LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Upgrade to a Larger Hard Drive, Add Additional Drives SATA for Mac Pro and G5s, up to 1.0TB in each Bay. 500GB from $90!
Nowadays we call them the compact Macs, but in the beginning
they were the only Macs. And the creative ideas people came up
with!
Mac Rescue designed a board that put 4 MB RAM and a 2 MB RAM
disk in the earliest compacts.
Dayna figured out how to add an 8088 CPU, 5.25" floppy drive,
and function keys, creating MacCharlie,
the first DOS compatible
Macintosh.
The upstarts at Radius figured out how to install a video card
and run wires to an external full-page b&w monitor.
Apple put expansion slots in the SE, SE/30, and Classic II.
Today it's possible to run an SE/30 with a 40 MHz 68040, 128 MB
RAM, and a multi-gigabyte hard drive.
And in the end, Andy
Ihnatko figured out how to gut a compact Mac and turn it into a
Macquarium.
Alas, Apple killed the little guys. For a while they had bigger,
colorful siblings, the Color
Classic and Color Classic
II (only in the Asian market). These had a 10" color screen and
a slightly larger case - and were never accepted by old timers.
Compared with the originals, the Color Classics were overgrown.
Students loved the littlest Macs because they fit so comfortably
in their dorm rooms. Network managers loved the SE/30 because it
made a great server and didn't require a separate monitor. And a
lot of us just liked the fact we could pop them in a bag and tote
them between work and home.
Nice as color and large monitors are, there's something special
about the Macintosh experience on a tiny screen with just two
shades, black and white.
I'd like to see Apple introduce a new compact Mac, a worthy
successor the the SE/30. Keep the footprint identical to the
originals, reintroduce the 9" b&w monitor (tack sharp!), but
perhaps make it a couple inches taller and provide space for an
internal Zip drive or CD-ROM.
Borrow some ideas from newer models.
1-bit through 8-bit video on the internal screen.
Slide-out motherboard, like the Color Classic.
A PCI slot for adding external video.
A comm slot or PC Card slot for adding a modem.
Ethernet standard.
PPC 603e or 750 CPU on a ZIF socket for easy upgrade.
If it helps keep the size or cost down, an external power brick
like the PowerBooks use. (This would also reduce heat.)
EnergyStar circuitry, plus a switch for turning off just the
monitor.
Make floppy, Zip, and CD-ROM drives optional - and plug-n-play
into an internal drive bay (or two).
I'd love a little powerhouse I could take to work, to school, to
the library, and back home again. Hook it to a color monitor some
places; use the internal screen in others. It would also make a
great server.
And if Apple did it right, it could share a lot of components
with the 5000 series and other Macs. It could be one way to
approach to the $1,000 market.
There's something special about a friendly little computer that
smiles when it wakes up.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,
sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and
has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
MacDrought: 4 Months with No New Macs, 08.27.
The most recent Mac update was over four months ago, and the Mac mini has been unchanged for over a year.
The iMac Legacy: After the G3, 08.15.
The G3 iMac influenced the whole industry, but Apple continued to move forward with innovative designs using G4, G5, and Intel processors.
Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
List of the Day: MacBook List for those using a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
September 6 in LEM history: 99: G4 vs. Pentium III - 00: Setting up a server - 02: Norton Utilities warning - 10 greatest computer annoyances - 06: iMac Core2 Duo - Mac mini Core Duo - The iMac Core2 value equation - 07: Apple seduction - Why I really want an iPod touch - iPod history, 2005 to present - Upgrading a Power Mac G - Apple intros iPod touch, classic, and video nano
Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05.
Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03.
Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
This article was inspired by Don Crabb's The Perfect
Little Mac. He calls his idea The New Mac, a color successor
the the compact Mac heritage. I recommend you read his article to
see how Apple could think different about reaching the low end
market.
Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
List of the Day: MacBook List for those using a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
Our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For detailed
price quotes and advertising information, please
contactat BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number
is for advertising only.
