1999-2000 Index

Miscellaneous Ramblings, republished from Mac Opinion, 1999

• MacExpo and other Miscellaneous Ramblings, 1/8
• PowerBook bargains and other ramblings, 1/22
• PowerBook support issues, continued, 1/29
• PowerBook support issues, continued again, 2/5
• Mice of many colors, for-floppy feedback, and Apple support resolution, 2/12
• Miscellaneous Ramblings: No New 'Books - Yet, 2/19
• PowerBook 101 Rumors, 3/2
• PowerBooks vs. The Dark Side, 3/5. Head-to-head comparison of the IBM ThinkPad 770z, PowerBook G3 Series II, and Lombard.
• PowerBooks, ergonomics, and environmental illness, 3/26. Yes, they are all tied together in this excellent article from last year.
• No new PowerBooks yet, 4/2. Posted just weeks before Lombard's release, article also noted Apple was likely to call consumer portable "iBook."
• Apple clearing out old PowerBooks, taking 5300 & 190 on trade, 4/9. Even back in '99 Apple wanted to get those 5300s and 190s out of circulation.
• PowerBook triple-threat, 4/16. Speculation on Lombard, iBook, and lightweight PowerBook.
• New PowerBooks: Still waiting, 4/23. Just a few weeks before Lombard, Apple had some great deals on Wall Street PowerBooks.
• iBook? eBook? Whither Lombard?, 4/30. We've seen Lombard and the iBook, but no thin/light PowerBook yet.
• A Year with WallStreet, 5/7. Anniversary of the WallStreet PowerBook on the eve of Lombard's introduction.
• OS 8.6 and beyond, 5/14. A look at then-new OS 8.6, and Apple's plans for 8.7 and OS X.
• iBook, speed bumps, DVD, memory, more, 6/4. Also hard drives, flaming batteries, faster CD-ROM, and iCab.
• PowerBooks and the professional photographer, 6/11. The pros and cons of PowerBooks for professional photographers.
• P1 rumors, PowerBook survey, Lombard, and more, 6/18. Also reviews, ramBunctious, rednecks, and reader feedback.
• Passive vs. active matrix, batteries, G3 upgrades, iCab, OS X, and more, 7/2.
• Speed bump rumors, iBook peripherals, wireless options, and lots more, 7/30.
• More on the "feminine" iBook, 8/6. Also wireless keyboards, the Barbie computer, and lots more.
• iBook Colors & Ship Date, Huge Laptop Hard Drives, BookEndz, and Lots More, 8/13.
• Will used PowerBook prices drop when the iBook ships?, 8/20. Also AirPort-compatible card from Farallon, CD-based tutorials, more.
• Adventures in Mac antiquity, more thoughts on computer depreciation, 8/27.

Miscellaneous Ramblings, Low End Mac, 1999

• Caveat Emptor: PowerBook G3 WallStreet 13.3" display issues, 9/9
• iCab Preview 1.7: The Best iCab Yet, 9/11
• Short Takes, 9/13
• Short Takes, 9/16
• AirPort support for older Macs, 9/17
• PowerBook upgrades, bootleg and otherwise, 9/20
• Short Takes, 9/23
• CardBus USB for PowerBooks, 9/27
• Farallon Upgrades Fast Ethernet CardBus Driver, 9/28
• Short Takes, 10/4
• Legacy Macs and the Professional Wedding Photographer, 10/8.
• Time Magazine on Jobs and Apple, 10/15
• Short Takes, 10/20
• Encyclopedia Britannica now free online, 10/22
• Solving Font Problems on OS 8.6, 10/27
• MacsBug 6.6, 11/1
• Short Takes, 11/5
• Backup basics, 11/16
• Short Takes, 11/22
• Short Takes, 11/29
• Wireless mouse & keyboard input, 12/7.
• Cat-lovers, Dog-lovers, and Computer Platforms, 12/10
• Short Takes, 12/21. Backup software that's just right and a program to automatically insert type.
• Pismo & Thin PowerBooks, 12/22
• Short Takes, 12/28. Dangers of ESD, dead and sleeping LCD pixels, and more on backup.

