Mac84: Unboxing a Vintage Apple Macintosh Plus from 1987
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- Опубликовано: 27 июн 2024
- Today I have the pleasure to unbox a vintage Apple Macintosh Plus from 1987. In addition the Macintosh Plus, we also have an Apple External 3.5" 800K Floppy Drive and an Apple ImageWriter II dot matrix printer. So sit back, relax, and let's take a trip back to 1987...
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I had this exact set up. It was my first computer. 1987 Mac Plus, ImageWriter, and External Disk Drive! Growing up in the 70s, I had learned to program in High School in Fortran on a big ole IBM mainframe using punch cards. I never imagined that I would be able to afford or own my own computer. I loved that Mac Plus. The set up cost around $3,300 in 1987 dollars. That was a huge amount of money for me at that time. That computer changed my life though. So fun to see one again. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It’s amazing how far technology has come.
Thats awesome dude
God, I love the sound of an imagewrite in the morning.
I sold Macintosh computers from 1984-1993. The ImageWriter and ImageWriter II printers did not include the serial cables. The Apple ][, ][ plus and //e required a Super Serial Card that required a DB-25 connector. The Lisa and Macintosh XL also used the DB25 connector. the Apple //c used a DIN 5 connector. The Macintosh and Macintosh 512K used a DB-9 connector. The Macintosh Plus in January of 1986 was the first Apple product to use the Mini DIN-8 connector that would be the standard until the iMac. The cable was always a separate purchase because there were 4 cable types. The ImageWriter II could also be connected to an Apple LocalTalk network with the addition of a network option, that would then connect using a LocalTalk or PhoneNet style connected through the printer's port, but using AppleTalk instead of Serial communications.
Very Jealous!!😍 It's in such great condition as well!
sameee
Oh, wow. Hearing the ImageWriter II initializing at power-on brought back memories that I didn't know I had! That extra little buzz when it homes the color ribbon positioner sets it apart from most other dot-matrix printers.
Same here, High School for me.
Watching these videos always makes me long for those days.
I didn’t have one of these Mac’s, but I had the chance to use this machines back in high school late 80’s thanks for the video brings me back memories.
I got a Macintosh Plus for my birthday in 1986 as a going to high school present. I had to have mine recapped a couple years later, but I finally got a Kensington System Saver Mac fan unit for it, which was pretty awesome. I also got an EMac MD 2400 modem, a Thunderscan scanner, and an original MacRecorder digitizer. I also had (I don't remember the brand any longer) a third-party external 800K floppy drive.
I really loved that little computer. Ultimately I sold it to help defray the expense of a Macintosh II, which was quite the upgrade, and I've had many since.
This video brought back many awesome and distant memories, so thank you so much for that. The sights and the sounds were amazing.
I had one of these as a teenager back in the 90's... It was creaky and old, but I loved it.
125 $ dangn that was a bargain here where I live a broken Macintosh without any stuff included just the Mac for around 200€
Got mike for 98 $ It cames with keyboard, mouse cables everything
It’s like that in NZ too. Broken macintosh 128k for $370. I got my working plus from a collector for $600
@@Shot5hells dang thats really cheap here working ones start at around 1200USD
Im so happy this guy made this video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Imagine. My dad’s classmates would be jealous when someone got this for their birthday.
The printer cable came with the ImageWriter II we purchased for our office in 1987. I remember when Adobe Type Manager was released, it allowed us to print smooth fonts at any size, almost as nice as a $6K LaserWriter.
Oh, wow, I just got transported back to my College Computer Lab days...! The sights and the sounds! Thank you so much for this much-needed pleasant trip down Memory Lane...!
All cleaned up, with all those perfect accessories. That is an absolute thing of beauty. I hope it’s still kicking.
If I was to only own 1 Mac, my heart would say it’d have to be a Plus.
Yes! I have kept it safe, it’s such a nice machine to have in my collection.
Dang, that takes me back. My own first computer, bought in late 1989, was a Mac SE FDHD that was bundled with an ImageWriter II. And I do now vaguely remember the print sample sheet was included! It was a hell of an experience, alone in my apartment, spending entire evenings exploring what these machines could do, and then figuring out what software I could buy.
