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Apple Computers Across All Time And Space

The little (allegedly) garage-built computer that could, leading into one of the most inescapable Gadget Fashion brands in the industry. Think what you will about Apple themselves (I sure will), their hardware ecosystem is weird and fun. And, to date, they've never seen a single penny from me. Hah.

Alli's Sister

In the olden times, my earliest computers were all IBM-compatibles. Alli's Sister (there is two of them!) is my first proper 8-bit computer, not realized until 2019. The previous owner sent along two floppy disks with Important Software; on one disk were copies of ADTPro (a serial-compatible floppy disk image writer) and a terminal program, while the other contained a copy of a game called "E.T. Comes Back." I agree - that is important software. Since then, I've been trying to use her as a serial terminal connected to a Linux-running computer, just to say that I can; it's a feat that I did finally accomplish shortly before The Worst happened.

Unfortunately, the last time I had Alli's Sister connected to power, some of the Magic Blue Smoke was released in the power supply; it didn't seem like it was bringing the computer down, but I have not had the thing plugged in since then, for fear that the damage could spread. I still need to inspect her for more serious issues... or replace the PSU entirely, as I'm sure there are much more reliable (and cleaner, and less hungry) solutions in the modern era.

Idunn

Apparently rescued from a small business that produced mailing labels, Idunn came to me with a SCSI hard drive that had been partitioned in a manner I could not comprehend (none of the hard drive utilities I'd found, would recognize that it was one disk and not eight separate devices). The drive was sold onwards to someone else, because I'd found something better: my BMOW Floppy Emu, which can emulate an Apple HD20. Back in 2024 I was using Idunn to draw commissions (yes, with the trackball!), so I've included those here for the hell of it.

Naglfar

Purchased for just $35 from local Craigslist, Naglfar came to me as just a bare tower, with its original translucent power cable and no other peripherals. Its owner had fully wiped it and installed Panther on it, which proved to be a bit too much for even its absurd 512 MB RAM. Over the years I've reassembled almost all of the relevant peripherals, including color-correct Apple USB keyboard and mouse, and the silly MacSense iCatch plastic mouse extension. With its ability to easily switch between three different versions of Mac OS, and ready acceptance of standard VGA, Ethernet, and USB connections, Naglfar makes an excellent vessel for all things Mac abandonware. I am routinely surprised by how capable its ATI Rage 128 video card is.

Skadi

Ancestral Mini

Aegir

Mimisbrunnr

Brokkr

You'd be surprised how cheap these things are going, ten-plus years down the line. The Xeon is no slouch, the FirePros can help a lot with video encoding, and the desk footprint isn't too bad. Seemingly nobody wants them anymore because they're not the Apple Silicon kind, everyone mocks the trashcan form factor (even me), and Apple themselves have ended official OS updates for them (not that this thing particularly liked running macOS 12 in the first place). Putting a Linux on it was the best thing that ever happened to it, and it serves as a great space for me to just Sit And Make Stuff on. Including this very website.