Vintage Mac Living

30 Days of Old School Computing

No Real Hardships

- 2006.10.11

Hi everyone,

I imagine some of you have been wondering what happened to me and why I stopped writing in every few days to give an update on my progress.

Well, I was keeping a close eye on how many hits each articles was getting, and the numbers were discouragingly low. 300 or so the first day, 800-1,000 the first week. Those are very low numbers compared to my earlier articles, so I decided to hold off until the end of the 30 days to write another article.

I guess it was for the best, because I really didn't couldn't think of anything else to write - and I'm still having a hard time, because everything went so smoothly!

What can I say? Except for blogs, forums, pictures, video, and music, these old machine seem to be perfectly capable of doing just about any day-to-day task you can throw at them.

AIM works fine for instant messaging; WannaBe works great for web browsing; ClarisWorks, Word 5.1, and Excel 3 work fine for word processing and spreadsheets; Now Up-to-date works fine for my schedule (that's all I have ever used for my schedule book); and Now Contact is great for all of my contacts.

One thing that didn't work out: iCab. I tried running it for a few days, but I just couldn't take how slow it was. iCab is a great browser for the classic Mac OS, and I'm sure it would have been okay on a 68040 machine, but it was way too much for 25 MHz 68030 in my PowerBook 170.

But for the most part, every day of it was like any other day; nothing seemed all that different. That's why it was hard for me to write a progress report every few days.

I'm looking forward to powering on my G4 for the first time in a month. I'm sure it will be like turning on a brand new machine for the first time.

This has been a real adventure. 30 days is a long time to use nothing but the oldest in this day and age, but it was a real treat. And maybe sometime in the future I'll try using nothing but 68040 machines.

After all, I spent 30 days on nothing but black-and-white machines, so 30 days on 68040 machines should be a piece of cake.

Join us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Recent Vintage Mac Living articles

What a waste! Some schools would rather store old computers than put them to use, 2007.09.12. Denver Public Schools is one example of a school district so ready to buy new computers that it has tens of thousands of old, usable computers sitting in storage.
My incredible $110 Lombard and Power Mac G4 deal, 2007.07.11. Sometimes pawn shops can be a great source for older Macs, such as turning up a Lombard PowerBook and a very upgraded Power Mac G4 Digital Audio for just $110!
Too stressed to even think about computers, 2007.05.16. "I've been so preoccupied that I haven't been able to think about computers, much less write about them."
More in the Vintage Mac Living index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, introduced 1990.03.19. This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
February 14 in LEM history: 98: A perfect compact Mac - 00: Extended computer warranties worth the cost? - Making your PC work with your Mac - 01: Customize Microsoft Word - 02: Quadra revives a passion for computing - 03: Real world performance - DIY Pismo screen replacement - Best Mac for writing - 03: Fastest browser on the Mac - 06: 15" MacBook Pro - Impressions of a newly acquired Lisa - Finding and using free WiFi - Apple should liberate OS 9 - 07: New Mac mini cheaper than upgrading a Power Mac - 08: Falling in love with OS X
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Vintage Mac Living articles copyright ©2005-07 by Ted Hodges. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay