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Mac Daniel's Advice

Should I Keep My Old Mac?

Charlie Ruggiero - 2001.01.22

Q: I just purchased a G4MP, and I am wondering if there are there any good reasons to hold on to my Power Mac 7300? Should I sell it, or am I missing something I could be doing with this computer?

A: Save it, save it, save it. There is always something you can do with a PPC Mac, especially one with PCI slots. My recommendation is to put an older System on it, such as System 7.5.x, and use it to run programs that no longer work on newer Macs. I personally find some of today's newest software to be bloated and slow, even on new machines. I miss the days when there were programs like Aldus Superpaint 3.5. I still use that program and find that I get simple graphics work done faster and easier than in the ever-confusing Illustrator or similar programs. The fill tool in Superpaint works on and off in OS 9, and the save command sometimes does not work on my G4. However, it runs fine under Mac OS 7.6.1 and lower. This software hasn't been updated since version 3.5; thus I use it on an older Mac.

This may seem to be a hassle: work on one Mac, transfer files to another. To help this situation (and anyone with more than one Mac) you should network them together with ethernet. Get a hub or use a crossover cable and network them so you can quickly and easily transfer files between the two Macs. Forget LocalTalk, floppy disks, and Zip disks. The best way to do this is to turn on file-sharing on one Mac and mount the hard drive over your network. I recommend having file sharing on the older Mac so your new machine does not get slowed down from the file copying.

I have a pile of old software that no longer works with my current computers, and this is software that has not been updated or has been canceled completely. If you can run the software on your old Mac and still get good use or fun out of it, then why sell your older Mac?

Other uses for an older Mac are to use it to burn CDs, play older games, give it to a relative without a computer, use it as a router (so all computers in your home can share the same Internet connection), and hundreds of other tasks that you don't want your main computer bogged down with.

I will often use an old Mac to test out software under various operating systems before making the decision to install in on my main computer or the computers at work. There are many options here, and I get this question all the time. Selling the computer on eBay or through local sources (see Selling Your Older Mac) is going to get you maybe a few hundred dollars, but I think it's worth much more to keep it as a second computer.

Charlie Ruggiero has used a lot of Macs, from Plus to G4, and even ran a BBS (remember those?) on a Plus. He works as Macintosh tech support and technology advisor for the College of Education at Michigan State University. He does a lot of hardware and software troubleshooting, as well as a great deal of video editing, capture, and streaming. Charlie is well versed in HyperCard, fairly knowledgeable in Future Basic, and has a good background in sound and video. He even has his own site, Edge of Heaven.

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

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More in the Mac Daniel index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
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November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
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