Low End Mac Editorial Archive

October 2009

iPhone can't win smartphone war, Apple to dump AT&T for Verizon?, VW launches car with app and more, iNews Review, 10.30. Also H1N1 app, solar charger, Christmas Gift List, new cases, and more.
Upgrades for new MacBook, quad-core MacBook Pro expected, new MacBook benchmarked, and more, The 'Book Review, 10.30. Also equivalent PC laptops nearly the same price as Apple's MacBook, Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, 8 GB memory upgrade for new MacBook, and more.
2009 Mac mini takes 8 GB RAM, mini Server a steal, 27" iMac now 'the Mac to have', and more, Mac News Review, 10.30. Also using Blu-ray with the new iMac, 10 years of Mac OS 9, Magic Mouse potential, SSD upgrade for desktops, Chrome alpha for Mac, and more.
Another hard drive disaster ends happily (thanks to Time Machine), Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 10.29. This time it was the MacBook's drive that failed. Thanks to automated Time Machine backup, recovery was easy, although far from fast.
Fixing a narcoleptic PowerBook G4, the future of Tiger support, spam filtering, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.28. Also installing Leopard, disappearing features, portable Thunderbird, and web page design issues.
2 wireless alternatives to Apple's Magic Mouse, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.27. Whether you prefer buttons to buttonless, are still using Mac OS X 10.4, or don't like Bluetooth, Targus has mice to consider.
Jumpcut, a free clipboard manager for OS X, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.26. PTHPasteboard, once a free clipboard manager, has gone commercial. Jumpcut has stepped into the gap and works very nicely.
My Windows 7 launch party, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 10.23. "The final surprise was that things started to slow down during my demo. I had XP Mode running, several open windows, and a half dozen other apps running."
No Verizon iPhone any time soon, but Verizon may have another Apple opportunity, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.23. Put simply, the iPhone is a GSM device that Apple would have to re-engineer for Verizon's CDMA network. But Apple's tablet could benefit from Verizon's 3G network.
MacBook best selling Mac ever, new MacBook disassembled and reviewed, new notebook cases, and more, The 'Book Review, 10.23. Also Apple ignores netbook market and thrives, resurrecting a dead 'Book, seamless dual display from Samsung, new drives, bargain 'Books from $179 to $2,294, and more.
OS X beats Win 7, record Apple profits, new iMac and Magic Mouse, Mac mini updated, and more, Mac News Review, 10.23. Also iFixit dissects the new Magic Mouse, Samsung's energy efficient external 3.5" hard drive, Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac, and more.
iTouch and iPhone sales up, no 'public performance' royalties for ringtones, grocery app, and more, iNews Review, 10.23. Also living in App Space, car controlled by iPhone, women ignore ads on iPhone, free flight tracking app, two new safety apps, and more.
The Late 2009 iMac value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.21. With larger 16:9 displays, the new iMacs bring a lot of value to the table, but there are some close-out bargains.
The Late 2009 Mac mini value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.21. We called the Mac mini 'the best value in desktop Macs' two months ago, and the refreshed Mac mini only improves that value.
The Late 2009 MacBook value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.21. The redesigned consumer MacBook uses unibody construction, gains LED backlighting and battery life, but loses FireWire.
A useful Eudora feature, FireWire ports in Apple displays, having enough RAM, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.21. Also upgrading from Panther to Leopard, Low End Mac's new PC swap list, and reasons to avoid QuickPADs.
iMac (Late 2009), 10.20. Bigger displays with 16:9 ratio, 3.06 GHz standard, 2.66 GHz quad-core i7 option, similar pricing.
Mac mini (Late 2009), 10.20. Speed boost, more base RAM, bigger base hard drive, same base price.
MacBook (Late 2009), 10.20. Polycarbonate unibody design, faster CPU, built-in 7 hour battery, no change in price.
Free Mailsmith Is the BBEdit of email clients, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.20. If you're looking for an efficient, powerful, flexible, scriptable plain text email client for POP3 email, Mailsmith could be for you.
A place for the Classic Mac OS in the Age of Snow Leopard, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 10.19. Mac OS 9 has been out of production for nine years, but for basic tasks, such as word processing and email, it provides plenty of power.
Preview in Snow Leopard supports scanners and screen shots, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 10.19. The newest version of Preview can even use a remote scanner, creates compact PDFs, and includes three screen capture options.
Windows 7: Bait for Windows XP and Vista users, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 10.19. While Win 7 is competing with OS X in features, it's target audience is Windows users, not Mac users.
Using Tex-Edit Plus and AppleScript for HTML markup, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.19. Tex-Edit is a great writing tool in its own right, but thanks to AppleScript support, it can be extended far beyond its initial scope as a word processor.
How to connect some VGA Macs to analog HDTVs, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 10.16.
How Apple will beat Sony and Nintendo in handheld gaming, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market6. The iPhone platform has more users than Sony's PSP, and it will pass Nintendo's DS platform within two years.
