// 09.Sep.2009

Adding Retro Touches to an Aging Macintosh

I'm stuck in computing's yesteryear. I'm using a recently-obsoleted Macintosh as my primary computer, a Power Mac G5. This once cutting-edge computer was to be the last of Apple's PowerPC machines. Furthermore, Apple's latest OS, Snow Leopard, doesn't run on PowerPC-based computers, so I can't upgrade my G5 beyond Leopard. As a consequence of this, my operating system can now be considered antediluvian too.

It seems only fitting then that I've used a couple of software hacks to add a few retro touches to my aging Macintosh.

Changing the Boot Image

I've used BootXChanger to change the startup image from the grey Apple logo to the coloured "rainbow" logo of old.

Rounded Corners on the Menu Bar

When Apple introduced Leopard one thing I immediately noticed was the loss of the iconic rounded corners of the menu bar. Leopard's square corners were just that, square — and I wasn't alone in mourning their death. Fortunately a "fix" soon appeared in the form of Displaperture and I did rejoice.

Classic Apple Icon in the Menu Bar

As a final touch, I've used a small program I found in an online forum to swap the Apple icon in Leopard's menu bar for the classic rainbow icon.

They're only small changes, but they've added a certain je ne sais quoi to my Macintosh. What do you think?

Last Revision: October 10th, 2009 at 02:47

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