Adventures in Computing: Librex and Mac edition

[The REAL Real Man]

So I pretty much got the Toshiba working, and once that happened, I remembered that Windows 98 is kinda boring. Also, icky sticky rubber on the mouse buttons made it VERY unpleasant to use. So, the Toshiba is back in storage.

I pulled apart the Librex, and can't get it to power up -- tried shorting what I think are the terminals on the power switch, no dice. The problem is that the Librex's motherboard has quite a bit of what looks to be higher-voltage stuff very near the power switch, and messing about in there looks like an invitation to electric shock. Also, metal chassis, because Librex was owned by Nippon steel. This computer came out only 45 years after V-J day, so I haven't ruled out that it might be dangerous to Americans. I decided to close it up and put it away for another day. Might still seek out a 286 laptop, though. I'll see.

So, what's next? I was eyeing the two Macs, an SE and a Quadra (or is it a Performa? I forgot) but I don't have an ADB mouse. So... I dragged the PowerMac G5 out of storage. It's still in the trunk of the car, but I thought that might be fun because it could easily work as a fully-functional computer. On the other hand, at my age, and as with cars, it's hard to think of a computer from 2004 as old. Also it's fargin' huge, and won't run Dropbox (unless I can find a version compatible with Mac OS X 10.3), so I can't have it double as my dropbox backup computer, which would be rather useful.

O'course, I could run it with Linux, but where's the fun in that? I mean, lots of fun, but I already have a Linux computer (my laptop).

Actually, if I could get the old OSX working with Dropbox, it'd be great to have it double as the backup machine, but that seems like a lot of work.

Anyway. Thoughts?

TRM

[The REAL Real Man]

So today I got the Mac G5 dragged in, dusted off and set up under my desk. What a behemoth the damn thing is. It appears to be a dual-processor 1.8 GHz unit from 2004 or so. There will now be a short pause while you say "Who cares?".

Basically, I need to install OS 10.3 up to 10.5.8. Apparently, there is a user-created version called Sorbet Leopard (seriously, who comes up with this shit? And I thought Ubuntu's names were ridiculous) that will improve performance. One can download it for nuttin'. One can then burn it to a USB stick and install it with the same ease as Linux.

Oh, sorry, no you fucking can't, because it wouldn't be an Apple thing if it wasn't too complicated. Instead, and I've only skimmed the instructions, but it appears you have to do this whole giant dance that starts with installing another version of Mac OS, then repartitioning the hard drive, then installing antoher OS, then maybe plugging in another Mac, then praying to a God in which you do not believe, then doing a rain dance. I mean, seriously, people, how hard is it to just make an OS installer? Steve Jobs is dead and decomposed, and yet the Apple fan community still conducts themselves like he's got his thumbs in their eyes and his pecker in their mouth.

Sigh.

Meanwhile, the computer fires up, I did find the original install disks for 10.3, the original OS and the last that can be burned to CD rather than DVD. I only have one CD-RW around, so I burned disc 1 with some errors (no surprise, the CD-RW is probably as old as the Mac G5). It booted, then the computer had a kernel panic. Yay Apple! And then, sitting there with the error screen, the 707 jet fans turned on, because of course the best computer known to God and man would heat up while sitting there displaying a text error screen.

And to think, someone paid $2500 for this thing when they could have had a solid Wintel machine for $795!

I've ordered more CD-RWs, figuring this little adventure is worth a $9 investment, so I can try to get OSuX 10.3 on there, and then maybe I'll try that whole Sorbet Leopard thing or maybe I won't. Or maybe I'll just install Linux on the damn thing and go with Plan B, my Dropbox backup machine.

Meanwhile, I found an OS called Morph and am going to try a bootable USB stick. Apparently, this is what the original Amiga OS would have become if it was allowed to grow up. It's supposed to be great for PowerPC Macs. It also comes a demo version. The full thing costs $79, because of course I want to pay for a hobbyist operating system with little to no app infrastructure when I could just use any one of a billion Linux flavors for free. Still, curious to see if it boots and how it runs.

