Got an iBook G4 1.3ghz for 10€ and got it running.

[NigelNowhere]

So I gave up trying the unsupported os 9 install CD. I am sure I could have eventually made it work. Alas I went for tiger with classic instead. Now the big question is what audio software will be best suited for it? Should I just use GarageBand or is there something in classic I should consider that will run better? Should I just use it for photos on the go? What would be the ideal use for this machine?

Anyways many thanks to this forum as without it, this iBook would have sat around a while before I did anything with it.

[GaryN]

The "best" software is the software that does what you want it to do. That's what you haven't specified. You can load up Garageband and all it's instruments and never use 90% of it if you record solo acoustic guitar or make podcasts.

Computers and the software they run are tools. You select the tools you use based on the job you're doing - not the other way around.
Most audio apps run poorly at best in Classic. The iBook won't boot OS9. There are many good DAWs, audio editors, etc. that will run well under Tiger.

Decide what you want to do and find the stuff that does it.

"Photos on the go"??

[NigelNowhere]

Haha photo editor for traveling. Limited but it can do it. I have Logic Studio on my Mini but that has 4 gigs of ram. I would enjoy a mobile logic rig but it only has 756mb ram i believe. Garage seems the next best thing.

[refinery]

this thread reminded me i have a painted ibook in my attic in a box. think i need to go dig that out this weekend....

[GaryN]

Haha photo editor for traveling. Limited but it can do it. I have Logic Studio on my Mini but that has 4 gigs of ram. I would enjoy a mobile logic rig but it only has 756mb ram i believe. Garage seems the next best thing.

See? A tiny little bit more information and light starts to show at the end of the tunnel. NOW it's clear that:

• You can swap out your RAM for a 1Gb chip giving you 1.25Gb total which MAY be enough (I would think) to at least run a Logic "Lite" version as in just don't try to run a zillion tracks and instruments at once. That may work out fine as a "portable" setup.
• Failing that, GarageBand probably IS the next best thing since you can export GB stuff to Logic "when you get home" and they have similar workflows.

As for a photo editor, you can find CS3 sets or standalone Photoshop versions to run under Tiger for cheap. You have USB2 and a decent screen. Actually, the iBook would make a very good editing laptop.

[NigelNowhere]

Photo editing seems logical.

I’ll try first the iLife suite and see if GB is enough. I mostly record tracks and typically no more than 6 stereo tracks. I would think GB will be able to handle that. I may upgrade the ram eventually. First I have to source a new battery. I don’t think this one is holding a charge. Thanks for your input.


I plan to source an old version of Rebirth  too. But I am not worried about my iBook  handling that, as I used to run the demo on a G4 500mhz tower nearly 20 years ago.