After taking a long break from writing for Low End Mac (I was busy with other things), I've got
some time and decided to share some things after noticing that there
isn't much talk about older Macs anywhere on the Mac Web anymore.
The oldest Macs covered seem to be the last non-G3 PowerBooks and
the beige G3s. What gives?
I think there are a few explanations.
Older Macs Are Not Economical
That's right - sometimes upgrading or repairing an old NuBus Power
Mac or SE costs too darn much,
sometimes more than the computer is worth. People who are not Mac
fanatics usually just toss them in the trash (gasp) or stuff them in a
closet.
Of course, Those Who Know™ visit the LEM-Swap List, check
eBay, or work with used Mac
dealers for deals on older Macs that have "lost their value." These
Macs usually end up getting repaired, since a lot of us have a pile of
spare parts somewhere in our house, and are pushed beyond their limits
with modern software, and find new life somewhere.
Older Macs Are Dying
The second explanation, closely related to the first, is that the
older Macs are reaching the end of their life cycles - in some cases
over 18 years. A monitor might blow, a motherboard might get cooked, a
hard drive might go, etc. Since we seem to live in a throwaway society,
people don't keep broken computers around.
The New Low End Macs Are Cheaper
Machines such as the
Blue and White G3, the early iMacs, and the early PowerBook G3s
have dropped in price greatly. Most are also more than four years old.
Many who used them have replaced them with something newer, and others
are picking these up on the used market for prices that Quadras fetched
just a few years ago.
Lower original prices caused these Macs to sell for less used, and
cheaper, standardized components have kept them going strong with a new
owner.
Schools are Switching to Windows
Since many schools are switching to Windows, they don't want older
Macs as donations. The older Macs that they did have usually find their
way into some storage closet. I don't feel this is a major factor, but
it still is worth considering.
OS X-only Booting Created a New Platform
Now that the latest Mac hardware only boots into OS X, the
older Macs are almost in their own class - not different from the Apple
IIs in the early 90s. People don't want something that is
"incompatible" with current machines, reducing the market for pre-G3
models.
People are Moving on from Older Macs
My current Mac (it's an iBook) was released in Fall 2001, and since
I received mine last March, I have rarely used any 
older Macs. My PowerBook 540c served as a backup when my
iBook needed service.
Many others who used older Macs because they couldn't afford new
Macs finally have new Macs and might not have the time to dedicate to
their older Macs.
Of course, there are still many who are using older Macs because
they like them, or they perform a certain task really well, such as an
email-box.
Older Macs Are Still Appreciated by the Public
I think that older Macs still have value, just a different kind of
value. Rather than being put to use as workhorses, we will see them
retired as collector's items.
Most PCs of the same age will most likely be sent to the landfill or
computer recycling centers. Although the Mac SE that sits on my desk
isn't worth much now, it could be worth quite a bit later on.
I don't want this article to sound as though I'm saying older Macs
are junk and not useful anymore. It's just that many of the old Mac
enthusiasts have newer old Macs to be enthusiastic about, such as the
first generation of G3 machines.
