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powerPC G4 applications

Hi All,


I have an older Powerbook G4 (PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz running Mac OS X 10.5.8) and i like to know what standard Mac apps I should have on it?

buggared if i can find the original startup / install CD/DVDs. though i have managed to get it up and running again. works fine.


Thanks for any help.


Cheers,

J

Posted on Jul 13, 2015 2:11 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jul 14, 2015 3:33 AM

You may be able to locate a retail DVD Leopard 10.5 in the used software online, perhaps Amazon

or eBay sites; or maybe through an Apple authorized independent service shop who works on old

gear and may have access to official copies of the OS X on DVD. The retail version, OS X only.


For a time, some users had mixed success in contacting Apple support or applecare and with

the serial number of their vintage Mac computer, were able to ask & purchase a suitable

replacement OS X 10.4 DVD (white label; or an official copy not for resale) or replacement OS X

10.5 DVD; these were generally later versions of the OS X Tiger/Leopard newer than those

versions which shipped with either OS X. However early Tiger was not for Intel Mac; the Leopard

could be used for either one. There was a fee involved, and depending on who you happen to

talk to, there was denial of the existence of these -- or there was an offer to sell the product as

it is not a catalog item and not a Store inventory at all.


iLife '06 or '08 may be OK. Some users did not like changes in the '08 version. I have both, but

found '06 good for 10.5.8 when upgrading a computer that had shipped with Tiger 10.4.x to the

later upgrade applications past Tiger's included kit. These iLife versions were on retail DVDs.


Other official sets included a combination of OS X install DVD, plus iWorks, or plus iLife, etc in a

retail package. These are rare, but sometimes appear for resale. Software such as AppleWorks

6.2 which shipped with computers original software kit, are on the grey label original install restore

discs that are computer-specific; however you could attempt to extract old games and software

from those grey install-restore disc sets by use of CharlesSoft "Pacifist" (note older versions) and

then you can use the same Pacifist to install from the desktop, the extracted software into the Mac.

{It runs in demo mode, similar to SuperDuper for clones, it also has a demo mode that works.}


You could not use Pacifist generally to attempt to extract install a non-compliant OS X into a

computer not intended for its use; but other software titles could be experimentally tested.


This removes the issue of not having an install disc setup, but is not intuitive & not automatic.

Also, in the original install-restore disc set (from any computer that may apply, you can not use

software extracted from a late model Intel-based CPU unless the application is Universal or PPC)

Note there are language versions of applications such as AppleWorks in an original install DVD.

So if you were to extract just the AW6.2 application, you'd need to get language you want from it.

Some old games that were included on original install media with a computer can be fun to

extract and see what they were all about, some may not work though.


For browsers, there is really one one that sees updates and appears OK online, TenFourFox.

And you'd get that from their official site; not softonic or cnet, etc. where contaminants exist.

Avoid flakey download sites that also have many links to click for free stuff, since they can

be loaded with adware or malware, and nothing is really free in those situations. Free pain?


I've been using an image editor for several years, by name 'ToyViewer for Mac' but it is not

available for older Macs anymore; only an App Store version (still free) for later OS X. It is

a good alternative to paying for a multiple-purpose image editor with extra features. I have

the older free versions for Tiger and Leopard PPC, and also a later App Store (intel) version.

They appear similar but are not interchangeable. There may be other old free or shareware

applications; most still in existence by name, no longer offer the older version for PPC.


If you have access to local university rummage sales or second-hand stores that sometimes

get boxes of older computer software, they can be helpful. However the original DVD for your

PowerBook G4 would be a rare item and it would have to match the production series exactly.

A local Apple User group, may be worth researching, since those who are long time users

may have additional knowledge of where to hope to find vintage gear & software, but may also

be talked out of some items they no longer really need. Or they may have spares or duplicates.


Sorry to not have exact information, a few companies on occasion offer some items but going

forward fewer of them have the choice items anymore, it's slim picking for the most part. At

some point, to be on the lookout for great applications that run in Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and

older Intel-based Macs, standalone without the app store (save combo update offline) are a

place to consider collecting; while they are still around. Other than Tiger 10.4.11, as one of

the greatest OS X ever made (for PPC) Snow Leopard 10.6.8 is another great, for Intel-mac.


Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Jul 14, 2015 3:33 AM in response to ejerry

You may be able to locate a retail DVD Leopard 10.5 in the used software online, perhaps Amazon

or eBay sites; or maybe through an Apple authorized independent service shop who works on old

gear and may have access to official copies of the OS X on DVD. The retail version, OS X only.


For a time, some users had mixed success in contacting Apple support or applecare and with

the serial number of their vintage Mac computer, were able to ask & purchase a suitable

replacement OS X 10.4 DVD (white label; or an official copy not for resale) or replacement OS X

10.5 DVD; these were generally later versions of the OS X Tiger/Leopard newer than those

versions which shipped with either OS X. However early Tiger was not for Intel Mac; the Leopard

could be used for either one. There was a fee involved, and depending on who you happen to

talk to, there was denial of the existence of these -- or there was an offer to sell the product as

it is not a catalog item and not a Store inventory at all.


iLife '06 or '08 may be OK. Some users did not like changes in the '08 version. I have both, but

found '06 good for 10.5.8 when upgrading a computer that had shipped with Tiger 10.4.x to the

later upgrade applications past Tiger's included kit. These iLife versions were on retail DVDs.


Other official sets included a combination of OS X install DVD, plus iWorks, or plus iLife, etc in a

retail package. These are rare, but sometimes appear for resale. Software such as AppleWorks

6.2 which shipped with computers original software kit, are on the grey label original install restore

discs that are computer-specific; however you could attempt to extract old games and software

from those grey install-restore disc sets by use of CharlesSoft "Pacifist" (note older versions) and

then you can use the same Pacifist to install from the desktop, the extracted software into the Mac.

{It runs in demo mode, similar to SuperDuper for clones, it also has a demo mode that works.}


You could not use Pacifist generally to attempt to extract install a non-compliant OS X into a

computer not intended for its use; but other software titles could be experimentally tested.


This removes the issue of not having an install disc setup, but is not intuitive & not automatic.

Also, in the original install-restore disc set (from any computer that may apply, you can not use

software extracted from a late model Intel-based CPU unless the application is Universal or PPC)

Note there are language versions of applications such as AppleWorks in an original install DVD.

So if you were to extract just the AW6.2 application, you'd need to get language you want from it.

Some old games that were included on original install media with a computer can be fun to

extract and see what they were all about, some may not work though.


For browsers, there is really one one that sees updates and appears OK online, TenFourFox.

And you'd get that from their official site; not softonic or cnet, etc. where contaminants exist.

Avoid flakey download sites that also have many links to click for free stuff, since they can

be loaded with adware or malware, and nothing is really free in those situations. Free pain?


I've been using an image editor for several years, by name 'ToyViewer for Mac' but it is not

available for older Macs anymore; only an App Store version (still free) for later OS X. It is

a good alternative to paying for a multiple-purpose image editor with extra features. I have

the older free versions for Tiger and Leopard PPC, and also a later App Store (intel) version.

They appear similar but are not interchangeable. There may be other old free or shareware

applications; most still in existence by name, no longer offer the older version for PPC.


If you have access to local university rummage sales or second-hand stores that sometimes

get boxes of older computer software, they can be helpful. However the original DVD for your

PowerBook G4 would be a rare item and it would have to match the production series exactly.

A local Apple User group, may be worth researching, since those who are long time users

may have additional knowledge of where to hope to find vintage gear & software, but may also

be talked out of some items they no longer really need. Or they may have spares or duplicates.


Sorry to not have exact information, a few companies on occasion offer some items but going

forward fewer of them have the choice items anymore, it's slim picking for the most part. At

some point, to be on the lookout for great applications that run in Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and

older Intel-based Macs, standalone without the app store (save combo update offline) are a

place to consider collecting; while they are still around. Other than Tiger 10.4.11, as one of

the greatest OS X ever made (for PPC) Snow Leopard 10.6.8 is another great, for Intel-mac.


Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

powerPC G4 applications

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