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dpaanlka
1024 MB  Posts: 1646 
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on: June 01, 2007, 19:18
Today is a relatively important day in System 7 Today's small blip of a history as we have just acquired Info-Mac.org. For those who don't know, an explanation of what Info-Mac is/was can be found in the following excerpt from this article announcing Info-Mac's 2005 closing: Quote For those who haven't heard of it, Info-Mac was the oldest of Macintosh services on the Internet, predating TidBITS by six years. As far as I can tell from searching in Google Groups, Info-Mac started in June of 1984 (and amusingly, Google displayed the MacObserver coverage of our just-released "Take Control of .Mac" ebook on the same page). The Info-Mac mirrors that still exist around the world (such as at MIT) have been an invaluable source of software on this site, and I continue to discover more by browsing through them. However the old Info-Mac.org itself has been gone for quite some time. Thanks to the help and generosity of Adam Engst of TidBITS and Dan Knight of Low End Mac, we (all of us at System 7 Today) now have the Info-Mac.org domain at our disposal. So the question is, what should we do with it? Of course, the first thing that pops into mind is the restoration of the archive. That's a given. But how should it be handled? Should it be it's own site? Or integrated with System 7 Today? If it is it's own new site, should it have any other services associated with it? It's own forum for example? If it were to have it's own forum, should it be focused entirely on Info-Mac? Or should it be a larger, general purpose Macintosh discussion and help community similar to MacRumors, MacNN, and the late Info-Mac? Would that even make sense in such an already well-served market as Mac-related communities? Give us your thoughts and ideas... |
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JoAT
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32 MB Posts: 58 
Reply #1 on: June 01, 2007, 21:16
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Well, first off, congrats on getting your hands on a domain with such a strong legacy behind it. The link to the MIT archive was a nice show of what Info-Mac must have been. I feel that System 7 Today has a very clear focus and message. Looking at the MIT archive, while it is extremely interesting and somewhat helpful, it is anything but focused. Personally, I think Info-Mac.org can be something very special, but I don't think it belongs as a fully integrated part of S7T. I would think that it would be best run as a sister site with it's own direction. (I also really love the style and layout of S7T and would love to see a similar style applied to such a useful archive of older apps and utilities.) Of course these are just my opinions, but that is what you asked for. ;-) JoAT
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cballero
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1024 MB Posts: 1176 System 7, today and forever
Reply #2 on: June 02, 2007, 04:10
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This has got to be the coolest acquisition I've ever seen in the Mac world! I agree that the archive should be restored and JoAT has a valid point as well: info-mac has a history and as such should be preserved. As all things Mac, Apple's progression into the next OS made it retire, but with a new look and features it could become the next best thing to one of my favorite classic mac sites, system7today of course!  How about this Dan? 1) have a welcoming homepage that has a. some site-related news b. and buttons or links that go to i. the system7today web site ii. both the original info-mac hyperarchive iii. a completely redone graphical version iv. and a new forum to discuss the new info-mac Of course, the editable versions of info-mac would be the new versions. Old forum threads could be tucked away within the original info-mac site if they still still have value as well.
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Blessed Cheesemaker
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8 MB Posts: 13
Reply #3 on: June 02, 2007, 14:24
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Hi, I wandered back to this site yesterday for the first time in a couple of months, and I could not believe the good news. I have been very concerned about Info-Mac, and the archives, for some time now. I have recently been taking my old Macs out for a spin, so to speak, and I have been having increasing difficulty finding resources for both PPC and 68k Macs, especial with early System 7 (and, for 68k Macs, anything System 6 or earlier). It would be a tragedy to lose all these old resources (for example, I use the Dvorak keyboard layout, and there are utilities for this for System 6, but I am not finding them now). I know people will say, "But why not use the latest and greatest," and "Nobody cares about 68k Macs now," but there does seem to be a community out there that wants to keep using these wonderful machines, and we will probably need to join together to preserve the old resources. Again, congrats! This site, System 7 Today, has been a wonderful resource!
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saaber1970
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8 MB Posts: 8
Reply #4 on: June 02, 2007, 20:48
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These days it is so important to preserve the information about these older systems for those of us who care to still enjoy using them. Without your efforts we might well have lost that vital information. Keep up the good work.
