Late G5 Quad running 8GB RAM & 1TB of HD used only for music production with Logic Pro 8 & 9. Very stable, excellent results and and software which i know very well. Previously tried Cakewalk Sonar, cubase and Pro Tools with PC's but just couldn't get on with them.
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Why do people still use PowerPC Macs?
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I know a writer who still uses a Macintosh IIcx with Microsoft Word 5.1 as her primary work machine.
She uses her phone for internet(email/social media/etc.) She had a more modern computer for internet use, but when smartphones became good enough, she just ditched the computer. Now it's her trusty IIcx. Dial-up internet for it for the sole purpose of emailing manuscripts to her editor.
She uses her phone for internet(email/social media/etc.) She had a more modern computer for internet use, but when smartphones became good enough, she just ditched the computer. Now it's her trusty IIcx. Dial-up internet for it for the sole purpose of emailing manuscripts to her editor.
The most-loved thing about a PowerPC Mac isn't its processor but the computer architecture. Some of the greatest and most iconic Macs out there were/are PowerPC Macs. Therefore, there is a strong fan base and hold on these machines to make them still useable today in most cases.
It's not necessarily nostalgia for me personally, but they are cheap and I find it fun using an old computer, but one that can still actually do things today. I'd be just fine if, for example, my iBook G4 had an Intel processor, as I really like the form factor of the computer itself... although there IS this nice feeling one can get from knowing that PowerPC processor is inside. PowerPC processors actually used to smoke Pentiums!
Personally, I didn't even have an Intel computer until 2011 or 2012 (I think early 2012) when my dad handed down his 2009 base model MacBook Pro to me. Granted, I still find myself using PowerPC Macs a lot. In fact, since I like desktop computers better and still enjoy using PowerPC Macs, I guiltily have my MBP sitting while I type this on my PowerMac G5. (I soon will get a cable to connect it to a monitor so it feels more desktop-like). However, the one thing that gets me is sentimentality... I almost feel like I am ditching PowerPC Macs if I go to Intel. I mean, if I use my MBP as a desktop then there would be no reason to use my G5. I could still take my PowerPC laptop/s places, but the MBP can easily be detached from the monitor and serve as an on-the-go machine. I did semi-ditch PowerPC once I got the MBP, as my iMac G5 was the best PowerPC Mac I had at the time and was only good for me as a secondary computer. I don't know, I almost feel saddened by the thought of 'ditching' PowerPC Macs as secondary-to-main machines, as there is still a fight to get them to work well today, and I am pro-PowerPC Mac in that sense. I also have many more PowerPC Macs than before.
Anyway, there is something about PowerPC Macs that still attracts people, other than the fact that the mid-to-later ones looked so cool and were/are a pleasure to use. Many have still stuck to a PowerPC Mac either as a secondary computer or even as a main one; some who started buying Macs after PowerPC had been phased out end up getting drawn to them. They are just hearty, timeless machines that some describe as having a "soul". That there is deep stuff, but you know what I mean...
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Wow, I want to try that; that seems awesome! (too bad I don't have dial-up, which isn't something you usually hear people saying).
It's not necessarily nostalgia for me personally, but they are cheap and I find it fun using an old computer, but one that can still actually do things today. I'd be just fine if, for example, my iBook G4 had an Intel processor, as I really like the form factor of the computer itself... although there IS this nice feeling one can get from knowing that PowerPC processor is inside. PowerPC processors actually used to smoke Pentiums!
Personally, I didn't even have an Intel computer until 2011 or 2012 (I think early 2012) when my dad handed down his 2009 base model MacBook Pro to me. Granted, I still find myself using PowerPC Macs a lot. In fact, since I like desktop computers better and still enjoy using PowerPC Macs, I guiltily have my MBP sitting while I type this on my PowerMac G5. (I soon will get a cable to connect it to a monitor so it feels more desktop-like). However, the one thing that gets me is sentimentality... I almost feel like I am ditching PowerPC Macs if I go to Intel. I mean, if I use my MBP as a desktop then there would be no reason to use my G5. I could still take my PowerPC laptop/s places, but the MBP can easily be detached from the monitor and serve as an on-the-go machine. I did semi-ditch PowerPC once I got the MBP, as my iMac G5 was the best PowerPC Mac I had at the time and was only good for me as a secondary computer. I don't know, I almost feel saddened by the thought of 'ditching' PowerPC Macs as secondary-to-main machines, as there is still a fight to get them to work well today, and I am pro-PowerPC Mac in that sense. I also have many more PowerPC Macs than before.
