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Thread: IMac G5 PowerPC

  1. #1
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    Angry IMac G5 PowerPC

    I just purchased an IMac G5 PowerPC for $50. I was hoping to fix and sell it for $120, but I'm starting to think that this was a bad purchase. I originally bought it to get familiar with Macs. I knew that Apple had stopped making PowerPC computers but what I didn't realize was that support had been dropped completely, not only by apple, but by many software developers as well. I soon realized that I couldn't even use the newest version of Firefox. It's a bad sign that Linux distros have been dropping support. Oh well, maybe I can get my $50 back out of it.

  2. #2
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    I believe that Debian do a PowerPc version. I know I used that on my AmigaOne (PowerPC)

  3. #3
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    Try Debian Wheezy or http://www.mintppc.org/

  4. #4
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    Question Re: A Bad Investment?

    Well, I don't think I'm really interested in putting Linux on it. Like I said, I only got it so that I could get familiar with Macs (the OS, that is). Right now I think I'm just interested in getting rid of it. Do you think it would be worth more with an outdated OS X or a more current Debian Linux?

    ----- EDIT -----

    Geez, even Microsoft has kept up XP support for the last 10 years (slowly obsoleting it). Apple couldn't support their product for a few more? I know we're talking Apples and Windows, but c'mon!
    Last edited by dodle; April 15th, 2012 at 05:54 PM.

  5. #5
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    Funny, Dodle, but I (still) have a PPC iMac G5

    Bought it in November 2004 with "Panther" and it was upgraded to "Tiger", 1.5 GB RAM and a larger HD, a few years later.

    Here are a few links that may be interesting (or not):

    * http://firefoxmac.furbism.com/ - optimized builds for PPC Macs
    * http://tenfourfox.tenderapp.com/ - Firefox 4 for OS X

    Mind you - I have no experience with those, and I guess you would have to find an OS X 10.4 install disk, too, but it might be worth a try.

    -oo-

    Two weeks into "OS X", I wondered how on earth I was able to tolerate Windoz for allll those years. As I see it, OS X is the best thing that Apple has ever made.

    Pity Macs are so overpriced: when my IMac breaks down, I will _most likely_ not buy a new Mac, now that I know and have Ubuntu/Linux.
    Registered Linux User #495429
    --
    AMD Athlon64 4000+ :: Asus A8V Deluxe :: 4 x 512 MB RAM :: Geforce 6600GT :: Xubuntu 10.04/Linux MInt 13 "Mate"/Windows XP Home

  6. #6
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    Oh, by the way, I use Camino on "Tiger", instead of Firefox (version 3, I believe. I never have any problems with Camino.
    Registered Linux User #495429
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    AMD Athlon64 4000+ :: Asus A8V Deluxe :: 4 x 512 MB RAM :: Geforce 6600GT :: Xubuntu 10.04/Linux MInt 13 "Mate"/Windows XP Home

  7. #7
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    Ah sucks man, shame you didn't do a quick search on the internet! I believe Leopard is the last supported OSX version for PPC processors (10.5) so the interface hasn't really changed dramatically (10.7 is the latest release).

    The shift to Intel processors was for the best to be honest. Stuff like making it easier for developers to create cross platform applications since there didn't have to worry about compiling it for another processor.

  8. #8
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    Quote Originally Posted by dodle View Post
    Well, I don't think I'm really interested in putting Linux on it. Like I said, I only got it so that I could get familiar with Macs (the OS, that is). Right now I think I'm just interested in getting rid of it. Do you think it would be worth more with an outdated OS X or a more current Debian Linux?

    Install Leopard.

  9. #9
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    I have one. Love the little system. 800MHz, forgot how much ram but I know I upgraded it a lot more. It runs good, not great but got I think the last PPC version of Ubuntu on it with Gnome. Should have went with Xubuntu and it would be top speed. Only downside is that there is no Flash Support for PPC..
    Mac Mini: OSX 10.9 Mavericks, i7-3720QM 2.6Ghz, 16GB RAM, 1.25TB Fusion Array, Intel HD4000 iGPU
    Photo Blog on Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/ExodistPhotoBlog
    Linux User: 380654

  10. #10
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    Re: A Bad Investment?

    It's a good system. You got a good deal.

    Leopard (10.5) is the last OS X version to support PPC. So if you want OS X, that's your only option.

    If you want Linux, then you have Debian and several flavors of Ubuntu such as Lubuntu to choose from.

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