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December 1999
What better way to end the year than to look back at the successes of 1999 – especially Apple’s.
1999 – What is a good medium for early Macs to store programs and data ?
The best and word of 1999 (and very subjective):
After releasing the industry’s most radically fresh desktop design and the most popular computer in 1998, what do you do for an encore?
Links originally on the No Hype 56k Modem Home Page. Links verified March 2018.
Oh, the Mac over there? Macs are only good for graphics. – an Intel rep, overheard at CompUSA The Mac is a toy. They’re only good for games. – the average PC user, overheard at CompUSA
1999 started out on a real high note for me. I had a finally achieved the rank of MIS director, and with doing that I had finally reached my goal to be considered a serious player in the computer industry.
1999 – I have a Performa 6400 and am looking to upgrade my hard drive. I do not want to buy an external drive. Should I upgrade the IDE hard drive or add a SCSI drive to the bay above the CD-ROM?
1999: A year ago at this time, I found myself doing one of the “required” columns that seem to emanate from all columnists around this time. It’s just sort of expected in the Mac community that a columnist will have something to say about each MacWorld Expo, an end-of-the-year review, a “look ahead” column for […]
New PCs from manufacturers like Compaq, Sony, and Gateway have gained some stylish design elements. Even the horrid eOne, with its copycat design and limited upgradeability (limited by how big a sledgehammer you have), looks better than a beige metal box.
You are not in the world all alone. Your friends are here, too. – Albert Schweitzer, upon winning the Nobel Prize
Apple released its 1999 10-K form, which provides an overview of the past fiscal year as well as a look ahead. 1999 was a very impressive year.
1999: One of the greatest programs developed for the Windows platform is Voice Dictation. Voice Dictation is a program that types what you’re saying when you talk into a microphone attached to your computer. There were many programs on the market that do this: Dragon Naturally Speaking, ViaVoice, and many others. However, none of these […]
1999: Dan Knight has already weighed in on this issue with The Next PowerBooks. I guess great minds think alike. I enjoyed reading Dan’s article, and I agree with most of what he said, finding his speculation about a possible thin and compact “MyBook” Apple portable (personally, I prefer the name “eBook” – for “executive” […]
1999 – Early last Monday, the teacher across the hall poked her head into my classroom and said, “Last Monday to teach of this millennium,” and closed the door before I could begin chuckling. We get two weeks off for Christmas vacation. There are some advantages to being an educator.
The Apple USB Mouse has been criticized for its diminutive size and hockey-puck shape. Numerous reviewers have rated the pointing device unfavorably stating to the tune of: “it is too small to be comfortable” or “it’s too easy to unknowingly turn it sideways.” However, I believe that the Apple design team did an excellent job.
Every version of the Mac OS is ready for Y2K, but some programs for the Mac suffer from Y2K problems.
1999: The latest news from Microsoft headquarters is that they will be delaying the final release of Windows 2000 (Win2K) until the later half of 1900. Nope, this isn’t true; it’s just a joke (in fact, I didn’t even make it up). But, this joke does have some truth.* Many Windows users will be hit […]
The Umax SuperMac C500 and C600 were the first “Power Macs” to have their CPU in a ZIF socket, making upgrades very easy. Having a C500/200 at work and finding an incredible garage sale special on upgrades from Small Dog Electronics, I decided to test the 240 MHz upgrade and the CacheDoubler.
I couldn’t believe it – a US$19 USB extended keyboard! At that price, it was worth a try. From the photo (below), it looked like a match for the Apple Extended Keyboard layout, or at least very close.
1999 – How did System 6 and its features work with 2-8 MB “high end” Macs like the Mac II?
1999 – In the dark days when we had practically no budget and seemingly unlimited kids in our special education classroom, we saw the need for a “sure thing” self-image builder to get the kids to believe in themselves again and give us a good effort. Most of our students had extremely limited reading skills […]
1999: A topic of enduring fascination for me is trying to analyze why people form polarized opinions and affinities about things. Why are some people liberals and others conservative? Why do some people like Chevies and others prefer Fords? Why do some like the toilet paper to unroll from the top while others adamantly insist […]
1999: I watched my first DVD, Blade Runner: Director’s Cut, on a 300 MHz Blue and White Power Mac G3 with a 20″ monitor. It worked, but I get a smoother picture with my DVD player and TV at home.
1999: In my previous article I stated that I would use a Macintosh full time for my day-to-day tasks. One thing that is preventing me from doing so is that my Quadra 605 just doesn’t give me the power that I need.
I’ve been using a different mouse and keyboard this week. I didn’t have to, but I wanted the full USB experience.
Michael Faraday, a pioneer in the field of electricity, was demonstrating the tremendous potential of his new invention, the dynamo, to the British Royal Scientific Society. A young politician in the audience, William Gladstone, grew bored, finally saying, “I’m sure this is all very interesting, Mr. Faraday, but what in God’s earth good is it?” […]
1999.12: You decorate your home for the holidays, so why not decorate your Mac, too? No, I’m not suggesting you put Christmas lights all over your computer, but instead use software to do it.
MacUnderground has announced that its new Mac USB Wireless Keyboard and USB/ADB Wireless Mice will be available after Dec. 15, 1999 and may be pre-ordered now from the MacUnderground.
Monday, November 29, 1999, 7:15 a.m. – Despite my turkey hangover, I eagerly enter my classroom early, ready to face a challenging week of last minute placement conferences scheduled to beat some state or federal cutoff date. I tap the space bar of the 8550 file and print server to wake it from its peaceful […]
1999 – From the day Steve Jobs announced the Power Mac G4, we’ve all known the Yikes! model was temporary. We pretty much expected it to be discontinued before Macworld Expo at the end of January – and probably before the end of 1999. Well, Apple quietly did it. If you go to the Apple […]
This page covers G3 upgrades that fit in the Level 2 cache socket of the Power Macintosh 4400, 5400, 5500, 6400, 6500, 7220; Performa 54xx, 6360, and 64xx; Twentieth Anniversary Mac; StarMax 3000, 4000; Power Computing PowerBase; Umax SuperMac C500, and C600. Check with the manufacturer of the upgrade to see which models are compatible.