The SE served me well for several years, and when I replaced it with a Quadra 650, I handed the SE off to a friend who needed it more. Unfortunately, I ruined the ImageWriter with an upgrade card (for LocalTalk?) that I botched the installation for. That printer was a sad thing to lose.
My first computer was a MacPlus back in the 90's. I also upgraded the memory to 4MB, used both SCSI Zip and external HD, and an Apple Stylewriter (inkjet) printer.
Thank you for the time and effort you put in to this. I enjoyed to see the unboxing off this Mac!
Macintosh plus music plays
I just got a Apple 2 in box, working with all software for just $500!
This was very interesting.
The Drawing Office had two of these during my apprenticeship in the 1980s! How anyone could do CAD on such a small screen amazes me now but they managed to produce lots of drawings used in our company's printed manuals. Great memories come flooding back when I see these machines, thanks for sharing your excitement!
I borrowed a Mac Plus for a month from the university once. It had a 40 MB external SCSI HD (I think it was a Seagate) that was big but so so nice, almost silent. With the HD there was no need for frequent disc swapping. Was a very satisfying experience.
So true. I recently purchased a Mac Plus with a miraculously working original Hard Disk Drive. Having a working Hard Disk completely changes the user experience making so much more pleasant.
Amazing video! I always find this type of stuff really interesting!
Steve, they actually did not include the cable with the Imagewriter printers because it was compatible with so many different computers that all had their own interface port types back then. The Apple II, II+, and IIe had one cable, the PC had like 3 different options, the Mini DIN-8 that the IIgs and the Mac Plus onwards, the DB9 style of the 128 and 512k. I think there were like 12 different cable options, but the ones for the Apple machines were actually pretty cheap, I think like $10-$15 or so (early 90's money!).
The label you scanned was a tracking label. Basically when scanned, it told them what machine to put in the box with what, if any, options. The one you scanned is actually part of the serial number if I remember. The 1MB P is of course 1 meg RAM Platinum, essentially the basic model. You need to find the matching HD 20SC to go with that sucker and have the entire, enviable setup from 1987. The box was cheapened because at the same time this was being sold, the SE was also being sold, so the Plus was basically the Toyota Corolla where the SE was the Cadillac Deville :). They reduced the price significantly on the Plus so everything else got cheap.
Awesome find though, beautiful machine!
Thanks for the awesome detailed insight Mike! 🤓 Very much appreciated!
If i remember correctly we used to rewire modem cables for the LWII, I think it was pins 2,3/6,20 (Null modem RS-232). But not sure. Very cheap cable.
i'm really sorry for all the "A E S E T H E T I C X D" comments you're gonna get
1 year later, nothing happened.
@@PiroKUSS yeah, i'm surprised, the meme must've finally died. also this already a year ago, dang...
@@ewkalt4770 Not at all, those people haven't found this video yet.
@Alejandro Ayes I'm not the person to ask. I know nothing about old Macs.
Forget the A E S E T H E T I C comments, but actual Vaporwave is perfect for this. I mean look up Dan Masons Miami Virtual. Listen to it and check out the cover...
The Imagewriter shipped with a cable kit, as far as I recall. You may have needed to specify if you were buying it for an Apple II (or //e), Apple //c, Apple //gs (or Mac SE+), or Mac/Mac Plus, as these had different system-side connector types of DB-25, DIN, Mini-DIN, and DE-9 respectively.
yeah it came with a cable, we used to have one as part of our family setup with the Mac Classic 2MB in the centre.
Very well preserved, very cool!
Ah yes... the memories. I had a Mac Plus with external 800 KB drive and an Imagewriter II. Later I got a 20 MB external hard drive for it, which seemed like so much space! But one day it died and I upgraded to the far better LC III, then a UMAX C500 clone, then a PowerBook G3, then a Core 2 Duo iMac, then a 2018 MacBook Pro, and now an M1 Mac Mini.
Nice! Also love to see your upgrade path. Those UMAX clones were great.
