Vintage Mac Update: Doing the Wash

The sound on my Mac Classic doesn't work and my hard drive is no longer recognized by the machine.  I think the hard drive issue might be due to a loose ribbon cable connecting the drive to the motherboard. The sound issue is likely due to leaking capacitors on the mother board (see post on Leaky Caps).

Today, I had a little free time, so I decided to open up the Mac Classic and check out what was inside.  My first challenge in doing so was that I didn't have a Torx T15 screwdriver that was long enough to loosen the screws in the top of the case inside the handle.  Therefore, a trip to Sears was in order to buy the Craftsman 6" Torx screw driver part # 48171 for $6.99.  My local Sears had the item in stock so I was in and out in a flash. (That's important to me because I hate going to the mall!).

I was scared to open the Mac Classic because it has an old-school CRT inside.  CRT's potentially retain high voltage that might kill you.  I encourage you to search this topic and be knowledgeable before you root around inside the Mac.  Don't do it just because I did!  After researching the subject, I rightly or wrongly concluded that I could remove the motherboard without killing myself.

Flickr photo credit: markltb

When I pulled the motherboard out of the Mac, it actually looked pretty clean.  The PRAM battery was dead as I mentioned in a previous post.  How did I know this?  The clock doesn't remember the time and the Mac doesn't remember any settings.  That's how you know.  Fortunately, the battery (1/2 AA size) hadn't leaked or become corroded.  Still, I pulled it out to be safe.  I'll order another online if I can get the Mac working otherwise.

Several websites recommend that you remove all the old capacitors from the motherboard and replace them with new ones made from a different material that doesn't contain liquid.  You can find several websites discussing this.  Others have suggested that the Mac starts working again if you give the motherboard a good cleaning.  Some people suggest putting the motherboard in an empty dishwasher (without detergent and without using the dry cycle).  I didn't see my wife going for this, so I opted to immerse the board in some warm water with a little dish soap and used an old toothbrush to clean around the capacitors.  I am now drying the board thoroughly before I put it back into the Mac.  I dried it first with a paper towel, then used the blow dryer and now I have it propped up in front of a fan.

I'll report back on how it works!

Links: Washing memory board, Bringing a Zebra Motherboard Back to Life, Repairing a Macintosh SE/30 with No Sound

UPDATE: As much as I hoped my Mac Classic would start from the hard drive with a resounding beep, that didn't happen. In fact, there was no change. I get some sound when I plug a speaker into the 3.5 mm jack on the back of the Mac but nothing from the speaker itself. I can live without sound. It's not like the Mac Classic will run iTunes! But, swapping floppies is the reason hard drives were invented. I'm going to look for a replacement hard drive for the Mac Classic.

Printing on Vintage Mac

I have a Mac Classic but I don't have a vintage printer. since word processing is what my Classic does best, I need a way to create output. One way of doing that is to save documents as RTF, transfer them on a Floppy to my MacBook Air and print them by launching Word on the Air. But, With some Googling, I found another way. On the Classic, I selected LaserWriter as my printer using Chooser control panel. Next, I print on the Classic using the normal print function for my Classic application. When the print dialogue pops up, choose print to postscript file. Next save the postscript file to a floppy. My Air can read from but not write to a diskette formatted on the Classic. I can copy the postscript file to my Air from the floppy. If I add an EPS extension to the postscript file, it will open with Preview when I double click on the file after an automatic conversion to a PDF. As the final step, I can either keep the output as a PDF or I can print it to any printer that is accessible to my Air. I realize not everyone will go to this much trouble just to use a vintage Mac, but I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane.

I Take on a Vintage Mac

My New (to me) Mac

I've been thinking about getting a vintage Macintosh computer after starting to read Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs.  I came to the Mac with the introduction of the colored iMacs.  I bought my first Mac because I was moving my family to Canada for work, and my teen daughter wanted me to buy one of those cool green iMacs for her to use for school work.  It was my first time to get hands-on with a Mac for any period of time though I worked at Peat Marwick which used Macs in its audit department. I liked that first mac so much, I decided to buy a blueberry iMac for me.  From that moment, I was hooked! A steady stream of iBooks and Powerbooks followed. When I started my own CPA firm in 2005, I decided to go all Mac hardware, outfitting the office with iMacs and Mac Minis, even a Mac Mini server.  Yet, I missed those first Macintoshes.

