Keeping Those Old Macs Useful

Low End Mac Reader Specials

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: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or Click Here.

OWC: Burn DVDs, DVD-DL, CDs, DVD-Ram - FAST! Superdrive upgrades from OWC starting from $31.99 with options for nearly every Mac. Models with Lightscribe, Blu-Ray too!

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.

MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $90 / 4GB $134 / 8GB $264. Click to Maximize your Macs...

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 .

- 2007.12.10

Bookmark in del.icio.us

I recently "kluged" a battery (two actually) for an old PowerBook 190CS. I tore apart the old battery case and stuffed it with 12 AA NiMH batteries I bought at a local CVS pharmacy. I included the old overheating sensors, etc. I also had to build up a replacement PRAM battery (that center-tapped 6V lithium rechargeable) with four AAA NiMH cells in a case (the PRAM apparently doesn't care about the difference between 5.4 and 6 volts). It hangs on the side of the battery slide. (Actually I found that 8 of the original slightly oversize AA NiMH were still okay and rechargeable.)

The machine operates pretty well; however, it has to be kept plugged into the AC adapter. The batteries tend to self discharge and won't start up the system if I leave it unplugged for more than a day or so - even when shut down. The sleep mode works okay.

Macintosh SE/30

I still have a Mac SE/30 that has a bad internal hard drive, but also an outboard external one that works. I will have to start it up someday.

Keeping Old Macs Running

I used to be (still am, actually) in charge of the Prescott, Arizona Macintosh User Group recycling project, so I saw a lot of older Macs come through, and we usually got them working again. We gave them to organizations like Big Brother/Sister and individuals that needed them.

Most were easy to work on. A Performa 6400 with a TV tuner made a great TV/cable set, among other things. I still use a Power Mac 6100/60 AV as a monitor for a VHS recorder. A couple models were a real pain (the 6500 and 8500 come to mind - you have to disconnect mother board cables to even expand memory; they ended up at the computer abbatoire).

Recently I received a Blue iMac G3 with 1 GB memory. To my surprise I found it could run Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) very well. I put a library program into it for use at a local church. Note that the slot-loading iMacs that have a FireWire port and the little door in the bottom to get at memory/AirPort board/battery (if you have small fingers) are desirable older machines. The older tray-loading iMacs are seriously limited.

Third-Party Peripherals

My biggest gripe about Apple Inc. and Apple dealers is that they have never made an attempt to reconcile the many devices available through such outlets as Staples, Best Buy, etc. as to Mac compatibility. For example, wireless routers and links are all specified for Windows. The "Wizard" on the disk that comes with them is for Windows. Buried on the disk is a PDF user guide which usually on one line somewhere mentions that they can be used with Macs, but you have to set them up manually. (This was true for a Linksys Router which I bought from a Macintosh retailer in the area. No one ever bothers to write up a one- or two-page outline of what information there is applicable.)

David (also sometimes referred to as General Lud)

PS: I'm writing this on a Beige G3/266 MHz with 288 MB RAM running Mac OS X 10.2.8.

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

Recent My Turn articles

Upgrading a Digital Audio G4 to work better in Leopard, 06.02. In its original configuration, the dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 was slow with Mac OS X 10.5, but add the right upgrades, and it runs Leopard quite nicely.
My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28. The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
Upgraded Quadra a great server for vintage Mac networking, 05.21. The compact Quadra 610 runs quietly, and with a PowerPC upgrade, it rockets past regular 68040 Macs.
More in the My Turn index.

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Mac Pro overclocking, Windependence with Darwine, Blu-ray for Macs, and more, Mac News Review, 07.04. Also more on running Leopard on non-Apple hardware, Ubuntu on a Mac mini, the first autofocus webcam with Zeiss optics for Macs, and more.
Wouldn't life be great with an iSlate?, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 07.04. PDAs and smartphones are too small for some tasks, full-fledged Tablet PCs are overkill, and ebook readers are too limited. Apple has the tech to own this niche.
Mac of the Day: Blue & White Power Mac G3, Jan. 1999 - The most colorful Power Mac introduced an innovative 'drawbridge' enclosure.
List of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
July 6 in LEM history: 00: 3 user accelerators - 01: SCSI and FireWire Disk Mode - Stick with the Mac - Computers for college - 05: Optimizing OS X performance - Return of the bumper snicker - 06: Can consumer MacBook replace 2 PowerBooks and a ThinkPad? - Vintage Macs with System 6 run circles around 3 GHz Windows PC - Run Windows apps without Windows
The Macintosh Portable started a notebook revolution, Carl Nygren, Classic Macs in the Intel Age, 07.03. Before Apple introduced the Mac Portable, notebook computers were text-based and ran MS-DOS. Ever since, graphical interfaces have been the norm for laptops.
More links in our archive.

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.