My Performa Still Performa!
[an error occurred while processing this directive] - May 2000 - Tip Jar
My Performa still performa! And, with some tweaking, it does
everything and more since it was purchased in 1994: 
homework, music, multimedia, pictures, recording keeping,
games, web page, surfing the net, keeping in contact with friends and
relatives. The Performa 635 has
served my family well over the years. By trading off cost and
performance, the useful life of my Performa has been extended by
several years.
My family continues to use our Mac to learn about things: what digital photos are, making movies, and what the Web is all about. To explore how to write a multimedia report, manipulate graphic files and get used to web surfing. To reflect on the pluses and minus on having the latest and greatest versus realizing my Mac's full potential. A low-end Mac still serving a useful purpose.
What a difference six years makes. OS 7.5, 7.5.5, 7.6, 8.1, 8.6, 9.0; 68040, 601, 603, 604, G3, G4. Reductions in prices for storage devices and RAM. Seeing more of the Mac OS software written in native PowerPC code. Along the way, the Mac that came out of the box has been transformed into a Mac that was a twinkle in my eye six years ago. The differences between the two are shown in the table below:
| ITEM | 1994 | 2000 |
| OS | 7.1.2P | 8.1 |
| CPU | 68LC040 | 68040 |
| RAM | 5 MB | 36 MB |
| Modem | 2400/9600 | 14000/33600 |
| Hard Disk | 250 MB | 4.3 GB |
| External Storage | none | 100 MB Zip Disk |
| Printer | 2400 | 2500 (Software Upgrade) |
| TV Tuner/Video Card | none | Yes (New) |
| MPEG Card | none | Yes (New) |
| Presentation System | none | Yes (New) |
| Scanner | none | Yes (Refurbished) |
| QuickCam | none | Yes (Refurbished) |
| Speakers | none | Yes (New) |
| Microphone | none | Yes (New) |
| Video Camera | (On the Shelf) | Yes (Use with TV Tuner Card) |
Bottom Line: Instead of vertical upgrades, the horizontal upgrades above have been geared towards maximizing the Macs potential, without which this web page http://home.att.net/~novash/index.html would not have been possible.
Next Time: Resources and Upgrading by a Weekend Warrior
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.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
