Long time, no LC

The LC series or “low-cost color” was introduced in 1990 as an affordable and easily expandable pizza-box Mac that was marketed mostly to school districts in the early 90s. The first of the series was simply called the LC and it was introduced the same time as the Macintosh Classic and IIsi. It was followed up by the LC II, LC III, and the LC 475 which all shared the same pizza-box form factor. Eventually the LC line was expanded to include other types of systems like the all-in-one 500 series and even some PowerMac systems.

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

Change the background pattern of desktop accessories

Here’s a quick tip for System 7.5: you can easily set the background pattern of desktop accessories / utilities with the regular “Desktop Patterns” control panel. Simply, hold the Option key down and you’ll have the option to set the background of desktop utilities like Calculator, Find File, Puzzle, Key Caps, and others!

Just hold down Option!

Mistaken Identity: Setting the model name under “About This Macintosh”

In the beginning, the “About This Macintosh” box told us all about our beloved Macs… but then at some point during the System 7 days, it somehow befell an identity crisis and no longer displayed the name of the system. Instead, the window simply said “Macintosh” with a generic icon. This was always a pet peeve of mine, but the good news is – it can be fixed!

Build your own classic Mac OS Web Server with MacHTTP

Your trusty 68k-based classic Mac can actually become a legitimate web server – and it’s fairly easy to set up! All you need is a TCP/IP network connection and MacHTTP.

Atari 2600 Emulation for Classic 68k Macs

The classic Mac OS had a plethora of emulators targeting various platforms like Apple II, NES, TRS-80, IBM PC, and so forth. You would think Atari 2600 would be one such example – but Alas, there wasn’t any 68k-built Atari 2600 emulators back then… or so we thought.

Classic Mac Y2K20 bug

Back in the day, Mac users generally shrugged off the dreaded “Y2K” problem. Macs since the beginning could store dates in 4 digits and work with dates well after 2000. However, back then we knew there was a time in the distant future where we would start running into date-related problems… unfortunately that time is now. Classic Macs may have trouble setting dates 2020 and beyond, but the good news is there’s a solution – at least for now.

A Green Jade Upgrade: RAM Upgrades, Custom ROMs, and running Mac OS 8 on an SE/30

I recently posted about restoring an SE/30 – but the story didn’t end there. Since then, I’ve made some additional modifications including more RAM (more than double the Apple-supported amount), a custom Rominator II 32-bit clean ROM, and an installation of an unsupported Mac OS 8. Along the way I uncovered some interesting SE/30 nuances about RAM installations and custom ROMs that I’d like to share. Additionally, I have the steps required to install Mac OS 8 on unsupported 030s like the SE/30. Read on!

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!

Restoring a legend: The SE/30

In the world of 68k Macs, there’s one model in particular that consistently tops the list. In fact, many people go so far as to say the SE/30 is the best computer that Apple will ever make. The SE/30 was the fastest and most powerful of the original compact black & white Macs; it was essentially a server in a tiny case.

I’ve wanted to get my hands on one of these for a while, and at long last I finally came across one! This article will go through some interesting tidbits on the machine, and my experiences in bringing one back to life.