Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
Adam's Apple
Working with Vintage Macs
Vintage Mac Video and Monitor Mania
Adam Rosen - 2007.12.17 - Tip Jar
Popularity: ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
I deal with older (pre-G3) systems regularly, both through my consulting work and my personal collection, the Vintage Mac Museum. Here are some tips I've found for keeping the old beasts running and working with modern monitors.
Proprietary Video & Monitor Mania
Old CRT monitors are a dime a dozen (literally in some cases), but they're bulky and heavy; unless you have lots of space, it's hard to keep more than a few around. I make due around the Mac Museum primarily with two monitors for older systems: a 15" VGA LCD (1024 x 768 resolution) and a 17" multisync CRT.
Nearly every Mac that has a video out port or dedicated video card supports 1024 x 768 - what's needed is an adapter to convert the Mac's DB15 connector to a VGA (HD15) style output. These are cheap and readily available; a few different ones may be needed due to quirks between machines. The 15" LCD monitor is small and can work with nearly any old or new Macintosh.
The other useful item is a multisync CRT. 17" models are dirt cheap (often free) and can support 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, and sometimes up to 1280 x 1024 resolutions. Older Apple monitors come with the DB15 style video connector; newer Apple monitors and other brands use a VGA plug, so a DB15-to-VGA adapter is needed with older Macs.
More Tips and Suggestions?
I'm sure there are many other tips and suggestions on the topic of
working with old and vintage Macs; write in to the Low
End Mac Mailbag or contact me with your suggestions and we may do a
follow-up to this column with additional ideas.
This article was originally published on Adam's Oakbog website. It has been adapted and reprinted here with his permission.
Adam also publishes The Vintage Mac Museum Blog. If you find Adam's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Adam's Apple Columns
- Ubiquitous Computing: Tabs, Pads, Books, and Clouds, 03.16. "Ubiquitous computing names the third wave in computing, just now beginning . . . when technology recedes into the background of our lives."
- Multiroom Audio with iTunes, 11.03. Apple's iTunes software makes it easy to stream audio to another room. All you need is the right hardware and sometimes an extra app.
- Oops: A Macintosh Undelete Odyssey, 10.05. Accidentally wiping a drive is recoverable, but it's a long, slow process. A bit of creativity will help with files that lose their names.
- Step by Step Guide to Manual Mac System Migration, 08.18. Migration Assistant doesn't always do the job. Manual migration involves copying, deauthorizing, and reinstalling apps and user files.
- More in the Adam's Apple index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Mac Pro, Aug. 2006 - The last Mac to go Intel, the Mac Pro has two dual-core Xeon CPUs at 2.0-3.0 GHz. 8-core option added in 2007.
- Group of the Day: Mac mini List is for anyone using or contemplating a Mac mini
- March 20 in LEM history: 00: Adobe isn't making friends - Raising the dead - 01: Milking the Mac for all it's worth, - 02: Keeping the Web free - Macally CardBus USB - 05: Copyright bullies - 07: The iPhone: Is it a Mac? - Improve productivity with a second display - 08: The rise of the Microsoft monopoly
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Does iPhone OS Need Multitasking?, iCab Comes to iPhone, Canada's Proposed iPod Levy, and More, iNews Review, 03.19. Also the iPad paradox, Freescale demos $200 tablet, gardening apps, aluminum iPhone stand, steel iPhone case, and more.
- Could iPad Replace the Mac?, Mac Sales Up in 2010, Avoiding Windows 7 'Whenever Possible', and More, Mac News Review, 03.19. Also why your next Mac may be an iPad, science blogger abandons Apple, the benefits of standing while working, and more.
- The Mobile System Stampede, Lithium Battery That Can't Explode, Affordable SSD Options, and More, The 'Book Review, 03.19. Also June 2007 MacBook Pro external display issue, laptop stands, 1 TB ultraportable hard drive, Mini DisplayPort/HDMI adapter, and more.
- CardBus WiFi, the Shiira Browser, Ridding the Web of Flash, and Macs vs. PCs, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Mac longevity, Shiira speed, ambidextrous Mac and Windows use, and how Flash benefits Apple.
- How to Zoom Your Browser for a More Readable Web, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 03.18. Instructions for zooming text and pages in Safari, Firefox, Camino, and Opera.
- How Ad Blocking Hurts Your Favorite Websites, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Ad income keeps the Web free. Blocking online ads hurts your favorite websites.
- Taking Apart the 12" PowerBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 03.17. There are a lot of steps involved in disassembling a 12" PowerBook. Proceed with caution.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Intel iMac Deals, 03.17. Used 17" from $600; 20" from $750; 24" from $825; refurb 21.5" nVidia, $999; new, $1,099; refurb Radeon, $1,299; new, $1,399; refurb 27" 3.06, $1,499; more.
- Best G5 iMac Deals, 03.17. 17" 2.0 GHz, $380; 1.9 GHz iSight, $479 shipped; 20" 1.8 GHz, $509 shipped; 2.1 GHz iSight, $549 shipped.
- Best Time Capsule Deals, 03.17. Close-out 500 GB, $140; new 1 TB, $279; used 2 TB simultaneous dual-band, $400; new, $455. Shipping included.
- Best iPad Deals, 03.16. 16 GB iPad, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; 16 GB with 3G, $629; 32 GB 3G, $729; 64 GB 3G, $829. Free ground shipping.
- Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
- Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
- Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
- More deals in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com
