News

MarkDown for PowerPC?

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Recently, I’ve begun to use MarkDown as a way to speed up my writing and make better use of distraction free tools.

If you don’t know what MarkDown is, it’s John Gruber’s attempt to make an easy to read, fast to write markup language that can be used to quickly produce documents for the internet. It’s great for blogging, for instance. Check out the link above to get a feel for it – it’s sort of an easier and limited html.

MarkDown editors, mostly glorified text editors, are all the rage on the Mac App Store and in other places, but is there one for PowerPC? Initially, I thought not. That led me to the attempt to create my own. I do have a very rough beta in process, as you can see from the screenshot below. I mocked it up in RealBasic 2009, which leaves a lot to be desired. If there is interest, I will touch it up some more and offer a beta version from this site.

A rudimentary version of markdown for powermac or powerpc

Luckily, my web search pointed me to Notational Velocity. If you have seen this app before, there is an older version that is available for PowerPC, and it’s pretty intriguing in its own right if you need a decently polished note taker and organizer. It has not been updated for a while however – enter nvALT, the spiritual and ancestral successor to Notational Velocity. It adds features and moves this quirky note taker into the future. Best of all, it adds MarkDown support. Awesome!

Here’s the bad news – the newer builds are not PowerPC compatible. I am going to offer my help to see if I can help them create more compatible builds, but in the meanwhile, you will need to stick to Version 2.0. MarkDown support is included though. You can download 2.0 from here. Ignore the offer to upgrade – 2.1 and up do not work on PPC as far as I can tell.

nvALT has MarkDown support

Look for more updates to the site in the coming days.

Note: Our RSS feed is hopelessly out of date. I had a manual process in place to up date it, but it’s pretty bad. For now, I am going to take it down until I can get it fully updated.

— Nathan

A Burning Question: What about IDE SSDs?

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The most common question I have gotten from old Mac enthusiasts is the possibility of IDE SSDs to speed up their machines.

Here’s the good news – I have an answer.

But there is bad news too – the common brands you might find available on NewEgg or eBay are generally not recommended. These brands include Transcend and KingSpec. They will work, but the companies that make them are generally not well regarded. You end up spending your cash on slower products with possibly sketchy support.

The good news is that you can follow the advice on my website. Pick up a solid Sandforce drive, like the nicely priced Intel 530, and pair it with an SATA-to-IDE converter. Buying an OWC IDE SSD drive is essentially the same thing, but you might save a buck or two by assembling it on your own. You will want to over-provision the drive to extend its life and performance.

The bonus is that if you do want to move that SSD to a SATA equipped machine, like your recently acquired bargain bin Power Mac G5, you can reuse it as needed.

For older G4 Macs, this gives you an opportunity to get a long lasting, speedy drive to keep your machine a little more relevant for the time being.

I picked up an old G4 Mac Mini, and I’ll update a post or two with how the process of rehabbing that machine goes.

– Nathan

Just a couple of updates

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This is just a brief update, reminding you to check out the rest of the site for occasional updates.

I am trying to find other resources to link to and offer insight for maintaining and updating your G5. For example, Viva PowerPC showcases a really cool article about his work to keep his Power Mac on the straight and narrow. I really should plan on doing this to my machine someday. Read it for more info.

Bash has also been revealed to have more vulnerabilities, so grab the updated build and follow the instructions. It’s good to be safe.

I am going to look to add Sparrow and a few other apps to the pages in the coming days as I find them and can add working links. Stay tuned.

– Nathan

Don’t BASH me

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According to our good friends at TenFourFox and numerous other tech sites around the world, BASH, that great little command line shell built into Mac OS X, has a major security vulnerability.

More bad news – since Leopard, Tiger, etc are so old, the hope of seeing an official patch of this vulnerability are next to nil.

But now the good news – there is a (unofficial) fix. TenFourFox to the rescue! Follow the instructions to download a patched BASH and replace your existing shell with the updated one. It’s a straightforward process that includes some example commands to make sure you are indeed affected and patched.

This is just another reminder of why our old machines are not getting more secure. Other bugs and vulnerabilities may indeed exist. If your machine faces outward, serving webpages, files, or whatever, keep in mind that you are operating at risk. This doesn’t mean you will be hacked, but it’s something to keep in mind and stay vigilant about.

– Nathan

The G5: What’s the value today?

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I bought my Power Mac G5 about 5 years ago – back then, I thought I got a pretty decent deal (around $200), as I had mostly PowerPC software and was into some light audio/video work.

Today, I’d highly recommend against spending anywhere near that on a Power Mac G5. After a quick glance on eBay, it looks like you can get a used G5 starting from around $50, maybe less. With each passing year leaving G5s behind in software options and security, the PowerPC world is becoming the domain of hobbyists, stubborn people, and probably some lingering legacy cases. So why or why not should you pick up a G5? And how much should you spend?

I have PowerPC apps that I cannot replace to keep my business/livelihood/data intact.

It’s clear that this is the strongest case for keeping and investing in a Power Mac G5. With the prices the way they are, it would be wise to go out and grab some backup machines to use for parts or as an insurance policy in case of disaster. Long term, you will still want to figure out an upgrade route to move that data and discover different app possibilities, since our machines are rapidly approaching the age of 10 (if not more). And security is not getting better in Mac OS X. In the meanwhile, spend what you need to keep your operation going.

I love PowerPC machines.

Good for you. Whether it’s for nostalgia or tinkering or fun, fiddling with PowerPC machines is a learning experience. A G5 is pretty much the ultimate PowerPC Mac with its somewhat recent hardware design. So, go for it – but even as a hobbyist myself, I encourage you keep it within reason. Be sure to shop around and stretch your dollars. Try to get an old machine for free or next to nothing if you can. There is no point in outlaying some serious money on old tech unless you have a serious need.

I need an updated computer, or someone wants to give me their old Mac for free so I can surf the internets.

Let’s be clear – yes, a G5 can be a decent machine to get stuff done, surf the internet, email friends, and what not. But unless you are getting something for free with a knowledgeable tech person to help walk you through limitations, I’d recommend spending a fraction more to get something newer with updated browsers and better security support. In this case, unless you are really in for a learning experience, it’d be best to pass on an old PowerPC and look to something a little more current. Again, if the situation is right, it might not be an impossible choice to keep that hand me down rocking and rolling, but make sure you are aware of all of the caveats and limitations.

Maybe I’ll add some further scenarios in the future. Basically, unless you have a real critical need or a passion to be a hobbyist, a Power Mac G5 (and other PowerPC machines) is kind of a mixed bag. With the right knowledge and support, they can be darn useful – but the world is quickly passing us by.