This morning, I managed to get ten free compact Macs. Yes, ten free compact Macs.
One of said Macs is an SE/30.
Now, before you go and get jealous, let's review an important concept--you often only get what you pay for.
Here's a breakdown of what I got:
SE/30: Case has a nice dent in the top but otherwise isn't bad aside from yellowing. The Mac works, has 5MB RAM, and has a good 40MB Quantum inside, but has a flaky analog board.
SE #1: The screen is burnt in and the hard drive doesn't spin up, but otherwise it's OK. The case has a few nicks but it's not too bad. It's also an FDHD model.
SE #2: This one looks like it survived a war. It has a working MiniScribe (!) but has perhaps the noisiest fan ever encountered in a computer. This was one of those nightmarish "rat cage" fans which typically got replaced under a program Apple had for SE owners.
SE #3: Everything seems OK with this machine aside from the dead hard drive and the big dent in the front bezel.
SE #4: It has some scratches on the bezel but actually isn't too yellowed. Inside, it has the second working MiniScribe of the day (!).
SE #5: Another war victim. There's actually a chunk of the case gone. It's not as bad as "Beater SE" from two years ago but it's still pretty bad. It has one of the best displays I've ever seen on a compact though. There's also an FDHD drive inside.
Classic #1: Great condition. Works. Has a nice 40MB hard drive inside (likely a Conner). Can you say "gem" of the lot?
Classic #2: Doesn't even get past the initialization screen at startup. No cursors and a dead-sounding hard drive.
Classic #3: The monitor is so shaky, you'd think there's an earthquake going on. Otherwise, this one's OK.
Classic #4: Same as Classic #3, but without the permanent marker on top.
Some of these SEs will be combined to fix each other and/or other SEs in my closet. Classic #1 is a winner and the SE/30 will definitely be kept around. SE #1 has already been granted a spot in the lineup of Macs used with my kids once it's repaired. I'm thinking of learning how to rehab Classic analog boards since I now have four with jittery video. One of the good SEs with an awful case could be a project for some sort of case mod, maybe an iMac G3-esque compact in tangerine.
None of these computers came with keyboards or mice, but I was told to check back on Friday and they'd likely be there. Stay tuned. I'm still after an ADB Apple Keyboard II with a hollowed-out Apple logo instead of a colored inset.
One of said Macs is an SE/30.
Now, before you go and get jealous, let's review an important concept--you often only get what you pay for.
Here's a breakdown of what I got:
SE/30: Case has a nice dent in the top but otherwise isn't bad aside from yellowing. The Mac works, has 5MB RAM, and has a good 40MB Quantum inside, but has a flaky analog board.
SE #1: The screen is burnt in and the hard drive doesn't spin up, but otherwise it's OK. The case has a few nicks but it's not too bad. It's also an FDHD model.
SE #2: This one looks like it survived a war. It has a working MiniScribe (!) but has perhaps the noisiest fan ever encountered in a computer. This was one of those nightmarish "rat cage" fans which typically got replaced under a program Apple had for SE owners.
SE #3: Everything seems OK with this machine aside from the dead hard drive and the big dent in the front bezel.
SE #4: It has some scratches on the bezel but actually isn't too yellowed. Inside, it has the second working MiniScribe of the day (!).
SE #5: Another war victim. There's actually a chunk of the case gone. It's not as bad as "Beater SE" from two years ago but it's still pretty bad. It has one of the best displays I've ever seen on a compact though. There's also an FDHD drive inside.
Classic #1: Great condition. Works. Has a nice 40MB hard drive inside (likely a Conner). Can you say "gem" of the lot?
Classic #2: Doesn't even get past the initialization screen at startup. No cursors and a dead-sounding hard drive.
Classic #3: The monitor is so shaky, you'd think there's an earthquake going on. Otherwise, this one's OK.
Classic #4: Same as Classic #3, but without the permanent marker on top.
Some of these SEs will be combined to fix each other and/or other SEs in my closet. Classic #1 is a winner and the SE/30 will definitely be kept around. SE #1 has already been granted a spot in the lineup of Macs used with my kids once it's repaired. I'm thinking of learning how to rehab Classic analog boards since I now have four with jittery video. One of the good SEs with an awful case could be a project for some sort of case mod, maybe an iMac G3-esque compact in tangerine.
None of these computers came with keyboards or mice, but I was told to check back on Friday and they'd likely be there. Stay tuned. I'm still after an ADB Apple Keyboard II with a hollowed-out Apple logo instead of a colored inset.
