Is an IBook G4 worth buying?

The iBook is a good machine, but in today's modern web it is sluggish. Even with TenFourFox is can be slow. However if you are patient it can be done. PowerPC machines like the iBook G4 cannot run any modern browsers so most websites wont load properly. That's were TenFourFox comes in. It is a fork of Mozilla Firefox and is still supported on the G4 and even the G3.

Word processing is fine on these machines. iWork 09 works well enough and Microsoft Word 2004 works but is a bit slow on PowerPC Macs for some reason. Open Office is free and is fast (just look for an older version). Word Processing is easy on the hardware and doesn't require a high end computer.

Another thing to keep in mind is batteries. Most original batteries do not hold a charge, so buying a replacement is probably needed. Third party batteries are cheap but are not always the best quality.

It really depends on what you are doing on the web. PowerPC Macs are dead in the water when it comes to YouTube or and video service. But with TenFourFox general web searches should be good. In TFF you can optimize the browzer to make if faster. A simple Google search should yield answers.

I have owned a number of PowerPC Macs and all serve me well. But for the question is it worth buying? I would say try it... these machines are cheap and they do get things done. Web Browsing is slow but document writing is fine. Even if you don't like the performance these machines can run tons of great software as well as run Mac OS 9.

Intel Based Macbooks 2006-2008 models have dropped in price also. It is an option as well. These Macs run faster and support modern browsers.

Just remember if you buy and iBook you need to do some research on what kind of software it can run. Apple stopped supporting these PPC machines in 2007. Any software that has "Universal" on the box will run on both Intel and PPC such as iWork 09.

If you have extra cash go for the Intel MacBook, but the iBook will do what you need just slower. Good Luck

Leopard will only install on a machine with a 887MHz or better processor. Go for a 2004 or better iBook, these machines will run Leopard better that older iBooks. Try to get one with 1GB of RAM or better. They can be slow on Leopard but the support for different applications is much greater. I updated an eMac from Tiger to Leopard and it actually improved the stability of the computer. The eMac was also a G4 with 1GB of RAM. It takes a while to start up but I say it is worth it in the long run. Leopard is much more secure, stable, and prettier on the eyes. The only downsides to Leopard is it cannot run Classic Mac OS 9 programs if you are into that. And Leopard uses a lot more RAM than Tiger because it needs extra resources to power all the extra stuff it has. So it will be slower.

A program I would recommend is Mactracker, although it is Mac only or iOS only, it gives descriptions on every model of Mac out there. This is helpful because you can see what year of iBook is the best for you.

Cheers

The real issue would be in locating era-specific software, the items which

may not have shipped in the original software kit (which you all will need)

that were the last supported software for the series & OS X it could use.

Sources of valid copies on media or from legitimate sites (not bootleg) are

sometimes a varied search mission; probably best if done on other faster

computer online and then saved to USB2 or older flash memory.

I'd written a rather lengthy reply to your thread yesterday, but then my IP

failed to negotiate (their cable modem) so I reset it; by the time I found a

notice of when ASC had stopped 'auto-saving' my content, most of what

I'd written was lost. In fact all Apple + web content went offline here.

Now, I'm using my software-restored iBook G4 1.33 12-in mid-2005, with

Tiger 10.4.11; mostly from original gray-DVD installer media. Some of the

original titled software that had been available on those DVDs, did not

load. So I later tried again; a few more did. But AppleWorks & some other

failed. That was a disappointment; all the iLife apps, did. I remembered on

attempting to use iTunes internet radio, the older version 4.8? included w/

the 10.4.2 system restore-install DVDs no longer gets radio. But I had an

archive of other later software for Tiger, including iTunes 9.2.1 in .dmg here

so replaced the installer's version with this; so I now get 'internet radio' &

am impressed there still are over 10,000 listings (some may be duplicate)

of audio radio, across several titled types of music stations.

{I've also added numerous other quality titles, such as clone utilities,

ToyViewer for Mac -image editor- among others. Even an old version

of Google Earth. - This may be problematic, as google tries to force-

upgrade to versions the OS X cannot run. I've locked it, so it may not.)

I'm using OmniWeb 5.11.2, found it from an omni archive; the other version

that shows, in their download page, was 5.10. Since I have a G4 Mac Mini

1.5 (last) Late 2005, that has Leopard 10.5.8, I'd used that to get other s/w

titles; that computer has three browsers, (or 4?) but I use the latest Ten4Fox

v. 45.4, and have an older SeaMonkey PPC v 2.16, Safari 5.0.6, + OmniWeb.

Aside, it has installed Opera 10.6.3, & Camino, plus iCab 5.1. Some are rather

outdated; some sites still work (security issues aside) but ones such as Gmail

or google accounts in general, balk with certain ones. Just recently they've

even further depreciated what vintage browsers could marginally work.

