Power PC Obsolete?
Posted: July 12th, 2008, 2:40 pm
When will a power pc mac become worth less than what it is? Basically what I am saying is how much longer till we are unable to use a power pc mac as an everyday computer?
It all depends on your definition of "useable"
When Apple switched from 68k to PowerPC processors, official Mac OS support for the older processors lasted through Mac OS 8.1. The last 68k machine, the 68LC040-equipped PowerBook 190cs was discontinued early in 1996. Mac OS 8.1 was released in 1998, so about two years. We're just about approaching the two year mark for the discontinuation of the last G5 systems this fall, so expect Mac OS support to end soon.
But in terms of usability, one could get reasonable work done on 68ks well into the early 2000s. It is totally subjective, based entirely on what you deem acceptable and satisfactory ability to complete tasks. I would predict that basic web browsing, emailing, and word processing type tasks will be performed fine by PowerPC systems through 2010 or later. Simply being unsupported by the latest Mac OS version doesn't instantly deem a system useless. It only becomes so once it can no longer do what you want it to.