Where great old Macs live again!

All Blog Posts (309)

Getting Grackle 68k working on my Macintosh Plus 1mb

After listening to Episode 140 of RMC, I was inspired by Nathan's request for someone to get Grackle68k working on a 1mb machine. So, I dug out my very first mac, my old Mac plus, with external hard drive, and Asante EN/SC SCSI ethernet adapter. I formatted the hard drive, and reloaded System 6.0.8 on it. The old installation was all gummed up with my old inits, and with less than 128k of free RAM available. After reloading System 6, I put Grackle68k on a floppy using my Powerbook 540c hooked… Continue

Added by Leo Titus LeBron V on November 18, 2009 at 7:13pm — 2 Comments

New Mac: PB 1400c

About a week ago, I acquired a used PowerBook 1400c/117. It had a good load of software: ClarisWorks 4.0, MS Office 98, Adobe Illustrator 6 and 7, and Photoshop 4.0 running under OS 7.5.3. As far as hardware goes, it is adequate, with a 117 MHz 603e, 32 MB of RAM, a 1 GB hard drive (about 350 MB free; with this software, there is no way I am wiping it clean), an active matrix display, a floppy bay and an 8x CD-ROM bay, missing the front door. It is still usable if not painfully slow, but doesn't… Continue

Added by Gavin on November 8, 2009 at 11:30am — 2 Comments

Latest, but not least

As of last July, my Macintosh collection has a new entry, something I've been searching for quite a while -- a Macintosh SE/30, kindly donated by Roberto. Read all about it here. Continue

Added by Riccardo Mori on November 7, 2009 at 12:22pm — No Comments

PowerBook 250 Duo and LaserWriter 16/600

Just picked up for the princely sum of AU$5.51 a PowerBook 250 Duo, albeit the LCD is cracked and a few other bits and pieces, and a LaserWriter 16/600 * PowerBook 250 * Power supply * User Guide * Floppy Drive (with adapter) * FOCUS SCSI Duck and HDI SCSI Dock Adapter * SCSI Zip Drive * SCSI/Link-T (RJ45) adapter (with driver disk) by DaynaPORT (Model DP0801) * Apple Power supply for M5409, M5416, M1506, M3050, & M3052 * Type3 & Type2 batteries (supposedly dead) Although it doesn't ha… Continue

Added by Michael on November 3, 2009 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

Xceed Color30HR

I have one of these Xceed Color30HR cards, came in a SE/30 I picked up cheap. Does anyone know if this can be used only in and SE/30 ?? Also, since it seems to be quite rare, any ideas on a reasonable value ? Thanks. Continue

Added by John Piontkowski on October 29, 2009 at 8:22pm — 1 Comment

been gone a few days, boxes piling up

I was out of town for a few days, when I returned last night I found a lovely pile of USPS and FedEX boxes waiting for me. Todays additions include : 1 Mac Plus, with 400K external drive and extended keyboard -- seller claimed it was dead, ovbiousbly didnt know macs, it boots to a ?? floppy just fine 1 SE with 2 800K drives -- no display but it does startup chime 1 A9M0106 800K external floppy 1 LC 520 aka performa 520 box o' misc apple AUI adapters and 1 farallon EtherWave appletalk to e… Continue

Added by John Piontkowski on October 25, 2009 at 1:52pm — 3 Comments

My growing collection

so far my collection of retro macs includes : all but the SE/30 at least power on, most of the older ones have floppy issues 2 512K's 1 classic 2 SE's 1 SE/30 (dead, hope to get a working one soon) 1 quadra 800 1 performa 6150 (mostly for parts, but it does power up) 1 performa 5400/200 1 9600/300 2 LC's 2 LCII's 1 performa 405 (aka LCII) 1 LCIII blueberry iMac 350Mhz slot loading graphite DV iMac 400Mhz slot loading eMac 800Mhz G3 B&W G4 Digital Audio and the not so retro ones: mac M… Continue

Added by John Piontkowski on October 19, 2009 at 9:49pm — 5 Comments

. . . and when not using my Macs

When I can I like to get out with friends and go riding on the weekends. Currently, I'm in "training" for the annual Sydney to Wollongong fund raising ride for Multiple Sclerosis Australia http://www.mssociety.org.au Have a look at http://www.gongride.org.au/ for more information about the ride, and my fund raising page at http:/… Continue

Added by Michael on October 7, 2009 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

Hi, my name is Michael, and I used to be a PC user.

