X.5.8, maximum. YouTube, no, don't go there. General web browsing, yes, for the most part -e.g., Flash is usually limiting. But then you have that problem with spades on iOS or even on a new MBP. More functional than a Pismo? Yes. Reliability? There is a fairly common sleep glitch which is cured by removal of a small component, requiring some disassembly, but it's not so bad. I forget the details, though I did it a while ago on a 1.67mhz model.
They do get fairly hot when on the web and working hard — not so hot as to fry anything, but certainly hot enough to spin up the fans. Just so you know.... It is not going to run cool like some of the later intel portables.
If they can be acquired cheap, the G4s are still nice machines and worth the plunge. Batteries are getting cheaper, as for the Pismo, which is nice. My youngest daughter has one for homework and such, and she is 17, so there is a little more life left in a G4 still for certain purposes. My daughter refuses to even try YouTube on it, though — too slow and often no really workie.
I bought a 12" G4, 1.5ghz, waaay back in 05, and have just installed an SSD in it after the original drive failed. The SSD has given the thing a whole new lease on life. Massively better machine.
A 7200rpm drive is said to have much the same effect in a G4 PowerBook, and would probably be the most realistic upgrade for a late 15" model after RAM, but the SSD is nice in the 12" model especially because of its single RAM slot. I no longer notice when the thing runs out of RAM because of the speed of the swap space on the SSD. Very nice. You don't have that RAM limitation with the 15" model, so I'd go for a spinning drive upgrade if some extra oomph is needed.
Mind you, you can buy a nice C2Duo from 08-09 now fairly cheaply, and they remain very capable machines. Depends what you want it for (collect or use) / to do with it (internet machine or office applications).
They do get fairly hot when on the web and working hard — not so hot as to fry anything, but certainly hot enough to spin up the fans. Just so you know.... It is not going to run cool like some of the later intel portables.
If they can be acquired cheap, the G4s are still nice machines and worth the plunge. Batteries are getting cheaper, as for the Pismo, which is nice. My youngest daughter has one for homework and such, and she is 17, so there is a little more life left in a G4 still for certain purposes. My daughter refuses to even try YouTube on it, though — too slow and often no really workie.
I bought a 12" G4, 1.5ghz, waaay back in 05, and have just installed an SSD in it after the original drive failed. The SSD has given the thing a whole new lease on life. Massively better machine.
A 7200rpm drive is said to have much the same effect in a G4 PowerBook, and would probably be the most realistic upgrade for a late 15" model after RAM, but the SSD is nice in the 12" model especially because of its single RAM slot. I no longer notice when the thing runs out of RAM because of the speed of the swap space on the SSD. Very nice. You don't have that RAM limitation with the 15" model, so I'd go for a spinning drive upgrade if some extra oomph is needed.
Mind you, you can buy a nice C2Duo from 08-09 now fairly cheaply, and they remain very capable machines. Depends what you want it for (collect or use) / to do with it (internet machine or office applications).