What good is a Mac G4?

[monzamess]

For some reason I feel the need to buy a Mac, but I don't want to spend much.

 

Prices on the older models seem to have leveled off. If you work backwards in the model lineup, from the early G4s back to the Classic, a complete working system regardless of specs goes for about $100-$200 on eBay (more for certain collectible ones, less for the duds).

 

So, looking for something with modern functionality, I'm looking at the G4s, in particular the G4 eMac (CRT-based).

 

Mainly it would be for the kids. How does it handle Flash-based websites? Does it do Firefox w/Adblock? Is the iLife 09 suite truly usable? (I see some features require a G5 or Intel)

 

I think I would want OSX and every eMac I've seen includes it. However I see Reader Rabbit and other edu software is for OS9 and older.

 

Looking for thoughts and opinions... thanks!

[akator]

I've got a 2003 17" iMac G4 1.25GHz I still use occasionally. I love it, but it is definitely showing it's age for things like Flash. The last time I tried a few months ago, I couldn't get Safari 3 running reliably because the browser kept freezing. I found a PPC build of Firefox 3.x that ran OK, but it was slow.

 

Because Apple dropped support for all PPCs a while back, it's a little questionable for how long a PPC will be able to run mainstream current browsers. Most third parties dropped PPC support some time ago.

 

On the other hand, the G4 is still great when running older versions of productivity software. I often use it to access old data in formats that don't always convert well in newer applications. Of course, that's nothing to do with what you intend on using it for

[Tempest]

I have a G4 Cube that I screw around with now and then. My main laptop is a Powerbook G4 and it still runs great.

 

Tempest

[+batari]

Still using a G4 every day. Flash is fine for the most part, and Firefox is totally usable and still supported. It struggles on a few things, like the HD Youtube videos (though the standard videos are fine.) What I recommend is to install as much RAM as it will support (which isn't much, 1.25 GB on mine, I think, but it came with 256 MB which is totally inadequate.)

[+save2600]

Nothing wrong with a G4 at all, especially a 1.5ghz model. In fact, one could use it as their main computing system and be pretty friggin' content as far as regular, day-to-day computer. I have a 1.1ghz G3 that gets the job done quite well too. Just be sure to add as much RAM as you can afford. Generally speaking though, 512kb-1gb is plenty.

 

MacMini G4's are especially cool now as MorphOS has been ported to it.

 

With very few exceptions, Mac products have a much longer life cycle than their PC counterparts. Never fear purchasing old Mac gear. With the right software, even older OS's and computers are still viable for many, many tasks!

 

BTW: My main computer is 2.1ghz iMac and the new 4.x browser of Safari is faster than the previous version. Very happy with this setup and have for a few years now.

Edited March 19, 2010 by save2600

[Emehr]

I have a 12" PowerBook G4 (1.33GHz) that still runs like a champ. Some YouTube stuff is choppy while others aren't. Among other things, the processor-intensive stuff I use it for are GarageBand and Final Cut Express, both of which run just fine.

 

Since 2004 I've replaced the HD once, got a new battery due to a factory recall of the old one, and...that's about it. I need to have it plugged into the wall pretty much full time now but other than that it's all good.

 

In addition, it'll run in lid-closed mode so you can plug in your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Just FYI.

 

I can't vouch for flash games since I avoid them like the plague, but flash-based sites seem to work just fine. Not sure about iLife 09 either. Mine is an older version.

[+save2600]

I have a 12" PowerBook G4 (1.33GHz) that still runs like a champ. Some YouTube stuff is choppy while others aren't. Among other things, the processor-intensive stuff I use it for are GarageBand and Final Cut Express, both of which run just fine.

You're probably already aware of this, but in case others aren't - there's a CPU performance setting for Mac laptops that allows you to conserve battery life. For those of us that always leave the machine plugged into the wall, the wrong setting can hamper performance big time...

[aftermac]

Up until a few months ago, I was using a PowerMac G4 733 GHz, and an iBook G4 1.2 GHz as my main computers. Both machines were running perfectly fine and could handle most modern tasks with ease. I have repurposed the iBook, so I still continue to use it sparingly... just not as my main computer.

 

Now my main computers are a PowerMac G5 1.8 GHz, and a MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.53 GHz.

