Mac Daniel's Advice

The Land Before Silicon

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94, New 2008 iMac 2GB $46. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 / 1GB $23--Free shipping available.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: NewerTech NuPower Batteries for iBook and PowerBooks Designed+Built in USA to run longer, LAST LONGER TOO! Free Battery Recycling Return Label; Quality High-Capacity from $99.95

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

New iMac 800Mhz Memory 4GB $90, 2GB $45 - Click to Maximize your Macs...

Manuel Mejia Jr - 2000.08.16

I am back!

Those of you who review the LEM Help Desk periodically will note that I was touring Russia for a month. Having returned and put some immediate needs in order, I can get back to answering questions.

Although this column is geared to those working on getting the most value out of their classic Macs, the observations that I made about the use of computers in Russia were interesting enough that I felt that you would want to know what I encountered.

Those of you who watch CNN will get a good bombardment of commercials touting Internet services to the business community. The regular use of email, the Web, word processors, 3D graphics, and other computer tools have permeated American society. Allegedly, there is a big market out there for all things Internet and Internet related - or so we think.

In Russia, the American visitor is presented with a country that is living in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, all at one time. While there I stayed at a lodge as a guest of the Bolshoi Theater. The kitchen was a sight to see. The ovens were 19th century monstrosities powered by coal that had to be shoveled into a furnace every 3-6 hours. The chief of the operations was a "new Russian" who drove to the lodge using an early 1970s vintage Corvette (20th Century) and kept communications with his family using a Nokia cell phone (21st Century).

New Russians are the ones most likely to own a computer. They make up only a small portion of the Russian population. The rest live on more meager incomes and often lack conveniences like telephones and private cars. Electricity is not always available due to periodic blackouts.

Many of these people make a living as merchants. When they are processing a sale, they will use pre-computer age tools like mechanical cash registers, paper ledger books, and abacuses. For an old Mac user like myself, seeing these people in action was quite a refreshing culture shock.

There are some computers available for use. Many require clearances or other permissions or high use fees. There are two inexpensive terminals that the public can use in the Moscow Telegraph/Post Office. This was about all there was in terms of computer access for nonbusiness tycoons like myself. Even if you do get access to a computer, using the phone lines can be difficult, since one can only connect half of the time to the entity that you wish to contact. Once a connection is made, be patient when loading a web page, since the 75 MHz barrier has yet to be breached at most sites. Since the Russians are strapped for funds, older Wintel/DOS machines dominate. One could probably find a Mac somewhere if you looked hard enough.

The one computer item that is easy to find in Russia is software. Russia is not acquainted with U.S. copyright law. Every software and music title that one can think of is available in pirated form at a number of kiosks throughout Moscow. Although Microsoft has been suing in Russian civil court to put a stop to the sales of pirated copies of Windows 98 and 2000, there is no enforcement of judgments there. Russia is the Internet version of the Wild West.

My break from the computer age also had some value in terms of troubleshooting my PowerBook 100. When we last visited that machine, I had managed to overcome the lead acidPowerBook 100 battery problem with a wooden adapter. However, I did not take into account the importance of the three "Type 2430" lithium button cells that maintain the parameter settings and the "soft power" turn-on function.

A stock PowerBook 100 with a lead acid battery will usually draw power for the parameter settings and soft power startup from either the AC power supply or the lead acid batteries themselves. The button cells are only used by the Mac in the few moments of time when both the lead acid battery and the AC power supply are disconnected.

In a PowerBook 100 that has been modified with a wood adapter, there is no lead acid battery, so the NiCad battery that is used has to be charged using a separate power supply. As a result, only the button cells are left to run the parameters and soft power startup function. Those cells only last 45 days or so when used continuously by the PB 100. Once those cells are discharged, the parameters are lost and soft power startup is not an option unless AC power supply is used. Not even the NiCad battery pack help on startup.

Fortunately for the PowerBook 100 user, the Type 2430 button cells are easily accessible and can be changed monthly for a low cost. This seems the best way to deal with this issue.

One other task of importance to all laptop users is the movement of said device from one place to another without smashing it to bits. I have been looking for a proper carrying case for my laptops for a few years now. I finally found one in an odd location.

American Eagle Outfitters is selling a small book bag that can be used as a briefcase, shoulder bag, or as a backpack. The book bag come with a separate hand-carry bag that is heavily padded. The separate bag is designed for a notebook computer. The bag protect the computer from other objects inside the book bag as well as from outside threats.

When the computer is not needed, you can leave it inside the hand carry bag at home while using the rest of the book bag. The book bag itself has special pockets for disks, expands to 6 inches in width, and has two solid nylon rain shields that are sewn to the ends of the bag. The shields can be tuck away or clipped together for use on wet days.

There is even a place to stow both the shoulder strap and the backpack straps so that one could stroll into a Wall Street law firm or brokerage house without getting as much as a second glance. The backpack and should strap can be saved for more informal occasions or for excursions to college.

I got mine for less than US$42 - a bargain considering the how versatile the bag is. I have paid more for bags without the features and for bags that scream to robbers, "Steal me, I'm a laptop!"

Manuel Mejia Jr is familiar with Mac IIs, LCs, and older PowerBooks. He uses his Mac LC, PowerBook 145B, and PB 100 with System 7.1 on a regular basis and recently added a Mac Plus running System 6 to his collection. He's quite familiar with both System 6 and System 7. He also owns the Pina books on repairing compact Macs from 128k through the SE.

You can read more about Manuel's computers in Manuel Mejia Jr's Four Old Macs.

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice 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.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." 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.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, 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.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.