With a 600 MHz iBook Running Circles Around a 2.8 GHz Celeron, It Was Time to Switch
- 2008.06.05
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Being a long suffering Windows user, I finally gave into the peer pressure of my upwardly mobile friends who constantly urged me to go Mac.
Ever since 2001, when I was helping a friend with a short film (which he edited using Final Cut on a Sawtooth Power Mac running OS 9), I've thought they were beautiful machines, but I always succumbed to the thinking that Microsoft was king for a reason.
In March of 2007, I picked up a very used 600 MHz Dual USB iBook. Running Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) with only 128 MB RAM, it ran circles around my 2.8 GHz Celeron Toshiba Satellite on tasks like Photoshop and iTunes. I was hooked. Within several months, it developed the well known logic board problem.
I sold the Toshiba and most of my collection of classic vinyl and purchased a 1.83 GHz Core2 Duo MacBook. It has since been upgraded to Leopard.
Within weeks, the low-end Macs came pouring in. I snagged an Indigo iMac G3 350 MHz at a SC State Surplus Sale for the princely sum of $50. It's now loaded with 512 MB of RAM, runs Tiger like a champ, and serves as a print server, iCal station for my wife and I to organize our schedules, as well as for Quicken, and is a nifty recipe organizer/iTunes station for the kitchen.
I also ended up with the
previously mentioned Sawtooth for $100. My friend had upgraded to a G5
for editing and thought the G4 was useless. Upgraded to dual 450 MHz
G4s and running Tiger, it now serves as my DVD ripping/burning station,
video editing workstation, as well as functioning as a DVD player for
the bedroom.
Three Macs, three distinct uses. Two of 'em saved from the landfill no less!
Thanks for doing a great job with this site! I don't think I'd be so
addicted to repurposing the old stuff without the wealth of info found
here. Now, if I can just find a Power Mac G3 All-in-One, I
think my collection will be complete!
Share the story of your first Mac experience by emailing with "My First Mac" as your subject.
Recent My First Mac articles
- Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
- Mac LC III Still a Most Useful Machine, 07.30. A love affair that will last as long as they make Macs began with a used LC III in 1997, and it's still being used today.
- Hooked on Macs, new and old, 07.15. Starting with an old Quadra in 2000, Royal left behind Windows and began acquiring his own stable of Macs.
- The Mac 512K and Microsoft Word changed my life, 05.22. For a writer with a manual Royal typewriter, Word on the Macintosh truly was a life-changing experience.
- More in the My First Mac index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac G5 (iSight), Oct. 2005 -Apple built an iSight webcam into the last version of the G5 iMac.
- List of the Day: The iPod List The iPod List is a forum to discuss the iPod, it's accessories, the iTunes Store, iTunes, and related topics.
- October 12 in LEM history: 98: Beyond HFS+ nightmares - 99: iMacs for all - 00: The future of low-end gaming - 01: Tips on buying a new computer - 05: iMac G5 (iSight) - Simple backup strategies - 06: Bring back flexible, easy to upgrade 'Books - 07: Road Apple nominations - PB 150 boots from Compact Flash - Leopard to slow down PowerPC Macs?
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- TruePower Battery Can Run WallStreet PowerBook Past the 5 Hour Mark, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 10.10. If you have a rugged old PowerBook but its battery is losing capacity, TruePower can give you plenty of time in the field.
- nVidia Inside Next MacBook?, Time for a Mac Netbook, Asus Launched MacBook Air Killer, and More, The 'Book Review, 10.10. Also photo reveals more about MacBook Pro, comparing 16:9 and 16:10 displays, Apple settles suit over faulty iBook and PowerBook adapters, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- 30% of iPhone 3G Buyers Switched Carriers, EU Battery Rule May Force iPhone Redesign, and More, iNews Review, 10.10. Also iPhone 3G greatest consumer electronics device ever, track presidential polls on your iPhone, Talking English Dictionary, waterproof armbands, several new iPhone apps, and more.
- Economic Crunch May Slow Mac Sales, a Recycled Cube, ToCA Race Driver 3 for Mac, and More, Mac News Review, 10.10. Also don't buy RAM from Apple, customize your Mac's appearance, MacTribe expanding into print, My Apple Space social networking, and more.
- Best Mac Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
- Best PowerBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10. Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $150; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10. Refurb 500 GB Time Capsule, $249; new, $294; refurb 1 TB, $419; new, $462; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; Base Station, $159; Express, $60.
- Modding Your Old Mac to Make It More Useful, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 10.09. If your old Mac is too slow, too noisy, too plain looking, or has too little room for expansion, you might want to mod it.
- What Would an $800 MacBook Mean for the Mac mini?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.09. If Apple does release an $800 entry-level MacBook next week, the $600 Mac mini is going to look very overpriced.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $995; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,400 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
- Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
- The Power of Older Macs, Why Vista Only Sees 3 GB of RAM, Wangwriter Supplies, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.08. Also the end of an era as MIT HyperArchive shuts down and another suggestion for profiling Windows computers.
- Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08. By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
- Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.08. We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
- Will Apple's iPhone/App Store Tornado Blow Away the Competition?, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.08. The iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Store paved the way for the success of the iPhone and the App Store - and nobody can match that.
- More links in our archive.
Go to the My First Mac index.
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