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I still love my lime iBook! |
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I still love my lime iBook! |
As of 2008, it's not my primary computer anymore, but I still LOVE my "old" lime iBook (clamshell). I was as excited about the performance of this computer as I was with the very first Mac I owned, back in 1990 (a Mac Classic II, still the best computer I've ever had). I wonder if I'll ever feel that way again about a Mac...
My iBook, bought in December 2000, came loaded with just about everything I needed, all of which I continued to use for years and certainly more than Macs come loaded with now. Unlike today's Apple laptops, I knew how to use it immediately, as well as how to make the desktop look exactly the way I wanted. I was able to navigate my documents and applications exactly the way I wanted to. And it was LIME GREEN. People came up in airports and hotel lobbies to ask me about it. The guy at the Macintosh store in Cologne was in love with it on first sight. For more than seven years, it was reliable and powerful, and it never stopped having SASS! I don't know how to say in techno-jargon why this computer is so great. I just know that it is.
Because of the changes in most web sites (none of which improve content delivery for users - it just makes it possible to send out more advertising) which prohibit many old browsers from accessing such, and because of some VoIP technologies that aren't accessible, I finally had to buy a new computer (yes, it's a mac). But I'm keeping up this page that details my setup for my lime iBook clamshell, which I hope will help other OS 9x users and other clamshell users. The information includes a list of related web sites focused on using "vintage" machines.
WHAT MY iBOOK DOES
Through December 2007, I used my iBook to:
I have an Airport that both I and my partner (an IBM/Clone user with an old version of Windows) use to access the Internet via wireless network (and we can host dozens of more users, so when you visit, bring your laptop!). In August 2005, I bought a LaCie d2 Hard Drive Extreme with Triple Interface (USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, 160GB), so that my data could stay here while I took my laptop on the road more often -- and I saw a marked improvement in my iBook performance because I moved so much data to the external hard drive. The LaCie hard drive also makes backups a breeze. In addition, I installed (okay, a friend installed) a 256 internal memory upgrade from ramjet.com, and that made the iBook oh-so-much faster and more powerful. Total cost of the hard drive and the memory upgrade: around $250.
Could I use an iPod with my lime iBook? According to what I've read online, only if it's a 1st or 2nd generation, and NOT anything later and NOT a mini. Also, you need for the iPod to be loaded with all of its original software and settings. Anything else will NOT work with such a computer, because Apple has put in all sorts of blocks on later iPods to prevent non-OSX users from using the tools (and I've yet to read about anyone hacking such for OS9).
I could use a webcam with my iBook -- but I never bothered to buy one, as none of my friends or family have such, and few of my professional associates use them.
SOFTWARE
What software am I running? It's all "old," and I share this list to help others who are also running old machines (as far as I know, this is the latest versions of all of the following that will work on a computer such as mine):
Note : In 2006, when I tried to empty my trash on my iBook, I got a -127 error message. The trash showed a jpeg file that was more than 130 GB -- impossible on my little lime iBook with just over 9 GB of disk space. The date and time also reset itself, twice, to January 1, 1901. Zapping the pram or rebuilding the desktop with TechTool did nothing, nor did using Disk FirstAid. Someone on the Open University Mac Users Forum recommended DiskWarrior, and since nothing else would work and I couldn't find any other advice for this problem, I ordered it. It arrived, I used it, and the -127 error was gone and my computer trash was empty! I'm not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to technology tools (and cannot understand why anyone would ever confuse me for a techie), but had no problems using DiskWarrior at all, straight out of the box. And it was awesome to find a product that works with OS 9x (let me say it again: not all of us have the funds to upgrade our systems to OSX and all of our software to work with such). DiskWarrior not only fixed my problem, it also cleaned up my iBook's "directory structure," (which it turns out it very much needed). An added bonus: DiskWarrior has an internal diagnostic that can let you know if a drive is in danger of physical malfunction, so you can back up your data before the drive fails (something I'm always afraid of). If you have a Macintosh computer, you gotta get this product!
