Trivia

First, this month’s Obscure Mac Trivia that Nobody Really Knows^TM: name the two Apple-authored Macintosh software components that have Monty Python-inspired icons. Bonus points: what are the icons?

This Column

Once upon a time, one of my fellow staffers here at ATPM had this great idea for a column. Then I took a three-month break for the summer so I could get my affairs in order before starting grad school. Then I took a two-month break to get my affairs in order when I started grad school. Now I have the evening free and an editor breathing down my neck, and lo and behold, I still have the e-mail from nine months back suggesting that I write a column about where to get free and inexpensive software for legacy Macs. So without further ado, I present:

Where to Get Free and Inexpensive Software for Legacy Macs

Yes, I know, it’s a terribly creative title. Bear with me. And thank Greg T. later. ;)

The single most important free software package for your legacy Mac is the operating system. Apple is generous enough to provide three of the six major legacy releases for free download: System 6 (6.0.8 is recommended for all System 6 users), System 7 (be sure to apply the tune-up as well), and System 7.5.3 (a 19-part disk image that requires about 40 MB of disk space in addition to the space required for the OS). I’m not going to get into a discussion of which OS version is best for which Mac; that topic has already been covered several times.

Once you have an OS on your Mac, you’ll need some software to make it useful. TeachText and SimpleText are basic word processors, but do you really want to be limited to plain text format and 32K file sizes? WordPerfect 3.5e or WriteNow 3.0 can help you turn that Mac into a novel-writing machine for the 21st century. Alternatively, you can use the highly rated (though perhaps quirky) Nisus Writer for your word processing needs.

As long as you have a reasonably recent (read: made since 1990 or so) Mac, you can browse the Web with iCab just as you would with a modern computer. Tip: turn off multiple connections for best results, and put the cache on a RAM disk if possible. Don’t like iCab? There are a host of alternative old browsers listed at the pickle’s Low-End Mac FAQ and Gamba’s browser page. The pickle’s FAQ has information on setting up older Macs to use Eudora for e-mail, and Gamba’s site also includes links to archives of the now-defunct Daystar software drivers archive and Vieuxmac ancient OS archive. Also in the same vein is Marten van de Kraats’ System 6 Heaven download page, which contains not only links to, but also mini-reviews and/or synopses of, almost every System 6-compatible program still publicly available.

Know of more? Got your own favorites? Hit the Post a Comment link below and let the world know about them.

Trivia Answers

The Killer Rabbit is part of AppleShare’s File Sharing Extension and appears on AppleShare PDS files with AppleShare 3.0 or System 7 installed. The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is likewise part of the File Sharing Extension and replaced (“killed,” if you will) the Killer Rabbit on later OS versions. For more information, or to argue with me about the answers, read what MacKiDo says.

What Kind of Legacy?

Want to contribute to Legacy Corner? I need topic suggestions. Get your name in the (virtual) lights by being the first to suggest a column topic for next month! (Hey, I’m working on a shoestring here. You expect me to be a full-time Ph.D. student in organic chemistry and think of creative things to talk about that haven’t already been said about 68K Macs?)