[robedney]

I just inherited a PowerBook G3 Series 333mhz bronze keyboard, and it's running OS 9.1 and has 320MB installed memory. I understand that there are possibly much better operating systems, but I'm really confused about both the upgrade path AND what will run best on a legacy computer like this. I'm willing to spend a little to upgrade the OS and probably to max out the ram. I've also noticed that some of the specialized software I want to run on this thing retquires OS 10 or above. I'm surrounded by Windows based P3 and P4 machines running XP Pro, and I have to admit that I've rapidly developed some affection for this old G3. So, recommendations for an OS???

Thanks!

[SEkker]

This is a Lombard, and it will run OS X 10.3.9 just fine.

I do not know how it will handle Tiger (10.4), but I suspect it would be ok (you will need DVD optical drive to install Tiger, not sure if it has a DVD reader or just a CD).

The memory will be ok, but the HD may be small -- and it will be very slow and will limit the OS X. It's fortunately easy to update that HD on that machine, and 5400 rpm HDs are pretty cheap these days.

It will surf the internet, do email and wordprocessing, etc just fine. But iMovie and related apps will be painful.

[mikemako]

On a 333MHz G3, OS 9 will run faster than any version of OS X.

[legionare]

BeOS... as long as you don't need to print...

[Pierre B.]

Originally Posted by legionare

BeOS... as long as you don't need to print...

And where do you find it? I am pretty sure it is not available anymore.

For full functionality and optimal performance, I would suggest the latest version of Mac OS 9:

Updater 9.1 --> 9.2.1
Updater 9.2.1 --> 9.2.2

But it does not harm to have a Mac OS X partition to enjoy the stability and the features of the new OS. Just do not expect that a so old machine will run it adequately.