Greetings all,
I've already made a couple of posts/comments here, but figured I should introduce myself!
My name is Grant, and I'm a retro Mac collector based on the East Coast of the USA. I am the owner/curator of the mac27 collection, which focuses on the later PowerPC (G3-G5, 1998-2005) era. I grew up using many of these systems at school, which may have something to do with why I'm particularly fond of them. My first retro Mac was my 17" iMac G4, purchased from a gentleman off Craigslist sometime in the early 2010s. So I guess I've been collecting for a little over a decade now, but I no longer have most of the machines that I acquired during the early years since my preferences have shifted and I passed things along over time.
The unique aspect to my collection is that all the items in it are boxed and complete. Meeting that requirement while building up a collection meant that it's taken many years to assemble it all, but I have always found it interesting and relevant for seeing the full story of each item (the context of how it was presented to the end user/customer). Of course it also makes things vastly easier to store, organize, and preserve.
The caretaking aspect has turned into quite an extensive operation over time; I usually spend at least one day each week(end) cleaning, documenting, testing, troubleshooting, fixing, photographing, or otherwise caring for the collection in some way. One of my goals is to NOT amass a hoard of non-functional, dilapidated, or duplicitous things, so every single item gets turned on and checked out at least once a year.
Sometime in 2020 I decided to create a website documenting the collection, which launched that December as mac27.net. I’ve cumulatively spent many hundreds of hours meticulously documenting and photographing each item as it came into the den, basically a labor of love (no monetization). Last year (2023) I moved into a new pad where I have a dedicated space for the collection for the first time, which has been incredibly useful.
More recent projects include the new 20th Anniversary Mac Disassembly Guide, which I compiled earlier this year mostly out of my own frustration with the existing online guides. If you're a fan of the iiiDIY YouTube channel (you should be!), this is the guide used during their recent episode on the TAM restoration.
Some potentially "mildly interesting" analytics (as of May 2024):
Total number of items in the collection: 54
Total number of pages on the site: 60
Total number of unique photos on the site: 1,429
Total number of photos taken overall: 1,868
Annual pageviews (2023): 6,178
Most-visited pages (all-time): iMac G3 (#1), Power Mac G4 Quicksilver (#2), Power Mac G3 B&W (#3)
Number of visitor countries (2023): 87
Top visitor countries (excluding USA): Denmark (#2), UK (#3), France (#4)
Top visitor state (USA): California
Most common visitor OS: macOS (Surprise…)
Over the years I’ve heard from other collectors who’ve been meaning to get around to doing something similar for their collections; I totally encourage it as I frankly find it really helpful for keeping track of things, maintaining my own enthusiasm, and insurance purposes (in addition to a large Excel doc used for inventory).
I'm not aware of any other web resources that are this detailed in their documentation of the systems, so I do my best to ensure that everything represented is accurate (the only thing worse than no information is misinformation). I always love hearing from other collectors, enthusiasts, and content creators who are looking for specific information (e.g., versions of original software CDs, documentation, etc.) or photo/video of complete systems and their packaging from the G3-G5 era. I can be reached for any such inquiries at [email protected].
Cheers, and looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to here.
[the mac27 studio]
I've already made a couple of posts/comments here, but figured I should introduce myself!
My name is Grant, and I'm a retro Mac collector based on the East Coast of the USA. I am the owner/curator of the mac27 collection, which focuses on the later PowerPC (G3-G5, 1998-2005) era. I grew up using many of these systems at school, which may have something to do with why I'm particularly fond of them. My first retro Mac was my 17" iMac G4, purchased from a gentleman off Craigslist sometime in the early 2010s. So I guess I've been collecting for a little over a decade now, but I no longer have most of the machines that I acquired during the early years since my preferences have shifted and I passed things along over time.
The unique aspect to my collection is that all the items in it are boxed and complete. Meeting that requirement while building up a collection meant that it's taken many years to assemble it all, but I have always found it interesting and relevant for seeing the full story of each item (the context of how it was presented to the end user/customer). Of course it also makes things vastly easier to store, organize, and preserve.
The caretaking aspect has turned into quite an extensive operation over time; I usually spend at least one day each week(end) cleaning, documenting, testing, troubleshooting, fixing, photographing, or otherwise caring for the collection in some way. One of my goals is to NOT amass a hoard of non-functional, dilapidated, or duplicitous things, so every single item gets turned on and checked out at least once a year.
Sometime in 2020 I decided to create a website documenting the collection, which launched that December as mac27.net. I’ve cumulatively spent many hundreds of hours meticulously documenting and photographing each item as it came into the den, basically a labor of love (no monetization). Last year (2023) I moved into a new pad where I have a dedicated space for the collection for the first time, which has been incredibly useful.
More recent projects include the new 20th Anniversary Mac Disassembly Guide, which I compiled earlier this year mostly out of my own frustration with the existing online guides. If you're a fan of the iiiDIY YouTube channel (you should be!), this is the guide used during their recent episode on the TAM restoration.
Some potentially "mildly interesting" analytics (as of May 2024):
Total number of items in the collection: 54
Total number of pages on the site: 60
Total number of unique photos on the site: 1,429
Total number of photos taken overall: 1,868
Annual pageviews (2023): 6,178
Most-visited pages (all-time): iMac G3 (#1), Power Mac G4 Quicksilver (#2), Power Mac G3 B&W (#3)
Number of visitor countries (2023): 87
Top visitor countries (excluding USA): Denmark (#2), UK (#3), France (#4)
Top visitor state (USA): California
Most common visitor OS: macOS (Surprise…)
Over the years I’ve heard from other collectors who’ve been meaning to get around to doing something similar for their collections; I totally encourage it as I frankly find it really helpful for keeping track of things, maintaining my own enthusiasm, and insurance purposes (in addition to a large Excel doc used for inventory).
I'm not aware of any other web resources that are this detailed in their documentation of the systems, so I do my best to ensure that everything represented is accurate (the only thing worse than no information is misinformation). I always love hearing from other collectors, enthusiasts, and content creators who are looking for specific information (e.g., versions of original software CDs, documentation, etc.) or photo/video of complete systems and their packaging from the G3-G5 era. I can be reached for any such inquiries at [email protected].
Cheers, and looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to here.
[the mac27 studio]
