Building a Back-to-School Bundle

"Back to school bundles: sometimes ones that you put together yourself are the best."

Some Macintosh models, especially the low end models such as the LC series, are sometimes packaged into what is known as a bundle. A bundle is a computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and printer. For example, you might see the following advertised:

Macintosh LC II bundle: Macintosh LC II, 4 MB of RAM, 40 MB hard disk, System 7.5.3, 12" RGB colour monitor, Apple Keyboard II and mouse, and Apple ImageWriter II printer.

First of all, who expects you to use 4 MB of RAM? Who do they think you are? With system 7.5.x installed, you'll have about 1.5 MB free to run applications. Unless you want to run something like WriteNow 3.0 (which is an excellent program, don't get me wrong), you can't squeeze much into 1.5 MB. Then there is the 40 MB hard disk. While fine for use with an SE and System 6, 7, or 7.1, 7.5.x needs about 20 MB, leaving you only 17 MB free (a "40 MB" hard disk usually formats to only 37-38 MB).

Consider that ClarisWorks 4 uses around 25 MB of disk space. Microsoft Word 5.1 uses about 20 MB. If you buy this bundle, figure you will need to buy more RAM and a new hard disk. This is about a $50 expense, assuming you buy both RAM and hard disk used.

Then there is the monitor. Who wants to use a tiny monitor? These days, the minimum requirement is 640 x 480 to run many educational programs and games, and some even recommend 800 x 600 (which the LC doesn't support). The old Apple 12" RGB monitor only displays 512 x 384. You would need to buy a new monitor capable of supporting 640 x 480, which is about a $30-50 expense on the used market.

The ImageWriter II is such an ancient dot-matrix black and white printer that it's not even funny. While fine for text, it can't do pictures or designs, and uses that terrible paper with holes in the side!

To build a good bundle, you must start with the computer itself. The CPU type and speed varies depending on the age of the child that you are getting it for, and what the computer will be used for. If your nine-year-old wants something to use for simple games and writing reports, an LC works fine. If your thirteen-year-old wants to use his or her Mac for the internet, email, word processing, and multimedia presentations, don't get anything slower than a Quadra 610 - and you can get an excellent deal (US$37.50) on a Power Macintosh 6100 8/0 base system from Other World Computing.

Next comes RAM. If you plan to buy a 680x0 based machine, the more RAM you have, the more programs you can run at once, and the better the programs will perform. If you buy an LC or LC II, max it out to 10 MB. If you buy a II series Mac, an LC III, or 520/550 Mac, 24 MB should do. 24 or 32 MB of RAM is a good amount to install in a Quadra.

If you buy a Power Mac, buy as much RAM as you can afford because essentially (on a Power Mac) "the more RAM the faster the computer". For a Power Mac running Mac OS 8.1 you want at least 24 MB, preferably 32. Running 8.6, you want at least 32 MB, preferably 48 or more. Did you say you wanted to run 9 on your 6100? Forget about it. Mac OS 9 uses too much RAM and is constantly using your processor. Don't run 9 on anything under a 180 MHz PowerPC 603e (in other words, only use 9 on a Power Mac 6400 or better).

One computer I do not recommend for a bundle is the IIfx. This is because the 64-pin RAM is harder to find and a bit more expensive and it sometimes needs a special internal SCSI filter. [Editor's note: If you can find a IIfx with all the memory you need and a large enough hard drive, consider it. It's not as fast as a Quadra, but you can also tell friends you picked up a $10,000 computer for well under $100.]

Let's assume you have started with something like a Quadra 650. First, find a keyboard and mouse for it. The Quadra 650 originally came with an Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II. You can use either the original ADB mouse or the Mouse II. When the Quadra was new, you had an option of an Apple Keyboard II, Apple Extended Keyboard II, or Apple Adjustable Keyboard, which is very rare and expensive now. If you like small keyboards, like I do, the Apple Keyboard II is a great one to get. It's very reasonably priced and easy to find. If you want the full featured keyboard, you can go with either the Apple Extended Keyboard (Mac II series), Apple Extended Keyboard II (Mac Quadra series), or the Apple Design Keyboard (Power Mac series). The first two are better made than the Apple Design keyboard.

Next comes a monitor. Don't get anything smaller than 14". Some great Apple monitors are the "Macintosh Colour Display," which uses a Sony Trinitron tube and comes in a nice case with a swivel base. The "Apple Multiple Scan 15" monitor is another good one. It is not a Trinitron, but it can display several resolutions and delivers a pretty nice picture. It also has built in speakers. If you want something larger, the "Macintosh 16" Colour Monitor" is a nice monitor; while only able to use one resolution, it has a very nice picture. Also, if you can find one, the Radius Pivot and Colour Pivot* monitors are excellent. They should work with the built-in video, although some used their own NuBus or PDS cards. Of course you can use a VGA compatible monitor, like the Sony Trinitron monitors, as long as you have a VGA to RGB adapter, and the correct video card.

Editor's note: We've used Radius Pivot and Colour Pivot monitors at work. The Colour Pivot has had a high failure rate; none have lasted five years. My advice is to avoid the Colour Pivot.

For a printer, I recommend either the Apple StyleWriter II greyscale printer, the HP DeskJet 800 series of colour printers, or the Apple StyleWriter Colour 1500, 2400, or 2500. For laser printers, generally the entire LaserWriter II series is good, as well as the Personal LaserWriter NT. HP laser printers tend to be good as well, but make sure they are set up to work with your Mac.

Stick in 40 MB of RAM, by installing eight 4 MB 72-pin SIMMs or four 8 MB 72-pin SIMMs. If install SIMMs in matching pairs in the Quadra 650, it will run a bit faster. (Low End Mac's computer profiles will tell you whether memory must be installed in single modules, pairs, or sets of four.)

Next install a 500 MB or larger hard disk and format it with either FWB Hard Disk Toolkit, or something like Disk Manager Mac (I know it's old, but it's always worked great for me). With FWB, start up from the crisis disk and format the drive. With Disk Manager Mac, copy the app onto a system 7.1 startup floppy.

Now it's time for system software. If you bought a IIx, IIcx, IIsi, or IIci, and have 8-12 MB of RAM, start up from the System 7.5 disk 1 and install System 7.5. If you have more memory, you may run System 7.5.3, 7.5.5, or, on the IIsi and IIci, 7.6.1.

If you bought an LC or LC II, start up from the system 7.1 startup disk and install 7.1.

If you have an LC III, LC III+, Performa 450, 460 series, or LC 475, you must start from the System 7.5.x disk tools, copy the System Folder to the hard drive, start from the hard drive, and disable the System Folder by dragging the Finder out and renaming the System Folder "Old System Folder." Then you can install System 7.5 on the hard disk.

If you bought a Quadra or Power Mac, start up from the Mac OS 8 or 8.1 CD and install Mac OS 8 or 8.1.

You will have found that the bundle you made yourself will be a better system than the other bundles that you looked at, and it will most likely end up costing about the same as others. You will also find that your kids get many more years out of it because you have customized it to their needs. One of the most important things to remember when you buy a computer: buy the computer because it meets your [or in this case, your kids'] needs, not someone else's.