Thanks again to Noom for sponsoring this video! Click here noom.com/actionretro to take your free Noom Evaluation.

@singletona082

Жыл бұрын

Really liking the replacement fabric for the TAM. Why not go with a blueSCSI instead of a full SSD? Also replace the CD drive with a DVD drive possible using the mac OS 9x line? What about wifi?

@VenomStryker

Жыл бұрын

This thing is insane! the kind of insane like the Lampshade mac. Insane in a good way! :-) Can't wait to see the upgrade videos.

@marcinxsinski

Жыл бұрын

So cool how much money you give for this mac?

@BrentDubroc

Жыл бұрын

Hey, look, it's a Navi from Serial Experiments Lain!

@gamejew38

Жыл бұрын

68k.news is down

The TAM looks like a Sony appliance rather than an Apple computer. And I love it too.

@LabCat

Жыл бұрын

Yup, it looks like they really were inspired by the VAIO line. Very modern design language for the time.

@hyperturbotechnomike

Жыл бұрын

For me, it doesn't even look like a PC. Without knowing, i would assume it would be some 2000's era network media player.

@gregdunlap7538

Жыл бұрын

I was just thinking that a dark purple fabric would also work for those speakers, giving it the VAIO look.

@KiteAndKeyProductions

Жыл бұрын

@@LabCat it does have a very VAIO vibe.

@matonmacs

Жыл бұрын

Original: Sony. Black recover: B&O 😊

"No boot, only screams" I relate to this far too much

the scream of pain that powerbook let out was top tier

Steves death stare when he is given a TAM on stage is the stuff of legends, I wonder what happened to the poor sap that had to give it to him… You can still find the video from the event on KZread!

@singletona082

Жыл бұрын

Going off horror stories of what he does when cornering employees at random and then on the spot firing them? The guy that gave it to him was probably already packing his shit before the end of the presentation.

@bartat404

Жыл бұрын

Know where I can find this? Can't see it anywhere.

@stonecrestmovies

Жыл бұрын

@@bartat404 kzread.info/dash/bejne/g5ycqLNmY9qbpKg.html The fun begins here. Truly the most pissed off you'll ever see Steve Jobs.

@DerekWitt

Жыл бұрын

Wow. Steve looked like he wanted to strangle someone. I never saw an image of him as PO’d as in that video.

@s8wc3

Жыл бұрын

I don't think Steve hated the end product, I think he hated what it stood for. He was frustrated, maybe offended that they took his computer appliance concept and turned it into a frivolous halo product that no-one could afford, when he KNEW a similar concept would be a smash hit if it was affordable.

The TAM was the Mac that even Steve Jobs hated, I remember seeing a remote control for it. The remote looked like my old JVC CD boombox’s CD remote

@kirishima638

Жыл бұрын

Because it was a CD remote. The TAM is a CD audio system.

@kbhasi

Жыл бұрын

Yep, and if I recall correctly, the same remote was included with the Macintosh TV.

@sixteenbitify

Жыл бұрын

It’s unfortunate that Steve Jobs threw his TAM away in the garbage.

@organiccold

Жыл бұрын

Yeah mine has the remote, it looks like a JVC de player indeed. Haha very similar to the one in my Mac TV

@johnlarro6872

Жыл бұрын

@@kbhasi Yes - it's a stock standard Apple remote of the time.

You know, those black speakers de-emphasizes the overall profile in a way that really shows off the homage to the mac classic in the middle. The beige made it look like a big block. LOL

@zoopercoolguy

Жыл бұрын

i was just thinking the same thing. The beige speaker covers make the TAM look like a big slab of plastic, but the black covers slim the profile and the TAM suddenly looks reasonable.

@IanC14

Жыл бұрын

That's not beige tho. It's grey.

15:17 - The opening on the right side of the underside of the keyboard normally contained a matching, square leather wrist pad; so if you removed the mouse, you could fill in the space for a full wrist pad.

Your love for PowerPC is astounding. I truly cherish these videos.

