Apple iBook G4 unboxing, test & first impressions

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• published: 19 Jun 2011
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This is my first "modern" Macintosh, although it is already six years old! This was Apple's last version of the 12-inch iBook from 2005, with a 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 768 MB of RAM (upgradable to 1.5 GB), a 40 GB hard drive, and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo drive. The seller updated it to Mac OS X 10.5.8 (the last version that will run on a G4), and added the usual array of Apple applications as well as Microsoft Office 2008. Mac OS X is graphically beautiful and seems quite intuitive, although many things work differently than Windows and I'll need some time to figure it out. I was able to get iMovie HD '06 working fine, though -- editing this video was a breeze, with a precise timeline view and very responsive cutting and joining of the video clips. The downside of the old G4 processor is that encoding the 13-minute video to QuickTime H.264 format took 2 hours and 42 minutes! But the quality came out surprisingly good despite being a very low bitrate (the file is only 118 MB). If nothing else, this iBook will be a good introduction to Mac software, to help me get used to it and decide for myself if/when I want to save up and upgrade to a new(er), much faster Mac. It also gives a good testament to Apple's durability, because despite signs of heavy use (scratches all over, worn touch pad, loose LCD bezel), it still works perfectly, and what I presume is the original battery is still holding a good charge.