For those of us who cut our teeth with 8-bit computers in the late 1970s, dot pitch wasn’t an issue. A monitor might display 320 dots horizontally by 200 vertically. On a 13″ monitor (the norm back then) with 12″ viewable, you’d have about 9.5″ horizontally. That’s 0.75 mm per pixel, so a horizontal dot […]
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November 1999
1999: As the Mac specialist at a university-affiliated biological research facility in Philadelphia, I do my fair share of resolving computer problems, and therefore I know my way around the Mac quite well. Recently, though, I was faced with what initially seemed to be a PC problem – a request from a woman who wanted […]
1999 – The old saying “You get what you pay for” – besides being an excellent example of a dangling preposition – is usually pretty good advice. In the area of educational software for the Mac, there are some notable exceptions to the adage. My recent experience setting up a lab with just a few […]
1999 – I enjoyed your article, Is It Time to Buy an iMac? Personally, I’m still using my 6-1/2 year old Quadra 800 quite successfully. I know that $5,500 was a lot of money back in Spring ’93, and I’m squeezing every last bit of power out of it. For most tasks, it seems about […]
1999 – What is System 6, and why is it the preferred system for 8 MHz compact Macs?
Rodney O. Lain Thanks, many thanks…. – Shakespeare You are not in the world all alone. Your friends are here, too. – Albert Schweitzer, upon winning the Nobel Prize
I was in college when the Mac first came out, and it was about six months or so when I was able to afford one. I went to my local electronics superstore and got my Macintosh 512Ke. The “e” stood for “enhanced,” which meant it could read both sides of a floppy.
1999: The biggest excuse for a PC user to avoid the Macintosh is, “Mac’s are for desktop publishing, and I don’t do that.” The real reason your average PC user doesn’t use a Macintosh is that it isn’t all around them. People adapt to and accept what they are surrounded by. Sadly, that is Microsoft […]
1999: The iBook is the number-one selling notebook, and it has helped push Apple’s notebook market share to 11%. The new iMac is the evolutionary and ridiculously popular redesigned version of the revolutionary and ridiculously popular iMac. Why would Paulo Rodrigues (that’s me!) choose the Tangerine iMac DV over the Tangerine iBook?
1999 – I have been hearing a lot about USB products lately. I do not have a Mac with built-in USB and was wondering if I should upgrade to take advantage of this new technology?
1999 – Every six to nine weeks, teachers face one of their less favorite tasks – grades. If they’re the diligent sort, they’ve spent every evening of the grading period carefully recording and averaging their students’ scores. For the rest of us party animals, grades mean at least a near “all-nighter” of entering scores and […]
I have yet to see a 15″ CRT monitor that looks crisp at 1024 x 768, or even a 19″ one that does justice to 1280 x 960 or 1280 x 1024 resolution. Yet these monitors are often rated for these settings, and often even higher ones.
1999: This has been a very interesting month for this Mac user, and it has left me a bit culture shocked. This war between Apple and Microsoft/Intel is getting very ugly, and I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon. Both sides are insisting they have the better platform – and will do so until […]
1999: Please note that Freewwweb has not only gone out of business, but their domain has been purchased by a porn site. We are retaining this article written by Rob Myers for historical interest but have removed all links to the domain. Dan Knight, publisher.
1999 – I just purchased a PowerBook Duo 270c from a friend of mine for $100. I am able to network it with my newer computer, but I would like to get this PowerBook online on its own. What kind of modem should I purchase? I also need an external floppy drive.
Quality is job one. – Ford Auto Company’s motto Innovation comes from people who take joy in their work. – W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993)
1999: Many people buy the iMac as a family computer, which means that many different people share it. Sometimes you’ll want to keep the people sharing your computer off certain areas of it, so that’s why people have developed security programs for the Mac. Today I’ll teach you some of the ways to keep your […]
1999 – I don’t back up my files nearly often enough. Theoretically, one should do it at least once a week. I do well to get to it once a month. It’s just a matter of the squeaky wheel getting the grease, and there always seems to be something more urgent to do than hooking […]
1999 – Two of the most opinionated and product loyal groups of folks I know are teachers and Macintosh users. The old adage of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is often their battle cry. I’ve watched fellow educators fight tooth and nail to continue using older educational materials (often with very good reason) […]
1999 – I just read your advice about upgrading or replacing an older Mac, and my Performa 636CD works pretty well for my purposes (except no RealAudio). I had a logic board swap done about 1-1/2 years ago so I could add a 486 card for Windows 95 (it’s easier for me to adapt to […]
1999: Some people fish, others play golf, and I play computer games. Being that I am single, live alone, and have an anti-responsibility rule in my lease, I spend a lot of my free time playing games. I am not just any gamer – I am a “die-hard” gamer.
I’m the news director of a small TV station in upstate New York, and a few weeks back we decided to put more effort into our station’s web site. “More effort,” in this case, meant two or three updates during the working week, and still pictures to go with the stories.
1999.11: One of the new iMac’s best improvements is the new Harman/Kardon Odyssey sound system, which was three years in the making. It’s this easily overlooked feature that makes the new iMac really stand out from its hushed relatives, not to mention it’s PC competitors.
1999 – My old Mac has the maximum RAM in it (or the maximum that I will install). I have 4-14 MB. What options do I have for Internet access?
