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LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: NewerTech NuPower Batteries for iBook and PowerBooks Designed+Built in USA to run longer, LAST LONGER TOO! Free Battery Recycling Return Label; Quality High-Capacity from $99.95
The Color Classic, introduced
in February 1993, was one of the earliest Macs to merit the
Road Apple label. Road Apples
are defined as Macs that were less than they should have been,
models crippled for the sake of marketing or to keep costs
down.
Despite that, it quickly became a favorite among compact Mac
aficionados and is still considered a cult classic.
The Macintosh LC, LC II, Classic II, and Color Classic shared the same basic
design. They ran a 32-bit processor on a 16-bit bus and were
hardwired to deal with no more than 10 MB of RAM, regardless of how
much you might install. These limitations were set aside when the
next generation of Macs put a 25 MHz 32-bit processor on a 32-bit
bus and supported up to 36 MB of RAM - the LC III, LC
520, and Colour Classic
II.
Of these models, only the Colour Classic II has achieved
legendary status, mostly because it was never offered for sale in
the United States, Apple's biggest market.
Introduced ten years ago today,
the Colour Classic II had the same 10" Trinitron display and 512 x
384 pixel resolution as the Color Classic - but it was easily twice
as fast with a 56% faster CPU and a data bus that matched the
68030's 32-bit bus. It also had a single expansion slot, allowing
the addition of ethernet, a video card for an external monitor, or
an accelerator to boost performance.
The best card ever made for that slot was the Sonnet Presto
Plus, which includes a 33 MHz '040 processor, ethernet, and 32
MB of additional memory. For those still using an LC (from the
original through the III+) or one of
the Color Classic models, the card is still offered for
US$99.95.
Probably the most popular hardware hack was converting the 10"
monitor to 640 x 480 resolution. It's a shame Apple didn't figure
out a way to allow the display to sync at both 512 x 384 and 640 x
480. There are a couple of different mods for boosting the CC's
resolution - and the Trinitron monitor is up to the task of crisply
displaying all those pixels.
The most popular hardware upgrade has to be installing an
LC 575 motherboard, which simply
slides into the same slot as the Color Classic or Colour Classic
II's motherboard. The 575 motherboard uses the vastly more
efficient '040 processor and can support up to 68 MB of RAM using a
single-banked 64 MB SIMM. This is commonly called the "Mystic"
upgrade (after the code name of the LC 575).
The only problem is that the CC must be hacked to support 640 x
480 resolution or the operating system must be modified to support
512 x 384. That's exactly what my son Brian did with his Color
Classic, although he also hopes to do the screen mod some day.
The Colour Classic II was a decent performer in its day, and
it's a shame Apple never produced a CC III with a 68040 CPU - which
is essentially what Color Classic users end up with after the LC
575 motherboard swap.
And if that's not enough performance, there are PowerPC Processor Upgrades that can turn
the Mystic CC into a Power Colour
Classic running at 66 MHz or 100 MHz, depending on which
upgrade card you find. And some go even further, sometimes managing
to somehow squeeze a G3 into the CC's compact case.
The Colour Classic II has a cult following in Japan, the UK, the
US, and elsewhere (as does the original Color Classic). There's
just something about the form factor that makes it attractive, and
some users would rather invest a lot of time and money into
building the fastest Color Classic simply because they love the
design.
Some day I'll find the time to turn my Color Classic into a
Mystic....
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,
sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and
has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, 10.08.
We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
Mac of the Day: iMac G5 (iSight), Oct. 2005 -Apple built an iSight webcam into the last version of the G5 iMac.
List of the Day: Leopard List Low End Mac's email list covering Mac OS X 10.5.
October 12 in LEM history: 98: Beyond HFS+ nightmares - 99: iMacs for all - 00: The future of low-end gaming - 01: Tips on buying a new computer - 05: iMac G5 (iSight) - Simple backup strategies - 06: Bring back flexible, easy to upgrade 'Books - 07: Road Apple nominations - PB 150 boots from Compact Flash - Leopard to slow down PowerPC Macs?
Best Mac Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $150; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Refurb 500 GB Time Capsule, $249; new, $294; refurb 1 TB, $419; new, $462; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; Base Station, $159; Express, $60.
Modding Your Old Mac to Make It More Useful, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 10.09.
If your old Mac is too slow, too noisy, too plain looking, or has too little room for expansion, you might want to mod it.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $995; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,400 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08.
By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
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secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.