Vintage Mac Living
My Incredible $110 Lombard and Power Mac G4 Deal
- 2007.07.11
Hello, Low End Mac readers. It's been a long time!
Has it really been two months since my last article was published? It's amazing how fast time moves.
Maybe I've had writer's block. Nothing in the last few months inspired me to write. I could go on about my car or the problems at my McDonald's, but I really doubt any of you want to hear about about that.
During the last few months I have spent some time upgrading my computers.
Pawned
I got myself another 400 MHz Lombard with a good battery, and I replaced my old Power Mac 9600/200MP server with a 466 MHz Digital Audio G4 (which I must say is much faster at running OS X Server than that 9600 was, even though it had a G3 card). I picked up both of these machines cheap at a local pawn shop.
I have to say, pawn shops sometimes have great deals on used Macs: A local "Jumping Jack Cash" pawn shop had a 1.25 GHz eMac with a gig of RAM in it, and they sold it for $125! Too bad I was second in line. Fortunately I did get the Lombard and the DA G4 together for only $110 - what a deal!
Power Mac G4
The G4 that I got was an amazing deal; it has a Radeon 9000 card, 1.5 GB RAM, a 300 GB hard drive (with an ATA/133 card), and a SCSI card. I went ahead and put the ATA card, 300 GB hard drive, and Radeon 9000 into my G4/733, and now it positively screams.
All I did to get my new server up and running was put the 9 GB SCSI drive from the 9600 in it and load OS X Server on the a spare 30 GB drive I had lying around. So far I haven't had any problems with it at all. It's running so smoothly that I sometimes forget it's even there.
Lombard
The Lombard is a very nice machine, too. It's LCD is bright and sharp, and while it only has 192 MB RAM, the battery still holds a 3-1/2 hour charge.
It definitely isn't the fastest machine on the block, but it does a decent job at surfing the Web, chatting with friends, and word processing. All I need to do is get a WiFi card, and I'll be all set to go online without an ethernet cable holding me back.
Lisa
My Lisa is still doing a great job and hasn't missed a beat. My friends still can't believe that I got it working - and that I have a totally functional Lisa now.
By the way, Ray Arachelian has released the second revision of
LisaEm; anyone interested in
Lisa should download it. It is much faster than previous versions.
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.
- 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."
- 10 years using low end Macs, 2007.04.06. April 1997: Apple's 20th birthday, Mac OS 7.6.1 released, Low End Mac begins, and the author gets his first Mac.
- 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 Content on Low End Mac
- Fix Home Button Delay, Tablet the Ultimate Mobile PC, iPad Notebook a Possibility, and More, iOS News Review, 2012.02.10. Also using your iPad at work, two photo editors, a new iPad text editor, Macally's magnetic iPad 2 stand, and more.
- White MacBook Goes End-of-Life, Logitech Touch Mouse Supports Gestures, Firmware Updates, and More, The 'Book Review, 2012.02.10. Also MacBook Air better than any Ultrabook, docks for MacBook Pro models, Intel offers improved SSDs, and more.
- Mac and iOS Browsers: Options Galore, Freeware Forum, 2012.02.10. Safari is adequate on Mac and great on iOS, but the range of good alternatives is stunning. LEM writers share their favorites.
- Apple's Support Lead Shipping, Smartphones Outsell PCs, OS X Ported to ARM by Intern, and More, Mac News Review, 2012.02.10. Also the power of Tex-Edit Plus, Google and Twitter are already censoring the Web, Snow Leopard Security Update, and more.
- LogMeIn: Remote Screen Sharing for the Rest of Us, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 2012.02.09. Configuring the Mac's built-in screen sharing to work over the Internet can be difficult or impossible. LogMeIn makes it easy.
- 15 Years Ago Motorola Unveiled the PowerPC G3, Low End Mac Round Table, 2012.02.06. The G3 processor was optimized for real world Mac software and made a big leap forward in efficiency.
- Don't Kill Caps Lock, Learning to Love the iOS Keyboard, and an Adaptive iPad Keyboard, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2012.02.06. The Caps Lock key has a useful function, the iPad's keyboard really is useful, and checking out an adaptive keyboard for the iPad.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best 17" MacBook Pro Deals
- Best iPod classic Deals
- Best eMac Deals
- Best MacBook Air Deals
- Best iBook G4 Deals
- Best iPad Deals
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals
- Best Apple TV Deals
- More deals in our archive.
About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact
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.
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac Museum
DealMac
Deal Brothers
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ
Affiliates
Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