Miscellaneous Ramblings, Low End Mac, 2000

• PowerBook hard drive replacement options, 1/4
• Using the right rodent helps reduce wrist pain, 1/17. A look at ergonomics and real-world mouse use.
• More Backup Basics, 2/1. A look at Redux, a powerful freeware backup solution.
• The dubious economics of processor upgrades, 2/7. Even if you can upgrade the CPU, should you?
• Are extended computer warranties worth the cost?, 2/14
• From pencil to PowerBook: One writer's Mac odyssey, 2/21
• Is Microsoft's business plan obsolete?, 2/29
• Apple to get toasted in processor speedstakes?, 3/7. "Mike reports that his friend believes the Athlon is noticeably faster than the G4s...."
• Older PowerBook, iBook prices crowd $1,000-1,500 range, 3/8
• Rolleiflex embraces digital revolution, 3/13. Ancient, respected camera manufacturer makes digicams and digital backs.
• Dealing with dead pixels in TFT displays, 3/23. Detecting and dealing with dead pixels on PowerBooks.
• Are Aqua-skeptics luddites?, 3/29. "I have no interest in change for the sake of change, or in putting form before function, and I really have no time for change that makes things worse."
• The AppleSeed Project: "Clustered" Power Macs outperform Cray Y-MP Supercomputer, 4/19
• PowerMac 9500 Project Ends on a Sour Note, Charles W Moore, 5/3. "Our tale begins when my son was given the carcass of a Power Mac 9500...."
• Frankenstein Power Mac 9500 Letters, 5/12. A mailbag column with lots of reader feedback on the dead 9500.
• Cheap Power Macs: The $500 G3 and $750 G4, 5/22. You can do it with refurbished Power Macs.
• Moore orders a SuperMac, 5/31. The Frankenstein 9500 is dead, but a SuperMac S900 is on the way to replace it.
• Cheap G3, G4 reader feedback, 6/1. Lots of good feedback on last week's article about inexpensive G3 and G4 setups.
• Scientific analysis of Internet music piracy, 6/16. "The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released results of its Internet Tracking Report on MP3 music traffic."
• Mac software not "as pathetic as it could be," 6/19. Is Mac OS 9 really a terrible operating system - or Apple's most stable yet?
• Quest for a silent computer, 6/27. "If Apple can make an almost silent iMac, why can't other computer makers turn off the white noise?"
• Outfitting the BTO SuperMac S900, 7/12. Building a custom Mac is a great way to get exactly the computer you need.
• To partition or not to partion?, 7/19. There are advantages to partitioning your hard drive.
• Processor upgrade market never better, 7/27. We've never had more upgrade options than today; here's a quick overview.
• Wide selection of PowerBook drive upgrades, 8/3. Lots of options available, even for older PowerBooks that use SCSI hard drives.
• Screens of plastic could be fantastic, 8/21. New technologies could make flat panel displays far less costly.
• More SuperMac S900 adventures, 9/11. The S900 is working fine, but still hasn't seen a lot of use.
• The SuperMac S900 Letters, 9/28. Tips on dealing with slow startups and computer noise.
• Software Review: Tex-Edit Enhancer, 10/9. "Tex-Edit Enhancer is a shareware add-on that provides Tex-Edit or Tex-Edit Plus with a Tool Bar for quick, single-click access to many of Tex-Edit's features."
• Upgraded Power Mac 7200, StarMax 3000, or iMac: Which is the best value?, Charles W Moore, 10/19. Value and expansion comparison of current iMacs with build-to-order alternatives.
• Hands On: Griffin NE Mic, 11/6. Does Griffin's NE Mic adapter deliver satisfactory audio input using cheap PC Mics?
• SuperMac, Seagate, and USB, 11/13. Hard drive nightmares, but a new USB card installs like a dream.
• Adventures in OS upgrades, downgrades, 11/21. Mac OS 9.0 was incredibly stable, but the 9.0.4 upgrade ruined all that.
• Mac OS 9 vs. 9.0.4: Reader feedback on OS stability, 11/28. Mac OS 9.0.4 seems to be wonderfully stable for some, a disaster for others.
• SuperMac S900 hard drive woes continued, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 12/19.
• more in the Miscellaneous Ramblings archives: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010