1999 – I’ve never been able to do a prerelease column about a Mac OS update or upgrade, as either I’ve not had access to them before release or have been gagged by an Apple NDA. After reading that Tom McKenna of the G3 All-in-one Stop Shop had received his copy of Mac OS 9 […]
1999 – Should I wait for the Voodoo3 retail Mac specific version, or should I buy the PC version of the card and use the firmware flasher to convert it over to Mac?
The Power Mac 6100s these days are getting cheaper and cheaper. What are some good uses for them as a secondary computer?
1999: So how’s the Mac user for a month doing? Well, not good. My Power Mac 7200/120 never showed up due to a snafu courtesy of Ubid.
1999: The “I” in iMac must stand for inferior. Because after installing Mac OS 9 on your iMac, you’ll feel inferior to your little computer. OS 9, Apple’s latest operating system for the Mac, is sure to make your iMac work for you.
1999 – I’m writing this column under duress. I’m writing while conducting a conflict test. I’m also kicking myself for not doing this test before I dropped my excellent editor and publisher, Dan Knight, a note this week saying that Claris Home Page appears to break with Mac OS 9. Both Dan and I are […]
1999: Transistor density has been doubling roughly every eighteen months like clockwork for 40 years now. That’s Moore’s Law in a nutshell.
1999: This week Apple released the final version of its Mac OS 9 compatible version of MacsBug app, version 6.6. MacsBug also finally has its own, dedicated web page on the Apple Website, where you can go to get information on or download the latest MacsBug version.
1999 – Last week’s news that Dell Computer had displaced Apple, taking the lead in educational unit sales for two straight quarters should have shaken the Macintosh world to its knees. Instead, the Dataquest report went essentially unnoticed at first by the various Mac news and rumor sites.
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October 1999
1999: Adobe Type Reunion and Apple’s Font Manager turn out to be the culprits.
1999 – I’ve found/been given/bought on the cheap a 68030/68040 Macintosh. I’m a broke college student, and I need to set this machine up to do word processing and surf the Internet as cheaply as possible. What should I do? (A common question around here.)
The Mac II uses a 16 MHz 68020 CPU. The hard drive is an ancient 5.25″ 80 MB Apple-branded Quantum drive – the one that originally shipped with this machine in 1987 – formatted with Apple HD SC Setup 7.3.5.
Supporting a over 80 Macs in three locations, consistency is very important. Most of the Macs at work are still running System 7.5.5. Newer ones are generally on Mac OS 8.1 or 8.6. We use the Apple ADB Mouse (in its various incarnations) almost exclusively, along with the Contour UniMouse on Macs without ADB ports.
1999 – Occasionally you just stumble into a job that gets bigger and bigger the more you look at it. I’d airily made a promise early last summer to help our school’s technology coordinator clean up the machines in our two elementary computer labs. “It shouldn’t be too difficult,” I thought, “just wipe the drives, […]
1999: One of the more interesting stories of the past week was the decision of MacTimes to close its doors and try to auction off its domain name on eBay for a cool $100,000. As I write this, there are 12 hours to go – and no bidders.
1999: Basic training is over, and it’s time to put my newly acquired skills to the test. As the title suggests, I am going to be a 100% Mac user for one month. I am unsure of what the results are going to be, but I am really looking forward to this. An old colleague […]
I just got a Mac Plus, Mac SE, or Classic. What can one do with this ancient Mac today? (This is a typical Mac Daniel question.)
1999: This week, Britannica.com Inc. announced that the entire 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica, which sells for $1,250 in its traditional book form, will now be available on the Internet free of charge.
In this business you either sink or swim or you don’t. – David Smith The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling. – Ambrose Bierce When Apple introduced the Power Mac G4 (technically, it was when Apple introduced the G4 commercials) you could almost see final nails being […]
1999 – Should I leave my computer on all of the time? Some people say keeping it off is better for the computer, and others say keeping it on is better. Can you please clarify this issue for me?
1999: Free internet access is a big thing in the Windows world. Many people are currently using free ad-based internet services instead of pricier ones, such AOL and Erols. Free internet services was a relatively unfilled niche in the Mac computing world, except for a few companies that offered Mac versions of their software. However, […]
Intel recently christened “the chip formerly known as Merced” with the newly coined name ITANIUM. (Yes, they really do want it in all caps. Tough.)
Five years ago, my employer was spending about $3,600 for a Power Mac 6100/66 with 16 MB of memory (so much!) and a 230-500 MB hard drive. And Apple’s extended keyboard, which was a separate item back then. And an Apple 14″ color monitor.
The Power Macintosh 6100 (a.k.a. the Perform 6110 series) shipped in two speeds: a 60 MHz version introduced on March 14, 1994 as one of the first Power Macs, and a 66 MHz version introduced on January 5, 1995. Until I benchmarked a 6100/60, 6100/66, and 6100/66 with 256 KB level 2 (L2) cache, I assumed the […]
1999: With apologies to Accelerate Your Mac! for the headline, I hope you were as shocked at Apple’s arrogance on Wednesday as I was.
1999: A couple of years ago, Time magazine was in the vanguard of mainstream media publications predicting Apple’s imminent demise. This week (Oct 18 issue) Steve Jobs is on the cover of Time, which features a spread of four Jobs/Apple related stories.
1999 – This week’s edition of A View from the Classroom will be appearing right here on MacInSchool sometime . . . next week! While I’d like to emulate some of my students and shift responsibility somewhere else, i.e., “But Dan, the dog ate my homework column,” I’ve got to fess up and say it […]
1999: Extensions, System Folders, ROMs – such simple things to the average Mac user. However, to the PC user, they can become your worst nightmare. At first.
1999 – My Mac dials in successfully, but when I try to browse the Web, I get the error message, “This page does not have a DNS entry.” What’s wrong?
