iBook G3 600 MHz

[meewolfie]

I found a gently used ibook G3, 600 MHz on craigslist and am thinking about buying it for a very basic "walking" around machine.

I realize that this is an older model and may not be comfortably upgradeable to the latest and greatest OS, etc (or am I wrong about this?). What I would like to use it for is the following:

1. Internet access while on the road. Dial-up necessary, wireless is a maybe. If I had wireless I would use it, if I didn't I'm not sure that I would necessarily pursue it. I would not be counting on this machine for lots of large scale uploads to the web. Basic browsing/email and small image uploads would be satisfactory. (I'm pretty sure that this laptop meets this criteria)

2. Uploading images from my camera. I have a 30d so I realize that I'll have to take into consideration the raw photo processing limitations of older versions of software. I could shoot jpeg/raw on the road (usually I just shoot RAW without the jpeg).

3. Has anyone tried to run Photoshop CS2 on an older laptop like this? If so does it run acceptably?

What I'm hoping is that with all of the photographer/mac users here on Dgrin someone has this laptop or had this laptop and can give me a realistic expectation as to how usable it would be.

Also, the asking price is $450. It's better than the price for a brand new one, but it's also an old machine. Does this sound reasonable for what I'm getting?

Thanks for any advice, info, etc. I did a search, but can't seem to limit my search to just this model.

Again, thanks in advance for any replies!

Mary

(Oh, and it's been used up until this point by a photojournalist, so it's obviously been a decent machine for photo work up until now. I just don't want to buy something that will be REALLY, REALLY out of date within the next few months.)

[DavidTO]

Save your money and get a new MacBook.

I wouldn't want to be working on photos on that thing. Surfing's fine. But really, a new MacBook is $1100. Save your money and get something current, IMO.

[marlof]

I have (and use) an iBook G3 800 MHz. I do have 640mb of RAM in it (the max it takes). I use it for living room internetting, for offloading images when traveling, and for (very) light editing using Adobe PS Elements 3. I even did some light movie editing using iMovie with it. Since it not even has a G4, you can forget about the latest iLife. I do run Tiger, the currently available OS X without any issues. But in all truth: the G3 is REALLY, REALLY out of date right now, let alone in the next few months. Forget about upgrading, use it for what it does now.

I'm not really aware of the current prices of these things in your part of the world, but I have to say that $450 sounds a bit much to spend on this older machine, esp. since the Macbook starts at $1099. That said, I just checked and the asking price for similar iBooks in my country is about the same.

Before I forget: beware of the battery life. If it has the original battery, chances are high that it loses its capacity fast. A new battery will be another $100, and if you have to add that into the equation...

[meewolfie]

You guys are the best!

And you have confirmed that what I felt about this machine was pretty accurate. Probably okay, but it will probably frustrate me in the near future because of it's limitations.

The money is probably better spent on a new one!

Thanks so much!

Mary

[DavidTO]

You guys are the best!

And you have confirmed that what I felt about this machine was pretty accurate. Probably okay, but it will probably frustrate me in the near future because of it's limitations.

The money is probably better spent on a new one!

Thanks so much!

Mary


I sold my 1GHZ Powerbook for 500, and would have felt guilty taking any more. Maybe I'm too much of a pushover...

[meewolfie]

I just checked ebay this evening and it looks like $450 is a pretty high price for this laptop. Going rate (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=ibook+g3+600) seems to be ~200.00 (US).

Mary

[marlof]

$200 is another thing, especially if the battery is still good. You can run a little risk with that kind of money. Although, if you'd be able to get a Macbook, I'd probably still go for that one. Getting current technology is the best way to insure being able to run current apps. I know that this is the last year I'll use my G3. Next year, I'll get a new Intel based Macbook. Hopefully that will serve me for another 4 years of computing, just like the G3 did.