Low End Mac Archive for April 27

April 27 in Low End Mac History

No $500 PCs this year, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. "The industry will comfortably break the $1,000 with viable new systems by Christmas, but with all the features buyers demand, the only $500 computers we'll see this Christmas are from liquidators unloading old inventory."

Computer, tell me a joke, Evan Kleiman, Mac Happens. Teach your iMac to respond to your voice!

Follow up on the 6100, 7100, and 8100, Adam Robert Guha, Mac Daniel. A look at upgrade options.

2 Power Macs at under $150, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive. Setting up a Performa 6200 or Power Mac 7100 on the cheap.
Review: Contour MiniPro Mouse, Dan Knight, MacUSB. This compact optical mouse is especially useful with portables.
New iBook rumors, iBook hard drive upgrade tutorial, SleeveCases, bargain 'Books, and more, Charles Moore. Rumors of a new iBook, iBook drive replacement, the TiCase, keyboard screen protection, 512 MB DIMMs for the TiBook, bargain 'Books, and more.

Marketing the Mac: The limited upgrade problem, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. Compared with Windows PCs, Macs seem to have limited upgrade potential. Here's how Apple could address that perception.
To 3.6 GHz and beyond: Why the new Pentium 4 is a yawner for Mac users, Anne Onymus, Rumor Mill. Intel finally broke the 3.2 GHz barrier last month, but we're expecting a 50% faster G5 this August.
GarageBand causes collapse of music industry, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side. With GarageBand, you don't even have to have rhythm to create your own beautiful music on a Mac.

Power Mac G5/2.7 GHz. A slightly faster CPU, larger hard drives, more video RAM, and 16x SuperDrives with no change in price.
The 2005 Power Mac G5 value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. The new Power Macs are faster with no change in price, but the close-out 2004 models offer some great values.

WinXP a real alternative to PPC apps on Macintel, Intel launches Pro PC brand, and more, The Macintel Report. More Win-on-Mac news, Photoshop for Macintel due in 2007, new Gateway laptop runs 1.06 GHz Core Solo, AMD-Intel antitrust trial approaching, and more.
Apple iPhone coming?, Wurlitzer jukebox adds iPod dock, Corgi iCar rocks iPod, and more, iPod News Review. Also, UC Berkeley puts lectures on iPods, new iPod phrasebook and dictionary, Pocket Vegan software, and more.

Apple's 5% market share, 8-core Mac Pro rocks when multitasking, ScreenRecycler speeds up, and more, Mac News Review. Also how to cool RAM in the Mac Pro, Blu-ray support may come with Leopard, new Core 2 CPUs with double-sized caches, clever eSATA extender cable from NewerTech, and more.
QuickTime vulnerability impacts Macs, Intel's handheld PC, Sony on overheating batteries, and more, The 'Book Review. Also MacBook Pro battery swelling, a periscope for the MacBook, guide to upgrading MacBook Pro hard drive, bargain 'Books from $170 to $1,399, and more.

Microsoft's focus on 'cheap' PCs cuts both ways, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz. Arguing that PCs are 'cheap' does nothing to help their image and provides a good argument for looking at Linux.
Farewell to Geocities (and some free alternatives), Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings. Once a popular place to host a personal website for free, Geocities will be closing its doors later this year. However, there are other options.

Why do aliens ignore us? Because they may not exist, Charles W Moore, Charles Moore's Mailbag. A recent poll finds that 70% believe in extraterrestrial life, but after 50 years of searching, SETI hasn't found any sign of it.
The iPad is here to stay, Austin Leeds, Low End Mac Reviews. Austin's iPad replaced his Pismo PowerBook a month ago, and he has no regrets from making the switch.
Crosley CR245: Two ways to digitize your vinyl, Tommy Thomas, The Review Vault. The Crosley 'Director' has a belt-drive turntable and can record directly to CD - or to your Mac, using the appropriate cable.

My quixotic quest for quietness: Keeping my 'Book's fans spooled down, Charles Moore, 'Book Value. Silence is golden, but computers run hot and need to be cooled. The Targus Chill Mat for Mac provides cooling with quiet fans.

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Perhaps the Best Version Ever, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum. In many ways, OS X 10.4 Tiger was Apple's best yet, supporting a wide range of hardware and software.
Apple's New iPad Blunder, Brydge Makes iPad a Real Laptop, iHome's iPad Workstation, and More, iOS News Review. Also why one tablet user plans to go Windows 8, two new iPad stands, Ferrari chairman meets with Apple CEO, and more.
Linux Creator Loves MacBook Air, Ivy Bridge MacBook Update Expectations, and More, The 'Book Review. Also 17" MacBook Pro approaching its end?, ultrathin value notebooks could undermine Intel's Ultrabook plans, and more.
Apple's Record 2nd Quarter, Free Snow Leopard for MobileMe Users, iCloud Alternatives, and More, Mac News Review. Also Microsoft and Google cloud drives support Mac users, hyperspeed Accelsior SSD on PCI Express tested in Mac Pro, and more.