As I read the Steve Jobs biography, it dawned on me that I could probably find an inexpensive classic Mac on eBay for a nominal price. So, I started to check out the auctions in the vintage computing section of eBay.  I guess I wasn't the only one who got energized about vintage Macs by reading the Jobs biography.  Either the Macs were being sold for parts or working systems were being priced at hundreds of dollars as collectibles. I bid in several auctions only to have them get out of control in the waning seconds.

I was so close to buying an SE 30, the high point of the compact Mac line this morning.  I had been sitting on a winning bid of $202.50 and my maximum bid was $261.50. With $35 shipping, I realized I was overpaying for computers that probably most often end up in garage sales or being dumped at Goodwill.  But, I wanted it.  The final price on that Mac, set in the last seconds was $355.  The other auctions I've been watching for this particular model were "buy it now" listings at $349 and $499.  No way I was paying that much!

On Facebook and Twitter, I posted messages asking if any of my friends had old Macs that they would consider selling me.  After all, I belong to the Apple Corps of Dallas, the oldest MUG in the world. Surely, there were packrats among this group of Mac super fans. As luck would have it, the monthly meeting of the ACD was this morning.  I haven't been to a meeting in probably a year, but the program by HP on their ePrint capabilities sounded interesting, and I thought I could make my plea at the meeting.  To my surprise and undying appreciation, an ACD approached me at the meeting and said that he had seen my post on Facebook.  He'd gone up to his attic, found his old Macintosh Classic, and brought it to the meeting. He gave it to me! Gave it!  How awesome is that!

About the Mac Classic

According to lowendmac.com, the Mac Classic was the white Macbook of its day, the first Mac to be introduced for less than $1,000.  Released in October 1990, the Classic in its most basic configuration came with an 8 MHz 68000 CPU, 1 MB RAM, a SuperDrive (1.44 MB Floppy to you and me), and a space to mount an internal SCSI hard drive.  The upgraded Classic came with 2MB memory and a 40MB hard drive. My classic has the 40MB hard drive and was apparently upgraded to sport 4MB RAM.  Keep in mind, I'm talking megabytes, not gigabytes of RAM and hard disk space. One feature that is unique about the Classic is that it contained a "secret" ROM based boot up to System 6.0.8 that can be accessed during startup by pressing Option-Command-X-O.

Lowendmac.com calls the Classic a "compromised Mac" because of its pokey 8 Mhz processor.  The website applemuseum.bott.org  notes that the case, processor and basic configuration of the Classic are the same as the original compact Mac models. The website calls the Classic a slightly faster Mac Plus with a different name. This Mac was introduced after the SE 30, the zenith of the compact macs. In contrast to the Classic, the SE 30 had a 16 Mhz processor and buss, based upon the upgraded 68030 Motorola chip. According to applemuseum.bott.org, Apple somewhat hastily issued the Classic in response to criticism that Macs cost too much (sound familiar?), but the public didn't like Apple's solution of cutting specs. As a result, the company discontinued the Classic a year later and replaced it with a more robust Classic II. Still, it was clear by this time that Apple and perhaps the public had lost enthusiasm for the compact Mac form factor. The Classic and Classic II were making way for the Performa line with separate color monitors and CPU consoles. The last of the Compact Macs would be positioned at the bottom of the Apple food chain.

My Classic is running System 7.1 operating system.  According to MacTracker (an iPhone app that tells these things), the Classic originally shipped with either System 6.0.6 or 6.0.7.  The Mac also contained Microsoft Works 3.0 (upon which I started typing this document), AOL (ack!) and another communication program called First Class (the ACD bulletin board used to run on that application as I recall).  I promptly deleted AOL and First Class to free up drive space.  Cosmetically, the Mac is in really nice condition and David included a keyboard and mouse.  The Classic isn't the Mac I was planning to buy on eBay, but as a free Mac, I'm going to give it a go.

