Low End Mac Editorial Archive

March 2009

Microsoft doesn't get it, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.31. The PC world rejoices at Apple's February sales drop, celebrates Lauren's $699 laptop, and says we pay $500 for the Apple logo. They just don't get it.
Are PC users losers?, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 03.31. Microsoft's new ad takes on Mac pricing while Steve Ballmer claims Mac buyers pay a $500 premium for a logo.
My Apple laptops: Past, present, and future, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 03.31. Looking back at the WallStreet, Pismo, and PowerBook G4 while moving ahead with a Unibody MacBook.
eWorld: Apple's overpriced, poorly marketed online service, Cortland, 03.31. Apple's eWorld was innovative, built communities, and allowed Internet access in 1994, but hardly anyone even knew it existed. And those who did thought it overpriced.
Vertus Fluid Mask 3: A powerful image masking tool for cleaning up image backgrounds, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.30. If you need to do sophisticated image masking, Fluid Mask provides lots of powerful tools for getting the job done.
Macs lose top reliability rating, eSATA doomed by USB 3, Mac mini Bluetooth and audio problems, and more, Mac News Review, 03.27. Also an abandoned iMac in New York City, 17" iMac still available to education, IT pros are demanding Macs, and more.
No $99 netbooks, Apple netbook will fail, learning from a stolen laptop, tiny iDrive, and more, The 'Book Review, 03.27. Also OLED coming to MacBooks and iPhone, X1600 issues in older MacBook Pro models, battery tips, online backup, bargain 'Books from $170 to $2,999, and more.
iPhone dominates growing smartphone market, unlocked iPhone no bargain, InstallerApp, and more, iNews Review, 03.27. Also iPhone 3.0 compared to competition, iPhone keyboard hack, the iPod monopoly, Mariner Calc for iPhone, Dell smartphone prosepcts, and more.
PowerPC viability, Migration Assistant rocks, importing Mail to Eudora, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.25. Also boosting MacBook memory, limiting CPU usage with SETI@home, and running Windows on pre-Intel Macs.
Is the computer you have the computer you need?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.24. "There's a saying that the good is the enemy of the best. Maybe we should turn that on its head and proclaim that the best is the enemy of the comfortably adequate."
Getting settled in with the Unibody MacBook, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 03.24. Using a new Mac with dialup is made easier with the preview version of Opera Turbo.
Vertus Bling! It: Affordable image masking software for casual use, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.24. Bling! It can be a useful tool for removing busy backgrounds from product photos used online or in print.
At 20 years, the Web is a wealth of information and connectivity, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.20. "We can bemoan the increasing level of trivial information posted on it and the growing amount of time so many spend connected to it. Or we can look at the breadth and depth of the Web, realizing that it is rich in information...."
iPhone OS 3 preview for developers, ThumbTacks mini-mic, no AppleCare for iPhone in Canada, and more, iNews Review, 03.20. Also Bluetooth in 2G iPod touch crippled until iPhone 3, 'mini-Photoshop' for iPhone, PhoneCam software, headphones for 3G shuffle coming, and more.
US Mac sales down 16% in February, Opera Turbo available for testing, new iMac benchmarks, and more, Mac News Review, 03.20. Also farewell to FireWire, Mac mini 'deliberately neglected' to protect iMac sales, Mini DisplayPort to VGA firmware update released, and more.
Nvidia replacing faulty graphic chips, Mac netbook speculation, OS X on a netbook, and more, The 'Book Review, 03.20. Also MacBook mod puts screen behind Apple logo, $150 green battery, external battery for MacBook Air, new notebook stands, bargain 'Books from $170 to $2,999, and more.
The World Wide Web at 20: A medium of increasingly trivial pursuits?, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.19. Invented as a way for researchers to share their findings, the Web has devolved into an entertainment medium increasingly concerned with the unimportant.
Transitioning from PowerPC to Intel Macs, no Atheros WiFi drivers for Classic Mac OS, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Also why the computer you have may be all the computer you need, advice on choosing a Mac notebook, Safari for Windows problem solved, and thoughts on a 1-control auto.
Making the switch from a G4 PowerBook to a Unibody MacBook, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 03.17. The transition to an Intel-based Mac hasn't been without its problems - slow dialup performance, incompatibility with Eudora, and no real gain in speed with standby apps.
Darwine: Mac Wine in new bottles, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows, 03.16. Darwine is a free, open source program that allows you to run many Windows programs on Intel-based Macs without a copy of Windows.
Gamer's take on Nvidia Mac mini, Mac mini teardown and 1 TB upgrade, SuperSpeed USB 3 coming, and more, Mac News Review, 03.13. Also Mac mini a sleeper hit, Apple increases desktop production, software to improve Safari, and more.
Apple netbook rumors, two Hackintosh netbooks, 17" MacBook Pro reviewed, and more, The 'Book Review, 03.13. Also why Apple needs an $800 MacBook, graphics issues, OLED coming to touchscreen Mac netbook?, bargain 'Books from $170 to $2,999, and more.
3G iPod shuffle smallest yet, 320 GB upgrade for Apple TV, document scanning app, and more, iNews Review, 03.13. Also pros and cons of the new iPod shuffle, iPhone Superguide, American Idol app, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
Is making your own Hackintosh legal?, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 03.12. Apple comes down on cloners like Psystar for blatantly selling OS X computers, but there seems to be nothing Apple can do to individual users.