“No, I still don’t like Apple products very much. But increasingly, I hate Windows even more. Its constant crashes. Its inconsistent interfaces. Its lack of new, innovative software. Meanwhile, Apple is on a roll….” – Jesse Berst, Editorial Director of ZDNet AnchorDesk, Think Different? Why Jesse Wants an iMac, 1999.10.07. Surreal. Yeah, that’s the word […]
1999.10: If you’ve ever ordered a pizza with someone, you’ve experienced it. No two people ever want the same thing. I guess this is the same when ordering a computer. Now people can finally have the computer that’s suited to them – last week, Apple introduced it’s new iMacs. These are the new iMacs that […]
I’ve had some time to watch the Kihei iMac/Mac OS 9 announcement online and read the Kihei developer notes. I’m more impressed with the new iMacs than ever.
1999 – Imagine something smaller, lighter, and far less expensive than an iBook. Imagine writing on a keyboard with no Mac attached. That’s one way of looking at the AlphaSmart 2000, the device I’m writing this review on.
1999: Many years B.C. (Before Computers), I made part of my living for a time as a wedding photographer. In those days I shot mostly with a Rolleicord twin lens reflex – a camera so civilized and quiet that I could often sneak a few available-light shots in the church without disturbing anyone, even if […]
1999 – While my job is to teach special education students, I still help out with various Mac maladies around our building. If you’ve read any of my previous school columns, you may remember that my elementary is heavily populated with LC 5200s with a lesser number of 5400s and 5500s. There always seems to […]
I want to rattle on about this, since Dan [Knight] is testing out some of the things I’ve postulated about before. I keep seeing this dual RAM Disk/Disk Cache trend , and it astonishes me. I just haven’t figured out why everyone wants to equate them together, and then it dawned on me – some […]
1999.10: I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s article on the topless iMac. After all the stress with Apple legal, it was fun doing a parody piece. But now Apple has officially unveiled its new iMacs, which are apparently immediately available for purchase.
“Although systems prior to Mac OS 8 can indeed do more than one thing at a time, OS 8 is also a better form of multitasking, a.k.a. Win95!”
1999: Working with the Macintosh has proven harder than I thought it would be. Having to relearn such minuscule tasks as adding drivers, changing settings, and adding new hardware have all taken their toll on me. After many nights that I should have spent sleeping, several cups of coffee, and an ashtray full of butts, […]
1999.10: An old saying goes, “If it’s free, it probably is too good to be true.” After a few months of using Mac OS 8.6, Apple’s new, free upgrade to the Mac’s operating system, I believe that this saying is holding true.
The iMac DV Special Edition places the regular iMac DV in a graphite case, boosts memory to 128 MB for better video editing performance, and replaces the DV’s 10 GB hard drive with a 13 GB drive. Otherwise, everything is the same: DVD-ROM, FireWire 400, 2x AGP RAGE 128 VR video, and so on. Got […]
Development of the “Kihei” iMac began the day after the first iMacshipped. The new model is an evolutionary development of Apple’s 2,000,000 unit seller. The first iMacs with a DVD-ROM drive, the iMac DV and DV SE run a lightning fast 400 MHz G3 processor on a 100 MHz system bus and are the first […]
First, thank you to Adesso for supplying a keyboard for this review. Since the advent of the Power Mac G4, we have to find a new keyboard we can use at work – the G4 has no ADB port for our old Apple Extended, Apple Adjustable, MicroSpeed KB-105M, or Adesso Nu-Form ADB keyboards.
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. – H. L. Mencken, writer, iconoclast, Different Thinker Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. – Henry A. Kissinger He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire. – Lao-tzu
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September 1999
1999: After looking over the requirements for deploying FileMaker 5, my employer has decided to cancel the upgrade order. We have a network of about 80 Macs, most running System 7.5.5 and many running 68040 processors (including IIcis with Sonnet upgrades), and everyone uses FileMaker with shared databases on our file server. The cost of […]
A problem I used to have with using Macjordomo was with people sending subscription emails that were either in HTML format or had misspelt or missing subscription commands. Whenever I would receive such email, it would generate an error in Macjordomo.
1999: Three iMacs? Well, Apple’s done it before. Despite the amazing success of the iMac, there always seem to be two previous versions available on the close-out and refurbished market. But three different iMac models in production at the same time? What is Apple thinking?
1999 – I disagree about the G4 being a “marginally better” CPU than the G3. Given the 603 vs. the 604, where the 603 cannot handle multitasking properly and has a bus utilization rate that is so high that it cannot be configured for multiprocessing, nor can it handle intensive floating point calculations. The 604 […]
1999: Farallon Communications have upgraded the driver for their Fast EtherTX-10/100, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet card for CardBus-enabled PowerBooks. (Note: Lombard has built-in 10/100 Mbps).
1999: Getting kinda antsy waiting for USB connectivity for your WallStreet PowerBook? I know I am. There were supposed to be USB CardBus adapters for Macs shipping months ago. Originally the delay was reported to be the release date of Mac OS 8.6, but that came and went, and we’re almost ready for OS 9’s […]
1999: I am a PC user. I’ve been one professionally for about six years. Working on PCs has truly been bliss, I so enjoyed maintaining them, tweaking them, and making them run efficiently. Throughout the years, I have moved up through the ranks very quickly. I started out as a technician and am now working […]
1999 – After a summer of swimming and camping, summer jobs, and/or just generally lounging about, kids across America have been back in our nation’s classrooms for several weeks. My school started back on August 16!
1998: Last week, I wrote about ATMs from a human interface perspective. I suggested graphics and color and a modicum of intelligent programming could go a long way in making ATMs more friendly and less frustrating.
Short Takes, Sept. 23, 1999 Cinema Display DFP – DFI Confusion Correction Why Doesn’t iBook Have A Sound-In Port? CD-R/RW Expansion Bay Drive For Wall Street PowerBooks Lombard SCSI Disk Mode Problems Discussed How To Beat The High Price Of Wall Street Internal Modems Trackpad Clicking Not Default-Enabled On iBook Moore’s Mailbag
Reviews and comparisons of the MicroMac ThunderCache Pro and Sonnet Presto accelerators for the original Color Classic.