@pdahandyman

Жыл бұрын

I concur! Bravo, Sean!!!

I definitely didn't see that coming when he removed the speaker grills to reveal hardly any speaker.

@nickwallette6201

Жыл бұрын

It's a Bose, for sure!

@bland9876

Жыл бұрын

@@nickwallette6201 lol

Sean, TAM does not have ATi Rage 128, it has Rage II. Rage 128 isn't available in 1996-1997

TAM That Apple Migraine

Jobs hated it so much he wanted it to be part of the Apple II line.

@SenileOtaku

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, Steve Jobs intentionally kneecapping the IIgs was definitely a dick move.

These machines still look amazing. I also remember being fixated on it as long as it was in Jerry's apartment on Seinfeld. Also, can I see the Aurora borealis in your kitchen?

@3rdalbum

Жыл бұрын

No.

@JaredJanhsen

Жыл бұрын

@@3rdalbum Aaaaaw :(

You're one of the few KZreadrs that I actually look forward to seeing notifications for new videos. Really enjoy your stuff.. thanks for putting so much effort into it. Can really tell you enjoy it and it's not just a paycheck / job. Thank you!

One more minor step for people who are gluing a square grille - mitre your corners. Seems minor, but cutting slits into the corners makes glue-up a little bit easier.

Yeah I think the black fabric looks really nice. Keeps bringing my attention back to the middle of the machine making it feel more like a old mac rather than some unfolded laptop with speakers glued onto the sides.

I don't think I'll ever tire of the on-screen "thonk x #" graphics. I love the design of the TAM, it really foreshadows the LCD G5 / Intel iMacs well.

I've soldered wires across a broken flex cable before. It's doable. Of course wherever the solder points end up will be stiffer than they should be, so I'm not sure how well that would work on a laser transport cable (my fix was on an LCD cable, and on a portion of the cable that doesn't flex during normal use).

@Michael-Archonaeus

Жыл бұрын

I think PCBWay does flex cables though, so that may be worth a try.

@MatroxMillennium

Жыл бұрын

@@Michael-Archonaeus Yeah, there are a few places that do, so knocking together a clone cable in a PCB CAD package and sending it out for a prototyping run is definitely an option

The Rage 128 chipset was damn good for the time. I remember playing the original version of The Sims on a Power Mac G3 233 with that chipset, it ran fine even then, especially once you maxed out the VRAM chip to 8mb. There was a G3 upgrade card for it, unfortunately it's incompatible with OS X.

@phipli

Жыл бұрын

So "damn good for the time" that I think that is an error. I think it had some kind of Rage II, not a 128. I think the 128 wasn't release for a while after the TAM. Hehe :) ah well. The Rage cards from that era have a confusing mess of names.

@orestes1984

Жыл бұрын

@@phipli still, being able to play full screen 3D games in that era that would stutter on the average PC with the onboard chip was pretty amazing.

@phipli

Жыл бұрын

@@orestes1984 Yup! Sadly the Rage II didn't open the door to many later games. It had decent 2D performance and could do Quickdraw3D and RAVE stuff, but no opengl (except for badly using a compatibility layer - I did some experimenting with a Rage II+ if you look for the (crummy) Oni and F-18 Hornet videos uploaded on my youtube account). Another issue with the TAM / 6500 / 5500 was that you were stuck at 2MB of VRAM. The G3s let you add a simm to take it up to 6MB. The first ATi chips I really like in the macs were the later Rage II Pro Turbos - they supported opengl properly. One of them with 6MB VRAM and you can play a few early opengl games just fine :)

I wouldn't be surprised if a place like jlcpcb or pcbway can make ribbon cables too.

@phipli

Жыл бұрын

Seeed Studio do flexible PCBs. I've been meaning to give it a go.

We had one of these at work sort of as art in our lobby. I loved it. This was circa 2002…

Lovely video. At 2:57 you mention a Rage 128. Thats not possible, the 128 was first built into a Mac with the B&W G3 line. The TAM had a ATI Rage 2.

