Hey Bunsen,
if you really want an Intel Mac, I'd go a Hackintosh - choose your parts carefully and once you get past the initial intricacies of installing OS X, it works a treat. Knowing you're like me, you like to tinker and it's just not possible with any Intel Mac these days. Cheap and nasty yes, but when it's one fifth of the price, you can't go wrong.
Regarding TAM hacks - I believe two-slot PCI riser cards don't work, however DVD playback is an interesting one - the TAM's optical drive is basically an Apple CD 600 4X drive with a custom fascia and harness to make it work in it's unusual manner. I wonder if a DVD SCSI drive - with similar schematics to the CD 600 drive - would go in there? One thing I would like to find is the adapter for video out (mirrored), which some 5500 machines had. The 6500 had video out as part of the edge harness.
I've seen some junked TAMs on eBay from time to time, which would be asking for a mod. The stock innards are a mess - definately seeming more like a prototype or rushed-to-market machine. The housing is big and ugly enough to put something else inside.
Seen this?
JB
if you really want an Intel Mac, I'd go a Hackintosh - choose your parts carefully and once you get past the initial intricacies of installing OS X, it works a treat. Knowing you're like me, you like to tinker and it's just not possible with any Intel Mac these days. Cheap and nasty yes, but when it's one fifth of the price, you can't go wrong.
Regarding TAM hacks - I believe two-slot PCI riser cards don't work, however DVD playback is an interesting one - the TAM's optical drive is basically an Apple CD 600 4X drive with a custom fascia and harness to make it work in it's unusual manner. I wonder if a DVD SCSI drive - with similar schematics to the CD 600 drive - would go in there? One thing I would like to find is the adapter for video out (mirrored), which some 5500 machines had. The 6500 had video out as part of the edge harness.
I've seen some junked TAMs on eBay from time to time, which would be asking for a mod. The stock innards are a mess - definately seeming more like a prototype or rushed-to-market machine. The housing is big and ugly enough to put something else inside.
Seen this?
JB