That 80s Mac

Eric Schwarz - 2002.01.16

Well, I'm back (for the foreseeable future) and have a slew of new things to share with all of you out there. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions about my articles, feel free to drop me an email.

What better subject to dedicate an article to than the early Macs from the 1980s. After all, they are often under-appreciated, ignored, and just plain forgotten, since more and more Macs are becoming "low-end" - and with all they hype of new Apple products. I know that the Mac II series and the Mac Portable fit in this category (as being made in the 1980s), but I'm going to concentrate on the first Macs (the compact Macs with monochrome screens). For detailed specs, see the profiles.

Macintosh (a.k.a. 128k)

This was the first, simply called Macintosh. For usefulness, unless you are running MacWrite and MacPaint with an ImageWriter printer, you can't get much out of these, unless you have some sort of third-party upgrade. There are reasons to keep these around. Not only are they cool to play around with, but they also are highly collectible. Some people keep them for sentimental reasons (maybe it was their first Mac).

Macintosh 512k (a.k.a. 'Fat Mac')

The Fat Mac was the "high-end" version of the original Macintosh. When it was released, the original Macintosh was renamed Macintosh 128k to reflect how much memory it had. Since the 512k has 4 times as much memory, it was much more expensive ($800 more) and could do more work. Of course, the same theory applies to this Mac as the original 128k in terms of usefulness today.

Macintosh Plus

Ah yes, the Macintosh Plus. An entire article could be written about this fantastic computer, but I'll keep it short. The Plus was the first Mac to feature a lot of things (SCSI, round serial ports, expandable RAM, a nice platinum color, double-sided floppies, etc.). And this Mac has a lot of life left in it. You can connect an external hard drive, max out the RAM at 4 MB, load up System 7.5.5 (although I recommend 6.0.x or 7.1), set it up for email, as a Web server or a file server, or use it for word-processing and other small tasks.

For a computer that is over 15 years old, these really have a lot of life left in 'em. No wonder so many Mac enthusiasts think they are the #1 Mac of all time.

Macintosh 512Ke

The 512Ke (e for enhanced), although sometimes overlooked, was basically a Mac 512k with enhanced ROMs of the Plus. This allowed the use of an 800k (double-density) disk drive - the previous Macs had used 400k disk drives. This also served as the low end for a short time.

Macintosh SE

My personal favorite (this was my first Mac), the SE was a more powerful version of the Plus (think of it to the Plus as the slot-loading 350 MHz iMac was to the 333 MHz tray-loading model). A slightly faster speed (thanks to a more efficient logic board, not a faster processor - both used the same an 8 MHz 68000), faster SCSI, internal SCSI, dual internal disk drive capability (two floppies or a hard drive and a floppy), and ADB were just a few of the features of the SE.

The same suggestions that apply to the Plus work here - these are also good for educational purposes and as a second computer. I had one set up as an email machine for my mom until I got her a very stylish PowerBook 170 - more on that later.

Oh, and did I mention these had an expansion slot to add things like ethernet, PC-compatibility cards, accelerators, and other nifty little gizmos? Yep, that's right an SE could be connected to an LCD iMac with a mere ethernet crossover cable. Later versions of the SE contained ROMs and the drives to use 1.4 MB floppies.

Macintosh SE/30

Another favorite among the Mac community, the SE/30 is an SE/Mac IIx hybrid. Like the IIx, it features a 16 MHz 68030 processor and supports up to 128 MB RAM. It also has a PDS expansion slot compatible with the IIsi. These make excellent file servers, educational computers, and word-processors.

SE/30s tend to be worth a lot more than the other Macs of this era. Why? Well, they are becoming harder to find, and they are downright cool. A tiny computer that is still pretty speedy on the Internet and other modern things - who'd have thought?

To sum up...

Well, I think our little trip back to the 80s was good for those of you who wanted a brief summary of the "first" Macs. Next week I'll be back in 2002 and writing about music on the Mac. It's great to be back.

Eric Schwarz has been using Macs and other computers for a few years. His personal website - dealing with Macs (of course) - is at <http://schwarztech.macweekly.com/>. You can learn more about his current computer setup in Eric Schwarz's iBook.

Recent Power of Mac

• TextEdit, a hidden powerhouse that comes free with OS X, 03.26. Although easily overlooked, TextEdit could be all the word processing software a lot of Mac users ever need.
• Whether you call it AirPort, WiFi, or 802.11 wireless networking, your portable should have it, 03.19. With more wireless hot spots popping up, there are more reasons to have an AirPort card in your 'Book every day.
• Are older Macs lower than low end?, 03.14. Are low-end Mac users finding happiness with newer low-end Mac?
• Back to school software, 2002 edition, 08.01. Practical software for students (and others) using Mac OS X.
• More in the Power of Mac index.

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
• Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
  

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• Pismo WiFi Networking Issue Finally Solved?, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.24. It turns out the problems wasn't the Pismo, the Buffalo WiFi card, or Mac OS X 10.4. It was the Wireless G router - Linksys to the rescue!
• Mini VGA to S-video Adapter a No Go for eMacs, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 11.24. You might think that Apple's Mini VGA S-video adapter is a cheap way to connect your eMac or G4 iMac to your TV. You would be wrong.
• Google Calendar with iPhone or iTouch Is Great for Scheduling, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.24. Web-based Google Calendar allows access and updates from any computing platform, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPhone OS.
• Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.23. Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
• i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
• Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
• Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
• NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
• More links in our archive.

Recent Deals

• Best iPod nano Deals, 11.25. Refurb 8 GB 4G nano, $99; new, $126; refurb 16 GB, $129; new, $150; new 5G/8 GB, $134.60; 16 GB, $161.12. Shipping included.
• Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 11.25. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
• Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.25. Used 1 GHz Combo, $400; 1.5 GHz SuperDrive, $449; 1.67 GHz hi-res, $600.
• Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
• Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
• Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
• Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
• Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
• More deals in our archive.