Best Video Card for a Blue & White G3
From Ed Hurtley after reading Upgrading a Blue & White G3 for OS
X:
In your exchange, you state:
Hi Allan,
A Radeon 9200 should certainly be up to the job.
My 700 MHz G3 iBook has a Radeon 7500 and does support Quartz
Extreme in OS X 10.4.
The Radeon 9200 you reference above seems to have
128 MB of VRAM, which should be ample.
Good luck.
Charles
Yes, the Radeons are the best (and only) reasonably modern video
card available for OS X, but because it will be on the PCI
bus, Quartz
Extreme is out of the question. Yes, there are hacks to force
it to work, but in my experimentation it provides zero performance
improvement in any circumstance.
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the information. Quartz Extreme is
supported on my iBook which has a
RADEON 7500 and 16 MB of VRAM - surely the minimum specification.
At least applications which specify QE support seem to work.
Charles
Editor's note: Moore's November 2002 iBook has AGP
video. dk
Questioning the Value of Upgrading a G3
From Marion Delahan:
I am surprised that you recommended upgrading Allan's G3 at all.
The number and cost of the upgrades he would need would more than
cover the cost of a higher spec used Mac. A used mini would be good, but they tend to command
higher prices than seems to me warranted and seem to be in short
supply in any case, but a G4 say at 733 [MHz] would come in about
$200. Most come with a 10.3 OS and have a sufficient memory. The
hard drive tends to be about 40 Gig, but though that is smallish,
it is fine for an installation (with another 40 in reserve, as he
says he has).
Since he is reasonably happy with his G3, he really only needs
the higher spec for his Web browsing. He could maintain his other
computer for all other purposes (especially as he is primarily a
9.2 user) and use the G4 only for browsing, but I think he would
find the G4 would be better for most of what he uses than his G3,
and that he would get rid of it, pulling the drive (small as it is,
it would certainly fit into the G4 case).
Marion Delahan
Hi Marion,
The best value for the money is usually the
newer machine.
There are certainly many philosophies on upgrading
older hardware. I'm a notebook guy, and my first recommendation to
anyone who queries me about upgrading say a Lombard or Pismo is to
consider a used or refurbished iBook, MacBook, or PowerBook and
compare the bottom-line cost vs. performance gain realized. The
best value for the money is usually the newer machine.
That said, I'm personally a fan of Pismo
PowerBooks, have a lot of accessories and some spare batteries, and
I just love the machine. I've been more than satisfied with my 550
MHz G4 processor upgrade in the Pismo.
For someone who has a well-appointed G3 machine, a
processor upgrade is something to consider.
Charles
Don't Upgrade, Buy a G4 Instead
From Roger Harris:
Hi Charles,
Allan Turnipseed asked about
upgrades on a B&W for graphics. The B&W will require too
much investment and still be a dog for even simple graphics work.
Allen can buy a Digital Audio G4
that will come with a AGP graphics card, 133 [MHz] front side bus,
and a faster processor for what just the processor upgrade would
cost for the B&W. Have him sign onto the LEM swaplist, were low-end DAs are
common for $150 or less. Avoid models older than the DA G4s.
Also, Photoshop Elements is only for RGB work, and he will need
CMYK for print work, so he needs the full Photoshop. He can shop
for an older version to save money, but he will also need OS X
versions of Illustrator and InDesign
or Quark. It is too hard to
get OS X versions of Quark used.
Roger Harris
Hi Roger,
Thanks for the input. I've forwarded it to
Allan.
Charles
OS 9 Users Still 'Very Much Around'
From Carl MacDonald:
Charles,
I had written you awhile back wondering how many people are
still using OS 9 [see Software
Development for Mac OS 9]. I just wanted to share a completely
unscientific bit of information with you along those lines. Since
you posted my earlier email on the subject to your website, for the
month of May my own products download stats are 70% Windows and 30%
Mac. What was surprising is breaking it down it turns out 70%
Windows, 18% OS X, and 12% OS 9.
Just wanted to share. OS 9 users would appear to still be very
much around.
Carl MacDonald (aka Scotsman)
MadWolf Software
http://www.madwolfsw.com
Hi Carl,
Thanks for the report. I'm somewhat tickled that
so many folks are still using Classic.
