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After taking a long break from writing for Low
End Mac (I was busy with other things), I've got some time and
decided to share some things after noticing that there isn't much
talk about older Macs anywhere on the Mac Web anymore.
The oldest Macs covered seem to be the last non-G3 PowerBooks and
the beige G3s. What gives?
I think there are a few explanations.
Older Macs Are Not Economical
That's right - sometimes upgrading or repairing an old NuBus
Power Mac or SE costs too darn
much, sometimes more than the computer is worth. People who are not
Mac fanatics usually just toss them in the trash (gasp) or stuff them
in a closet.
Of course, Those Who Know™ visit the
LEM-Swap List, check eBay,
or work with used Mac dealers
for deals on older Macs that have "lost their value." These Macs
usually end up getting repaired, since a lot of us have a pile of
spare parts somewhere in our house, and are pushed beyond their
limits with modern software, and find new life somewhere.
Older Macs Are Dying
The second explanation, closely related to the first, is that the
older Macs are reaching the end of their life cycles - in some cases
over 18 years. A monitor might blow, a motherboard might get cooked,
a hard drive might go, etc. Since we seem to live in a throwaway
society, people don't keep broken computers around.
The New Low End Macs Are Cheaper
Machines such as the Blue and White
G3, the early iMacs, and the early PowerBook G3s have dropped in
price greatly. Most are also more than four years old. Many who used
them have replaced them with something newer, and others are picking
these up on the used market for prices that Quadras fetched just a
few years ago.
Lower original prices caused these Macs to sell for less used, and
cheaper, standardized components have kept them going strong with a
new owner.
Schools are Switching to Windows
Since many schools are switching to Windows, they don't want older
Macs as donations. The older Macs that they did have usually find
their way into some storage closet. I don't feel this is a major
factor, but it still is worth considering.
OS X-only Booting Created a New Platform
Now that the latest Mac hardware only boots into OS X, the
older Macs are almost in their own class - not different from the
Apple IIs in the early 90s. People don't want something that is
"incompatible" with current machines, reducing the market for pre-G3
models.
People are Moving on from Older Macs
My current Mac (it's an iBook) was released in Fall 2001, and
since I received mine last March, I have rarely used any older
Macs. My PowerBook 540c served as a
backup when my iBook needed service.
Many others who used older Macs because they couldn't afford new
Macs finally have new Macs and might not have the time to dedicate to
their older Macs.
Of course, there are still many who are using older Macs because
they like them, or they perform a certain task really well, such as
an email-box.
Older Macs Are Still Appreciated by the Public
I think that older Macs still have value, just a different kind of
value. Rather than being put to use as workhorses, we will see them
retired as collector's items.
Most PCs of the same age will most likely be sent to the landfill
or computer recycling centers. Although the Mac SE that sits on my
desk isn't worth much now, it could be worth quite a bit later
on.
I don't want this article to sound as though I'm saying older Macs
are junk and not useful anymore. It's just that many of the old Mac
enthusiasts have newer old Macs to be enthusiastic about, such as the
first generation of G3 machines.
Mac of the Day: PowerBook 170, Oct. 1991 - At 25 MHz, the PB 170 was at the top of the original PowerBook line.
List of the Day: The iPhone List Low End Mac's forum for discussing and supporting Apple's iPhone.
August 30 in LEM history: 99: The truth about USB speed - 00: Could Eazel kill the Mac? - Mac OS 8.1 on a IIci and LC III - 01: Beyond MHz and GHz - Getting a handle on email - Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad - Apple's anniversaries - 02: Mac OS X v10.2 - iBook video out - 04: Things that freak out my students - 06: Nvu and SeaMonkey can't replace Home Page - 07: DVD-RAM support
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older
Macs. My 
