Camino on Older Macs
From Simon in response to Is
Camino Now the Best Browser for Older Macs?:
Charles.
Interesting article, and I agree that Camino is excellent for older Macs.
Safari is also good. Have you checked out Stainless (it is Leopard only). It is a bit basic, but
it rockets along.
Simon
Hi Simon,
I have to report that my initial favorable impression
of Camino 1.6.6 didn't hold up on my Pismo, as explained in some detail
in my follow-up
report on Monday.
I have of course used Safari in pretty well all
versions since it debuted, but I've never really warmed to it although
it's definitely a decent browser. I did try Stainless, but prefer
Cruz and Shiira as WebKit browsers.
Charles
Charles
Camino looks good on the outside, but after using it for a while you
do notice a few annoying blips in it. I found it would hang every so
often.
Safari is good, and version 3 has to be the best, but it still isn't
quite there. Shiira sucked in my opinion, and version 2 was worse that
the first.
I am loving Cruz at the moment, and Stainless will be great once it
has a few more basic features.
As an all round compatibility browser, I use Firefox, even though there
are faster ones out there - what is point of speed if it doesn't quite
work as it should do.
It will be interesting to see how Chrome runs on the Mac, but that
is a few months away yet.
Simon
End of the Road for Camino 1.x
From Greg:
Dear Charles,
Unfortunately, Camino 1.x, like Firefox 2.x, will not be updated any
further, and Camino 2.x
won't run on Panther. This presents a problem for my father, who has an
iBook G3 running Panther. I'm thinking of installing the latest version
of Opera, which runs on Panther,
for him.
I read a comment somewhere on Lifehacker that said that Firefox 3.x
(and, presumably, Camino 2.x) can be "tricked" into running on Panther
by editing the appropriate setting in about:config that checks the
version of OS X that's on the Mac on which the browser is
installed, but I have no idea how to do this myself.
Sincerely,
Greg
Hi Greg,
I have no computers with Panther installed any more,
but I can put in a good word for how well Opera 9.63 works on my
Tiger-booted Pismos.
Opera is actually my overall favorite browser for
general web surfing on both my Tiger and Leopard machines. Opera has
its annoyances - it is sluggish to start up, but that's mitigated
somewhat by its having the best, no-hassle session resume support of
any Mac browser. It also has far and away the best download manager of
any browser I've ever used, with a pause and resume feature that works
dependably and excellent progress monitoring.
I prefer the way Opera renders text, especially if
it's to be copied and pasted into a text editor, to most other
browsers, I'm massively impressed with its stability, and I also love
little things about Opera like the buttons to toggle image loading on
and off (huge when you're stuck with dialup access) and instant page
zooming on the main interface without having to root around in
menus.
Charles
Camino Eats Memory and Bogs Down
From Jody:
Charles,
I have the same problem with Camino on my MacBook Pro with 4 GB
RAM as you've experienced on your Pismo. There will come a point where
Camino has gobbled up a ridiculous amount of system memory and there's
no more to grab, so it just stops working. New pages don't load, links
won't open, etc. The only way round it is to close the application and
start again. I like Camino too much to switch to another browser
though.
Jody
Hi Jody,
That does sound like the symptoms. Must be a memory
leak.
Charles
Very Happy with a New 17" PowerBook
From John:
Hi, Charles,
Having followed your PowerBook reviews for a good while now, I today
received a 17" G4 PowerBook
that I bought on the Low End Mac Swap
List. Wow, what an awesome PowerBook! You're right, it qualifies as
a genuine desktop replacement candidate. More later after I get my feet
wet with this machine.
John
Hi John,
Congratulations on your new (big) baby. If it turns
out to be anywhere near as good as mine, I'm sure you will be happy
with it.
I am planning to get a Macintel machine in the not too
distant future, but this 17" G4 makes me in no particular hurry.
Charles
From John
This PowerBook looks almost new, Charles. I don't know if I've ever
mentioned this, but I'm an architect. I've recently been teaching
myself to use Google SketchUp
to develop client presentations.
