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Where Old Macs Go To Thrive

Posted by pudge on from the mmmmmoney dept.

foghorn666 writes "Still have an old all-in-one Mac buried in your basement somewhere? Wired reports that Japanese collectors are paying a premium for the 'toasters,' including $500 for a HD-less Mac SE and $1000 for a used Newton."

24 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. for reasons like this by tenman · · Score: 2

    Stuff like this make me happy that I'm still holding onto old boards from some of the systems that my father worked on. I have a board of burned out tubes from ENIAC, a section of hand wired Cray 1A, and Altair 8800, and a whole room full of Tandy, and IBM boxes from the 8080 and 1810 families....

    Tell me japan... How long will I have to wait before this becomes worth the shipping charges to get it over there?

  2. Darn it by DeadSea · · Score: 3, Funny

    And I sold several hundred old macs for $1 to $5 apeice at the MIT Flea Market last year.

  3. What about eBay? by RevAaron · · Score: 3, Funny

    Someone should tell these fine people about eBay- it's a great place to pick up used crap. They can get their Newtons and SEs for cheap. Oi. If not, I've an MP2100u that I'm willing to part with for a measly $500 (including keyboard, ethernet card, modem, nice carrying case, 4 MB and 2 MB flash cards) and an SE for $100! WITH A 10 MB HD! If you're really lucky, I'll sell you my AT&T UNIXpc or NeXT cube for $2000!

    --

    Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
    1. Re:What about eBay? by SPYvSPY · · Score: 2

      Nice try. They're selling proper MP2100's on there for $185 buy-it-now. The 3COM ethernet cards can be purchased (also on eBay) for around $20 and the keyboards I don't know anything about because *it's a Newton* -- it doesn't need a keyboard.

    2. Re:What about eBay? by RevAaron · · Score: 2

      Huh? Newtons don't need keyboards. But there is a Newton keyboard. And it can be great for word processing, or programing NewtonScript or Lisp on the Newton itself. :)

      --

      Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
  4. At The Old Mac's Home... by Servo5678 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "These young whippersnappers today, they ain't even got floppy drives! What is the world comin' too? Back in my day..."

  5. OSX on a Mac SE 30 by Dokushoka · · Score: 2, Interesting

    THe real story here is how the hell they got OSX to run on that SE 30. http://www.wired.com/news/gallery/0,2072,51231-339 5~3394,00.html

    1. Re:OSX on a Mac SE 30 by questionlp · · Score: 2, Interesting
      It looks like someone took a motherboard from either an iMac (the iWhack version, not the iLamp) or an iBook, took the original monitor and wired it to the video card... as for the floppy, it's probably a USB floppy drive that was carefully mounted.

      I just hope they added FireWire ports to add a DVD-R drive or something. That would be a nice and small DVD burning machine or heck, even a web server.

  6. Sell my Mac? Blasphemy! by realgone · · Score: 4, Funny
    Confession #1: I still have an all-in-one B&W Mac Classic sitting in a corner of my office.

    Confession #2: I use the poor little thing regularly. Honest. Over time, it's become my word processing machine of choice (w/ Word 5.1, of course). Some people can't write unless they're seated in front of a manual typewriter -- yes, I have one of those, too: a cast-iron Royal relic -- but me? I need my Classic.

    For whatever reason, it gets me in the writing mood. Maybe it's because the experience is so focused: the WP completely fills the little 9" screen, so there aren't any distractions to worry about. No email. No IM. No surfing. Heck, not even color.

    Sorry, Japan. I'm keeping my lil' box. =)

    1. Re:Sell my Mac? Blasphemy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Japan: Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

  7. A + B = D by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "People care about Macintosh," Lee said. "I have no Windows PC customers."

    I'm going to go out on a limb and say that MIGHT be because you have no Windows PC's for sale.

  8. If I sold my mac SE, where would my fish live? by mobydobius · · Score: 2

    I am one of those people who actually took their old mac-in-the-box, and turned it into a working aquarium. I am watching my neon tetras swim about as I write this.

    --

    "I like to wear big boy pants."
    1. Re:If I sold my mac SE, where would my fish live? by jlower · · Score: 2

      I built about 50 of the things over the years using acrylic instead of glass. Sold them, gave them away, kept a couple. I still have 40 or so old Macs in the garage but about half of them are shells only.

