The Ideal Machine for Creative Writing

Nov. 29, 2000 -

My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your submission to Dan Knight .

Like most collectors of old Apple hardware, I've got a lot of computers. Most of them are just sitting on shelves, but three of them are used on a daily basis.

There's an iMac SE I use for web browsing, emailing, and work that I take home from my office. There's a IIfx (32 MB/2 GB) that I use for scanning, CD burning, reading Zips and attaching SCSI devices in general.

Since Apple abandoned the SCSI port in favor of USB and FireWire, lots of people are selling their SCSI devices secondhand because they won't work on their new Macs. I buy them cheap and use them on my old and trusty IIfx. Of course, these old SCSI devices aren't fast, but I don't mind. I have more than one computer, so I don't have to watch and wait for the progress bar to reach the end.

And then there is my third computer, a trusty old Macintosh SE (4/40) that acts as my creative writing machine and is only used for producing fiction texts (a passion of mine since I was just a little kid).

I've always preferred compact Macs or older PowerBooks for this kind of thing. It has to do with the unique level of intimacy these machines offer: They are more comfortable and inspiring than any other computer I ever laid eyes on. The potential of the Macintosh to unleash the creative process is often mentioned as one of the great advantages of the platform. You can read all about this on the Apple Masters site.

I think this is even more true for older Macs running System 6.

I find an iMac with Mac OS 8.6 and Word 98 not as pleasing to write with as an SE with System 6.08 and WriteNow 2.2 (also called 5.0, for some mysterious reason). Those modern word processors offer lots of possibilities that are quite useless and very distracting. Even something like hyphenation, nowadays seen as a basic part of a word processor, is actually rather useless. You just don't use hyphenation when you write a letter or whatever. Hyphenation should only be used with printed texts in books and magazines.

Another reason why the combination of SE, System 6, and WriteNow 2.2 is more pleasing than the combination iMac, Mac OS 8.6, and Word 98 is speed. My SE runs circles around my iMac. The SE boots in just a few seconds, and the word processor starts up even faster, while the iMac needs ages to startup, and Word 98 isn't very swift either. This is not as it should be. I want to be able to turn my machine on and start typing right away.

The reason why the SE with its ancient 68000 processor is faster than the iMac with its G3 processor is the way the operating system and the word processor were produced. Both System 6.08 and WriteNow were written in assembly code, while modern operating systems and word processors are usually written in high level languages and carry a lot of code that is totally irrelevant for someone who only uses his or her machine for word processing.

Of course, I know Apple and Microsoft need to make a buck by constantly releasing newer versions of their products with even more features needing even more powerful machines - but are things improving? No.

Over the years their products seem to have lost their soul.

People like me who sometimes do need hard- and software with a soul can get a compact Mac for 10 to 30 dollars secondhand and System 6.08 as a free download on Apple's ftp site. Of course, obtaining a vintage piece of word processing software like WriteNow, MS Word 4.0 or MacWrite II is a bit more difficult, but you may have an old copy floating around somewhere (or know somebody who has).

Personally I think that software companies should just give the really old software away as free downloads on the Web. WriteNow is owned by some toy company that just sits on the program. I think this is a real shame.

We should start taking more care of this piece of industrial heritage. The Macs of the past were made to last. This makes them very special. Nowadays the computer industry specializes in producing throw away equipment.

I guess only things with souls live forever.

Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.

Join us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Recent My Turn articles

Back to Mac OS 9 Because It's All I Need, 2011.01.26. Sebastian Patting sold his Intel Macs and went back to PowerPC Macs and Mac OS 9. Here's why.
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 2008.08.18. When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
'That's Not a Computer', 2008.07.30. Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
More in the My Turn index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Dynamac, introduced 1987.02. This AC-only portable has a backlit electroluminescent screen.
February 3 in LEM history: 1998: Apple and CompUSA - 2001: Vinyl to disc - 2003: Apple has always been a significant player - Upgrading a Power Mac G4 - Making a bootable OS X CD - 2005: Apple's future is with the consumer market - 2006: Browsers for the Classic Mac OS - Microsoft's monopoly makes it slow and vulnerable
Support Low End Mac

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