Anyway, there is something about PowerPC Macs that still attracts people, other than the fact that the mid-to-later ones looked so cool and were/are a pleasure to use. Many have still stuck to a PowerPC Mac either as a secondary computer or even as a main one; some who started buying Macs after PowerPC had been phased out end up getting drawn to them. They are just hearty, timeless machines that some describe as having a "soul". That there is deep stuff, but you know what I mean...
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Wow, I want to try that; that seems awesome! (too bad I don't have dial-up, which isn't something you usually hear people saying).
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If you have more modern computers (OS X or Linux,) too, you can do it with a serial cable connection and PPP software on the modern computer. No modem needed.
What kind of serial connection? I want to try this on some old Mac that only has a phone port. Come to think of it, I don't have any operational ones that only have phone ports. The cool old Macs I have that do not have ethernet require hardware to connect to a phone port, as they have serial ports. (such as a Macintosh Classic II or Mac IIci... or is that what you mean by serial cable connection?
The biggest mistake I made was getting albeit a very powerful G5 but with non-Intel processors.
The result being that I can't upgrade my Logic Pro music software or add plugins from say Native Instruments Komplete 7 series onwards which is very frustrating.
I've plenty of RAM and HD but the Intel chips process the data completely differently. The Mac G5 is great but hindsight as they say is a wonderful thing....
The result being that I can't upgrade my Logic Pro music software or add plugins from say Native Instruments Komplete 7 series onwards which is very frustrating.
I've plenty of RAM and HD but the Intel chips process the data completely differently. The Mac G5 is great but hindsight as they say is a wonderful thing....
My Wendybitch PowerPC has become a media server.
It depends what you want to do with it. Some use it as media servers, web servers etc and even Windows (if you really wanted to soil it's good name)My ex-girlfriend Wendy used her as a book holder
You can connect to any modern computer with a USB-to-serial adapter. Then you'll need to configure software on the modern computer with PPP server software. How to do that is beyond the scope of a quick post.
My reason is my wife needed a machine that suited her work, grew up on her dad's Macs from G3's through to his current MacPro and didn't need all the bells and whistles of the new machines that put them out of our prices range. With a family friend ditching his Powermac G5 and letting us have it free all her needs were answered in one.
Leopard gives her an OS she knows, software she can use and with TFF a browser she recognises and that provides access to the modern web (minus flash). If HTML5 ever does truly beat flash then this machine will keep going until it dies. I can maintain it, replace parts within reason and tinker about without worry unlike the new machines. Her macbook is showing more signs of age in a lot of ways.
Of course there is also the satisfaction of getting something for nothing and being different. Coming from Yorkshire That ideology suits my wife to the core.
Leopard gives her an OS she knows, software she can use and with TFF a browser she recognises and that provides access to the modern web (minus flash). If HTML5 ever does truly beat flash then this machine will keep going until it dies. I can maintain it, replace parts within reason and tinker about without worry unlike the new machines. Her macbook is showing more signs of age in a lot of ways.
Of course there is also the satisfaction of getting something for nothing and being different. Coming from Yorkshire That ideology suits my wife to the core.
WHY I USE A PowerPC G4 Quicksilver
IT's SIMPLE, QUICKEN 7 Software. Quicken UpDates for Mac are offal compared to the old PowerPc Quicken 7 for Mac. With OS10.5.8, AppleWorks & Pages, all of my financial data is on it (With no airport card) aka, off line protection.
Right now using the number keys on my keyboard freezes Apple Works 6.2.9 spread sheet.Any body have a fix for that ?
IT's SIMPLE, QUICKEN 7 Software. Quicken UpDates for Mac are offal compared to the old PowerPc Quicken 7 for Mac. With OS10.5.8, AppleWorks & Pages, all of my financial data is on it (With no airport card) aka, off line protection.
Right now using the number keys on my keyboard freezes Apple Works 6.2.9 spread sheet.Any body have a fix for that ?
For me, the older PPC machines are useful because I have many old files that will not open with newer versions of Word, Excel, others. I keep an old G5 power mac just for this - works with 10.4.11 (with classic) and 10.5.8. I am a Mac user since Jan 1985, so have a fair number of old files. Having the "old" ppc allows me to work with them when I need to. Otherwise, for current use I am all Intel, but it is useful to have this possibility to work with old files.
As a few people said here.. Well more then a few there are many reasons.
Personally i own 2 Imac G3's,(indigo 350Mhz and Tangerine 400Mhz) a Beige G3(233Mhz (gonna overclock a bit) and an Emac (1.42Ghz) and i love them!