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sierraredd
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128 MB Posts: 212
Reply #5 on: June 02, 2007, 22:49
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Well there's always the make it look like the original site design wise, but improve the functionallity. I would keep it seperate from s7t. Nothing like links of reference between the two.
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #6 on: June 03, 2007, 20:40
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After thinking long and hard about this, a plan of sorts is coming into mind. They key feeling I have is, I don't want to make the new Info-Mac just a relic of old Info-Mac. The old and invaluable archive will be restored, and pages dedicated to the archives of the mailing list as well. But I want it to be more than just a bit of vintage Mac curiosity. No, instead I think I would like to make the new Info-Mac a new, thoroughly modern online community for Macintosh users. It would focus more on current and recent Macs running Mac OS X, and have a broader audience appeal for that reason. I believe the Info-Mac name and legacy, combined with a completely new and modern online community, will have quite a potential for success. Basically, the new Info-Mac will serve the same purpose as the old Info-Mac, but in a way that is relevant and useful our time. It is what I think the old Info-Mac would have eventually evolved into, had it been given the chance. Thoughts on that?
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madmann
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256 MB Posts: 284 
Reply #7 on: June 05, 2007, 00:37
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my input. What I like about system7today is for me it is just fun . It is easy to navigate, find help and sometimes try to give it. Dan’s site has to some extent became our site. Most are enjoying the challenge of running these old machines and allowing their usefulness to surprise you. I have looked at other sites but they are more difficult to find information and there is a lot of junk having no use. Info-mac would allow for a os 8 and os 9 area to allow the g3 g4 machines to do what we are doing with os 7. Soon I will have 3 machines that could run os8 through os 10.5. It would be nice to have a site that would address other issues except the latest os like s7t. Info-mac could be a main community for the current os with specific communities with their own style and feel such as system7today, os8tomarrow, os9forever.\ michael
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wthww
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4 MB Posts: 5
Reply #8 on: June 06, 2007, 12:38
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I've been lurking here at S7T for a while-- Well, a long time. I appreciate The resources, and help this site offers. This is indeed a momentus action in the mac cimmunity. The possibility of brining what was the mac world for decades. I strongly agree with your course of action; Restore thge archives, and start one or something like it for OS X. Excellent. I can't wait to see where this goes! //wthww
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phummers
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8 MB Posts: 8 
Reply #9 on: July 23, 2007, 15:00
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Quote from: "dpaanlka" No, instead I think I would like to make the new Info-Mac a new, thoroughly modern online community for Macintosh users. It would focus more on current and recent Macs running Mac OS X, and have a broader audience appeal for that reason. I believe the Info-Mac name and legacy, combined with a completely new and modern online community, will have quite a potential for success. I'm afraid you've lost me here ... I don't like X (I use it at work); at home, for a modern computer I use Linux-PPC and for fun, 7.6 (on a PB5300). But mainly, and I see this elsewhere, as the X stuff takes more and more space (and it will, quickly), where will the older stuff go? Of course I know you can only go so far with 7.6, which will reduce the dynamism of the site, but I'd like to see, first and foremost, a restoration of the Info-Mac archives, with submissions from those of us with old software lying around (respecting licenses), as not everything is on there (although sometimes it seems as if it is).
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #10 on: July 23, 2007, 17:23
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I don't plan on adding any new software to the Info-Mac Archive. The community will be a continuation of the Info-Mac Digest, but in online forum form.
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wall
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256 MB Posts: 343
Reply #11 on: August 13, 2007, 15:26
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Quote from: "dpaanlka"
I do not use X, but 7/8/9 and my escape route in the far future is probably MOL (although I am more of drag&drop than Terminal kind of guy), but I do think that you are doing the right decision. The group of 7 users will never be a large one, and having (hopefully) a thriving X site will help keeping the S7T alive longer. Have you considered having the info-mac as an umbrella for 7, and as madmann have been posting, for 8 & 9 sites? It could bring new blood for the classic OS's and give a profile of its own for the new site, to lift it above the competition as there are plenty of bland and useless X sites around already.
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