Mac News Review

New Mac mini and iMac Benchmarked, FireWire 400-to-800 Solutions, Dual-Band AirPort Extreme, and More

This Week's Apple and Desktop Mac News

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2009.03.06

The big news this week is that Apple overhauled its entire desktop line - the Mac mini gained Nvidia graphics, a more efficient CPU, a SATA SuperDrive, and 802.11n WiFi; the iMac moved to Nvidia graphics, gained a more affordable 24" model, and raised its RAM ceiling to 8 GB; and the Mac Pro moved to Intel's powerful new Nehalem CPU architecture.

We have separate section covering the new Mac range, the new Mac mini, and the new iMac this week.

PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews Review.

All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

The New Macs

Mac mini (Nvidia)

iMac (Nvidia)

News & Opinion

Apple Updates

Products

Software

Desktop Mac Deals

The New Macs

New iMac and Mac mini Benchmarked

Geekbench results for 2009 iMac and Mac miniPrimate Labs Blog reports:

"Apple updated its entire desktop lineup. This update had been a long time coming, especially since the Mac Pro hadn't been updated since January 2008 and the Mac mini hadn't been updated since August 2007!

"However, a lot of people were disappointed with the updates, since it felt like an incremental update rather than a substantial upgrade. Now that Geekbench results are coming in for the new iMac and Mac mini, we can look at one aspect of the updated hardware - processor performance - and see if the upgrade is incremental or substantial....

"Processor performance hasn't increased substantially in the latest hardware...

"You might want to keep this in mind if you're looking for a new Mac; you might be better off getting a discontinued (or refurbished) previous-generation Mac rather than one of the new Mac models...."

Editor's note: We suggest you read The 2009 Mac mini Value Equation, The 2009 iMac Value Equation, or The 2009 Mac Pro Value Equation if you're planning to buy a new desktop Mac. dk

Nvidia Big Winner in Mac Makeover

Forbes' Brian Caulfield says:

"The entire lineup of Macintosh desktop and notebook computers from Apple now rely on graphics processors provided by Nvidia, a graphics chip specialist that has been hit hard by the slumping economy.

"The move is, ultimately, about more than just snappier graphics. While Apple typically says little about its technology plans, Nvidia Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang has long been open about his own long-term goal: turning the graphics processor into a computing engine that complements the processors cranked out by Intel....

"And Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs appears to be listening. "

Where's the FireWire?

Macworld's Dan Moren reports:

"We come before you today to celebrate the life of FireWire. With Tuesday's release of new Mac desktops, the port that has been a staple of Macs since the introduction of the Blue & White PowerMac G3 (one of which is still sitting under my desk at home) in 1999 is no more....

"Rest in peace, FireWire 400. Your work is done...."

FireWire 400 Reaches the End of the Line

Macworld's Rob Griffiths reports:

"As I looked through the specs for the new Mac Pro, iMac, and Mac mini lineup, one thing struck me: FireWire 400 appears to be essentially dead - at least as far as Apple is concerned. With the release of these new Macs, Apple sells just one machine with a FireWire 400 port - the low-end white MacBook. Otherwise, it's either FireWire 800 or (in the case of the unibody MacBook and MacBook Air) no FireWire at all....

"...this is evolution at work . . . but it's still an evolutionary step that may cause some hiccups for upgraders...."

Editor's note: For some options in making FireWire 400 devices work with FireWire 800 ports, see Sonnet Universal FireWire Connections FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter and Other FireWire 400 to 800 Solutions. dk

Once You Go Mac, You Never Go Back?

Macworld UK's Nick Spence says:

"I don't have the stats and figures to hand but I suspect yesterday's announcement of refreshed Mac Pros, iMacs and Mac minis amongst a number of Apple updates, drove plenty of traffic to Macworld.

"Reading the comments . . . the news items were an eye opener for anyone who has a fairly blinkered, and possibly rosy view of all things Apple....

"Our friends at PC Advisor collected a bunch of them that don't make for great reading unless you're Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer or the entire staff of Dell....

