It's so long since I did anything in the Mac arena that I feel like a total noob. So forgive me if these are juvenile questions, but ...
I have an opportunity to make use of an aged PowerMac (c. 1994).
i.e.
PowerMac PC 6100/60
160 MB disk
16 MB RAM
System 7.5
Navigator 3.01j browser
I would like to use this machine as an 'audio client' to play MP3's on a stereo system, reading the music files from my WinXP PC.
Connectivity. Does this machine speak TCP/IP?
I already have both wired or wireless switches as options on my home network. What will I have to do to get the Mac attached?
Media. The WinXP box has multiple hard drives; from 60 GB to 160 GB; some FAT32, some NTFS; the music files are plentiful (many thousands). Am I going to have trouble reading music files from this environment across a home network?
Output. Does this PowerMac have music/audio output natively onboard, or is an additional soundcard or similar H/W required to hook up to my amp?
Software. I see from download.com that "MPEG Audio Realtime Player 1.74" and "MacPlay 1.4b2" are compatible with System 7.5. Would you recommend these or other choices for my proposed setup?
Reality. Is all of this just wishful thinking? Is this going to perform like a dog, or make a nice music appliance? Which is one way of asking "what would you do?" and "where would you go for info on how to make this work?" (research time I've got; money, not so much!)
Thanks for all your input and opinions.
TomH
TCP/IP connectivity shouldn't be a problem. I'd suggest bumping the OS up to 7.6.1 (easy jump from 7.5, and a lot more stable.) It's got an AAUI ethernet port on it, so you'll need an AAUI to RJ45 adapter to get ethernet on it. It's been a long time since I shopped for one of those, so I don't know how easy/cheap it is to find one. And it'll only do 10baseT, unless you can find a Nubus angle adapter and a Nubus 10/100 card. Even with the card though, you won't get true 100Mb speed; just the nature of the beast.
Use the headphone jack for audio output; it's 16bit stereo out.
I'm not too familiar with the apps you've referenced, but playing MP3's on anything less than a G3 is tough. Keep your eyes peeled for a NewerTech or Sonnet G3 upgrade board for the 61xx series; they can be had pretty cheap. Look for the ones specifically for the 61xx series (low profile). The upgrade boards for the 71xx-81xx machines will work in the 6100, but only with the top of the case off.
More memory would definitely help, and should be easy to come by. Your 16MB is probably 8 on the logic board and a pair of 4's in the two RAM slots. And the RAM modules need to be matched, so you'll need to buy them two at a time.
See http://www.lowendmac.com/ppc/6100.shtml for more info on the 6100.
All in all, if you spend much money on this thing you might be better off tracking down a cheap beige G3 machine; much more capable, much more upgradeable, and can use more generic peripherals (PCI slots, ATA drives, etc...) They can be had for well under $100 if you shop around.
I'd like to point out that while MP3 players exist for OS 7.5, they seldom work with more than very few MP3 files. I tried loads of the players with my 6400 on OS 7.5.5, and not ONE could play more than 3 of 171 songs. And they were all encoded as MP3s, not AAC or WMAs. You should just buy a more decent Mac and run at least OS 9 on it.
Just something to think about.
(and OS 9.1) will be enough to run an MP3 player on a 60mhz 601.
It won't be very responsive to user input while playing, but if that's all it's doing it ought to suffice.
dan k
> You should just buy a more decent Mac and run at least OS 9 on it.
I thought that this might be the case. !
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts.
I also meant to ask what other practical uses might be had for this 6100?
The 6100 would make an excellent server -- web, file, ftp or mail. My kids use one (a Performa 6116, but mechanically identical to the 6100) for fairly simple arcade games, word processing for schoolwork, and e-mail. Before that my wife used that machine for Quicken and other word processing chores. I've got a spare 6116 sitting around, and I've been toying with the idea of using it to control the heating/cooling system in my house and maybe control a few lights.
The point is that the 6100 is a very capable machine for certain tasks. Modern AV chores and games aren't well suited to it though. The best way to determine what works best with it is to play with it a bit.
I've got iTunes 1.1 running under OS 8.6 on my PB1400 with 32MB of RAM. It plays fine. It's a hack to get it going - you need a patched version of iTunes or something. Fairly simple though and once it's done it's done. I don't have access to my bookmarks right now ro I'd send you a link. Try google.
8.6 needs less memory than 9.1. Still, I would definitely recommend getting at least a pair of 16s or 32s for those slots. 64 + 8(onboard) = 72 - and trimming your extensions set right back with Extension Manager.
One hint for MP3 playback - make sure virtual memory is switched *OFF*. The constant disk access will cause playback to skip. Yet another reason to get some more real RAM. 72 pin RAM should be pretty cheap.
I have been trying to find the iTunes OS 8.6 patch for some time now. can someone please send me a good link on where to find it?
Thanks!
Doc Clu
goodwing@aafes.com
I have a 6100/66 running sys. 8.5.1 with 40 megs of RAM.
I use a program called AppleSource MP3 to play CD stored MP3s.
If you can "see" the files on the server, mount the server drive and make playlist of the songs you want to listen to. As long as the server drive is mounted, they should play.
Good Luck.