Why am I telling you all this? Because I want to:
MY TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY/PHILOSOPHY
It is wasteful and silly to get rid of a computer and software just because a new model or an upgrade has come out. I'm the same way about vehicles. If I can still use it, and it does everything I need it to, why upgrade? It's bad for the environment, I can't afford it, and even when I can afford it, I'd rather spend my money on other things.
I used DOS-based computers in the work place (just for word-processing and some basic database management) until 1990, when I worked at a place that had Mac Classics and Mac SEs. And I fell in love with those machines... So easy to use. Everything seemed intuitive. They worked the way I think. No need to have a computer manual by my side. The desktop publishing capabilities were awesome, particularly for a non-designer... Later, I was thrilled with my very own Mac Classic II -- what a work horse!
In 1996, I upgraded to a Macintosh Performa 6300. I wasn't thrilled with it the first two years -- the hard drive failed, the mother board had to be replaced, and the monitor had to be repaired twice. However, Apple replaced or repaired all of these things for free, and once they were fixed, the machine worked well at long last. It did everything I wanted it to do -- surfed the Web, played Quicktime movies, designed brochures, and, ofcourse, e-mail, e-mail, e-mail. And it made no difference that my work place for a while was an IBM/Cloned environment -- it was easy-as-pie to bring things home and work on them on the Mac.
But five years later, I was moving to Germany to work with the United Nations Volunteers program, and I decided I did, indeed, need a new, more powerful and more mobile machine to do everything I needed to do online and off. I had intended to buy a PowerBook. The salesperson at UT Campus Computer Center listened to how I used my computer currently, how I intended to use a new computer in the future, and why I liked Macs so much. She said that, based on my information, the less-expensive, more durable iBook would be a much better choice. She demonstrated a model for me, and I was impressed. There was no cherry/red choice, so I went for the lime (it had more personality than the blue or cobalt).
It arrived a week later. And I still love it. For seven years, it did everything I needed it to. It made me a reborn Mac disciple. This is how a computer should work! All I needed was a power adapter for European electrical outlets, once I moved to Germany (available in many large grocery stores and Woolworth's), and I was all set... I use a zip drive or a memory stick to take care of file-transfer issues that can't be resolved via e-mail.
Why am I not running OSX on the iBook? If a lime iBook user upgrades its internal memory, as I have, he or she can run OS 10.2, but according to most of what I've read, nothing higher than that. An unaltered lime iBook cannot run OSX. As noted earlier, I have, indeed, upgraded my iBook's internal memory... but I have not upgraded the OS. I don't see a reason to, as I will lose almost all of my software if I do, because most of it will no longer function on OSX. It will cost thousands of dollars to replace all the software that will not work with OS X -- it would be more economical to just buy an entire new computer.
SO WHY UPGRADE AT ALL?
Because companies are purposefully and unnecessarily shutting out certain computers and software when releasing new versions of web sites and what not ("This paragraph can't be read because your software is out-of-date..."). More and more web sites that worked for me even five years ago no longer do, only because of the choices the web designer has made (not because of any enhancements for the user).
Also, because computers do wear out, especially newer computers.
I'm not getting rid of this lime iBook, because I have no doubt there are all sorts of things I do on this iBook I won't be able to on the new mac.
RECYCLING & APPROPRIATE DISPOSAL
I'm sad to say that, according to Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, Apple ranks near the bottom in getting toxic chemicals out of its products and adopting a first class recycling policy. The toxic chemicals Apple uses in its products end up in scrap yards in Asia where they contaminate child laborers and the environment. Apple's voluntary 'recycling' program is weak and non-existent outside the U.S. unless required by local governments (I've certainly never heard of it, and I visit the Apple web site frequently). In addition, Apple continues to oppose the adoption of strong recycling programs in the U.S. Please tell Apple to go green. I have!
iBook and other vintage Mac Resources
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