FINALLY a G3! Also iBook goodness.

[BlastoiseBlue]

Yeah, got an iBook G4 and an indigo iMac G3. Traded a Playstation 2 and a Sega Genesis for them, I was supposed to give the guy my Nintendo 64 as well but he let me keep it. G4 works fine, but the G3 needs a mouse and keyboard so I haven't been able to test it out yet. I did get it to power on and saw that it was running OS X rather than OS Classic, but I'm not sure if this should have been such a big surprise since it's slot loading and also from a school. I plan on installing OS 9 on it so I can run classic applications.

As for the iBook, I was considering using it as my main laptop over the Dell Latitude D610 I use currently, but neither is perfect. I've realized the iBook feels a little slower than the Dell, but it still runs just about everything I use, with the exception of a few flash based games.

So a few questions about PowerPC in general, I suppose. Firstly, is there any possible way to make Flash run a bit better? I know Adobe dumped PPC back around the same time Apple did, but has there been nothing to make flash related items run better on PPC? And also what are some good games that run in 10.4?

Pictures will probably come later.

 

[Theretrogamingroom]

I don't think that there is much you can do about adobe. Even with the most updated version, some games simply won't run at all. As for games, it depends on your iBook specs. Halo for example reqiures an 800 MHz Processor, 256MB Ram, 32MB AGP GeForce2 MX or ATi 7500 (Or higher) and 10.2.8. You may be able to run Minecraft (In browser) if you have a very nice iBook. My 1.67GHz PBG4 usually plays that game at 30-60FPS. Other games you could probably play include Wolfenstein 3D, Call of Duty, Blood Rayne, Metal of Honor, and Tomb Raider, just to name a few.

 

[BlastoiseBlue]

Yeah, sad to say. Apparently the developers of TenFourFox (FireFox for PPC computers running Tiger) say that they're pushing for a move from Flash and Java based browsing to HTML5. I do have an OLD version of Flash 1.6 (Developer's preview or something like that) installed, so I can watch choppy, slow Youtube on it, but it won't load any of the Flash content on Facebook. (IE: Games, messages)

The iBook is a 512MB model, but I'm hoping to upgrade it to 2GB sooner or later, and probably add a bigger hard drive too. It really is quite a performer for such meager specs, as it was capable of playing non-browser Minecraft (The Linux version) fairly smooth, unless I did anything other than walk. I attempted to install Optifine, but this didn't really help in singleplayer mode, and i haven't tested it in multiplayer again yet, as I was using a friend's account and didn't want to use it while he wasn't online to approve of it.

Also, I found a loose USB mouse and keyboard and got into the G3. Apparently it's been named "hackintosh" and it's a 500 mhz model. It also makes a kind of noise when I turn it on, sounding fairly similar to the noise that happens in Sonic when you get a shield item. Any info on that?

 

[wardsenatorfe92]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the max RAM an iBook can hold is 1.5GB (considering 512MB is soldered to the logic board).

Also, good luck with your indigo! I posted here but I got an indigo iMac a day before you got yours. I don't know what the sonic noise is, but the only thing I can think of that would make any noise would either be the hard drive or CRT (if it's on its way out). I know my iMac makes a loud, continuous humming noise... but I've diagnosed that as the hard drive. Can you tell where the noise is coming from?

On flash, I've given up with flash on every PPC machine I own. Upgrading RAM might help, but it seems no matter what I'm doing, flash just bogs down the CPU and makes things stall.

 

[BlastoiseBlue]

You sure you're thinking of the G4 though? I thought I remembered seeing where someone had upgraded one to 2GB in a thread somewhere, but I could just be remembering things that never happened.

Thanks! Best of luck with yours as well! I think it's most likely the CRT. If it means anything, the computer had been unplugged sitting in a closet for years, as the previous owner tells me, so I'm thinking maybe the CRT was "starved" for electricity, so to speak, and that's why it made the noise. Of course I know absolutely zero about the workings of electronics. XD

Yeah... Too bad there's no alternative... Yet?

 

[IPalindromeI]

Deus Ex runs on anything. Anything. I can max it out on the lousiest IGP Intel had to offer in 2003, and it's completely playable in software mode on a 500 Mhz first-gen P3. (The Rage Pro in it doesn't like being used for 3D)

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Apparently the developers of TenFourFox (FireFox for PPC computers running Tiger) say that they're pushing for a move from Flash and Java based browsing to HTML5.

It's not just pushing for it -- Java on Power Macs has already had at least one exploit, and PowerPC Flash already isn't supported by many sites (including its own security concerns). There is no comparable open source substitute for either. Plugins, like all proprietary binary blobs, need to die.

My favourite games on my G5 are Tron 2.0, Unreal Tournament (the original, using Westlake's OS X native beta), MAME, a recompiled version of Rise of the Triad and various ports of PrBoom. I'm trying to get Return to Castle Wolfenstein working correctly, but my build from source code chokes on the cutscenes.

 

[BlastoiseBlue]

Deus Ex... Isn't that an adventure game? Like, old school point and click? I might see about getting that one. You sure it'll run in OS 10.4 though?

Oh? Well that's definitely not good... Wish someone would make something. I'd do it myself if I knew how to code, but I don't know a thing... XD

I hear Unreal Tournament is fun, and almost infinitely modifiable, so I'll be sure to try that one. And how smooth does MAME run? Can it do 3D arcade games?

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Depends on the game. On my quad G5, turned all the way up, S.T.U.N. Runner will run at full resolution, but games like Soul Caliber run at a glacial pace if they work at all. On the other hand, I, Robot renders beautifully, presumably because of the lower resolution and simpler mathbox. I mostly play Neo-Geo and classic arcade in it and that is just peachy.

Deus Ex is a 1st person game, though it's much more than an FPS.

 

[BlastoiseBlue]

Installed Ubuntu on the iBook today in hopes that maybe it would support a little more software considering it's all open source and whatnot. Having trouble with the wifi utility, but apparently that's a common issue, so I should have it sorted the next time I get the motivation to mess with it. XD