Shreve Systems is Dead and Going

perfessor multigeek writes "Since back in '78, Shreve Systems has been the funkiest aftermarket source of Apple stuff. Well, not anymore. They're going out of business right now and any folks looking for hundred-dollar working laptops (with bag and Works), ABD keyboards for a fiver, or Mac Plus supplies, better get over there soonest." You could start your own online store with what you could buy over there.

Comments

Where is Shreve Systems?

[arb]

Every time I click the link in the article, I get http://www.shreveaudio.com...

Re:Too Late!

[Trusty Penfold]

Here's the powerbooks though.

Re:Its ADB, not ABD

[addaon]

I could have sworn it was Apple Besktop Dus... oh, well.

--

Prices.

[Daleks]

No wonder these guys went out of business. Look at the prices for refurbished 6-7+ year old machines. If these are actually market prices, anyone want an 9500/180MP 128/4GB/4x CD-ROM/ATI Nexus 128 for $1200? Funny you can find nearly the same thing on eBay for $45.

not worth it

[Twirlip of the Mists]

The PowerBooks they're showing most prominently on their page are 5300's. Anybody who's ever owned one can tell you that these are far and away the worst laptops Apple ever made. They're bulky, hot, and they were even slow by the standards of their day.

I wouldn't wish this laptop on my worst enemy, even for $199. They should be paying people to haul their 5300's away.

It's not entirely clear how that $199 price applies to the PowerBook shown, anyway. Their price list shows the original PowerBooks-- the 100 and 140-- for $199, but the 5300's are $450 and up. At that price, they're definitely not worth it.

And check out their prices for the 3400's-- nearly a thousand bucks for a laptop with 16 MB of RAM and a 3 GB hard drive! Considering that you can get a brand new iBook for just a few dollars over that, these prices make no sense at all.

I'll be sorry to see Shreve Systems go, but at these prices, I honestly hope they don't get any takers.

Poor Poster

[analog_line]

You obviously haven't been a Mac user too long, or have been living in a cave.

Shreve Systems was selling refurbished Macs for almost as long as I've used them. I still have an old Quadra 610 pizza box that was my first computer (like, only mine, not the family computer). My dad bought almost every pre-G# Mac he ever owned or specced from Shreve. For the Mac user without the deep pockets or with a frugal streak back in the day, they were the only place to look for equipment. Even these days, you never know when you're going to need to replace parts on someone's old PowerMac or need an AppleTalk card for an ImageWriter, and Shreve were the guys to talk to. Now that source has dried up.

Re:5300 is not the WORST laptop

[Twirlip of the Mists]

I'd give that to the portable or perhaps the PB 140

I've owned 'em both. The PowerBook 140 was small, snazzy, and pretty fast running System 7.1 or whatever it was. The 5300 was slow, slow, slow. Who the hell cares about video out when the computer is so damn slow?

Re:Poor Story

[MrChuck]

Then you are no geek and should go Here for your news .

I still have a (working) floppy drive that I got from them in my (working) Apple ][.

Hmm, wonder if they have Z80 cards (for the new ][e I just got to complement the ][+) in that liquidation sale...

Until you've managed to slice off 20 bytes from your code to make it run quicker, you have no place calling yourself a software hacker.

Now, trivia question: What's the memory location (in hex) that contained the current pixel being drawn? (and a note, in 20 some years, I forget too).
(useful so you don't get snow by writing to video RAM while it's being displayed)

You kids with your gigabytes. Any application larger than 48k is a waste of space.

So, anyone got IPv6 running on the 6502 or 65802 upgrade?

I'm Surprised They Held Out This Long

[WatertonMan]

It is sad they disappeared. They were often a great source to find odds and ends for older systems. For folks like computer unsavy older people, older Macs worked great. Most of them never use the Internet and just need simple word processing.

Having said all that though with eBay getting bigger and bigger it is often cheaper to find legacy machines there. Any business that depended upon legacy machines and legacy parts either would go out of business or just end up marketing with eBay. But it would be hard to keep the margins if you weren't buying large stocks of those parts.

Re:Its ADB, not ABD

[troc]

That was the Veta Bersion

Okay, Okay . . .

[perfessor multigeek]

Hey there, the perfessor here. I sent that info in for exactly the reasons that I said and analog_line explained. They were a part of the old school legacy and I'm sad to see them go. Personally, even though I, as it happens, am the owner of a 5300 that only just flaked this year, yeah, I think that they were overprices and rude. But, then again, where else could you find Radius monitors and Apple ][ add-ons as of last year without completely gambling on reliability? Other than one of their famed 99-dollar 7200 mobos, I haven't bought from them in *years* but I truly will miss dropping by and looking at the silly goodies.
Okay, so enough sentiment. Y'all are bitchin' too much about lack of places to get goods. You want a frickin' ad? Here's a frickin' ad!
Perfessor Multigeek's Guide to Mac Stuff Sites
(incomplete 'cause otherwise you'll never drop by my site when I put up my new Mac links next month)

Guide to Mac CPUsThis is Apple's own site for detailed specs on all their machines ever. I'm starting you off on the page for older machines to remind you that a well-configured 1996 Mac w/ a USB/Firewire card can run OSX just fine, thank you very much.

Mac of All TradesGetcher used macs here! Pretty visuals, delicious prices, detailed info. Selection could be better and there's no old stuff at all but I can deal with that. Have I bought from them yet? Nope. Am I likely to in the future? Yep.

MacResqThe best place I've found overall to pick up gear. Even the guys in that article figured that out.

Focus of Mac Hardware good workaday resource for doing mods. No cool toys. Considerable good data.

Missoula Mac User Group, Yeah, I know that you haven't heard of them; neither has anybody else outside of Montana AFAIK. Best place for overall newbie resources.

Powermax Cheesy setup, improving selection, good prices.

ResExcellence In the old days I would have suggested MacFixit, but these guys have taken their place. If you've been in the Mac world for a while you'll recognize them as the old-time source extraordinaire of ResEdit hacks.

Small Dog Shrinking selection, great quality, excellent service, annoying interface. Bottom line, these are the guys to turn to for premium service, support, and savvy. Been around quite a while and, hey, they enclose coupons for Ben and Jerry's.

applefritter. They've built Macs into everything from 1930's radios to LEGO people to ziplock bags. You can't buy anything there, but still much fun.

Think Secret Nice little rumor site. Some cool moments.

Of course, for those of us in the New York City area, there's always TekServe, an Apple and media gear mecca. You want to know what Lou Reed, Jam Master Jay, or Oliver Pratt are using? Ask them. You want toys? They got 'em. Ten cent cokes, vintage radios, serious testing gear, and a massive knowledge base. Hell, I once even applied for a job there when it would have meant giving up a far-better paying sysadmin gig. If they're good enough for Steve J., then they're worth a look.


Oh, by the way, the last time that I posted this list I included Shreve. What did I say?
ShreveExpensive, distracting, but the best place to get weird low-end stuff like Mac Plus manuals and Daystar cards.
There. You all feeling better now?
Rustin