Low End Mac Archive for May 9

May 9 in Low End Mac History

10 years an Apple user, Brandon Dimcheff, My First Mac. "This is when I did the stupidest thing of my life - I sold my PowerBook!"
Field testing the carpenter's PB 100 fix, Manuel Mejia Jr, Mac Daniel. Building and using a battery adapter with the PowerBook 100.

It's the output that counts, Manuel Mejia, Mac Daniel. "When purchasing a computer, the buyer needs to make an assessment of what the output will be."
Mozilla gets browsing just right, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report. Not only is the latest build of Mozilla nearly perfect, it's fast, too.
Why Linux instead of OS X?, Jason Walsh, PPC Linux. Too many Power Macs can't run OS X - or can't run it well.

The dark side of software upgrades, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive. New features are great - but what about those who have to use an older version of the program on another computer?
DVD burner for Lombard and Pismo, keyboard protection, a dual drive FireWire enclosure, and more, The 'Book Review. Also new backpack and attaché style cases, iBook used by war correspondent, and bargain 'Books from $239 to $2,069.
Working with MS Works files, using Mac disks on a PC, HyperCard, upgrades, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag. Also thoughts on Mac reliability, GeForce vs. Radeon PCI cards, and eMac prophecies.

Origin of the Apple I and Apple II computers, Tom Hormby, Orchard. From the first behemoth computers to the Apple II+, the computer that drove the personal computer revolution.
SilverKeeper: The quintessential free backup utility?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings. LaCie's SilverKeeper is free, and it might be all the backup software you need.

Back to Kansas: A look at the fastest, most expandable pre-G3 Power Macs, Grant Hayes, Applesauce. The Power Mac 8600 and 9600 used a fast 604e chip that could give early G3 systems a real run for the money.
Inexplicable Cocoa ligature problem solved, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. My eMac was automatically replacing "fi" and "fl" with ligatures in Cocoa programs. A reader sent me a simple solution to this frustrating problem.
Photoshop Elements 4.0 and Lightroom Beta show Adobe still does well by Mac users, Alan Zisman, Low End Mac Reviews. Adobe's Photoshop Elements 4.0 provides '85% of Photoshop's power for 15% of its cost' and the Mac-only Lightroom beta looks very promising.

OS X on a 6500, a Macquarium, and the debate over G3 support in Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard', Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag. Also where to look for BeOS for the Mac and CRT dangers are very much overstated.

140 million copies of Vista sold (yawn), Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz. It sounds like a lot, but over 85% of Windows users are staying away from Vista. 20% of Mac users have embraced Leopard in one-third the time.
Apple's eMate still a great tool in the classroom, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh. How one teacher equipped his classroom with eMates with his own money - and plans to keep using them as long as possible.
More G4 upgrade advice, secure disk wipes, 500 MHz iMacs with Tiger in action, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag. The importance of securely clearing your hard drive before you pass on your Mac, Pismo and closed lid mode, G3 iMacs in the classroom, and more thoughts on upgrading G4 Power Macs.
Apple tops in tech support, Penryn iMacs and Psystar Open Computer reviewed, and more, Mac News Review. Also the iMac philosophy, OpenOffice 3.0 going Mac, MozyHome backup comes to Macs, weather in the Dock, and more.
MacBook sales explode, MacBook Air reviews, several new hard drives, and more, The 'Book Review. Also silver-zinc batteries may outlast lithium-ion, Bell Aliant bundling MacBook with Internet access, notebook drives benchmarked, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
$199 iPhone coming?, iPod not a Walkman, crosswalk danger, iPods taking over cars, and more, iNews Review. Also the iPhone is a second-rate phone, iPhone 2.0 may introduce handwriting recognition, Kensington battery pack and chargers, new iPhone apps, and more.

The implications of losing Rosetta in OS X 10.7 Lion, Charles W Moore, Charles Moore's Mailbag. Rosetta lets PowerPC apps run on Intel Macs, but losing Rosetta means that some installers and updaters will no longer run.
Apple could become #2 PC maker this year, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz. Canalys counts iPads as PCs, making Apple #4 in the worldwide PC market. With its growth, #2 is likely.
PowerBook G4 to the rescue of a die hard Pittsburgh Penguins fan, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming. NHL GameCenter Live specifies a 1.6 GHz G5 minimum, but game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning was watchable on a 1.5 GHz PowerBook G4.
Why no USB 3.0 on laptops?, 2011 MacBook Air wish list, wear leveling demystified, and more, The 'Book Review. Also 2011 iMac vs. MacBook Pro, Apple working on SATA 6 Gbps bug fix, replace MacBook Air SSD with OWC Aura Pro Express, and more.
Mid 2011 iMac features and performance, updates for new iMacs, networked USB sharing, and more, Mac News Review. Also Mac OS fastest growing OS, Lion to be sold through Mac App Store, Vatican bloggers support lifting content, non-slip foot for Mac mini, and more.

ThinkPad X41 Revived, Austin Leeds, Low End PC. The ThinkPad X41 converts from a laptop to a tablet. More memory and Compact Flash gave this one a new lease on life.