OS X 10.4.11 (PowerBook G4 & G5) not supported

You cannot turn those old possums into new roadrunners. What you can do is find a local charity to whom you can donate them and take a little tax deduction. Then break into that piggybank where you've been saving for a new Yaesu 1000 and buy some new computers.

No. The only processor to support the newer versions of OS X are Intel rather then PowerPC which your Macs currently have. The Intel processors would need a totaly different set of chips for support. There is no way that you can change all of that in those Macs.

Allan

i just cringe sometimes when people say that the best use for some of these older machines is to donate them to charity. maybe i cringe is because for most people this is true. but there are others that really like these things and tend to focus more on what these old machines can do and less on what they can't do. in all fairness g4 and g5 machines even when they were new were never marketed as gaming machines. and for online gaming, they never will be.

poison, i have to agree with you. for some tasks these things become obsolete way too fast.

PoisonButterfly wrote:

I have a PowerBook G4 and a G5. Both work fine. However, I'm running into the issue of my OS no longer being supported and therefore can't do certain things

Specifically what can't you do?

As others have said, you can't change the processor in those machines. Newer machines can afford you to see:

1. The latest webpages if they require newer Flash or Silverlight standards. HTML and Javascript based webpages work fine, and older versions of Flash work fine.

2. The opportunity to run the latest versions of Microsoft Windows natively.

3. Past a certain date newer machines do not support PowerPC applications.

4. No Intel Mac supports Classic or Mac OS 9.

5. iCloud. However many web hosts support FTP and older versions of Chronosync for similar Mac/Cloud integration. You need at minimum a Core2Duo Mac for 10.7.2 support, a CoreDuo or CoreSolo Mac won't support either. 10.8 support for built-in notifications support, but that is even more limited which machines will run it.

6. No Mac can run a Mac operating system older than its last hardware refresh.

Consider your options carefully, reading this tip and the others here:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2275

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2455

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2465

and

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3761

What is it with this world and always looking for the latest and greatest stuff. All you're doing is filling "their" pockets and putting yourself into debt over stuff that's outdated by the time you get it home lol! WHY can't people be happy with what they HAVE. WHY must people constantly be irresponsible and put themselves in debt over such stuff.

Good philosphical questions. However, companies will continue to market and push newer items unless people refuse to buy them. For-profit companies are going to optimize sales. Right now (according to reports I have seen elsewhere on the forums) only 5% or so of computer owners still run system versions older than the last two or 3 generations. We don't exactly represent a market force, especially since we also clearly aren't the ones buying things. You'd have to convince the other 95% to decide they don't want a device that's a fraction of an inch thick that can play movies anywhere you go, etc. Kind of a hard sell, especially to the younger generation who cannot imagine having to hunt for a payphone.

Believe it or not, you can still find in the bargain aisle at K-Mart old Mac software that won't run on new machines. You have to know what you are looking for. PowerPC, with a minimum of 10.1 to 10.5. Universal applications will work as well. See my used or refurbished Mac FAQ for more resources*: http://www.macmaps.com/usedrefurbished.html And lastly, don't hesitate to locate a nearby user group, where other users of older Macs might have old software they want to give up.

http://www.apple.com/usergroups/