Have a question? Ask an expert! Navigation Used Mac Dealers Apple History Best Used Macs Video Cards Email Lists InfoMac's Low End Mac Forum Favorite Sites MacSurfer MacMinute MacInTouch MyAppleMenu InfoMac Macs Only! The Mac Observer Accelerate Your Mac RetroMacCast PB Central MacWindows The Vintage Mac    Museum DealMac DealsOnTheWeb Mac2Sell ramseeker Mac Driver Museum JAG's House System 6 Heaven System 7 Today the pickle's Low-End    Mac FAQ Abandonware    Petition Mac vs. PC Info Affiliates The Apple Store Mac Connection MacMall TechRestore MacResQ ExperCom Crucial Memory batteries.com Advertise All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only. Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser. Enjoyed the Music Appetizer? Try the OS Main Course Low End Mac Reader Specials Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94, New 2008 iMac 2GB $46. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 / 1GB $23--Free shipping available. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com 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: Juice up your iPod w/NewerTech High Capacity Battery from $19.99 Free Installation Videos for most models. Pro Installation Service w/FedEx Shipping From $57.95 (Battery Included). - www.MacSales.com Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac. Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs. Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you. MacBook/MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO DDR2 667Mhz 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20 - Click to Maximize your Macs... Stephen Van Esch - 2003.11.12 With hell freezing over and all, I'm hoping that Apple will be able to introduce another cold front in the Windows world. Windows users like their iTunes. They really like their iTunes. Really. Some have even toyed with the possibility of buying a Mac just so their whole computing experience can be as simple as iTunes. Those are the ones Apple should be after. In case you haven't noticed (but as a smart, loyal reader, you surely have), Apple is obliquely trying to move people away from Windows, and music is its vehicle of choice. Right now, a vast number of Windows users are toting Apple hardware in their pocket. Now millions more are installing Apple software on their hard drives. They like Apple, and they like what the products they've bought. Surely the marketing eggheads at Apple have a strategy in mind when it comes to getting more folks using Macs. Thus far the Mac renaissance has yet to materialize. All the chips seem to be in place to things to take off. The hardware is great. The software is great. The OS is great. Throw in the faint but growing stronger heartbeat of IT spending, and you're probably wondering why Apple isn't in the stratosphere right now. I'm wondering myself. What all those users sitting on the fence need is a nudge, don't you think? Not enough people seem to be making the leap in logic that would make them radically improve their computing lifestyles. I try not to dream up too many Apple ad campaigns; I'm not paid to do it, and no one listens to my brilliance anyway. But here's a thought for the marketing folks in Cupertino: How about an ad campaign that subtly suggests that life would be a whole lot better if they sprung for the whole Apple experience? Ads are built on creating a want. They create the want by inventing or emphasizing a gap between where you are now and where - with the right clothes, car, and Swiffer duster - you could be. With all the right things you could, of course, be sexy, desirable, rich, smart, suave, and funny (with a Swiffer duster to boot!). So where is the target switcher now? They have a great life with iTunes for Windows and an iPod. But where could they be? They could have that wonderful feeling of ease of use permeating their every computing nook and cranny! Cue the ad, please: Your life with iTunes and iPod is good, why not make it great with a new Mac? And with this ad, they wouldn't even be accused of stretching the truth a little. After all, aren't all Mac users sexy, desirable, rich, smart, suave, and funny (with Swiffer dusters next to their keyboards)? Forget I asked. Stephen Van Esch is the founder and president of the E-learning Foundry, an online training resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual, since he's also fluent in Windows and French. Recently on Mac Scope Connecting with the broader Macintosh community, 04.06. "But beyond the very minor celebrity status that came with being published on Low End Mac, it gave me a real opportunity to participate in the Mac community." Hardware failure, that rare Mac headache, 07.09. Macs are usually pretty reliable, but a hardware failure after just two-and-a-half years is still disappointing. Still waiting for iTunes Music Store Canada, sort of, 06.23. While the pay-per-tune model makes sense, Apple's post-purchase copy management flies in the face of Canadian copyright law. PearPC's slow Mac emulation - What's the point?, 05.26. "For all those Windows folks who are gussying up Windows