"Threats of switching to a PC running Windows or Linux aren't new, but the clear disappointment at Apple's perceived unfair pricing policy and lack of genuine innovation - for instance , nice new iMacs but same old same Intel Core 2 Duo processors - won't impress some Mac enthusiasts or those who need persuading why Apple are great in the first place...."

Apple Update Is All About Control

PC Mag's Joel Santo Domingo says:

"This past Tuesday, Apple updated its entire family of desktop lines with new iMacs, Mac Pros, and way overdue Mac minis. Though news outlets scrambled to get the word out, the lineup itself wasn't that bleeding edge. The number of different configurations hasn't changed a whole lot (four base iMacs, two base minis, two base Pros), and on the outside, they all look the same as the previous iterations. However, to paraphrase a line from Disney's Aladdin: 'Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts.'....

"During Tuesday's briefing, Apple danced around the issue of Core i7 in the iMacs and Mac minis, simply stating that Apple has given its users what they have been asking for: more performance . . . I think the real reason for no Core i7 is . . . for the time being, Core i7 requires an Intel motherboard chipset, due to the Nehalem architecture's built-in memory controller and the current legal skirmish between Nvidia and Intel over Nvidia's chipsets for Core i7. Apple obviously wants to standardize the Macs on an Nvidia chipset for the time being....

"Of course, all of it is wrapped up in Apple's control of its ecosystem. That hasn't changed."

Mac mini (Nvidia)

New Mac mini Dissected

2009 Mac mini DissectedGizmodo's Mark Wilson says:

"The new Mac mini may be faster and run on less power, but it's still a bitch to take apart.

"...I was hoping that the new Mini would take design cues from Apple's latest laptops and allow for a simple way to swap out the RAM and hard drive, or at least open without the use of a putty knife...."

New Mac mini Goes Under the Putty Knife

Macworld's Dan Moren says:

"The mini can be annoying to take apart - I know, I spent some time upgrading a Core Duo model, and I got pretty well acquainted with a putty knife (I can now bullseye my dartboard from twenty feet). We wondered if the new mini would be more, less, or roughly equal to its predecessor in disassembly difficulty?

"The folks at Macminicolo.net, a Las Vegas-based co-location company that - you guessed it - uses Mac minis, got themselves one of the new models and tried their hands at taking it apart. Their verdict? While it's not substantially more difficult to take apart than earlier Mac minis, there are some changes to be on the lookout for...."

'True Value in the Mac mini'

Digital Trends' Rob Enderle says:

"Nvidia has been aggressively moving behind the scenes to capture Apple, and today announced that its GeForce cards are the new standard for the firm....

"These announcements have two interesting aspects. The first, in a market focused on value, is that it creates a true value in the Mac mini....

"Since its inception, the Mac mini has always seemed just short of the perfect Apple desktop PC....

"This latest announcement, which had been rumored for some time, puts Nvidia graphics on the Mac mini and turns it into a machine you could live on....

"The mini isn't irrelevant; it is probably the most relevant product Apple has in a market defined by value...."

Of Course the Mac mini Is Relevant!

ZD Net's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says:

"Is the Mac mini is still relevant in the face of other Mac-powered machines. Of course it is!

"I'm the first to admit that the mac mini sort of feels like a nichey product, and if it was made by the likes of Dell, HP, Samsung, Lenovo or any of the other major OEMs, then it would probably be a dead-end product. But it's not. It's an Apple-branded PC, and at $599 it's the lowest step onto the Apple ownership ladder....

"I've had one in the lab for about 16 months now and the ownership experience has been a flawless one. The Mac mini is a nice, quiet system that just works...."

iMac (Nvidia)

First Look Inside the New 20" iMac

iFixIt2009 iMac teardowniFixIt says:

"We picked up the new iMac 20" from our local Apple store on March 3rd....

"We turned it on (only briefly, of course); the LCD display is beautifully clear, even though its resolution (1680x1050) is smaller than the 1920x1200 resolution found in the MacBook Pro 17" Unibody.