Setting up My Mac

Even though my Mac was in use before the Internet became popular, there are awesome online resources maintained by vintage Mac enthusiasts. Lowendmac.com is one such resource, with specs of old Macs, plus numerous articles about setting up and using vintage Macs of all types.  Another website called System 6 Heaven (euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html) makes the case that Macs using the 6800 chip run much faster on System 6.0.8 than with system 7. An article on lowendmac.com ("Which System Software is Best for My Vintage Mac?") also suggested using System 6.0.8 on the Classic. Since my Classic was unbearably slow with System 7.1, I thought I would give System 6 a try, but how?

At this point, my main method of moving files on to and off the Classic are by 1.4MB floppy disks. The Classic doesn't have an Ethernet port or a wireless card.  There are some ways to connect a Classic to a network but I don't have the appropriate hardware to implement such a connection at this time.  I found some old forgotten floppies in a drawer and I have a USB floppy drive that I purchased long ago and stuffed into another drawer.  My Classic has the 1.4MB "superdrive" (ha!) whereas the original Macs used 800K floppies that modern computers can't read. Unfortunately, my main computer is a MacBook Air with OS X 10.7 installed.  If I initialize a floppy disk on the Classic, The Air will read it but can't write to it.  Floppies that I initialize on the Air are apparently unreadable on the Classic (even if I choose FAT format). There went my master plan up in smoke!  Thankfully, I still had a Titanium Powerbook G4 in the closet with OS 9.2 installed.  Since the TiBook has wireless card, ethernet, and USB connections, I can move files to the TiBook from my Air and then swap floppies between the TiBook and the Classic. I'm starting to see why people either have no old Macs or a bunch of them.  It apparently takes a village of vintage hardware to move files back and forth between the ages.  It starts sounding like a "how many people does it take to change a light bulb" joke.

I found System 6.0.8 via a link posted on System 6 Heaven pointing to Apple.com, where apparently downloads of several different legacy versions of the Mac OS can be had for free.  To install system 6.0.8, I had to download the .sit files from Apple and decompress them using the free Stuffit Expander.  The .sit file contained disk image files for the various versions of System 6 install disks.  On my TiBook, I could mount the floppy disk images using a utility called Disk Copy and copy the files from the mounted disk image to freshly formatted 1.4MB floppy disks.  System 6.0.8 fits entirely on two such floppies. I was concerned that my floppies wouldn't be bootable on the Classic since I would need to start the Mac from the floppy to re-initialize the hard drive and install the older operating system.  But, unlike Windows computers, creating a boot disk on a Mac doesn't require any special formatting or copy procedure.  I put Disk 1 in my Classic and restarted it.  I had to put my finger over the drive slot so that the Classic wouldn't eject the disk during startup.  The utility to initialize the Classic's hard drive is included on the floppy.  I ran that utility first and then clicked on the installer.  I few minutes later, Iwas running System 6.0.8. The web site was right.  System 6 is way faster on the Classic than 7.1.

The system installation wiped out the one piece of software that was installed on my Mac, Microsoft Works 3.0.  So, I needed to find some applications to install on my Classic via the floppy disk shuffle.  I found links to multiple applications on 68k.preterhuman.net.  Right now, I'm using an early version of Clarisworks (which was later named Appleworks) instead of Microsoft Works.

What next?

I am enjoying using the Classic as a writing tool and as a tangible history lesson of early computing.  I plan to do more tinkering to see if I can come up with a better way to exchange files between my Classic and other Macs. I don't recommend that anyone give up a modern computer for a vintage Mac. But, as a lesson about what was and what is now, getting hands-on with a working vintage Mac really makes the point better than reading a history book.

QuickBooks Online: Now for Mac!!!

Mac users have until now been shut out of using QuickBooks Online Edition. Intuit has now rolled out a beta version for Mac users. It is free to sign up and you can even set up a free simple start company using the online service. Safari is the only browser that will work with QBOE on the Mac and the version 4 beta of Safari is not supported. For more information, go to http://oe.quickbooks.com

I get my own personal blog posts now...

I couldn't help but smile when I popped over to gottabemobile.com and see a post by Matthew Dillon responding to questions I had about Virtualbox, which is an open-source virtualization program for Mac that is being distributed by Sun.  Read Matthew's post for all the details.  Thanks!

Windows on Mac: Does Less = More?

