What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[MacFoxG4]

Went on an adventure with trying to build PPCMC for Lion. I really like using Snow Leopard on the 2006 MBP, but Lion has more web browser options, so I wanted to take one of my favorite apps and build it so that it would work on Lion. I tried building it on Snow Leopard first and the program actually started up. I felt proud to have built something from source and see it start up. I tried a bunch of different combinations of enabling/disabling certain options in the build-all file, but in the end I made it so that it only built the app itself plus an updated version of Python, which I placed in the build directory. The newest source code I was able to find was 7.2.3, which meant no instructions for how to build for Intel, so I had to do a lot of trial and error. I then copied over the other components (ffmpeg, openssl, atomic parsley, etc.) from the official 7.2.6 Intel version into their respective folders inside the app. Because I didn't build openssl when I compiled the app, I got "missing _ssl module" errors whenever I tried to do things like update youtube-dlp or stream a video. Just as I was about to do a re-build, I decided to transfer the files over to my 2012 MBP and try to build under Lion on there. After tracking down Xcode, installing things via Macports to match the opt folder I have on Snow Leopard, attempting and failing to get an Intel version of Lame and ffmpeg to build, and figuring out switches in the build-all file, I was able to build the app with openssl and updated Python this time, but whenever I click on an option to choose a media player, the app hangs. I looked at the crash report, but I can't make sense of it. Something about a bunch of different processes that have unsigned longs or chars. I get the same problem trying to launch the official Intel build of PPCMC.

*sigh*

I've given up at this point. I really like PPCMC and much prefer dedicated apps like that over the browser plugins I have used in the past. Why does this hang in Lion, but be just fine in Snow Leopard? I don't know. Oh well. I've tried to find alternative video downloading apps for Lion, but no dice.

 

[mectojic]

I've given up at this point. I really like PPCMC and much prefer dedicated apps like that over the browser plugins I have used in the past. Why does this hang in Lion, but be just fine in Snow Leopard? I don't know. Oh well. I've tried to find alternative video downloading apps for Lion, but no dice.

A perfect no-frills option is iteroni.com . Give it a try. Downloads 360p or 720p quite fast.

 

[dandeco]

I've been working on unibody MacBook Pros at my workplace this week...

Most of them are mid-2012, but there were a few 2011s, a mid-2010, even a late 2008 model! (Despite Apple classifying it as a MacBook, I still count it as part of the unibody MacBook Pro line, even if it lacks a FireWire port and card slot.) Any that are good and have no noticeable defects, I pop a freshly-wiped hard drive into them and install the highest Mac OS they'll support.

 

[dosdude1]

I've been working on unibody MacBook Pros at my workplace this week...
View attachment 2235087
Most of them are mid-2012, but there were a few 2011s, a mid-2012, even a late 2008 model! (Despite Apple classifying it as a MacBook, I still count it as part of the unibody MacBook Pro line, even if it lacks a FireWire port and card slot.) Any that are good and have no noticeable defects, I pop a freshly-wiped hard drive into them and install the highest Mac OS they'll support.

Good candidates to perform the absolute best upgrade possible on these machines... The quad-core i7 upgrade!

 

[DCBassman]

Over the last week or two, I've prepared the cMP for sale, and tried various ways of updating the iMac beyond High Sierra. Done fiddling now. The iMac will go to Mint 21.2 and be set up as the daily driver. It most certainly will get CPU/GPU/SSD/RAM upgrades as cash permits. One thing I've discovered is that the optical drive is borked, so that's where the SSD will go. A cooler spinner will replace the original 7200rpm drive.

 

[DCBassman]

In the meantime, I will experiment with having High Sierra on an external SSD.

 

[DCBassman]

In the meantime, I will experiment with having High Sierra on an external SSD.

Which has given me an easy dual-boot solution, so happy with that.

 

[originaldotexe]

today i am using my early 2013 macbook pro to make my own tiger hackintosh distro. i am fed up with the general jankness of old 2000s distros, and opencore can be iffy (if it even works at all) on legacy OS's & mbr/bios systems. so, you know the old saying, "if you want something done good, you have to do it yourself."

 

[TheShortTimer]

I attempted to set up my latest 4TB HDD in a 3.5 external USB 3.0 enclosure with 4x NTFS partitions using my 2011 MBP and High Sierra but my Humax PVR couldn't see the partitions and after an hour or so of troubleshooting, I concluded that the crippled Disk Utility (since at least El Capitan) and/or a bug in the version of NTFS for Mac was the culprit.

This was confirmed when I switched to Old Faithful - my 2006 MBP and Snow Leopard for the task. The PVR then recognised the NTFS partitions and I could back up my TV recordings to the external HDD. It's so unfortunate that Apple had to hobble the OS in this manner that I require a substantially older release for carrying out so many activities involving data storage devices.

