Getting the Most Value from Your Macs and iOS Devices
The mission of Low End PC is helping users get the most value from their Macs and iOS devices. We're not concerned with having the fastest, most tweaked out computer possible. We're not concerned with keeping ancient Macs in use long after they've become bottlenecks. We are concerned with value - getting the most use from your hardware for the money, whether that means an upgrade to your existing hardware or a newer model.
Low End PC (LEM) covers everything from the Lisa to the latest Macs and iOS devices - because sooner or later, everything becomes low-end. Due to our focus on value, the primary focus of LEM is older models.
For the benefit of low-end users, this site uses no frames, no Java, no sound, no QuickTime movies, - just text, compact graphics, CSS, and a little Javascript. For best viewing, your browser cache should be on.
Site History
I began Low End PC in September 2001 as an offshoot of Low End Mac because several of our writers also used older PCs, particularly with Linux or older versions of Windows.
Low End PC is currently hosted by BackBeat Media, which also handles our ads. The site is running on Apache (Web server software) on the Linux operating system.
Personal Computing History
I cut my computing teeth on an Apple II+ around 1979, and my first two computers were the Commodore VIC-20 and 64. I began using DOS PCs in 1987 when I was hired at the Heath-Zenith computer store in Virginia Beach, VA. I used DOS exclusively until about 1991, when I became a Mac user and sold my Zenith PC.
Since then I have owned a 450 MHz Pentium III Dell desktop with Windows 98 and a horrid 15" Celeron-powered Acer notebook running Windows XP. I have experimented a bit with Linux. I have never used a Windows or Linux PC for productivity, nor do I have any real experience with newer versions of Windows. I depend on my writer to know what they're talking about.
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Recent Low End PC Articles
- Swapless: Disabling Virtual Memory in Ubuntu, 2012.05.14. A slow hard drive slows virtual memory, and virtual memory can reduce the life of flash memory, so you may want to turn it off.
- ThinkPad X41 Revived, 2012.05.09. The ThinkPad X41 converts from a laptop to a tablet. More memory and Compact Flash gave this one a new lease on life.
- Pixels and Points, Screens and Paper, 2003.02.26. What you see on the screen corresponds to what you get on the printed page. A brief history of points, pixels, and the changing face of computer displays.
- Value and Cost: With a PC, You Get What You Pay For, 2003.02.26. With the right choices, your PC can be easy to upgrade and avoid becoming a doorstop.
- Networking 101, 2003.02.10. Networking is something everyone with two or more computers should know about.
- More in the Low End PC index.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- 3 Ways to Use Microsoft Office on Your iPad, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 2012.05.14. You can't run Microsoft Office natively on the iPad, but one of these workarounds may do the job for you.
- Apple May No Longer Support Your Older Mac, but Microsoft Will, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 2012.05.11. Believe it or not, Windows 7 and 8 can run nicely on Macs than can't run OS X 10.7 or 10.8 at all.
- Safari 5.1.7 and OS X 10.7.4, How Flashback Works, Free Lion Boot Disk Tool, and More, Mac News Review, 2012.05.11. Also Chrome passes Firefox for #2 spot, use Android with your Mac, Amazon and Microsoft cloud services for Macs, and more.
- Tablets Out to Kill Laptops, New iPad vs. MacBook Air, $799 MacBook Air This Fall?, and More, The 'Book Review, 2012.05.11. Also should Apple discontinue the 17" MacBook Air?, 2012 MacBook Pro may include SSD and bigger batteries, and more.
- New iPad Design Apple's Second Choice?, Updated iPad 2 Improves Battery Life, and More, iOS News Review, 2012.05.11. Also hack improves iPad editing, Netgear Genie printing app, dual tip iPad stylus, recycled iPhone 4/4S case, and more.
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