The graphics are pretty intense, and they exceeded the abilities of
my hot-rodded Pismo. In
checking around, I found one Mac user who said the software was a dog
even on his MacBook 13". Here at home though it cruises on our
OWC-powered Digital
Audio 1.7 GHz G4 tower. I concluded from that that I needed a 17"
PowerBook that I could take to my Windows-only office network. I tested
it out this afternoon, and SketchUp works great. I got it for less than
a third of the price of a MacBook Pro 17". It'll take care of my needs
for a good while, I believe.
Thanks again for your reviews. Your "Great 'Books" column is one I
still refer to when I'm shopping.
God's blessings to you,
John
Hi John,
Thanks for the follow-up. Sounds like you got a great
deal on a machine that suits your needs well.
Speaking of architecture software, have you ever tried
BeLight Live Interior 3D v1.1 for presentations? Here's
my review of the software.
I found that it works well on my 1.33 GHz G4
PowerBook.
There is also a Java-based freeware application with
similar capabilities that you might like to check out called
Sweet Home.
Charles
Unibody MacBook Pro a Work of Art
From Andrew:
Charles,
I made it three months on my early 2008 MacBook Pro
before video glitches set in, though different from the ones described
relating to the Nvidia defect. In short, everything is fine when
working on AC power, but if I put the machine to sleep and wake on
battery, text would skew and distort to the point of being illegible,
but correctable in small batches by scrolling.
Needless to say, the tech at the Genius Bar easily duplicated the
problem, said that there was an article about it from Apple, though he
wouldn't show me the article, then told me to call Apple Customer
Relations. Customer relations was very apologetic, said there is no
known fix for this issue, and that my only options were to return my
computer for a full refund or to have Apple replace it with a new
Unibody MacBook
Pro. They arranged for the replacement locally at my nearest Apple
Store and even replaced my extra battery.
So, while I honestly preferred the matte screen on the older model,
I now have a brand-new Unibody 15" and paid only $1,600 clearance price
for the old model. Not sure which I like better. The unibody enclosure
really is everything that it's cracked up to be, and the glossy screen
is incredible in situations where glossy excels, such as movies and
games or working away from harsh lighting. The keyboard is far better
than the one in my older plastic MacBook and is actually better than
the old MacBook Pro, which is opposite of my initial impression.
I've had absolutely none of the glitches that the earliest adopters
had, and both of Apple's firmware updates were already built-in at the
factory, suggesting a newer logic board revision than the first ones
three-months-ago. I still have serious Rev. A worries, but I do have
AppleCare on this, so hopefully all will be well.
I noticed absolutely no speed difference whatsoever, and my favorite
Windows game (Mass Effect) was a bit smoother on the old MacBook Pro,
no doubt due to the video drivers.
Furthermore, Windows Vista recognizes the graphics card, and it has
the latest driver, but for some reason Aero won't work. I am sure that
this will be cleaned up with the next Boot Camp update.
If you don't mind the glossy screen, I can give a positive initial
impression of the new MBP. The thing really is a work of art, and the
trackpad is a major advance. Four finger swipe for Exposé is one
of those things that I can't imagine living without.
Cheers,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the report.
Subsequent to our discussions on this topic last fall,
I have read enough horror stories that I've been completely spooked off
ever buying any MacBook Pro with a GeForce 8600M GT GPU.
If I can scratch up the cash, I would like to follow
your example and get a Unibody 15" MBP, but I'm still chary of the
Revision A blues. Perhaps more likely at this point is a Unibody
MacBook, but the same caveat applies.
Charles
Laptop Video Reliability
From Roger:
Hi Charles,
I have been servicing some Macs for several years and have been
somewhat disappointed by white iBook failures. MacBooks are just now
getting old enough to get some perspective, and they are looking pretty
good. I think most iBook and PowerBook problems are video related. It
appears to me that when the video cables start going bad due to the
hinge movement, this often causes a short that takes out the video on
the motherboard. The antidotal view from me shows that iBooks and
PowerBooks that are used in a more stationary manner have less failure
on average. I hope that wiring and motherboard changes will avoid much
of these problems.
