{"id":5149,"date":"2011-11-09T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2022-01-27T16:17:23","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T21:17:23","slug":"replacing-kids-emac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/11\/09\/replacing-kids-emac\/","title":{"rendered":"Replacing the Kid’s eMac"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"eMac\"<\/a>Back in 2003, I purchased a G4 eMac 1 Ghz new, and I loved it. It was my first OS X machine, and it was the first computer I really enjoyed using. The Macs I used before which I still had cluttering the house used systems 7 through 9. I liked them, but they were tools like any other tool necessary to complete a task. I had a 7300, a Pismo and an early beige G3 all of which could have been upgraded to OS X, but I didn’t see the point of spending the money. My computers worked fine. I had dial-up internet. Why did I need anything more?<\/p>\n

After I unpacked and powered up the eMac, I wondered why I ever hesitated. The eMac felt like my first computer because of the advances to the operating system and fun extras like iTunes. I used to do work on my computers. Now I could have fun. I found all sorts of wonderful productivity software that never seemed to exist for the old classic environment. It was the beginning of my love affair with Macs rather than merely tolerating beige boxes that you needed to have.<\/p>\n

As time went on, my son who was only a little older than the eMac started to use it more and more, and he eventually made it his own. I was splitting my time between both new and used Macintosh systems. I had a terrific G4 Cube which I got used that was souped up with a faster processor and a beefier video card, and I had a Gossamer G3 still using system 9 that had a SCSI scanner hooked up to it.<\/p>\n

\"2<\/a>

My Cube and another I picked up for parts. Sadly, both are gone.<\/p><\/div>\n

The augmented Cube was a wonderful Mac and one of my favorites to work on, but one day, it gave up the ghost. I bought another non-functioning Cube from eBay figuring I would cobble together a working unit from the two, but it was not to be. If I knew then what I knew now, I would probably still have that Cube, but I had projects to work on and not a lot of time for computer troubleshooting so I unloaded them and bought a new Intel Mac mini. The Mini became my main production machine although it did not play nice with the Adobe CS2 Suite. It’s a great little box for the money, but there were a few hiccups working with some of my software under the Tiger OS and the new Intel processors. It wasn’t perfect, but it was what I had.<\/p>\n

\"\"Meanwhile, my son was giving the eMac he assumed ownership of quite a work out. Once the machine went out of its extended warranty, it started to act up. The screen would cut out briefly at first and got worst as time went on. Often we would assume that it had finally died only to come back. I hooked up a small, used flat panel monitor to it via the mini VGA port via an adapter, and my son limped along with it, but I knew it was just a matter of time before that crapped out. I have a feeling it was probably bad capacitors<\/a>, but the possibility of fixing that was beyond me at the time. I needed to find a replacement for the dying eMac.<\/p>\n

\"\"I’m not sure of what came first, but in doing research to find replacement parts for a Pismo Laptop<\/a>, I discovered the invaluable web site Low End Mac<\/strong><\/a> and used Mac dealer Wegener Media<\/strong>. I researched the history, capabilities and replaceable options at Low End Ma<\/strong>c and purchased parts from Wegener Media<\/strong>. While I was there, I noticed on Wegener’s bare bones website that they had used Macs for sale at fairly decent prices. I was happy with the laptop parts from them so I thought I may look into them if I needed another Mac.<\/p>\n

The eMac stopped working and it was time to give Wegener another look. They had used iMacs and eMacs, but I was leery about buying another all-in-one machine. One element dies and that’s it much like the video crapping out in our current all-in-one. The laptop selection was nice, but a little pricey for what would be a kid’s computer. They had G4 Power Mac<\/strong> towers for around $100 which was a great price, but the 400 Mhz processor was a slowpoke compared to the 1 Ghz processor on the eMac. What to do? What to do?<\/p>\n

Then Dan Love<\/strong> handed me an OWC<\/strong> catalog that had a spread on processor upgrades for G4 Macs. According to the ads, you can bring that old Mac into the modern age with a 10 minute installation.<\/p>\n

I was intrigued.<\/p>\n

Then I was obsessed.<\/em><\/p>\n

I ordered a G4 400 Mhz Gigabit Ethernet PowerMac<\/strong> which I think may have been about $130 with the shipping. It was just the tower. No Mouse, monitor or keyboard.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>

Inside the G4<\/p><\/div>\n

To be continued!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in 2003, I purchased a G4 eMac 1 Ghz new, and I loved it. It was my first OS X machine, and it was the first computer I really enjoyed using. The Macs I used before which I still … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[317,518],"tags":[324,1000,999,1002,296,1001],"class_list":["post-5149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computers","category-joes-garage","tag-computer","tag-emac","tag-g4","tag-low-end-mac","tag-mac","tag-used"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-1l3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6252,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2012\/01\/18\/bidding-farewell-power-mac-g4-gigabit-ethernet\/","url_meta":{"origin":5149,"position":0},"title":"Bidding Farewell to a Power Mac G4 Gigabit Ethernet","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"January 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With a sad heart, I bring news of the passing of a faithful friend - my son's G4 PowerMac Gigabit Ethernet. Sniff!Although it was born in the year 2000, it was ancient as far as desktop computers are concerned. I've made a number of augmentations to it to keep it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computers"","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/ghost-g4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/ghost-g4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/ghost-g4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11689,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/02\/05\/more-thoughts-on-the-hackintosh\/","url_meta":{"origin":5149,"position":1},"title":"More thoughts on the Hackintosh","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"February 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I have successfully built a Hackintosh or, as the folks at Tonymacx86 call it, a CustoMac Mini, and the more I think of it, the more it makes sense. Mac aficionados on various forums and websites have been wishing for a mid-tower Mac that would be beefier than the entry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computers"","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"upgradable","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/upgradable.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/upgradable.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/upgradable.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3360,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/07\/20\/bad-caps-talking-bout-bad-caps\/","url_meta":{"origin":5149,"position":2},"title":"Bad Caps! Talking ‘Bout Bad Caps!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"July 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently I was given the task of hopefully resuscitating a 17\" G5 iMac that is roughly 6 years old, and, in classic fashion, was working just fine until something weird started to happen according to its user. The user is a graphic designer who got the Mac new and used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computers"","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/back-off.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/back-off.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/back-off.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6435,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2012\/02\/01\/dual-g4-1-25-ghz-power-mac\/","url_meta":{"origin":5149,"position":3},"title":"The Dual G4 1.25 GHz Power Mac","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"February 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently I told you of the sad passing of my son's Gigabit Ethernet G4 Power Mac and last week we decanted its replacement. Today, I'll take a closer look at the Dual G4 also known as the Mirror Door Drive.I'm doing this post on the new-to-us G4 along with all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computers"","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/apple-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/apple-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/apple-logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6322,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2012\/01\/25\/unboxing-dual-g4-power-mac\/","url_meta":{"origin":5149,"position":4},"title":"Unboxing A Dual G4 Power Mac","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"January 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I told you how the old G4 Gigabit Ethernet went to meet it's maker. It's probably in Computer Heaven now where Steve Jobs is complaining that the fans in it are too loud. I was going to buy the same machine and just transfer the RAM and parts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computers"","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/boy-g4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/boy-g4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/boy-g4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16709,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2014\/06\/24\/the-third-time-around\/","url_meta":{"origin":5149,"position":5},"title":"The Third Time Around","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I've recently completed building my third PC which also happens to be my third Hackintosh! I thought my son had gotten all of the mileage he possibly could out of used and well worn Dual G4 Power Mac. It still runs, but it's wind tunnel design makes it remarkably noisy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computers"","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/CM-mess.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/CM-mess.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/CM-mess.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}