I joined this forum in June after watching JDW's video and lurked around for about a month. During that time, I thoroughly enjoyed the "Vintage Apple 101: Getting Started" thread and hope to find more content like that here.
Something like Vintage Apple 101: Getting Started thread
- Thread starter oldmacuser
- Start date
I suggest subscribing to the YouTube channels of at least JDW, Mac84 and Branchus Creations, and catching up on back-issues. There's a lot of nonsense amongst the good stuff .. but much of the nonsense is good stuff too!
@oldmacuser
My approach through the years has been to basically vacuum up any and all info related to Macs in general (I've maintained my Macworld subscription since the 80's, for example), and I also try to have a presence in most places where vintage Macs are discussed. So I am not only present in this forum, but also on most of the vintage Mac related FaceBook groups (Vintage Apple Macintosh Enthusiasts, Low End Mac, etc.), as well as a member of old standby places like AppleFritter. I like to see the photos people post and hope to learn something new. In the distant past, I was a member of the now defunct Jag's House forum. Also, Ric Ford's Macintouch has been a excellent resource since 1985.
For vintage software, look no further than Macintosh Garden.
Okay, well... You can look further, as Internet Archive has some Mac abandonware too.
One of the best ways to LEARN is through experience and general participation. You buy an old gadget, find issues, then come to an excellent information resource like TinkerDifferent and ask for help. You then get feedback, act on suggestions, then provide feedback about how it went. That in turn helps other people who may have the same problem as you. That's what I do.
People in the community who contribute some really great things just have to be mentioned. These folks don't just come up with ideas. They bring ideas to reality. And that is really hard to do.
Because I live in Japan, I have established a relationship with our local genius, @Kay K.M.Mods. The store that Kay Koba has put together is still growing, but even if he stopped adding new stuff today, the number of items he sells right now is incredible, and much of that is insanely great stuff which blows my mind. That's why I've done so many videos on Kay's creations and hope to do more in the future. But there are many other people involved in this incredible labor of love...
We have Disk Jockey & Crucible software from Jean-Michel of @OneGeekArmy which are such amazing apps that they blow my mind!
We have the outstanding FloppyEMU by Steve Chamberlin of BMOW. We then have BlueSCSI by @eric Helgeson, MacSD by @YMK Devices, RaSCSI & PiSCSI from @landogriffin, ZuluSCSI & the SCSI2SD series by @MrBIOS of Rabbit Hole Computing, and more amazing stuff at the store of @Androda .
We have the fabulous CayMac Vintage store (created by @Willj & @jajan547 & @Jockelill ) that I only became aware of this year, which showcases the super-useful Mac-O-Meter that I reviewed in a video, as well as the TashTwenty by @Tashtari (also discussed here). I am doing the prep work now for a video on their ROM SIMM Programmer too, which was previously sold by BMOW and originally designed by @dougg3 (Doug Brown).
Silicon Insider has his own store showcasing VRAM and other goodies.
@max1zzz has come up with some amazing things like recreating the Apple TechStep! And then we have @jajan547 & @Elemenoh & @SuperSVGA who brought us recreations of TechStep Cartridges (sold on the CayMac store), including 3D printed plastic cases!
Have a Macintosh Portable? @alxlab has you covered with his amazing Macintosh Portable Adapter project! Check out his other projects too.
@Zane Kaminski is a truly gifted engineer who has a superb ongoing Mac SE accelerator project going, not to mention all his other goodies shown on Garrett's Workshop.
We've also got the brilliant @Kai Robinson, with his amazing Github page, who is truly a reverse-engineering genius; and I was so very honored to have been able to do a video series on his SE Reloaded board.
Bruce Rayne has his own @Branchus Creations store and he offers repair services too, not to mention his excellent videos.
One can't help but mention @This Does Not Compute and his Youtube channel, not only because his videos are absolutely amazing, but because he actively participates in this forum too. Not a lot of high caliber YouTubers do that, and I always enjoy his posts. He also recently went the extra mile and put together a Group Buy for partially assembled SE/30 Reloaded motherboards, which took a lot of time and effort.
We then have recapping services are offered by many in the US, such as @AmigaOfRochester who has a FaceBook storefront here, as well as Steve aka Mac84 who does recapping & repair, and he produces some amazing video content too.
We then have @Bolle , who has recreated the SE/30 motherboard, the socketed Daystar PowerCache, Micro Xceed Grayscale for the SE/30, the Carrera040 accelerator, and more! I only wish I had a single web page URL I could link for you that showcased all of his creations, because they are absolutely amazing!
And who can forget Mark Jozaitis of @MacEffects , who paid top dollar to create SE/30 & Apple IIe molds so he could bring us stunning clear cases!
I've left a lot out. This is by no means comprehensive. It's just a sampling of people and devices that flowed off the top of my head this morning. Some are rivals, but by and large, everyone tries to get along with the critically important aim of HELPING OTHERS in the vintage Mac community, as well as MAKING THINGS FUN. My heart's desire is to see this continue because all the gadgets and services I just listed really make this hobby exciting.
So welcome to this forum, and I hope the info gets you started here on Tinker Different!
