Mac G3 Powerbook with starving musician attached

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Hey all. am new to the site and to Mac... and a musician as already noted in the title, and not zactly Howard Hughes... actually as extreme an opposite as you could possibly find I imagine... So, in answer to certain things I have already read,, yes I know it is old... but is what I got man... And I would appreciate some help in getting to know Mac, as I have alot of respect for them, as far as a musician and artist goes, I know they have a good rep in the industry, so I am stoked to actually have a really nice running lappy.

This is what it has for me in Profiler:
Mac OS overview,
Finder 9.1
System: 9.1 US
Active enabler: none
Quicktime 5.0
File Sharing : is on

Memory Overview:
Disk Cache: 6144K
Virtual Memory: is off
Built-in Memory: 192 MB
Bottom 64MB SDRAM DIMM
Top 128MB SDRAM DIMM

Hardware Overview:
Machine ID: 312
Model Name: PowerBook G3 Series
Keyboard Type: Apple Standard Keyboard
Processor info: PowerPC G3
Machine Speed 292 MHz

WHat I would like to do with this system is:
Update it to OSx and run the newest version of Audacity which is what I have been using on my Home DAW ( non Mac) and want to be able to swap files to take with me to work on mixes/record etc... while on the road...

And a file system app? to keep all my recordings, sound clips etc, in order...

So is it possible to run any OSx system on this lappy... what will it take to get it there if it can here?

It comes with a bleep load of software, prolly old stuffs, but maybe something worth keeping in that cornacopia, dunno... I do not need anything that is on the drive now, so formatting it is not gonne be a trauma... my needs are simple... hopefully, the request is too..

ya right, it's a computer simple! HAH!... LOLOL

I am not ignorant to computers at all, and am not afraid to get in there n get dirty.. . and there is an Apple store up the road to go to, but I would like to be able to go in there, with some kind of clue as to what I need, etc... so I am not wasting thier time.

CHeers, hope there are some ways to accomplish this!
Thanks for reading!
 

pigoo3

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My first thought is...if this Powerbook G3 is running OS 9.1...it's probably at least 8-10 years old. You're really going to find that you're going to have to put a lot more money into this thing to get it to do anything useful...and even then it's gonna be slow.

Also with it being this old...you're going to have a heck of a time finding any software that will run on it...and internet surfing is going to be really really slow. The 192meg of ram in it is pitiful!;)

I like old Mac's...I have lots & lots of them. That's why I know that what you have is just not going to perform in an acceptable way. If you take the:

- purchase cost
- cost to upgrade the hardware (mostly the ram, maybe the hard dive)
- cost to upgrade the OS
- cost to find "old" application versions to run on it

...you could have purchased a much newer & more capable computer. The computer as you have it is a nice piece of history, interesting to look at & "play" with...but really not something you want to spend hours & hours in front of trying to get something done.

I'm guessing at the specs...but I'm probably close. With it's:

- 192meg of ram
- 300-400mhz cpu
- 10 gig hard drive
- dead or almost dead battery
- 11"-12" display
- very weak graphics hardware

...you really cannot get a whole lot done on it. If you can find some 10 year-old software to run in it...then you may have a shot at doing some useful stuff.

Sorry to "paint" such a negative picture. Just trying to be honest so you don't dump a bunch of money into it...then realize that you still have a slow 10 year-old computer.

Good luck,:)

- Nick
 
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Yes, as I noted, I had already read that in other places... thank you for re-inforcing what I have already noted I have read... I have also read it is possible to get past that, and make it work with OS 10. ???

Fortunately I got this free.. so no purchase cost.. I don't need interenet.. all I need it for is a portable DAW... I knew it was old, and rather grim to start with.. but was hoping this thing could at least do what my ancient Intel P3 on XP Pro can do... and ya, I figured the RAM sucked, but that can be changed... I live in a place where recycling instead of re-purchasing is very popular and encouraged, so am kinda counting on that for parts LOL

I have a USB PCMCIA card I can slam into it to download to my external HDD so no worries about HDD size as I don't need a ton of programs... Once I have the USB card installed, I can use it to load apps from too, so do not need the internet at all for that purpose either.

If it's a waste of time, well the one thing this poor disabled musican has is time... ;D

Cheers
 

pigoo3

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I have also read it is possible to get past that, and make it work with OS 10. ???

Yes you certainly can run OS 10. I don't know the exact model Powerbook G3 you have (you didn't say)...but I bet I have the same model. I'm running OS 10.4 on it, I have an airport WiFi card in it...many internet pages load ok, but many are very slow. I think that I have 384 meg of ram in it (or somewhere around that number).

It's in my kitchen...and all I use it for is surfing the internet for new meal & dessert recipes to "chow-down" on!:)

If you're going to want to run some applications on this computer...you're going to have trouble finding versions that are old enough that will run on this computer. OS 10.3 is probably the best OS to run on it...will probably cost you round $50 on e-Bay. I'm running 10.4...it will be slower...and will cost you around $75-$100.

