iMac G3/600 and Linux in 2013

I got my iMac G3/600 Snow off of eBay in 2010, and it came with a DVD drive and OSX 10.4.11 Tiger (but no OSX install DVD's or CD's).  It was pretty much maxed-out in terms of upgrades.... so it was all ready-to-go, right after I unboxed it.

Here are the specs:

Original Specifications	New, BAD-ASS SPECIFICATIONS
600MHz PowerPC G3	-no change
80 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM	-no change
16 MB ATI Rage 128 ULTRA (integrated AGP 2x video)	-no change
1.0 GB RAM	-no change
Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger	MintPPC 11 (1)
No extras	4-port USB hub (2)

1 = I use XFCE instead of the default LXDE environment because I feel this machine deserves just a little bit more "eye candy" in the GUI than what LXDE provides, out of the box.
2 = I got this so I can install my mouse and keyboard into the HUB and reserve the other USB port, directly on the side of the iMac for a bootable USB flashdrive, which I can boot into from the OpenFirmware screen.

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Let me say that I actually LOVE MintPPC 11... but it's clearly not OSX... and without any dedicated developers and programmers to continue making great PowerPC apps and drivers for Linux, it likely won't EVER be a solid replacement for OSX.

So, as of Jan. 2013, there is no way I can get DVD's to play properly... and this isn't just in MintPPC11... it also won't play in Debian and Ubuntu.  I tried them all!  And while I can boot into Linux fine, the system log(s) indicate that my video hardware is always booting up in AGP mode set at "0x", which I believe to mean either 1) no 2d/3d acceleration, or 2) some 2d/3d acceleration... but just nowhere near what OSX can provide in comparison.

As such, with no graphics acceleration, any available solutions there currently are for PPC Macs like mine to play Flash content (ie. YouTube videos) will be either painfully slow or just not worth the hassle.

On the other hand, I now have a secure and up-to-date browser, a FREE Office suite that's compatible with MS Word and Excel documents, I can create vector images with Inkscape, and I have the most up-to-date version of GIMP (2.8.2) on this thing.... compared to people on OSX Tiger who are stuck with GIMP 2.6.x because of some limitation they have with an outdated X11.

And I'm totally digging the ability for me stream my favorite, local radio stations from within RadioTray!

Best part is, now my iMac G3 can network seamlessly with my HP Media Center, my V2000 notebook, and even the USB hard drive located on the LAN (which is also shared among all 3 computers)!

Compaq Presario V2000 Notebook in 2013

So I got handed a Compaq Presario V2000 notebook from 2005 and wanted to squeeze more life and usability out of it.

Here is what I started out with... compared to what I ended up with...

Original Specifications	New, BAD-ASS SPECIFICATIONS
1.5 GHz Intel Centrino Mobile (aka "Pentium M")	-no change
60 GB HDD @ 4200 RPM	-no change
32 MB Intel 852GM/855GM (integrated video)	-no change
512 MB RAM (yes, that's MB) (1) PC2700	2 GB RAM (maximum) (1) PC2700
Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 3)	Linux Mint 13 XFCE (2)
Stock Battery 10.8V / 4400mAh (2-3.5 hour battery life) @ 12 oz. (0.34kg)	Upgraded Battery 10.8V / 8800mAh (6-7 hour battery life) @ 27.2 oz. (0.77kg)

1 = Subtract 32 MB from the total because the integrated video chipset actually uses the system RAM (which totally sucks, of course)
2 = I installed LXDE on top of XFCE, but I only use it when I really need extra horsepower and less of a hardware footprint... XFCE has better support for transparent effects and other eye-candy.

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I now have an ultra-responsive notebook to fall back on, and with the power efficiency to save me some serious dough on my electric bill!  And I didn't have to shell out >$2000 for a new computer!

HP m7780n Media Center PC - playing games in 2013?!

22 January, 2013

I have an HP m7780n Media Center PC with TV tuner card (stock), which I bought in 2007 and have made the following upgrades to it over the years (from oldest to most recent):

*Netgear GA311 Gigabit Ethernet card - I got this because the on-board network hardware didn't work with OSx86... I was just curious to see what the performance of OSX was like, compared to Windows Vista... on the same hardware.  The inability for OSX to recognize the on-board ethernet (without the GA311) was actually quite sad.


*RAM.... upgraded from 2GB to 4GB.

*PNY Nvidia GeForce 520 GT - The stock 7600 GT was showing its age, not being able to play many game titles that have come out since 2007 and later.  Read my review below!!!

*Antec TriCool 92mm (Part # 761345-75121-6) - The stock Foxconn case fan (PV902512L-G) (HP Part #: 5188-3722) was making a horrible buzzing sound (Nov. 2012-Jan. 2013).  Sure, I could've cleaned it with compressed air and lubricated the inner parts with some WD-40... but I didn't want to run the risk of the thing sparking from too much friction build-up due to a potentially worn-out ball-bearing.  The TriCool 92 seems to be working just fine on it's lowest setting (out of 3 fan speeds; selectable with a hardware switch on the fan's cable).  I booted into the BIOS and made sure to see what kind of RPM's the older Foxconn fan was putting out and it read around 600-700rpm.  With the Antec fan, I set it to the lowest setting of 1200rpm, and the thing is STILL quieter than the Foxconn fan, while blowing the same amount of air from the CPU case (if not more).  The only difference with the new fan, I found, was that in order to get it moving, I had to connect it to a vacant molex plug in addition to the 3-pin socket on the motherboard... without the additional power from the PSU, the fan refused to start.

Review:  As of January 2013, I'm still able to watch TV, record HD over-the-air (OTA; ATSC) TV shows, play ALL of my old game titles form my Windows 98-XP days.  I can now even enjoy my newer favorite titles:

*Mafia 2 - 800x600, with all graphics settings set to low
*Assassin's Creed - 800x600, with all graphics settings to maximum.
*Assassin's Creed II - 800x600, with most graphics settings to medium
*Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - SAME as ACII
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations - Same as ACB, but with slightly more graphics settings set to low
*Assassin's Creed III - 800x600 with all graphics settings set to low


The whole point of me even bothering to play these games in their low resolution is that I CAN still enjoy them all on the same computer I've been using to record all my TV shows on.... and I didn't have to build an entirely new PC from scratch, nor did I have to shell out another $1,000-$2,700 for a totally new PC.

And believe it or not.... but at least for me, ALL of these games look great with the above settings!  I guess I'm not as "spoiled" so many of you who boast and brag about being able to play the latest and greatest titles at maximum resolution...  Not that I'm jealous... I'm just practical.

I guess I can squeeze out even more performance and even more years of use out of this machine if I installed Linux and ran all my Windows games (and apps) in WINE.... but for now, everything is working exactly how I want/need them to work.  I'm quite happy with that!