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Mac Daniel's Advice

What Can I Do With a Mac Plus, SE, or Classic?

Manuel Mejia Jr - 1999.10.22

Q: I just got a Mac Plus, Mac SE, or Classic. What can one do with this ancient Mac in today? (typical Mac Daniel question)

A: There are still many people who need to do a letter to home or other places, and the older Macs are great for doing this. One also has the ability to do drawing using MacPaint. I still use MacPaint for newsletters, report covers, and even artwork that is made into patterns for silk screening logos on shirts. I also have one HyperCard based application for designing and testing model rockets!

While testing some old links, I typed in this URL: <http://macplus.schoolvision.com> (server retired 2001.10.27)

I was surprised to find a text only website that is run from a Mac 128K machine that was upgraded to a Plus. This may be the oldest known microcomputer based Web server. The original machine was built in May of 1985 - a full 10 years before the advent of the World Wide Web. I was impressed. At the time this machine was built, 64 KB RAM machines with 300 bps modems and green or amber screens were still in common use.

The main point in using an old Mac is the fact that not every computer user is doing 3D rendering, high end spreadsheets, or video/music editing. There are still a great number of people doing basic word processing and drawing. For those individuals, a G3/G4 Mac is far too much of a machine for their needs. There are also people who can take shareware and do tasks that were not even dreamed up by Apple in 1984.

Visit your favorite used Mac dealer for software and antiques. Classic Macs do not always age. Some will adapt to new challenges.

Here's an interesting article that MacWeek published on Wednesday: Cruising the web in black & white by John C. Foster. "I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride as my elderly SE maneuvered the Web...." [Editor's note: MacWeek is gone, and this article is no longer in their archive.]

Manuel Mejia Jr is familiar with Mac IIs, LCs, and older PowerBooks. He uses his Mac LC, PowerBook 145B, and PB 100 with System 7.1 on a regular basis and recently added a Mac Plus running System 6 to his collection. He's quite familiar with both System 6 and System 7. He also owns the Pina books on repairing compact Macs from 128k through the SE.

You can read more about Manuel's computers in Manuel Mejia Jr's Four Old Macs.

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

WiFi Hardware Compatible with Desktop Macs Running OS X, MetaPhyzx, 03.11. USB, ethernet, PCI, and other wireless hardware compatible with Mac OS X.
WiFi CardBus Adapters Compatible with PowerBooks, MetaPhyzx, 03.11. CardBus hardware and drivers compatible with PowerBooks running Mac OS X.
WiFi PC Cards Compatible with PowerBooks Running OS X, MetaPhyzx, 03.11. PCMCIA/PC Card hardware and drivers compatible with PowerBooks running Mac OS X.
WiFi PC Cards for PowerBooks Running Mac OS 9, MetaPhyzx, 03.10. PCMCIA cards and drivers reported to be compatible with PowerBook running the Classic Mac OS.
More in the Mac Daniel index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook
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Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
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Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
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