Hi all!
I've been vaguely in the orbit of TinkerDifferent by way of several creators whose videos I watch, and I figured it was probably about time for me to register!
I grew up around Macs, since my dad has been a Mac aficionado pretty much all his life - I played a ton of Humongous Entertainment games, SimCity 2000, Frog Xing, and Escape Velocity on my family's blue-and-white PowerMac G3, and that was also the first computer I ever opened up (under supervision, of course!) The first computer I ever had to myself was a 333MHz PowerBook G3, and I absolutely adored that thing, even though it was woefully obsolete by the time I got my hands on it. I'm mostly a Linux user these days (typing this on a Framework 13) but I have an M1 MacBook Pro kicking around that I reach for from time to time, and it's still an excellent machine!
Because of this, most of my nostalgia is wrapped up in the late-90s/early-mid-00s era of Mac computing - OS 9 through Snow Leopard, lots of Ambrosia Software titles, Safari web browsing with the brushed-metal interface, and the like. You'll find that my collection below mostly reflects that, though there's definitely a System 7-sized gap that I hope to do something about!
My current stable of delightful old Macs:
Macintosh Plus - fully recapped, restored, expanded to 4MB RAM, set up with a FloppyEmu and System 6.0.8. This one came from a friend of my dad's who'd held onto it for a looooong time after having saved it from work. I've actually been using this as a distraction-free writing machine, and it's pretty pleasant!
PowerBook G3 Lombard - not the one I owned in the 2000s. Works, currently running Mac OS 8, but needs some TLC. However, I've been pretty reluctant to take it apart, as it already has some plastic damage! Between that, some screen yellowing, and a long-dead battery, I haven't done as much with this one (yet!)
PowerMac G4 Quicksilver - probably my favorite. It's the dual-1GHz version, and I use it primarily as an OS 9 powerhouse, though it also runs Tiger quite well. Currently planning on getting an SSD installed, and I need to recap the power supply at some point, since it's not getting any newer and I want to keep the machine alive for as long as I can. I rescued this one from work circa 2015; it'd been collecting dust in the IT closet for years after having been decommissioned long ago. One of the older IT guys was pretty happy to see it go to a good home.
PowerBook G4 Aluminum - the fastest PowerPC Mac I own. 1.67GHz, DLSD/HD, maxed-out RAM, SSD - this thing is an absolute powerhouse. Except for the fact that the 2009-vintage aftermarket battery is totally dead. I plan to rebuild it, once I work up the courage to do so.
2006 Mac Pro - received from a coworker. Works like a charm, and upgraded with a Radeon HD 5770. Currently running Snow Leopard; I haven't done as much with this one since it puts out so much heat.
2009 Mac Mini - the bridge machine. Dual-boots Snow Leopard and El Capitan. Not as performant as the Mac Pro when it comes to games and the like, but much more pleasant to use (imo).
Thanks for reading - hope to chat with y'all soon!
I've been vaguely in the orbit of TinkerDifferent by way of several creators whose videos I watch, and I figured it was probably about time for me to register!
I grew up around Macs, since my dad has been a Mac aficionado pretty much all his life - I played a ton of Humongous Entertainment games, SimCity 2000, Frog Xing, and Escape Velocity on my family's blue-and-white PowerMac G3, and that was also the first computer I ever opened up (under supervision, of course!) The first computer I ever had to myself was a 333MHz PowerBook G3, and I absolutely adored that thing, even though it was woefully obsolete by the time I got my hands on it. I'm mostly a Linux user these days (typing this on a Framework 13) but I have an M1 MacBook Pro kicking around that I reach for from time to time, and it's still an excellent machine!
Because of this, most of my nostalgia is wrapped up in the late-90s/early-mid-00s era of Mac computing - OS 9 through Snow Leopard, lots of Ambrosia Software titles, Safari web browsing with the brushed-metal interface, and the like. You'll find that my collection below mostly reflects that, though there's definitely a System 7-sized gap that I hope to do something about!
My current stable of delightful old Macs:
Macintosh Plus - fully recapped, restored, expanded to 4MB RAM, set up with a FloppyEmu and System 6.0.8. This one came from a friend of my dad's who'd held onto it for a looooong time after having saved it from work. I've actually been using this as a distraction-free writing machine, and it's pretty pleasant!
PowerBook G3 Lombard - not the one I owned in the 2000s. Works, currently running Mac OS 8, but needs some TLC. However, I've been pretty reluctant to take it apart, as it already has some plastic damage! Between that, some screen yellowing, and a long-dead battery, I haven't done as much with this one (yet!)
PowerMac G4 Quicksilver - probably my favorite. It's the dual-1GHz version, and I use it primarily as an OS 9 powerhouse, though it also runs Tiger quite well. Currently planning on getting an SSD installed, and I need to recap the power supply at some point, since it's not getting any newer and I want to keep the machine alive for as long as I can. I rescued this one from work circa 2015; it'd been collecting dust in the IT closet for years after having been decommissioned long ago. One of the older IT guys was pretty happy to see it go to a good home.
PowerBook G4 Aluminum - the fastest PowerPC Mac I own. 1.67GHz, DLSD/HD, maxed-out RAM, SSD - this thing is an absolute powerhouse. Except for the fact that the 2009-vintage aftermarket battery is totally dead. I plan to rebuild it, once I work up the courage to do so.
2006 Mac Pro - received from a coworker. Works like a charm, and upgraded with a Radeon HD 5770. Currently running Snow Leopard; I haven't done as much with this one since it puts out so much heat.
2009 Mac Mini - the bridge machine. Dual-boots Snow Leopard and El Capitan. Not as performant as the Mac Pro when it comes to games and the like, but much more pleasant to use (imo).
Thanks for reading - hope to chat with y'all soon!
