Why would someone go through all the effort and money to make a clear case for the Macintosh SE & SE/30 and Apple IIe?

[2aw]

What are so special about these two computers? (Special enough to go through the work of making clear cases for them).

https://maceffects.com/products/maceffects-clear-case-for-macintosh-se-se-30

https://maceffects.com/products/maceffects-clear-case-for-apple-iie

The cost of the new cases exceed the value of the Macs themselves, so what is going on here?

 

[za9ra22]

I don't know about the IIe, since it's not in my area of interest so much, but the SE/30 is one of the most sought-after vintage Macs, which in good working condition can fetch a great deal of money. There's a lot of interest, thus potential market, for these.

Given the original cases are often yellowed and brittle due to age, I'm not surprised there's some interest at least in replacements. Personally, I'm not at all keen on the transparent look because I don't think there's a great deal worth looking at inside, but plenty of other do, judging by how well these type of MacEffects cases sell for other systems.

And the prices for these cases don't seem unreasonable given how much the computers typically sell for.

 

[2aw]

I don't know about the IIe, since it's not in my area of interest so much, but the SE/30 is one of the most sought-after vintage Macs, which in good working condition can fetch a great deal of money. There's a lot of interest, thus potential market, for these.

Given the original cases are often yellowed and brittle due to age, I'm not surprised there's some interest at least in replacements. Personally, I'm not at all keen on the transparent look because I don't think there's a great deal worth looking at inside, but plenty of other do, judging by how well these type of MacEffects cases sell for other systems.

And the prices for these cases don't seem unreasonable given how much the computers typically sell for.

So the followup question is why are is SE/30 sought after? To me it doesn't look particular good (most of the time Apple products do look nice and that is their appeal) nor is the hardware relevant today.

 

[za9ra22]

It's really just because the SE/30 is the most powerful and expandable of the compact Macs. In theory, the Classic II is equally 'fast', but is severely limited in memory and expansion potential, while the SE/30 can run up to 128Mb RAM with a suitable ROM (instead of the Classic II's 10Mb), has a PDS slot for CPU, accelerator and other upgrades, and has become a bit of a holy grail for collectors - you really can't get a more powerful 'compact' system than this.

Of course, you can beat the socks off it with almost any of the systems that came after it, and personally I'd rather have even a basic Performa 630 which can be had for a fraction of the cost, but that's collectors for you!

 

[velocityg4]

They buy it because they want it. These computers are functional display pieces. Prices for vintage computers has long gone past absurd. In regards to practical purchasing.

When people are buying stuff like this. It's so they have something they can put on display. It's not much different than displaying art. You could argue it's an art of it's own. Anyways, price isn't so much a factor. When the purchase is no longer for practical purposes.

Unlike other display pieces. These are functional. Meaning you can tinker with them and have fun with them. It's not much different than the classic car mindset. It's just vastly cheaper.

 

[Berenod]

What are so special about these two computers? (Special enough to go through the work of making clear cases for them).


The cost of the new cases exceed the value of the Macs themselves, so what is going on here?

Those computers in itself are today, compared with what current computers can do, absolutely nothing special.

But, what you do on a computer today, has been largely a result of how those old computers were designed.

They are essentially pieces of history, hugely important steps on the way to how we "compute" today, if those computers would not have existed, or when back then they would have decided on other directions, the way you today would use a computer would also be totally different!

So, that is part one, they are part of history.

Second part, obviously they were not designed to be working 40 years after they came out of the factory.
The parts which are used in them over the decades deteriorate, to the point where they do not work anymore.

Especially the SE/30 (and lots of others from that time) used capacitors in metal housings, essentially little batteries, which start to leak decades after they were manufactured. They leak acid, so after a while those machines simply become damaged beyond the point where you could repair them.

You find one which has been stored away in an attic when working, 10 years ago, take them out of storage today, and they'd be damaged beyond repair.

Which means, every year less and less surviving, working machines are left on this planet.
Which is the reason people spend time and money to restore them before they get to that point of never being able to be repaired.

Just to preserve history, and that is where that clear case comes into play, it's a showcase of history, putting the last of those working machines into a display to show the next generations how current computers actually came about!

Actual working and restored SE/30's can fetch several hundreds of dollars!
Go back just a little further to the Apple Lisa (which is basically one of the first commercially available computers with "windows" and operated with a mouse, much like we still do today), and you are talking a few thousends of dollars/Euro's for a Lisa 2, or tens of thousands for a Lisa 1.

More in the line of the Apple II, the predecessor of that one, the Apple I, original and working, you are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars!

So yes, computer history is both important and valuable, so why not splurge on a clear case?

 

[za9ra22]

In my case, the only real interest is in functional vintage systems to actually use, so I wouldn't spend SE/30-level money on buying one, or on a clear case for it either. I can get the functionality I need from a Classic II, or indeed any number of other 20th century Macs. Even a DOS machine or two.

It isn't hard to appreciate though why some people are prepared to pay to buy these systems and repair/refurbish/restore them, and even add this kind of case - these systems are worthy of display, not because of what they can do, though they can still be productively usable, but because they come from a point in computing history where microcomputers really did put power into the hands of the user. Typesetting, design, layout, publishing, graphics design, digital photography and editing - solutions that moved from data manipulation to creative work, all emerged and began to mature with this generation of computers.

For many, the SE/30 was at the pinnacle of that, and certainly as someone who was heavily involved in design/layout/publishing at the time, albeit with a Plus and SE, I can appreciate the value one of these would have for a lot of people. For me though, I've built a functional replica of my system back then using the Classic II because it was more affordable, and still outperforms the SE I used for some years back then.