Excellent video! I was still using a Mac Plus in 1994. It had been upgraded to 4mb RAm and a 40mb HD. We had it connected to a LaserWriter IINTX.
for me the best keyboard is the IBM Model M keyboard ;)
Me and my dad have a couple of Macintosh Computers at home.
Awesome man
Loved the video!
That's the first revision Mac Plus box, and matches the aesthetics of the 512Ke and earlier boxes.
My 1987 is also still working pretty fine. It's just such a good feeling of nostalgia when I start it and remember when I saw "my" first Macintosh life ... 1984 in Frankfurt/Germany. Totally unaffordable. Currently change the setup to a scsi 2 sdcard adapter and I would love to hook it up to my network :)
Hmm I have the same system - platinum Mac plus, ImageWriter 2 and external floppy drive. But my drive doesn’t have that port on the back, and it’s slimmer. My dad bought it for me when I was 18 in 1987, I used it through college. Still have all my college papers on it.
I wish I had kept all my original Mac gear! Great stuff!
So splendid!!! 🍎😍😎🤩🍏
Great video!!! 📹👍
This is soo cool! Your awesome!
Really nice video!
I owned an Atari ST with a Specter 128 Mac card. It worked great. You could run all Mac software plus those great Atari color games. The Specter 128 had Mac Plus ROMs inside. After a while I got tired of the setup and got a platinum Plus just like what you have in the video. The video sure brings back memories! Eventually I acquired a 30 meg SCSI hard drive for the Plus. Sure beat disk swapping!
Love it !
I bought a Macintosh 512E and a ImageWriter II in September 1986. All the power cords and the printer cable were included.
My jaw dropped when I saw the stickers
Mine too, a very nice surprise!
@@Mac84 I have a few of the complete rainbow Apple stickers unused here at home and 1 vinyl rainbow window Apple logo I have hanging on the window of my daily driver.
My greatest wish is to have a Macintosh Plus in box
I just got one of these for my birthday! It had the original keyboard and mouse and it also had the optional external drive! Mine is the earlier Beige model.
Awww a whole megabyte of RAM. 🥰
Got one of those 20 years ago, it was the beige version, it came with a 20 MB external SC20 harddisk drive full of adventure games from the previous owner.
Originally it had 1 MB of RAM, but by cutting a single resistor of the systemboard, it could accept and run with 4 MB of RAM.
Can't remember what happened to it, but man would I love to have it now!
Add a 20 meg external HDD and this is the handmedown Macintosh Plus setup I had as a kid in the mid 90s.
I think we had to buy the printer cable separately when we got our ImageWriter II. Apple never changes.
Nice Macintosh bud take good care of it :D
I learnt something at @7:27 - the Macintosh name was owned by another company - McIntosh Labs!
The Macintosh Plus was the first Apple computer I used at a printing school and majored in Advanced Desktop Publishing. The Plus was networked to the Laserwriter printer. I used Aldus Pagemaker, Microsoft Word often, and Adobe Illustrator. I began to find the Macintosh computer a bit better than a Microsoft DOS or Windows computer. Today, I am working on a Windows computer, because I acquired files, such as my resume and personal and business letters on diskettes. The Apple computer is well-diversified as a user-friendly computer. Windows computers have been catching up in the past 15 years. If Apple could add business productivity applications to its software supply, I may switch from the Windows computer to the Apple Macintosh computer. The Apple Laserwriter printed very nice.
4:10 Apple had that 'Pride' thing way back when!
5:55 Made in Japan. By the early 1990s, it was Singapore. For years I thought these computers were made in California using their domestic oil resources.
Lucky find man. Those floppy drives could be daisy chained if you had a 512kE Fat Mac, I used to do that on mine. Nice to see a Plus that is still like new, I don't think they used that very much!
I wish i could have this in my birthday 😍
This music reminds me of Toejam & Earl from the Sega Genesis, LOL :)
Amazing amount of styrofoam there. Different time though! The engineers of the time would be interested to know that Apple ships entire systems in relatively thin cardboard nowadays. I guess the electronics must be a lot more robust these days too.
I want one!!
