Prospective iBook user - questions re Firewire, writing books, etc - Mac Portable

[Marc Heusser]

In article <608b6569.0306251256.60b455f7posting.google.com >,
[email]larwelarwe.com[/email] (Lewin A.R.W. Edwards) wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> It has been a couple of years since I last seriously used MacOS, but I
> just started playing with 10.2 on a spare G3 at work and I'm quite
> impressed. I'm seriously contemplating buying a secondhand iBook on
> eBay and I have a few questions:
>
> 1. Will OS X work on the old curvy-style kidlike iBooks? That's really
> all I can afford. (I really loathe using desktop computers. It's a
> notebook or nothing).

Yes - I run it (10.2.6) on my Pismo PB that's even older (highly
recommended machine second hand by the way).

>
> 2. Has anyone used the latest OSX beta of OpenOffice.org? What's it
> like to use on MacOS? Currently I am using the Linux version on my
> ThinkPad to write my second book. I tried installing the OSX version
> on this old G3 but I ran into some problems during the install and I
> haven't had time to sit down and debug it yet.

Cannot comment on OpenOffice, but when writing books I'd strongly
suggest using FrameMaker (there's a newsgroup too).
I used FrameMaker 5.5. in classic mode with no problems.

>
> 5. Does anyone have experience building cross-compilers on OSX? I'd be
> interested in building x86 and ARM cross-compiling versions of gcc.
> Ultimately I could, conceivably, move much of my day-job work across
> in addition to my writing if it's possible to get these beasts built.

I have no experience, but since it's full BSD unix with all the tools I
cannot see any reason why it would not work.
And then there's Project Builder ...

HTH

Marc

--
Marc Heusser - Zurich, Switzerland
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[url]http://www.heusser.com[/url]
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[John Johnson]

In article <608b6569.0306251256.60b455f7posting.google.com >,
[email]larwelarwe.com[/email] (Lewin A.R.W. Edwards) wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> It has been a couple of years since I last seriously used MacOS, but I
> just started playing with 10.2 on a spare G3 at work and I'm quite
> impressed. I'm seriously contemplating buying a secondhand iBook on
> eBay and I have a few questions:
>
> 1. Will OS X work on the old curvy-style kidlike iBooks? That's really
> all I can afford. (I really loathe using desktop computers. It's a
> notebook or nothing).
>

If you are referring to the iBooks that have a handle, it'll be slow.
Otherwise, you'll have to be more specific about what model you are
looking for (original iBook, iBook SE (has FW), "iceBook (different
case)," "Snow" iBook, etc.

[snip]

>
> 4. Is it possible to use CardBus FireWire cards with MacOS X? I've got
> a 2-port Texas Instruments OHCI CardBus card. I only want this card to
> sync with my iPod; I don't have, and am most unlikely ever to acquire,
> any other 1394 peripherals. I'm aware that I can't charge the iPod
> through this card; that's fine. But I would like to use the iBook to
> sync with the pod; mainly so I can use the new Apple music store.

IIRC, CardBus is no problem, but the iBooks don't have PC-card slots, so
you would need an external reader. I assume that your TI card is a
FireWire card? Later iBooks (and Powerbooks after 2000) have FW built-in.

I don't know what sort of budget you are working with, and am not quite
sure what version of iBook you are referring to, but I would recommend
(as another poster did as well) looking for a used PowerBook G3 FireWire
(also called Pismo). I hear that they are going for between $5-800 for
the 500MHz version, and you might be able to find the slower version for
less. Heck, even the older bronze keyboard (Lombard) or black keyboard
(Wallstreet II) models might do what you want, and are even cheaper.

The PowerBooks have PC-Card slots, better port options (video-out), and
larger screens than the iBooks, and the ones that I've mentioned have
expansion bays for added flexibility (though I don't use mine all that
much).