When the Intel Macs first came out, I jumped right at the download for the new Parallels software that allowed me to run Windows alongside Mac programs without rebooting out of OSX.  I ended up buying two (maybe 3) licenses and running it on a couple of Macs.  For the most part, Parallels works great if you need to run the occasional Windows program.  VMWare got into the game a little later than Parallels with VMWare Fusion, but a lot of people seem to prefer VMWare's program over Parallels.  

I still run Parallels on the office iMac, but earlier this week, I made the decision to run an erase and install of OSX. In the process, I decided that my MacBook Air was getting a Boot Camp partition.  I installed a fresh new license of Windows XP (maybe the last license for that software I'll ever buy).  I also installed Microsoft Office 2007 and QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2008.  

Part of why I decided to go Boot Camp is that I was beginning to long for a "real Windows computer" not a Mac running Parallels.  While Parallels works fine, I was beginning to think it wasn't as "snappy" as it used to be.  (I love it when people describe their software as "snappy").  More importantly, the longer I use the Mac, my thoughts are evolving on how I want Windows to be deployed on my Macs.  There is clearly software that I need for business that doesn't have a Mac counterpart (particularly tax return preparation software and tax depreciation software).  But, whereas Windows was once something I wanted up front and center when I used my Mac, it's becoming more like the plumber's helper (or bathroom plunger). It's important to have one in case you need it, but you don't display it prominently in your house.  

Boot Camp is nice in that it is "wicked fast" and it makes your Mac into a "real Windows computer" when you need one, but when you aren't using it, it's hidden away and not bothering anybody.  Is it just me, or are your thoughts about running Windows on a Mac changing too? Please leave a comment but let's not start a flame war about which OS is better.  

Happy Leopard Day! Wait?

"Today is gonna be the day that I give it all back to you..." Sorry, that was Oasis. Not Steve Jobs. Fed Ex says my Leopard family pack will be here by 10:30 AM. I've been encouraged to wait awhile to install it by Dr. Mac and others. Wait? I'm not familiar with that word. So, I Google it. Okay, "sit in one place and anticipate or expect something." I'm not going anywhere until Fed Ex comes. Check. "Look forward to the probable occurence of." I'm definitely looking forward to installing Leopard and it's probable that I will. Check. "Wait before acting". Surely, they didn't mean that definition! There's gotta be a loophole. "the act of remaining inactive in one place while expecting something." Not much work is getting done today. Check. It's also a radio station and a cool song by the Beatles (which is maybe my theme song for the day). "Wait, til I come back to your side. We'll forget the tears we cried." So prophetic. It's all gonna be good even if we have to cry while installing. So, I'll definitely "wait". It just may not be the way Dr. Mac intended. Happy Leopard day!

What Does it Take to Leave BlackBook behind?

I am fascinated by tiny computing devices and other objects de tech almost to the point of irrationality. I keep trying some new thing, hoping it will be the ultimate device that will replace all devices that have come before. Each time, the "object of my desire" (sorry, Dwight Silverman) is shot down by the same device...my BlackBook. Though I start out each time armed only with my new gadget, I can't leave Blackie behind for long. Inevitably, Blackie is back in the bag. Once that happens, I go "why do I need to carry X when I have my notebook with me anyway?" With those words, another device hits the "museum."

That's what happened to the Samsung Q1. It's a really nice little Windows machine, but I couldn't go solo with it because I missed OSX. The HTC Advantage has reached this stage yet. I'm still fascinated by this device and exploring ways to use it. Still, I removed the SIM from it yesterday to replace it in the Sierra Wireless 875U card so I could do "real work" on my MacBook at a client yesterday. Were those the pounding hoofbeats of the grim reaper heading toward the HTC Advantage?

Now more than ever, the Mac notebooks represent computing efficiency. My BlackBook is relatively small and light and powerful. I am able to run my preferred OSX or I can run Windows XP in Parallels. I've been doing the latter so much, that I actually prefer working in the mixed OSX/XP environment where I can run whatever program I need for a task on whatever platform without having to even think about it. Thus, one computer becomes more than 2. That is the key to the Mac for me. I think it is also why I agree with James Kendrick of JK on the Run that the killer device is going to have to come from Apple. While I love my iPhone, it is not the killer device of which I speak that keeps the BlackBook on the desk. It's just a phone, a really cool phone that surfs the Internet, but still a phone. I want that slightly smaller, slightly lighter, notebook with a touch display. Come on, Apple!