This machine perfectly exemplifies Apple's lost 90s. They were just out of their minds.

Hey other Sean! Tacky Glue has so many wonderful uses. I've used it a lot in projects on and off my channel. The black fabric looks great on the speaker covers! Nicely done! Actually you did a great job on the entire machine. Signed, the other Sean 🙂

That PowerBook wrote the short story "I Have No Boot, and I Must Scream"

Not sure if they're compatible, but what if you tried swapping out the ribbon or even the laser with the one from the PB3400c?

@Michael-Archonaeus

Жыл бұрын

That's a totally different drive though?

@nickwallette6201

Жыл бұрын

It's probably soldered to a bunch of pads on the laser optic module. It would be FAR easier to just replace the whole pickup assembly, if you had a compatible drive as a donor. (And if you don't, you're not likely to just get lucky with a matching ribbon anyway.)

been waiting for this episode ever since you showed the computer in the new studio tour!!!!! keep up the good work!

the black looks quite good on that machine.

Gawd dayum

You know, I *do* like the black cloth on the speaker grilles… They now match the palm rest on the keyboard, and make the TAM look slimmer and more like a Classic Mac/a G5 iMac and later, all with the consistent bezel around the top and the side edges of the screen.

Even I didn't know the TAM's display and keyboard were drop-in replacements with the PB 3400. And I agree, the black speaker fabric is FAR better looking than the stock - I might even upgrade my TAMS with this! Who did you source your speaker fabric from?

@jordananderson8299

Жыл бұрын

I was even wondering if the Powerbook's CDROM drive was also the same. Action Retro if you see this, in the next video on this TAM, consider taking that Powerbook's CDROM drive apart and see if it also has the same flex cable as the one they put in the TAM's CDROM drive.

To this day my favorite design to ever come out of Apple. I enjoy treading the line between madness and magnificence.

“No boot, only screams” reminds me of a computer that had at the radio station labeled “dead. Fire. Bad.”

I'd like to see the rest of the system done in black, but it'd be difficult to preserve the silkscreen on the buttons. Maybe you could make transparent stickers that look the part...

The TAM took the chipset from the powermac 6500 not the PowerBook 3400c as the video system was a 1 Meg chips and technology video controller compared to the ati rage ii 2 meg from the powermac.

This is probably the best apple design imo

That base station connector seems to be a proper aviation connector

Pretty sure that speaker cloth glue is like most others of its ilk, and that you're supposed to put it down then let it tack over before applying the cloth to it. Usually to the point that it's no longer a liquid, but more of a semi solid, non transferrable to the skin sort of existence. THEN, you apply the cloth to it... like any fabric glue, floor glue, vct, rubber, etc. This would allow you to actually stretch the fabric a whole lot better... the way you did it, you just laid the fabric into the wet glue puddles. So, even if you did pull it tight, it'd just go back to normal as it took tens of minutes to dry... or longer. Yeah... just looked up a few "how to's", as well as forum posts... and yeah... you for sure are supposed to let it tack over until it's no longer white in color... like any other glues of the sort. Until no longer transferable, nor tacky to the touch. It will THEN be ready to tack to the cloth. Still looks decent though... better than before for sure. If it does have any wrinkles or slop to it though, I'd say just go at it again with this in mind.

@pseudotasuki

Жыл бұрын

Like contact cement?

The TAM is a Frankenstein'd PM 6500/250 and PB 3400: the logic board and power supply are out of the 6500, while the display, hard drive, and keyboard/mouse are out of the 3400. The CD drive is based on a standard tray-loading 4x Matsushita unit, heavily modified to be a top-loader, but the electronics are still compatible with the other CR-504 models if you need to hack up a repair. TAMs need special risers (and the "fat back") for the PCI and CSII slots or they're unusable. The hard drive is an old-style 2.5" drive, so it's tricky to mount a new drive that doesn't have universal mount points without using tape. And of course, since they're Gazelle-based, most combo PCI cards (such as USB+FireWire) don't work; you'll need to get a very specific model that's listed as compatible in the 6500/TAM. That speaker fabric looks great though. I may do that to my less-than-perfect TAM.