I run OS X on a Pismo 400, and it works fine. I mostly do typing (and
compiling of a sort) in LaTeX, and e-mail, with other stuff thrown in
occasionally. I like my keyboard, though the right side rattles a bit
more than I'd like (there are fixes for this). Why don't you go over to
[url]www.lowendmac.com[/url] and have a look around? you definitely should review
the specifications of the machines that you are considering so that you
know what you will be getting. Assuming that your price range is limited
to $500 or less, I would recommend looking for a Pismo or Lombard before
considering other models. Of course, if you can find/are talking about
an iBook model that has FW built-in and is 600MHz or faster, those would
be better (but I think that they are going for more than the Pismo these
days). Mind, I'm a Pismo owner, so I'm biased, but they're nice
machines: good performance, nice screen, flexible, expandable (don't
ever try replacing the HD in an iBook), and quite attractive.

--
later.

johajohn AT indianahoosiers DOT edu

Remove the adjective to reply. Indiana is a noun.

[Lewin A.R.W. Edwards]

> > 2. Has anyone used the latest OSX beta of OpenOffice.org? What's it

> > like to use on MacOS? Currently I am using the Linux version on my

>
> Cannot comment on OpenOffice, but when writing books I'd strongly
> suggest using FrameMaker (there's a newsgroup too).
> I used FrameMaker 5.5. in classic mode with no problems.

Errr... no, no expensive buyware for me. OpenOffice it is. Also I have
to interchange this doent with my Linux systems. Note, BTW, that
I'm not doing DTP, I'm just writing the text; my publisher does the
layout to fit whatever their normal page size, fonts, etc. might be.
I'm going to have another crack at installing it on that old G3
sometime this week.

Thanks for the response, in any case. I'm bidding on a couple of
iBooks and maybe I will win one of them.

[H.B. Elkins]

[email]larwelarwe.com[/email] (Lewin A.R.W. Edwards) wrote:

>4. Is it possible to use CardBus FireWire cards with MacOS X? I've got
>a 2-port Texas Instruments OHCI CardBus card. I only want this card to
>sync with my iPod; I don't have, and am most unlikely ever to acquire,
>any other 1394 peripherals. I'm aware that I can't charge the iPod
>through this card; that's fine. But I would like to use the iBook to
>sync with the pod; mainly so I can use the new Apple music store.

Did any iBooks ever have CardBus slots???


+++++++++++++++++++++++++
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[url]http://www.users.mis.net/~hbelkins[/url]

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+++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Wojciech Orlinski]

In <608b6569.0306251256.60b455f7posting.google.com > Lewin A.R.W.
Edwards wrote:

> 1. Will OS X work on the old curvy-style kidlike iBooks? That's really
> all I can afford.

Yes. Try to find the one with 8 megabytes of VRAM (366 or 466 MHz), but
it will work even on the weakest model. Upgrade RAM, though.

> 3. Subjectively, what's the keyboard feel like on those older iBooks?

BETTER THAN THE NEW ONES.

> I'd like to hear opinion from someone who has spent a LOT of time
> writing; e.g. author, journalist,

That's me. I still miss the keyboard of my iBook 466.

--
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[Wojciech Orlinski]

In <608b6569.0306260634.3ed1de1aposting.google.com > Lewin A.R.W.
Edwards wrote:

> I didn't realize the old iBook was available in significantly
> different versions; I thought the only differences were CPU speed and
> installed options (RAM/optical drive/whatever). I was actually
> referring to the original (blueberry, tangerine) iBook.

The ones that are reasonable to buy are actually available only in
graphite and key lime :-)

> Speed isn't going to be a big issue for me. The machine I use
> day-to-day (my ThinkPad) is a 500MHz P3 and I usually run it at a
> reduced CPU speed to keep it cooler anyway. I think I'd be happy with
> a 333 G3. Bear in mind that 90% of my time - maybe more - is spent
> basically just editing text at ~90wpm. As long as the computer isn't
> lagging my keystrokes, it's fast enough :)

Please observe, that MacOS X uses graphics accelerator to draw all its
fancy GUI thingies, so the difference between a 333 with the old ATI
Rage and a 366 with RAGE 128 will be actually much bigger than you could
expect just from the CPU clocking.

> Apple says that basically the only OSX-unsupported laptop of G3 ilk is
> the "original G3". What is the codename for that model? It's the one
> that is basically a PB3400, isn't it?