If only there was a decently up-to-date
browser.
Charles
I Still Love Mac OS 9
From Max Magliaro:
Comment on your The State of Mac OS
9 Compatibility, Upgrades, Resources, and Hacks in 2007 column
from April 2, 2007.
Count me in as one of those people still using and loving
OS 9. I have a G4 OS X machine, which I absolutely
love.
But I also still keep an old beige
G3 (mondo upgraded with a 300 MHz G3 overclocked to 333, a USB
card, 384 MB RAM, an 80 gig hard drive) running OS 9.2.2. And a
WallStreet PowerBook upgraded
with Wegener Media's 400 MHz G3 and 192 MB RAM, and a 4 GB
(got it cheap!) hard drive from its original 2 GB.
The OS 9 machines are darn stable and darn useful. The beige box
has my flatbed scanner, my Nikon Coolpix slide film scanner, and
lots of useful apps like Adobe's Photodeluxe - all things I'd have
to give up if I dumped it and put in an OS X machine. So no
way.
I just bought a 500 MHz G3 ZIF for the beige.
You are right - my only lament is the lack of browser support. I
use Mozilla 1.3.1. It seems pretty good, and I can't remember the
last time I tried to surf a page that it didn't work on. But then,
I loathe and avoid most script/popup/media-blitz-laden
websites.
I have long since given up on iCab. It is just so dog slow on basic sites
like eBay that it's unusable.
Thanks for listening,
Max
Hi Max,
Yup, OS 9 is still a treat. Feels like turbo-boost
on the Pismo after running OS X.
We use Netscape 7 for browsing in Classic, and
sadly you're correct, iCab has faded from relevance due to its poky
performance.
Charles
From Max Magliaro
You mean Netscape 7.01, right? Is this really better than
Mozilla 1.3.1? I would think they are almost identical since the
code bases were so closely shared back in those days. Am I
wrong?
- Max
Hi Max,
Yes, I the 7.01 version of Netscape is the one
we're using. I think 7.02 was the last Netscape that supported
Classic, and I should get around to downloading it one of these
days.
There's a download link for 7.0.2 here:
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7863/netscape
You're right that it shares the browser engine and
a lot of its feature set with Mozilla 1.3.1, but for some reason I
find the Netscape variant a smoother performer and like its
interface appearance better. However, for those who prefer the
Mozilla look, it should be pretty much a wash performance-wise.
Charles
iCab Stalled and Sluggish
From Douglas Russell:
Dear Mr. Moore,
Thank you for your Ramblings article on Low End Mac. I currently
use the old Netscape 7.01 for email (importing through IMAP and
sending through SMTP with the Mail and Newsgroups feature) and
browsing.
I had not heard of iCab until I read your article. Is there
someplace where you have reviewed it?
I would like to phase out of Netscape if I can forward my email
from AIM through iCab.
Best,
Doug Russell
Hi Doug,
I was a big iCab fan in the late '90s and early
'00s, but in 2007 I would counsel that you stick with Netscape 7.01
(or upgrade to 7.02), which, IMHO, is the best of the mediocre
choices available for browsing in Classic (some folks favor Mozilla
1.3).
iCab development seemed to stall about four years
ago, and it's really sluggish these days. Browsers are on of the
most compelling reasons for upgrading to OS X.
Charles
Dear Charles,
Thank you for writing back. I downloaded iCab, and I have to
agree. Netscape 7.0 still seems the way to go. After I finish the
book I am writing, I think I will probably upgrade OS and other
software.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Doug,
If you don't already have it, you could give
Netscape 7.0.2 a shot:
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7863/netscape
Charles
Dear Charles,
Most kind and appreciated. No, I was running 7.0.1.
Which install do you recommend: Recommended Install, Full
Install, or Custom Install?
They also suggest doing the install cleanly to a new
directory.
Best,
Doug
Hi Doug,
Depends on how much of the application you want to
use. Personally, with Netscape, Mozilla, or SeaMonkey, I just
use the browser (Navigator) module. I don't recall what the exact
options are for a custom install with Netscape 7, but if you check
that mode it will probably give you a choice of whether to install
some items or not. Of course, if disk space is not an issue, you
could just go ahead and install the whole thing.
