When I began work at The Express, several pieces of equipment more than 70 years old were still in use. Typesetting equipment in daily use ranged from 40 to 50 years old but the process had begun to update the typesetting department. I remember asking a salesman how long we should expect the new electronic equipment to last. I remember seeing him point to one of the older Linotypes and saying, “It should last as long as those machines did.”
Unfortunately, I believed him.
Before 10 years had passed, the machine he sold had been replaced.
When we began installing video display terminals in the mid to late 70s, we didn’t know to call them computers, though in many respects they were. Some of those terminals stored data on eight-inch floppy discs. In addition to using them to drive typesetters, we could also play primitive games—not that we ever did that.
In 1983, we bought the first terminal that was actually called a computer. Supposedly, a portable, it weighed nearly 30 pounds and came with a handle so it could be carried from place to place. I have transported it between home and work but I can assure you I didn’t transport it back and forth on my bicycle.
In January of 1985, Apple Computer introduced a revolutionary computer known as the MacIntosh. It turned out to be well suited for the newspaper business.
A few months later, a friend at the Grand Island Daily Independent visited our newspaper office to work on a balky piece of typesetting equipment. As he was finishing up, he suggested I consider what a MacIntosh would do for The Express. He said the owners of the Independent had purchased a Mac for each of their papers.
Before 1985 was out I had purchased two 512K Mac’s and the first laser printer sold by an Apple dealer west of Lincoln, Nebraska. Publishers from as far away as South Dakota came to Superior to see what we were doing with the MacIntosh computer equipment.
Some place in my collection of worthless treasures, I’m sure I have that computer and printer.
Though I had bought and retired nearly two dozen pieces of typesetting equipment in the preceding 15 years, I believed the little Mac would last for decades.
As newer models came out, I began buying and upgrading the early Macs. I had to alter the motherboard but I learned in steps how to increase the RAM. I made good use of the soldering skills I developed building electronic kits in high school. One of the upgrades required more than 100 solder connections.
The original Macs had nine-inch screens but I learned how to connect much larger screens. Today I have a newer Mac connected to a 48-inch screen.
I don’t have a complete collection of Macs but I have many of the models built in the last 40 years. When I replace one with a newer model, instead of throwing the old one way, I stash it some place.
I have one of the early models positioned in the basement next to a microfilm reader but it has been years since I turned either on. I may have two dozen or more similar looking Macs in storage.
A press convention speaker told me to hang on to the old Macs for they were becoming collectable and could be traded for the newer machines.
I’ve got a dozen or so of the original style Mac’s lined up in an upstairs hallway that must soon be moved. Randy Nielsen is locating his Ninth Street Media recording studio in the upper room the late Howard Crilly used for his office after selling The Express 54 years ago. I’ve been able to sneak past the computers but if we begin having visitors climb the stairs to Randy’s studio, the computers must find a new home.
Not sure where that will be but I’m not ready to put them in a dumpster. I keep hoping for a market. Perhaps it will soon be here.
In the last week I have read several stories about the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh computer. The computer wowed many folks and introduced a number of new features we now take for granted, including a graphic interface or a feature some folks have called “What you see is what you get.” The comuter mouse was also introduced with the MacIntosh.
As the younger folks read about those early computers, perhaps they will want on their bookshelf.
Last week a member of Superior’s techie community asked if I had one of the early MacIntosh computers. After I replied in the affirmative, he asked if he could stop in and see it.
If I can’t sell them for a fortune, perhaps I can get rich charging for viewings.
A year or two ago I particpated in a webinar. One of the other particpants had an early MacIntosh sitting on a table behind him. He was asked if the computer still worked. His answer stung. H Thee said his computer was a musuem piece but I was still using the early Mac’s.
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