How and Why I Use an eMac, iBook, and Power Mac G3

I'm a big fan of "what I use" articles on the Net. It's nice to hear people talk about computers and what not, but I often wonder what computers they use. If you're anything like me, you wonder this, too.

Today I'll tell you a bit about my computer set up.

Since I'm a college student who goes home many weekends, my computer set up must work with this schedule. My main computer is an eMac 1.25. For the money, it's the best Mac anyone can get right now.

I have a 250 GB hard drive hooked up in a USB 2.0 enclosure that is made out of the same plastic as the eMac. Continuing with this color scheme, I have the white JBL Creature Iis. These are both the coolest looking and best sounding speakers I've ever experienced. For their size, the sound quality is awesome - much better than the stock speakers in the eMac.

The extra 250 GB is a perfect compliment to the 40 GB inside. It would be much less cost-effective to open the computer and install it, so I decided to go external. This way I can keep all of my media and system applications separate. (On another note, all I need to do is flip the power switch to conceal all of my MP3s. This can be very useful.) Right now I only have the stock 256 MB of RAM, but I plan to increase this soon.

Had I not broken it upon install, I would also have an AirPort Extreme card in the eMac. This would let me work around the school network's shortcomings and share my wired connection wirelessly with my other computer, an iBook G3. I bought the iBook at the same time as I bought the eMac, knowing I would want a lower end low-end Mac to bring to class and use around campus, and this is exactly what I got.

I didn't think I'd be able to use a laptop full time, so I made the decision to get two computers. The iBook is clearly not much of a powerhouse with an 800 MHz G3 and 128 MB of RAM, especially compared to the eMac. But for my purposes and use, it is the perfect companion computer.

My computers at home are a little different. On my desk at home I have a B&W G3/400 that has served me faithfully for several years now without much of a problem. I've upped the RAM to 392 MB and added a Zip drive, as well as overclocking it from 350 MHz. The overclocking didn't have much of an effect but was more of a project for an article. However, it is pretty easy.

My sister uses a lime iMac 266 that I upgraded to after using an SE/30 (back when I first started writing for LEM almost five years ago). Yes, the SE/30 is still kicking.

We also have two PCs built from scrap parts floating around on the network, connected wirelessly.

As far as software goes, I run OS X 10.3.6 on all my machines. I normally use the Microsoft Office suite of applications as opposed to the bundled AppleWorks. I mainly do this to keep up with the rest of the school, which is very Microsoft-oriented.

My browser of choice is FireFox. While I find the current release much less stable than the previous ones, I still prefer it to other browsers. My game du jour is StepMania. If you are a DDR freak like me, I suggest you check it out.

For file sharing, I like to keep it simple and stick with LimeWire and the default BitTorrent client.

At home I used Apple Remote Desktop to control the network I've set up and remotely install software. This really is a great little piece of software for managing a network, but it would me much more useful if I could use it to administer my computers at school from home and vice-versa. (VNC fails to work here, another pitfall of the crippled network at Temple in effort to increase security.)

Temple requires any user on its network to install Symantec Anti-Virus, whether Mac or PC. This "wonderful" program has blocked any possible viruses on the eMac and iBook. Of course, in five years using my iMac and G3, I never had an antivirus installed on them and never had a virus. Looks like Temple should have taken some of Jeff Adkins' advice instead of buying such a large piece of software for the entire student body.

My desktop snapshots have been featured at ResExcellence.

Toy-wise, I only have a few. I recently bought an open-box blue iPod mini on a Best Buy Black Friday deal for US$150. I bought the dock and armband with it and must say it is the greatest single investment I've ever made.

For digital photos, I have a white Canon PowerShot SD10. While it's by no means a professional camera, its small size and sleek style make it perfect for everyday picture taking. I read its 256 MB SD card with a PNY USB 2.0 reader.

Lastly, I have a 512 SanDisk Cruzer-mini that I got on sale on Black Friday for US$50 with a US$20 rebate.

This is my current set up. While I've owned closed to nine Macs, I could never pick my favorite and am sure I'll be adding to the collection as the years go on.