Mac Fallout Shelter
Welcome to Mac Fallout Shelter
- 2005.11.14 - Tip Jar
Hi, I'm Joe Rivera. It's a dream come true to have the opportunity to write about the things I love the most. I hope you enjoy my articles - and please feel free to email me any questions and concerns.
Mac Fallout Shelter is both literal and metaphorical to its title. I'm an American soldier, and I relied on my Mac every day in the combat zones of Iraq.
I used my Mac for work and pleasure. It became part of me. Under the stress of war, it gave me peace. I will be sharing firsthand accounts of what works and what doesn't.
Before joining the military life I worked and lived with Macs every day - and that has not changed.
I'm going to take you back in time and then show how to work with what you have. Mac OS 6, 7, 8, 9, and X will work together - even with the bad guys called windows. I'll show you how to make your life easier and more productive using your low-end Mac. From home networks to small businesses and from personal pleasure to mission critical work, it will all be easier with your Mac.
My Story
Like many Mac users,
I started out using Macs in my early years in school. I had to wait
for a few years to own one. My first Mac was a Mac LC. I found it in the trash with no
hard drive, so borrowed a monitor and a 40 MB hard drive, and I was
in business.
From there I started to fix or work with Macs both in school and for friends. After fixing a teacher's PowerBook 145 and (of course) take a look at the inner workings, I wanted my very own portable Mac to take with me at all times. I managed to get a PowerBook 100 by trading a Sony CD player, headphones, and $100 cash. It wasn't the fastest or the best, but it was a Mac.
My Favorite Macs by CPU
68000: The
Mac Plus, because I own two
of them and they have a SCSI port. I know the Mac SE is a bit faster and has ADB,
but I have never owned one. If I did, I think it would be my
favorite.
68030: I just simply loved that I could use a remote control to change the songs on the CD and raise the volume on my Performa 630. In other words, not needing a boom box.
PowerPC 601: I loved creating videos and playing Marathon using the Power Mac 6100AV's built-in ethernet. Also, it was very powerful for its time.
PowerPC 603: The Power Mac 6500 was cool because I could use the ethernet card from my old Performa 630 and control it with a remote. I loved the built-in video input/output and the Zip drive. PCI slots and the built-in subwoofer where my best friends.
G3: The fast,
portable, and expandable Lombard
PowerBook G3. Nice black rubber grip with a DVD drive.
G4: The Power Mac G4/450 Dual is fast, fast, fast. Extremely expandable, it can take a beating. It's super easy to open up and upgrade.
My current setup is a PowerBook G4 667 DVI and a 1.42 GHz Mac mini that my wife uses. My Mac Plus is my web server, and a Power Mac 6500 is at the center of my home surveillance system.
All my other Macs and a few PCs are for playing around and experimentation.
I am currently a Network Administrator for the US Army. I have too many Macs - but never enough. I have a 3" colored Apple tattoo on the top of my back and am proud to say I am a Mac addict.
If you want a pleasant, safe, reliable strong place to protect you and treat you nice, you don't have to go anywhere, you already have your Mac.
Welcome to Mac Fallout Shelter. 
If you find Joe's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Fallout Shelter articles
- My Newton: Why I won't buy an iPhone or iPod touch, 2007.09.07. The iPod touch and iPhone sound wonderful, but I love the handwriting recognition, fax support, and email abilities of my Newton MessagePad.
- Network administration tools for Mac OS X users, 2007.06.25. Thanks to Mac OS X, today's Macs are great network citizens and excellent tools for doing network administration.
- Apple's secret battery reset utility for WallSteet and Clamshell iBooks, 2006.07.05. If your old 'Books battery isn't taking a charge like it used to, Battery Reset 2.0 could help recover its useful life.
- More in the Mac Fallout Shelter 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
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- More links in our archive.
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