Anyway. That's all for now, or at least until Wednesday when the CD-RWs arrive.

TRM

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

So today I got the Mac G5 dragged in, dusted off and set up under my desk. What a behemoth the damn thing is. It appears to be a dual-processor 1.8 GHz unit from 2004 or so. There will now be a short pause while you say "Who cares?".

We very, very much care here. Here are all the systems I have going at the moment in my office. Where I WORK. Near my LUNCH.


- Apple //e
- Apple IIgs
- IBM PCjr
- Vectrex
- Sega Saturn
- Nintendo 64
- Nintendo Gamecube
- Playstation II
- Atari Lynx
- Food Fight 1/12th scale replica by New Wave Toys
- An Atari VCS (not the 2600, but the new system they made and confusingly called the VCS)
- Steam Deck
- Nintendo Switch
- A MiSTer emulator, which you may not know about, but will blow your freaking mind once we introduce you to it and try to get you one.
- A MiyooMini
- A cocktail Centipede arcade game

The Atari 800, PS4 and 2600 are hooked up in the other room where the couch and TV is. The Amiga isn't hooked up at the moment.

Flack has a similar setup. (In fact, I hope Flack chimes in with all the computers and consoles in his main office room at the moment. I have been there and it is glorious and inspirational.) I say this for no other reason than to let you know that your tale here is riveting and you have found the right crowd to enjoy it. So we love your updates.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Oh, sorry, no you fucking can't, because it wouldn't be an Apple thing if it wasn't too complicated. Instead, and I've only skimmed the instructions, but it appears you have to do this whole giant dance that starts with installing another version of Mac OS, then repartitioning the hard drive, then installing antoher OS, then maybe plugging in another Mac, then praying to a God in which you do not believe, then doing a rain dance. I mean, seriously, people, how hard is it to just make an OS installer? Steve Jobs is dead and decomposed, and yet the Apple fan community still conducts themselves like he's got his thumbs in their eyes and his pecker in their mouth.

I had a similar experience!! Not the part where Steve Jobs's rotting corpse sucks dick (well, the parts not soothed with the fruit juices) but the other parts.

Pinback gave me a laptop from a previous employer from many years ago and I sat around with it and never updated the OS. Then stuff stopped working. I had to go release-by-release to get it to a modern OS. All at 3 megabits per second with the awful internet we had at the time. The concept of "overwrite everything with this new operating system" seems to be lost on them. How I hate them for it!!!

Meanwhile, I found an OS called Morph and am going to try a bootable USB stick. Apparently, this is what the original Amiga OS would have become if it was allowed to grow up. It's supposed to be great for PowerPC Macs. It also comes a demo version. The full thing costs $79, because of course I want to pay for a hobbyist operating system with little to no app infrastructure when I could just use any one of a billion Linux flavors for free. Still, curious to see if it boots and how it runs.

Please let us know how this goes! You are finding stuff I have never heard of before. This new OS could be what BeOS could have been too! It could be anything!

Anyway. That's all for now, or at least until Wednesday when the CD-RWs arrive.

I had to buy a 4 megabyte expansion card for the IIgs because it won't play the one game I want it to play. I am also waiting. I don't have a shipping notification yet though from the person who made it. Gotta give it to the indie Apple folks, they have created hardware and software solutions for the problems that the old Apples and Macs have. You also have to hand it to them because Steve Jobs's hand has probably rotted off unless that was the hand he used to sip the fruit juice with.

[AArdvark]

I heard a long time ago that Apple hated their customers, that's one of the reasons I never went into the Apple orchard.

[Flack]

Flack has a similar setup. (In fact, I hope Flack chimes in with all the computers and consoles in his main office room at the moment. I have been there and it is glorious and inspirational.)

I've been shuffling things around, putting things I don't use a lot into storage. Along the back wall I've got two Commodore 64s (the C64 Maxi and the Ultimate 64), an Apple IIe, and a TRS-80 CoCo 2 which I inherited and is almost unusable without a series of upgrades, the first of which should be throwing it out and replacing it with a CoCo 3.