 

[theMarble]

Today, I found an awesome black theme for iTunes called "Silent Night", which runs on anything from 8.2.1 to 10.7, so works on Tiger through to Mountain Lion (G3 - Intel). Here, it is running on a 2009 MBP running Snow Leopard. It also has a BowTie theme, but I haven't checked it out yet.

Even the mini-player is black!

 

[DCBassman]

Over the last week or two, I've prepared the cMP for sale

Cleaned, photographed, boxed, ready to go.

In the meantime, I will experiment with having High Sierra on an external SSD.

After a while like that, I switched HS back on to the main drive, and Mint to the SSD. As I use Mint more often, it makes sense to have it on the faster disk.

 

[DCBassman]

Next things to do with early Intel macs, or iMacs in my case:
1) Acquire a mid-2011 21.5" iMac. Scope to be a really good Linux box with a Core i5.
2) Acquire the required bits and pieces to mess around with Target Display Mode.
3) If all goes to plan, use 2011 iMac as daily driver on Mint, and use the 2009 27" as standalone High Sierra and target display for the windows machine.

 

[coolrock1]

Still using my 2009 Macbook Unibody with High Sierra!

 

[swamprock]

Picked up a pile of early-2009 Macbooks off the 'bay, to turn one of my 2008 Blackbooks into a 2009 Blackbook. More to come once I receive the pile...

 

[dosdude1]

Picked up a pile of early-2009 Macbooks off the 'bay, to turn one of my 2008 Blackbooks into a 2009 Blackbook. More to come once I receive the pile...

I still need to do this sometime, though I am so picky that I’d desolder and replace all the external-facing ports as well, as the color of the plastic inside the ports actually matches the color of the machine’s chassis. Boards that came with BlackBooks have black ports, while the white A1181 boards have white ports.

 

[0423MAC]

The late 2008 Unibody MacBook is a great machine. I never had this specific model, but glad I picked it up cheap.

I am tempted to get a late 2008, Unibody 15" for some testing with a T9600, but want to push this one to it's limits first

 

[swamprock]

I still need to do this sometime, though I am so picky that I’d desolder and replace all the external-facing ports as well, as the color of the plastic inside the ports actually matches the color of the machine’s chassis. Boards that came with BlackBooks have black ports, while the white A1181 boards have white ports.

I thought about that myself, as I have a few spare Blackbook PCBs, but it really wouldn't bother me too much to have the white plastic in the ports. I may still do it 🤷‍♂️

While you're at it, maybe look into an upgrade for the CPU (if there is one beyond the 2.13 that is pin-compatible. I haven't checked myself) 😁

 

[dosdude1]

I thought about that myself, as I have a few spare Blackbook PCBs, but it really wouldn't bother me too much to have the white plastic in the ports. I may still do it 🤷‍♂️

While you're at it, maybe look into an upgrade for the CPU (if there is one beyond the 2.13 that is pin-compatible. I haven't checked myself) 😁

Already done; a 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo T9900 is compatible:

 

[mslilyelise]

My iMac is still running an Emby media server and it’s almost 15 years old. It archives hundreds of DVDs a year in Handbrake as well. Not fast but remarkably stable on OCLP Ventura. It has regularly logged 100 day uptime windows for almost 3 years this December. When it was gifted to me in 2020, I figured it might last a year with what I put it through. But it just won’t die.

 

[TheShortTimer]

But it just won’t die.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

@TheShortTimer
That's one of my favourite pictures from T2 .

 

[TheShortTimer]

@TheShortTimer
That's one of my favourite pictures from T2 .

Then I shall share it properly this time.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

It have to be somewhere in my archives, m.b. FullHD or other resolution.

 

[coolrock1]

I've been working on unibody MacBook Pros at my workplace this week...
View attachment 2235087
Most of them are mid-2012, but there were a few 2011s, a mid-2010, even a late 2008 model! (Despite Apple classifying it as a MacBook, I still count it as part of the unibody MacBook Pro line, even if it lacks a FireWire port and card slot.) Any that are good and have no noticeable defects, I pop a freshly-wiped hard drive into them and install the highest Mac OS they'll support.

Wow

 

[MultiFinder17]

I work as a teacher at my former middle school. Yesterday I came into possession of the old band teacher's 15" 2010 MBP, a fantastically beat up base model! Many, many miles and battle scars on this machine but she still works beautifully. I took it home, completely gutted it to clean every nook and cranny, refreshed the thermal paste, installed new feet, put in an SSD and 8GB of RAM and it's running High Sierra like a champ! I may play around with upgrading it later using OCLP but I'm really loving how HS runs on this first-gen i5

Even the original battery is holding up great at around 500 cycles and 80% health, not too shabby for a battery that hit its 13th birthday this summer!