1999: Last month, the PowerBook Guy was offering 292 MHz/1 MB cache daughter cards to upgrade Series I WallStreet 233 (no cache) PowerBooks. The bad news is that (a) the 292 MHz card wouldn’t work in my WallStreet Series II 233 MHz (512 KB cache), and (b) they sold out in a couple of days.
For the most part, the PowerBook 150 was a very nice computer. It was the fourth and final model in Apple’s economy series that started with the PowerBook 140 in October 1991. The 140 ran a then-decent 16 MHz 68030, shipped with 2 MB of memory (expandable to 8), and had a 20 or 40 MB […]
1999: I’ve been running The iMac Channel since May 1998. I still don’t own an iMac, but my home computer is getting closer to the iMac’s specs all the time. (For the record, we now have two iMacs at work. Our web server is a Rev. B iMac; the other is a 333 MHz iMac […]
1999: While Apple’s new AirPort wireless LAN system is only directly supported so far by Apple on the iBook and G4 Power Macs, that doesn’t mean that owners of earlier Macs are shut out.
Short Takes, September 16, 1999 Jeremy’s CSM Bundle 2.0.1 Available No PRAM Backup Battery in iBook Apple Extends Repair Support for WallStreet 13.3″ Screens Beyond Warranty Period Another PowerBook USB PC Card Adapter Apple’s 22″ LCD Cinema Display Support not Limited to Sawtooth G4s 400 MHz Upgrade for PowerBook 2400? MacCave Journal On Line MR […]
“The book is here to stay. What we’re doing is symbolic of the peaceful coexistence of the book and the computer.” Vartan Gregorian, on computerization of the New York Public Library card catalog
1999: “All you get is 32 megs of RAM? Only a 6 gigabyte hard drive? But I want more!” you say when you order your iMac.
Short Takes, September 13, 1999 USB CardBus Adapter for PowerBooks Gerry’s ICQ d32 Released Possible Data Corruption When Reading Audio CDs with PowerBook G3 Series Lombard “Help” Files Missing after OS 8.6 Clean Install Moore’s Mailbag
Appendix II: iCab 1.7 Anomalies Identified by Daniel Morris
New Features in iCab Preview 1.7
1999: Now that I’ve been using the latest v1.7 preview build of the German iCab browser for several days, I’m happy to report that it is definitely more stable on my computer than its predecessor, v1.6a, was – and I can’t overemphasize how much more convenient I’m finding the new Save As Text function, which […]
1999: Apple has responded to the uproar over the inability of Blue & White Power Mac G3s with certain ROM upgrades to accept G4 processors. The following is from Apple’s Tech Exchange. (Because Apple considers this an off-topic discussion, this page was removed from their site.)
I’ve received some excellent reader feedback on The Ethernet Alternative to USB Drives, mostly from people who are already using older Macs as networked file servers.
I maintained several email lists using Macjordomo, a freeware email list server from Leuca Software. The purpose of this page is to explain how Macjordomo works and how you can add, delete, or change your subscription – although the examples provided in this article are no longer in use. (Take that, spammers!)
Macjordomo is a powerful, easy-to-use freeware listserver. Versions are available for Mac OS 8 and 9 as well as Mac OS X.
1999: I’ll admit it: I read PC Magazine. No, I’m not planning on selling out to the dark side. I have DOS roots, but I don’t even want to know how to use Windows. I read PC Magazine to learn about the hot new technologies and get the perspective from the other side of the […]
1999: Here it is – my first Miscellaneous Ramblings column for Low End Mac. Before I get down to the topic at hand, I would like to thank Low End Mac’s publisher, Dan Knight, for his support of MR, and I look forward to working with him and other Low End staff.
1999 – USB is slower than promised, providing at most two-thirds of the expected speed based on its 12 Mbps bandwidth (see The Truth About USB Speed). But the iMac, iBook, and Lombard PowerBook don’t have any other option, do they?
1999: Everything the iMac has is big: The hard drive is big. The monitor is big. The speakers are . . . small.
1999 – One little chip sure can set off a world of controversy. It started when Apple introduced the Power Mac G3 in November 1997.
1999: Last year’s Bondi blue iMac inspired a host of consumer products in similar color schemes: dust busters, irons, pagers, and even a special version of GameBoy.
1999 – There’s been a fair bit of interest in AppleShare 3 thanks to some articles on this site. Although long discontinued, it is possible to find copies of AppleShare 3 (be sure to get the 3.03 updater from Apple). And for the small network, it may be an ideal solution.
The 400 MHz Power Mac G4 is built on a modified Yosemite (Blue & White G3) motherboard. Yet owners of Blue & White G3 systems with mid-May ROM version 1.1 or later cannot replace their old G3 processors with G4s. Apple deliberately disabled this option by having the system check which CPU is installed at […]
1999.09: Just last week Apple unveiled the Power Mac G4 in two versions and three speeds.
Your results may vary, but this should provide a good starting point for tweaking serial throughput on your classic Mac setup. Note that FreePPP allows serial port settings of 115.2kbps and 230.4kbps, settings not possible with Apple’s serial toolbox routines.
Here is the quick scoop on the wonderful internal grayscale video setup from Micron or Xceed. The video card identifies itself as a “Micron Xceed 3MT” in the Monitors control panel (with an external monitor attached so the Monitors control panel sees the card).
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August 1999
Power Macintosh G4: As far as many are concerned, that sums up Steve Jobs’ big Seybold announcement today. It was certainly an impressive introduction. Depending on what software you’re currently running, the 500 MHz Power Mac G4 can be two-to-three times faster than the fastest G3 or Pentium III available today.