Roger
Hi Roger,
I think you're probably correct in your deduction that
a fair bit of the iBook and PowerBook video issues result from ribbon
cable chafe in way of the screen hinge. I recall this happening at
least as far back as the Lombard PowerBook. There is also a
pretty well documented issue with failed solder joints on both the G3
(the subject of an Apple extended service program for some models) and
G4 dual USB iBooks
Probably with either of these problems being used in
mobile mode, which usually goes a long with a lot of lid closings and
openings, would hasten the onset of failure, and my G3 iBook, which has
had some road work but not a lot under either my or now my wife's
usage, has remained trouble-free due to being used mostly in a
"stationary manner", as you put it. On the other hand, my daughter's G4
iBook, which has been used extensively on the road since it was new,
began manifesting problems before it was two years old.
Glad to hear that the MacBooks seem to be more robust
in that department.
Charles
Recycling iMacs for Cats
From Andrew:
Attached is a pic of what's left of a dead iMac I salvaged. The
power supply and monitor were shot, so I sent them to the recycler and
kept the remaining components for use later in other iMacs. It seemed a
shame to send the case to the recycler, so I took it off and put it
back together with transparent packing tape (probably a glue gun would
also work) and pulled a cheap flannel blanket out of storage to stick
inside. There were a couple of plastic chunks inside that would have
made for an uncomfortable perch, so I used a hobby iron with knife
attachment to melt them off first. My neighbors' kitty really likes it,
though she tends to dig around and mess up the blanket a lot!
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I like cats and Macs, so this pic rubs me the right
way. :-)
Nice to see an old Mac still giving someone good
service and pleasure!
Charles
G5 Users Not Missing Much without Snow Leopard
From Brian Reilly:
Hey there again Charles,
I just wrote an article investigating the advantages of 64-bit
capable processors, particularly the G5's, due to the fact support for
them will be dropped in Snow Leopard. I after a lot of sifting, I
actually found G5 owners will not really be losing much once 64-bit
applications are continued to be developed only for Intel Macs. The
link to the article is here: What 64-Bit
Will Mean to the Rest of Us
Just something I think G5 owners will be interested in reading.
Thanks, Brian.
Charles
PowerBook Overheating Since Mac OS X 10.5.4
From Marty:
This is a comment/reply to your adventures with an Overheating PowerBook, the
10.5.6 Update, and Other Things entry.
I too have noticed the same if not exact issues you have with your
G4. My PowerBook is constantly running at 54° to 58° Celsius
due to the G4 fan controller . . . it was well into the 60s
left to the Apple defaults. I too have had no issues with speed and
performance until late . . . the 10.5.4+ updates I've noticed
the higher heat and lower performance. With the fans cranked and
keeping the processor cooler, the performance is much better,
understandably, but, as you ask, what's changed? I believe, though I
have no proof, that it's the OS/kernel that is not optimized for the
PPC. I seem to remember the early adopters of the Intel Mac's having
the same issues with PPC apps and the like.
Marty
Hi Marty,
My G4 PowerBook has been behaving fairly well since I
updated to a clean reinstall of OS X 10.5.6. Of course, we've been
having cold weather here in Nova Scotia in January!
I am inclined to suspect that your surmise about Apple
not putting a whole lot of effort into Leopard PowerPC optimization is
probably correct.
Charles
Need a Password to Install Drivers
From Bill:
I bought a G4 Mac OS 10.4.6 tower on
eBay. I need a password to install drivers for an ATI 9200 video
card. I got the drivers, but I need to get past the password to install
them.
Ideas?
Thanks
Bill
Hi Bill,
Unless you can contact the previous owner and get the
Administrator password, the only suggestion I can think of is to
reinitialize the hard drive and reinstall the system, backing up any of
your own files and applications beforehand, of course.
Charles
Go to Charles Moore's Mailbag index.
