like blueberry and tangerine. I've been having a hard time locating one. I've looked on eBay and have really only been able to find the torn up "sold as is" or "just for parts" notebooks. I'd prefer to find one in half decent condition preferably wireless ready. (Although, I'm new to the whole Mac world, and am not really sure if it the wireless works like a PC, just turn it on and go with the wireless router I already have set up or if I have to get something else as well). Anyway, I didn't know if there was a website or something that sold older Mac notebooks. She's really pretty advanced for her age when it comes to computers and such, and I'd love to be able to claim mine back. If not the G3 clamshell, then maybe someone can suggest where I might be able to find something somewhat comparable that's not to expensive? I thank you all in advance for whatever help or insight you may be able to offer! :D
 
~*allison*~ said:
I wanted to buy one of those iBook G3 Clamshell's for my 3 year old. You know, the one's that came in the colors like blueberry and tangerine. I've been having a hard time locating one. I've looked on eBay and have really only been able to find the torn up "sold as is" or "just for parts" notebooks. I'd prefer to find one in half decent condition preferably wireless ready. (Although, I'm new to the whole Mac world, and am not really sure if it the wireless works like a PC, just turn it on and go with the wireless router I already have set up or if I have to get something else as well). Anyway, I didn't know if there was a website or something that sold older Mac notebooks. She's really pretty advanced for her age when it comes to computers and such, and I'd love to be able to claim mine back. If not the G3 clamshell, then maybe someone can suggest where I might be able to find something somewhat comparable that's not to expensive? I thank you all in advance for whatever help or insight you may be able to offer! :D
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Other than the color, why would you get this computer for your 3 year old? My mom has one and it's barely useable for anything new. It has Microsoft Office and that works, but it's OS9, and to upgrade to 10.3 (which is as high as you can go I believe) will require a bunch of memory and a hard drive upgrade. If you stay with OS 9 then you're stuck with a really old version of internet explorer (although you may be able to purchase something like Opera). And the browser can barely keep up with most sites today and often can't do it at all because the plugins aren't available. If you're going to set it up for educational games, good luck finding recent software that works.

Overall, I would instead look for something like a used/refurb G4 macbook. It doesn't have the pretty colors, but for a few hundred $$ you'll have something that works with today's technology.
 
Le Big Mac said:
Other than the color, why would you get this computer for your 3 year old? My mom has one and it's barely useable for anything new. It has Microsoft Office and that works, but it's OS9, and to upgrade to 10.3 (which is as high as you can go I believe) will require a bunch of memory and a hard drive upgrade. If you stay with OS 9 then you're stuck with a really old version of internet explorer (although you may be able to purchase something like Opera). And the browser can barely keep up with most sites today and often can't do it at all because the plugins aren't available. If you're going to set it up for educational games, good luck finding recent software that works.

Overall, I would instead look for something like a used/refurb G4 macbook. It doesn't have the pretty colors, but for a few hundred $$ you'll have something that works with today's technology.
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The colors aren't really the selling point. Like I said, I'm new to the Mac world, and I was looking for suggestions. I was looking for something cheap (she's a little tough on her stuff), that works. She likes playing games and surfing the web. If there's something that would suit my purposes a little better, then please, tell me before I buy something that won't work. I welcome all information that may help me in my decision, and I will explore all avenues. And as always, I appreciate all input on the subject matter at hand. Thanks! :D
 
I've been doing some looking and the cheapest I was able to find a G4 is around $400 which is a little more than I was looking to spend. Keep in mind, it is for a 3 year old, computer whiz maybe, but still a little rough on her belongings. :p I appreciate all the help. Keep thos replies flying in. I'm exploring everything everyone's got to offer! :)

EDIT: Think I'd be able to get a better equipped Mac desktop cheaper? Any suggestions?
 
Alison, I would consider a G4 iBook which is going to be more powerful and also more durable due to its polycarbonate shell.

David

EDIT: That being said, I do think a clamshell would be suitable for a 4 year old. Not very likely to be doing intense web browsing so the flash performance might not be that relevant.

If you can get one cheap then memory is cheap to come by which will allow you to run OS X 10.3 Panther no problem. I'd say you could come across this for considerably less than $400. You will also find G4 iBooks cheaper than that, you just need to look around. eBay prices tend not to be representative of the value of these systems so I wouldn't go solely on that.

Keep an eye on Craigslist etc to see if there is any deals. Just be careful with who you deal with and take precautions when meeting anyone. You might also want to check your local schools/community centres to see if they are clearing out old systems which you could buy cheap.
 
~*allison*~ said:
The colors aren't really the selling point. Like I said, I'm new to the Mac world, and I was looking for suggestions. I was looking for something cheap (she's a little tough on her stuff), that works. She likes playing games and surfing the web. If there's something that would suit my purposes a little better, then please, tell me before I buy something that won't work. I welcome all information that may help me in my decision, and I will explore all avenues. And as always, I appreciate all input on the subject matter at hand. Thanks! :D
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Holy hannah, she surf's the web?? at three?? wow

I'd have to agree with David, go with the G4
 
I have a Grey Clamshell!

Allison, I have a great Grey Clamshell. If you are interested lets work out a deal - it is great for running Mac OS 9. And all for less than $400, way less! Contact me via the links.
 
Le Big Mac said:
I think a lot of kids website use tons of flash--kids kind of don't need much text. The sites tend to be graphics rich.

Let me throw out a used emac. They're G4, certainly durable, and can be had for under $300.

Here's one site selling them for that (and more)

http://dealmac.com/categories/Computer/Apple-Computers/e-Mac/285.html
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Thanks! They do have a lot there. I think these are the ones I remember having in highschool for yearbook editing. LoL. And the huge G4 towers when we were video editing for the school news program. Fun times. These look like they'd be a little more adequete. I guess a G4 would certainly be better suited, but we'll see what we can come up with. Thanks for all the input! If anyone has anything else to add please feel free to do so, as I am still in the research phase!
 
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