Software that Worked During My Months in Iraq with My PowerBook
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Now
that I have the PowerBook G3
Lombard and the necessary hardware for everyday use, we'll look
at the software I used in Iraq when I had periods of months at a
time without Internet access.
Operating Systems
Mac OS X 10.3 Panther: At the time I was deployed, this
was the latest and greatest from Apple. I runs great on the Lombard
and sadly is the last version of Mac OS X to officially
supported on the Lombard. I did the whole upgrade ladder - every
time I managed to get access to the Internet, the first thing I
would do is run software Update.
Mac OS 9.2: The Lombard can dual boot and I highly
recommend it. Its better to reboot into Mac OS 9 than to use
classic because of speed. Another import thing is that Apple's DVD
player software only works in Mac OS 9 and not in Mac OS X.
Web Browsers
Safari: I had some problems with different versions, but
it became much more stable when I downloaded the version with Mac
OS X 10.3.9. It's a great browser.
Camino:Camino worked on pages that
caused other browsers problems.
Firefox:Firefox
is another browser that also worked good.
Messaging
iChat: iChat works great with other Macs running
Panther, but it requires a fast connection for voice or webcam. AIM
for Windows must be XP and didn't always work on my PC laptop. I
also had to use iChatUSBcam to get
iChat working with my IceCam.
IceCam is a very good USB webcam that's fully compatible with Macs
and is flexible.
Yahoo Messenger:Yahoo Messenger almost always
worked for me. It's a bit outdated (last update 2003.09.17) but
allows video chat with different platforms and at slow connection
speeds.
Email
Mail: Apple really did it good by making Mail. I find it
a whole lot better than Eudora. The Address Book is nice and has a
great layout.
Work related
ZTerm: The best solution I found for logging into
console on communications equipment using a USB-to-serial adapter.
It's compatible with Panther and even Tiger. ZTerm never gave me
a problem, not even in mission critical moments. It works great to
configure Cisco routers.
Microsoft Office: I used the old 2001 edition both in
Classic mode and in Mac OS 9. Both ran at decent speeds. Excel
and Word documents for reports and graphs made me look like a
"squared away soldier".
Network Utility: A great time saver for network admins
like me.
Documenting
iPhoto: Great for organizing the hundreds of photos I
took during the deployment. iPhoto is also great for reducing the
size and quality of files when sharing your pics with friends and
family.
Adobe Photoshop: Simply the best photo editor. I used
Photoshop 8, and it ran at decent speeds on the Lombard - just make
sure you don't run any other programs at the same time or it will
get slow.
Multimedia
VLC:VLC is a
great "play everything" media player. It's especially nice because
it will let you play DVDs on Panther with your Lombard. Apple's
OS X DVD Player doesn't support the Lombard. VLC also plays
VCDs and tons of other formats and media types.
MPlayerOSX:MPlayerOSX will also play
almost anything - especially things VLC wont play.
iTunes: iTunes is great for organizing music and buying
music as well. I really wish they had podcasts back then. I would
listen to InsideMac every month from the Macworld CDs included when
you buy the magazine. It was the closest thing to radio or a
podcast available to me.
Maintenance
Cocktail:This little
utility takes care of everything to make sure your Mac runs
great.
Games
Quake III Arena: This is a good multiplayer first person
shooter (FPS) and will let you play against people all over the
world, and it's very easy to setup on a local network. It works
with Windows and Linux, so everyone can play. Quake III
Arena runs great on the Lombard in Mac OS 9, but not on
OS X. Be sure to get the Quake III Gold Edition, because it
includes versions for both Mac and PC.
When I got my Lombard and installed Panther, it was in fact the
first time I had ever used Mac OS X. I was blown away by the
number of great features. The Lombard turn out to be a very good
machine to learn this new version of the Mac OS.
DVD playing was best in OS 9 with Apple's DVD Player, which
takes advantage of the Lombard's built-in hardware DVD decoder. If
you must watch a DVD in OS X, VLC was good (but a bit
choppy).
I am not a big gamer; I mostly just play FPS. The Lombard did
not disappoint me - it was stable and loyal to me in any situation.
I used my Lombard in 135° Fahrenheit heat, and the fan was
blowing hard. I could hardly see the display because of the sun,
but it kept on working.
This ends my series on the Lombard as a field computer in Iraq.
Next time I'm going to talk about networks.
We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
