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[Turbo Ninja]

I'm late to the thread but my interest is genuine (as is my desire for free advice).

Over the weekend I unearthed an old PowerBook G3 Lombard that my mom gave me four or five years ago.  It is running OS 8.6 and it has a CD for OS 9.something but I can't get the upgrade to take because the "Installation Tome" cannot be read or some such (I forget the exact wording).  Any idea what I can do to solve this problem?

Or would it be more worth my while to find a copy of OS X 10.3 (the most advanced system a Lombard will support, according to the Internet) on eBay along with more RAM or a wireless card and skip over the 9.x step?  The only program I'll really need on this machine is a web browser - I won't be storing MP3s or word documents or anything on it, so phooey on Leopard if it's going to be a resource hog.

I know next to nothing about Macs, which is probably why this thing got abandoned in my basement in the first place, so please don't hesitate to explain this to me like I'm a retarded otter.

[JorgeFabregas]

So this is kind of a fun alternative to a Nano:

Refurbished Sansa e280 $50 +$7 S&H:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3481118&sku=S153-7022&srkey=e280

Install Rockbox (free and you can still boot the original firmware)
8 gb micro SD card $19:
http://www.meritline.com/kingston-8gb-microsdhc-card-with-adapter-class4.html
Micro SD card reader $5:
http://www.meritline.com/mini-micro-sd-card-reader-yellow.html

16gb smallish MP3 player for $81 (as opposed to $200 for the 16 GB Nano).

You do lose some functionality/usability as, so far as I know, you can only add files to the micro SD card part by using the reader (you can add/synch files to the player itself using Windows Media Player). Also, the video player is more or less useless, but who is all that excited about watching videos on a little screen anyway?

You can also buy an extended warranty if you're worried about that, but flash memory is pretty reliable and it's got a sturdy, metal back. Also: user-replaceable battery.

[side_show]

My old portable CD player?  Still works after almost 10 years.  My old Walkman?  Still works after 15 years.  My old iPod?  Died after two years of use.  I treat my things very gently.  I took good care of my iPod, and yet it totally died.  I am not cool with that.

[JorgeFabregas]

Which model is it? If it's not a Nano or Touch, then it uses a regular ol' hard drive--which is much more complicated and delicate than anything on a Walkman or CD player.

[theinevitable]

also, those hard drives are HELL of cutting edge. If they want to keep getting smaller with every generation, they have to go for the smallest hard drives possible, which means maybe more fragile.

[Lister]

And yet my iRiver, which I bought about 5 years ago for $100 less than a comparable iPod 1G, is still working great, even though I actually use it as an external hard drive and stream my music from it.

It doesn't have games or a section of accessories at Best Buy (which all cost $29.99), but it's never hard-locked and deleted its data, its battery can be replaced whenever (even though I haven't needed to), if I'm playing it on random and click 'back' it will actually go back to the last song it played, and it doesn't need me to install iTunes just to put music on it.  I just plug in the standard USB cable and copy the files, regardless of the host computer's OS.

[Ruta Bagas]

But do magpies try to steal it?

[KeithHernandez]

And yet my iRiver, which I bought about 5 years ago for $100 less than a comparable iPod 1G, is still working great, even though I actually use it as an external hard drive and stream my music from it.

It doesn't have games or a section of accessories at Best Buy (which all cost $29.99), but it's never hard-locked and deleted its data, its battery can be replaced whenever (even though I haven't needed to), if I'm playing it on random and click 'back' it will actually go back to the last song it played, and it doesn't need me to install iTunes just to put music on it.  I just plug in the standard USB cable and copy the files, regardless of the host computer's OS.

Man I can say this same thing about an ipod and a creative (well, the first part.  And not five years, like 4 and 3 probably.) so...

[side_show]

also, those hard drives are HELL of cutting edge. If they want to keep getting smaller with every generation, they have to go for the smallest hard drives possible, which means maybe more fragile.

Dude, cutting edge don't mean shit without longevity.  This is me being 30.  I would have never said that at 20.  For me, cutting edge is directly related to functionality.  Make an iPod with a battery that's easily replaceable by the user, that is minimal in that it isn't disposable, and I will pay out the ass for that shit.

[KeithHernandez]

Any ipod with a flash drive is pretty much indestructible, though you can't change the battery.

[theinevitable]

Dude, cutting edge don't mean shit without longevity.  This is me being 30.  I would have never said that at 20.  For me, cutting edge is directly related to functionality.  Make an iPod with a battery that's easily replaceable by the user, that is minimal in that it isn't disposable, and I will pay out the ass for that shit.

What I am saying is, when they made the first iPod, it was the first hard-drive that small that had ever existed. They made the first iPod because of this hard drive coming out. They had wanted to make something like this, and when a small enough hard drive came out, they were like "finally."
That is what I mean by cutting edge.

At that point, the only way they could have made it more sturdy was... making it a lot bigger.

[JorgeFabregas]

They (meaning most mp3 player makers) have made them more durable by using flash memory instead of spinning platters. No moving parts, y'see.The anectdotal evidence suggests to me that Apple may expect ipod users to buy a a new player every other generation or so and thus not to care so much about durability (but again, that shouldn't be as much of an issue for the Touch or Nano). The drive on my Zen Micro that I bought used 3 years ago is still going strong, although one of the channels doesn't work on the headphone jack. I'm guessing that could be fixed with some soldering.

[Arachno-capitalist]

They (meaning most mp3 player makers) have made them more durable by using flash memory instead of spinning platters. No moving parts, y'see.The anectdotal evidence suggests to me that Apple may expect ipod users to buy a a new player every other generation or so and thus not to care so much about durability (but again, that shouldn't be as much of an issue for the Touch or Nano). The drive on my Zen Micro that I bought used 3 years ago is still going strong, although one of the channels doesn't work on the headphone jack. I'm guessing that could be fixed with some soldering.

Apple is also putting solid state drives in the macbook air, but they had the most awkward selling pitch for it at the conference. They really gave you the impression that they were offering it, but only if you really really wanted that novelty.

[JorgeFabregas]

It is, as of yet, more of a novelty for personal computers. I think.

[Arachno-capitalist]

It is, as of yet, more of a novelty for personal computers. I think.

It seems like the next logical progression. I mean a disc can only spin so fast. I have mentioned here before that I know a guy who is working on the next generation of drive tech, though, holographic disc technology will offer terabytes of storage like it ain't a thing.