@MichaelWottle

Жыл бұрын

Interestingly, I was unable to get the dual riser PCI card from my 6500/225 to work in my TAM with a compatible USB card. However, on a whim, I noticed the 6400 dual PCI riser had a different part number. I swapped out the riser from the 6500 for the one from the 6400 and the USB card started working. Also, does anyone have the part number from the single PCI riser that fits under the CSII riser? I have a CSII Ethernet card that I'd like to use with the PCI USB card.

It's not even a bad idea. The modern equivalent would be like a 24"ultra HD all in one with peripherals on the bottom. lol. Add the fine design language and high end audio, and it wouldn't even be a bad product.

I remember seeing one of these at my friend's house. His dad was an Apple zealot and always had several new macs on his desk.

It’s about TAM time!

I like the re-cloth-ing of the speakers with black fabric--very elegant choice!

At first I didn't like the black fabric, but now I really dig it. It makes the whole thing look slimmer.

Has anyone noticed how despite this being an Apple channel, he uses an Android for his main phone?

@rmcdudmk212

Жыл бұрын

I hadn't noticed but it's good to know 🤣

@Zeon01

Жыл бұрын

As all should.

@CommodoreFan64

Жыл бұрын

I would not strictly call this an Apple channel, as he's done other old machines before like the GEObooks, and the chonktastic Zenith Datasystems laptop more recently, but having said that if you want more choice, flexibility, and customizability in your phone, tablet, and even streaming boxes, then Android is the way to go, and you don't have to break the bank to do it.

@IanC14

Жыл бұрын

And?

16:13 Interesting to see ALPS inside the keyboard assembly. I had one of their quirky ADB trackpads back in the day...

That chonk connector is amazing! Love the TAM.

The black speaker covers really do look amazing. So much better than the original.

No boot only screams! Brilliant.

Pretty cool thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work!

The screaming Powerbook had me DYING LMAO

In 2003, I wanted a TAM to replace my Apple All-in-One 5400 desktop which, had died. However, could never find a used one at what, I felt was a reasonable price. So, many years later, I picked-up an All-in-One 5500 and took from my dead 5400 system the Apple video card system, Apple TV/FM radio card system with its matching black remote control, and my G3 upgrade card. Afterward, It was like my vintage 5400 desktop had been reborn. Today, this system is still working great (smile ... smile).

This is the one Mac I would love to have in my collection, simply for use as a CD player and display piece. It's just awesome to me.

@johnlarro6872

Жыл бұрын

If the CD still works... yeah - they are a GREAT music machine. I found Mp3's didn't hold up as well for really pumping up the music...

I'd seen a video awhile back fo someone effectivly gutting and putting a brand new mac in complete with bluray drive. It was a thing of beautey.

That version of wolfinstine has way different sounds to what I'm use to.

I personally might have tried a dark gray, but the black covers look fantastic!

Somehow, the TAM was at the same time one of the last Performas (the motherboard was practically the same of 6360) and the first of iMacs (it took the same design concepts).

The Apple that’s still worth more than my car years later.

Looks Awesome and better with the black speaker covers great job!!!!!

Doesn't PCBWay make Flat Flex Cables like that custom to order? I seem to recall it somewhere. If so, you could make one and order it through them.

Wow! TAMs are so awesome!!

Yeah those speaker covers look great!

That was a TAM-tastic video! Thanks for another great upload!

I actually love that computer, idk why. It just has such an interesting look to it!

8:00 - The TAM did indeed come with a dual PCI riser as well as a larger back cover that made it look like a hunchback. The larger back cover provided more space for expansion cards, cables, etc. Hopefully you can track one down.

@EvilTurkeySlices

Жыл бұрын

It’s probably nigh unobtainanium though.

