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Author Topic: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?  (Read 12776 times)

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Offline persia

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2010, 02:56:08 PM »
@Crom00
I actually got Tiger on one through net boot....
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Offline AmigaEdTopic starter

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #15 on: September 26, 2010, 03:36:30 PM »
Quote from: mongo;581323
Which iMac is it? It could be anything from a 233 MHz G3 to a 700MHz one.


Well, I tried to find out some about this iMac, but I think my lack of knowledge about these systems is hurting a bit.

It appears to be running OSX 10.0.3 and has 384 MB of RAM. Any advice on how to expand the RAM?

How do I find out what speed the processor is running at?

I have to say that while I really haven't done anything with this yet, when just moving around within the OS it seems fairly responsive.

Regards,
AmigaEd
"Pretty soon they will have numbers tattooed on our foreheads." - Jay Miner 1990

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Offline dougal

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #16 on: September 26, 2010, 03:58:40 PM »
I run OS X Tiiger 10.4 on an iBook G3 800Mhz / 640Mb and it runs very well. Very decent OS. The only thing that suffers is flash/youtube.
A1200HD- Blizzard 1230IV / 64Mb / Kick 3.1 / OS 3.9 / 20GB HD
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PowerMac G4 1Ghz (MorphOS / Leopard)

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Offline smerf

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #17 on: September 26, 2010, 05:50:12 PM »
Quote from: AmigaEd;581256
Oh Happy Day! I just picked up an Imac G3 - I thought that it might not work correctly, but it seems to work fine.

This is the first Apple computer that I've used since 1984. It's my understanding that Morphos won't work on this, so now what can I do with it?

Regards,
AmigaEd


====================================================================

Hi,

If you can still find a word processor, you can write letters with it, and I do believe that it did have a data base made for it which cost somewhere in the range of $999, you might be able to find one for about $499 on ebay. I can't ever remember a spreadsheet being made for it. Lets see in the game arena I do believe that they made empire for it, I seem to remember my friend saying it was the greatest game ever made.  Anyway have fun WPing on it.

smerf
I have no idea what your talking about, so here is a doggy with a small pancake on his head.

MorphOS is a MAC done a little better
 

Offline Trev

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #18 on: September 26, 2010, 05:58:56 PM »
I have Panther installed on my iMac G3 333 MHz. It's slow, and I don't turn it on much. I also have a Power Mac G4 (Quicksilver) running Leopard. It's slow, and I don't turn it on much. ;-) Both systems can run most Apple and third-party PowerPC software. The G4 isn't fast enough to play Flash video at more than one frame per second. I understand Apple's reservations regarding Flash on its ARM chips.
 

Offline Cammy

Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #19 on: September 28, 2010, 02:53:22 AM »
Here is the latest Ubuntu for PPC Macs if you want to try it: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/lucid/release/

It would be cool if Aros PPC, which runs on Sam440s, could be ported to old Macs too.
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CD32 020@14Mhz/2MB+8MB/RTC/KS3.1/IDE-CF+4GB
A600 030@30Mhz/2MB+64MB/RTC/IDE-CF+4GB/Subway USB/S-Video/PCMCIA NIC/USB Numeric Keypad+Hub+Mouse+Control Pad
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Offline AmigaEdTopic starter

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #20 on: September 28, 2010, 04:33:36 AM »
Wow! I've got to say that I'm quite amazed by the amount of interest that this thread has generated. I thought everyone would be too busy hammering on Commodore-USA too pay any attention to this thread.

Anyway, Thank you to all who have replied! Maybe it's just me, but I think have noticed a wee bit of trend in the responses that have been posted.

I'm still not sure what the processor speed is of this thing, where the heck is Sysinfo when you need it?

I can't wait to really find out how slow this computer with OSX really is. By all accounts, it seems that I should be waiting for inexplicable amounts of time for even the simplest task to run. All I've really done so far is just turn it on and stare at it while repeatedly clicking the left mouse button (It seems the right button is mis-placed.) while poking around the standard OS applications.
"Pretty soon they will have numbers tattooed on our foreheads." - Jay Miner 1990

La Familia...
A1K - La Primera Dama -1987
A1K - La Princesa- January 2005
A2K - La Reina - February 2005
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Offline amigadave

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #21 on: September 28, 2010, 08:58:34 AM »
Quote from: AmigaEd;581256
Oh Happy Day! I just picked up an Imac G3 - I thought that it might not work correctly, but it seems to work fine.