“Wicked fast” is the phrase that best summarizes the breakthrough performance of the Power Mac G4 – the first personal computer classified as munitions and under export restriction because of its power. Offering up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G3 and three times the power of a Pentium III at the same clock […]
”Wicked fast” is the phrase that best summarizes the breakthrough performance of the G4 CPU. The Power Mac G4 was the first personal computer classified as munitions and under export restriction because of its power at the time it was introduced. Offering up to twice the performance of the G3 and three times the power […]
1999: Many people want compatibility with the Windows world without being forced to give up the ease and all around greatness of the Macintosh. Enter Connectix Virtual PC. This little wonder of a program lets you run Windows and Windows programs on your Mac.
Until May 1998, the Mac world was pretty much oblivious regarding the Universal Serial Bus (USB) found on many Windows computers.
In case you don’t remember, Voom is the stuff under Little Cat Z’s hat in The Cat In The Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss. It cleaned up all the snow and turned it back to its original snow white color. “So what?” you might ask. “What does that have to do with computer sales?”
1999 – It doesn’t just look like an iMac from the front, although the blue-and-white coloring is certainly reminiscent of the iMac. So is the compact keyboard. At least the mouse has the more traditional hand-fitting shape.
1999: Last week, Evan Kleiman suggested that Apple produce a wider variety of models to meet the needs of more buyers (see More Macs). He even suggested that Apple open the door and allow cloning again. In Pseudo Clones on osOpinion, Jonathan Gelling made a similar suggestion.
1999: You won’t find a lot of game news on Low End Mac or the iMac channel. It’s not that I don’t enjoy games, although I don’t have a lot of time to play computer games. The simple fact is, enough people are doing a great job of following Mac gaming that I don’t see […]
1999: No, it’s not because it’s easy to use. Nope, it’s not because of it’s stability. Nope, not that either. The real reason Windows is so popular is that there are so many computers that support it.
1999: According to a recent Low End Mac poll, over half those surveyed believe wireless networking is the iBook’s best feature. Other Mac webmasters seem to agree – AirPort is the most important ingredient in the iBook mix, even if it is an optional accessory.
1999: Once upon a time, 1200 bps was a fast modem and 230 kbps LocalTalk was a decent network speed. That was a long time ago. Today, most modems are of the 56k variety – although the name is something of a misnomer. These 56k (a.k.a. v.90) modems can download files at up to 53 […]
1999: The first Macs were odd computers – integrated machines in an era of mostly modular computers.
1999 – Most people know by now that the original Mac was not a real success. It was underpowered, had too little RAM, no way to attach a hard drive, and no expansion slots. Steve Jobs wanted the machine to be accepted as a household appliance, not as a computer, and to that end, the […]
1999: Analog modems have just about outlived their usefulness. They have definitely hit a speed roadblock. Their great advantage is universality – you can find a telephone jack just about anywhere.
Will the iBook outsell the iMac? Well…
1999.09: Star Trek took almost a human generation before launching The Next Generation. Apple can’t afford to do that with the iMac.
The iBook has been dubbed by Apple as “an iMac to go,” but the iBook has a lot of new features in addition to its portability. This is a guide to help you know the big and small differences between the iMac and the iBook.
1999: Computers were designed to make our lives easier, right? So why do they make our lives harder? Every day you need to do so many things just to get a few emails. How exactly is this easier?
The following story is true. The names have been changed for the privacy of the parties involved. The author is a longtime consultant who works with Macs, Novell, and more and has over a dozen years field experience.
1999 – In The iBook Disaster, John C. Dvorak dissed the iBook design as a “girly” computer, saying, “The only thing missing from the new Apple iBook is the Barbie logo.”
1999: A reader got me thinking when he wrote, “I find myself more and more bothered by Apple’s current direction and am curious to know what you think. “Here’s what has me agitated: shutting out Be, shutting down involvement in mkLinux, the rumored ‘no G4 upgrade’ bomb in the G3s, OS X not compatible with […]
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July 1999
1999: One-third of iMac owners bought their iMac as their first computer. For those of us who have been computing nearly forever (I got started in 1979), it’s weird to think that some people don’t even have their first computer yet. But it’s true – a lot of people have yet to take the personal […]
July 1999: The suspense is over! In one of what has to be the longest-anticipated and one of the most eagerly awaited product introductions in its history, Apple computer unveiled its new compact iBook consumer notebook on Wednesday at Macworld Expo New York.
July 1999: One of the baneful things about computers is that they depreciate on a curve whose trajectory resembles that of a falling rock – even worse than cars. I hate depreciation. That’s the reason I have never bought a new car and never will. Unfortunately, while a 10-year-old automobile can still be excellent, no-compromise […]
July 1999: Hooooooooeee! Didn’t PC World’s John C. Dvorak stir up a proverbial hornet’s nest with his column “The iBook Disaster”?
1999: Admit it, Mac fans, you’d love one. Sure, it may not be the right Mac for you, but the iBook (like the iMac) calls out to be embraced. Buy me. Use me. Show the world your colors.
1999: I’ll admit it right up front: I was expecting the iBook to come in at about $1,400, not $1,600. But then, I was expecting a different computer. A lot of us were expecting something smaller and lighter than the Lombard PowerBook G3.
1999 – Many people have tried to copy Apple’s idea of a cool translucent plastic space age looking computer. Well, now Apple’s done it themselves. Enter the iBook.
Apple’s first consumer portable since the PowerBook 150 was discontinued at under US$1,000 in late 1995, the $1,599 iBook was available in blueberry and tangerine. Apple billed it as the world’s second fastest portable computer – only the Lombard PowerBook G3 outperforms it. With an active matrix screen and six-hour LithIon battery, the iBook makes an […]
July 1999 – A teacher in the Katy Independent School District sent the following: Katy ISD, in Katy, Texas (a suburb of Houston), is phasing out Macs. Over the coming years, installed Macs will be replaced by Dell computers running Windows.
