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.
Six of the Rarest Macs, Benj Edwards, Macworld, 2012.10.19. JLPGA PowerBook 170. Colour Classic II. Macintosh TV. PowerBook 550c. 20th Anniversary Mac. Power Mac G3 All-in-One.
The Five Weirdest Macs of All Time, Benj Edwards, Macworld, 2012.10.12. Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian iMacs. Twentieth Anniversary Mac. Power Mac G4 Cube. Macintosh XL. Power Mac G3 All-in-One.
How to Recover from a Beige G3 Startup Error, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2012.07.19. If you’re not careful, installing OS X 10.2 Jaguar can create an unbootable Beige Power Mac G3. How to fix it – and how to avoid the problem.
Low End Mac’s Compleat Guide to Mac OS 9, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.05.12. Mac OS 9 remains fast and stable, but Classic software hasn’t kept up with the changing internet. Which Macs support OS 9, where to buy it, and how to update to 9.2.2.
Environmentally Responsible Retirement for Old Macs, Rick Lawson, Pioneers in Mac Development, 2008.06.13. After you’ve scavenged what useful parts you can from your old Mac, what’s the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of the rest?
Know Your Mac’s Upgrade Options, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 2008.08.26. Any Mac can be upgraded, but it’s a question of what can be upgraded – RAM, hard drive, video, CPU – and how far it can be upgraded.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of Apple design, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.10.15. Apple has produced some beautiful computers and iPods over the years, but also a few of the ugliest and most ungainly computers ever seen.
Leopard on Pre-AGP, MacTech, 2008.09.03. How to get OS X 10.5 running on a Yikes! Power Mac G4, G4-upgraded Blue & White or Beige Power Mac G3, or PCI Power Mac (or clone) with a G4 daughter card.
Beige Power Mac G3: Maximum power then, great value now, Leo Titus LeBron V, Collection Spotlight, 2009.08.03. The world’s most powerful personal computer when it was introduced in November 1997, the beige G3 still has a lot to offer anyone looking for a very low cost, powerful Mac.
Optimized Software Builds Bring Out the Best in Your Mac, Dan Knight, Low End Mac’s Online Tech Journal, 2009.06.30. Applications compiled for your Mac’s CPU can load more quickly and run faster than ones compiled for universal use.
Is It Worth Maxing the RAM in Old G3 and G4 Macs?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2009.04.15. Increasing memory can make your old Mac faster and make you more productive, but it probably won’t improve resale value by the amount you spend.
The ‘Better Safe Than Sorry’ Guide to Installing Mac OS X Updates, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.12.16. Most users encounter no problems using Software Update, but some preflight work and using the Combo updater means far less chance of trouble.
Why You Should Partition Your Mac’s Hard Drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.12.11. “At the very least, it makes sense to have a second partition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you have problems with your work partition, you can boot from the ’emergency’ partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics.”
Every working computer is useful to someone, Allison Payne, The Budget Mac, 2008.11.19. Whether it’s a PowerBook 1400, G3 iMac, or Power Mac G4, it could be all the computer someone needs.
How to clone Mac OS X to a new hard drive, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2008.10.07. Whether you want to put a bigger, faster drive in your Mac or clone OS X for use in another Mac, here’s the simple process.
Getting the most from your G3 Mac, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2008.10.03. Most G3 Macs can be upgraded so they can run Mac OS X 10.4 ‘Tiger’ quite nicely. Here’s how.
Bumps in the road for G3 Macs, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 2008.07.28. MobileMe wouldn’t sync with the Pismo, and Skype’s software refused to install, but both problems were solved.
The Compressed Air Keyboard Repair, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.07.24. If your keyboard isn’t working as well as it once did, blasting under the keys with compressed air may be the cure.
Mac OS X 10.2 ‘Jaguar’ can unleash the power of G3 iBooks, Carl Nygren, Classic Macs in the Intel Age, 2008.06.17. After pulling a bad stick of RAM, the Dual USB iBook didn’t have enough memory for Tiger or Linux. But even with just 128 MB of RAM, Jaguar did the job.
Troubleshooting Eudora, backing up a Beige G3, and why Macs are green, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.05.01. Problems getting help with Eudora, backup options for a Power Mac G3, and how the long-term usefulness of Macs makes them environmentally friendly computers.
3 ways to better YouTube viewing on older Macs, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.02.06. Watching YouTube videos in your browser on G3 Macs can be painfully slow, but there are several ways to improve your YouTube viewing experience.