This is the first Apple computer that I've used since 1984. It's my understanding that Morphos won't work on this, so now what can I do with it?

Regards,
AmigaEd

I have a 333MHz model of the Tangerine iMac and have found that it is a perfect match to install my Efika inside of.  I will provide snapshots of how it all goes together once I figure out a few more details.  My Radeon 9250 video card has both DVI & an additional VGA port that connects to the card via a pin header on the card and ribbon cable to the standard 15pin VGA connector port.  The iMac has an internal video ribbon cable that fits the pin header of the Radeon 9250 video card, but I have not tested it yet, as I have not been able to confirm the pinout of the card matches the pinout of the iMac ribbon cable and pcb which converts and connects to the two row 15pin monitor cable for the iMac's crt display.  I have also found that I can gut the USB CD/DVD external drive and connect it to the iMac's internal CD drive.  I just wish the Efika had an internal USB header, instead of having to route a short USB cable from the Efika's external USB port back into the iMac case to connect to the USB to IDE adapter.  Other than that one cable and the difference in the port placements, it will be very difficult to see that this iMac is not stock.  The only other work I need to complete is opening the case further to tap into the iMac's PSU and adapt a plug to it that will connect to the Efika's electrical input connector.

I think it will make a great looking bottom of the line MorphOS computer and hope to have it completed in time for the AmiWest 2010 Show, sitting side by side with the G4 eMac, G4 MacMini, and Dual G4 PowerMac, on the MorphOS display table.

The Efika running at 400MHz probably runs MorphOS2.5 much faster and better than the iMac's G3 running at 333MHz runs any version of MacOSX.  I think it is a great match and should be more fun with the Efika inside than the original iMac mobo.

Edit: Does your iMac have a CD/DVD drive door, or is it the "Slot Loading" type of optical drive?  I believe the Slot Loading type started with the 400MHz models that came out right after the 333MHz model that I have.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2010, 09:05:07 AM by amigadave »
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Offline haywirepc

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #22 on: September 28, 2010, 11:02:07 AM »
I agree with cammy, if I had a g3 powermac, I would install ubuntu for power pc or some light linux distro. Osx on these machines is no joy to use.
 
making it into a morphos machine or perhaps a dedicated emulated amiga by changing out motherboards and guts would be interesting.
 
Or perhaps when the new minimig with aga's come out that would be cool.
 
Steven
 

Offline Franko

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #23 on: September 28, 2010, 01:57:32 PM »
Currently I'm using an iMacG4 800Mhz with OSX 10.4.11 (the max OS it can use). While it's fine for most browsing on the net, you can't watch things like youtube videos on it properly, it only displays a pic about every half second or so.

Strange, because it can play DVD movies with any problems. I wouldn't use it for anything else other than the net, as my 060/ppc amiga can edit JPegs and gfx quicker using ImageFX. In fact trying to do most things on it is just way too slow and can be done more easily on my amiga.

I don't know if the OS versions were all basically the same, but to find the processor speed on this one, all you do is go to the apple menu and select about this mac then info.

Unless you can buy a mac with at least a G5 in it, I wouldn't recommend it for anything other than a net browser, they are just too slow and flakey for anything else... :(

To find out all the details about any old mac ever made go here...

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/
 

Offline Super TWiT

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #24 on: September 28, 2010, 03:46:36 PM »
I run debian linux on mine.  I used the original imac as my only computer for a few months, while my desktop was having some issues.  Worked well.  I wrote a tutorial on it.  I prefer debian, especially on older machines, because you can customize what it runs, and what services are running a little bit better.  Ubuntu tends to have a lot of extra bloat and crap running in the background, not good for older gear.
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Offline haywirepc

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #25 on: September 28, 2010, 04:19:42 PM »
Thats a nice tutorial, I'd like to have an imac running debian if only I didn't have so many other computers around here, space is an issue.
 
Its interesting to see what people do with old doorstops sometimes. Mac hardware is nice looking,but I'm no fan of osx.
 
