back to article Any uses for an old Mac G4?

I have an old Apple 12in PowerBook G4 sitting in a cupboard. It's way behind the curve, PowerPC-equipped - no good for Snow Leopard, in other words - and the battery's had it. Everyone I know who I'd would have passed it on to in the past has, by now, got a more capable machine. But it seems a shame to chuck it away. So, Reg …

COMMENTS

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  1. mark adrian bell
    Linux

    Linux

    I'd put Yellow Dog or Debian Linux on it. With a light desktop like XFCE or WindowMaker, it should run well.

  2. Drem
    Go

    Musuem of Computing

    They had a fair number of antiques in there, from what i could see through the doors, they might like it...

    Mind you, they are only open at the weekends, so it might be a bit of a pain to find out, but Bletchley park is well worth a visit, if only to see Colossus.

  3. BARe FOOt
    Linux

    Linux

    I use the latest Fedora 11 Linux on my G4. It runs great, and gives me access to tens of thousands of free applications.

  4. jose2292

    UK or US?

    I would gladly take it off your hands and put it to use. I do tech work for a non-profit and would love to get a 12 inch powerbook. Tiger and Leopard work well for our purposes.

    I would reimburse your shipping costs and send you a receipt for tax purposes. If you are interested check www.heartlandgirlsranch.org for a shipping address. However, if you are outside the U.S. I fear that shipping costs would be too high.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    I have one of these...

    ...I use it as a dedicated Serato Scratch Live machine..

  6. spencer
    Heart

    blap

    stick BSD on it, learn unix.

  7. Dru Richman

    12" Powerbook G4

    You make it sound as if if you can't run Snow Leopard, your laptop is useless. Far from it! Even the oldest 12" G4 is capable of running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). It can run most contemporary software programs including iWork, Microsoft Office, games, productivity software, and thousands of others.

    I don't know how people in the UK feel about assets, but here in the US a 12" G4 laptop could be worth up to $300 (£185, €213.50)

  8. Piloti
    Thumb Up

    Seti....

    Not sure if it will run on the apple os, but drop if it will,m run the seti screen saver.

    http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

    Not good for the carbon footprint, but hey....

    If this does nto work on the apple os, partion, drop in any linux apple distro and then run seti!!

    Enjoy your weekend.

    P.

    http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

  9. David MW

    Stereo it!

    I have the same iBook G4 sitting on top of my stereo, serving iTunes, playing newsfeeds and all to my stereo. I really like Pandora. And if you get a USB digital audio out adapter and feed that into your Digital receiver, everything sounds much better, especially the iTunes in Apple Lossless.

  10. jake Silver badge

    Household print server.

    Subject says it all, really.

  11. Dave Hanks

    G4: Data parking lot

    We use a 12 inch G4 as a data parking lot for our remote transcriptionist. We purchased several Olympus DS-4000 digital voice recorders which capture voice files (foot pedals control the DS-4000) and we upload the voice files via the Olympus Mac Transcription software. This software also allows the Mac to use foot pedals. We can use them to play, rewind, etc. Rate of playback is variable to allow for transcription. About a year ago we outsourced our transcription so we cloned the configuration at a remote site and she grabs the files via Apple Remote Desktop.

    The G4 is limited to one special hands off work area that is very messy. We have a plastic cover for the keyboard but it is still nice to use an old unit when it is in a GROSS location.

  12. Kiwiiano
    Thumb Up

    Huh?

    You don't say what speed it is, but if it's over 800MHz or thereabouts, it will give sterling service with Leopard for years yet, esp with a new battery.

    And contrary to popular misconception, it won't burst into flames al la Mission Highly Improbable the moment Snow Leopard is released.

    I would cheerfully give it space in my workshop as a print server and occasional email & web access Mac. Alas, I'm on the opposite side of the planet. I'm sure there are plenty of folk over there who can use a simple computer.

  13. Ben Brandwood

    Sell it!

    The 12" Powerbook is very desirable, it's practically the smallest laptop that apple ever made and is still in demand today from travelers. - Selling on eBay for around £300

    You can stick tiger on it and if you max the ram and put a new HD in it'll be fine (My old 1.5Ghz G4 is running leopard fine for the missus)

    New battery might cost you about £50

    Lovely little machine

  14. Ben Clemson
    Thumb Up

    Uses for a G4 Powerbook

    Assuming you have the Airport (wifi) card installed:

    - plug in a USB printer and you have a wireless print server (under sharing in system preferences)

    - plug in a USB modem and you have a wireless Internet server (under sharing in system preferences)

    I do both on my 10 year old Pismo Powerbook running 10.4. You can also install VNC so you can remotely manage the laptop from another computer.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You can still get batteries, I think

    So why not just use it? OWC probably sell a battery for them if Apple don't.

  16. Ramazan
    Linux

    PPC

    Sometimes people need a PowerPC computer for development, tests or builds (e.g. Debian build farm). Funnily enough, battery is typically irrelevant to such uses. If you don't have such needs, why keep an outdated crap around? Just sell it on eBay and invest money in something more up to date, less noisy and power hungry.

  17. geeky_poor_musician
    Go

    Charity!

    Hi,

    I know a charity in South London who run music projects for primary school children and vulnerable adults. They are desperate for any kind of laptop (or even desktop), as their computers date back to the early 90s.

    So how about giving it to charity? Their website is: http://www.pegopera.org

    Geeky greets!

    T

  18. Bonnie
    Thumb Up

    Media server

    I second the suggestion to use it as an iTunes server. But I would add TwonkyVision, so you can stream iTunes content to DLNA/UPnP devices, like in my case, a Denon AV receiver and a PS3. If you want to save a few quid, use open source alternatives like OpenSUSE PPC Linux, MediaTomb and daapd.

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