"The speakers are also surprisingly loud and clear, given that the sound seemingly comes out of nowhere...

"Then proceeds the teardown with photos."

iMac's New Wired Keyboard Has No Numeric Keypad

Macworld's Aayush Arya reports:

Apple's new USB keyboard layout"It may not be as exciting as the new Mac Pros, Mac minis, or iMacs, but Apple also quietly added a new version of its wired USB keyboard on Tuesday, this one without the numeric keypad. Apple is so sure that this one is better, in fact, that it's now the default keyboard that ships with the latest iMac models....

"Although standard with the new iMac, you can opt to replace the new keyboard with the Apple Keyboard With Numeric Keypad for no cost when configuring your purchase."

New iMacs a Better Deal than Dell and HP Can Offer?

ZD Net's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says:

"While most analysts yesterday seemed critical of Apple's latest product refresh, Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner did a spec-by-spec comparison of the new Apple iMac with offerings from both Dell and HP and found that found the new iMacs to be 'a better value than competing Windows-based products.' Well, do they?...."

The article goes on to compare the iMac with all-in-one offerings from Dell and HP.

News & Opinion

OS X Slips a Bit in February, Still Has 10+% Market Share with iPhone

NetApplications HitsLink have posted Operating System Market Share stats for February, 2009, showing the Mac OS lost roughly a third of a point on the month. Windows dropped below 90% in November, '08 and has stayed there, gaining roughly a quarter-point over the month of February, while Linux's also share gained very slightly, and remains below one percent while the iPhone version of OS X was static.

Operating System Market Share, February 2009Here's the Operating System Total Market Share rundown of the significant players for February (January '09 figures in parentheses):

  • Windows 88.42% (88.26%)
  • Mac 9.61% (9.93%)
  • Linux 0.88% (0.83%)
  • iPhone 0.48% (0.44%)

Comparing longer term, at 88.42% Windows is down more than five percentage points since May 2006 (95.09%), while the Mac OS at 9.61% has more than doubled its share over the same interval from 4.43% in May '06, and Linux has also more then doubled its May '06 numbers from 0.40% to 0.88%.

Operating System Market Share by Version, February 2009In terms of versions:

  • Windows:
    • Windows XP 63.67% (63.76%)
    • Windows Vista 22.79% (22.48%)
    • Windows 2000 1.33% ()1.37% )
    • Windows NT 0.10% (0.09%)
    • Windows 98 0.21% (0.23%)
    • Windows ME 0.13% ( 0.14%)
    • Windows CE 0.05% (0.05%)
  • Macintosh:
    • Mac OS X 10.5 5.64% (5.28%)
    • Mac OS X 10.4 2.75% (2.74%)
    • Mac OS X (no version reported) 0.95% (1.00%)
  • iPhone 0.48% (0.48%)
  • Mac OS X Mach-O 0.27% (0.29%)
  • Linux 0.88% (0.83%)

AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule Updates Gain Dual-Band

Macworld's Glenn Fleishman reports:

"The history of Apple's AirPort Wi-Fi products is one of fits and starts. The company tends to introduce equipment that's more advanced than anything offered by any of its competitors, then coast for months or even years without refreshing the line, reaping high margins compared to similar, more advanced devices.

"Tuesday's refresh of the AirPort Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule backup device follows that pattern, as some changes were welcome and overdue, while others push Apple out again ahead of most other products on the market - certainly far ahead for Mac users.

"Two bands are better than one...."

Got the Mac Blues? Try Linux and Feel Better About the Mac

Mac 360's Bambi Brannan says:

"My weekend was not pleasant. I had a cold. It was cold. My Mac was acting wonky after I installed a few items I probably should not have installed. Yes, I had the blues, the Mac blues.

"In an effort to cheer me up my husband suggested his own version of home doctoring. It goes something like this, 'If your head hurts, smack your hand with a hammer until your head doesn't hurt anymore.'

