Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
Sorry, Mac Using Suckers
What's in it for Apple or ATI to provide OS X drivers?
- 2001.12.11
From Insanely-Great Mac:
PowerBook, iBook, and Power Mac owners (yes, including iMacs) of Macs officially qualified for OS X are getting increasingly frustrated by the lack of driver support for older ATI cards in Macs built between 1997 and 1999.
A petition addressed to Apple has been started requesting drivers for the ATI Rage II and Rage Pro LT cards, millions of which were soldered into Bondi and fruity iMacs, beige G3s, original Tangerine, Blueberry and Graphite iBooks, and the Wallstreet (1998) and Lombard (1999) PowerBook G3 Series.
Lack of OS X support for these chipsets has meant sluggish graphics performance on these Macs....
As someone hoping to get a brand spankin' new off the shelf iBook in the next few weeks, I sympathize with people upset about lack of support for older ATI chipsets, because I know that I may be stuck in the same boat in a few years.
But let's look at it from another point of view. On a certain level, I've never understood the iMac computer-as-an-appliance design. As a person who primarily uses PCs, I expect to be able to pop the case and go rooting around in my computer's innards at will. There are trade offs for this, but let's not get into that whole PC vs. Mac thing right now.
The microwave in my office at work is severely underpowered. It takes about 15 minutes to cook a typical frozen meal. If we want a bigger, better, more powerful microwave, my office mates and I will have to pool our cash and buy one, because it is not as if we can buy a more powerful "microwave generation unit" and drop it in. It's an appliance. If you want newer, better performance, you have to buy a newer, better appliance.
So, with that in mind, who bought computers designed not to be opened except by a tech? ("Oh, the iMac is so easy. I just plug it in and go while you PC users have to mess around with all those cords and cables.") Who bought computers with the processors and graphics chips soldered to the motherboard, rendering them virtually non-upgradeable?
You bought an appliance, and now that decision has come back to bite you in the ass.
- (As a PC user, let me say that the idea of a processor and graphics chips soldered to the motherboard with no upgrade path is anathema, except in the case of laptops, which other than being RAM expandable have no upgrade path. I can't think of a single PC laptop that is processor upgradeable.)
The minute Apple began soldering processors (and graphics chips) to motherboards, I think it became pretty clear that they wanted to make consumers have to buy a new computer every 3-5 years. (True, PC manufacturers do everything they can to make the average user think they need a new computer every two years, but if the average PC user would open up the case and learn a thing or two, they would discover they could quickly and easily make the necessary hardware upgrades to run new software, but I digress.) Yes, you iMaccies and PowerBookies are in a bind. While most PC users simply won't upgrade the hardware in their computers, you don't even have that option. Having upgradeable computers and graphics chipsets is not in Apple's or ATI's interests. Maximizing profit is.
Sure, it would certainly behoove Apple and ATI to provide drivers for those older chipsets. I think it would also behoove ATI to provide *nix drivers for their cards, but why should they take that time and expense when they know that some Alpha geek out there will do it for no payment other than the pleasure of writing a program? Generating goodwill and bonhomie is all fine and dandy, but money pays the bills.
Kwitcher bellyaching, buttercups. The iMac is a Road Apple, and newer PowerBooks are about as upgradeable as PC laptops. Either vote with your dollars and buy a PC (Apple and ATI are taking a calculated risk that you won't) or do what momma Apple (and ATI) wants you to do - buy this year's computer. The only other option is to see if these graphics chipsets are supported under BSD or Xfree86 and find some Alpha geek to port them to OS X.
Welcome to the real world. Apple and ATI are not your friends. They're not in it for your goodwill; they're in it for your money.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
- Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18. When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
- 'That's Not a Computer', 07.30. Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
- Upgrading a Digital Audio G4 to work better in Leopard, 06.02. In its original configuration, the dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 was slow with Mac OS X 10.5, but add the right upgrades, and it runs Leopard quite nicely.
- My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28. The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
- More in the My Turn index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
- Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
- November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- 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 archive.
Recent Deals
- 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.
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- More deals in our archive.