1999: The United Nations has proposed an email tax to subsidize internet connectivity in the two-thirds world. The latest rumor is that the United States government also wants to tax email. From the perspective of the taxman, email has got to look like one incredible revenue opportunity.
One of the cardinal rules of computers: Things keep getting faster. There are a lot more parts to the speed equation than processor speed, although the CPU is certainly part of the equation. This article looks at how fast the computer moves data.
1999 – Apple did it again. Not only did they turn a profit, but they exceeded analyst’s expectations. This is a brief summary of those results.
1999 – A new age of Macintosh computing is among us. For many years, the Mac has just been waiting to defeat the Windows-based box as the computer of choice. Apple now has a chance.
A few letters in response to the Menagerie of Macs:
This FAQ for Windows 95 should be updated for Window 98 in the near future.
The ease of use of the Macintosh can’t be beat. A few hours ago, I ordered a present for my grandmother from MacMall – a modem for her LC III.
I recently had the insight (or rather, read an opinion on the matter) that being an extremist takes you nowhere. So here’s what: Windows is not as bad as most of me thinks. (Wow, finally got that out.)
Apple has released a new, lighter, faster PowerBook G3, Menagerie of Macs is now online, and Future Power has created a terrible iMac rip-off.
I have a confession to make. I’ve been faltering. Yes, the die hard Mac user who has spent a good amount of time saying how much PCs suck has been peeking at what IBM and Compaq have to offer.
I first came into contact with Apple Macs back in the early 1990s when my friend’s father purchased a Mac LC II. At the time I thought it was a load of rubbish (hey, I’d only ever used Nintendos and an Amstrad 6128+).
July 1999 – More comments on the situation at CSU, as noted in CSU Going Windows.
1999.07.07 – They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I’m sure Apple isn’t flattered.
1999: Walter writes, “I have used Macs since 1993. I have three at home. My first one was a Performa 200 (Classic II). I have always loved the Mac, and I have actively encouraged people to buy them. I have ‘forced’ one on my wife who works in a PC environment – with all the […]
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June 1999
1999 – When the iMac first came out, you either loved it or you hated it. Most of the people who loved it, loved it because of its all-in-one case design, low price, good software, and really cool color. Most of the people who hated it, hated it for two reasons: It’s a Mac, and […]
1999: Third Voice is a plugin for Internet Explorer for Windows that allows Third Voice users to append comments to pages on the world wide web. These comments are available to anyone who uses Third Voice. The biggest objections have come from webmasters. We really don’t like the idea of people putting notes on our […]
1999: Who would have thought that a PC software product could make such waves in the Mac community? But that’s what is happening: The appearance of Third Voice has caused quite a stir, prompting articles, emails, and long threads in various forums.
1999 – Two readers have questions about their LC 475 and Performa 476, both virtual twins of the Quadra 605.
1999: Convergence is the coming together of separate streams. In this case, the streams of personal computers and television. In Why Convergence Won’t Happen, Rabbe Sandelin says that it isn’t going to happen.
1999: Busman’s Holiday? What does an ex-columnist do in his free time, but write another column!
1999 – You have an iMac, you have a PowerBook, and you have a few ways to connect them (see Part 1) – but none of them seem fast enough or cheap enough, so you want more options. Never fear, there are plenty more ways to connect Macs.
1999 – JP writes: I just read a bunch of your articles, and I got a kick out of them. If I had more time for writing, I would focus in the same area. My experience is limited between 20 MHz 68030 to 33 MHz 68040, but I sure know just about everything in that […]
1999.06: No, this article isn’t about C2, the second-generation iMac expected Real Soon Now. This is about where computers, including the iMac, are going over the next few years.
1999: It’s been less than a year since the iMac first shipped, but already we’re seeing signs that the “Bondi Bombshell” may have peaked.
1999: I received the following email from Larry Rosenstein in response to Hands Off My Site. He raises some good points that those interested in the Third Wave debate should consider.
1999 – Many iMac users want to be able to do their work on the road, but we have come to the painful realization that it is quite hard to put your iMac on your lap during an airplane ride. So many of us have bought a PowerBook to be able to compute on the […]
June 1999 – I’ve received many letters in response to Cal State Is Going Windows. They raise some very good points you might want to make when contacting CSU administrators – or others.
How an application runs, and what gains in speed may be seen on a multi-processor (MP) Mac OS computer, can be confusing. Understanding a little of how multi-processing works with software applications will help you properly set your expectations when selecting applications designed for MP and begin using them.
1999: Have you heard about the new electronic sticky notes that Third Voice lets users put on websites? Maybe not – after all, the software only runs on Windows computers with Internet Explorer. Although a lot of visitors to this site use Windows and IE, my target audience is Mac users.
1999: “BlackBerry is the first complete, secure, integrated, wireless email solution for the mobile professional. Microsoft Exchange users can now enjoy untethered access to their corporate email wherever they go.”
June 1999 – An employee of Cal State informed me that the final decision has been made: The California State University (Cal State, CSU) Chancellor’s Office has put a freeze on future Macintosh purchases and will begin buying Dell PCs over the summer.
1999: Whether you call it the P1, Consumer Portable, iBook, or WebMate, Apple’s newest portable Macintosh is shaping up to be a real winner. For consistency, we’ll call it the WebMate in this article.
1999: Have you heard that Gateway now sells as much equipment through its storefronts as it does via phone, mail, and online orders? Talk of the Web for the past week has been that Apple should do the same thing. After all, they have very little control over CompUSA and Sears, let alone the hundreds […]
I received an interesting email yesterday.* The writer asked, “Where is the low end in Low End Mac?” Ouch.
