From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage


We watched a new episode of the UK crime drama "Death in Paradise" last
night (season 15, episode 4). There were two glaring computer mistakes
in the show.

The two uniformed police officers visited the victims house to look for evidence in the case and found an old computer "one called it a "time machine") which was an old classic Apple Macintosh.

1. Incorrect operating system
The second officer started the computer up which made the normal
Macintosh 'bong' boot sound. The camera moves to view the screen
with the officer saying "It seems to be working", yet it shows
lines of text appearing, not the 'smiley Mac' startup image.
<https://i.imgur.com/uCfBiWP.jpeg>

A couple of minutes later she is looking at an old Microsoft
Windows programme on the screen.
<https://i.imgur.com/AhbT3YD.jpeg>

Technically you dould retro-fit a Raspberry Pi or similar running
an old version of Windows into a classic Macintosh case, but it
would not have the 'bong' startup sound.

2. Check the search history
She says she will check the search history, but although you
could connect such an old computer (Macintosh or Windows) to the
internet, there are few normal websites that would work properly
in its browser these days, so would be unlikely be for the victim
to have found any useful information.

:-\



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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On 2026-03-21, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

The two uniformed police officers visited the victims house to look for evidence in the case and found an old computer "one called it a "time machine") which was an old classic Apple Macintosh.

It is a Mac SE/30, introduced in 1989. I think its startup sound was a
chord, rather than the original "bing.""

1. Incorrect operating system
The second officer started the computer up which made the normal
Macintosh 'bong' boot sound. The camera moves to view the screen
with the officer saying "It seems to be working", yet it shows
lines of text appearing, not the 'smiley Mac' startup image.
<https://i.imgur.com/uCfBiWP.jpeg>

Once upon a time I inherited one of the original 1984 Macs, into which I
poured too much money in order to make it into something mostly useful
(ie: much more RAM, 800K floppy, SCSI interface).

At some point I came across an installer for MacBSD which, like UNIX
operating systems of the day, scrolled through many lines of text,
eventually arriving at a command prompt.

A couple of minutes later she is looking at an old Microsoft
Windows programme on the screen.
<https://i.imgur.com/AhbT3YD.jpeg>

You got me there. MacBSD had no graphics capability al all.

Technically you dould retro-fit a Raspberry Pi or similar running
an old version of Windows into a classic Macintosh case, but it
would not have the 'bong' startup sound.

I wanted to put a Raspberry Pi into one of my "Classic" Mac enclosures.
Many others have done just that, but I could never find a monitor even
close to the right size. It was also way above my pay grade to rewire
the classic keyboard and mouse for USB. If I am in need for a nostalgia
trip, I think both vMac and SheepShaver still run under Tahoe on my
iMac.
--
chrispam1@me.com is an infrequently monitored address. Email may get lost.

Google doesn't test their software!
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

[...]

Technically you dould retro-fit a Raspberry Pi or similar running
an old version of Windows into a classic Macintosh case, but it
would not have the 'bong' startup sound.

Did you know that the Mac startup 'boing' is the same chord as the first
note of "By the Sleepy Canal" from "Miss Hook of Holland" by Paul A.
Reubens?
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On 2026-03-21 12:47:58 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:

Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

[...]

Technically you dould retro-fit a Raspberry Pi or similar running
an old version of Windows into a classic Macintosh case, but it
would not have the 'bong' startup sound.

Did you know that the Mac startup 'boing' is the same chord as the first
note of "By the Sleepy Canal" from "Miss Hook of Holland" by Paul A.
Reubens?

Different Mac models have different startup chimes (and death chimes).

"The startup chime used in the first three Macintosh models is
a simple square-wave "beep" generated at 600 Hz that was
programmed in software by Andy Hertzfeld, utilizing the
computers' onboard MOS 6522 VIA chip. All subsequent sounds
after it are various chords."

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_startup#Startup_chime>

The MacTracker app has information about all sorts of Apple hardware
and software, and clicking on the icon in a Mac's information page in
the app plays its startup chime for most models and option-clicking
plays the death chime for some models. :-)

The startup sounds began at Apple with the Apple II, which made a simple beep.

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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On 21/03/2026 05:35, Your Name wrote:

We watched a new episode of the UK crime drama "Death in Paradise" last night (season 15, episode 4). There were two glaring computer mistakes
in the show.

Not really a "mistake", of course. TV dramas rarely show real operating systems and applications on prop computers, for a whole variety of
reasons. I've even met a few people over the years whose whole job is to
fake up what you see on TV computer screens.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

On 2026-03-21 12:47:58 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:

Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

[...]

Technically you dould retro-fit a Raspberry Pi or similar running
an old version of Windows into a classic Macintosh case, but it
would not have the 'bong' startup sound.

Did you know that the Mac startup 'boing' is the same chord as the first note of "By the Sleepy Canal" from "Miss Hook of Holland" by Paul A. Reubens?

Different Mac models have different startup chimes (and death chimes).

"The startup chime used in the first three Macintosh models is
a simple square-wave "beep" generated at 600 Hz that was
programmed in software by Andy Hertzfeld, utilizing the
computers' onboard MOS 6522 VIA chip. All subsequent sounds
after it are various chords."

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_startup#Startup_chime>

The MacTracker app has information about all sorts of Apple hardware
and software, and clicking on the icon in a Mac's information page in
the app plays its startup chime for most models and option-clicking
plays the death chime for some models. :-)

The startup sounds began at Apple with the Apple II, which made a simple beep.

This is the OS 8.6 chime (which I think was also used for OS7 and OS9).
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On Sun, 22 Mar 2026 20:50:27 +0000, Calum wrote:

On 21/03/2026 05:35, Your Name wrote:

We watched a new episode of the UK crime drama "Death in Paradise" last
night (season 15, episode 4). There were two glaring computer mistakes
in the show.

Not really a "mistake", of course. TV dramas rarely show real operating systems and applications on prop computers, for a whole variety of
reasons. I've even met a few people over the years whose whole job is to
fake up what you see on TV computer screens.

To paraphrase some long-ago critic of how computers are presented in
movies and TV, "All the screens look like ATMs."
--
chrispam1@me.com is an infrequently monitored address. Email may get lost.

Google doesn't test their software!
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