Yes, the Kanga.

--
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[John Johnson]

In article <608b6569.0306260634.3ed1de1aposting.google.com >,
[email]larwelarwe.com[/email] (Lewin A.R.W. Edwards) wrote:

> Hi John,

[snip]

>

> > I don't know what sort of budget you are working with, and am not quite
> > sure what version of iBook you are referring to, but I would recommend
> > (as another poster did as well) looking for a used PowerBook G3 FireWire
> > (also called Pismo). I hear that they are going for between $5-800 for

>
> Speed isn't going to be a big issue for me. The machine I use
> day-to-day (my ThinkPad) is a 500MHz P3 and I usually run it at a
> reduced CPU speed to keep it cooler anyway. I think I'd be happy with
> a 333 G3. Bear in mind that 90% of my time - maybe more - is spent
> basically just editing text at ~90wpm. As long as the computer isn't
> lagging my keystrokes, it's fast enough :)

Keeping a PowerBook cool is no problem at all. My fan basically never
comes on. Most of my work is done in BBEdit (fantastic text-editor,
professionally-priced and professionally built), and it's fast enough.
My "compiling" (running LaTeX doents through the typesetting engine)
is maybe a bit slow, and opening/editing images can get painful if they
are high-quality. Otherwise, it's working like a champ.

I have to admit that I gave up on OO, and just write in LaTeX now. I
need MS Office just for compatibility (everyone sends me the damn
things, and since I can get MS Office free, it's not worth bothering
with incompatibility just at the moment), but I never use it for my own
stuff. I hope to be writing my dissertation on this thing someday
(sooner rather than later, I hope).

>
> There are Pismos and Lombards available for $400-$500, which is my
> price bracket. I think that's the route I'll take.

Hope for a Pismo, Lombard's should do well. Good luck with it.

--
later.

johajohn AT indianahoosiers DOT edu

Remove the adjective to reply. Indiana is a noun.

[Marc Heusser]

In article <608b6569.0306270708.70895f6bposting.google.com >,
[email]larwelarwe.com[/email] (Lewin A.R.W. Edwards) wrote:
....

> Now
> if I can just sell one of my spare iPods for around $120-$130, I'm in
> business ;)

If you can get one over to Europe/Switzerland at a decent price, you are
in business :-) Send mail if so.

Marc

--
Marc Heusser - Zurich, Switzerland
Coaching - Consulting - Counselling - Psychotherapy
[url]http://www.heusser.com[/url]
remove the obvious CHEERS and MERCIAL... from the reply address
to reply via e-mail

[AES/newspost]

In article <read_the_sig-A3D53E.20352026062003news.indiana.edu>,
John Johnson <read_the_sigthe_bottom.edu> wrote:

> I have to admit that I gave up on OO, and just write in LaTeX now. I

For anyone working in TeX (highly recommended), I'll throw in a plug for
the Textures/Blue Sky implementation of TeX for the Mac (even more
highly recommended). Not the cheapest, but pretty likely the best.

(No connection with the firm, just a long-time highly satisfied user.)

[Jucius Maximus]

[email]larwelarwe.com[/email] (Lewin A.R.W. Edwards) wrote in
news:608b6569.0306251853.533c3616posting.google.c om:

> Errr... no, no expensive buyware for me. OpenOffice it is. Also I have
> to interchange this doent with my Linux systems. Note, BTW, that
> I'm not doing DTP, I'm just writing the text; my publisher does the
> layout to fit whatever their normal page size, fonts, etc. might be.
> I'm going to have another crack at installing it on that old G3
> sometime this week.

I'm sad to say it but openoffice on the mac is just not as good as
openoffice on linux or windows. I have used them all and the main problem
with the mac one is that you have to run it under XDarwin do there are
issues on copy/paste between XDarwin and Cocoa apps. This means that
OpenOffice will NOT have that lovely OS X feel - it will feel like the
linux version.

A new (final) release of OpenOffice for OS X just came out a few days ago
and I suggest you get it and play with it on that PB at work to see if you
like it. The new version has a lot of bug fixes and anti aliasing so maybe
it will be sufficient.