OS X on Pre-G3 Power Macs

As far as I’m concerned, the best news of the week came from Sonnet Technologies, which announced some of its G3 and G4 upgrade cards will be compatible with Mac OS X.

Web Browsing with Espy

A few weeks ago I wrote a series of articles about fonts. In A History of Font Technologies, I looked at the four major trends in Mac fonts: bitmapped, PostScript, TrueType, and anti-aliasing.

Quest for a Silent Computer

2000: One of the things I used to love about my Mac Plus back in the old days is that I could put a stripped-down version of System 6 and a text editor on a floppy disk, boot the machine from that, and work in blessed silence with the (external) hard drive shut down, disturbed […]

MP3 Forever!

2000: The latest craze in the computing/music/real world is Napster, the notorious MP3 sharing program. There is a lot of controversy over this program. Many musical artists, like Dr. Dre and Metallica, are suing Napster. They are doing this because many people are using Napster to distribute MP3s of their music to other computer users.

Bottlenecks: What Is Your Mac’s Slowest Component?

Last week, I reconsidered computing speed and came to the conclusion that time spent picking the right software and customizing it for the way you work is time well spent. With speed in mind, I think it is right that I discuss the slowest component of most Macintoshes.

Cease and Desist, Apple-Palm Fans!

2000: We all know that the Newton, once Apple got all the kinks out, was a fantastic platform. And we all know that Palm, despite it’s numerous former Apple developers, doesn’t have such great Mac support. And we know that the Palm OS allows for competitive models from other manufacturers – the Handspring Visor is […]

Apple + Corel = A Software Powerhouse?

2000: If you’ve been paying attention to the tech headlines, Corel* has been making a lot of noise lately. With its big Linux push, its purchase of a number of MetaCreations products, its failed negotiations with Inprise, and its recent announcement that it may go bankrupt, Corel has been making waves (or at least thrashing […]

Should Apple Use the New G3?

There’s been some interesting discussion of IBM’s new PowerPC 750CX and forthcoming 750CXe processors, especially related to IBM Discusses New PowerPC Chips on MacWeek. A lot of Mac users seem to think the 750CX would be a poor choice; I beg to differ.

The G4 Cube and Radeon Fans

June 2000: Since it’s unlikely that you spent the last few months in self-hypnosis by swinging your mouse back and forth, you probably heard that ATI leaked information about Apple’s new products before Apple announced them. And you probably heard that Apple “punished” ATI by removing all mention of their new Radeon chipset and using […]

USB Printer Sharing: GrayShare 2000

2000: Apple’s newly released USB Printer Sharing 1.0 has a revolutionary new feature for non-networkable USB printers: It allows them to be networked! But wasn’t there something like this a few years ago?

Speed Reconsidered

For years I have been following Macintosh hardware advances. When I first started using Macs in 1990, the wicked fast 40 MHz Mac IIfx was on the top. I was in college at the time, and I knew two frosh in my dorm who owned IIfxs. I did not realize then how rich their parents […]

My Three Favorite Programs

One of the mistakes computer users make is confusing “complicated” with “complex.” Complicated means “Strap yourself in. The learning curve is about to get seriously steep.” Complex means “You can do really neat stuff with this program.”

Internet Radio

2000: One of the problems of living out in the suburbs, where there are many trees and tall objects, is poor radio reception. Is there any solution to this problem for those who like to listen to the radio? Of course there is – Internet radio.

Using the Espy Font

In my previous article, Macintosh System Fonts, I surveyed the fonts that have shipped with the Mac OS and suggested that people without printers use a bitmapped font called Espy for everything on their system. Now I’d like to give a little more information about Espy.

CompactFlash: A Solution for Low Memory Macs

Let me ask you this question: On a PowerBook, have you ever seen an out of memory warning? If not, you must have a newer machine. Every time I use my PowerBook 190cs, I get the same warning, but now that problem is gone. You could even say a birdie told me. A camera birdie […]

The Celeron Effect

Once upon a time – April 1998 to be precise – Intel created a cheap version of the Pentium and named it Celeron. It had no level 2 (L2) cache, and it sucked.

Stone Flecked Classic

This mod has been popular for a few years: Taking an old compact Mac, disassembling it, and applying a Stone Fleck finish to the case. In this instance, MacCollect has refinished a Macintosh Classic, although neither this reduced photo nor any on the MacCollect site really does it justice. You really have to see the […]

Apple’s New CineMini

2000 – Getting a good rumor from Apple is harder than pulling teeth these days. The Jobs regime may have made the Apple campus more secure than the CIA.

Options for ‘040s

2000 – Let’s look at some options for 68040 based computers. If you do not have one, I will discuss which model might be right for you.

What Is Apple’s Long-Term Strategy?

Mac users have it pretty good. Apple’s stock is high (despite its recent slide), a new OS is on the way, and market share has stabilized. So what’s next for Apple? How does it intend to remain on top?

Ze PowerSuitcase

Bernard Bélanger’s PowerSuitcase (also in French) is quite a bit different from most CustoMacs: It doesn’t even look like a computer.

Cheap G3 and G4 Reader Feedback

2000: Last week’s article about cheap Power Macs for G3 and G4 upgrading was the most popular Miscellaneous Ramblings article that Low End Mac has published, beating out my previous champ – a piece on the economics of processor upgrades. Apparently, upgrades are a popular topic. They also generate a lot of reader feedback: From […]

Macintosh System Fonts

In A History of Font Technologies, I talked a bit about font technologies on the Mac. If you are unfamiliar with terms like “bitmapped” or “outline” fonts, you might want to read that article first. Here I am going to discuss the fonts that Apple has shipped with the Mac. I am on my way […]