MICROSOFT MY FAVORITE I DIDNT KNOW THAT IT HAD A DRIVE FOR MACINTOSH
I'd like one of these, sir
I got one so I'm seeing people unbox it
Hopefully my Mac of 1988 was SE not Plus, and it still works fine today.
Did you know, that the ImageWriter I & II are actually C. Itoh Electronics printers, only slightly modified in pinouts and internal ROMs? It's true! The IW 1 was a model 8510 printer; some sources claim the IW 2 is also an 8510. The LaserWriters were mostly Canon engines, as well as the StyleWriters, up to the last few models (4100/4500/6500) that were rebadged HP DeskJets.
What website did he buy it from
I think your 512K could be retr0brited. I have a Plus that was previously a 128K which has been fully serviced and retr0brited... it's still beige but it's no where near as stained as yours. The staining does look good though (and gives the computer additional character) so it's more of a preference at this point.
Yes, it could be that’s for sure! After getting a few other compact Macs I can see that my 512k is a little bit darker. But the point I was trying to make (which I failed to make clearly), is that some folks see the different darker shade (when compared to the later platinum Macs) and assume they are in need of retrobriting.
But I’d much rather have the machine working than worry about if the color was 100% original. It’s close enough... for now 🤓
I really wish I was alive in 1987 so I could have this setup.
Back when apple was good. An actual worth the money. Have a Macintosh se. And plus myself 😁
I got an adb converter but one end is adb & the other end is mini usb. None of my max have a mini USB port any idea what I can do? I have a lot of old Mac and Apple ][ keyboards I would like to be able to use.
It sounds like you need a mini USB to full size USB A cable. What model of adapter did you get? Do some searches online and hopefully you can determine what exact cable you need (Mini-B, Micro-B, etc.)
The Mac Plus is older than you? Thanks now I feel ancient.
In my opinion still more amazing than most Wintel PCs 😀
The mac of 87??!
have you ever watched the 8 bit guy's channel? You kinda remind me of him. I'm defiantly subing to your channel
Hey Steve excellent video. Do you sell any original Apple Mac software? I have a very nice 512k but no discs.
Thanks! I don't sell disks, but someone on www.TinkerDifferent.com may be able to help you get floppies for your Mac.
Lmao bonus nerd points for whipping out the Palm barcode reader
Platinum-that’s the same one I have.
16:45 The cable WAS NOT included and had to be purchased separately, at least on early "frost white" models. The platinum may have been different.
Thanks!
Older than you? Sheesh, I was already out of high-school when the Mac came out.
Use a hobby knife on the printer ribbon wheel to carefully remove the foam. Use a can of air to blow away all the foam dust from the cartridge. Using appropriately sized foam cut it to fit the wheel in length and width. If the original foam had a plastic smooth surface you can either use cassette repair foam or carefully cover the foam with tape. It’s really not impossible or hard to do, you just have to remove can’t from your vocabulary. When you remove the word can’t from your vocabulary you realize you can do anything and that is something Steve Jobs lived by.
Oh it’s certainly not impossible! Trust me - I am very stubborn when it comes to trying to get things to work and don’t give up easily. But when I have a new or working ribbon I can use - it’s a far easier approach to swap it out. But of course if needed - I can follow the steps provided. 👍
@@Mac84 Consider that a blessing, Steve.
Also do I need the floppy (the disk) to run it? Where can I get thst?
These technical questions are best asked at www.TinkerDifferent.com
Mine came with a soft case for carrying. The keyboard is a little bit wide for it. The Mac I have once belonged to Robin Williams (the late comedian). The only problem I have is I cant get the OS floppy to eject. Any ideas on how to eject when its stuck?
That’s a cool story behind the system.
The grease in the floppy drive mechanism dries up and causes them to get stuck. In addition the eject gear deteriorates and causes them to not eject via the motor.
You can use a paper clip to try and eject the disk. There are replacement gears on MacEffects.com and a lot of tutorials on TinkerDifferent.com and the web on this issue.
Where did you get this?
I have this computer. It's missing the keyboard cable. Where can I get one?
