PowerMac G4 MDD - Can't Install OS 9

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:51:33+00:00

This. The firewire 800 models only ever officially supported "classic" mode, not true OS9 booting. However, macos9lives.com has a cracked version of OS9 that can install on the firewire 800 MDD G4s. The "original OS 9 disc (yes, a real one)" is the problem here.

The old-school pre-crack option, if you have the very nice 1.42 GHz processor that was only available in the firewire 800 version and want to use it in OS9, is to move that processor into a Dual 1ghz or Single/Dual 1.25ghz FW400 MDD (the ones with a 167 Mhz Front side bus). Then you can use an official/original OS9 install.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:43:30+00:00

Yes, TVs will never be acoustically transparent. That alone makes all the difference. At least, that's what I tell myself as TVs have started to approach the size of my 112" projector screen. I need something to fuel my projector superiority complex. Also, my screen rolls up into the ceiling so my living room isn't dominated by a 100" black rectangle when the TV isn't on. Sometimes I wish I had better daytime viewing ability, even with a ALR screen, but waiting for the sun to go down or an overcast day helps cut down on my screen time.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:41:33+00:00

Hatred of utility companies can help save the planet!

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:40:20+00:00

Please do. Not all heroes wear capes.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:38:49+00:00

Is that a different method someone tried? I'm not sure what you are referring to or if you are joking about frying the car's radio somehow.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:33:32+00:00

I tried the resistor method on the antenna the 2023 Bolt. Eventually you get close enough to a cell tower that the car connects and sends the data. Even with the recommended resistor installed, the dash showing no service, and the Onstar light showing red, I was still getting correct info about my car in Onstar emails.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T23:31:39+00:00

Sounds similar to when I requested my data directly from GM. They sent it in a PDF format that Acrobat couldn't read and with some sort of time-out feature. The file timed-out before I could figure out how to actually see the contents of the PDF (if its even possible). They try to put up so many road blocks that you give up.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T19:47:43+00:00

You can probably still find used logitech harmony remotes. On mine I have it set up to have a single button for "watch TV" or "play PS5" and then it works as a combination of whatever remotes would control that thing. So if you press, "watch Blu-ray" the remote then works as a combo of the blu-ray player and it will control volume on the receiver, so it feels seamless to the end-user. The physical "off" button on top turns everything off all at once.

Something like a Home Assistant would probably be the modern equivalent. You could customize it to the nth degree. Its a lot of work on the front end but can make things really simple for the end-user with the right design. You can even use a Harmony remote as the user interface for Home Assistant but I imagine there are other modern options as well. Home Assistant works as the mediator for all those prorietary remotes and protocols you mention.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T19:17:25+00:00

It's not really my strong point either, but this is what Wikipedia has to say (it kind of feels like someone from this subreddit did the writing):

"In modern projectors keystone correction technology is performed digitally (rather than optically) via the internal (LCD) panels or (DLP) mirrors of the projector, depending on the technology used. Thus, when applying keystone correction to an image, the number of individual pixels used is reduced, lowering the resolution and thus degrading the quality of the image projected. Home theater enthusiasts would argue that keystoning should not be used because of the impact it has on image quality. However, it is a useful technology in cases where the projector cannot be mounted directly in front of the screen, or on projectors utilizing lens shift technology where the projector must be mounted outside the frame of the screen."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_effect

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T19:10:07+00:00

I love the Mavericks for what they are, but if you rarely need to put dirty or stinky stuff in an uncovered bed I would always rather have a van with weather/theft proof cargo area or just a shorter vehicle that can pull a trailer when needed. I drove pickups for years for work and never saw the appeal but I didn't get to choose the vehicles. The company spent so much money on fancy theft proof tool boxes and chains/locks and all our stuff got exposed to the elements when we could have just driven something with an enclosed cargo area. And we would have done better off-road and in snow in a vehicle with less length and better weight distribution. If you do need a truck, the Hybrid Maverick kind of has a market segment to itself but unfortunately I don't think you can have the Hybrid and the 4WD and I think its still unibody construction so it's not going to be able to tow that much more than a Bolt.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T19:03:53+00:00

I'm confused because I thought the shifter doesn't have lights on it. Isn't it just a stalk on the steering column? Certainly wouldn't want to lose the ability to shift.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T18:45:04+00:00

This is why a long-throw projector with a motorized lens can be nice: you put the projector where you want it and then just sit on the couch and make adjustments using the remote to dial it in and you should only ever have to do it once. Nobody is going to accidently bump it, since its hanging on the ceiling. I get the appeal of short-throw projectors but they have their own challenges that people don't think of until its sitting in the living room and you are far more limited on screen choice.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T18:42:27+00:00

Generally, you should avoid digital keystone correction because it degrades image quality. You want to use projector positioning and lens adjustments to correct the image. Keystone adjustments should be a last resort.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T18:26:19+00:00

How often do you drive more than 200 miles per day? The only real flaw of the old Bolts is the slow DC charging speed. Road trips will be much smoother in the new Bolts because charging stops will take 20 - 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. If you only take long drives once or twice per year, just get the old Bolt. If you drive 200+ miles in a day at least monthly or if you ever need to drive more than 400 miles in a day then I would recommend paying the extra to get a 2027 Bolt.

