Who uses their PPC mac as their main machine?

[SuperJudge]

Google is not a source of data. The fact remains that out of the hundreds of thousands sold, only a small percent failed. Easy access to the internet increases the number of people to see whiners cry.

Are you kidding me? Some models of PowerMac G5 had failure rates as high as 32%. The high-end liquid cooled models were especially dicey. [source]

But please, do tell us of your data that show otherwise. I would remind you that anecdote is not the singular of data.

 

[Tyroler]

Think it all has a lot to do with often change of Temperature between Hot and Cold,which makes Rubber hard and also harms newer Lead-less Solder. Lead were keeping the Solder flexible.
Not sure if it would help to let them newer on all Time

 

[Litany]

Are you kidding me? Some models of PowerMac G5 had failure rates as high as 32%.

Sorry, no. That "32%" figure is just based on the reports they received. People are far more likely to report a problem than to report an all-clear.

 

[Power Macintosh]

All my family has are PowerPC Macs.

Me. Browsing and general stuff: 1 GHZ 17" PowerBook G4, 2GB ram.
Design/work: 1.67 Ghz 17" PowerBook G4 DLSD/HD, 2GB ram.

My wife, 12" 1 Ghz PowerBook G4 1.25GB ram.

My son, 15" 1Ghz PowerBook G4 (Titanium) DVI, 1GB ram

My daughter, iBook G3, Dual USB.

My work Mac is a PowerMac G5, 1.8Ghz, 4GB ram.

Why not buy the new Intel i7/i5 ones?

 

[SuperJudge]

Sorry, no. That "32%" figure is just based on the reports they received. People are far more likely to report a problem than to report an all-clear.

Did you bother to read their survey methodology? Compare it to any of their other surveys? I can't make you change your mind, but you do realize that there is a reason that PowerMac G5s have such a bad reputation, right?

 

[zoomy942]

Morning!

I have a few PPC's. At my wife's preschool, her main teacher computer is an iMac g4 20". Looks really cool and those speakers are great. It has 2GB ram and a 1.25 G4.

On top of the fridge, in a viewable area is a 2ghz iMac G5 that is set to reduced CPU and displays pictures from the school for the parents to see. I has 1GB ram.

I also have an iBook G4 1.33 we use at home sometimes. All are connected to the USB hard drive on the G5 and wirelessly backed up automatically.

 

[SkyBell]

Sorry, no. That "32%" figure is just based on the reports they received. People are far more likely to report a problem than to report an all-clear.

Sure, but when a sizable amount of people report having the exact same problem, you can't possibly say that's just coincidence. Whatever the exact failure rates are may never be known, but what can be conclusively said is that there is an issue, however big or small.

 

[coldmack]

Why not buy the new Intel i7/i5 ones?

Maybe because he wants a Mac, and not a PC with an Apple logo on it?

 

[SkyBell]

Maybe because he wants a Mac, and not a PC with an Apple logo on it?

QFT. Call it being snobbish or whatever you want, but "Macs" these days use mundane PC parts thrown in a pretty case and attached to a massive price tag.

 

[toothpaste]

Powermac g5 2.5 dual liquid cooled being used for digitizing music, cataloguing the music, pictures for ebay auctions.

itunes library being shared on the local network, and a RF umts project using google earth as the show piece of the final output. I'm looking at other map applications to see if I can find something more powerful with more capabilities as well.

Music and movie backup as well.

 

[NameTheUser]

I'm currently using my PowerMac G5 as my main computer. I also have an Intel MacBook, but PowerMac is so much faster that it can't be even compared to it. I also had an eMac a few years ago. It makes me really angry that Apple doesn't support PPC's anymore.

 

[coldmack]

QFT. Call it being snobbish or whatever you want, but "Macs" these days use mundane PC parts thrown in a pretty case and attached to a massive price tag.

Yes, most other people on this site don't get it. Their not real Mac Heads like us here who exclusively use PPC Macs, not PCs with Apple logos on them.

 

[Nameci]

Remember "Think Different"?

 

[SkyBell]

Remember "Think Different"?

As has been stated before, it does seem to me that Apple is on the other side of their "1984" commercial these days.

 

[vohdoun]

Speaking of liquid cooling... got to admire this DIY job. Looks very professional with a top up bleeding area. The T piece. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3842869?start=0&tstart=0
Thicker/wider tubes for more water to travel equals better cooling.

I'm going to have to strip mine down soon. I've just noticed crystallization shining a torch through the grills behind the view of the power button.

 

[coldmack]

As has been stated before, it does seem to me that Apple is on the other side of their "1984" commercial these days.

Sad but true. The closest thing that we now get to a real mac is the iPad, but even then that lacks the features I prefer to have, like a built in keyboard(or keyboard dock a-la Asus Transformer), and a sweet touchpad like the newer standalone trackpad.

 

[Nameci]

As has been stated before, it does seem to me that Apple is on the other side of their "1984" commercial these days.

As it seems. I have two intel macs myself. An '08 MB and an '09 Mini. But they don't get the attention that I give for my PPC macs. They were there just for necessity.

The MB, my job requires me to work on a custom program that is made only for windows, I love OSX. I take the MB on my field work and run XP and Win 7 on parallels. If not for work I would always bring my Powerbook.

The mini, well just for the sake of having it. If mountain lion will be released this summer, I will just be using it for the test drive out of curiousity.

 

[eyoungren]

Why not buy the new Intel i7/i5 ones?

Uhm, well…because I'm poor. And the only one working to support a family of four…with a 10% pay cut and a forced furlough day (making my week 32 hours) since 2009.