I wouldn't sweat the new directory bit. I just run
the installer.
Charles
Obtaining OS 9
From Bruce Blakely
Subject:
Dear Charles,
In the April update of the article The State of Mac OS 9 Compatibility, Upgrades,
Resources, and Hacks in 2007, you said, regarding "Where to buy
OS 9":
"...going the conventional route of paying $129.95
for OS X plus the $19.95 surcharge to obtain OS 9.2.2 from
Apple."
I looked into this last year when I bought 10.4. I could not
find anything in the box or on Apple's website about buying 9.2.2
for $19.95. Didn't see anything in my older 10.3 box either.
Do you have a link for this, or any additional information?
Thanks,
Bruce Blakely
Hi Bruce,
That reference should not have been included in
the updated version of the article, as it is obsolete information.
To the best of my knowledge, Apple no longer sells OS 9 CDs of
any sort.
Sorry for the miscue.
Charles
Editor's note: The article has since been edited
to remove the outdated information. dk
Installing OS X on a G3 iBook Using FireWire
Disk Mode
From Wendell Kimbrough:
Hello Charles,
We don't know each other, but I just saw your article about installing OS X on
computers without DVD drives from September 06, and given your
expertise on these issues, I thought you might be able and willing
to answer a question of mine. If you don't have time, that's fine,
but if you do, it would be tremendously helpful to me.
I have an old iBook G3 with a broken internal hard drive. I am
trying to figure out if I can get an external bus-powered FireWire
hard drive and install OS X onto it and then use that to boot
the machine. My iBook has a DVD drive.
One possible hang-up, the copy of OS X I have is 10.3 for the
eMac. I purchased it from a Mac seller on eBay, who said it would
work with my G3. I have not, however, been able to boot from that
DVD successfully on the iBook, so I am unsure if I will be able to
install with it.
I also own a recent iMac with an
Intel processor. I am curious to see if I can put the 10.3 eMac
disk in my iMac, connect an external FireWire drive, and install
10.3 to it. Then, I would want to be able to attach that HD to my
iBook and boot from it. Is this possible?
I'd rather not spend the $150 on an external HD if it's not
going to work, so I'm just curious if you have any advice.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Best Wishes,
Wendell Kimbrough
Hi Wendell,
You can certainly boot the iBook from an external
FireWire hard drive if the latter has a bootable system installed
on it. I have OS X 10.3.9 installed on my external FireWire
drive, and it boots my G3 iBook,
my PowerBook Pismo, and my PowerBook G4 just fine. I think that
install was from the iBook, but I can't recall for sure.
Install disks that ship with a particular Mac
model are not likely to work with another model Mac, but I'm quite
confident (albeit not 100 percent) that if you use your eMac system
restore disk to install OS X 10.3 from an eMac that has a DVD
drive, it should boot the iBook once installed. However, the eMac
disk probably won't work from the iMac any better than it does with
the iBook.
Charles
Using Linux for Troubleshooting a Mac
From Walter J. Ferstl:
Hello Charles,
Regarding Tiago Bugarin's
letter in your 2007.03.27 Miscellaneous Ramblings column:
Tiago mentioned that he had used Xubuntu Linux and/or Slackintosh [Linux]
successfully for troubleshooting an iBook G4.
Unfortunately, the PowerPC versions of Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu
are no longer "officially" supported by Canonical, Ltd. (beginning
from February, 2007).
All the PPC versions of the Ubuntu varieties have changed status
to "community supported" projects and in course of this, the
directories where one can download recent versions have
changed.
Please note that Xubuntu 7.04 is still called a "beta".
Obviously, the community in charge now for the PPC 'buntus is
getting along very well - no real lagging behind the officially
supported x86 versions.
And as a remark to Slackintosh as a troubleshooting tool for PPC
Macs: Anyone who is comfortable with running Linux from the command
line might be also interested in Finnix, a non-GUI-distribution aimed
at administrators etc.
Finnix is based on Debian GNU/Linux (currently on "Etch") and is
available as a PPC Live CD as well as an x86 one.
Thanks again for your great work.
Best regards,
Walter
Hi Walter,
Thanks for the info and observations.
Charles
Go to Charles Moore's Mailbag index.
