#vintagemac — Public Fediverse posts

Picked up this official Apple DB9 <-> Mini-DIN8 adapter from eBay the other day, so that I can have a serial cable for my vintage Macs, in the hope of using it for TechStep diagnostics among other things.

Unfortunately, it's not wired correctly, according to the guide at https://recon-68k.github.io/#serial-adapters-and-cables. And I didn't check the pinout first because my multimeter died (see: https://oldbytes.space/@smallsco/117193190601081442) and I figured it would be fine anyway, after all it's an official part right?

But with it connected to my serial cable (this guy: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0759HSLP1) between my MacBook Pro and my Power Mac 6500, the serial cable got hot - scalding hot - needed-oven-mitts-to-unplug-it hot 🥵 Hopefully nothing got damaged.

(I'd also tried earlier with my IIfx and it did not get hot but it didn't work either)

cc: @jack68k

#RetroComputing #VintageMac

I love the Mac LCIII, so let's try to save this one that someone ran a drill into. Just another normal Saturday noon stream here at the BigBadBench. #ewaste #vintagemac https://youtube.com/live/-zvet5a9AaA?feature=share

I had a dream last night that I was at an estate sale with a bunch of old computer stuff. There was a Mac that was essentially this form factor but the plastic was black and there was a DVD changer stacked on top. The label in front said “Power Macintosh Media Server”. My wife approved buying it because it was so novel, but sadly I woke up before getting to use it. 😆 #RetroMacintosh #RetroApple #VintageMac #VintageApple #RetroComputing

Belated birthday present to myself: gonna turn my PowerMac 6500 into an AV model 😁

Picked this up super cheap on eBay the other day, managed to squeeze it into the country a couple days before the tariffs landed. The box itself is open but everything inside is still sealed, it's new old stock!

Yes an analog TV tuner isn't much good in this day and age but honestly I just want to fill all the extra slots on the 6500 🤣

#RetroComputing #VintageMac

#RetroComputing #VintageMac friends: I’m giving my old MacBook Air 2013 away to my seven-year-old autistic nephew, which will be his first proper computer (not counting devices like iPhones/iPads which he does have experience with).

What's some good software I should put on it for him to play with?

I'm looking for things like:
- a simple drawing/painting program (like MacPaint/KidPix)
- a typing tutor
- edutainment games (like Oregon Trail, Gizmos&Gadgets, Reader Rabbit)
- maybe some kind of simple graphical programming environment (like HyperCard)

I've already installed:
- MS Office
- BasiliskII with At Ease and a bunch of games from _my_ childhood :)
- Native ports of a few games I'm familiar with like Maelstrom and Aerofoil(Glider)

Things I don't want:
- stuff that throws ads in your face (most of the games on the App Store)
- ideally nothing from the App Store at all as there is no Apple Account set up on the machine
- anything that requires setting up an account to play or use
- anything that requires macOS 12 or greater, this machine is stuck on macOS 11
- anything that's only available as a 32-bit app, this machine is running macOS 11

Thanks in advance for your recommendations (and please boost for visibility!)

Release with a lot of new bug fixes and features - check it out!

https://github.com/BlueSCSI/BlueSCSI-v2/releases/tag/v2026.08.17

#BlueSCSI #VintageMac #Retrocomputing #SCSI

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@nedbat/117034269794678628

#RetroComputing #VintageMac enthusiasts: this would make for a great #HyperCard stack idea!

@manawyrm
Photo of my desk, taken in March 1988. This is a Mac 512K which was upgraded to 2MB of RAM plus SCSI. It's sitting on top of a Jasmine 20MB hard drive. Next to it on the desk is an 800K external floppy drive. Off to the left is a Practical Peripherals 2400 baud modem. To the right, partly hidden under papers, is an ImageWriter II.

#retrocomputing #VintageMac

I miss this aesthetic in software.

#Macintosh #VintageApple #HyperCard #VintageMac

I have a PowerMacintosh G3 Desktop (this one: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g3/specs/powermac_g3_300_dt.html) here, running MacOS 9.2.2. I received it from a relative, after it sat dormant for at least 20 years. It uses IDE optical drives.

