I looked at several Macs when I was looking for the ultimate bridge machine. I finally choose a WallStreet model for the following reasons:
1. LocalTalk. This was the last Mac with LocalTalk. You can't add this on after the fact! USB to Serial adapters do not do LocalTalk. While you can buy stand alone LocalTalk to Ethernet adapters, like AsanteTalk, you're still dependent on your Router or Switch to support AppleTalk. Crazy as it sounds, there are some out there that don't! I want to future-proof myself in everyway.
2. Apple SuperDrive Floppy. This was the last Mac with Apple's SuperDrive Floppy disk, critical if you plan on making 400k/800k floppy disks for your older compact Macs. USB Floppy drives are really PC drives. They do not work with 400k/800k Mac floppies.
3. Size. Getting a PowerBook over a Desktop saves a lot of room, especially when it's being used primarily as a bridge.
4. Expandability. A wonderful and easy to exapnd Mac. Easily Add CD/DVD, Floppy, Extra Battery, USB, FireWire, 100MB Ethernet, Wi-fi, RAM, processor upgrades.
5. Silence. Again, since it's mainily a bridge, I want quiet! These Macs boot from Compact Flash like a charm! Slightly faster than from the hard drive (and much faster with a 32-bit cardbus adapter which I'm still hunting for). I removed the Hard Drive and boot from external CF. No fan comes on. Complete silence!
1. LocalTalk. This was the last Mac with LocalTalk. You can't add this on after the fact! USB to Serial adapters do not do LocalTalk. While you can buy stand alone LocalTalk to Ethernet adapters, like AsanteTalk, you're still dependent on your Router or Switch to support AppleTalk. Crazy as it sounds, there are some out there that don't! I want to future-proof myself in everyway.
2. Apple SuperDrive Floppy. This was the last Mac with Apple's SuperDrive Floppy disk, critical if you plan on making 400k/800k floppy disks for your older compact Macs. USB Floppy drives are really PC drives. They do not work with 400k/800k Mac floppies.
3. Size. Getting a PowerBook over a Desktop saves a lot of room, especially when it's being used primarily as a bridge.
4. Expandability. A wonderful and easy to exapnd Mac. Easily Add CD/DVD, Floppy, Extra Battery, USB, FireWire, 100MB Ethernet, Wi-fi, RAM, processor upgrades.
5. Silence. Again, since it's mainily a bridge, I want quiet! These Macs boot from Compact Flash like a charm! Slightly faster than from the hard drive (and much faster with a 32-bit cardbus adapter which I'm still hunting for). I removed the Hard Drive and boot from external CF. No fan comes on. Complete silence!