This summer I got my first pre-Macintosh Apple, an Apple //c, and after 26 years (it is the same age as my car) it still runs perfectly, so I can agree that they can still be useful.
Aso for the original article, I just got a PDQ a couple months ago and I have been using it as my day to day college computer. Sure, my PowerBook G4 can do much more and has a roomy 17" screen, but without a wireless card I can take notes in class without being tempted to check my email or surf Wikipedia. On top of that, despite the fact that I spent a mere $20, my PDQ came with a battery that must have never been used, since it regularly lasts 3-4 hours (just running SimpleText, with the hard drive sleeping as quickly as possible). I have plenty of old game demos like Marathon and Quake installed, and I even found an old copy of Photoshop to put on it (and while it may be ten years obsolete, it still has the basic features I use the most). There's no doubt in my mind that a 1998 PowerBook G3 can be a useful secondary computer even in 2010, though I wouldn't want to try and use something like that as my main computer. As much as I love pre-Jobs 2.0 Apple devices and the classic Mac OS, I just couldn't live without Safari, Mail, QuickLook, and the ability to visit modern websites like Hulu and Netflix. Steven On Nov 17, 2010, at 7:28 PM, Howard Katz wrote: > Some of us still have our Apple IIs up and running too. :) > > On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 7:23 PM, Ashgrove <[email protected]> wrote: > This article has suddenly made me nostalgic: > > http://lowendmac.com/musings/myportable.shtml > > Interestingly enough, these 12-year-old computers are still usable. > All of them can run several Mac OS up to 10.4.11 (not to mention all > the Linux distros still available for them), browse the Internet, > play and burn CDs and DVDs, and do real work. Not at an amazing speed, > mind you --but that was easily foreseeable. The amazing, the mind- > blowing thing is that they still can, and do. > > I wonder what we will think, twelve years from now, of the Core i7 > machines of today, and how they will compare to these dependable > workhorses. > > > -- > You received this message because you are a member of G-Books, a group for > those using G3 iBooks and PowerBooks (we run a separate list for G4 'Books). > The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html and our netiquette > guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To leave this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g-books > > Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/ -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Books, a group for those using G3 iBooks and PowerBooks (we run a separate list for G4 'Books). The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To leave this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g-books Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
