Cool Things You Can Do with Old Macs

Imagine for a moment that you have more money than sense, plenty of time, and a burning desire for all things Mac. Well then, have I got a deal for you! You can become a collector of rare, odd, and ridiculous Apple-related crap. I know what you are thinking, in fact, I can practically hear your thoughts. “But James, I always wanted to collect stamps or coins or dead hookers*, now you are telling me I can channel my social awkwardness into my obsession with Apple?” Oh yes friend, that is exactly what I’m saying. Before you lies an entire world of craziness just waiting to be discovered. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Collecting Pieces of History
Want to go grab a Lisa? How about a Mac SE? Do you have a burning desire to play the Marathon Trilogy on a blazing fast 33Mhz Performa? If so, then let me introduce you to the exciting world of vintage Mac collecting. At the least, your collection has to include an original iMac, the rarer the better. Maybe one of those hideous Flower Power Macs, eh? Of course, you will have to hit eBay hard to find one, but it can be done. Next you need an Apple ][ e and definitely an old PowerBook. Remember those old trackballs? Those were the days. Of course, if you want to really go hard core you would try and pick up a TAM. I am, of course, referring to the Twentieth Anniversary Mac. A very nice machine, this piece of history will set you back almost $1,000. Clearly it isn’t for the faint of heart.

Creating a Macquarium
An oldie but a goodie, turning your ancient and decrepit Mac into an aquatic paradise is a surefire way to ensure that your friends ridicule you for not having a girlfriend. But, on the upside, they make great conversation pieces at parties. (This, of course, assumes these parties actually occur at your house as most people at other parties would probably rather chew their own legs off than listen to an in-depth account of how you accomplished such a goal.) For those of you who care, you can find detailed instructions over at Low End Mac. If you follow all those links you will not only find out how to convert your old Mac into a fishbowl, but you will also no doubt hear a variety of opinions on the best fish to accompany such a creation. After all, you can’t go to all the trouble of turning a Bondi-blue iMac into an aquarium and not having correctly matching fish! Finally, I would hate to imply that only iMacs are suitable for such a conversion. So, I encourage you to head over to The Apple Collection and see some of their other, quite creative creations.

Stuff to Try Only If You’re Insane
If you just can’t decide what to do with five years of your life, try getting OS X to boot on a 25Mhz Centris 650. No, don’t ask “why?” because if you have to ask then you obviously aren’t the kind of person who would do this. However, in spite of all that this really is an amazing, if odd, accomplishment. Check it out at Apple Talk for the full scoop. Just for the record, this is Jedi level Apple insanity here. The force is strong with this one.

So good readers, make the most out of your old Macs. Don’t let them go to that great landfill in the sky. Keep them, tinker with them, fill your garage with them until your wife threatens to divorce you. But keep the dream alive.

*Naturally I disapprove of collecting dead hookers as they are hard to mount and the taxidermists always complain about stuffing them. So instead I would suggest collecting live hookers so long as you remember to poke plenty of air holes for them.