Mac Musings

A Perfect Compact Mac

Dan Knight - 1998.02.14 - Tip Jar

I miss the little guys.

You may remember them. The original Macintosh (just Macintosh, no other name or model number). The 512 and 512 enhanced. The Plus. The SE and SE/30. Then the Classic and Classic II.

Nowadays we call them the compact Macs, but in the beginning they were the only Macs. And the creative ideas people came up with!

Mac Rescue designed a board that put 4 MB RAM and a 2 MB RAM disk in the earliest compacts.
Dayna figured out how to add an 8088 CPU, 5.25" floppy drive, and function keys, creating MacCharlie, the first DOS compatible Macintosh.
The upstarts at Radius figured out how to install a video card and run wires to an external full-page b&w monitor.
Apple put expansion slots in the SE and SE/30. Today it's possible to run an SE/30 with a 40 MHz 68040, 128 MB RAM, and a multi-gigabyte hard drive.
And in the end, Andy Ihnatko figured out how to gut a compact Mac and turn it into a Macquarium.

Alas, Apple killed the little guys. For a while they had bigger, colorful siblings, the Color Classic and Color Classic II (the latter only in the Asian market). These had a 10" color screen and a slightly larger case - and were never accepted by old timers. Compared with the originals, the Color Classics were overgrown.

Students loved the littlest Macs because they fit so comfortably in their dorm rooms. Network managers loved the SE/30 because it made a great server and didn't require a separate monitor. And a lot of us just liked the fact we could pop them in a bag and tote them between work and home.

Nice as color and large monitors are, there's something special about the Macintosh experience on a tiny screen with just two shades, black and white.

I'd like to see Apple introduce a new compact Mac, a worthy successor the the SE/30. Keep the footprint identical to the originals, reintroduce the 9" b&w monitor (tack sharp!), but perhaps make it a couple inches taller and provide space for an internal Zip drive or CD-ROM.

Borrow some ideas from newer models.

1-bit through 8-bit video on the internal screen.
Slide-out motherboard, like the Color Classic.
A PCI slot for adding external video.
A comm slot or PC Card slot for adding a modem.
Ethernet standard.
PPC 603e or 750 CPU on a ZIF socket for easy upgrade.
If it helps keep the size or cost down, an external power brick like the PowerBooks use. (This would also reduce heat.)
EnergyStar circuitry, plus a switch for turning off just the monitor.
Make floppy, Zip, and CD-ROM drives optional - and plug-n-play into an internal drive bay (or two).

I'd love a little powerhouse I could take to work, to school, to the library, and back home again. Hook it to a color monitor some places; use the internal screen in others. It would also make a great server.

And if Apple did it right, it could share a lot of components with the 5000 series and other Macs. It could be one way to approach to the $1,000 market.

There's something special about a friendly little computer that smiles when it wakes up.

I miss those little guys.

Kill Caps Lock, but Leave the Rest of My Keyboard Alone (Mostly), 2012.02.03. It's too easy to hit Caps Lock by accident, but why change a keyboard layout that billions of users are comfortable with?
Is This RIM's Macintosh Moment?, 2012.01.25. In 1996, Apple was in dire straits, but Steve Jobs redefined the company. Now it's do or die time for RIM.
Saying Good-bye to Inkjet Printers, 2012.01.18. Apple has discontinued its $100 printer rebates, but even a free inkjet printer is false economy.
More in the Mac Musings 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

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

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

Mac Musings

A Perfect Compact Mac

Further reading

Recent articles by Dan Knight