Apple hobbles its low end machines to this day, in order to sell its high end machines to those who need the whiz bang features, and in order to maximize profits on what it sells at the low end. Take the antiquated screen resolution of a 13" MacBook, for example, or dual versus quad core i7s. But what stands at the low end is still a good appliance, even if a more limited one in the long term.
In the present case, to compare an SE/30 and a Classic II is really a bit much. The SE/30 was a high end machine and the Classic II a low end machine. You bought a Plus at the low end when the SE/30 was marketed; by the time the Classic II was being manufactured, it was effectively the base model (the Performa 200, 400, and 600 series is revealing -- a lousy Performa 600 was a big step up from what the Classic II was designed to be), whereas the equivalent in marketing terms for an SE/30 was maybe the Quadra 700. I doubt that even Apple had the ability to shoehorn the equivalent of a Quadra 700 into a Compact case back in those days.
So yes, I understand the sense of disappointment felt about the Classic II and even remember it from those days, but we mustn't compare oranges with Apples, ho ho ho. Besides, as a basic consumer machine, the Classic II did what it was supposed to do rather well. It ran Word 5.1 or ClarisWorks surprisingly well.
Essentially, what this means is that people who talk about the Classic II as the SE/30's successor are talking foolishness. It's more like the Plus's successor, from the very end of the Plus's run, and as such it's not a bad piece of kit.
In the present case, to compare an SE/30 and a Classic II is really a bit much. The SE/30 was a high end machine and the Classic II a low end machine. You bought a Plus at the low end when the SE/30 was marketed; by the time the Classic II was being manufactured, it was effectively the base model (the Performa 200, 400, and 600 series is revealing -- a lousy Performa 600 was a big step up from what the Classic II was designed to be), whereas the equivalent in marketing terms for an SE/30 was maybe the Quadra 700. I doubt that even Apple had the ability to shoehorn the equivalent of a Quadra 700 into a Compact case back in those days.
So yes, I understand the sense of disappointment felt about the Classic II and even remember it from those days, but we mustn't compare oranges with Apples, ho ho ho. Besides, as a basic consumer machine, the Classic II did what it was supposed to do rather well. It ran Word 5.1 or ClarisWorks surprisingly well.
Essentially, what this means is that people who talk about the Classic II as the SE/30's successor are talking foolishness. It's more like the Plus's successor, from the very end of the Plus's run, and as such it's not a bad piece of kit.