to look like OS X and getting excited over PearPC, please just buy a Mac." More in the Mac Scope index. Links for the Day Mac of the Day: PowerBook 170, Oct. 1991 - At 25 MHz, the PB 170 was at the top of the original PowerBook line. List of the Day: The iPhone List Low End Mac's forum for discussing and supporting Apple's iPhone. August 30 in LEM history: 99: The truth about USB speed - 00: Could Eazel kill the Mac? - Mac OS 8.1 on a IIci and LC III - 01: Beyond MHz and GHz - Getting a handle on email - Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad - Apple's anniversaries - 02: Mac OS X v10.2 - iBook video out - 04: Things that freak out my students - 06: Nvu and SeaMonkey can't replace Home Page - 07: DVD-RAM support Recent Content on Low End Mac Looking for a Content Management System That's as Easy as Mac, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.29. Low End Mac needs to move to a content management system, but the few we've tried just don't cut it for people used to the simple elegance of the Mac. First 3 Million Mac Quarter, Skinny on Mac mini Pricing, Mac-like gOS, and More, Mac News Review, 08.29. More plan to buy Apple products than ever before, complete reset can fix MobileMac synch problems, Apple boosting computer and smartphone share, and more. New 'Books Likely in September, 17" PowerBook Display Fault Site, SSD Security, and More, The 'Book Review, 08.29. Also 6 ways to speed up your MacBook, next generation MacBook Air CPU, MacBook Air Update, LapStrap carrying solution, rise and fall of ultraportables, bargains from $220 to $2,699, and more. iPhone 3G Reception 'Completely Normal', AT&T International Data Plans for iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 08.29. Also longer life for iPod earbuds, an alternative to MobileMe, new cases and apps for iPhone, AppStoreGems website launched, and more. Best Power Mac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.29. Used 450 MHz AGP, $75; 500, $99; 800 QS, $199; 1.25 GHz MDD, $375; 450 MHz dual, $179; 867 dual, $300; 1 GHz dual, $395; 1.42 dual, $575. Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.29. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 500 CD, $150; 800, $200; 600 CD-RW, $240; 900 Combo, $300; 14" 600, $360; 900, $400. Best iPod nano Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.29. Used 2 GB iPod nano, $89; refurb 3G 4 GB, $99; new, $140; refurb 8 GB, $149; new, $179. 10 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 08.28. A look at Internet Explorer, Radon, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, Flock, and Camino running in Leopard. Clone and Boot: Another Advantage of the Mac OS, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 08.28. Unlike Windows, Apple makes it possible to clone a bootable drive (Classic Mac OS or OS X) and use it with another supported Mac. Best MacBook Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.28. Used 1.83 GHz, $799; 2.0 black, $875; refurb 2.1 GHz, $899; 2.4, $1,099; black, $1,299; new 2.1, $1,019 after rebate; 22, $1,094; 2.4, $1,219 a/r; black, $1,394 a/r. Best iMac G5 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.28. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $499; 1.8 SuperDrive, $530; 2.0, $600; 1.9 iSight, $625; 20" 1.8 GHz, $580; 2.0, $650; 2.1 iSight, $700. Best classic Mac OS Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.28. System 6, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5.1, $4; Mac OS 7.6, $13; 8.0, $13; 8.1, $48; 8.5, $25; 8.6, $20; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $20; more. CrossOver Strikes Out, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 08.27. Running Windows apps on a Mac without paying for Windows is great in theory, but actually getting Windows software working is another story. MacDrought: 4 Months with No New Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.27. The most recent Mac update was over four months ago, and the Mac mini has been unchanged for over a year. Resurrecting a Dead Pismo, Spotlight Search Tip, and EasyFind a Good File Finder, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 08.27. Lots of tips on bringing a comatose Pismo back to life, a Spotlight file name search tip, and EasyFind as an alternative to Spotlight. Best Intel iMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.27. Used 17" 1.83 GHz, $625; 20", $599; 2.16, $749; 24", $950; refurb 20" 2.4, $999; 2.66, $1,299; 24" 2.4, $1,299; 2.8, $1,549; new 3.06, $2,094 after rebate; more. Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.27. Used 1.25 GHz Combo, $600; SuperDrive, $650; 1.33 Combo, $640; 1.5, $680; SD, $725; 1.67, $730; hi-res, $800. Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.27. 500 GB Time Capsule, $294; 1 TB, $468; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; 802.11n Base Station, $166; 802.11g AirPort Express, $60; 802.11n, $98. More links in our archive. Mac Scope articles copyright © 2000-04, 2007 by Stephen Van Esch. � Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. 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