Hi all, I've just had my membership approved and thought the first thing I'd do is give a run down on my Apple and Mac background. Back in 1983 I was working for an computer store in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) called "Computers and Peripherals" which was a local Apple Dealer/Agent as well as specialising in electronic calculators (which themselves were a big deal back then!). Although we were happily selling Apple //e & //c machines, both out of the box, and customised for various in… Continue

Added by Michael on October 7, 2009 at 4:30pm — 2 Comments

Retromac of the future

I have just been fortunate enough to aquire what I consider to be the next mac (and the first of the Intels) that will go retro: a MacBook Air (1.6 frist gen.). Don't worry, I'll put it to good use before Apple phases it out ;-) Continue

Added by Paul on October 5, 2009 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

Conversations with the Apple Inc. Co-Founder Steve Woz part 3

MacHEADS the movie just uploaded a deleted footage from our archives. Watch Apple Inc. Co-Founder Steve Woz talks his College days with Steve Jobs and how they started Apple Inc. Continue

Added by mac on September 28, 2009 at 10:50am — No Comments

Temecula Apple Store opened today

I thought it might be interesting to give my coverage of the grand opening of the Apple Store in the Promenade mall in Temecula. They opened today at 10 AM PDT, so we decided to get in line at about 8:30 AM after having breakfast at McDonalds around 7:45. The weather was reasonably nice around here: it was cloudless and 75°F with 41% humidity, though they supplied black umbrellas and rather expensive Glaceau water around 9 AM. My party got to the Store early enough to be one of the first to be… Continue

Added by Gavin on September 26, 2009 at 3:50pm — 2 Comments

New Computer!!!!!!!

well today i got a new computer.....its a G4 "SawTooth"!!!!! here are the specs: 450mhz G4 768mb of ram 18gb hd and it will soon be running 9.2.2 or mac os x server :D Continue

Added by Kendall Seabury on September 25, 2009 at 2:35pm — 3 Comments

Is it true that the value of a 128k system complete with documentation is seriously if it has a 512 motherboard?

A prospective bidder on eBay said that it was and that it would need to be mint condition to fetch even $300 because a few weeks after the purchase, apple upgraded the motherboard of my original 128k. The dude also said I outta reauction everything as individual pieces. I suspect there's some truth to what he's saying but I also suspect he's jonesin for some of those individual parts (manual, keyboard, etc) in order to resell. Thoughts? Oh and in case you're new to the saga, here's the link to… Continue

Added by Triceretops77 on September 21, 2009 at 10:10am — 2 Comments

Macintosh Restoration Part Two

I have just taken delivery of a Macintosh Plus and a Macintosh SE. Both were very kindly given to me, by a university lecturer who has just retired. Both machines where stored away in a back room, not being used for years. He found them when he was cleaning out his belongings and did not want them to be skipped. I have chosen the Plus, to be the machine that I will work on to continue my blog about restoring and cleaning. In… Continue

Added by Damian Ward on September 12, 2009 at 8:00am — 5 Comments

MacHEADS is now on HULU!

MacHEADS The Movie, a documentary by Filmmakers brothers Kobi and Ron Shely, explores the quirky world of Mac fandom. The movie is now available on Hulu! The independent film is currently number one most popular feature movie on all… Continue

Added by mac on September 10, 2009 at 7:49am — No Comments

Old School Hardware Repurposed! Apple II, C64, Atari 800xl

The Shawks.net podcast from Mongodillo Studios had an episode where the geek of the SHC (Shark Haters Club) explained how their high tech surveillance equipment came from. It's a surprisingly accurate view of what these machines could mean to a younger generation: http://www.amigofish.com/catcher/item/show/1429006-tt-8303-thrift-tech- (Just a link that points to the Mongodillo site) Continue

Added by Wholly Mindless on September 6, 2009 at 4:57pm — No Comments

Macintosh Restoration Part One

Introduction I have been asked to blog about my cleaning and restoration work few times. So this is my attempt to explain the processes that I go through. I should start by saying that I have no professional training in electronics or working inside Macintosh computers. Everything I have learnt is from reading books and articles online. Therefore I can not take any responsibly if you damage your machine or yourself. Tools and Aids I will start with my work area, I have mine set up… Continue

Added by Damian Ward on September 6, 2009 at 1:24pm — No Comments

The Job Search

Over the past three months I've been toiling in vain to find a job. The closest jobs that I could apply to with my teaching license meant a 100 mile commute to work. As the months ticked by I started applying to anywhere with an opening - US Cellular, Verizon, Veritas Security and other chain stores. Not a single one of them ever called back. Three weeks ago I was invited to a barbeque and met an individual who manages the computer technology on UW Whitewater's campus. We got to talking and he… Continue

Added by Ken on August 30, 2009 at 8:10am — 6 Comments

Welcome to the mac faith....

well yesterday me and my aunt went to the apple store in Holyoke MA, and I convinced my aunt for her next computer that she is going to be getting soon that she should get a Mac, and she is she will be getting a mac mini :) and i will be getting her old computer....a....ummm.....Emachine PC :p Continue

Added by Kendall Seabury on August 28, 2009 at 10:55am — 2 Comments