Lucy gets downgraded

by Volker Weber

imac g4

Yesterday I have removed OS X 10.5 (Leopard) from Lucy and reinstalled Tiger. It was an unsupported install since Apple spec'ed Leopard at 866 MHz and Lucy has only 800. The processor speed was not an issue, but Apple did not debug the graphics drivers for this particular chipset.

As it turns out Lucy is going strong after the refresh and isn't slow at all. And she is still very pretty at age 5. How much is that in dog years? However, following next week's SteveNote, I may be ready to order a new iMac:

imac

Comments

Did you do a backup/restore or were you able to "upgrade" the Leopard installation with Tiger?

Stefan Tilkov, 2008-01-07

Hi Volker!

If you want a 20" iMac, you maybe look out for the older *white* C2D iMacs, as the new aluminum ones have serious trouble with their LCD panels (colors "washed out" on the bottom of the screen). Take a look into the Apple discussions board or macrumors forums...

The 24" alu iMac also has problems: with the backlight producing bright spots. So maybe here also the white model would bea better choice.

Martin Ballaschk, 2008-01-07

Got myself a new 20" iMac for xmas. I cannot second the washed out display problem with my machine. Only the audio driver using bootcamp is kinda bugged and produced ghost echoes of the sound even when you mute it. A driver upgrade fixed that. Otherwise I am pretty happy with my first mac.

I still can't become friend with that mighty mouse. But all in all this is a neat machine with a brilliant design.

Sascha Reissner, 2008-01-07

Stefan, Tiger won't let you downgrade in place. I used erase & install.

Martin, Mac owners are like Porsche affiniados in bemoaning the bad quality of the newer gear. They just don't make them anymore like they used to.

Volker Weber, 2008-01-07

I just unpacked a 24" imac. I gotta get used to the new keyboard and OS, but the screen is perfectly ok.

Timo Stamm, 2008-01-07

@Volker:

I can assure you that even the current Intel iMac is an excellent product.
As long as you get a good one, that is.

Of course the 20" screen could be better, but hey you can't have everything.

Lino Helms, 2008-01-07

Thanks Volker. I second Timo's statement: The screen of my 24" iMac is perfect.

Stefan Tilkov, 2008-01-07

Since october 5th, I own an 20'' iMac myself. And for now, I'm totally satisfied. Clear and crisp display as promises by apple. A superb working leopard machine.

Dirk Bartkowiak, 2008-01-07

Ok, maybe the issues I read about have been "unfortunate individual cases", I did not see this with my own eyes. And AFAIR not all the iMacs experienced this washed out screen problem.

But as always: it may be nice if one could inspect the machine before buying it. Support your local dealer. :)

Martin Ballaschk, 2008-01-07

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