Low End Mac Editorial Archive

April 2004

Marketing the Mac: The lonely Mac support guy, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.30. "The goal is to show the Mac as a real option. It's practical. It's affordable. It's reliable. It's easy to use. Its differences make it better - no viruses, no extra boxes, less wires."
AirPort 3.4.1, first 100 GB laptop drive, 4x DVD-R/RW/RAM for TiBooks, maximixing battery life, lots more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 04.30. Up to 4x wireless range for TiBooks, iBatt software, lots of new Knowledge Base articles, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,599, and lots more.
An Apple (iTunes bottle cap) for the teacher, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 04.29. "I've had at least five winning caps dropped on my desk by students who drink Pepsi but don't use iTunes."
Marketing the Mac: Crossing the platform divide, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.29. "If we don't make it easy to network the platforms, share files, and just work together simply, we'll have a hard time convincing Windows users to switch or even add a Mac as their next computer."
Analyzing the analyst's analysis, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 04.28. When they operate from false premises, they may reach unwarranted conclusions.
Marketing the Mac: Turning a profit with low-end Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.28. There are plenty of ways to make money selling low-cost, entry-level computers, especially with add-ons and services.
GarageBand causes collapse of music industry, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 04.27. With GarageBand, you don't even have to have rhythm to create your own beautiful music on a Mac.
Marketing the Mac: The limited upgrade problem, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.27. 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, 04.27. Intel finally broke the 3.2 GHz barrier last month, but we're expecting a 50% faster G5 this August.
Marketing the Mac: Yes, Macs are different, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.26. Apple stressed the wrong thing with the 'Think Different' campaign. It should have been about how a different computer does the same things as a Windows PC.
Maximum eMac RAM, PB 1400 offspring and boot solutions, a nice IE feature, and password protection in OS X, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 04.26. Lot of praise for the PowerBook 1400, how to boot the 1400 from a CD, booting from Compact Flash, working around password problems in OS X, and more.
Living the low-end life: It's not just about computers, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.23. Low-end living is about budget, value, and priorities in all the areas of your life.
'Book sales up, 1.25 GHz Macs benchmarked, no PowerBook G5 soon, new PowerBook G3 disc burners, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 04.23. Also green keyboard backlighting, Berners-Lee's PowerBook, aluminum scratch concealer, bargain 'Books from $199 to $1,649, and more.
Windows PCs seem to break a lot, but Macs just keep working, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 04.23. Adware, spyware, viruses, Trojans, registry corruption - so many things can take down a Windows PC.
The PowerBook 2004 value equation and Apple's best portable values, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.21. New, close out, and refurb - what are the best portable values for today's Mac user?
Nisus Email, free email, spam sentinels, password problems, Internet Explorer, WaMCom, and RAM disks, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 04.21. Configuring email clients, what is Nisus Email, fighting spam, unknown boot password, one IE for Mac advantage, more on WaMCom, and RAM disk questions.
The iBook 2004 value equation: Good deals all around, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.20. As expected, the new iBooks offer more value for the dollar than last year's models, but what about refurbs?
Things we've learned from eBay, Jeff and Lori Adkins, The Lite Side, 04.20. "The UPS guy's name is Chuck. He has two kids, one of whom is on the swim team. His wife sells recipe books on eBay. They have a dog but it is smaller than yours."
iTunes and logic board replacement, Apple laptop quality, battery questions, and the PB 1400, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 04.20. iTunes deauthorization, superior or inferior 'Books, Pismo at sea, replacement batteries, and the wonderful PowerBook 1400.
Low-end Macs: Why Apple needs a headless model for education and home users, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 04.16. "We know Apple resists marketing to the low end because the profit margins are higher for the stuff they do now."
Warnings on iBook logic board replacement, pink iBook, wireless cantenna, Pod Shield, and more, Charles Moore, The 'Book Review, 04.16. iBatt battery monitor, FlyLight USB, Keyspan USB Server, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,499, and more.
Macs, the virus scare, and safe computing, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 04.16. "...full time antivirus software really isn't necessary on any platform, as long as you take the proper precautions."
Kissing Internet Explorer for OS X good-bye, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.16. Microsoft's browser just kept hanging itself, so it was time to search for new solutions.
Small and stylish PCs are hot, so bring back the Cube, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 04.14. Yet again it looks like the good folks at Apple were just slightly ahead of their time.
The 1.25 GHz eMac value equation: Wow!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.14. Apple's value leader offers even more power for the price - especially the SuperDrive model.
Why Apple really is doomed: Thoughts on earning a death knell citation, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 04.12. After reading through some of the Mac Observer's Death Knell citations, I came to the conclusion that I gotta get one of these for myself.
Mail Beacon and POPmonitor: Spam sentinels for Mac OS 8, 9, and X, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 04.12. Hate downloading and wading through spam? These two shareware programs let you delete it from the server before you download.
Disappointing PC laptops, Apple's superior laptops, 10 hour fuel cells, Apple ProCare, and more, Charles Moore, The 'Book Review, 04.09. iBook production moving to China, leather 'Book cases, G4 customer-installable parts, bargain 'Books from $50 to $2,649, and more.
Apple, PC-only policies, and computers in education, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 04.09. "The no-Mac rule is being implemented without regard to educational consequences because teachers were not consulted about it...."
Media players for OS 9 and X: The good, the slow, and the ugly, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 04.09. Competition has given us QuickTime, Windows Media Player, and Real Player, but some are better than others.
iCab strengths, WaMCom tips, importing bookmarks into Safari, and print preview, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 04.09. More on alternatives to Inernet Explorer on both the classic Mac OS and OS X.
Television for the rest of us: Why Apple should make a DVR, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 04.05. TiVo and Replay TV are hot, but an Apple-branded digital video recorder could be even hotter - and good for Apple's bottom line.
Migrating files to a newer Mac, RAM compatibility, Firemail.de, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 04.05. Tips on moving files to a newer Mac, comments on RAM compatibility and Firemail.de, iBook failures, and Acard problems in older Power Macs.
Exploding batteries, replacement LCDs and backlights, double or triple AirPort Extreme range, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 04.02. XPostFacto improved, deals on AppleCare, SideTrack enhanced trackpad driver, RAM Disk Creator, bargain 'Books from $155 to $2,795, and more.
The Logo Creator: Useful but quirky design software, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 04.02. Program helps the "design challenged" create logos, but the interface is unconventional.
Upgrading to AIM 4.7: Two steps back, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 04.02. One step forward, but bigger windows and reduced performance makes it more of a downgrade.