@rydot

Жыл бұрын

The TAM "Backpack" came with two separate risers: One for a single PCI card and another for a "Comm Slot" card (such as 10base-T ethernet). They stagger-stack, so that one card lays above the other, and line up with two appropriately sized openings on a side piece that the backpack fits around.

@zoopercoolguy

Жыл бұрын

Or, perhaps a deeper back cover could be 3d printed.

Bruh, if only apple still designed stuff like that keyboard, that design was *amazing*

The TAM would have been incredible if they put a DVD drive in it. It probably would have pushed the already absurd price tag even further, but I think it's set up just so nice for watching movies!

@orestes1984

Жыл бұрын

At that point in time it would have also needed a DVD rendering chip.

@selzzaW

Жыл бұрын

@@orestes1984 which is why it would have been substantially more expensive!

The TAM is the clear choice for early-adopter standing-desk nutters. The early first wave in the mid 90's "Look how wide my feet got from standing at my scifi computer in giant Birkenstocks. This is how humans were supposed to be in nature"

@thumbwarriordx

Жыл бұрын

Counting the 90's standing desk people as first wave because before that it was more of a "how big is the machine on your desk?" situation as to who used a standing or sitting desk. If it's 300 pounds of steel and bakelite you want to be nimble at all times.

Only issue is had with mine where the explosive capacitors in the power supply aka subwoofer. Just to think that 15 years ago no one wanted this even for free, a bit like the Nexus Cube I got as they had it in a shed as it was a "old black and white" computer....how the world changed. PS: I loved the black speakers so much that I will do the same to mine :)

Absolutely Jelly. Ive wanted a TAM since my applefritter days. I think the CD drive is a standard desktop apple unit stripped of the top case. I would use that door to hide stuff like an SD card reader or similar.

@johnlarro6872

Жыл бұрын

I can't remember, and I'm not digging back inside my TAM right now... but am pretty sure it's not a standard piece. I know I was looking for replacements 15 years ago and there was never a suggestion to gut a standard CD-ROM...

Once you open it up it is really possible to see how this is the ancestor of the iMac G5. Increase the screen size , move the cd rom drive behind the screen, shrink the “ bezels “. As it’s design was developed from the classic Mac design language, it’s definitely on the main line of one piece Mac desktops.

I 100% agree the black fabric looks way better than the gray one, keep it like that its awesome

The CD rom transport looks a lot like a slim CD rom unit, maybe the PowerBook transport head unit is compatible and has the same flex, taking in account the reuse of so much parts it seems plausible that they used the same optical drive in a slight different form factor. Great video as always, hope to see a follow up soon, love your channel.

That's a nice use for the guitar pick, and if you're having lunch afterwards you can use it as a toothpick as well!

Awesome ❤ love the enthusiasm, still rocking my iBook G3 12 inch. PPC forever

The TAM's subwoofer really looks like one of those Mac Pro trashcans... I wonder where they took the inspiration for that one?

Looking forward to this! Please, if you can, go for a GPU over SATA drive compatibility - an adapter to what I assume is IDE isn't gonna be that much slower... But a 9200 in a TAM, running Tiger on a G3 processor sounds delicious! I look forward to seeing how far that RAM goes up, especially once that Sonnet CPU is in there. And, also, damn it, now I want a TAM... I'm supposed to be trying to find a G3 Tower to drop my Yikes CPU in. Thanks for once again giving me another distraction. Also, happy to see you have a very successful video after the suck-fest-ful Tandy debacle, LOL.

@grimmpickins2559

Жыл бұрын

@@matthubina64 If there is a PCI slot, and there is room, it should be able to take a GPU. I think this is late enough where it's an IDE not a SCSI connector for the drive, so one of those adapters should work... With a G3 cpu in it - it should boot into OSX I believe without much difficulty - but past Tiger I'd expect some terrible performance.

A powerbook 3400c was the first step in my retro Mac journey, and while it seemed like it wanted to boot in the eBay listing, when I got it, all it did was scream like yours! It ended up being used for parts. I don't have its corpse anymore, but if I did, I guess I'd have some extra parts if I ever came across a TAM!

