Katzhagen - Archive - May 2018
A hardware classic...
... simplifies managing the trains
Quite a coincidence led to getting hold of a hardware classic in form of Apple's G4 cube, which at first I couldn't see a useful purpose for. Nevertheless the beast from 2001 tempted me to upgrade it to the latest OS and software.
Much to my astonishment this intent turned out to be feasible without substantial problems. Even an up-to-date (!) web browser was available for the latest OS obtainable for this hardware.
A first check proved the system to be fully operational. Just the DVD drive had difficulties in ejecting media, which could be rectified by "cooking" the drive belts and roughening the rubber rolls.
The old 20GB HDD was replaced with a 120GB SSD and the memory was expanded to the maximum of 1.5GB. Hence the device runs utterly quiet now and memory-consuming applications run significantly smoother than before. The complete startup procedure takes less than 30 seconds now...
Installation of the latest operating system obtainable (OS X 10.4.11) for this hardware and further software like f.i. X11 (for use with the VMS systems' GUI) and ten4fox, the latest Firefox web browser for this system.
As soon as a purpose of use was found for the beast, a larger screen and a "useable" keyboard were needed. Related revaluations of the GUI were applied too before the system was deployed.
To spare the cube a life outside in the drafty garage it was installed on a shelf in the utilities room. Fortunately, the required infrastructure already existed in this place. The keyboard, mouse, screen and the speakers found their new home on the wall's other side outside in the garage.
Operating the layout prior to this setup's deployment required WLAN based handhelds and simple text terminals. Now that the workplace provides a fully featured GUI, many things are easier and more comfortable to accomplish.
January 2018 | Archive "Current Affairs" | June 2018