Living with a 'MacBook Nano', netbook users 'not that satisfied', lightest notebook, and more, The 'Book Review, 10.16. Also Nvidia halts new chip development, fix for iBook G4 kenrel panics, world's lightest notebook, matte display options, bargain 'Books from $179 to $2,294, and more.
Macs #4 in US, Windows 7 'nearly equal' to OS X, don't use Windows for online banking, and more, Mac News Review, 10.16. Also Gene Roddenberry's Mac nets $8,260, Apple loses trademark on Mighty Mouse, Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual, Google Quick Search Box, and more.
iPhone tops in reliability, iPhone OS 3.1.2, iGMail, 3G 802.11n travel router, and more, iNews Review, 10.16. Also iPhone OS dominates mobile Web usage, Lotus Domino gets iPhone support, 32 GB iPod touch giveaway, and more.
WallStreet CPU upgrades, Buffalo WiFi problems, long power outages, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.14. Also wireless broadband, culprit behind MacBook insomnia, EU iPod volume limits, and QuickPAD connectivity.
Windows 7 vs. MacBook, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 10.14. A free copy of Windows 7 leads to installation problems and two days of frustration, like no 64-bit Boot Camp Utilties.
Free TextWranger 3.0 a steal, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.13. For editing plain text, TextWrangler 3.0 is fast, very powerful, free, and may be all you need in a text editor.
Unibody MacBook works with 4 GB RAM, laptops fair game for border search, bigger netbooks, and more, The 'Book Review, 10.08. Also 13" MacBook Pro 'what I wanted', netbooks sales to soar for holidays, 1 TB of internal MacBook or PowerBook storage, bargain 'Books from $179 to $2,294, and more.
Macs in 12% of US homes, 35 apps for better browsing, BlackBerry Desktop for Mac, and more, Mac News Review, 10.08. Also 5 of 6 Mac homes also have Windows PCs, best open source Mac apps, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 SSDs, MacSpeech for Snow Leopard, and more.
AT&T allows VoIP, Adobe Flash Pro iPhone apps, Bell Canada gets iPhone, Vonage app, and more, iNews Review, 10.08. Also iPhone OS dominates mobile Web usage, Lotus Domino gets iPhone support, 32 GB iPod touch giveaway, and more.
Re-imagining the Mac Cube for the Intel Era, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 10.07. The Power Mac G4 Cube was one of Apple's most beautiful computers. Here's how Apple could resurrect the concept - and succeed this time.
Eudora 8 beta, Bible study software, one reason to choose an Apple display, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.07. Also questions about the Plantronics Voyager Pro and finding contentment with a cheap USB 2.0 PC Card.
Sauce for the goose, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.07. EU regulators are forcing Microsoft to offer Windows users a choice of browsers. Apple ought to offer Mac users the same thing.
Reflections on my first month with broadband, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.06. Moving from 26.4kbps dialup to 15-60 times faster wireless broadband changes work habits - and turns the Pismo PowerBook into a bottleneck.
Macintosh remote control with Chicken of the VNC, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 10.06. Sometimes you want to or need to control another Mac remotely. The free Chicken of the VNC program is a great tool for doing exactly that.
Thinking different about the next consumer MacBook, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.05. The white MacBook design is old, and the market is clamoring for smaller, lighter, and more affordable. Here's how Apple could provide it.
No 12" MacBook Pro, but Dell has an intriguing notebook, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 10.05. As 12" MacBook Pro would just muddy Apple's notebook line, and Dell's new 16" Latitude Z show what a business laptop should be.
Palm Pre: Cutting off business customers, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.05. Palm contines to shoot itself in the foot by making the Pre increasingly unattractive to business users.
Oops: A Macintosh undelete odyssey, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 10.05. Accidentally wiping a drive is recoverable, but it's a long, slow process. A bit of creativity will help with files that lose their names.
Moving data at the speed of Light (Peak), Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 10.02. Intel's new Light Peak data transfer protocol is designed for 10 gibabits per second, with plans to push it to 100 Gb/s in the future.
Teaching an old iMac some new tricks, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 10.02. Using a G3 iMac as part of your home entertainment center with remote control, audio out to your stereo, and video out to your TV.
i7 Mobile the fastest laptop CPU ever, new MacBook line expected soon, check warranty status, and more, The 'Book Review, 10.02. Also $800 MacBook anticipated, Newton designer returns to Apple, FireWire 800-to-400 adapter, bargain 'Books from $179 to $2,294, and more.
MMS for iPhone, wireless charging, 10 photo apps, 'safe' EU standards for MP3 players, and more, iNews Review, 10.02. Also backing up your iPhone, transfer songs from iPod to Mac, complete guide to jailbreaking the iPhone, Apple launches 'Apps for Everything', and more.
iMac and Mac mini constrained, first USB 3.0 hard drive, iWork '09 updated, and more, Mac News Review, 10.02. Also Apple loses Psystar ruling, gaming mouse updated, Cocktail (Tiger Edition) is now freeware, and more.
Upgrading a Pismo PowerBook with a slot-load drive salvaged from an iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 10.30. Starting with a spare DVD-ROM module and the SuperDrive from a G4 iBook, the author ended up with a SuperDrive in his Pismo PowerBook.