      My Macquariums

  9. Re:Interesting submitter by Melantha_Bacchae · · Score: 2

    Microsift wrote:

    > I think that foghorn666 submitting this story is further evidence of
    > Satan's profound influence over the Macintosh community.

    Mothra, the heroic wonder-working Goddess that parted the Pacific and resurrected herself after 130 million years entombed in the Egg of Eternity, is the protector, savior, and forever friend of Apple. She would never let such an evil being within a hundred miles of Apple.

    If you are a recent Apple convert, you might want to see these legendary old Macs in action. They appeared in the following Japanese movies:

    "Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2". Mothra had a cameo, but it was cut.

    "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla". Mothra has a cameo.

    "Godzilla vs Destroyer". Godzilla dies. Apple would soon follow.

    "Rebirth of Mothra 2". Fairy lands on a Mac, signifying Mothra's blessing. Mothra transforms into Rainbow and Aqua forms. Five months after the movie's release, Apple announces the iMac and the coming of OS X.

    The following are also important in Mac history:

    "Rebirth of Mothra 1". No Macs, just one scorched Apple sapling, and the Goddess who came and saved it. Days after its release in Japan (as "Mosura" on December 14, 1996), Apple announced the return of Steve Jobs.

    "Godzilla 2000" (released in Japan as "Godzilla 2000 Millenium") marked the first appearance of the iMac in kaiju eiga. When a store full of iMacs were menaced by the Millenium alien (the kaiju incarnation of Microsoft's Millenium research project, now marketed as .Net), Godzilla appeared in Tokyo Bay to save them.

    All praise to Mothra, forever friend of the Mac!

  10. Old macs don't die... by dockthepod · · Score: 4, Interesting
    There is a certain charm that those old, all-in-one macs have. Would you beleive that I actually use one fairly regularly?

    I initially picked up my 8mhz, 1-bit display powerhouse down at the local goodwill as a kind of novelty. I thought it might be cool to bring back childhood memories. When I got it home and turned it on, the happy little mac face on the 9" black and white display was somehow pleasing. I got to rummaging around and the thing had a whole slew of software on it. Word, Pagemaker, Eudora... you name it. The version of word that shipped back then is sweet (can't remember the version number).

    And then I found the games. The games they made back then were perfect. Simple, fun, and addicting. If you have never played the game Crystal Quest, you have not lived.

    Eventually I became obsessed with getting the thing on the internet. I searched on e-bay for a network card that would work with the thing (well... actually i needed an external scsi box). I finally found one that would work, but the next day at work, i stumbled acroos the same box in storage. Some hours later, the mac classic was on net! Problem is, only mosaic www 1 ran on the thing (it runs system 6), and it's unusably unstable. So my good friend lynx came to rescue. I simply telnet to my linux box (sorry, no ssh for this puppy) and surf away. I actually use it to code on when I'm getting really distracted by other more full-featured computers.

    At any rate, I highly suggest even the most hardened anti-apple among you to pick up a mac classic, an SE/30, or any of the compact models and see what you can do with it.

    wiki = _[^o^]_
  11. Re:Dumpster diving? SCHOOLS! SCHOOLS! SCHOOLS! by GreenHell · · Score: 3, Interesting

    we actually also just found 2 Mac 1024s in the trash. have now powered them up yet, but basically it's the second Mac ever made (first being the 512k).

    BZZZZZT! Wrong! :)

    The first Mac ever made was the Mac 128k, the Mac 512k, or 'Fat Mac' was the second. I think what you probably got is a Mac Plus, (which is the third Mac made) as tons of them were sold to educational institutions as the Mac ED.

    --
    "I won't mod you down - I feel the need to call you a twit explicitly, rather than by implication."
  12. Re:Dumpster diving? SCHOOLS! SCHOOLS! SCHOOLS! by jlower · · Score: 2

    If you're going to correct people, correct them correctly.

    The third Mac was the 512kE.

  13. I used to work in Akihabara.... by ryochiji · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I used to work at a used Mac shop in Akihabara (the famed "Electric Town" in Tokyo), and we got some strange requests.

    Customers would walk in asking if we had part# 20980928-2398T (or something like it) which would turn out to be the tiniest little plastic part in a Rev A PowerMac 7100 (or some other small unimportant looking part), which the guy would be willing to pay 1000 yen for (and then would go on talking about why it's so special, as opposed to the 20980928-2398Q).
    Or people would come looking for a "rare" Apple ADB mouse which was manufactured at a specific plant (and after digging through a box full of mice, inform us, with obvious disappointment, that none of the 50 or so mice we had were from that particular factory.

