OS X Newbie needs help finding compatible software

McDougal44 · Nov 18, 2010

Hi all,

This is my first post in this forum, so please excuse me if I have posted in the wrong place. I got a old iMac from my neighbor which has a 600MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 640MB SDRAM, and a 40GB HDD, and is loaded with a fresh install of OS X 10.3.9. This is my very first mac, and everything is working perfectly except for the fact that I cannot find any compatible software. I realize that my OS X version is a pretty old, and I was wondering if there is any place where I can find the software that I need (Office software, web browsers, media players, etc.) that will work.

Thanks everyone for the help

!

-McDougal

harryb2448 · Nov 18, 2010

G'day and welcome to the forums.

Well the install should have included Safari. Firefox is the next most popular browser. Open Office is a free office suite and as for media players, just do a Google search as they keep changing constantly.

clive12 · Nov 18, 2010

VLC is a good all format media player.

McDougal44 · Nov 18, 2010

Thanks everyone for the quick replies

! I tried downloading FF twice...and whenever I tried to open the file I got an invalid or or corrupt image error message. Now granted, Safari works fine its just that it doesn't work well with modern sites such as Gmail. I use OpenOffice on my PC, is it compatible with this version of OS X? And I'll give VLC a try too....

chas_m · Nov 19, 2010

Safari is not the reason you are having problems with GMail. GMail assumes a more modern browser version/OS version is the source of that problem.

There is probably still a version of OpenOffice that is compatible with 10.3.9, but the overall problem is going to remain: I can send you to Old Version for Mac Downloads - OldApps.com which will be a big help I'm sure, but you already know what you will inevitably have to do if you want to keep using a Mac.

mrplow · Nov 19, 2010

Have you tried switching to the HTML version of gmail? (link at the bottom of the gmail page)

McDougal44 · Nov 19, 2010

Thanks again for the replies, I'll take a look at that old apps link, and I'll try the HTML version of Gmail too

.

MacDude121 · Nov 19, 2010

For older Macs. Camino is always the best choice for a web browser.

Go here and select the best version for your OS: Camino. Download. Releases

McDougal44 · Nov 20, 2010

Hi all,

Thanks for all the help, I have successfully installed Camino and it is working great. However, I sill have a couple of problems. First, whenever I try to install any version of OpenOffice, I drag mount the .dmg file, and drag the icon into the applications folder, and then unmount the .dmg file. However, when I try to open any version that I tried to install, the icon pops up in the dock, and then disappears, and nothing happens. I cannot open the program. My second problem is flash. Whenever I try to go to youtube.com through Safari, Safari immediately closes, and I can't even access the site. I can access the site on Camino, but I don't know how to install flash.

Thanks everyone for all the help, I really appreciate it

!

-McDougal

MacDude121 · Nov 20, 2010

McDougal44 said:
Hi all,

Thanks for all the help, I have successfully installed Camino and it is working great. However, I sill have a couple of problems. First, whenever I try to install any version of OpenOffice, I drag mount the .dmg file, and drag the icon into the applications folder, and then unmount the .dmg file. However, when I try to open any version that I tried to install, the icon pops up in the dock, and then disappears, and nothing happens. I cannot open the program. My second problem is flash. Whenever I try to go to youtube.com through Safari, Safari immediately closes, and I can't even access the site. I can access the site on Camino, but I don't know how to install flash.

Thanks everyone for all the help, I really appreciate it !

-McDougal

Are you sure that the version of OpenOffice is compatible with your system? Does it meet the system requirements? You should able to find them on the download page. Also, go here to download flash: Adobe - Install a different version of Adobe Flash Player

Once you download flash, the youtube video will likely still be choppy due to the slow processor. To fix this, either select the 240p option (If there is one) or enter &fmt=5 at the end of the video URL and refresh. This'll only work in Camino because flash works better in Camino for whatever reason.

Good Luck.

McDougal44 · Nov 20, 2010

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure the version I tried to install was compatible, I tried to install 3.2.1, which didn't work, and version 2.2 which I'm pretty sure is compatible, had to install X11, and I still cannot open it, I can see that the program is actually open at the top, but no windows or anything appear.

MacDude121 · Nov 20, 2010

What are you going to be using OpenOffice for? You could try another word processor, like Bean. Bean: An OS X Word Processor Granted it's not a 100% replacement for a full office application (If that's what you need) But it's great for typing up documents.

McDougal44 · Nov 20, 2010

I could try Bean...but it's not compatible with 10.3.9. And OpenOffice is the only program that I am unable to install...so I'd really like to figure out why its not installing, as I would appreciate a full office suite.

MacDude121 · Nov 20, 2010

Okay, you mentioned "I can see that the program is actually open at the top, but no windows or anything appear." You mean you see OpenOffice at the top when you open it correct? Try: File>New Window and see if anything comes up.

McDougal44 · Nov 20, 2010

I tried going to the file menu in version 2.2, but I couldn't click any of the options and a new window option wasn't there. With OO version 3.2.1, I double-click the icon in the applications folder, the icon pops up once in the dock and then immediately disappears, and I cannot open the program at all. If there is a compatible version of Bean I would be more than happy to try it out. Everything is working fine now except for this problem with OpenOffice.

Thanks for all the help!

-McDougal

MacDude121 · Nov 20, 2010

McDougal44 said:
I tried going to the file menu in version 2.2, but I couldn't click any of the options and a new window option wasn't there. With OO version 3.2.1, I double-click the icon in the applications folder, the icon pops up once in the dock and then immediately disappears, and I cannot open the program at all. If there is a compatible version of Bean I would be more than happy to try it out. Everything is working fine now except for this problem with OpenOffice.

Thanks for all the help!

-McDougal

Well, I run NeoOffice on my iBook. But I'm running 10.4. And NeoOffice 3.0 requires 10.4 or higher and 2.0 is no longer available for download.

I only found one older version of Bean, not sure if it will work: Bean: An OS X Word Processor, Multilingual Edition

See how an outdated OS can be a pain?

McDougal44 · Nov 20, 2010

Thanks, I'll give that version a try. Yes....this old version is very frustrating...don't know why I really need it since I already have a new laptop w/Win7, but I figured, hey, neighbor's offering it for free, so why not? I may consider upgrading to 10.4 if I can get it cheaply and legally.

MacDude121 · Nov 20, 2010

McDougal44 said:
Thanks, I'll give that version a try. Yes....this old version is very frustrating...don't know why I really need it since I already have a new laptop w/Win7, but I figured, hey, neighbor's offering it for free, so why not? I may consider upgrading to 10.4 if I can get it cheaply and legally.

For Free, that's an awesome little machine. And Tiger is 5x easier to find software for in my opinion.

Slydude · Nov 20, 2010

When I read this earlier I wondered what could be causing the problem that you are having. Finally decided to investigate. Unless I misread something OpenOffice 2 requires X11 and OS 10.4. Here's the info from the System Requirements OpenOffice.org 2

Power Mac G3 400Mhz or higher
Mac OS X 10.4.x
256Mbytes RAM
400Mbytes available disk space
X11 required. Available for OS X 10.4 on the OS X install disc. The instructions for Tiger users are here.
800 x 600 or higher resolution with 16.7 Million colours

McDougal44 · Nov 20, 2010

Thanks for the replies! I found this and it looks like an awesome deal, is it a trustworthy source? @Slydude, thanks for the reply, I installed X11, but I also thought that the issue may be the fact that my version isn't compatible, thanks for the info.

OS X Newbie needs help finding compatible software

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