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Dirk Pilat - 2002.05.17
G'day everyone, steady she goes!
Yes, while my use of the antipodean idiom slowly but surely broadens, I have neglected you, my dear readers, terribly. This had a reason: I bought myself an old PC (beige, ugly, and loud with a beige, ugly monitor), as they seem to be given away for almost nothing these days. The stats are rather humble: Pentium 166 MHz, 64 MB RAM, old SVGA video card, sound card, ethernet card, and USB card. The whole kablouie cost me 100 dollars and is now sitting in my sun room overlooking the bay, next to my iBook.
But why, oh why, has such a vocal supporter of the Mac started to buy such shockingly unsophisticated hardware, you ask? Well, the answer is OS X, of course! As the innards of our beloved revolutionary new (?) operating system now resemble any old Linux box, I thought I do something useful and pop Linux on some horrible old beige PC and learn how to use the archenemy of every Macintosh user - the command line - just to better understand the goings on inside my iBook. Read all about it on Low End PC.
While all around me "Alpha-geeks" (don't frown, that was a Slashdot heading, and they should know what they are talking about) are drooling all over our computers and typing funny things into terminal (/dev/null anyone?), I was still confined to point and click.
I know that there's no reason for me to leave point and click and do something as sixties as actually typing something to tell the computer what it is supposed to do (especially if it's as convoluted as Unix's command structure), but I always wanted to be an alpha-geek. (Now is a good time, as my girlfriend is 18,000 km away and I don't have anything else to do. Ah, the joys of semi-bachelorhood.) If you wanna be with the in-crowd, you have to have at least a Beowulf cluster of Linux boxes (self-assembled, of course) standing in your living room and posing as a coffee table.
Well, so far so good. After about three weeks of tireless compiling, downloading, patching, and screaming in frustration, "Stinker" (that's the computer's name) has less functionality than a Mac Classic but is starting up and speaking to the rest of the world via the iBook's Internet connection.
I really understand why Linux is still not ready for the consumer market: It's just too bloody complicated. Nevertheless, every day hails another little success-story, and it certainly keeps me busy on these long New Zealandian autumn evenings. At the moment it is able to talk to the iBook, which sits next to its distant cousin like a 2002 Smart Car next to a Ford Model T.
I'm on my way hooking up an ADSL-USB modem and converting it into something as useful as a household MP3 player, IP router, Web server, and firewall. While I am cursing Linux's complicated setup proceedings and lack of ease of use, I have to admit that I am impressed by it's scalability, speed, and multiuser/multitasking options.
I know that I could achieve all this in 5 minutes with an old 7200, but it wouldn't be as much fun. Thinking about it, I actually should do that just to demonstrate a point and actually write something that would be appropriate for a Low End Mac column.
Now there's a thought.... 
Recent Down But Not Out Columns
- Thoughts and advice on replacing a two-year-old iBook G4, 02.01. This iBook G4 has taken a beating. Does it make more sense to buy a new iBook G4, wait for the Intel models, or look at the used market?
- iBook on last legs, Mac mini saves marriage, and Macintel meanderings, 01.23. With the iBook G4 "falling apart at the seams", does it make more sense to buy a new G4 iBook or wait for the Intellified next gen iBook?
- First impressions of the 14" iBook G4, 11.13. "Apple has managed to produce a machine that combines everything I want from a portable computer with appropriate processor performance for a competitive price."
- More in the Down But Not Out index.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple tops in tech support, Penryn iMacs and Psystar Open Computer reviewed, and more, Mac News Review, 05.09. Also the iMac philosophy, OpenOffice 3.0 going Mac, MozyHome backup comes to Macs, weather in the Dock, and more.
- More G4 upgrade advice, secure disk wipes, 500 MHz iMacs with Tiger in action, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 05.09. The importance of securely clearing your hard drive before you pass on your Mac, Pismo and closed lid mode, G3 iMacs in the classroom, and more thoughts on upgrading G4 Power Macs.
- 140 million copies of Vista sold (yawn), Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.09. It sounds like a lot, but over 85% of Windows users are staying away from Vista. 20% of Mac users have embraced Leopard in one-third the time.
- Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, Mar. 1990 - This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
- List of the Day: Rocketeer is for those using the Radius Rocket.
- May 9 in LEM history: 00: 10 years an Apple user - The carpenter's PB 100 fix - 02: Mozilla gets browsing just right - Why Linux instead of OS X? - 03: The dark side of software upgrades - DVD burner for Lombard and Pismo - Working with MS Works files - 05: The Apple I and Apple II era - SilverKeeper: The quintessential free backup utility? - 06: A look at the fastest, most expandable pre-G3 Power Macs - Inexplicable ligature problem solved - 07: OS X on a 6500
- Why one Mac user chose BlackBerry over iPhone, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 05.08. The advantages of OS X, Safari, Mail, and iSync don't outweigh the familiarity of BlackBerry, its excellent software, easily replaceable batteries, and a camera-free option.
- 500 MHz iMac with Panther great for Internet, watching video, and more, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 05.08. At $65 with upgraded RAM and a bigger hard drive, it was too good to pass up, and it works very nicely with Mac OS X 10.3.
- Boomerang: The Blue and White Power Mac G3 that kept coming back, Charles Webb, The Webb Chronicles, 05.08. Over its nine-year lifespan, this Power Mac had at least five owners before it finally gave up the ghost.
- Best Intel iMac deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Used 17" 1.83 GHz, $699; 20" 2.16 Core2, $885; refurb 20" 2.16, $949; 2.4, $1,099; 24" 2.16, $1,199; 2.4, $1,399; 2.8, $1,599; Penryn from $1,049 after rebate.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Used 17" 1 GHz, $790; 1.33 GHz, $850; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $889.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Mac OS X 10.5.1 single user, $99; 5 users, $139; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $450; unlimited, $899.
- More links in our archive.
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