This time, when I say "Old School", I mean it in the literal sense. Grades 10 and 11 in high school were some of the best times of my life so far, and one of my favourite subjects was Digital Imaging, a course in Photoshop and other image manipulation packages. Today, I acquired the computer I used in that very class, still complete with the high school OS image installed on the hard drive. 
Power Macintosh G4 QuickSilver
733MHz PowerPC G4
384MB Memory
40GB Hard Disk Drive
nVidia GeForce 2MX
Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11
I remember it like it was yesterday. These machines worked beautifully if you were gentle enough with them. This one is probably one of the better examples from the class, probably in part due to myself as I couldn't help but shine them up a little whenever I sat down for a lesson.
Regardless, it took its share of damage as a student computer. The rubber insert around the side door release was missing completely, and the speaker had been gouged out at some point in its life. A little hunting through my spares bin confirmed that I hadn't disposed of my old G4 QuickSilver case when I transferred its internals into the Digital Audio case a few years ago. As a result, this Power Macintosh now has an immaculate case and a nice new speaker to boot.
As for the OS image on the unit, my work for the Information Technology department certainly did pay off. I still remember the administrator account credentials for it. :lol:
I don't have any images of the machine yet as I finished up at around 1:00 AM. I'll see what I can get tomorrow, but it's a pretty standard looking G4 QuickSIlver, to be honest.
Apple Studio Display
17-inch Flat Panel
ADC Interface
This Studio Display had been failing for as long as I remember. When I switched to the school in 2006, the display was already malfunctioning even back then. The backlit was dim on the lower half and the LED on the front of the unit pulsed three times repeatedly. Two short, one long. AppleCare Service Source indicates that this means the display has detected an issue with the display backlighting system. Which is perhaps a candidate for the most notable statement of an obvious fact ever.
So after more than half a decade of malfunctioning I decided that as soon as I acquired it, I would crack it open and take a look. Thankfully I also had a donor Apple Studio Display that had taken an impact to the LCD panel. The issue was simply a failing backlight inverter, but due to the slight yellow tinge the display had developed over the years, I decided to switch out the CCFLs from the donor display as well.
The result is an Apple Studio Display that looks and works virtually brand new.
It's no secret that I love restoring hardware to showroom condition, and that I put an incredibly high amount of detail and precision into my repairs. These two additions are no exception. Screws went back in the exact locations despite being identical with other screws in the set. Dust and fingerprints from inside the unit were cleaned away, along with those externally.
However in the case of a machine like this, something that holds more than just collectors or monetary value and has a considerable amount of sentimental value, you tend to take a slightly different approach and while it's needless to say i'm very proud of the effort made to bring this unit back to life, I am equally as pleased with the fact that I chose to retain the engraved plastics, the lackluster hardware specs and the small battle scars and scuffs that it sustained during its life in that classroom and only fixed the critical issues as it has kept the machine true to its history and made it just that little bit more unique.
Hopefully now I can find a use for it, otherwise just relaunching those applications from Grade 10/11 and remembering the moments spent in that class with my close friends is more than enough for now. It's put a massive smile on my face.
Cheers,
Mic.
Power Macintosh G4 QuickSilver
733MHz PowerPC G4
384MB Memory
40GB Hard Disk Drive
nVidia GeForce 2MX
Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11
I remember it like it was yesterday. These machines worked beautifully if you were gentle enough with them. This one is probably one of the better examples from the class, probably in part due to myself as I couldn't help but shine them up a little whenever I sat down for a lesson.
Regardless, it took its share of damage as a student computer. The rubber insert around the side door release was missing completely, and the speaker had been gouged out at some point in its life. A little hunting through my spares bin confirmed that I hadn't disposed of my old G4 QuickSilver case when I transferred its internals into the Digital Audio case a few years ago. As a result, this Power Macintosh now has an immaculate case and a nice new speaker to boot.
As for the OS image on the unit, my work for the Information Technology department certainly did pay off. I still remember the administrator account credentials for it. :lol:
I don't have any images of the machine yet as I finished up at around 1:00 AM. I'll see what I can get tomorrow, but it's a pretty standard looking G4 QuickSIlver, to be honest.
Apple Studio Display
17-inch Flat Panel
ADC Interface
This Studio Display had been failing for as long as I remember. When I switched to the school in 2006, the display was already malfunctioning even back then. The backlit was dim on the lower half and the LED on the front of the unit pulsed three times repeatedly. Two short, one long. AppleCare Service Source indicates that this means the display has detected an issue with the display backlighting system. Which is perhaps a candidate for the most notable statement of an obvious fact ever.
So after more than half a decade of malfunctioning I decided that as soon as I acquired it, I would crack it open and take a look. Thankfully I also had a donor Apple Studio Display that had taken an impact to the LCD panel. The issue was simply a failing backlight inverter, but due to the slight yellow tinge the display had developed over the years, I decided to switch out the CCFLs from the donor display as well.
The result is an Apple Studio Display that looks and works virtually brand new.
It's no secret that I love restoring hardware to showroom condition, and that I put an incredibly high amount of detail and precision into my repairs. These two additions are no exception. Screws went back in the exact locations despite being identical with other screws in the set. Dust and fingerprints from inside the unit were cleaned away, along with those externally.
However in the case of a machine like this, something that holds more than just collectors or monetary value and has a considerable amount of sentimental value, you tend to take a slightly different approach and while it's needless to say i'm very proud of the effort made to bring this unit back to life, I am equally as pleased with the fact that I chose to retain the engraved plastics, the lackluster hardware specs and the small battle scars and scuffs that it sustained during its life in that classroom and only fixed the critical issues as it has kept the machine true to its history and made it just that little bit more unique.
Hopefully now I can find a use for it, otherwise just relaunching those applications from Grade 10/11 and remembering the moments spent in that class with my close friends is more than enough for now. It's put a massive smile on my face.
Cheers,
Mic.