[+thegoldenband]

My main computer is still a 15-inch PowerBook G4 (1.5 GHz). It can handle pretty much anything I throw at it with the exception of Flash-heavy websites which tend to choke it. I'm sure certain things would be faster on a fancier machine -- in particular, I notice that anti-aliasing on PDFs can take a lot longer than I'd like, making it hard to page quickly through hi-res scans of books and manuals. But overall, it's a great machine.

[Tom-Lynx]

An older Mac makes a FANTASTIC computer to dedicate to music if you are into MIDI and MIDI instruments. Get yourself a MIDI interface and an older version of FINALE software and you are all set for writing music.

[Pyromaniac605]

What good is a Mac G4?

A coffee table?

A doormat?

A stress reliever?

A (very uncomfortable) seat?

A weapon?

 

-Darren-

 

PS: in case my post isn't obvious i don't like macs

[monzamess]

My problem is myself of course. I keep thinking "it would be nice to have a cheap Mac to play around with" but I keep wanting to add wireless, extra memory, etc. Once you do that (especially on an older machine) the price adds up. In my case I went with a refurbished Dell Mini with XP; with a discount (see dell outlet twitter) it ended up being the same price as a used eMac but with better specs and a warranty. Blah, but it's the devil I know vs. the slightly less evil devil I don't know.

 

Thanks for the replies. My wife seems to want a new laptop. Maybe I'll get a Mac then... ?

[+save2600]

What good is a Mac G4?

A coffee table?

A doormat?

A stress reliever?

A (very uncomfortable) seat?

A weapon?

 

-Darren-

 

PS: in case my post isn't obvious i don't like macs

I knew right off the bat there was something extremely "wrong" about you. This seals the deal. Now where's that -1 button?

[+save2600]

Thanks for the replies. My wife seems to want a new laptop. Maybe I'll get a Mac then... ?

Yeah, go for it. She'll love working with a Mac. We all do. Even the faux computer knobs with nothing better to do with their lives than constantly messing around trying to get WinTel machines to cooperate are in denial. I'm sure she has better things to do and I'm positive YOU have better things to do than always maintaining her PeeCee. Like an automobile, NEVER, EVER give a woman a piece of junk. Wait, that might not be the greatest analogy as you'll be servicing whatever it is more often than your own car. lol I think the message is clear here: give her something superior and relatively maintenance free. You'll both be happier in the long run. Yeah, that's the ticket!

 

 

 

[Mirage]

I agree with the posts saying that an old Mac can be useful and even okay as a day-to-day machine... but don't make the mistake in thinking that it will be anywhere near as fast or good as a newer Mac. My old main machine was a 15" 1.33GHz 1GB G4 PowerBook, and it served me well for over 4 years. But it was definitely getting slow for what I wanted it to do. As soon as I got my current machine (17" 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo 4GB MacBook Pro), it was night and day. The new machine just absolutely blows the doors off that old G4 and I can't believe I was able to deal with it for so long. Not to say that old G4 isn't still useful. I use it for messing around with OSX Server, for a network music player using iTunes, and it's currently loaned out to use for Photoshop education, where it does fine on normal photos. But I sure wouldn't want to use it every day for everything!

 

Be sure to check out the refurb site on the apple.com store. They have great deals and you can save hundreds. Every refurb machine is totally gone through inside, and no matter what they get new cases, keyboards, and accessories. Full warranty just like a new machine, too. Many of them were basically new to begin with. Buy one of those and you'll be happy for a very long time. People who don't like Macs usually don't understand what a new Mac is... they have nothing to do with the old Macs except spiritually. They are UNIX machines with an incredible GUI and fantastic Mac OS architecture on top of it. Plus, you can now run Windows natively along with Linux and of course Mac OSX. The sole reason I can think of for anyone to buy something other than a Mac is if they want to build a purpose-built top-end Windows gaming machine, but that truly is the only reason to go with a Windows-based machine anymore.

 

Good luck!

[Pyromaniac605]

What good is a Mac G4?

A coffee table?

A doormat?

A stress reliever?

A (very uncomfortable) seat?

A weapon?

 

-Darren-

 

PS: in case my post isn't obvious i don't like macs

I knew right off the bat there was something extremely "wrong" about you. This seals the deal. Now where's that -1 button?

Nice try but im sure your not allowed to -1 rep someone because you dont agree. *looking for a -200 button*

 

-Darren-