I still want a blue and White Power Macintosh G3.
The reasons i keep these old aging systems is because i think they are amazing. The designs of the Imac G3's and even the G4 is breathtaking. Its sad that apple ditched the colors in their computers. I would love my White macbook to be Orange or Blue. I have both the Imacs on my Dresser at the top and everyone who enters my room at my parents always shows interest in them. they are amazing computers that im still working on
But Other then the design of these beautiful machines they where better and faster then any Intel machine at the time and although many of us still use G4's years later they refuse to quit. They are great solid machine with amazing speakers, well the AIO's and i love them!
Personally i own 2 Imac G3's,(indigo 350Mhz and Tangerine 400Mhz) a Beige G3(233Mhz (gonna overclock a bit) and an Emac (1.42Ghz) and i love them!
I still want a blue and White Power Macintosh G3.
The reasons i keep these old aging systems is because i think they are amazing. The designs of the Imac G3's and even the G4 is breathtaking. Its sad that apple ditched the colors in their computers. I would love my White macbook to be Orange or Blue. I have both the Imacs on my Dresser at the top and everyone who enters my room at my parents always shows interest in them. they are amazing computers that im still working on
But Other then the design of these beautiful machines they where better and faster then any Intel machine at the time and although many of us still use G4's years later they refuse to quit. They are great solid machine with amazing speakers, well the AIO's and i love them!
For me it's also a bit of indulgence.
I always wanted certain models of Mac when they came out. But not having thousands of dollars to spend when introduced I had to wait years to get them.
And now that I have some of the ones I want the prices on parts have fallen into a doable range so I can afford (over time) to max these machines out to their full potential.
The price of my Quicksilver with a 1.2Ghz Sonnet processor, SATA card, 2x 1TB hard drives, USB 2.0, a Radeon 7000 and a Radeon 9800 Pro with two 17" Cinema Displays, a 22" Cinema Display, three A1006 ADC/DVI converters and a Mighty Mouse would have been astronomical in price in 2001.
I always wanted certain models of Mac when they came out. But not having thousands of dollars to spend when introduced I had to wait years to get them.
And now that I have some of the ones I want the prices on parts have fallen into a doable range so I can afford (over time) to max these machines out to their full potential.
The price of my Quicksilver with a 1.2Ghz Sonnet processor, SATA card, 2x 1TB hard drives, USB 2.0, a Radeon 7000 and a Radeon 9800 Pro with two 17" Cinema Displays, a 22" Cinema Display, three A1006 ADC/DVI converters and a Mighty Mouse would have been astronomical in price in 2001.
This.
Growing up during the personal computer boom, I always envied the sleek designs of Apple computers. My parents, however, couldn't justify the $1000 price difference between an HP Pentium III and an iMac. The terrifyingly unstable Windows ME haunted my childhood.
And just to echo others, they just have more charm and personality. Let me explain.
Apple computers are always a cut above the rest when it comes to usability, power, and longevity. When many Apple machines were first released, they didn't get pushed to their full potential as often as they are by today's retro enthusiasts because many of today's computing tasks--particularly, keeping up with the Internet--demand far more attention from the CPU than those of yesteryear. Finding out how to manage resources to maximize efficiency in the workflow is a fun challenge if you're the sort who likes to geek around with computers (as most of us are). You have to learn all the little trivia and quirks to get them there, but it's surprisingly doable!
So, if you don't have a lot of money to spend on a Mac, do you want to go into debt buying a new machine that's only going to get fractional CPU usage at any given moment or do you want to spend very little money on an older machine that may not run as fast but will still pump out the Gs when you need it to (and give it a little lovin').
Just my two cents.
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Yeah, it interests me to see what Macs and OS X looked like when I was young, naive, and stuck in PC land. I always get a kick out of using a PPC Mac, since my first Mac was 0.71" thin, ran Mountain Lion, and had a retina display
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I sometimes bring an old blueberry Clamshell to lectures for note-taking mostly, but also to annoy some hipsters. I've met some good people as well; the iPad is not the only "magical device" that can get a girl to talk to you!
I hope you're running Mac OS 9 on that Clamshell to make it even more "annoying"
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My Clamshell is orange too 
I don't use mine much anymore, I keep them around for fun projects and nostalgic purposes. I still love the photo of Steve Jobs with his hands behind his head, sitting looking at his monitor (that has a picture of his wife and children on it), seemingly content.
Can someone find this at high-res without the watermark? I've seen it before.
Can someone find this at high-res without the watermark? I've seen it before.