    Personally, I found it all quite comical... and scary, at times.

    --

    ---
    Open Source Shirts
    1. Re:I used to work in Akihabara.... by KH · · Score: 2, Interesting

      OK, I am a Japanese, so those things don't sound strange.

      I can't comment on that PMac 7100 part episode, but I remember the mouse deal.

      There were three or four kinds of mice, apparently for those square ADB mouse, respectively manufactured in Taiwan, Singapore, and Ireland, oh and perhaps Mexico. IIRC Irish mice had the best reputation while Taiwanese the worst and considered rare. The major difference between the Taiwanese (or Singaporish(sp?)) and the rest was that the ball inside the mouse. They apparently didn't have the metal inside the rubber, therefore, one could not glide the mouse using its mass as momentum. And there was a difference between the button touch. Simply put, some mice were easier to use and felt classy.

      I remember similar obsession with keyboards. We, the Japanese loved the original Mac Keyboard. After Apple Keyboard II came around, people were complaining how horrible they feels, the wrong position for the control key, etc. Finding the original Apple Keyboard was like treasure hunting. Naturally people who had the keyboard almost never abondoned. Even after purchasing new machines, they kept using the keyboard. Remember that you had to buy a keyboard when you bought a Mac? The mouse came with the machine but not the keyboard!

      One time, when I was at PENN, I poured OJ or coffee on my Saratoga keyboard and visited computer store in the bookstore wondering if they could fix. (After washing thoroughly, some keys were still stuck.) The guy there said that they can't and offered me to pick up one of old keyboards lying around. I found the original Apple Keyboard and jumped on it, hiding my excitement for getting the much favored keyboard for free. I remember those keyboards were sold for like 30,000 yen at some point in Akihabara.

      Also, on one morning in Philadelphia, I saw a dumpster full of old Macs, IIs, IIfxs, Radius monitors, etc. I really felt like picking up as many things as possible, but I was about to move and decided not to. In the afternoon of the same day, the dumpster was gone. I still regret that I didn't pick up the IIfxes a bit.

      Oh, but my SE30 should still be in my parents house. I am dreaming of firing up one day when I get back to Japan!

      So, the episodes you mentioned sound not special at all to me.

      We, the Japanese, do have strong affection with ``things.'' This vintage mac things are one of the revelations(?) of the culture.

      The japanese have a word that could be translated as ``obsession'' but without a negative connatation, and a bit milder sense. G-Shocks, Air Max, Vintage Levi's--those markets were created by the Japanese.

  14. Re:Dumpster diving? SCHOOLS! SCHOOLS! SCHOOLS! by krugdm · · Score: 2

    I thought the highest the SE/30's could go was 7.6.whatever the last update was...

  15. One of my favorite moments... by daeley · · Score: 2

    One of my favorite moments this past year was grabbing a Mac SE from company 'surplus' and setting it up on my desk, turning it on, and finding it still running system 7.x like a champ. It's amusing to glance from the two Mac OS X servers on one side of the cubicle -- dual 800Mhz each, 1GB RAM, many fine GBs of hard drive -- to the lowly Mac SE with 4MB of RAM and 40MB HD.

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  16. Re:Apple's so lame by MoneyT · · Score: 2

    Ever notice how apple bashers on Slashdot all post as ACs. At least when I have a controversial opinion to post, I have the guts to name myself. Which might explain why my karma is 28, but the point remains the same.

    --
    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
  17. I just powered up my old Plus by lwagner · · Score: 2

    I think it would be really cool to "upgrade" it to OSX like in this article. I wouldn't tear into my old Mac Plus, but I'd love to buy a used one and upgrade it.

    Here's the link to the picture of a Mac SE running OS X. I'm psyched. That's really cool. Beige all the way. ;-)

    Anyone have a link where we can find out how to do this?

  18. Re:Heh heh heh by fliplap · · Score: 2

    Find an SE/30, then you could run A/UX *giggle*. No really though, A/UX was pretty cool in its day, it was POSIX compliant plus it ran most MacOS apps of the day (upto system 7). I still have a copy of it, but nothing to run it on. Right now I have a Mac Classic and an SE that has been converted into a fish tank