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The Productive Mac

Yes, You Can Still Be Productive with Classic Macs

- 2005.11.11

Hello everyone. My name is Thomas Ahart, and I one of Low End Mac's new writers.

When I heard Dan Knight was looking for people to cover older hardware (because most of the others had moved on to newer things), I jumped at the chance. I visit Low End Mac a lot, and I figured I'm on this website enough, so I might as well write something for it.

I've lived in Kansas City all my life and used Macs since about 1996. I owned a Gateway PC before I got my first Mac, and it was so troublesome I was just fed up and wanted to try a new platform. I tried a Mac and loved it instantly.

Macintosh LC III A little while later I bought my own Mac so I wouldn't have to leave home to use one. That was an old LC III. Now I'm up to a titanium PowerBook G4, Graphite Power Mac G4, 2 Blue and White Power Mac G3s, 6 tray-loading iMacs, 2 slot-loading iMacs, 2 iBooks, a beige Power Mac G3, and way too many older Macs.

In The Productive Mac I'll probably be covering older Macs the most. I really like OS X and new Macs, but I love older machines just because there's still a lot you can do with them. They don't cost much either, so it's always easy to add more to your collection.

I'll also write about somewhat newer Macs - although the Macs I consider "newer" are what Apple calls "older hardware" - so the computers I write about will probably considered old by many of you.

I'm a big Classic user, so what I write about will mainly be programs for Systems 7, 8, and 9. But as I said, I also use OS X, so I may cover some newer things as well.

I look forward to writing for Low End Mac, and I hope all of you enjoy my column.

Recent Productive Mac articles

Why You Should Use Mac OS 7.6 to Get the Most Out of Vintage Macs, 01.29. Although you may be able to run OS 8 or 9 on your old Mac, you'll generally find better performance using Mac OS 7.6.
New homes for 3 WallStreet PowerBooks, 04.07. Although they may need a little restoration work, these are fine machines for using the classic Mac OS in the field.
Would you believe I picked up a decent old PowerBook for just $26?, 02.21. If you're looking for a low-cost, low-power laptop for light use, there are some real steals out there. Like this Powerbook 520c....
What's a good, inexpensive, useful, older Mac? The PowerBook 1400, 02.01. Relatively compact and not especially heavy, the PowerBook 1400 is a great low-cost way to run the classic Mac OS - and it's portable.
More in the Productive Mac index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
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

Recent Deals

Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
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.
Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
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.
More deals in our archive.

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