Holy Crap, Look at this TAM!

[@ActionRetro]

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

[@singletona082]

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]

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]

So cool how much money you give for this mac?

[@BrentDubroc]

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

[@gamejew38]

68k.news is down

[@luctimm]

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

[@LabCat]

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

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

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]

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

[@MediocreTCG]

@@LabCat it does have a very VAIO vibe.

[@matonmacs]

Original: Sony. Black recover: B&O 😊

[@monkeyman767]

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

[@sorcerousquigley419]

the scream of pain that powerbook let out was top tier

[@SAerror1]

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 KZbin!

[@singletona082]

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]

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

[@stonecrestmovies]

@@bartat404 kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5nLd4RjaNxoqqc The fun begins here. Truly the most pissed off you'll ever see Steve Jobs.

[@DerekWitt]

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

[@s8wc3]

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.

[@dminalba]

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]

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

[@kbhasi]

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

[@sixteenbitify]

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

[@organiccold]

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

[@johnlarro6872]

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

[@StevenIngram]

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]

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]

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

[@JeffWaynee]

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

[@pdahandyman]

I concur! Bravo, Sean!!!

[@NicholasAndre1]

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

[@olepigeon]

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.

[@nekomasteryoutube3232]

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.

[@bland9876]

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

[@nickwallette6201]

It's a Bose, for sure!

[@bland9876]

@@nickwallette6201 lol

[@mlthmp]

You're one of the few KZbinrs 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!

[@MatroxMillennium]

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]

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

[@MatroxMillennium]

@@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

[@LabCat]

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.

[@bradkane]

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

[@ScottDuensing]

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

[@bluephreakr]

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.

[@Desertjoe789]

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

[@orestes1984]

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]

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]

@@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]

@@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 :)

[@MaGioZal]

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).

[@orionfl79]

Wow, the innards on that thing show just how bad the design was rushed... Its literally a spiders web of ribbon cables held in with scotch tape! lol

[@retropuffer2986]

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

[@SenileOtaku]

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

[@othertonywi1son]

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

[@Mainyehc]

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.

[@JaredJanhsen]

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]

No.

[@JaredJanhsen]

@@3rdalbum Aaaaaw :(

[@danieladriangiacomelli936]

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

[@fixyourautomobile]

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.

[@iHusk]

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

[@fsfs555]

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]

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.

[@thumbwarriordx]

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]

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.

[@ekner]

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

[@phipli]

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

[@thoraldshib4393]

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

[@MichaelAStanhope]

the black looks quite good on that machine.

[@kirishima638]

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]

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]

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

[@kirishima638]

@@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.

[@thomasb.900]

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

[@RetroPC]

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]

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...

[@geekwithsocialskills]

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 🙂

[@adrianptorres]

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.

[@MrJakeTucker]

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

[@brpadington]

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.

[@draggonhedd]

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]

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...

[@SwissRuediger]

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.

[@mikek1187]

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]

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.

[@michaelmarks1391]

That's pretty funny that they have that big-ass cover for the speakers and when you pulled it off, there was just a tiny BS speaker at the bottom.

[@alc5440]

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

[@selzzaW]

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]

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

[@selzzaW]

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

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

TAM That Apple Migraine

[@olepigeon]

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]

It’s probably nigh unobtainanium though.

[@rydot]

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]

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

[@koztech]

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]

That's a totally different drive though?

[@nickwallette6201]

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.)

[@Linkhunter]

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

[@Francois_L_7933]

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

[@transitengineer]

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).

[@francesconicoletti2547]

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.

[@elyzsabethahne2116]

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

[@Michael-Archonaeus]

Someone mentioned Sony, but I just can't look at this thing without being reminded of Bang & Olufsen. Maybe I'm weird?

[@RisingRevengeance]

This is probably the best apple design imo

[@compaqdeskpro5770]

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]

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]

@@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.

[@deltanet0]

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

[@cjh0751]

Well, I don't know about your Tam, but I must say... you steam a good ham.

[@ericbauer4559]

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!

[@evknucklehead]

Just a little clarification, neither the 3400 nor the TAM came with the Rage 128 chip. The 3400 sported a generic Cirrus Logic video chip, while the TAM had the ATI Rage II chipset. The first mac to come with a Rage 128 was the Blue and White G3 tower, followed by the slot-loading iMacs.

[@alextirrellRI]

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

[@curvingfyre6810]

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

[@Mina_Bennington]

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

[@panchenima]

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.

[@Cooper3312000]

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

[@gabotron94]

That base station connector seems to be a proper aviation connector

[@moz2186]

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.

[@cheater00]

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!

[@driftonAloft]

so i think pcbway and similair pcb manufactures are able to do custom ribbon cables like that

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

It also doesn'l look like a computer. It more looks like something i would put on my living room Hi-Fi system. Without knowing that this thing is a PC, i would assume it would be a network media center with an integrated CD player. As others already said, it also looks like something from Sony.

[@squeeeb]

That chonk connector is amazing! Love the TAM.

[@lemagreengreen]

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!

[@joshuasundheimer4218]

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

[@grimmpickins2559]

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]

@@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.

[@MkwRa]

hey, this was the computer Jerry in the show Seinfeld had on his desk, isn't it?

[@AlbertoMontesSoto]

I remember this being unobtanium and horrifyingly expensive

[@singletona082]

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.

[@TheiTunesFanboy]

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

[@rmcdudmk212]

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

[@Zeon01]

As all should.

[@CommodoreFan64]

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]

And?

[@CasualSpud]

Apple + Bose = $$$$$ Looks great

[@GabrielGee]

No boot only screams! Brilliant.

[@MarcosCodas]

TAM, bam, thank you ma'am!

[@ActionRetro]

😂

[@bland9876]

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

[@YT.Armorchampion148]

It’s about TAM time!

[@effthree7227]

compared to how other personal computers looked at the time, this thing looked like it was from one hundred years in the future. fourteen year old me wanted it so bad 😆

[@MidnightThunderYT]

I prefer the *GREY* speaker fabric.

[@3rdalbum]

That thing looks like it stepped straight off the page of an "artist's impression of the computer of the 2000s"

[@remurdereht]

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.

[@MrDeelightful]

The screaming Powerbook had me DYING LMAO

[@TransbianKitty]

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

[@AmazedStoner]

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 KZbin make that mistake.

[@jarms40]

I admit it. I LIKE this Mac. I also like the upright optical drive. Don't lose it, please.

[@AlyxxTheRat]

When I saw you playing Wolfenstein 3D on the TAM I could see Sandra Bullock from The Net staring in awe.

[@macbuff81]

It's interesting to see that most of the speaker really isn't speaker at all :)

[@hessex1899]

It's basically Cassandra from Dr Who. Make sure you give it a spritz every once in a while.

[@organiccold]

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 :)

[@coffeetime1001]

This is actually a very cool looking Mac back then and it looks ahead of its time. I saw it on TV shows in the background there and here. It's just the price point is beyond eveyone's reach. I think it would've been cheaper to make after the iMac G4 with the first flat screen. This TAM could pass as one of the iMacs after 2001.

[@UpLateGeek]

It might be possible to repair the old LCD if it's just the polariser (that's "polarizer" for the US Americans). Tube Time on twitter repaired a Powerbook LCD screen by removing the old polariser and replacing it with new film, although that was a monochrome LCD, not a colour one. I'm not 100% sure you can do the same thing for colour LCDs, but that might be something you want to look into. Anyway, it's good to see you got the TAM working. Can't wait to see more upgrades!

[@umby9]

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!