Aftermac's Personal Computer Cache

One of my on-again, off-again, side-projects has been getting my Apple //e setup as a dumb terminal for OS X. I've been tinkering with this for about 9-years now, but never really had a setup I was happy with. I occasionally re-visit the project, but could never dedicate the time to get it right. In my ideal setup, I wanted one monitor that handles multiple devices (Atari 7800, G5, Apple //e, etc...). For the most part my Dell 20" LCD has served me well, but o ne source of dissatisfaction with regards to the Apple //e is how it handled the composite video output in 80-column mode. The video would twitch every few seconds which is very annoying and tough to read. About a week ago, the display started to fail. The screen would go black after several minutes of use. I suspect that the inverter is failing, but don't want to just throw $100 at a hunch. For $150, I decided to replace it with a 22" 1080p HDTV instead of a new monitor, primarily because of the variety of...

It's been two years since my last post. Not too long after I started this blog, I decided to remodel my office... and my basement has been a disaster ever since. Fortunately, the construction is nearing an end, so I hope to be able to post on a more regular basis. All of the old shelving was ripped out, new flooring was added, the walls and ceiling were painted, new track lighting was installed, a network rack is being installed, and new shelving is being constructed - including an additional 12 feet of desk space. I'm definitely looking forward to completing this project and being able to enjoy my collection again... Before: After:

Might as well start with what's out in the open. This Classic II has been sitting on my workbench with its guts exposed for so long, that I don't even remember what I was doing with it when I opened it up in the first place! I'm not even sure if it works... First things first lets give it a visual inspection to see if everything is hooked up. Hmm... the motherboard is partially pulled out, but it looks like all the connections are hooked up... HD, floppy, power supply, battery is installed... A keyboard, mouse, and power cord are already hooked up, so lets see if it works... Lo and behold, it fires right up! Looks like it has a ton of extensions loaded. After the parade of icons finishes and the desktop loads, I opened "About This Macintosh". This particular Classic II has System 7.1 loaded, with 4 MB RAM, and a 40 MB HD - that is practically full! The screen is exceptionally sharp and clear. There is software for sharing DOS files, Microsoft Word 4.0, FileMaker P...

That is the question not just for this blog, but for the project that will be its primary subject. I have a sizable collection of vintage computers, consisting of 70+ machines from a handful of different manufacturers. My primary interest is Apple. I've been a Mac user since 1993, when my best friend received a Macintosh Quadra 605 for Christmas. One year later, for Christmas, I received my first computer, a used Macintosh IIsi that my mom bought from a co-worker. It had 9 MB RAM, 40 MB HD, and a 20 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU. I purchased my second computer in 1997, a Mac PowerBook Duo 270c. A laptop. The Duo and IIsi were my main computers until my first new computer purchase - The iMac, in 1998. After that it is all kind of a blur... How did I come to acquire 70+ computers? Honestly, I'm not quite sure. It just kind of happened. I'm not even sure where they all came from. The collection is relegated to a corner of my basement, where it resides out of sight, sitting on crude s...