OS X 10.4 Tiger Is Still Very Useful

Getting an old (2002) 700 MHz iMac G4 with just 512 MB of memory up and running reminded me of what a nice – and still useful – operating system Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is, especially on that old Apple PowerPC hardware.

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Is Still Good Enough for Me

Honestly, if they didn’t keep dropping support for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in new versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Flash, I’d have almost no reason to have OS X 10.9 Mavericks on my Late 2008 13″ Aluminum MacBook (that’s a 2013 OS on a 2008 computer). But my Mid 2007 Mac mini is limited […]

Using Skype on your PPC Macintosh in 2016

The way we talk on the Internet fundamentally changed over the past 20 years. When I came online through AOL in the mid 1990s there were chat rooms and instant messaging clients. I still remember the *beep* of my ICQ client when receiving a message all those years after.

Born Again Indigo iMac

This story starts off innocently enough. I was stopping by a small thrift shop, like I normally do when I have 5 to 10 minutes of spare time on my hands. I’m always on the lookout for a cheap Macintosh to add to my collection.

Mavericks Already Dominates Among OS X Users

Apple certainly knew what it was doing when it made OS X 10.9 Mavericks a free update available to anyone running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, or 10.8 Mountain Lion. Released on Tuesday, Low End Mac site stats show that it passed Mountain Lion on Wednesday.

The Case Against PPC Linux, OS X Tiger on Facebook, ResExcellence Rebirth, and More

Vintage Mac News is a roundup of news related to vintage Macs* and other older Apple products. For other Mac and Apple news, see Mac News Review. For iBook, PowerBook, and other portable news, see The ‘Book Review. iPad, iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV news is covered in iNews Review. Purchases made through links to […]

* Although Apple defines vintage as models discontinued over five years ago but less than seven years ago (at which point Apple calls them obsolete), we prefer a
definition that has more to do with a lack of functionality and the end of active support by Apple than with how long Apple makes service parts available.

Dictionary definitions of the word vintage start out with wine, but it is also applied to a group of items that share
certain characteristics, originated in a specific time period, and/or
is characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal – a
classic.

As we use the term here, vintage refers to Macs and related software, operating systems, and peripherals that
Apple has left behind over the years, whether that’s an original
Macintosh or a Power Mac G5 running OS X 10.5 Leopard. At present, we
consider all pre-Intel Macs and all versions of OS X that run on them
vintage (and at some point we’ll extend that definition to include
Intel Macs that can’t run OS X 10.7 Lion, and so on).

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Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Perhaps the Best Version Ever

Prior to OS X, Apple had a rock solid operating system that was fast and stable, but by the time Mac OS 9 was released in 1999, it was looking very dull and dated, especially compared to what Microsoft was offering in the shape of Windows NT 4 (released July 1996), Windows 98 (released June 1998), and […]

Power Mac G5: The Economical Alternative to a Mac Pro

2012 – Last week I went to a local Mac store so I could have a look at the latest models. Even though I am pretty much stuck on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (and happy with it), I closely watch recent developments in the Mac market. Being a fan of desktop computers, I’m especially interested in […]

YouTube on G4 Macs: The Battle Is Not Lost

2011 – We old time G4 users have grown used to the neglect by Apple and Adobe, which want to lure us into buying their newfangled stuff by constantly locking out older hardware. But, my fellow G4 users, the battle is not yet lost!

Is Tiger or Leopard Better for Sub-867 MHz G4 Macs?

I’ve been using Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard on an unsupported Mac for a few months now. It is a 500 MHz Titanium PowerBook G4 with 1 GB of RAM. It runs a lot better than you might think, and I am happy using it for my daily machine. But how does Leopard compare to […]

6 Years with Tiger

2011 – Apple released Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger six years ago. It would become the longest lasting version of OS X ever, not replaced by a newer version until 10.5 Leopard shipped in October 2007 – 30 months later.

Back with Linux Again

It has been a roller coaster of computing in my life recently. About 18 months ago, after 10 years of being a hard-core dedicated Mac user, I decided that I wanted to try something else. Linux.

Mac and Linux Side by Side

I am an Apple fan with a itch to scratch called Linux. I’ve tried being without a Mac, and I can’t do it, so I’m left with running Mac and Linux on the same machine.

Why Run Leopard on Slow G4 Macs?

Leopard officially requires an 867 MHz G4 – but that doesn’t rule it out – and then there is Tiger. Depending on your needs and depending on your level of expertise, you will choose either Tiger or Leopard. It is time to revisit the options for low-end G4 users.

Snow Leopard Doesn’t Mean the End of the Road for PowerPC Macs

2009 – Low End Mac colleague Simon Royal says he didn’t believe the rumors last year that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard would be Intel only. I have to say that at the early point when it was reported that alpha builds of Snow Leopard were being seeded to developers as Intel-only software, the proverbial […]

Is Leopard Slower than Tiger on G4 Macs?

2009 – I have had so many arguments with people stating that Apple deliberately geared Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to perform much better on Intel machines so as to pull people away from the PowerPC platform. I thought it was about time this myth was laid to rest.

Safari 4 Beta Is Lightning Fast

I’m a keen follower of Mac web browsers, so when Apple released a new version of Safari – even a beta – I had to try it. Most owners of low-end Macs know they are for basic uses and browsing the Web, so finding a good browser that performs at a reasonable speed is vital […]