"Isn't he just the sweetest guy. So thoughtful. Remarkably, with a caveat or two, that medicine actually worked. My Mac headache disappeared while I tried to install Linux....

"Ubuntu looks like what Windows NT looked like before it became 2000, before it became XP, and not as good as Mac OS 8, let alone OS X Leopard.

"Why? Please, don't flame me, geeky nerdy types of the Linux persuasion. The basic user interface is just horribly crude, roughly crafted, unintuitive; even the highly touted KDE4 on Ubuntu, known as Kubuntu needs a map...."

Fastest Mac Pro SATA Boot Drives Benchmarked

Bare Feats' rob-ART Morgan reports:

"Since we tested the 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, two developments occurred that caused us to replace that article with this one:

  1. We now have a sample of the new Barracuda 7200.12 1 TB 7K SATA drive.
  2. We now have a sample of the Hitachi E7K1000 with high density platters.

"We added those two drives along with a dual WD Velociraptor RAID 0 set (orange bar) since a single Velociraptor is not sufficient in capacity (in our opinion) to be a serious boot drive for the Mac Pro....

"There is much interest in using Solid State Drives (SSDs) for boot drives. With the exception of the Intel X25-E, the write speed of SSDs is unimpressive. Also the price needs to come down and the capacity go up for SSDs to be practical as OS X boot drives...."

Mini DisplayPort, Faster Graphics Coming to 2008 Mac Pros

Macworld's Peter Cohen reports:

"With the introduction of revamped Mac Pros on Tuesday, Apple has also revealed ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro. The graphics card will work both in brand new Mac Pros and in models built and sold since early 2008.

"The Radeon HD 4870 sports one Dual-Link DVI interface - suitable for connecting a DVI-equipped monitor up to 30 inches, like Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display, and also comes with a Mini DisplayPort.

"The card is designed to work in Mac Pros equipped with PCI Express 2.0 slots. That includes Mac Pros manufactured in 2008 and the new systems. Older Mac Pros will not be able to use this card...."

Macs Gaining in the Workplace

Government Computer News' Joab Jackson reports:

"Designed for home use, Apple computers are finding their niche in some government offices

"When you think of the Apple Macintosh, you might think of a smooth-running, elegantly designed, though comparatively expensive, laptop or desktop computer that is used largely in homes. But can Macs also play a part in the workplace?

"The answer seems to be, increasingly, yes. For instance, the Orange County, Calif., Sheriff's Department recently purchased 175 iMacs and MacBook laptops, which will work within the department's Microsoft Windows environment. 'They are used in regular office space for all types of assignments,' said Assistant Sheriff James McDonald. 'We also use them in the training room and we use some for video editing and podcasting.'

"Orange County is not alone. A recent study conducted by analyst firm Information Technology Intelligence Corp. (ITIC) seems to suggest Apple is creeping into the enterprise. A survey of 700 organizations - about 9 percent of which were government agencies - found that 23 percent reported that they have a significant number of Macs in their organizations. Significant, in this study, means more than 50 percent of the desktop computers.

"'There is a distinct, discernible trend' of more Apple hardware use in the enterprise, said Laura DiDio, a principal at ITIC...."

Macintosh Before System 7

Chinese Mac's Eric Rasmussen says:

"Discussions include Vintage Macs, System 6, and 68k Macintosh Liberation Army. Answers to frequently asked questions are available here and here. Classic Mac Tech Info is available in a PDF document here.

"First-hand history is available at Folklore and Making the Macintosh. There are six old articles from BYTE available online: Macintosh product description and Macintosh Design Team interview (February 1984), Macintosh review and Macintosh's Other Designers interview (August 1984), Macintosh Plus product description (June 1986), Macintosh at 10 (February 1994)....

"Macintosh hardware releases

  • Table of hardware releases before System 7 (May 1991)....
  • Table of software releases before System 7 (May 1991)...."

Apple Updates

Apple AirPort Client Update 2009-001

This update is recommended for all Intel-based Macintosh computers running Mac OS X 10.5.6.