$600 million LCD antitrust settlement should benefit end users, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.12. LG, Sharp, and others have been found guilty of price fixing and fined by the Department of Justice, but why don't they take the next step and distribute money to retail customers?
Boosting a 'Digital Audio' Power Mac with a 1.53 GHz dual G4 upgrade, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Reviews, 03.11. Got a faithful old Power Mac that's reliable but feeling sluggish? A fast dual-processor upgrade can make a world of difference.
WiFi adapters for OS 9, Safari 4 on pre-FireWire Macs, and paper vs. plastic bags, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.11. Also another WiFi PC Card for PowerBooks, a problem with Safari 4 for Windows, and someone who loves paper grocery bags.
WiFi hardware compatible with desktop Macs running OS X, MetaPhyzx, Mac Daniel, 03.11. USB, ethernet, PCI, and other wireless hardware compatible with Mac OS X.
WiFi CardBus adapters compatible with PowerBooks, MetaPhyzx, Mac Daniel, 03.11. CardBus hardware and drivers compatible with PowerBooks running Mac OS X.
WiFi PC Cards compatible with PowerBooks running OS X, MetaPhyzx, Mac Daniel, 03.11. PCMCIA/PC Card hardware and drivers compatible with PowerBooks running Mac OS X.
Palm Pre: Chronicle of a death foretold, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 03.10. Palm is betting the company on Pre and running out of cash. Can Palm survive in the face of the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android?
$40 802.11g CardBus WiFi card for OS X 10.3 and later, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 03.10. Whether it's the Buffalo or Belkin card, it has the same Broadcom chipset as Apple's AirPort Extreme and needs no special drivers.
WiFi PC Cards for PowerBooks running Mac OS 9, MetaPhyzx, Mac Daniel, 03.10. PCMCIA cards and drivers reported to be compatible with the Classic Mac OS.
WiFi adapters for desktop Macs running Mac OS 9, MetaPhyzx, Mac Daniel, 03.10. USB, ethernet, PCI, and other wireless hardware compatible with the Classic Mac OS.
'Digital Audio' Power Mac G4/533 MHz benchmarks, 03.10. We run this 2001 Power Mac through its paces in Mac OS 9, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5.
Snow Leopard and Windows 7 put the focus on optimization, not feature bloat, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 03.09. "While there are some advances, the major focus for each new version centers on code optimization and other architectural improvements."
Apple Store eliminating plastic bags for customers, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.09. Apple's ban on plastic bags in its retail stores amounts to more 'green' hype than substance.
Dual 1 GHz Power Mac G4 benchmarks, 03.06. Our Mirrored Drive Doors machine is finally benchmarked using Leopard. Results are compared with Panther and Tiger.
New Mac mini and iMac benchmarked, FireWire 400-to-800 solutions, dual-band AirPort Extreme, and more, Mac News Review, 03.06. Also new iMac and Mac mini dissected, OS X share still above 10%, fastest SATA boot drives for the Mac Pro, iMac keyboard loses numeric keypad, and more.
17" MacBook Pro reviews, Battery Update improves battery life, matte screen for MacBooks, and more, The 'Book Review, 03.06. Also 17" Unibody problems, MBA hinge defect, netbooks and notebooks merging, SSD upgrade service for MacBooks, bargain 'Books from $170 to $2,999, and more.
iPhone coming to White House but not to Bill Gates' house?, Kindle for iPhone, and more, iNews Review, 03.06. Also iPhone dominates mobile Web, costly dataplans killing iPhone in Canada and Japan, Mac System 7 on the iPhone, best and worst speaker systems, and more.
Dialup dependability, Safari 4 and G3 Macs, the best Mac keyboard comes from Apple, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.05. Also a possible solution to dialup problems in OS X 10.5, 17" PowerBook memory slot problems, 333 MHz Lombard outperforms 400 MHz Pismo, and more.
The 2009 Mac Pro value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.04. In terms of sheer power, the Nehalem-based Mac Pro is designed for heavy listing. But how much power do you really need?
The 2009 iMac value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.04. The new iMacs use improved Core 2 Duo CPUs, Nvidia GeForce graphics, and offer more value than ever before.
The 2009 Mac mini value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 03.04. With a more efficient CPU, Nvidia GeForce graphics, and a SuperDrive at the entry level, there's never been a better time to buy a Mac mini.
Could Steve Jobs save even one of the Big Three?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.02. GM and Chrysler are burning through cash at a prodigious rate, but the Ford team seems to have ideas that could keep Ford off the dole.
Automating FTP on the Mac, Keith Winston, Linux to Mac, 03.04. There's no shortage of GUI FTP programs, but using the Terminal gives you tools to automate file transfer sessions.
High def iPhone and iPod touch could make OS X the mobile OS to rule them all, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 03.02. By introducing iPhone and iPod touch models with higher definition displays, Apple could also slash the price of existing models.
Good-bye PowerBook, hello Linux on a laptop, Brian Gray, Fruitful Editing, 03.02. Why shouldn't a cheap PC notebook with Linux be an adequate replacement for an old PowerBook?
Return of the best computer keyboard ever?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.02. Unicomp uses IBM's legendary 'buckling spring' technology in its line of keyboards, which work with both PCs and Macs.