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But what if I wanted to print?
Since the blue & white G3 doesn't have any serial ports, I had a couple of options. I could try to get a new USB printer, or I could add a gPort adapter in place of the modem in order to gain a serial port. While I was thinking of doing this, I noticed that my printer, an Epson Photo Stylus 1200, actually has USB. (And I advise anyone else in that position: Check your printer, just in case). This surprised me a little bit for such an old printer (1998 or so), but all I had to do was buy a USB cable and change the setting in the Chooser. That was it. Not hard at all.
Then I wanted to play a CD in my computer, so I pushed the F12 key, which ejects the CD-ROM drawer on most recent Macs. It did nothing. I knew that I could reach down and push the button to eject the tray, but I don't like pushing on the tray in order to get it back in again -- and on the b&w G3, you can't just push the CD eject button again, since it's actually located on a flap that folds down when the tray extends.
After
a bit of searching on the Internet, I found a piece of software
called EjectDisk
from Beyond Midnight Software. This allows you to select any key or
key combination on the keyboard to eject any disk in the machine --
or just disks in a specific drive. It was exactly what I needed, and
now my CD-ROM tray ejects like I'd want now with the push of the F12
key.
I was also a bit concerned over how my iPod would work under OS 9, since I'd updated the firmware in OS X several times. Thankfully, it connected and showed up just fine under iTunes 2.
The scanner was a bit of a challenge to set up. First of all, the SCSI card wasn't recognized. I finally realized that it was because the Adaptec 2906 needs driver software under OS 9 (OS X has built in drivers for it). I downloaded and installed the software, and it appeared in the system profiler with my scanner as SCSI ID 5. Fine, I thought, and tried to scan something.
"Scanner not found" it told me. Come on, it says that it's connected in the system profiler!
So I checked the SCSI termination; it wasn't terminated, but that had never given me a problem on my beige G3. I connected it to another external hard drive, since I couldn't find a terminator, and it worked fine.
This whole little episode started getting me thinking that I might want to look into a more modern scanner at some point. I'd like one that will scan negatives, as my neighbor's has this capability and I think it's a nice capability to have. Right now, though, this one still works fine. Yes, it's SCSI, which no modern Mac includes, but I'm still able to scan photographs and drawings. That's what really matters.
The last little minor annoyance is when the machine freezes. Unlike my beige G3, command-control-power doesn't restart it -- I have to reach down, find the restart button, and try to poke it with my fingernail or something else somewhat pointy. It's not the most convenient thing in the world. Considering that when the machine came out, OS 8.5 was the current OS, Apple probably should have made it a bit easier to restart the computer after freezes and crashes.
Still, in the past week I've only had one freeze, and that was in.
-- you guessed it -- Internet Explorer. 
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Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
- Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
- November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.23. Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
- Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- More deals in our archive.
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