It addresses issues with roaming and network selection in dual-band environments.

File Size: 2 MB

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5.6

Apple AirPort Utility 5.4.1

AirPort Utility v5.4.1 is the simple to use, setup and management utility for the AirPort Express Base Station, the AirPort Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule.

Use AirPort Utility to setup and manage the following products:

  • AirPort Express Base Station
  • AirPort Extreme Base Station
  • Time Capsule

For the latest information on AirPort software, check Software Update in System Preferences or the Apple Support website:

Learn more about Apple Wi-Fi at <http://www.apple.com/wifi/>

For more information on using Apple AirPort products with your Internet account, contact your ISP or go to the AppleCare Knowledge Base at <http://www.apple.com/support>

File Size: 17.40 MB

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or later

Products

Sonnet Universal FireWire Connections FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter

Sonnet FireWire 400 to 800 AdapterPR: Most Mac systems no longer are equipped with FireWire 400 ports, but Sonnet's FireWire 400-to-800 adapter makes it easy to connect your existing FireWire 400 peripherals to the latest computers with FireWire 800 ports.

No FireWire 400 Port on Your Computer? Sonnet's FireWire 400-to-800 adapter makes it easy to connect your FireWire 400 (1394a) peripherals to the latest Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, or any other computer with FireWire 800 (1394b) ports, without the trouble of purchasing yet another cable.

Sonnet FireWire 400 to 800 AdapterWhich cable to get? What length? Why bother - use your existing FireWire 400 cables with this simple adapter from Sonnet to connect devices to a FireWire 800 port. Just plug it in between a FireWire 800 port and a standard FireWire 400 cable's 6-pin male connector (the other end of the cable plugs into your FireWire device). It can't get any simpler.

Sonnet's FireWire 400-to-800 adapter features a 9-pin male connector that plugs into your computer's FireWire 800 port. The other end of the adapter features a 6-pin female FireWire connector that any standard 6-pin male FireWire 400 cable can plug into. Fully IEEE 1394 compliant, this adapter allows you to avoid the hassles of new cables and computer upgrades.

Key Benefits

  • Provides a simple way to connect FireWire 400 devices to the latest Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac and all other computers with a FireWire 800 port
  • Works with onboard FireWire 800 ports, as well as those on adapter cards like Sonnet's Allegro™ FireWire 800
  • 9-pin male (FW800) to 6-pin female (FW400) connector adapter works with standard 6-pin male FW400 cables
  • IEEE 1394 compliant

FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter sells for $14.95.

Other FireWire 400 to 800 Solutions

The Sonnet product isn't your only potential FireWire 400 restoration solution.

OWC Voyager Hard Drive Docking Bundles with FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA

PR: Other World Computing (OWC) announces nine new OWC Voyager Hard Drive Docking Bundles that come complete with the NewerTech Voyager hard drive dock; a high performance, SATA hard drive with options including the most energy efficient operation and/or highest capacity drives available on the market up to 2 TB; and a $200 retail value disk utility software bundle consisting of Intech SpeedTools/ProSoft Data Backup 3/NovaStor NovaBackup. Priced starting at $109.99, the Voyager Hard Drive Docking Bundles feature either the NewerTech Voyager Q, the only "Quad Interface" FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, & eSATA hard drive docking station on the market or the NewerTech Voyager S2 USB 2.0/eSATA interface model, for Plug & Play compatibility with both Windows and Macintosh systems.

Voyager Hard Drive DockThe OWC Voyager Bundle is a Plug and Play easy to use external hard drive solution that works with both Macs and PCs straight from the box. Simply insert the included 3.5" SATA I/II hard drive (up to 2 TB) into the NewerTech Voyager compact docking base and select the fastest interface supported by the connected computer to backup and store data; archive multiple smaller drives onto the OWC Voyager hard drive; or even create a bootable clone of the primary hard drive. Because there isn't anything to install or configure, Voyager saves users the time and inconvenience of installing a hard drive into a computer or an external hard drive enclosure, which may have limited interface choices and slower speeds.

