I am honestly shocked. I keep reading forums and articles that say the G3 is significantly worse than other PowerPC's and underpowered for even basic tasks these days (internet in particular). I just want to put something out there that's fully up to date and says otherwise. My machine has a 400 MHz processor, 512 mb of RAM, and a 13 GB hard drive.
First of all, I put Tiger and Mac OS 9 on it. I downloaded all the updates I could both OS's plus a firmware update. The built in Software Updater no longer works for versions 9-10.3, so you need to go searing around on the internet for them.
Using Online
Speaking of OS 9, it's not really usable for the internet. Classilla is showing errors for more and more websites these days. I personally wouldn't bother using the internet on OSes before Panther.
To connect to the internet, I used an AirPort card. Please note that modern password encryption doesn't work, and I used an unsecured network.
On Tiger, I used browsers TenFourFox and Links2. TenFourFox G3 without any modifications and add-ons is absolutely unusable and slow. I used this guide to help speed it up, and I've gotten NoScript 2.9.0.14 to work. With this, it becomes usable and runs decently. Links2 runs blazing fast, faster than TenFourFox will ever be. However, it renders less and websites look more text based.
For the internet overall, when you turn off JavaScript in your current browser and come across a site you can't use, chances are it would run too slow on a G3. Don't expect to run YouTube, Netflix, or social media.
Surprisingly, the Mail app is still fully functional with Gmail if you turn off some security options in your account settings. iChat still works with Jabber. I used Hot Chilli Jabber, made two accounts and they communicated fine. Connecting to this computer over a network is possible, but too slow to transfer files in my experience.
Using Offline
For offline use, it's fun to download old games and software to play around with. DVDs/CDs play perfectly. USB 1.1 transfers really slow in general, so using a FireWire device instead is recommended. Plus I recommend a USB Hub to plug in more than just your mouse and keyboard.
Performance on Tiger overall is ok. It boots up surprisingly fast for its age, but it occasionally stutters while in use. One thing that surprisingly didn't stutter for me was music playback from iTunes while running other applications. Classic Environment is slower for games, but runs fast for light applications.
Conclusion
Overall, it's not bad at all for a 21 year old computer. It's actually really good for a backup machine if you need to quickly do something, or if no other device is available. Currently the only major drawbacks are slow ports, inability to connect to modern networks, and inability to run social media. I don't recommend this being used in place of a modern computer/smartphone, but you could if you really had to. It also depends on how much time and troubleshooting you want to go through to get it fully running.
I hope this information is useful to someone.
First of all, I put Tiger and Mac OS 9 on it. I downloaded all the updates I could both OS's plus a firmware update. The built in Software Updater no longer works for versions 9-10.3, so you need to go searing around on the internet for them.
Using Online
Speaking of OS 9, it's not really usable for the internet. Classilla is showing errors for more and more websites these days. I personally wouldn't bother using the internet on OSes before Panther.
To connect to the internet, I used an AirPort card. Please note that modern password encryption doesn't work, and I used an unsecured network.
On Tiger, I used browsers TenFourFox and Links2. TenFourFox G3 without any modifications and add-ons is absolutely unusable and slow. I used this guide to help speed it up, and I've gotten NoScript 2.9.0.14 to work. With this, it becomes usable and runs decently. Links2 runs blazing fast, faster than TenFourFox will ever be. However, it renders less and websites look more text based.
For the internet overall, when you turn off JavaScript in your current browser and come across a site you can't use, chances are it would run too slow on a G3. Don't expect to run YouTube, Netflix, or social media.
Surprisingly, the Mail app is still fully functional with Gmail if you turn off some security options in your account settings. iChat still works with Jabber. I used Hot Chilli Jabber, made two accounts and they communicated fine. Connecting to this computer over a network is possible, but too slow to transfer files in my experience.
Using Offline
For offline use, it's fun to download old games and software to play around with. DVDs/CDs play perfectly. USB 1.1 transfers really slow in general, so using a FireWire device instead is recommended. Plus I recommend a USB Hub to plug in more than just your mouse and keyboard.
Performance on Tiger overall is ok. It boots up surprisingly fast for its age, but it occasionally stutters while in use. One thing that surprisingly didn't stutter for me was music playback from iTunes while running other applications. Classic Environment is slower for games, but runs fast for light applications.
Conclusion
Overall, it's not bad at all for a 21 year old computer. It's actually really good for a backup machine if you need to quickly do something, or if no other device is available. Currently the only major drawbacks are slow ports, inability to connect to modern networks, and inability to run social media. I don't recommend this being used in place of a modern computer/smartphone, but you could if you really had to. It also depends on how much time and troubleshooting you want to go through to get it fully running.
I hope this information is useful to someone.