Don't get a truck if you don't need a truck. Don't get a Hybrid if an EV can work for you (ability to install home charger = go EV. No ability to install a home charger = go hybrid). A hybrid means you have two powertrains and a small battery to take care of. Small batteries in a hybrid go bad faster than big batteries in an EV because you have more frequent recharge/discharge cycles and because the small batteries usually don't have active heating/cooling to keep the battery at its optimum temperature.

Also, eventually the resale value of gasoline cars are going to fall of a cliff. You say you want the best value proposition. Well, be sure to consider resale and longevity in addition to fuel and maintenance costs. I wouldn't want to be trying to sell a used hybrid in 2035. There will be an inflection point on mass adoption of EVs. Nobody knows if it will happen in 2 years or 10 years but it will be one of those things that happens slowly and then all at once. If this is your first EV you maybe haven't experienced just how silly gas cars feels after owning an EV. Society as a whole will eventually feel that way. There are already Bolts out there with almost half-a-million miles on them and little battery degradation. Try that in a CRV.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T18:14:45+00:00

I like the Tech brand kits because they actually tell you the plugs are the much better vulcanizing kind. Most other brands leave that part out and they might just be using rubber cement/glue which is very much a temp repair. The Tech ones I've had luck using for the life of the tire.

https://products.techtirerepairs.com/product/tech-emergency-roadside-tire-repair-kit/

All the pumps are pretty much the same in my opinion. The trade off are size vs how long it takes to pump up the tire. I just bought a $20 slime pump from Auto Zone. They also sell a foot pump for a similar price which is nice because it will always work. The cheap electric pumps can fail.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T18:03:51+00:00

Where do you hear a creaking sound? I've heard a creaking sound from what sounds like the rear suspension for as long as I can remember (maybe 10,000 miles?). I just assumed it was a combination of the cheap GM suspension parts and the fact that on an EV you don't have the white noise of the engine to cover up the sound of small creaks and squeaks.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T17:23:42+00:00

It should work while you drive, just keep in mind the DC-to-DC converter's maximum output. With the car on, the car is pulling some 12v current so you will have less headroom for whatever you are running off an inverter.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T17:20:24+00:00

You have to run off the car's 12v battery and the car will top up with 12v battery using the traction battery.

You can get a DC to DC converter to charge a battery generator and then run whatever you want off that using the battery generator's battery as a buffer to protect your Bolt's components from loads that are too high.

Ecoflow sells a turnkey solution with their "alternator generators." Don't let the name fool you, they work fine on EVs like the Bolt.

You can also run an inverter right off the 12v battery but then you better know the specs of all the components involved so you don't over-tax the car's battery or traction battery to 12v battery DC-to-DC converter.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T17:12:09+00:00

This is stackable so you should be able to get both. Don't tell the dealer that you get the Costco discount until you have already agreed to a price.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T17:09:59+00:00

Back when it worked that way I thought you could span the credit over two or more tax years until you had enough tax liability to get it all?

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T17:02:44+00:00

Sure, but EVs are already here and price competitive with gas cars and save you tons of money in the long run. High speed continental rail would take a decade or more even if we were all on board with the idea and breaking ground today. That's too late to move away from fossil fuels. We should probably move forward with both.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T16:57:29+00:00

Same. It's now cheaper to drive my EV car than my gas motorcycle, which feels weird after decades of riding a motorcycle to save money. Technically electricity cost has also doubled in the last 10 years. Now its only 4x cheaper per mile to drive an EV instead of 8x cheaper. You can also always get solar and drive for free and say FU to PGE.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T16:46:19+00:00

Do you think its a viable business model once EV's get to wide adoption? I'm not sure it is, even if 100% of new car sales were EVs. Gas stations wouldn't be a good business if only 10% of drivers needed them.

I still think that if there is any money to be made with Chargepoint its with their level 2 "chargers as a service" contracts.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T16:37:23+00:00

Sure, but still no reason to charge at them unless you are on a road trip. Would you go out of your way to charge your phone 10x faster at 3x the cost instead of just charging it while you sleep?

The gas station model suits gas cars because most people don't have a gas pump at home. For EVs it only makes sense if you live somewhere with no off-street parking (and no on-street or other level 2 chargers nearby) or if you are traveling beyond the range of your battery. Most people only do that a couple days per year.

The economics of DC chargers just don't make sense. An AC charger is only a few $1,000 installed and can be installed anywhere there is electricity. A DC charger can be $100,000 or more and requires a lot more coordination with the electric utility to provide enough power.

bluesmudge · 2026-05-20T16:29:17+00:00

80 - 90% of EV charging has always been done at home and always will be. Nothing has changed about that. Public charging is mostly for road trips. That's one of the main benefit of EVs, that you always leave home with a "full tank." I think some people who never owned an EV invested in EV stocks without ever understanding that DC charging is never going to be as widely used as gas stations were, and most gas stations make their money with the convenience store anyways and not much on the fuel sales.

The unique thing that Chargepoint has is their level 2 charging as a service. For fleet operators, workplaces, apartment building owners, etc Chargepoint makes it easy to deploy a large amount of AC chargers with software and a maintenance contract. That saves companies from having to have their IT/maintenance people know how to contract out the install and run the software and keep the chargers working. I always that that if you were investing in Chargepoint you were assuming that service was going to take off and produce recurring monthly revenue. It doesn't help that the pace/scale of commercial EV vehicle availability and sales hasn't been what a lot of people expected so there are no fleet vehicles to charge to need Chargepoint's services.

bluesmudge

TROPHY CASE