Here at the main desk I've still got the modded Wii hooked up, mostly for playing GameCube games. I've also got the MiSTer up here and a RPi3 which have a lot of overlap.

Out in the lobby of the movie room I've got a modded PS3 that plays PS1, PS2, and PS3 ISOs. I turn it on once a year just to make sure it still works. Too little time.

While cleaning the garage I found two thick CD wallets full of burned Xbox games. I've been thinking about unpacking one of my OG Xboxes and hooking it up in here. I find my favorite console is whichever one I don't have hooked up at the moment.

[The REAL Real Man]

- Apple //e

Jealous.

- IBM PCjr

Really jealous.

- Apple IIgs

INSANELY jealous.

I have always wanted a gs, although I don't really know what the red fuck I'd do with one. I think I need to set up an emulator and see how much I like it, if at all. I mean, it's an Apple II, but... is it an Apple II?

- A MiSTer emulator, which you may not know about, but will blow your freaking mind once we introduce you to it and try to get you one.

Educate me!

TRM

[The REAL Real Man]

Not the part where Steve Jobs's rotting corpse sucks dick

No no, Jobs doesn't suck your dick, you suck his dick. That's how it goes.

Please let us know how this goes!

It didn't -- USB wouldn't boot. Which could well be an Apple problem, but what, they expect me to read directions? I refuse to work that hard for an operating system I'll never buy. Of course... I do want to see it now.

Anyway. Burning a Lubuntu USB just to see if it'll work, but I think that booting from OSX CDs will be the path of least resistance. I keep forgetting I'm working with an Apple, and it's their way or the highway.

TRM

[The REAL Real Man]

I heard a long time ago that Apple hated their customers, that's one of the reasons I never went into the Apple orchard.

I think they do. We never wanted to get sucked into the Appleverse. I think I told the story of what happened when we got G3s, but... anyway, I don't know if Apple exactly hates their audience, but they sure as hell don't seem to want them thinking outside the box too much. "Think different," as in "Don't think any differently than we want you to."

TRM

[The REAL Real Man]

So I got the Mac fired up, and after several attempts, got OS X 10.3 installed. Remember when people used to say "Mac just works!"? Clearly, those people never tried to make a Mac work. Took a few attempts to get it to recognize the hard drive (which may have been me doing stuff wrong, still). Cutest trick: If you set up a hard drive, it won't let you install Mac OS to that HD. Solution: reboot the computer. Wasn't this the kind of stuff Mac people used to give PCers shit for Back In The Day?

Anyway, I did get it running, though web surfing was a bit comical and it won't connect to the update center. Of course, because it's a 20-year-old operating system. Which brings forward the real irony: A twenty-year-old Mac OS looks pretty much exactly like today's Mac OS. And to think people complained about Windows 98.

So, I started into those complex instructions for that new version of the OS, which I think is actually less complicated than I thought. Step one is to re-partition the hard drive. Mac OS makes this easy. But what no one says is that it erases the hard drive. Hey, no biggie for me, there was nothing on the damn hard drive, but I bet that's bound to come as an unpleasant surprise to some people, I'm sure.

Oh, and hard drives: I have a 128gb SSD and a 320GB HDD. I had a little trouble with recognition of the SSD... dunno if it's just too new and fast for this old SATA 1.5 Mac. 320gb works a treat, and if I can get it running the new OS, I might try to get the set up rocking and rolling on the SSD.

I am seriously thinking about using it as my dropbox backup machine, apparently there is a 3rd party client that will work. But... OH MY GOD THE NOISE. I have stood next to running airplanes that were quieter. (To be fair, I do have the metal cover off to play with HDs.)

I read somewhere that Steve Jobs had a thing against cooling fans -- too noisy. I hate to say Steve Jobs was right, but Steve Jobs was right. It's as if once they kicked his butt out of the company, they were determined to make a few Macs as noisy as possible. "Fuck you, Jobs!" sayeth Apple.

Which horse do you back in that race?

TRRM