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Vintage Mac Living

Old Macs Are Still Fun to Use and Productive Tools

- 2006.05.15

One year ago my first article - Bigger, Faster, More: Enough Already! - was published on Low End Mac. Since then, 13 more of my articles (not counting this one) have been published.

Together we've touched of subjects ranging from how to make your old 68k Mac useful again to what it's like upgrading from an aging Beige G3 to a much faster Sawtooth G4.

In all of my articles (the ones related to computers anyway) the point is that most of us don't need to go out and buy a $30,000 Power Mac G5 setup to be productive. That would be like buying an RV just for you daily commute (with today's gas prices, I don't think anyone will do that).

I must confess that over the course of the last few months I haven't been following my own advice.

Ever since I upgraded my from my Beige G3 to my G4, I have acquired several Macs that are much better than the ones I had, including a Blue & White G3/400 (I got that one for free, it replaced my Sister's old Beige G3), an iMac 400 (also free - it replaced my Mom's old 5500/225), and a Lombard PowerBook G3 (that one cost me $10, it replaced the old AIO G3/233 in my room).

Because I've been so busy with these new Macs, I haven't had time to use any of my really vintage Macs that I keep in the house: 512K, SE, SE/30, Classic II, IIci, and PowerBook 170. I've been so busy setting up these new machines that I haven't had time to even touch my old machines.

I was looking at these vintage Macs, and it was almost like they were looking back at me - and they were upset. So today I decided to power a few of them up and do something with them.

I wrote this article on the 512k, sent some email with the SE, played Brickles on the Classic II, and made a Mother's Day card on the PowerBook 170 using Kid Pix (I wrote this article on Mother's Day).

It's been so long since I used them that I forgot just how fun they are. They're still easy to use, and even today they're still powerful tools.

I really do love using these old machines. I got so caught up messing with the new stuff trying to make it just right that I forgot how much you can really get done with the old stuff.

So to those of you who emailed me last year and told me I was wrong, take my advice: Dig out that old SE (or even that old 9600 or beige G3) out of your closet and use it. You just might be surprised at what you can get done.

Recent Vintage Mac Living articles

If a Mac Plus can run System 7.5.5, why can't an 800 MHz G4 run Leopard?, 10.19. Apple supported the Mac Plus for over 10 years after its introduction. Why should Leopard cut off support for Macs released 4-6 years ago?
60 Mac models left behind: The ridiculously high cost of Leopard, 10.17. Mac OS X 10.5 officially doesn't support any G3 Macs, most G4 Power Macs, most titanium PowerBooks, half the G4 iMacs, early eMacs, or the first 12" G4 iBook.
What a waste! Some schools would rather store old computers than put them to use, 09.12. Denver Public Schools is one example of a school district so ready to buy new computers that it has tens of thousands of old, usable computers sitting in storage.
Why I don't want an iPhone - and really want an iPod touch, 09.06. The iPhone offers a lot of capabilities, but at too high a cost for someone who doesn't need a mobile phone or doesn't want to change carriers. The iPod touch is nearly perfect.
More in the Vintage Mac Living index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
Group of the Day: G-List is for Power Mac G3, G4, and G5 users.
March 21 in LEM history: 00: The compelling Mac - 01: All that for $129? - PowerBook 100 - 02: Improving AppleWorks - 03: The G3 ain't dead yet - Pismo a good value - Western Digital drive issues - 05: iPod halo effect - 06: Rip DVDs so you can watch them on your iPod - 07: Maximum drive size in older Macs - 08: Safari 3.1 fastest browser?
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