{After having repaired, restored, and donated (to no fiscal advantage) nearly

400+/- Apple Macs in the past 15 years, I'm not too keen on the newest.}

My iBook G4 is running 1.5GB RAM, has stock 4500-RPM 40GB (37GB actual)

hard drive, free space approx 33%. Tiger works best, Leopard dogged when

tried; in part due to lack of free hard drive space for Virtual Memory demands.

There are some ATA/IDE SSD models from otherworldcomputing, for these.

Fast enough to make a difference; however installing them is a professional job.

My iBook is like new, and I just bought a newertech battery from OWC online,

they have a series of things that help calibrate and get it to charge properly;

some before you can run the computer at all. Then fully discharge the battery;

then fully recharge from the self-induced coma it will go into, doing that.

So, for an 11+ year old computer, that I bought online from Apple special deals

in Apple Store site in 2005, it's seeing more use now in a few days than it did

for a few years. It had two original Apple replacement (recall warranty) batteries

that failed early on. Hard to maintain & calibrate two, esp. if not using it daily.

I bought this iBook to help troubleshoot a problematic iMac G4 17-in. 1.25GHz

model bought online from Apple; both of these were shipped by truck via
Canada, and eventually were dropped off in the snow at my rural location.

The iMac, with full applecare, never saw any 'expert' repairs, so I had to figure

out the hardware issues (logic board,+ bad RAM. And the metal neck had an

odd bend in it that had me attempting to level my desk. But first, I used a

builders level to see if the desk was the problem. It wasn't. The place that I

was able to take the iMacG4 to, who was 'authorized' by Apple, is partially

to blame for the other issues it had (or has; I have it sitting here w/ issues).

So there is a history behind the hardware. These are the first not repairable

in the easier sense, Apple computers I ever owned. And I bought AppleCare

even though nobody 'specialists' here would fix them because I didn't buy

them from the better independent authorized reseller/service people. I got

mine direct from Apple. (No official 'store' here, then.)

You can avoid Leopard in anything that cannot run larger faster HDDs;

and won't upgrade to more RAM.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

If you should happen across an aluminum unibody G4 PowerBook late build model

they are more robust and also a little bit easier to open to upgrade or repair. Since

time with its depreciation factor are on your side now, the cost factor is much less.

The infamous logic board issues the white iBook G3/G4 have/had are not the level

of difficulty in the PowerBook G4 late model series. If you want a low cost antique

with the metal body and more robust internal configuration. (When in stock, you may

be able to get a repaired MacBook (intel) from 2006-2010 era for reasonable cost.)

Education used ones that got restored, appear at wegenermedia site, occasionally.

Of two iBook (white) models, the first was the First one (2001, iBook G3 500MHz

12-inch, 10GB HDD, 64MB RAM; was first called the DualUSB. Second, one is of

the last build series (12-inch also) & mactracker identifies as:

iBook G4 (Mid 2005)

Introduced July 2005

Discontinued May 2006

Model Identifier PowerBook6,7

Model Number A1133 (12.1-inch) -- A1134 (14.1-inch)

Order Number M9846LL/A (12.1-inch) -- M9848LL/A (14.1-inch)

Initial Price $999 (12.1-inch) -- $1,299 (14.1-inch)

{see price trends on this model here at bidvoy}

http://us.bidvoy.net/iBook_G4_Mid_2005/111422/6m

Given a new battery, more RAM, and extra accessories, should my

iBook G4 be on the market, I'd tend to ask much more than they say.

Mine is very clean; it was officially refurbished & used a few months.

I saw a nice PowerBook G4 12-inch 1.5GHz on craigslist/local but

balked. I have one that needs a new logic board + DC-in Board.

So anyway, hopefully you have fun with the antique; I've been using

mine with original + better Tiger 10.4.11 w/ update bits I have onhand

and remember what I liked about that OS X version.

wegenermedia has some ibook G4 models, repaired w/ guarantee

as a reference. they fix portable apples as their main business

iBook

My preference when at a desk, is to use a wired USB keyboard + mouse

so the actual portable experience is less taxing. Not sure I like touch pad.

Used it for 6 hours the other day & it was killing my hands LOL 😉

If you can spend above $100-180 you can get a 2007 era MacBook.But if you are specially interested in iBook G4s get an extra as a hobby product.This machine is capable of running on the Web with TenFourFox,but it is sluggish,limited to 360p YouTube,and struggles with basic tasks.You could spend a bit more and get a much more capable Intel Mac,which run much newer software,and you can also easily upgrade it to an SSD,and also increase the RAM without much hassle.

e.g:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-macbook-A1181-13-Core-2-Duo-2Ghz-1GB-80GB-OSX-10-6 -8-Camera/232077231876?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26a lgo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Dd1455b92af0f456aae199f6c8 8f5e055%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291882005940

Probably won't do too well with the internet