Low End Mac: Worth It!

Featured link: Why Is Apple ditching netbook support now?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.16. Mac OS X 10.6.2 deliberately removes Atom support. What does Apple have to gain by doing so?
Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
Low End Mac's RSS News Feed

Newest Content

Pismo WiFi Networking Issue Finally Solved?: Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.24; It turns out the problems wasn't the Pismo, the Buffalo WiFi card, or Mac OS X 10.4. It was the Wireless G router - Linksys to the rescue!
Mini VGA to S-video Adapter a No Go for eMacs: Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 11.24; You might think that Apple's Mini VGA S-video adapter is a cheap way to connect your eMac or G4 iMac to your TV. You would be wrong.
Google Calendar with iPhone or iTouch Is Great for Scheduling: John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.24; Web-based Google Calendar allows access and updates from any computing platform, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPhone OS.
Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature: Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.23; Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More: Mac News Review, 11.20; Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks: Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20; Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More: The 'Book Review, 11.20; Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More: Ian R Campbell, 11.20; Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
More links in our editorial archive.

Recent Deals

Best iPod nano Deals (11.25): Refurb 8 GB 4G nano, $99; new, $126; refurb 16 GB, $129; new, $150; new 5G/8 GB, $134.60; 16 GB, $161.12. Shipping included.
Best Classic Mac OS Deals (11.25): System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals (11.25): Used 1 GHz Combo, $400; 1.5 GHz SuperDrive, $449; 1.67 GHz hi-res, $600.
Best G4 iMac Deals (11.24): Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals (11.24): Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals (11.24): Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals (11.23): Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals (11.23): Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals (11.23): Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
More deals in our archive.

Around the Web

News: Smoking could be hazardous to your Apple warranty, Jeff Smykil, ars technica, 11.24. "Apple responded to the customer's complaints by saying that nicotine was on OSHA's hazardous substance list; as a result, the company would not make an employee work on the machine."
History: Mac Collections Around the World, Vintage Mac Museum, 11.19. A listing of over a dozen Macintosh collections around the world.
Software: Camino 2.0 delivers enhanced tab, Growl, security, more, Fairer Platform, 11.19. After over a year in alpha and beta, Camino 2.0 has achieved release status. It's fast. It's Mac-like. And it's our favorite browser at LEM headquarters.
Analysis: Is There a Method in Cellphone Madness?, Saul Hansell, New York Times, 11.14. "On average, we effectively spend about 5 cents per minute of talk time and about a penny a text message, lower than anywhere else in the developed world."
Benchmarks: CPU Crunch Shootout: iMac Core i7 versus Other Macs, Bare Feats, 11.16. The 2.8 GHz quad-core i7 iMac benches over twice as fast as the 3.06 GHz dual-core iMac on 3 of 4 tests - and comes close to 2.93 GHz quad-core Mac Pro.
Low End: Grackle68k, retards.org, 11.16. Would you believe a Twitter client for Mac OS 6 through 9? It's still rough, but you can use it to tweet!
Opinion: Downsizing: Going from a 17-inch MacBook Pro to a 13-inch MacBook, Peter Cohen, Loop Insigh, 11.10. Going smaller is "quite a change, but it hasn't been nearly the sacrifice I expected it to be."
OS X: Mac OS X 10.6.2 Update Released. Intel Atom Support Officially Missing, breaks Hackintosh Netbooks, OS X Daily, 11.09. "Mac OS X 10.6.2 has been released, for most Mac users this is great news because it fixes over 40 problems and bugs, including the rare but very problematic user account deletion bug."
Opinion: In Praise of the $100 Computer, Adam Rosen, Vintage Mac Museum, 11.06. You can still have a lot of fun and even be productive on an old 1 GHz eMac.
Tech: How to Move Your Home Directory to Another Drive, Jon Deal, Ransom Note, 11.06. How to run your Mac from a smallish SSD and store all your files on a hard drive.
Software: 6 Free Mac Apps, MacHeist, 11.09. Twitterific, ShoveBox, WriteRoom, TinyGrab, and Horde of Orcs free for 1 week. Mariner Write free with 500,000 participants.
Opinion: I Am a Future PC: Why I'm Dumping Apple after 15 Years, Mike Doyle, Chicago Carless, 11.04. "After a 15-year relationship with all things Apple, I've finally had it with the Steve Jobs 'you'll use your computer they way we tell you to use your computer' method of customer relations."
News: Proprietary cable can put the brakes on upgrading Late '09 iMacs, Other World Computing, 11.02. New iMacs us temperature sensors built into hard drives, but there is no standard, so drive replacment may mean an expensive new cable as well.
Benchmarks: OWC Benchmarks Show Newest iMacs 46% Faster with More RAM, Other World Computing, 11.03. By upgrading new iMacs from stock 4 GB of RAM to 16 GB, performance improves up to 46%. (Quad-core iMacs not yet available for testing.)
Tech: iMac Upgraded to SSD, ThatSiebGuy, 11.02. With a dying hard drive and most files on an external drive (a Drobo at that), the author decided to put a 120 GB OCZ Summit SSD in his iMac.
Opinion: The decade of Steve, Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 11.05. "...he has radically and lucratively reordered three markets - music, movies, and mobile telephones - and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown."
History: Lisa Earns Her Loyalty, Adam Rosen, Vintage Mac Museum, 10.30. "I'm finding that a Lisa can be like an ailing older family member: someone you love and respect, but as they age the relationship can get stressful."
Software: Optimized Firefox Mac Builds, Furbism, 10.31. PowerPC G3, G4, G5, and Intel builds include: Firefox 3.7 alpha 1, 3.6 beta 2, 3.3.3 final, and more.
Software: Firefox 3.6 beta 1 arrives with better performance, new personas feature, Fairer Platform, 10.31. Firefox 3.6 moves from alpha to beta. Personas let you change appearance with a single click. We've been impressed with the alphas. Give it a try!
Opinion: The Psychology of the non-Apple consumer, Applepeels, 10.30. "I have often wondered at how someone could have a horrible experience with a computer and turn around and buy another one just like it."

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