Steven
 

Offline AmigaEdTopic starter

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #26 on: October 29, 2010, 01:40:22 AM »
Quote from: amigadave;581696
I have a 333MHz model of the Tangerine iMac and have found that it is a perfect match to install my Efika inside of.  I will provide snapshots of how it all goes together once I figure out a few more details.  My Radeon 9250 video card has both DVI & an additional VGA port that connects to the card via a pin header on the card and ribbon cable to the standard 15pin VGA connector port.  The iMac has an internal video ribbon cable that fits the pin header of the Radeon 9250 video card, but I have not tested it yet, as I have not been able to confirm the pinout of the card matches the pinout of the iMac ribbon cable and pcb which converts and connects to the two row 15pin monitor cable for the iMac's crt display.  I have also found that I can gut the USB CD/DVD external drive and connect it to the iMac's internal CD drive.  I just wish the Efika had an internal USB header, instead of having to route a short USB cable from the Efika's external USB port back into the iMac case to connect to the USB to IDE adapter.  Other than that one cable and the difference in the port placements, it will be very difficult to see that this iMac is not stock.  The only other work I need to complete is opening the case further to tap into the iMac's PSU and adapt a plug to it that will connect to the Efika's electrical input connector.

I think it will make a great looking bottom of the line MorphOS computer and hope to have it completed in time for the AmiWest 2010 Show, sitting side by side with the G4 eMac, G4 MacMini, and Dual G4 PowerMac, on the MorphOS display table.

The Efika running at 400MHz probably runs MorphOS2.5 much faster and better than the iMac's G3 running at 333MHz runs any version of MacOSX.  I think it is a great match and should be more fun with the Efika inside than the original iMac mobo.

Edit: Does your iMac have a CD/DVD drive door, or is it the "Slot Loading" type of optical drive?  I believe the Slot Loading type started with the 400MHz models that came out right after the 333MHz model that I have.

@amigadave, I haven't had a chance to really do much with mine yet. Did you get yours completed for Amiwest? Also, to answer your question, mine has the slot loading drive.

Regards,
AmigaEd
"Pretty soon they will have numbers tattooed on our foreheads." - Jay Miner 1990

La Familia...
A1K - La Primera Dama -1987
A1K - La Princesa- January 2005
A2K - La Reina - February 2005
A2K - Doomy - March 2005
A500 - El Gran Jugador - April 2005
A1200 - La Hermosa Vista - May 2005
A2KHD - El Duro Grande - May 2005
A600 - Prístino - May 2005
A1200 - El Trueno Grande - July 2005
CDTV - El Misterioso - August 2005
C64 - El Gran Lebows
 

Offline coldfire

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #27 on: October 29, 2010, 01:59:48 AM »
I've got a powerbook G4 1.67mhz 15" model running OSX 10.5 leopard.  I use it for certain video apps but lately I use it less and less.  It's some sweet hardware, the keyboard is backlit and the screen is large and not glossy.  Really I'd like another laptop exactly like it but with a quadcore intel processor running ubuntu.  If you go to the apple in the upper left corner of your display and click it you'll see a drop down menu that offers as one option "about this mac."  Click that option and it'll tell you about the processor and OS and also how much ram you have.  If tiger (10.4) will run on it I recommend that.  It's the fastest Mac OS that will run on a G3.  I went from 10.2 on a powermac G3 to 10.3 and then 10.4 and each OS was faster than the last.  I enjoyed using macs for several years but now I'm almost exclusively using linux.  I hacked up a dell laptop to run OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard but after a few weeks of playing with it I wiped it and installed Ubuntu 10.10 on it.  I discovered that I actually prefer Ubuntu to Mac now.  Linux has come a long way in the 12 years I've been running it.  The old iMac can still be useful but it'll need the ram bumped.  You can google for sites that tell you how to upgrade it.
 

Offline Iggy

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Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #28 on: October 29, 2010, 02:03:29 AM »
Quote from: AmigaEd;587789
@amigadave, I haven't had a chance to really do much with mine yet. Did you get yours completed for Amiwest? Also, to answer your question, mine has the slot loading drive.

Regards,
AmigaEd


Isn't that an awful lot of work to go through to upgrade a 333 Mhz PPC to a 400 Mhz PPC, guys?
Better video, but lower max. memory.
Except for the fact that the G3 can't run MorphOS (just as the Efika can't run MacOS), I don't really see the point of this one.
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Offline Tension

Re: Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?
« Reply #29 from previous page: October 29, 2010, 03:18:19 AM »
Quote from: actung_bab;581294
l have g3 ppc it came with osx early version runs fine with opera makes fine web machine


...untill you try and watch youtube or any iplayer video on it.

I was so shocked at how much lag there was on a G4 that needless to say I spat out my tea and simultaneously shat myself!