Filed under: Cult of Mac, Apple, Retro Mac
What every superhero needs: Watchmen black SE/30
Even though reviewers and early attendees have pointed out a slew of Apple references (including a snippet of the 1984 ad) in the Watchmen film, the one we've been waiting for most eagerly is the appearance of Adrian (Ozymandias) Veidt's sleek black SE/30. In the film version of 1985, it's what every 'world's smartest man' is using as his desktop computer. Never mind that in our universe, Apple didn't introduce the 68030-based compact Mac until 1989. Looks like Gizmodo has the first photos of the all-in-one running System 6 (naturally). Hey, it's the consensus best Mac ever -- what else would you choose? Also, pay no attention to the fact that while that's a consistent ADB mouse, the keyboard appears to be for a PC.
If you can't get enough Watchmen, Giz also has a spoilerific discussion of whether one of the characters resembles a certain iCEO, and the iTunes store is chock-full of smiley-face content for your enjoyment. If the idea of a black SE/30 makes you all tingly inside, check out geektechnique's slick mod on his machine.
Update: Word is that there was, in fact, a security-hardened 'Tempest' model of the SE/30 that matches this description, except for the color. Commenter defor writes:
IT actually IS a Tempest SE/30, model CSI-1891T (the proper model which is a SE/30 that's been tempest-ized) by Candes Systems http://web.archive.org/web/20011127001651/members.aol.com/tempestcsi/ I can't say I've seen one in black before, but it looks fully legitimate, and i've heard of them existing. The old manuals i had seen only showed the platinum variant.
Those of you buying tickets to Watchmen via movietickets.com may have discovered, as I did, that there's an iTunes bonus in effect through 3/15: a chapter of the Watchmen motion comic + a "sneak peak [sic]" of the Tales of the Black Freighter animated minifeature. Be sure to scroll down on your ticket confirmation page to see the gift code, as it will not be emailed to you (at least, it wasn't in my case).
Thanks to Laurie & everyone who sent this in.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nezza said 6:10PM on 3-06-2009
Considering that the mod you linked to showed a perfectly good mac having its internals replaced and ultimately running Windows (as clearly seen in the 15th photo). I presume you actually meant a 'sick' mod, and not a 'slick' mod.
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Aaron Davies said 7:39PM on 3-06-2009
iirc, there really were a few black mac plus's made--they were TEMPEST-hardened custom jobs for the CIA or something
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Victor Agreda, Jr. said 9:49PM on 3-06-2009
What's cooler: they had Bernouli drives in them. And darned if Ozy's Mac didn't open up just like one of those Tempest jobs... Hurm indeed.
defor said 7:53PM on 3-07-2009
IT actually IS a Tempest SE/30, model CSI-1891T (the proper model which is a SE/30 that's been tempest-ized) by Candes Systems http://web.archive.org/web/20011127001651/members.aol.com/tempestcsi/
I can't say I've seen one in black before, but it looks fully legitimate, and i've heard of them existing. The old manuals i had seen only showed the platinum variant.
The mouse is most likely a custom job (paint or remolded), and the keyboard here is completely nit designed for any SE/30, tempest or not. It's the Adesso ACK-595B/UB (PS/2 or USB only)
blake said 1:39AM on 3-07-2009
Cool. I got a Macintosh TV for $20 last month and it works! It is the sweetest of the black macs.
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mentalsticks said 9:32PM on 3-06-2009
consensus means "general agreement" -- not three out of five. so RTFA or RaFdictionary.
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Michael Rose said 10:39PM on 3-06-2009
I added my vote. four out of six.
JP said 9:55PM on 3-06-2009
Black Macs: Besides the MacintoshTV, Bell & Howell partnered to sell education market Apple IIs in (nearly) black finish. IIRC Apple ran from this deal when they got wind of how Bell & Howell nearly ruined Canon in the US. TEMPEST Macs were not cosmetically black, they were simply nicknamed "black" as in "black ops"
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Joe Russell said 9:55PM on 3-06-2009
Best app I've seen of late: Taxi Magic
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=299226386&mt=8
Holy cow it's badass...
Used it here in SF 3 times over the weekend... everyone is flabbergasted by how well it worked.
We were able to fetch cabs out front of the house in less than 5 minutes, and it took a fraction of the time to call a cab (from unlock to request, I'd literally say it was like 30 seconds).
J.
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Joe Russell said 9:58PM on 3-06-2009
(um, I'm terribly sorry about that post above folks... it appears my 1Passwd saw fit to retain the last post I made sometime ago about "TaxiMagic". Please disregard!)
Anyway... did Apple in fact make black SE/30s?
The only black machines I recall from back in the day were:
- AppleTV
- Powerbook 540c (Japan only - aka Blackbird)
J.
Michael Rose said 10:43AM on 3-07-2009
There were black accents on the 20th Anniversary Mac, I believe -- but most of the portables were dark gray.
Unknown said 11:57PM on 3-06-2009
If anyone has seen the movie you may have noticed the 1984 Macintosh commercial playing on one of Veidts surveillance screens.
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muziqtwin said 12:18AM on 3-08-2009
...and noticed, on Ozymandias' floppy, he had a "BOYS" folder right next to his "SECRET PLANS" one...
Joe Russell said 11:07AM on 3-07-2009
Actually, my iPasswd drama hampered my memory a bit...
I meant "Mac TV" and not Apple TV (btw, I always hated how the optical drive door on some models was white and not black... bust out a sharpie at least, people!):
http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/01/apple_flops/04_mac_tv.jpg
And not the 540c... It was known as the Powerbook 550c in Japan:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook/stats/mac_powerbook550c.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24926669@N07/2373696314
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604edave said 5:40PM on 3-08-2009
The 20th anniversary mac was black too.
I've been using macs since system 7 so I had a bit to consider on this one.
1) color classic (probably my favorite nostalgia mac)
2) "Pismo" firewire powerbook g3 (super design and very stylish not to mention DURABLE [ever try picking up a macbook-just-for-show by a corner on the run?] and fast)
4) powermac g4 cases (wasn't too happy with the guts but eh... )
3) hackintosh
yeah I know the last one isn't mac hardware but its actually still a mac inside and with the extra dough you get a pair of super nice screens on wall mounts... After the last few crap iterations of the "consumer" level mac (glossy screens? 3 replaced iMac g5's.... ) hacks are going to be a real contender for the tech savvy.
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ds9ds92 said 11:46PM on 3-08-2009
You know, I saw this post before the movie. Kept watching every scene, and this picture is NOT in the movie anywhere. Has to be from publicity photos from the set.
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zjman said 12:29PM on 3-09-2009
That is, indeed, a CSI-1891T. It's slightly doctored - the originals were never literally black (they were a classic beige); the "black" moniker was obtained in the folklore surrounding it (as in "black ops").
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zjman said 10:20AM on 3-10-2009
You can find more information about this here:
http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/mac1891T/index.html
And here:
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,51983,00.html
Mac128 said 7:23PM on 3-17-2009
Actually, the CSI-1891T is more than slightly doctored. The entire rear case is replaced with the original SE/30 case and painted black (the CSI used a metal chassis with no design details). Also, because they appear to be using a Trinitron-type monitor, both the front bezel has been modified to fit it, as well as a rear housing extension to accommodate the additional length of the high-res CRT used to eliminate film flicker. The joint line is barely visible on the top of the left rear corner. But you can clearly see at the bottom where the ribbed bottom inch of the case stops and the smooth upper housing continues over an inch deeper.
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