My approach through the years has been to basically vacuum up any and all info related to Macs in general (I've maintained my Macworld subscription since the 80's, for example), and I also try to have a presence in most places where vintage Macs are discussed. So I am not only present in this forum, but also on most of the vintage Mac related FaceBook groups (Vintage Apple Macintosh Enthusiasts, Low End Mac, etc.), as well as a member of old standby places like AppleFritter. I like to see the photos people post and hope to learn something new. In the distant past, I was a member of the now defunct Jag's House forum. Also, Ric Ford's Macintouch has been a excellent resource since 1985.
For vintage software, look no further than Macintosh Garden.
Okay, well... You can look further, as Internet Archive has some Mac abandonware too.
One of the best ways to LEARN is through experience and general participation. You buy an old gadget, find issues, then come to an excellent information resource like TinkerDifferent and ask for help. You then get feedback, act on suggestions, then provide feedback about how it went. That in turn helps other people who may have the same problem as you. That's what I do.
People in the community who contribute some really great things just have to be mentioned. These folks don't just come up with ideas. They bring ideas to reality. And that is really hard to do.
Because I live in Japan, I have established a relationship with our local genius, @Kay K.M.Mods. The store that Kay Koba has put together is still growing, but even if he stopped adding new stuff today, the number of items he sells right now is incredible, and much of that is insanely great stuff which blows my mind. That's why I've done so many videos on Kay's creations and hope to do more in the future. But there are many other people involved in this incredible labor of love...
We have Disk Jockey & Crucible software from Jean-Michel of @OneGeekArmy which are such amazing apps that they blow my mind!
We have the outstanding FloppyEMU by Steve Chamberlin of BMOW. We then have BlueSCSI by @eric Helgeson, MacSD by @YMK Devices, RaSCSI & PiSCSI from @landogriffin, ZuluSCSI & the SCSI2SD series by @MrBIOS of Rabbit Hole Computing, and more amazing stuff at the store of @Androda .
We have the fabulous CayMac Vintage store (created by @Willj & @jajan547 & @Jockelill ) that I only became aware of this year, which showcases the super-useful Mac-O-Meter that I reviewed in a video, as well as the TashTwenty by @Tashtari (also discussed here). I am doing the prep work now for a video on their ROM SIMM Programmer too, which was previously sold by BMOW and originally designed by @dougg3 (Doug Brown).
Silicon Insider has his own store showcasing VRAM and other goodies.
@max1zzz has come up with some amazing things like recreating the Apple TechStep! And then we have @jajan547 & @Elemenoh & @SuperSVGA who brought us recreations of TechStep Cartridges (sold on the CayMac store), including 3D printed plastic cases!
Have a Macintosh Portable? @alxlab has you covered with his amazing Macintosh Portable Adapter project! Check out his other projects too.
@Zane Kaminski is a truly gifted engineer who has a superb ongoing Mac SE accelerator project going, not to mention all his other goodies shown on Garrett's Workshop.
We've also got the brilliant @Kai Robinson, with his amazing Github page, who is truly a reverse-engineering genius; and I was so very honored to have been able to do a video series on his SE Reloaded board.
Bruce Rayne has his own @Branchus Creations store and he offers repair services too, not to mention his excellent videos.
One can't help but mention @This Does Not Compute and his Youtube channel, not only because his videos are absolutely amazing, but because he actively participates in this forum too. Not a lot of high caliber YouTubers do that, and I always enjoy his posts. He also recently went the extra mile and put together a Group Buy for partially assembled SE/30 Reloaded motherboards, which took a lot of time and effort.
We then have recapping services are offered by many in the US, such as @AmigaOfRochester who has a FaceBook storefront here, as well as Steve aka Mac84 who does recapping & repair, and he produces some amazing video content too.
We then have @Bolle , who has recreated the SE/30 motherboard, the socketed Daystar PowerCache, Micro Xceed Grayscale for the SE/30, the Carrera040 accelerator, and more! I only wish I had a single web page URL I could link for you that showcased all of his creations, because they are absolutely amazing!
And who can forget Mark Jozaitis of @MacEffects , who paid top dollar to create SE/30 & Apple IIe molds so he could bring us stunning clear cases!
I've left a lot out. This is by no means comprehensive. It's just a sampling of people and devices that flowed off the top of my head this morning. Some are rivals, but by and large, everyone tries to get along with the critically important aim of HELPING OTHERS in the vintage Mac community, as well as MAKING THINGS FUN. My heart's desire is to see this continue because all the gadgets and services I just listed really make this hobby exciting.
So welcome to this forum, and I hope the info gets you started here on Tinker Different!
Thank you, @JDW for great information! I have no doubt that this is a fantastic place and I completely agree with you on getting along with everyone, helping others, and making things fun!
I already know about some of the people you mentioned, and I'm excited to check out all of them. It might take some time, but I'll follow your advice of participating and learning through experience!
Thank you once again for the warm welcome and the excellent writeup/info. I truly appreciate it!
I already know about some of the people you mentioned, and I'm excited to check out all of them. It might take some time, but I'll follow your advice of participating and learning through experience!
Thank you once again for the warm welcome and the excellent writeup/info. I truly appreciate it!