Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac • Hacker News Board

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#121

Post by wink » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 9:43 AM UTC

> Predictably, I’ve found that having a dedicated, internet-free laptop has helped me become more productive.

> Old Mac Games Still Run, Too

Spot the error.

I still have a small-ish Centrino laptop from 2004 that's running Windows XP. It's been airgapped for roughly 10 years (wifi broke and at some point there were no updates for XP) but it's getting occasional use as a portable DVD player. I don't get why you'd willingly buy an old machine to be constrained but I hate throwing out old stuff that still works. And this does.

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#122

Post by RalfWausE » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 9:44 AM UTC

Why not use old(er) Systems when they fulfill your needs? A computer is a tool, such as a typewriter, printing press, paintbrush or hammer. Would anyone argue about the age of a typewriter or hammer if its in good working condition?

In fact, i am using an Atari 520ST as my main computer since my laptop died a while ago. It started as an experiment, but now "it just works". I got network connectivity, email and (limited) internet access through a "Netusbee" adapter, and easy modern media access through a gotek floppy emulator.

Perhaps i am just crazy, but it simply works!

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#123

Post by nix23 » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 9:47 AM UTC

jeffbee wrote: post #15

icedchai wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My uncle was using a 25+ year old PC running DOS and WordPerfect up until he passed away last year. I think he enjoyed the distraction free environment.

Is there a word for such long-lived computers that aren't hobbies? "Retrocomputing" is people goofing around. A person who drives a 1995 Honda is probably not a "retromobility enthusiast". Maybe at some point in our future it won't seem weird to use a 25-year-old computer.

>Is there a word for such long-lived computers that aren't hobbies?

Yes, it's called old tool that still works ;)

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#124

Post by truculent » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 9:50 AM UTC

linguae wrote: post #28

One of the things I miss about older laptops is the keyboards. I would love to buy a laptop that is built like a PowerBook G4 or a ThinkPad X61 but with modern displays and modern internals, and with extra bonus points if it has user-replaceable batteries and user-serviceable storage and RAM. I've found the Thinkpad X62 ( https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/ ) and X210 ( https://geoff.greer.fm/2019/03/04/t…

> One idea that I have is for a laptop manufacturer to develop a chassis that comes with a high-resolution display and a high-quality keyboard (like those of older ThinkPads), and where the user can supply an Intel Compute Stick or a similar device for computing power. This way the chassis can be used for a long time while the user upgrades compute sticks.

I have been thinking about this and I can see this as being one potential path for the future of personal computing, with phones (unfortunately) being the Compute Stick equivalents. If phone manufacturers made them more upgradable, I may even welcome this; however I don't see them jumping at that anytime soon.

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#125

Post by akuji1993 » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 9:54 AM UTC

II2II wrote: post #112

dkdbejwi383 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> George R.R. Martin uses Wordstar 4.0 on DOS to write [citation needed] the Game of Thrones novels

There was a bit of a fuss over it a few years back. You can find mention of it in the Wikipedia article on Wordstar.[0] Robert J. Sawyer maintains a page on using Wordstar on modern computers.[1] Authors have been seeking ways to avoid distractions for decades, and it goes well beyond pervasive connectivity. Sometimes the very features that aid them in their work can also hinder them. For example: computers vastly si…

> one of the earliest pieces of advice I saw was to turn off the computer monitor while writing in order to avoid editing prematurely

I do this by closing my eyes while writing. Makes the writing more descriptive and easier to imagine big scenes with a lot of color and vibrance. Using the 10 finger writing system, I am really fast doing this.

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#126

Post by verytrivial » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 10:00 AM UTC

Old games, old productivity software. If they were good when they were new, I've never understood how they become "bad" just because time passes.

It's a weird marketing and social undermining of comfort and control. Sure there is the 'security' argument, and an accretion of various quirks, but people were often happy dealing with these quirks in the day, and as OP says, making interoperability frictionful has an definite upside with all the media and IT giants trying to mine your attention span for money.

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#127

Post by nhlx2 » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 10:00 AM UTC

CPAhem wrote: post #5

Maybe it's just me, but the user interface on that old PowerPC Mac looks gorgeous - way better than modern "flat" UIs

I am generally confounded by the flatness of Window 10. The ability to see which window is on top is gone!

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#128

Post by Applejinx » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 10:02 AM UTC

mmphosis wrote: post #8

new web browser for PowerPC Mac: http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/ new OS for PowerPC Mac: https://voidlinux-ppc.org/ or, a new PowerPC computer: https://www.talospace.com/

http://www.airwindows,com

I continue to compile my Audio Unit plugins, to this day, on a 10.6.8 Snow Leopard machine specifically so I can release them as PPC/32/64 bit fat binaries. Far as I know that should continue to hold for everything I've done (not sure if it holds for the Mac VST plugins, though)

So that constitutes new audio DSP plugins for PowerPC Macs.

Though I don't use it day-to-day, I've got an old G3 (?) Mac laptop. It does indeed have a better keyboard than modern ones… and from an audio production standpoint, it may not be up to high sample rates but it's got digital optical in AND out, standard. Just plug an optical cable into the headphone or mic jacks.

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#129

Post by dschooh » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 10:02 AM UTC

RalfWausE wrote: post #122

Why not use old(er) Systems when they fulfill your needs? A computer is a tool, such as a typewriter, printing press, paintbrush or hammer. Would anyone argue about the age of a typewriter or hammer if its in good working condition? In fact, i am using an Atari 520ST as my main computer since my laptop died a while ago. It started as an experiment, but now "it just works". I got network connectivity, email and (limit…

This sounds interesting. Would you mind to elaborate on your workflow and what you do with it specifically? I'd love to see some screen shots.

Re: Why I still use an old PowerPC Mac

#130

Post by dTal » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 10:03 AM UTC

aww_dang wrote: post #73

mkeeter wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen the MNT Reform? https://mntre.com/media/reform_md/2020-05-08-the-much-more-p... It's not as powerful as most modern laptops (uses an iMX8 SOM, rather than an x86 CPU), but it's got a full keyboard, trackball (!), replaceable batteries, etc.

This deserves a discussion on the front page.

Previous discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23141667