Posts tagged “mac se”.

Cleaning out my Mac closet

October 4th, 2010

Updating to OS X 10.3.9

It’s decluttering time around Newton Poetry headquarters, which means I’m cleaning out Macs that I either rarely use or that have become redundant.

This includes my PowerMac G4, iMac G3, Mac SE, and Apple Studio Display (the above CRT model that matches the G4). All of them are taking up more space, and less attention, these days.

The Bondi blue iMac may be the exception. It’s an always-on machine for testing Newton stuff, playing games, and doing my household budget. But after digging into the PowerMac G3, I find that a lot of what I do with the iMac can be done with a more flexible, powerful G3 in the Blue and White. It’s not important to have a Mac with every OS on it anymore. The PowerMac G3’s Mac OS 8 can do most of what the iMac’s OS 9 can do (run games, test software). And even though the iMac takes up less space, I’ve been thinking about getting a flat-screen monitor to use with other computers and recycle the ungodly-heavy CRT.

My plan is to either give away or recycle all the Mac stuff. I have to warn local friends that these are older Macs, and so maybe aren’t appropriate for anyone but a dedicated hobbyist.

Except for the PowerMac G4, since it runs OS X 10.3 Panther and handles web browsing and basic computing pretty well. I’ve even tackled some graphic design projects on it using Adobe CS2, which it handled nicely. Having that G4 as an everyday machine, as loud as it is, is still better than having no Mac at all.

These days I’m finding less and less time to devote to my Mac hobby, so weeding down the number of machines will help me dedicate the time I do have to the remaining Macs. To me, there’s a twinge of guilt that happens when a Mac is left off for too long – especially when I can’t think of a good reason to turn it on.

My original plan for the Mac SE, one of two that I own, was to turn it into a Macquarium. But that’s a project I don’t want to think about for a long time, and I’d rather scrap a non-working classic than this perfectly capable Mac.

All this leaves me with my new iMac, an iBook G4, an iBook G3 blueberry clamshell, the B&W PowerMac G3, the other Mac SE, the LC 520, and two Newtons. That’s a collection with a good mix of OSes, software, and desktop-vs.-portable variety. Most of all, it’s a collection I can handle.

With these Macs out of the way, I’m getting ideas on projects to tackle next, like stealing one of the PowerMac G4’s hard drives (or even the iMac’s, with OS 9 on it) and installing it as a second drive in the Blue and White. I’m using the one Mac SE as a writing station, the iBook G4 as an iTunes jukebox in my bedroom (With a fantastic JBL Creature speaker system), while the iBook G3 mostly collects dust.

Newton Poetry readers that are interested in getting their hands on one of these machines would only have to worry about shipping, if you’re interested. Drop me an e-mail and I’d be glad to send you one.

Google (and Twitter!) on a Mac SE

November 18th, 2009

macsegoogle

From Ken Fager, who has also been using Grackle68k, which I’ve heard about all over the place recently.

It’s geeky enough to get a Mac SE online, but it’s super cool to send toots via Grackle. Kudos to you, Ken.

[Via Ken’s Twitpic and Twitter.]

Getting your Newton eMate wireless

May 11th, 2009

ematewireless

Mark Hoekstra describes how to get a Newton eMate 300 connected to a wireless network over at Geek Technique.

Why? “Well, impress your friends!” he says.

Hoekstra uses a WaveLAN Orinoco Silver network card, Newton Connection Utilities, a custom-made serial cable, a few package files, and a driver to get his eMate running on a wifi network. He takes plenty of pictures and goes into detail through the whole process.

Almost as cool? Using his Mac SE as a media center monitor. Hoekstra loses points for throwing Windows on that beautiful machine, however.

One of these days I’ll attempt the wireless eMate project. But for now, Hoekstra’s breakdown should give you a good head-start.

Cult of Mac: Mac SE/30 and Newton setup rocks

October 17th, 2008

Check this out.

Cult of Mac interviews James Wages on his classic Mac SE/30 web-surfing machine and Newton 2100 sync setup. He even uses his Newton keyboard (with an extension) on the SE! You can check out the Flickr collection here.

A lot of people might look at James’s setup and think, “Jesus, what the hell’s wrong with him?” Me? I look at it and think, “My hero.”

How many Macs are too many?

September 16th, 2008

Getting out of hand.

I don’t know, but I think I’m getting close. This doesn’t even show the two Mac SEs and the iBook G3 clamshell. Getting out of hand, much?

NewtVid: Mac @ work, via the Tragically Hip

April 23rd, 2008

Demigods in Canada, and virtually unknown in the U.S., The Tragically Hip are the greatest live band I’ve ever seen.

So it was a heckuva treat to see some classic Macs sitting at the desks during the Hip’s “My Music at Work” video:

Gord's Mac at work

Gord Downie, the lead singer, has either a classic 128/512k Mac or a Mac SE – I can’t make out which. The video seems to be a rip on the drudgery of work, but they picked the wrong computer to represent such an idea; a Packard Bell would’ve worked much better.

The Mac-inspired office environment

They look like they’re having some fun, thanks to Gord, though I bet an office environment would be infinitely better with a Mac SE at every desk.

April Fool’s: a Mac SE helps the cause

April 1st, 2008

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If you checked out today’s earlier post, you can tell I’m a big fan of April Fool’s Day. Always have been.

So last night I crept back into work after hours and installed a “new” computer for one of my coworkers. A Mac SE.

I came up with the idea months ago, but I originally meant to replace all of my coworkers’ workstations with vintage Macs – all four of them. The logistics, however, made me think twice. Lugging two Mac SEs, a Quadra, and an LC 550 up the office stairs didn’t seem worth it. So I pulled some other fun pranks instead.

I even made a “Punch In” alias on the SE’s desktop that mimics our timecard software. It was a MacWrite document, and said, simply, “Happy April Fool’s.”

They got me back, too:

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Someone caught me in a woman’s hat at a recent event. One of my coworkers printed off 10 copies and posted them all over the office. It was like 1984, with Big Brother’s face plastered everywhere you went. The above spot was my favorite, however.

My boss, who was not spared in the tomfoolery, liked the Mac SE prank the best, which makes me feel good. For a minute, I thought I was going to walk into work in deep trouble. Thank goodness for good senses of humor.

Happy April Fool’s!  And happy birthday, Apple!