Apple G3 Powerbooks still have a lot of life left in them, even for today's tasks. There are two guides on upgrading the Lombard series of Powerbooks which include installing 512MB of ram and an internal DVD+/-RW drive and the Airport 802.11g added to a Powerbook G3 guides for extra performance gains.

OS X is a wonderful Operating System but unfortunately the Powerbook G3's (Pismo and Lombard) are at their limits . The best alternative I have found is to run Xubuntu Linux. The Powerbook ends up running roughly five times faster with Xubuntu over OS X! Another major positive factor is that Xubuntu is totally free and will work on the PPC platform of older Powerbooks. Do a web search and read as much as you can for the installation. You can even download a "LiveCD" meaning, it will not install onto your hard drive, rather run in memory. It allow you to take the operating system out for a test drive before you fully install it.

Xubuntu uses a very slick looking GUI (Graphical User Interface) that appears to function just like OS X or Windows. Most of the Linux operating systems are point and click now a days for the benefit of many, as opposed to the few. Linux used to require a lot of code being inputed, and you can still go old school if you would like. It is fully customizable, and comes with a plethora of software included for free. There are a number of free packages already waiting to replace your existing software, and best of all is that they are free! Open Office replaces MS Office for MAC, GIMP replaces Photoshop,  numerous web browsers, video editing software, and games. Below are some screen shots to give you an idea of what Xubuntu looks and feels like:

             


Make sure that you download the latest Xubuntu installation for PPC (meaning Apple). In my Lombard, I could not watch videos, or play any DVD's because OS X won't allow it, but OS 9 did (kind of a silly limitation Apple made). Once I installed Xubuntu, I was able to watch movies and videos without any hiccups, and without any lag. Xubuntu really is a major improvement over OS X.

The last supported version for Apple PPC's is Xubuntu 6.10 a.k.a. "Edgy". Locate the Xubuntu ISO named "desktop" not "alternate". The "desktop ISO allows you to use the LiveCD function and it is all GUI based.

Download location is located at the following URL:

http://hex1a4.net/xubuntu/mirror/releases/6.10/release/

Burn the PPC *.ISO image to a CD with Nero or Roxio. Place the newly burned CD in the Apple computer and reboot your computer. While the computer is rebooting immediately begin by holding the"C" key while it is powering on. Follow the steps and you will be able to install a "LiveCD" which means that nothing on your hard drive gets erased. Think of it as a test drive before you decide to take the plunge. If you decide to install Xubuntu always remember to backup your information in case you change your mind later.

There are tonnes of great sites out on the web that show you how to use features and how to download "packages" which in Apple and Microsoft terms would be equivalent to "updates". Give Xubuntu a trial with the LiveCD and you won't be disappointed. More information on Xubuntu can be found at the following website:

http://www.xubuntu.org