My boss…not buying. Took him 6 months to pay me back his portion of my deductible for when my daughter was born. That was in 2008 and it was only $800. Things are worse now. 2005/2006 was the last year of major buying of any computers for this business.

Perhaps next year with our refund check I can find an old MBP on eBay I can afford.

----------

Maybe because he wants a Mac, and not a PC with an Apple logo on it?

There's that too. Not a big fan of the chiclet keys of the new MBPs. I'll probably try to get one of the older MBPs that were similar in design to my Powerbook G4s. I like the look much better.

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Yes, most other people on this site don't get it. Their not real Mac Heads like us here who exclusively use PPC Macs, not PCs with Apple logos on them.

Yes.

For what I do, I NEED an Intel Mac. Both at work and for freelance work. What I WANT is the PowerPC Mac.

 

[Power Macintosh]

Maybe because he wants a Mac, and not a PC with an Apple logo on it?

The MacBooks and the iMac and the Mac Pro are more than just a PC with an Apple logo on it. You sound just like a Mac hater.

Multi-touch gestures. I haven't heard of a PPC with those. It's a wonderful experience.

Backlit Keyboard (MacBook Air and Pro only). Helps you see in the dark. Very helpful in my case.

Fast. Obviously, the newer Macs are faster than PPC ones.

Compatibility. You can put Windows on it.

Applications. Barely anyone develops for PPC these days.

OS X Snow Leopard/Lion/Mountain Lion. See the features you've been missing.

It's a wonderful Intel world.

 

[tayloralmond]

Backlit Keyboard (MacBook Air and Pro only).

Wrong. The PowerBook G4's had backlit keys years before the MacBook Pro's existed. Other than this, I agree with your post entirely.

 

[eyoungren]

Multi-touch gestures. I haven't heard of a PPC with those. It's a wonderful experience.

Powerbooks have that already. I can click, double-click, scroll and drag just using the trackpad (without the button). iScroll2 makes that possible on my 1Ghz Mac and there is another app that makes it possible on the Titanium Macs. If I want more when I am browsing the internet I can use Opera.

I don't need iScroll 2 on my 1.67Ghz PowerBook. It's there natively.

Backlit Keyboard (MacBook Air and Pro only). Helps you see in the dark. Very helpful in my case.

The first aluminum 17" PowerBook had this. Later 15" and 17" models all had it. Where do you think the MacBook got this feature from?

In fact, if you look at the first Intel MBPs the only difference outwardly that you can see between them and the PowerBooks is the iSight in the display.

Fast. Obviously, the newer Macs are faster than PPC ones.

I won't deny that. But that doesn't make the PowerBook slow or irrelevant.

Compatibility. You can put Windows on it.

Ever hear of Connectix/Microsoft Virtual PC? I have Virtual PC7 on both of my Macs. I can run Windows XP just fine. Then there's the Q emulator which is freeware.

Applications. Barely anyone develops for PPC these days.

Maybe so. But there is a wealth of apps that still run on Leopard and there are still a handful of people out there developing.

OS X Snow Leopard/Lion/Mountain Lion. See the features you've been missing.

I have an iPhone already, thanks!

It's a wonderful Intel world.

That should be Wintel.

 

[Starfighter]

Applications. Barely anyone develops for PPC these days.

I thought about this earlier today! And yesterday and the day before that and...

I actually were quite troubled over so many apps being intel only but then I realized I didn't really need them. Sometimes it feels like some people forgets that the old apps still work. It's like when gamers cry out over the development in consoles and "what should we play if ubisoft makes everything unplayable?" - maybe... I don't know... play the games that are already out? We don't have to rely on the next thing in the horizon all the time, there's plenty of working solutions. This only applies as long as we don't buy new hardware only compatible with new apps of course, but still.

 

[coldmack]

The MacBooks and the iMac and the Mac Pro are more than just a PC with an Apple logo on it. You sound just like a Mac hater.

Multi-touch gestures. I haven't heard of a PPC with those. It's a wonderful experience.

Backlit Keyboard (MacBook Air and Pro only). Helps you see in the dark. Very helpful in my case.

Fast. Obviously, the newer Macs are faster than PPC ones.

Compatibility. You can put Windows on it.

Applications. Barely anyone develops for PPC these days.

OS X Snow Leopard/Lion/Mountain Lion. See the features you've been missing.

It's a wonderful Intel world.

If anything a Mac hater is a person who hates on Apple Mac(Intel, and PPC). I on the other hand have a dislike for x86 PCs, and as previously stated Intel Macs are just glorified PC with an Apple logo on it. I'm glad I can't put that abomination of an OS on my PPC machines(at least not natively).

As for the newer OSX and software that PPC doesn't support I am fine with the current range of software options I have and have no need for more. Plus if I wanted to, I could run one of those modified SL or Lion builds for PPC. As for performance I am very content with how my PPC Macs performs. As that old adage says, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Plus, I have an iPad, for some of those new features. That and my Symbian Nokia phone + iPhone 3GS(waiting for 5) have me covered.

 

[Nameci]

Is it just me? I do like the gestures on the magic mouse and trackpad for the new OSX, but I just love the more direct interaction from the mouse and keyboard. Newer versions of OSX is more of eye candy to me.

Old apps still work and they work well and more than enough than I need for the most part.

I really don't have that love for the intel machines. They are so mainstream.

 

[jbarley]

Is it just me? I do like the gestures on the magic mouse and trackpad for the new OSX, but I just love the more direct interaction from the mouse and keyboard. Newer versions of OSX is more of eye candy to me.

I tend to agree, I've even gone as far as to go back to the original 1 button mouse and keyboard the came with my G4 powermac.
Between this mouse and the keyboard I can do everything I want and experience the real Apple feeling.