Fun Stuff, networking, software

Hello eWorld

eWorld was a unique online service provided by Apple in the mid 90s. It was actually Apple’s second online service after its predecessor, AppleLink. Not often spoke of these days, it was an interesting service for its time, and offered many similar features to the online giant that dominated the later part of the decade: AOL. Although the service has been offline for decades, there is a way to experience it today… sort of.

It’s a small eWorld after all….
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Fun Stuff

What’s new is old again. (Sonumi for Classic Macs)

Have you heard the tale of Sosumi? Long story short, when Apple began to produce computers that could play audio, the Beatles’ record label “Apple Records” threatened legal actions against Apple Computer. Apple (Computer) won on the premise that they don’t sell music and wouldn’t be competing with them (well, at least not then). As a gag, they boasted their sound capabilities with a sound effect called “Sosumi”. Get it? “So-Sue-Me”!

Well, Sosumi has been around for a long time, since System 7 in fact. It even survived the transition to Mac OS X and has been included in the OS up until last month when macOS Big Sur got released. One of the many changes that Big Sur introduced was remixed alert sound effects, including a remixed version of “Sosumi”, called “Sonumi” (So NEW me!)

I thought it might be fun to convert the new sound effect “Sonumi” down to a System 7 sound file and make it my alert sound effect on my classic Macs. It oddly doesn’t sound out of place, but sort of plays with your head a little in a fun sort of way. In any case, if you’d like a copy – I’ve included a link below. Hopefully Apple doesn’t have a problem with that. (Oh well, Sosumi!)

Download Sonumi for System 7/8/9

How to use this:

  • Download the above file, and transfer to your classic Mac
  • Use either StuffIt Expander or BinHex to extract
  • Take the sound file and drop it into your system suitcase within your System Folder
  • Open Control Panels and find the Sound control panel – you should now be able to choose Sonumi!

Enjoy!

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Fun Stuff, software

Playing MP3s on 68k Macintosh

If you’re looking for a fun (and modern) use for your classic Mac – there’s one option you might not have considered: playing MP3s. Up until last year I didn’t even think this was possible without at least a PowerPC system – but most 040-based Macs and some 030s can actually play MP3 files quite well!

An MP3 Player for classic Macs
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Fun Stuff, networking

Classic Mac web surfin’ with Web Rendering Proxy (WRP)

Connecting 68k Macs to the Internet – and actually using it!

If you’ve read my post about using a Raspberry Pi to connect a classic Mac to the internet, you know that it’s quite possible to get an old machine online. The issue though, is that very few websites work correctly or even load. The obsolete browsers that run on these systems just don’t support today’s web, right?

But what if I told you, there’s another way… just take a look at these photos! There are no early April fools jokes here, it’s completely possible – just read on!

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