We all know the stories of old computers or old operating systems still dutifully performing their tedious little tasks – the examples of electronic billboards running Windows 98, or ATMs running os/2 are abundant. A recent example that has been making its rounds across the internet is testament to the sturdiness of the Mac Classic IIs.
The Virginia Trading Post arts and crafts store in Santa Fe, California, bought six Mac Classic IIs machines back in 1991, and while unpacking them, shop owner Arch Sproul was surrounded by his employees, who were in awe over the machines. We are almost 20 years down the road, and three of the six Classics still perform their duty as cash registers and inventory machines. A Power Macintosh 7500/100 (1992) is still in use as well.
Sproul went for the relatively expensive Classics because he had heard horror stories from his friends about IBM machines. “They were ridiculously expensive for that time: $2,000 for a classic with 20 megabytes of memory,” remembered Sproul, “It looked like a little R2-D2, from Star Wars.” Sproul sold his store in 2003, but the current owners still use the Macs, and don’t have any upgrade plans.
This story brings back a lot of fond memories of the machines at my previous job. I worked in a shop where the registers were Windows 98 machines running an MS-DOS register application. It was old and looked really ugly, but it was blazing fast and was very easy to use. The machines were a little newer, but the MS-DOS register software was really, really old. It is still maintained, however, by a Dutch company.
I’m sure most of you have fond memories of certain machines at your job. Share!
they just don’t build computers like they used to
That is for sure. Most machines are designed to last 18 months and then fail, it seems.
I still use my NeXT which was made in 1992, about the same time as these Macs.
The title is a little misleading, these Macs are NOT 25 years old.
Edited 2009-03-24 00:05 UTC
I love my NEXTstation Mono too! But it just go to show…….IF IT AINT BROKE WHY FIX IT! I still use my Epson QX-10 along with my FAT MAC 512 play with every now and then.
Edited 2009-03-24 00:15 UTC
<sarcasm>
what a brilliant and content-rich comment
</sarcasm>
better than what some people write here
Completely agreed.
To this day, one of the best computers I have ever owned (which is why its on my avater here). I got my start in programming after spending hours downloading MacPerl over a 28.8 connection, and then later on codewarrior after scraping together enough money for it.
Edited 2009-03-24 03:39 UTC
With a 68040 coprocesor card FTW!
Quick run it is Sylar and he is there to slice open the head of the II.
http://cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/santa_fe_classic004.jpg
http://cultofmac.com/25-years-of-mac-classic-macs-still-at-work/746…
It’s also nice to see how some people got 25+ year old macs running as web servers. Take a look at this Apple IIe:
http://www.ld8.org:6502/
Or this Apple Lisa:
http://www.lisa2.com/
It still amazes me to think these machines were introduced such a long time before Tim Berners-Lee laid the grounds for the World Wide Web.
More on the old Apple Web Server Directory here:
http://servers.ld8.org/
🙂
Hi,
One of the last Mac stores around, Bundy Computer, has a classic Mac (I think it is a Quadra 610) with an Imagewriter II printer working as their POS system, and the ImageWriter II printed my receipt.
The cashier indicated they have no intent to change what still works
. This was a year or so ago, I don’t know if its still there, but it probably is. They do still service them.
I think the mentioned Power Mac can not be from the year 92 … it came out 3 years later!
also a little bit missleading are “20 megabytes of memory” – this was not RAM but Harddisk! RAM was only 2 megs back than…
my copyshop still uses an atari 1040 st to control the copiers.
there are some things that just make me smile <children speaking other languages, Praying Mantids, Chuck Jones/Tex Avery cartoons …*>
This machine has gone to prove what Mac users tend to say. It is not a disposable machine it is a Mac, and five years in, ten years in heck twenty years in it will still do what it is supposed to do. It is a testament that _some_ people (but by no means all people) will pay a little bit more for quality.
Most of us Mac users have at least one really old box that still feels fun or just refuses to die.
*(Then there is seeing my enemy driven before me and the lamentation of their women… -=- which is the same in my mind as hearing FUD/BS i.e. Macs Suck/ are expensive)
Yeah, like those people who bought cheap C64’s, Amiga’s and ST’s back in the day and that are still running today.
Yeah I loved My Vic 20 then my C64 I did not know at the time the real value of what I was learning in BASIC and all of the Command Line Jive it took to save (&verify) a file on tape… But back to the point Commodore and Atari do not exist -=- Not in any real sense beyond a Logo for Atari and a dream for what was Commodore and is now Amiga. Apple (the Mac) did their 25 and that is cool. Apple the company goes back almost another ten years.
Yes _Some_ people will be an exception to the trend. They will buy a Chevy and get 40, maybe 50 years from it but that is more of a testament to the User taking good care of it (I suppose my c64 still works but that is Schrodingers keyboard) But the road to planned obsolescence is paved with companies who sold a lot more for a few dollars less.
Have you seen the inside of an old 68K Mac? They are built like frickin’ tanks.
I still have my LC w/68020 that I paid close to $2000 in the end of 1991 (cpu, keyboard, inkjet and 12″ monitor). I was a student and between the time I ordered it and received it, the LC II was announced. I was bummed. My LC had 4Mb memory (now at the max 10Mb), and 80Meg HD. For as much money it was, it was a dog. I’m still trying to get my moneys worth out of it 🙂
Was never a big fan of the LCs. My least favorite mac line of all time has to be the Performa though. This is the only mac I have ever downright hated http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_performa/stats/mac_perfor…
i have one with a network card and external scsi cdrom
I had my 1987 Amiga 500 on the internet an average of 4 hours/day every single day up until the end of 2008 (when I finally “modernized”). It ran over 20 years without a single hardware failure.
Compare that to modern hardware: at work, 3 of my new notebook computers had to be returned due to failures and the one that worked had to have the hard drive replaced twice. I’ve seen many new computer parts fail in less than 3 months.
Modern hardware sucks.
I love seeing old desktop computers still doing their job. How wonderful.
It’s not really a testament to “Macs are built better than PCs” as there are still a heap of old x86 machines still running; and I’ve had Macs die on me before even with good care. Oh, and the tray-load iMac CD-drives were more unreliable than any single component I’ve ever seen on a PC 🙂
But yes, I hope those Classic 2s keep running for years to come!
Anyone been in Primark (in the UK) recently – the IBM POS systems they use must be about the same vintage.