The (aftermarket) optical drive it came with didn't recognize discs at all. I've since tried four other IDE optical drives, and none of those will work, either. I drop in a CD, the disc spins, then nothing. System Profiler says "No mounted media inserted."

#PowerPC #Retrocomputing #VintageMac

Simple Spooler 0.3 can be found on #GlobalTalk in the Cloudbusting zone, at Puppet Head:Ken's Stuff:Simple Spooler 0.3.

I've also put the source on AmendHub (thanks @jcs !) Amend is a nifty source code control system for classic Mac OS. https://amendhub.com/thecloud/SimpleSpooler

#MARCHintosh #VintageMac

Exhibit A: a page printed on the ImageWriter II from the Service Source stack. Notice the top bar with header and page number are mangled, because the driver included superfluous commands to reverse the feed direction twice. The paper actually rolled backward, then forward again, in the middle of a line.

Exhibit B: same print job, but with the reverse feeds stripped out by Simple Spooler 0.3.

#MARCHintosh #VintageMac

@dmnelson I bought a Classic last Saturday at an Estate liquidation and paid way more for mine because I had to buy the keyboard and mouse separately. Owner of the estate had over 100 vintage Macs. I need to replace the battery but I’m afraid to open up the unit so I will do some thorough research first before I attempt it. But it boots up just fine. #VintageApple #VintageMac

I picked up this Mac Classic and StyleWriter on Facebook Marketplace for $150. It looks to be in great shape, and includes disks and manuals.

The seller said it was left at the house when the previous owner moved out. I’m told their dissertation is on it.

I have no interest in digging into this person’s business but I love the idea that this thing is a sort of time capsule. I’ll have to back it up for posterity.

#VintageApple #VintageMac #RetroApple #RetroComputing #RetroMac #RetroMacintosh

Great Video about MacPaint and how it works.
#retrocomputing #apple #vintagemac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TedaOiRo_Qg

If you've got an idea that you can use the 68k.social domain for, or just want to continue hosting a snac or Mastodon or whatever instance there, please get in touch. For someone who won't just domain squat or flip it, I can give the domain over to you.

Get in touch! 😄

#RetroComputing #VintageMac #RetroMac #Macintosh #68k

Very pleased with today’s find. I remember seeing these in Mac magazines and catalogs as a kid. I owned a Gravis joystick but not the game pad. #VintageApple #VintageMac #RetroApple #RetroComputing #RetroMac #RetroMacintosh

This week has been pretty terrible so far, but there's work to do. So let's work on a crusty Macintosh SE/30 board Wednesday noon EDT. #vintagemac https://youtube.com/live/S5G70U-cSBY?feature=share

Continuum for Playdate port of a cult 1-bit #VintageMacintosh classic

#retrodev #retrogaming #gamedev #indiegamedev #retrocomputing #vintagemac #Macintosh

OUT NOW ON ITCH.IO: Continuum ...

Apples support for iPods is incredible. This #iPod mini (128GB upgraded) released in early 2005. It's support ranges from #OSX 10.2 Jaguar up until today with MacOS.

And it syncs and plays modern format like Apple Lossless (ALAC) and AAC 320kbit on it's original firmware. Though the Apple Music app on modern #MacOS seems to lack the feature to remove songs so I used the #Powerbook for music management via #iTunes instead.

#ipodmini #Apple #PowerPC #retrocomputing #PPC #VintageMac

We previously recapped/restored this Mac Classic, but I found a couple of weird issues:
1. it makes an odd static sound during bootup
2. it locks up if you hit any of the front buttons
Let's see if we can figure out what's wrong. *edit: I'm going to need to push this back till tomorrow. I messed up my back this morning. #vintagemacintosh #vintagemac https://youtube.com/live/r5RdXcxygGc?feature=share

Its made by this YouTube guy and mostly written by Claude.