HTH,

- Nick
 
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K best I can come up with is:
PowerBook G3 Series (233 MHz, 250 MHz, 292 MHz)
1998-05
M4753

I believe they call it a Wallstreet?

I must say, for what little proccessor and RAM it purports to have, the thing is fast...
 
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Hmm New meal stuffs eh... cool another foodie perhaps? I live a block from Chinatown so am always finding new challenges.
 

pigoo3

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K best I can come up with is:
PowerBook G3 Series (233 MHz, 250 MHz, 292 MHz)
1998-05
M4753

I believe they call it a Wallstreet?

I must say, for what little proccessor and RAM it purports to have, the thing is fast...

Ahh...a "Wallstreet" model...it's actually older than I thought. I have one of these as well. I think that I have OS 10.1 or 10.2 on it. I'm sorry to say I do next to nothing on it...it's just too darn old and slow!:(

Yes...running OS 9.1...and applications that are "vintage" to it (1998)...yes it will seem pretty "zippy". But load OS 10.1 or 10.2 on it...and it will "bogg" down real fast. Not only because of the:

- slow cpu
- low amount of ram
- slow & small hard drive

...but also because OS 10.1 & 10.2 really were not that "refined" as an OS (a bit clunky). OS 10.2 may also be the highest OS this computer can "officially" run in any case.

If you were able to do what you need this laptop to do running OS 9.1...you would probably be ok...but trying to run OS 10 probably won't be much fun.

- Nick

p.s. Yes...you could probably say I'm a "foodie".;)
 

cwa107


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OK what about blowing out all the apps, leave OS9.1 and load a newer version of Linux in it then?

Even newer versions of Linux are going to be a problem on a machine that old. What you have is what is commonly referred to as a doorstop. Yes, while running software from a bygone era will certainly be OK (and may even seem fast), when we start talking about modern software, it gets complicated.

What you have in front of you is a computer with the processing power that is roughly 1/10 the speed of a modern smartphone. Upgrading it to run newer software, or even investing the time is about as futile as fixing a dent in the bumper of a 20 year old car.
 
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Even newer versions of Linux are going to be a problem on a machine that old. What you have is what is commonly referred to as a doorstop. Yes, while running software from a bygone era will certainly be OK (and may even seem fast), when we start talking about modern software, it gets complicated.

What you have in front of you is a computer with the processing power that is roughly 1/10 the speed of a modern smartphone. Upgrading it to run newer software, or even investing the time is about as futile as fixing a dent in the bumper of a 20 year old car.

Sounds promising LOL ... and speaking a which, I gotta pull out the dent in my front bumper, and fix the fender on my 1978 Olds, got backed into ... Thanks ... will see what I can do with this thing as is I guess...
Later... gonna check my arugula sprouts for a nice thai noodle style salad later...
 

pigoo3

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Sorry we can't be more encouraging regarding your Powerbook G3 "Wallstreet" computer...but we're just being honest.

Believe me...I have plenty of experience with these older computers (not with Linux though)...and if there was anyway I could say..."Go for it, everything will be fine."...I would. But I don't want to give you false hopes.

I don't know what your budget is...but if you have a strong need for a laptop or desktop Macintosh computer...please let us know what that budget is...and maybe we could give you an idea of what to look for given those budget limitations.

Good luck,

- Nick
 
C

chas_m

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Here's a different suggestion: I agree with the others that it's just not worth the effort to make that machine work for what you want to do.

BUT ... you clearly don't need anything all that new either, so maybe there's a middle ground of a machine that can run OS X 10.4 and thus Audacity etc. but won't set you back very much.

Naturally the best option would be to get some new or nearly so, but I suspect that a G4 iMac or Mac Mini (or Powerbook) would do the job perfectly fine for you, and you could probably find one for pretty cheap, especially if you look locally. Heck, some people just LOAN OUT their older Macs when they get new ones.
 
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My G3 iMac was similar in specs, 233mhz G3 and 192MB RAM. I bought it on craigslist for $20 just to play with it. Good thing thats all I wanted to do with it too. After playing with the classic OS for a bit, I loaded Jaguar onto it and WOW that thing was slow. There weren't really any apps I could use(hard to find apps for older OSX versions) and most webpages loaded pretty slow.

Even my 500mhz G3 iBook had trouble with some webpages and apps. If you want something cheap and useful, I would try to find a cheap Powerbook G4. My 533mhz Dual G4 powermac was surprisingly fast. You can even pick up one of the original Macbook models for ~$300-$400 if you look hard enough. I got mine on craigslist for $500 over a year ago.

There is an old version of Audacity for OS9 if you want to try it. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/mac
 

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