The keyboard cable is a standard telephone RJ9 phone headset cable - EXCEPT the cables are crossed at one end. If you search online there are a number of people still making them.
If you're gonna make some print shop deluxe banners, there better be some cool crab.
Hah! It deserves a color ribbon!
@@Mac84 of course.
Also, totally am not making a website, and totally didn't copy your landing page or anything
I know that I am like a year late to the party, but did you ever find the ram to upgrade your machine? I have a non-working Mac Plus that has 4MB of ram in it. (It has a popped capacitor, and I don't do that kind of repair.)
Jon Dewey You can get your board & PSU recapped for around $100 by a professional if you're unable to do it yourself, that includes the cost of the caps. Mine has been fully recapped.
No I have not, however - I am starting to recap my machines. I also may have RAM available from a bad machine and just not know it yet.
If you need your Mac Plus revived I may be able to help. 🤓
Spray some WD40 in the ribbon and leave for an hour or two and it'll work as good as new (assuming the rollers haven't fallen to bits like the other one)
If I had those I would definitely keep the boxes, but I would try to restore them as much as possible, starting with taking that ugly brown packing tape off! LOL
/music plays
Well, your 512k is kinda yellowed.
The case should match the color of the badge which it doesn't really.
Hi i have a mac but no system disk it is DD disks. Can i bye disk from you ?
I don’t sell disks, but others online do, like this store: rescuemyclassicmac.com/page/buyadisk.html
How much did you pay for an opened box? If you don’t mind my asking of course.
The old apple logo was way better
Huh. That’s actually a decent price for everything you got!
Yeah, the prices on these things are silly these days. You'd be lucky to get a working Mac Plus for under $200 (US) most days.
Mac84 I noticed that! It’s insane! I got lucky and found a really nice older couple getting rid of theirs and all I need to do now is find the boot disk. But all the other ones are at or over $200.
Nice! RescueMyClassicMac.com has boot disks available if you don’t have a SuperDrive / Floppy Mac still around. 👍
are you the one selling it on marketplace?? (its missing a keyboard)
I don’t understand what you are asking. 1) This video is from 2019. 2) I’m not selling any Macs.
@@Mac84 right.
4:14 ''bend back and pee''
So the Mac was aimed at the professional market. But what did people actually use it for? Word processing, obviously. But the screen is tiny, and the machine is slow, so DTP would have been really cumbersome.
What else?
Yes the screen was small, but that’s what was affordable. Larger screens wouldn’t be available until the desktop / modular Macs in 1987, and the cheaper desktops weren’t introduced until the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Macs of this era can do a lot, but they were aimed at business and education. Sure there are plenty of games, but since these Macs weren’t cheap, most people bought one to manage their business, perform calculations, or aid with school work…. Much like the Apple II’s use cases in the 1970’s and onward.
Obviously today the speed of the system and small screen seem like problems, but that’s just where technology was at the time.
@@Mac84 I don't think a bigger screen would have been that much more expensive. They focused on portability though. But why, when you were supposed to work with it at your office? Why was it considered important that you can move it around easily?
I find the 1984 demo so underwhelming. A C64 could have done the same thing, including the speech (programmed by the same guy, after all), on 64kB and an 8 bit CPU. It didn't even play its own music (which the C64 could have done very impressively).
I think the Mac should have bombed. It's a design triumph though and looks great on my shelf.
Portability was so you could take it home or move it around, computers were expensive - so people didn’t have one at home so they often would bring them home to do work, etc.
A bigger screen may not have cost much more in parts, but they would have certainly sold it for more, if the Lisa with the larger screen is any indicator. And I’m sure the size was kept compact to make it small and efficient in the eyes of their creators.
Each system has their pros and cons, but the Mac’s goal was to be a computer for the masses. The graphical user interface helped push this vision and cement the Mac in the history books.
but.....can it run crysis?
does that thing have WiFi?
No, Wi-Fi was not available in most computers until the early 2000’s. Apple’s first product with Wi-Fi was in 1999. 13 years after this system was built.
Ethernet wasn’t even fully formed for consumers at this time.
WHY WAS IT ONLY 126$ WHERE DO YOU LIVE