I got an Art idea for my Vintage Mac any maybe there is still a chance for it.
#vintagemac #retrocomputing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheu_r9UGw

Everyone is excited about that new Bear App to write Markdown on your Mac.

But what is even cooler? Writing Markdown on a Vintage Mac like a MacPlus ❤️😍
#vintagemac #retrocomputing

https://github.com/ActionRetro/ArtfulType

Just tried out #SevenTTY on #MacOS9 on the #iBook G3 and wow!!!! It's not just a fork of ssheven, it's almost a complete shell with lots of utilities too.

Having the greatest internet experience this Friday evening with #IRC and #Gopher!

#retrocomputing #ppc #macintosh #apple #VintageMac #powerpc #gopher #irc #ibook #MacOS9 #seventty

Having a great time on my vacation trying out new #MacOS9 applications on my #iBook #G3.

Today I installed:
#OS9Map - #OpenStreetMap
#Palaeomastodon - A mastodon client
#MacSurf - Updated the browser to 1.4 and it works much better than the earlier release I tried out.

Together with the Power #MachTen terminal MacOS9 feels like a modern OS and much better looking!

#PowerPC #VintageMac #Apple #Macintosh #PPC #Apple #Retrocomputing

Replaced the battery in my #powercomputing PowerTower 180e.

The old one tested at ~17mv, but had not leaked. I wonder if it was a replacement because it looked like new ones for sale, and I doubt they've used the same label for 25 years.

Now I learn that the System 7.6 date control panel doesn't go past 2020... #vintagemac

Anyone need anything debabelized?

#VintageMac #retrocomputing #inithello

Do not accept imitations

#VintageMac #retrocomputing #inithello

After some searching I found one of my old #iPods. The 3rd gen iPod nano. Could not find my older 4th gen iPod (ClickWheel).

I could load new music from my Mac Studio with MacOS Tahoe directly to the iPod with the #apple music app and then manage the library on #iTunes on #OSX 10.5 Leopard on my 12" #Powerbook G4

With a bad battery and even worse display I loaded up the #iPod with some #PowerMetal and headed out on a sunday walk.

#VintageMac #Retrocomputing
#PowerPC #PPC #Leopard #ipodnano

Today I benchmarked the two #Powerbook 12" against each other. My original companion from 2003 against the newly purchased one from 2005.

The 1GHz with 768MB & 100GB HDD - 10.4:
- Geekbench 2 score: 530
- Xbench 1.3 score: 37.15

The 1.5GHz with 1280MB RAM & 128GB SSD - 10.5:
- Geekbench 2 Score: 635
- Xbench 1.3 score: 53.69
- Xbench 1.3 score with old HDD: 44.37

#VintageMac #Retrocomputing #Apple #Geekbench #Xbench #PowerPC #PPC #Tiger #Leopard #OSX #Macintosh

Bought an #SSD Upgrade to the #Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz

- chenyang mSATA Mini SATA SSD to IDE 44Pin
- Transcend MSA230 128GB mSATA SSD

Opening up this computer takes some commitment. And while I was in there I also lubricated the CPU fan to fix some noise. Then booted the computer from an external #Firewire disk and restored the #Sorbert Leopard image.

#VintageMac #Retrocomputing #PPC #PowerbookG4 #G4 #msata #Macintosh #PowerPC #osx

Today I did something fun!

On my left is my dear old 1GHz #Powerbook #G4. The best machine i've ever owned. But it's been around and seen better days.

Bought an upgrade: 1.5GHz, 1.25GB of RAM and 2x the VRAM.
Though just a CD-RW instead of a my broken DVD Burner. And the display is so much brighter, and the keys feels brand new!

Ordered an #msata to de adapter and disk just in case, but don't know if i want to use it.

#PowerPC #VintageComputing #VintageMac #PPC #Macintosh #Retrocomputing

In between writing a script (which I totally shouldn't be doing as it's officially my day off), I'm trying to get OS X 13.4 running on my XServe 2.1. It was working JUST FINE until Installed a new graphics card, and now... no luck.

#VintageMac #Unsupported #Apple