|
|
|
|
| Welcome, Guest | Home | Search | Login | Register | |
| Author | So, what's your favorite System 7 Mac of all time? (Read 422 times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bolkonskij
Administrator 2048 MB  Posts: 2101 
|
on: August 26, 2026, 17:18
...and why? Mine arguably is the very machine I am typing this on - the Macintosh IIci. It has been the 90's backbone of DTP & layouting around the world. It is very much open and extendable (*cough* by Apple's standards!), it's easy to work with the case and its internals. And it is that grey box sitting in the corner in the background, much like your introverted best friend at a social event. Doesn't look like much, but you can't think of anybody better :-) It's also very reliable. Again, it's 2026 and I'm typing this on the IIci! I dare bet we won't get to see many Intel Macs making posts age 35+. Even if something breaks down, it's usually fixable. No parts being glued together, nothing is microscopic small so you can't do anything with your ordinary soldering iron. Acknowledged, there are Macs - even 68k Macs * that are faster than the IIci. I know. But it's fast enough for most of the hobbyist type stuff I throw at it (like browsing vintage compatible websites, BBSes, Gopher, IRC chat, Hotline, ClarisWorks, Gaming etc. etc.) and it has never let me down. I will continue to keep mine for as long as it lasts. And perhaps even a little longer. Which is your favorite System 7 Mac and why? |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
rbdr
|
8 MB  Posts: 9 System 7 Newcomer!
Reply #1 on: August 26, 2026, 20:56
|
I use system 7 on my Macintosh SE/30. It’s the only classic Mac I’ve used but for me it’s the perfect computer even with all its limits. I really like the black and white display, and I’m super impressed how the window management affordances make it actually usable! So much so that I ended up installing windowmizer on modern Mac to get some of that in. I do almost all my writing from that machine, and it just feels good to use! I typeset my resume using QuarkXpress, it looks great and I like sending it even though recruiters will never know :p
|
cballero
|
1024 MB Posts: 1204 System 7, today and forever
Reply #2 on: August 27, 2026, 01:43
|
I didn’t get my hands on a IIci until 1994, by then I had bought and sold my first Mac, a Classic II. It was my dream Mac in college, but someone stole my savings to get one, about $900. Even with that happening, I thoroughly enjoyed the IIci once I used it! I printed my documents with a Color StyleWriter and used a 13 inch Triniton display.
Last Edit: August 27, 2026, 23:01 by cballero
|
mac-cellar
|
128 MB Posts: 179 Gotta love System 7
Reply #3 on: August 28, 2026, 16:19
|
Mine would be the Performa 580CD - my first Mac. It was powerful enough for anything I needed at the time, and the screen was beautiful - better than any other monitor I remember using back then. I added an external modem and a Stylewriter 1500 printer - it was a great setup for home office, web browsing (such as it was), and the few games I had. It was an all-in-one design (albeit a somewhat odd looking one) and fit nicely in my small corner of the apartment I shared with friends. It was also my first significant "online" purchase back in early 1998. Something called "eBay" 
|
eelco
|
32 MB Posts: 62 System 7 Always
Reply #4 on: September 08, 2026, 16:16
|
Difficult question to answer, sir Bolkonskij! I would be torn between my: - Quadra 700, largely for the same reasons you specified for the IIci (which I also own, as a side note!) - Power Macintosh 8600, which is one of the fastest machine to natively run System 7 The Quadra 700 makes one appreciate the rapid advances in hardware that were being made when it was new, but still feeling classic 68k Macintosh. The Power Macintosh 8600 makes everything about System 7 feel effortless, like you have vast supercomputer power at your fingertips. I am curious, however, if there is a S7T member who owns the 350 MHz Power Macintosh 9600 and runs System 7 on it?
|
ovalking
|
128 MB Posts: 208
Reply #5 on: September 09, 2026, 10:35
|
My vote goes to the Performa/LC 475. I think it had a great performance/cost ratio, and is a small neat looking machine. It has a little bit of upgradeability, and is easy to work on. Worst thing is not being bootable with a flat battery, which happens a lot! Also, commendations to the SE30 & PM8500. Worst Mac I've used is 6100, enormous footprint, crashed a lot, and very slow..
|
68040
|
512 MB Posts: 996 68k - thy kingdom come, thy will be done !
Reply #6 on: September 09, 2026, 12:39
|
As I am calling from the future v8.1 I don't want to blow your minds with all the mouth watering niceties that make live fun in there. (well, actually I do )I do my e-mailing with Eudora Pro,my time tracking with Time Slice, my invoicing with FileMaker Pro and my business correspondence with Microsoft Office. In between I automate my daily life with QuicKeys and once I find the spare time to do some coding I plan to translate GnuCASH (or another multi-currency budgeting app) to vintage MacOS 8.1 with the help of LegacyAI. Life is good this side of Windoze, Age verification protocols, mass advertising and government snooping apps.
