Processor Upgrade Market Never Better

On June 7, 2000, online Mac upgrade reseller MacCPU voluntarily closed its cyber-doors and shut down permanently. MacCPU principal Bob Moriarty explained dyspeptically in a column on MacNN that while, in his opinion, “CPU upgrades remain the single best idea we have ever seen in computing after the Macintosh Operating System . . . Apple […]

Optimizing Mac Software

In my earlier articles about speed, I made the point that much of speed depends on what software you choose and how you set it up for the way you work. In How to Pick Faster Software, I gave some yardsticks you can use to measure how good your software is. Now I’d like to […]

350 MHz G3 iMacs

A Limited Mac Apple had two 350 MHz iMacs. The first, available only in blueberry, was introduced in October 1999. It has 64 MB of RAM (expandable to 1 GB), Rage 128 VR graphics with 8 MB of memory, a 6 GB IDE hard drive, CD-ROM, and the option of supporting an AirPort 802.11b WiFi […]

Power Mac G4 Cube

Stunningly compact, the Power Mac (not Macintosh) G4 Cube came as a surprise, despite numerable contradictory rumors. Just 7.7″ square and a bit under 10″ tall – about the same height at the 2013 Mac Pro, but with a larger footprint – the Cube does everything the iMac DV does (except contain a monitor) – […]

iMac G3 (Summer 2000)

Apple broadened the iMac line from three models and two speeds to four models and four speeds in July 2000, also introducing a new color palette (indigo, ruby, sage, and snow in addition to graphite). The new iMacs shipped with Mac OS 9.0.4. The entry-level 350 MHz indigo iMac was a slight step up from […]

iMac DV SE (Summer 2000)

The new iMac DV Special Edition, available in Graphite or Snow, increased speed from 400 MHz on the original DV SE to 500 MHz and boosted the hard drive from 13 GB to 30 GB – all without increasing the price. The 2000 iMac DV Special Edition ships with the Apple Pro Mouse and Apple […]

400 MHz iMac DV (Summer 2000)

This model, available in Indigo and Ruby, replaced the earlier iMac DV. Both models share a 400 MHz processor. Other than colors, the biggest difference between the new iMac DV and the previous model with the same name is the use of a CD-ROM drive instead of DVD.

Mystic Power Mac G4

Claiming “two brains are better than one,” Apple introduced the first dual processor Power Macs since the 9600MP, which had two 200 MHz 604e processors. Although Mac OS 9 has some multiprocessing support, until OS X shipped, only a few applications – such as Photoshop – took advantage of the second processor.

Picking Fast Software

I have been thinking a lot about speed lately. Speed is the most touted feature of each new computer, but it is equally relevant to low-end Macs. Low End Mac’s webmaster, Dan Knight, puts it this way: Eventually every computer becomes low-end.

Outfitting the BTO SuperMac S900

2000: If you’re a regular Low End Mac reader, you probably remember my articles back in May about the Frankenstein Power Mac 9500 project, in which I was attempting to procure a decently fast and capable machine as a backup to my faithful WallStreet PowerBook by adding bits and pieces to a stripped 9500 my […]

Apple Is Not Your Friend

2000: The Register (among other news outlets) recently ran an article on how Apple has been strong-arming the AdCritic website into removing Apple ads. It seems that the Apple legal department has a problem with the ads running on the AdCritic site.