Here at Low End Mac we often cover PowerPC Mac App highlights and tricks, where you can read up about the different ways you can make your Mac work better for you. Whether you need to extend a desktop to a second monitor, enable window tiling, momentum scrolling or need to enable the “over 128 GB” limit on certain models.. our goal is to shine a light on perhaps-forgotten pieces of software and help spread the word.
We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear – and in the spirit of doing so, here are 7 apps we’d like to tell you about!
1: Cinch Pro
Longtime users of Windows will note that window tiling has been available since windows 7, a feature that recently made its way over to macOS Sequoia. But what if I told you this is something you could actually have done on Mac OS X Leopard, way back in 2010 even on a PowerPC Mac? Introducing – Cinch. While this app currently exists as a standalone from its website as well as being available on the Mac App Store, it’s mostly only available for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard through macOS 14 Sonoma for version 1.2.4 except if you manage to get your hands on an older copy! Version 1.0.4 works A-ok in Mac OS X Leopard on a PowerPC Mac. (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: Add Window Tiling to your PowerPC Mac
- Link to download file on Low End Mac: Cinch-PowerPC.zip
2: Berokyo
Way back in 2012 Mac OS X Lion came with a brand new feature called Launchpad – it gave you quick access to your applications folder overlayed across the screen, and it continues to be a staple of macOS to this day, seeing hardly any changes from how it was originally introduced 13 years ago.
As it turns out, there is a long lost piece of software from the days of Skeuomorphism called Berokyo. Made back in 2009-10 up to version 1.35.0 as a universal app and with no immediate way to activate in 2025, we wanted to take a look at what this app actually can do in trial mode. (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: Berokyo: A kind-of Launchpad app for PowerPC
- Link to download: On the Macintosh Garden
3: Screen Spanning Doctor
Not all Macs are made equal. Many these days can extend their display and even support multiple monitors, however there was a time when the Mac you bought could only mirror the display externally. For those Macs such as an iMac G5 or an eMac G4, there is a piece of software known as Screen Spanning Doctor.
The project started out as a way to enable extending your desktop on an iBook G3 in Mac OS 9, and turned into this patch once Mac OS X came around. Download, install, reboot, should be good to go. (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: Enable Extend Desktop on your PowerPC Mac
- Software download link right here on Low End Mac: Screen-Spanning-Doctor-v0.3.3.zip
4: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Over the years the Photos app and Quick View in Finder have gained a set of photo editing features, allowing users to make basic edits to their picture/photo files without going out of their way to install something that could do such things. While these features are indeed convenient and helpful, they lack the refined precision of an application like Adobe Photoshop which is far more flexible with a vast arrange of tools at your disposal. (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: Adobe Photoshop: A case for keeping an Intel or PowerPC Mac
- Link to download: On the Macintosh Garden
5: TenFiveTube
There was a time not too long ago in the past where one could simply open Safari on a PowerPC Mac, and be able to browse YouTube with relative ease. As web standards changed, resources required became more intensive, and the PowerPC platform was depreciated. Adobe Flash player was still in its hey day then, and it looked as though the 2010’s was going to firmly leave the PowerPC platform in the proverbial dust, once and for all.
The PowerMac7,2 DP 2.0 G5 was de jure depreciated by Apple as soon as Intel Macs were released in 2006. The PowerPC platform is de facto somewhat relevant on an enthusiast level for some computer enthusiasts, and as a result, it’s 2023, and we can still stream YouTube in 720p on a PowerPC Mac. 3 years after the v5 release of TenFiveTube, it still works! (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: A PowerPC Gem: TenFiveTube for OS X Leopard
- Link to download: On the Macintosh Garden
6: Apple FireWire SDK
So what’s so exciting about Apple’s FireWire SDK? What might be a good use for it? Well – if you’re a developer, there’s plenty to do. The entire FireWire application programming stack was provided by Apple, so you could build your own FireWire based application from the base code that’s provided and there’s actually some really cool sample applications included in the SDK package that are really basic, but can do some pretty neat tricks. (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: A Forgotten Gem: Apple FireWire SDK
- Link to download: On Apple Developer Website (Use your Apple ID to sign in)
7: Minecraft 1.8.9
Officially, Minecraft 1.5.2 was the last version playable on any PowerPC Mac, as it was the last version playable on Java 5. The release date of 1.5.2 is May 2nd 2013, around the same time retina MacBook Pros just started shipping. Minecraft 1.8.9 was released December 9th 2015, adding several features and new textures over 1.5.2. I had stumbled upon this sometime in 2022.. (More in the article link..)
- See our article on this: Minecraft 1.8.9 for PowerPC Macs
- Link to download: On the Macintosh Garden
In Conclusion
The point we always try to make at Low End Mac is that until it dies no computer is ever less capable than it was when you bought it, so try to make the most of it!
