Yersinia Old Macs are great and while I do own a MacIntel it is a first gen Intel iMac (positively ancient by some peoples standards), my wife hogs this.
I prefer my older Macs. I do basic stuff on them; emailing, web and writing so nothing too new is needed. I still love G3s and for basic needs they are fine. A mate of mine was selling mid range iMac G3s for £10. Not only an awesome bargain to get people online but a superb compact machine and a foot in the Mac door. Simon --- www.simonroyal.co.uk and www.nmug.org.uk (sent using Nokia E71) -original message- Subject: Re: I Love This Group From: Yersinia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 29/08/2008 16:25 Simon writes, <I have been reading some posts over the past few weeks with amazement. I thought I was a minority with my love of old Macs. By old Macs I mean pre-G3, G3 and early G4. Talks on PowerMac 7500s, Performas, Beige G3, B&W G3, tray loading iMacs to name but a few. I belong to my local Mac group and they can be very snobby at times, even my Intel iMac (the first model from Jan 06) is regarded as old by them. Then I go and ask a question about RAM problems in a Cube, display problems with a PowerBook 1400cs, Clamshell iBook parts or help with an LC2 and the sarcastic comments flourish. It is so nice to be amongst people who love older Macs as much as I do.> and Mel writes, <I too. Suppose that you lived less than two miles from the local shopping center where you did grocery shopping. Suppose that the speed limit was 35 MPH to and fro the shopping center.. Suppose you could obtain a model T Ford that might need a minor repair once very five years, a repair that you could make within several minutes and without tools. To continue the metaphor ad absurdum: Suppose the model T was the size of a IIci; suppose you had several spare IIci(s) bought for less than $20.00 each; suppose you had enough of almost any spare you might need for another 30 years. Suppose someone offered you a Rolls Royce for less than $50,000 to be used just for grocery shopping. What would you say in that event? My off-line machine serving my various needs has been a 25 MHz IIci since 1989 wherein I still use WORD 4.0 and EXCEL 2.2. It is configured with 32 MB memory with a 1.2 GB HD and is attached to an ancient Image Writer II that works fine. It is my model T. My online machine is a 667 MHz G4 DA, it having replaced another work horse 7300/180 two years ago (both bought for a song used and both with a lot of spares). You are not alone.> ;-) Definitely not. I must say, I find this thread both interesting and surprising, because I remember when, as it was only a couple of years ago, when my Main Macs were my Beige G3 desktop (OS 9.2.2) and my Powerbook 5300c (OS 8.6) -- on numerous occasions, I was being exhorted to upgrade to OS X by various and sundry members of this list -- and I was, yes of course I admit it! -- a vehement, stubborn-beyond-redemption "stick in the mud" OS 9 diehard who totally refused (I wasn't going anywhere near OS X with a Beige!), and being told I was "living in the past." Well naturally, of course I appreciate it if and when people still love older Macs -- and yes, even in spite of the aforementioned exhortations to upgrade/being told I was living in the past, I love this group too (I joined in 2003 IIRC, after having been on the PCI and Powerbooks lists: I'm actually still on the Powerbooks list although I also joined the G-Books and the Mac OS 9 lists) -- it's just that on that note, I'm a bit surprised to see this thread of praises for old Macs and the people who love them! I've never belonged to a local Mac user group, only LEM lists (LOL, Mac User Groups whose "meetings" I can "attend" at home!) so I can't speak to whether my local one(s) here have snobs for members, but I do remember feeling, back then, that some of the exhortation from G-List members to "move up" to OS X and/or a "newer" Mac sometimes came across to me as on the snobbish side and a little inconsiderate of the facts, which I'd mentioned, that (a) I only rarely have money for "luxuries," (b) I was using my Macs solely for word processing, emailing, IRC/AIM chatting and a little bit of web surfing -- all of which I was doing perfectly well with my archaic Macs/OS's -- and (c) my left hand is partially paralyzed/I've always been mechanically inept anyway so I can't modify my own Macs and if one needs to be fixed, have to wait till my BF (who lives 300 miles away) can get down here to make the repairs (and install the rare upgrades I slowly get around to needing and buying). OK, so two years ago I finally made it "up" to OS X (Tiger) and "newer" Macs (thanks to someone on this list who kindly GAVE me his "old" G4 Quicksilver 867 for just the cost of shipping, plus my Pack Rat of a BF who had a Farallon EtherMac printer adapter to spare so I'd still be able to print without buying a new printer, and last summer I was actually able to buy a G3/800 iBook from FleaBay so my main laptop could again "mirror" my desktop). It also wasn't until June 2006 (eleven years since I bought my first Mac, a Performa 475) that I'd also finally started doing something a little bit more computer intensive than JUST writing, emailing, chatting and occasional web surfing -- gaming. So yeah, finally, my beloved Beige was no longer quite enough, and after three months of technical hell with my computer game, some of it directly because of insufficient computer power (I was starting to look into the possibility of a processor upgrade, both in terms of which chip to buy/for how much and asking my BF about installing it once I bought it) -- that's when the beautiful offer of a G4 (with Tiger installed on it) for the price of shipping came up, so I did that instead! It was perfect! Now, I'm still not podcasting, YouTubing, Photoshopping, video editing, burning movies on DVDs, watching TV/listening to music online, running a computerized MIDI recording studio or anything like that, and even my gaming is really actually retro-gaming (I play The Sims -- the original game, not Sims 2). So while the "Model T" no longer serves me, neither do I need a "Rolls Royce," or more accurately, I'd think, a "race car." When the Model T (or a "got-it-used-but-in-great-condition" Toyota Corolla, which I'll liken my "new" equipment to) will get you absolutely everyplace you need to go and with a comfortable ride to boot, well, what I've never understood is why anyone even wants the Rolls Royce (or race car). My G4 and iBook are newer/faster than what I was using before, but they're still not brand new state of the art either (and had already been discontinued when I got them!) -- but they're perfect for me. In that sense, I'm still on "older" Macs, and while I rarely boot in OS 9 anymore, I do still require Classic Mode (my emailer, my word processor, and my crucial Sims skins fixing and test apps won't run without it). If someday I ever get tired of what I'm doing with my Macs now and decide to get into serious high-power activities for which I actually NEED a "race car," Leopard and MacIntels would at least make sense for me, but even then I'd STILL be "on the trailing edge," with what would be, by that time, an "old" MacIntel I'll probably buy used on the Swap List or Fleabay, because I was never able to afford to keep pace with Apple's cutting edge anyway. So for me, a place where people use and love "older Macs" will always be a place I love. ~Yersinia. ________ "It doesn't take all kinds; we just have all kinds." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. 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