Voyager Docking Station Makes Swapping Hard Drives as Convenient as USB Memory Keys

With the combination of a high performance 3.5" SATA I/II hard drive along with a NewerTech Voyager docking station, consumers can enjoy the same type of convenience as a flash memory or USB key, but with the much greater storage capacity offered by a hard drive. Plus, with its custom, stylish design, weighted base and drive eject lever, the NewerTech Voyager makes inserting, using, and removing the included hard drive a safe and effortless procedure.

Drive Options with Most Energy Efficiency & Highest Capacity Available On Market

Voyager Bundles feature hard drives that deliver best-in-class performance, boasting options with the largest capacity hard drives and best energy efficiency on the market. Voyager 1 TB Bundles feature the Hitachi Deskstar 3.5" hard drive that delivers the best energy efficiency on the market, with up to 43% less idle power consumption over previous generation 1 TB hard drives. Users with massive storage needs can select the Voyager Bundles that feature the 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Green hard drive, the largest capacity, eco-friendly single 3.5" hard drive available on the market.

Real-World Applications for OWC Voyager Bundle:

  • Photographers/Videographers: Keep photos and videos archived and organized by using a separate drive for each volume of work.
  • Small Business: Backup important files at the end of day and keep the drive either off-site or in a fireproof safe. Keep multiple drive backups from any specific date.
  • Computer Technicians: Easily backup client data to separate disks before working on the computer without the need to utilize a hard drive enclosure.
  • Home Users: Save pictures, financial records, scanned legal documents (such as birth certificates), and other personal documents. Backup data to a separate drive and keep the drive in a safe or safe deposit box.
  • All Users: Have the piece of mind of a complete backup plan. The included software creates a bootable clone of the primary hard drive at regular intervals, so if the computer or power goes down, productivity doesn't go down with it. Boot to another computer and keep on working.

Nine OWC Voyager Hard Drive Docking Bundles available priced starting at $109.99:

Voyager S2 'Dual Interface' (USB 2.0 & eSATA) Bundle Models:

  • OWC Voyager S2 500 GB Bundle with Dual Interface: 500 GB Hitachi Deskstar hard drive, NewerTech Voyager S2 SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Dual Interface for eSATA and USB 2.0. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $109.99.
  • OWC Voyager S2 1 TB Bundle with Dual Interface: 1 TB Hitachi Deskstar hard drive, NewerTech Voyager S2 SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Dual Interface for eSATA and USB 2.0. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $137.99.
  • OWC Voyager S2 1.5 TB Bundle with Dual Interface: 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda hard drive, NewerTech Voyager S2 SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Dual Interface for eSATA and USB 2.0. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $189.99.
  • OWC Voyager S2 2 TB Bundle with Dual Interface: 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Green hard drive, NewerTech Voyager S2 SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Dual Interface for eSATA and USB 2.0. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $339.99.

Voyager Q 'Quad Interface' (FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0 & eSATA) Bundle Models:

  • OWC Voyager Q 500 GB Bundle with Quad Interface: 500 GB Hitachi Deskstar hard drive, NewerTech Voyager Q SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Quad Interface for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $149.99.
  • OWC Voyager Q 750 GB Bundle with Quad Interface: 750 GB Hitachi Deskstar hard drive, NewerTech Voyager Q SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Quad Interface for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $169.99.
  • OWC Voyager Q 1 TB Bundle with Quad Interface: 1 TB Hitachi Deskstar hard drive, NewerTech Voyager Q SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Quad Interface for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $184.99.
  • OWC Voyager Q 1.5 TB Bundle with Quad Interface: 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda hard drive, NewerTech Voyager Q SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Quad Interface for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $229.99.
  • OWC Voyager Q 2 TB Bundle with Quad Interface: 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Green hard drive, NewerTech Voyager Q SATA I/II hard drive docking station with Quad Interface for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. Bundle includes all connecting cables and $200 value disk utility software. Priced at $379.99.

