A Mac IIsi, An iMac, A SCSI2SD Card and Basilisk

[MrFahrenheit]

I did see them, thank you - very interesting to see a vintage Mac still in commercial use.

At my workplace, we are still running a multi million dollar mail order and retail store on HyperCard. Including customer database, invoicing, shipping (with barcode labels and a manifest file transfer with the post office), accounting (sales), payroll, time clock, and federal tax slip generation and filing. It also generates manifest and customs filing paperwork and flat files that are uploaded to the broker and to US Customs directly. 
 

All other functions have been moved to Linux servers running Runtime Revolution, which allows the use of HyperTalk and a web cgi interface. 
 

The HyperCard stacks started on IIsi machines in 1997 and now run under Classic OS 9 on Dual G5’s 2ghz. The machines have replaced hard drives with Server class drives running in RAID1.  
 

Our internal AppleShare IP server was replaced with a Linux server in 2009. 
 

The reason it still is on this old system is because it’s very hard to change over an entire business operation without interruption. And it continues to just work, so why change?  I have a spare stash of G5 Macs. 
 

Slowly over the years different programs have been rewritten to run on the Linux server instead. 
 

I would bet we are one of only a handful operating a business of this caliber using classic HyperCard. The post office, revenue service, and US CBP are all unaware the files they receive are generated from software made in the 90s. 

 

[ArmorAlley]

At my workplace, we are still running a multi million dollar mail order and retail store on HyperCard. Including customer database, invoicing, shipping (with barcode labels and a manifest file transfer with the post office), accounting (sales), payroll, time clock, and federal tax slip generation and filing. It also generates manifest and customs filing paperwork and flat files that are uploaded to the broker and to US Customs directly. 
 

All other functions have been moved to Linux servers running Runtime Revolution, which allows the use of HyperTalk and a web cgi interface. 
 

The HyperCard stacks started on IIsi machines in 1997 and now run under Classic OS 9 on Dual G5’s 2ghz. The machines have replaced hard drives with Server class drives running in RAID1.  
 

Our internal AppleShare IP server was replaced with a Linux server in 2009. 
 

The reason it still is on this old system is because it’s very hard to change over an entire business operation without interruption. And it continues to just work, so why change?  I have a spare stash of G5 Macs. 
 

Slowly over the years different programs have been rewritten to run on the Linux server instead. 
 

I would bet we are one of only a handful operating a business of this caliber using classic HyperCard. The post office, revenue service, and US CBP are all unaware the files they receive are generated from software made in the 90s. 

This sounds like an episode of a podcast along the lines of '99% invisible'...

 

[Iamanamma]

The reason it still is on this old system is because it’s very hard to change over an entire business operation without interruption. And it continues to just work, so why change?  I have a spare stash of G5 Macs. 

Absolutely, but it is getting much more difficult to repair those old IIsi and IIci's.  The next generation seems to have little interest in learning what they have to do to keep everything running and backed up, and I am getting ready to retire.

 

[LaPorta]

If someday they no longer have use for those old machines, you know where they will have a home!

 

[MrFahrenheit]

If anyone is interested, here is a post I made on Reddit about the system we use at work: