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- 2006.08.30
Today I was looking at my Lisa (see Retro Computing: First Impressions of a Newly Acquired Apple Lisa). It has been sitting on my dresser unused for quite some time because of a vertical hold problem.
I was going to sell it, so I listed it on craigslist and the 68k Macintosh Liberation Army, but I soon found that it wasn't worth anywhere near the $1,200 I thought it was worth.
I have seen Lisas (even broken ones) go for more than that on eBay, so I thought it was a reasonable price. I was wrong.
Why Sell It?
The reason I was tried to sell it is because I thought we were going to have to buy another car. The car we have was not working right. I kept overheating, and I replaced every part in the coolant system (radiator, thermostat, cooling fans, ect.).
I wasn't sure how much longer the car was going to hold up, and I was getting pretty tired of pouring money into it. It seemed like a bottomless pit: timing belt, water pump, front right drive axle, cooling fans, cooling fan control.
Mom and I need the car so we can go to work. if we can't go to work, we can't make money, and if we can't make money, we'll end up living under a bridge.
I found an old 1988 Honda Accord that seemed to be in good shape for $1,000. I figured I could sell the Lisa, get the money we needed to buy the Accord, and be okay.
But then I found the real problem with the car we have. It turns out that the spring on the radiator cap on the newly installed used radiator was worn out, letting all of the coolant into the overflow, causing it to overheat.
The radiator cap is an $8 part at Auto Zone.
Flamed
There hadn't been any new posts on the Lisa's For Sale Thread, and I had forgotten about it. Then I got an email from the site saying there were new posts on it, so I went and looked.
People had started flaming me, saying how selfish I am. Then, before I could reply to all of the flames and explain my situation, the thread was closed.
Time to Fix It
Nevertheless, I decided to follow the advice given to me. Today I decided to open up the Lisa and fix the vertical hold. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
All I had to do was get the top off and adjust a rheostat on the board behind the CRT - problem solved.
Now all I have to do is get a 400K floppy drive and a keyboard for it, and it will be a totally functional Lisa.
I think I
found a floppy drive for it on Craigslist, along with a lot of 10
Mac Pluses and 512Ks (maybe they are 128Ks; I don't know for sure). I'm
looking forward to getting that stuff.
I had thought about trading the Lisa for that lot of Fat Macs and Pluses, but I think I'll hold onto the
Time for a New Project
Inspired by the hit series "30 Days" on FX, I've decided to start a new project.
Starting on Monday, September 4, 2006, I'm going to set aside my Sawtooth G4, all of my G3 machines, and everything that displays more than 1-bit black and white for 30 days.
The idea is to see just how much of my day to day work I can really get done using nothing but my Plus, SE, Classic II, and PowerBook 170.
The only modern technology I'll be using is my Power Mac 8600, which is a headless IP router for my LocalTalk only machines, and my Power Mac 9600, which will serve as an SMTP server so I can send email. (I use Eudora Lite 1.3.1 on my classic machines. It doesn't support SMTP authentication, so I use Mac OS X Server's email server, because I can disable SMTP authentication on it.)
Wish me luck.
If you have any tips to help me, feel free to email me before
September 4th. 
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.
- List of the Day: Old Mac MP covers 604-based multiprocessor Macs and clones.
- September 6 in LEM history: 99: G4 vs. Pentium III - 00: Setting up a server - 02: Norton Utilities warning - 10 greatest computer annoyances - 06: iMac Core2 Duo - Mac mini Core Duo - The iMac Core2 value equation - 07: Apple seduction - Why I really want an iPod touch - iPod history, 2005 to present - Upgrading a Power Mac G - Apple intros iPod touch, classic, and video nano
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Anticipation: New iPods Now, New Macs Later, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.05. The season of new iPods is at hand, but new Macs may wait until 2009.
- Buy a MacBook Now or Wait?, MacBook touch Patents, Samsung X360 Takes on MBA, and More, The 'Book Review, 09.05. Also 20 years of portable Macs, data backup and preservation, universal U-Charge battery charger for Mac 'Books, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05. Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
- Source of iPhone 3G Problems, Army Uses iPods as Field Translators, Gains with Business, and More, iNews Review, 09.05. Also UK bans iPhone ad as 'misleading', iPhone password easy to bypass, GM to offer radios with USB in 2009 models, weather tracking software, and more.
- Macs Gain Ground in August, Consumers Most Likely to Buy Macs, LaCie USB Speakers, and More, Mac News Review, 09.05. Also migrating Time Machine to a new drive and two new keyboards from Logitech.
- Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
- Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
- Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700.
- Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this.
- Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
- Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
- 11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03. The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
- Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more.
- Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
- Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
- Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
- More links in our archive.
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