GainSaver Used Macintosh Computers Stimulus Sale

PR: GainSaver, an online reseller of used Macintosh computers, has received a huge shipment of thousands of used Macintosh computers. In response, the company is launching its first Stimulus Sale.

The Stimulus Sale is designed to make Macintosh computers more affordable to all the businesses, families, students, and designers who need a Macintosh to get their work done. In this time of economic recession, demand is extremely high.

"These used Macs are in excellent condition," said Steve Harper, director of sales at GainSaver. "We get the machines from schools and businesses who take extremely good care of them. Then they undergo a complete inspection and testing process." After testing, they become Certified Preowned Macs with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

The latest shipment of Macintosh computers contains thousands of popular MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks. But the star of the Stimulus Sale is the Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5 GHz desktop computer. At the Stimulus Sale price of $674, GainSaver customers save over $1000 off the price of a new one:

Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5 GHz - Apple Computer Part Number M9457LL/A

  • List Price: $1,699.00
  • Savings: $1,024.90 (60%)
  • Stimulus Sale Price: $674

Another way GainSaver helps shoppers hold costs down is with its online System Configurator. GainSaver customers use it to build their own customized Macintosh systems. They can choose just the components they need from a range of hard drives, optical drives, software programs and memory configurations. All components are installed and tested before shipping.

Stimulus Sale pricing will continue only while supplies last.

The Certified Preowned Macintosh computers sold by GainSaver have been fully tested and certified by the company's trained Apple technicians. Every major component is verified to be in 100% working order before shipment. Certified Preowned Macs from GainSaver come ready to boot up and use with Apple OS X and Apple iLife installed.

The GainSaver online store also carries new, used and refurbished PC systems from top PC manufacturers such as IBM and Dell. In addition, GainSaver sells more than 30,000 different electronics products. Sales lines are open from 7am to 5pm PT.

Software

memTools - Memory Optimizer for Mac

memToolsPR: memTools is a Mac OS X memory management system. With memTools you can utilize three powerful methods to manage your memory resources allowing you increased flexibility in your performance expectations while using your applications.

With memTools you can use time, memory levels and full manual control to delegate powerful automation that when used appropriately can help almost completely eliminate the "spinning color wheels" that result from memory recycling of the advanced Mach Virtual Memory(VM*) system part of every Mac OS X advanced computing system.

Every Macintosh computer has the advanced Mach Kernel combined with the solid foundation of UNIX. memTools was designed with the Mac OS X advanced virtual memory system in mind.

In addition memTools has critical level statistics available to help you decide what levels, complexities, and timings will offer you the best performance for your mix of applications all the while staying out of the way of your work routine.

  1. Increase free memory available almost anytime
  2. Lower Inactive memory load on the system
  3. Decrease the Spinning color wheel VM* recycling delays
  4. Allow more applications to load and run without delays
  5. Recover Virtual Memory Proactively before delays occur
  6. Make low memory iBooks, PowerBooks, iMacs responsive
  7. Discover application combinations that cause delays
  8. Manage memory rather than letting it manage your time
  9. Can Help Developers to Optimize VM strategies
  10. Minimize Delays During PowerPoints, Keynotes, etc...

Desktop Mac Deals

Low End Mac updates the following price trackers monthly:

For deals on current and discontinued 'Books, see our 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 12" PowerBook G4, 15" PowerBook G4, 17" PowerBook G4, titanium PowerBook G4, iBook G4, PowerBook G3, and iBook G3 deals.

We also track iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle deals.

Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Google+, or subscribe to our RSS news feed

Links for the Day

Recent Content

Go to the Mac News Review index.

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Page not found | Low End Mac

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Most Used Categories

Archives

Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

Page not found | Low End Mac

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Most Used Categories

Archives

Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
The Vintage Mac Museum
Deal Brothers
DealMac
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Macgo Blu-ray Player
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

Low End Mac's Amazon.com store

Advertise

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Most Used Categories

Archives

Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link