Vintage Mac Video and Monitor Mania, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.17. Vintage Macs and monitors didn’t use VGA connectors. Tips on making modern monitors work with old Macs.
Reasons for sticking with the Classic Mac OS, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.30. Whether it’s the simplicity, elegance, speed, or desire not to replace lots of expensive hardware, there are lots of good reasons for sticking with Mac OS 9.
The Truth About CRTs and Shock Danger, Tom Lee, Online Tech Journal, 2007.05.22. You’ve been warned that CRT voltage can injure and even kill. The truth is that this danger is overstated – and takes attention away from a greater danger.
Why Apple must continue G3 support in Mac OS X 10.5 ‘Leopard’, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.05.08. “We’re worried about what happens if Apple unchecks that box in Xcode to include the instructions necessary to run OS X on G3 processors at all.”
Format Any Drive for Older Macs with Patched Apple Tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Apple branded hard drives – until you apply the patches linked to this article.
Musings on low-end SATA cards in PCI Power Macs, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.11.06. Thoughts on why the inexpensive SATA card might almost work in a pre-G3 PCI Power Mac.
Old Power Macs and SATA not a marriage made in heaven, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.11.03. The PCI SATA card said blue & white G3 or newer and Mac OS 8.6 or later, but maybe it would work in an older pre-G3 Power Mac….
Is Ubuntu Linux a sensible alternative for Mac users?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.09.18. If your Mac can run OS X decently, is there any reason to try Ubuntu Linux? If it can’t run OS X well, is Ubuntu a reasonable choice?
Mac OS 8 and 8.1: Maximum Size, Maximum Convenience, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.09.11. Mac OS 8 and 8.1 add some useful new features and tools, and it can even be practical on 68030-based Macs.
Is the G3 still a practical choice?, Matthew Jay, Macs to the Max, 2006.08.10. Although the G3 is several generations old, it has enough horsepower for most of the things we do on our computers.
Customizing Mac OS 9, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.08.01. Fiddling with themes, picking a browser, and making the Classic Mac OS work just the way you want it to.
The ins and outs of booting Linux on the Mac, Larry Stotler, Linux on the Low End, 2006.07.31. “Old World” Macs can’t boot directly into Linux. They need to boot the Classic Mac OS first, then pass control over to Linux.
Making the move from Jaguar (OS X 10.2) to Panther (10.3), Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.04.11. One advantage of Apple’s “no upgrades” policy for OS X – someone can give you their old copy after upgrading without worrying about violating their license.
What to buy when the old Beige G3 is just too sluggish, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.03.27. When your old Power Mac G3 just can’t keep up with your needs under OS X, it’s time to look at the used Power Mac G4 market. The difference in speed can be astounding.
Web browser tips for the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic Mac OS.
The best browsers for PowerPC Macs and the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2005.12.16. Two browsers stand out from the pack: iCab 3 is modern and remains under development, and WaMCom brings Mozilla to older Macs.
Sonata SD, Sonnet Tech, 2004.06.01. First new PCI video card for the Mac in ages sells for just US$99, supports OS 7.5.3 and later plus OS X 10.1.5 and later, works with VGA or old Mac monitors, 16 MB VRAM.
Beige G3 owner reports on TV tuners, Accelerate Your Mac, 2004.03.26. Solutions for watching television and capturing video on OS X and the classic Mac OS.
Stepping up from a Beige G3 to Blue and White, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 2004.02.16. Why it was time to upgrade, benefits of the newer computer, and troubles caused by the Rev. 1 motherboard.
The value and limitations of the beige G3, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2003.03.03. As used G3 prices plummet, has the beige G3 become a best buy, or are there good reasons to avoid it?
Speeding up a beige G3, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2002.10.28. Pumping up an old G3/266 with a faster processor, faster hard drive, and faster drive controller.
Rage at being left behind, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2001.12.24. It’s official – Apple doesn’t plan to support graphics acceleration for any Mac with ATI Rage video.
OS X and the beige G3, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 2001.12.21. OS X runs decently on a beige G3, but also cripples the floppy drive, printer port, graphics performance….
OS X graphics speedup with early ATI video, Mac OS X: Optimizing for Earlier ATI Graphics Accelerators, 2001.03.09. ATI Rage II+, IIc, Pro, and LT Pro faster displaying thousands of colors, not millions.
Review: The Silencer, ScienceMan.com, 1/25/01. Making the G3 All-in-One quieter with a new fan.
Apple has discovered the cause of the dim video problem with the audio/video personality card in the Power Mac G3s. Contact Apple or your Apple dealer for a new card that fixes the problem.