I used to have no interest in this thing, but these days it's starting to grow in me. Also, I'd have tried gold fabric on the speakers. That might look ok. Or it might be a disaster.

I’d imagine it should be possible to find a replacement laser assembly for the cd rom drive. Just make sure you remove the solder shorting out the laser after installation. Otherwise it won’t work at all. I’ve seen other people on KZread make that mistake.

I love the top to bottom speaker grill covering up a tiny square speaker, very on brand for Bose. This may have been the first audio brand collaboration with a computer brand which is now the norm.

@PixelatedH2O

Жыл бұрын

You can see grills in the top of each cover that make it look like there was going to originally be four speakers and they changed designs

@compaqdeskpro5770

Жыл бұрын

@@PixelatedH2O Good find. Also typical Bose, when in doubt throw more tiny speakers at it and fix it in software. Okay I''ll stop picking on them, I have a pair of their headphones, they are the best at noise canceling.

Look like Apple CD 600i CR-504-C share same part for laser I found it on the forum you can try to look it up yourself

I never understood the hate for the TAM. It wasn't supposed to be a consumer hit, it's a high-end Bose CD audio system which happens to have a mac installed. It was intended to sit on a bookcase to be operated with a remote control and for 1997 the industrial design was amazing. Jobs hated everything he didn't have a hand in creating. That's why he created NeXT, to build his own ideal computer, and later killed off all of Apple's existing products. There's literally nothing 1997 Apple could have presented him with that wouldn't end up in the trash. If someone else had created the iMac he would have hated it.

@CommodoreFan64

Жыл бұрын

100% Jobs was very narcissistic, and self centered so much so he drove one of his best friends Steve Woz from the company, and that says a lot, because after that Woz refused to be locked into the Apple ecosystem, and I can't blame him.

@IanC14

Жыл бұрын

I like what apple did under him. But I disliked the man.

@kirishima638

Жыл бұрын

@@matthubina64 It was a collectors item aimed at a few people who might want to own a one-off piece of history. The price didn’t just include the computer but an Apple engineer who would personally deliver and set it up for you. There are high end audio products that are sold the same way. It’s a rich man’s market. Think also of luxury sports cars or executive watches. You get the whole experience. People keep comparing this product to a mainstream personal computer which is wrong. It’s a high end Bose stereo system with a Mac attached.

Beautiful Tam Sean

Yeah I was going to say, my 3400 definitely doesn't have a rage 128. Can't wait for up coming videos for this thing!

Not an Apple guy but love the enthusiasm. I definitely like the black speaker grille much better; looks futuristic. The grey just screamed bargain basement.

This is the first time I've ever seen a tam unbuttoned!

Dunno why Jobs hated it, it's probably the only retro mac that appeals to me. It does look very un-Apple for the time though, the person below saying it looks like a Sony device is spot on. Looks a lot better with that black fabric on the speakers too!

This is amazing! Find that cable!

I love your retro channel! You should paint the screen bezels black and cover the keyboard and subwoofer with carbon fiber vinyl wrap to make it even more modern 😎

would be cool if you could find a matching screen bezel in the same color as the bottom part of the device. looks pretty cool and never knew that such a thing existed.

The black speaker coverings are so much better than the original. It frames the screen nicely.

Always love to see what you will do next but the TAM is a favorite of mine as I have the Sonnet 500MHz upgrade and 128mb of RAM and oS 9.2.2 on mine!

I love TAM since I saw it on big screen in Batman Forever when I was a kid.

I've seen that PCBway does flexible PCBs as an option. Realistically that ribbon cable is just a flexible PCB with no components. I bet you could get something made pretty easy.

6:24 we can all relate to how this poor boy feels

Ha! Who would of thought that it used the same powerbook components?! Great video proving it does! 🙂

That is one beautiful TAM brother

Stockings! They are great for recovering speaker covers lmao