If you are among the people who thinks anything but the latest,
greatest computer system is the only thing useable, think again.
Today, I will prove to you how useful a 1990 Macintosh IIsi is. The IIsi never
dies!
Introduced in 1990 as a midrange computer, the 20 MHz
68030-based Macintosh IIsi was a big hit. 
It was introduced at
$4,270, which was less expensive than the $10,970 IIfx. It was obviously better than the
LC, which sold for only $2,500, yet it
was almost as fast as the $8,800 IIci,
with its 25 MHz 68030.
The only things that the IIsi lacked in comparison with the IIci
were the 3 NuBus slots, a cache card slot, and a floating point
unit (FPU). Some companies made adapters for the IIsi PDS
(processor direct slot) that allowed you to use a NuBus card and
also gave you a IIci cache card slot. Many of these adapters
included FPUs or sockets for them. Apple's adapter included an FPU
and one NuBus slot.
Last year, I purchased a Macintosh IIsi at a thrift shop for
$25. I thought I might have paid too much, since only had 9 MB of
memory and a 160 MB hard disk. I brought it home and was amazed to
see it boot in just over a minute with Mac OS 7.6!
It then crashed, and, when I restarted, gave me a sad Mac with
an "F" as the last letter of the error code. When you get a sad Mac
with an "F" as the last letter of the error code, it usually means
a software problem. I was lucky and found my 7.6 CD and reinstalled
the Mac OS. I also updated to 7.6.1 while I was at it. After doing
a clean install of the OS, I decided to try the ultimate test: the
Internet.
After installing the necessary components, I was surprised when
it dialed my ISP's number and connected in just seconds. I then
opened Internet Explorer (v. 2.1, in case you were wondering), and
loaded Apple's home page. It was not bad for a 28.8 connection and
a 68030 processor with no FPU. I then went to the Low End Mac
website, and it loaded it in no time. Only then was I convinced
that this was $25 well spent.
At a later date, I came across a couple more at $25 each; this
time I thought the price was reasonable.
One had 9 MB of memory, an 80 MB hard disk, an Apple NuBus
adapter, and an Apple Video Card 670 (a.k.a. 8*24, since it can
show 8-bit colour or 24-bit colour). The other one had a 1.2 GB
hard drive, 17 MB of memory, the Apple NuBus adapter, and another
Apple 670 video card. I brought both home and updated the 9/80 to
System 7.1 v3.0 successfully. I then installed some games, AOL (for
a friend of mine), and Microsoft Word. It all went well. I
connected a CTX 15" MultiScan VGA monitor (I had already installed
a new video card) along with an AppleDesign keyboard and mouse.
That friend will now use it for email, the Internet, some games,
and word processing.
The 17/1.2 GB already had Mac OS 7.6.1 installed and came with
everything else I would have installed for the Internet (Internet
Explorer, FreePPP, etc.). That one will become a machine for me to
keep permanently, since it is a great machine when it is fully
configured.
You can do a lot with a IIsi. I know of a Mac IIsi being used as
a server for an ethernet network, another being used to play kids
games, and there are even some where I live being used for
QuarkXPress and Illustrator.
The IIsi can be upgraded to a 68040 processor via upgrades made
by DayStar, Sonnet, and a few other companies. These usually
feature a 25 or 33 MHz 68040 or 68LC040 (without an FPU). However,
with the price of upgrades now, and the falling price of 68040
based machines, if you need '040 power, you are probably better off
picking up an LC 475 or Quadra 610.
The memory in a IIsi can be upgraded to 17 MB using four 4 MB
30-pin SIMMs. It is also possible to upgrade memory to 33 or 65 MB
using 8 MB or 16 MB SIMMs. I have even heard of them being upgraded
to 129 MB!
The fact that you can often get a fairly well configured IIsi
for so little is what makes it a very inexpensive and useful
alternative to the more expensive Quadras and Power Macs.
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