Raising the Dead, Part 1

2000 – Well, it finally happened. After years of dispensing advice on how to revive dead Macs, I finally had one go dead on me while doing email. The Mac in question is an old one – a Mac II that dates back to May 1988 (based on the date on the PRAM batteries). In […]

Should I Wait for OS X Before Upgrading My Macs?

1999 – I enjoyed your article, Is It Time to Buy an iMac? Personally, I’m still using my 6-1/2 year old Quadra 800 quite successfully. I know that $5,500 was a lot of money back in Spring ’93, and I’m squeezing every last bit of power out of it. For most tasks, it seems about […]

Getting Online with a PowerBook Duo

1999 – I just purchased a PowerBook Duo 270c from a friend of mine for $100. I am able to network it with my newer computer, but I would like to get this PowerBook online on its own. What kind of modem should I purchase? I also need an external floppy drive.

Is It Time to Buy an iMac?

1999 – I just read your advice about upgrading or replacing an older Mac, and my Performa 636CD works pretty well for my purposes (except no RealAudio). I had a logic board swap done about 1-1/2 years ago so I could add a 486 card for Windows 95 (it’s easier for me to adapt to […]

Getting an Old Mac Running

1999 – I’ve found/been given/bought on the cheap a 68030/68040 Macintosh. I’m a broke college student, and I need to set this machine up to do word processing and surf the Internet as cheaply as possible. What should I do? (A common question around here.)