Last Edit: September 09, 2026, 12:42 by 68040
|
eelco
|
32 MB Posts: 62 System 7 Always
Reply #7 on: September 10, 2026, 16:03
|
Quote from: ovalking Worst Mac I've used is 6100, enormous footprint, crashed a lot, and very slow.. I have always found it to be very reliable and fast (though, to be fair, in comparison to the likes of the IIci and Quadra 700). Can't argue with the footprint, though.
|
lauland
|
512 MB Posts: 710 Symtes 7 Mewconer!
Reply #8 on: September 13, 2026, 01:27
|
I have a couple interesting Frankenstein machines you guys might get a kick out... I like my 6100, but can't be say to love it. It is a 66 mhz model that came with an overclocking clip on that I've never used. It's got a dos compatible card, which works well, but due to size constraints runs very hot. The 601 chip came with a fan since the previous owner had the overclocking, and I've added another fan for the dos card so it is tolerable. I've got a g3 accelerator meant for a 7100/8100, so it sticks straight up and I obviously can't put the top on with it in. I think it quadruples the on board clock. The right angle adapter from the dos card can't be used to help, because it converts the pds to nubus. Obviously I can't use it and the dos compatible card at the same time. I'm currently using it to explore Copland. It had been my mklinux machine before I got the next guy... --- But my (current) favourite mac, was actually two computers I've combined. I had a 6360, and a 630 dos compatible motherboard, and I regularly swap them out of the same case. I used the 6360's case because it MIGHT have a stronger power supply. This lets me go from m68k and ppc just by changing the motherboard. The 6360 has a usb card, and the hard drive has macos 7.5 through 9, so I use it regularly to get massive amounts of files to the m68k side without dealing with the network. I put a full 040 on the 630. The 6360 is a great machine because its motherboard is almost identical to the 6400, but fits in a 6300 style case. I think a lot of people dismiss it, but it is far better than it seems. (PCI, etc). Because it can use a large "modern" ide drive, I have room enough to have both m68k and ppc linux there too. I set space aside for netbsd, but haven't ever gotten around to installing it. This guy is my test hardware for m68k things, I love him very much.
Last Edit: September 13, 2026, 01:44 by lauland
|
eelco
|
32 MB Posts: 62 System 7 Always
Reply #9 on: September 13, 2026, 07:46
|
Quote from: lauland ...and I regularly swap them out of the same case. Are you not concerned about breaking the brittle plastics? That is what eventually killed my 6100.
|
lauland
|
512 MB Posts: 710 Symtes 7 Mewconer!
Reply #10 on: September 14, 2026, 01:53
|
Oh god! I totally forgot to mention THAT! Yes, my 6100 seems to be crumbling before my eyes. The other day I went to press the reset switch, and both switches and part of the back came off with them! There is hardly any plastic part of it that hasn't at least partially broken. Pretty much everything. Luckily under the plastic it is such a metal beast, so it works fine, if not pretty. I keep finding tiny bits of plastic on the floor, and know where it came from. ---- The 630/6360 it is the motherboard edge connector I am keeping my eye on. Otherwise, swapping the motherboards doesn't involve any plastic, other than the rails the motherboard slides on. When I said "regularly" I probably should have said, "relatively often, but cringe each time I do so". I know full well one day will be the last swap and something will have failed, probably pin or two on the motherboard socket deep inside the case. But, until then, although I do not swap with abandon, I do swap.
|
eelco
|
32 MB Posts: 62 System 7 Always
Reply #11 on: September 14, 2026, 16:38
|
Quote from: lauland Yes, my 6100 seems to be crumbling before my eyes. The other day I went to press the reset switch, and both switches and part of the back came off with them!Mine didn't have any! Quote from: lauland When I said "regularly" I probably should have said, "relatively often, but cringe each time I do so".Understanding has taken place. Quote from: lauland But, until then, although I do not swap with abandon, I do swap.May the force swap with you. At the beginning of the year someone acquired a free Power Macintosh 5200 on my behalf. There is only one way to lift it off the floor and by doing so, I destroyed the sides of the outer casing with my arms.
Last Edit: September 14, 2026, 16:41 by eelco
|
Bolkonskij
|
Administrator 2048 MB Posts: 2101
Reply #12 on: September 17, 2026, 07:26
|
Yeah, a lot of mid-'90s beige Apple machines are very prone to brittle plastic that practically disintegrates if you so much as look at it. My 7500/100 had the power button break the other day because it was essentially just a piece of plastic pushing against a button on the logic board. My IIci, on the other hand, is rock solid. A few scratches, but the plastic feels thicker and much better made. It has been opened up a LOT, yet everything is still in perfect shape. That seems to be the case with a lot of late-'80s Apple pro products. Heck, even most SEs still work with their original capacitors to this day! Of course, you could argue that for the money Apple charged for them back in the day, they'd better still be working...
|
lauland
|
512 MB Posts: 710 Symtes 7 Mewconer!
Reply #13 on: September 17, 2026, 16:50
|
I've found its a real mixed bag. Since all my retro macs are second hand, I've always thought perhaps the varying state of their plastics were due to how they had been stored at some point in their lives. On the other hand, we maybe can blame Apple and the industry in general, for just getting cheaper over the years. The older the hardware is, the less breakable it is does seem to be the case. As an example, my pb180 does not show its CONSIDERABLE age, my pb500 a little, but my pb5300 is starting to fray on the edges.
|
|
Pages: [1]
|
| ||||||||||||||
|
© 2021 System7Today.com. |