Can't find 8 ways to listen to Sirius on the Web...

As I right this post, I'm listening to Steve Earle sing "Satellite Radio" on Sirius 18, the Spectrum. This is my new favorite satellite radio station. I've had satellite radio on my mind this morning and so has Kevin Tofel at JK On the Run (Link). Kevin posts several ways to listen to your XM Radio subscription on the web. I recently switched from XM to Sirius because of changes in the Tax Man auto fleet. Sirius provides an online player that works with Mac OSX, but the player (at least in OSX) doesn't offer features that I used to enjoy on XM. First, it doesn't show what's playing. Boo! It also is a bit kludgy to switch to a new station. I can't find any dashboard widgets or 3rd party players that work on the Mac for Sirius. There's lots of Google links to one called SiriusMac, but the download links appear to be inactive. So, that's about it for now on the Sirius front for the Mac. I'll update if I find anything else. Am I missing something? Please leave a comment if you have any ideas... Thx

Why use one computer when you can use 3?

JK On the Run posted a shot of him using two monitors with his MacBook. I prefer to use different computers at the same time. Here's a photo of my office. BlackBook and Mac Mini are both running Windows XP in Parallels and then there's my trusty Q1. Yes, that's a Newton MessagePad 2100 which continues to make a great notepad.

Meeting with Dr. Mac

I'm liveblogging from the Apple Corps of Dallas meeting. Today, our guest is Bob "Dr. Mac" Levitus. Bob is a real Mac genius (not the retail variety) and author of about 50 books about the Mac. Here's some bullet points from Bob's presentation:

* Plug for Time Machine in Leopard to keep us backed up so we don't lose data.
* Consulting business is 100% Skype. He doesn't even use a landline.
* Wishing us happy birthday - Apple Corps Dallas is 30 years old this year. We're the oldest MUG in the world.
* If you have less than 2GB RAM, upgrade!!!!
* Loves his iPhone, that he paid his own money for.
* What's the story on viruses, malware, and worms for Mac? No story as far as he's concerned...
* Just installed iWork '08...showed new slide builds in Keynote
* Cheap or free software demos
** Amnesty Singles - allows you to run widgets on desktop without invoking Dashboard. Not free but cheap.
** Whoopee Cushion widget - real easy way to make kids go away.
** istat pro - widget with Mac performance data.
** Mouse locator -- helps you find the cursor on big monitors. Free.
** Go to versiontracker.com or macupdate.com to find free software.
** Keyboard cleaner - launch before you clean keyboard so you don't type anything while you are cleaning. Free.
** SRS iWow. 30-day free trial on SRS Labs website. Makes iTunes sound better. $20
** Launch Bar - first $20 he spends on every Mac. Really smart file finder and launcher.
**** Remembers what shortcuts you type to search to launch an app without setup.
**** Finds contacts in Address book and shows phone number really big on screen.
**** it calculates.
**** It will even launch apps without hitting return if you hold down last letter for even faster launching.
** Marine Acquarium - $12.95 for those moments when you need relaxation and the fish never float to the top.
**** Fish will swim across two monitors.
** Likes a 5-button mouse - he's not exactly on same page as El Jobso on the mouse button. MX Revolution is fave.
** New Power Video Plus - $50 extends iPod or iPhone battery life significantly. Newer Technology.
** Omni Cleanz - use to clean monitors. Comes with microfiber cloth. Likes better than iClear. Radtech.us
** Back Office back-pack by Shawn Jackson Designs.

Composing Music: The Modern Way

This morning as I dashed into Starbucks for my "grande bold, no room", I spied a Mac user with my Mac of choice: the BlackBook. I couldn't resist commenting how much I enjoyed that particular Mac and I noticed music notation on the screen. Being an amateur hack musician, I was very curious about what he was doing on his Mac. Turns out he's a composer and he was working on a new score. He demonstrated an open source notation program called Lilypond that interprets a text file to create a complex music score. Apparently, Trevor was involved in programming as well as music composition. Not only did I enjoy the impromptu demo of the software, I thoroughly enjoyed getting a glimpse of how modern composers are embracing technology to further their craft. It was cool to see Trevor every bit as excited about computers and iPhones as me but for totally different reasons. Check out the Lilypad project if this sounds like your sort of thing.