1999: Change is the very nature of the computer industry. From the first computer kits to the first personal computers. From the 8-bit Apples, Commodores, and TRS-80s to the pseudo-16-bit IBMs, and then to the graphical Lisa and Macintosh.
1999: There’s a lot to like about iCab, the Mac-only browser from Germany – but is it good enough to replace Netscape or Internet Explorer?
1999 – “Woah, it’s so perfect – I can’t wait to turn it on again!” I say. “This new iMac is so great!’
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May 1999
Bill Clinton, Jean Cretien, and Bill Gates were at a meeting discussing the fate the digital revolution in North America. In the meantime, Saddam Hussien decided he’d had about enough from those three and bombed them.
Nestled in the foothills below the range from Toowoomba, Australia, and surrounded by lucerne fields, lies Flagstone Creek State School. For more than 100 years this school has served as the hub for the community and it is far from being a an old fashioned little school.
How to upgrade your iMac?
The very first computer that I really ever used (excluding the Tron, Spy Hunter and Gorf arcade games) was a VIC-20. I got it for Christmas when I was 6, back in 1984. I was absolutely happy to have something that would allow me to play video games on my computer, and I didn’t have […]
Just a couple letters from our readers this month.
They really do have personality, don’t they? Mac users think of their computer as a member of the family. We’re a little eccentric, we admit that, but there is something really endearing about that hunk of plastic and silicon on your desk.
A few words before we get started. I didn’t unsubscribe anyone who asked to be taken off the list last month, because I did in fact ask you not to do so since I was busy trying to keep this ‘zine alive at the time.
1999 – RR writes: First of all, I’d really like to thank you for the service you (and others, obviously) are performing for the Mac community. You are a tremendous asset, and Mac aficionados the world over owe you a debt of gratitude.
1999: If you thought the iMac was nearly perfect, think again.
1999: Our friends at the Macintosh Broadcasting Company (MacBC) are thinking different. In the article Is It Time for a Cheaper Mac?, they propose that Apple wait to release a new inexpensive modular Mac until it can ship with Mac OS X Client installed.
1999 – They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery. Well, Apple, I hope you’re flattered. Lately I’ve seen many iMac iMitations. From a real computer that had the same colors as the iMac to the iToaster, iToilet, and chiaMac.
1999: You’ve gotta love the spin people put on things.
1999 – I got home last night to find another box from Contour Design waiting for me. (The first one came in February; it contained the Contour USB UniMouse, a very nice three-button mouse for the iMac and the Blue & White Power Mac G3.)
1999: In the wake of the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of a measure to require ISP’s to provide filters to subscribers, much debate has sprung up. Charles Moore warned of the thin edge of the wedge that this measure walks (Thin Edge Of The Wedge: Why Internet Censorship Is A Bad Idea, MacTimes [no longer […]
1999: To begin, I want to thank Charles W. Moore of MacTimes for bringing up the subject of censorship and Web filtering (see Thin Edge Of The Wedge: Why Internet Censorship Is A Bad Idea [no longer online]). Over the past two days, AppleLinks (It Is Too Censorship!) and MacBC (Is Filtering the Same as […]
1999 – With the Power Mac 7500, 8500, and 9500, Apple introduced a new way of upgrading their computers: the CPU daughter card. Prior to this, all of Apple’s upgrades (except for PPC upgrades to 68K Macs) meant changing the system board.
“Since Littleton, the cost of being different has gone up. Thousands of powerful e-mail messages have chronicled an educational system that glorifies the traditional and the normal, and brutalizes and alienates people who are or who are perceived as different under various names – geeks, freaks, nerds, Goths and oddballs. One of the powerful messages […]
1999: Charles W. Moore objects to the United States government requiring larger ISPs to provide content filtering to its customers for free or at cost (see Thin Edge Of The Wedge: Why Internet Censorship Is A Bad Idea [no longer online]). Although I agree with Moore in general that censorship is a bad thing, I […]
1999 – You yell as your iMac running Mac OS 8.5 crashes again. You’re getting tired of your iMac crashing many times a day. You also think the only way to stop it is to throw it out the window – but there is another solution.
Apple has used the SCSI bus since introducing the Mac Plus in 1986. The SCSI bus must have termination power for clean data transmission. Most Macs provide termination power for the SCSI bus, so most SCSI devices for the Mac don’t need to provide it.
1999 – We’re taking a look at upgrade and replacement options for 68030-based Macs today.
1999 – Did it strike you odd that Apple completely ignored the iMac at the World Wide Developers Conference? Sure, the latest PowerBook G3 is an incredible machine, but what about the Power Mac, the consumer portable, the iMac?
1999 – Lately, many people have been telling me that their iMacs have been giving them many problems. They’ve been reporting crashes, freezes, and other various maladies. I’ve been able to relate to these people, since my own iMac (which I renamed “the useless green lump” – until I fixed it.) was crashing too, for […]
The 1999 version of the PowerBook G3 (a.k.a. Bronze Keyboard and Lombard) was announced on 1999.05.10 and reached stores by the end of the month. At nearly two pounds lighter and 20% thinner than the PowerBook G3 Series, toting Lombard was easier than any PowerBook since the 4.4 lb. 2400. In the field, a fresh […]
1999: PowerBooks have always been six of one, half-a-dozen of the other. Usually a step or two slower than their desktop siblings, in the past, PowerBooks often suffered from compromised screens, small hard drives, and serious memory limitations.
“One of the machines I have at the present moment is a Mac IIci, with a 68040 card, 128 MB RAM, 280 MB hard drive, and three empty NuBus slots. From what I have read on the list and elsewhere, it would make an excellent server.”
1999 – Lately, many people have been saying to me, “Ha! You have a Mac! Macs are dead!” Well, I don’t think they are. The Mac might’ve been a bit unconscious for a while, but it most definitely isn’t now.
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April 1999
1999: According to The Internet Operating System Counter, the Mac OS and Linux are the fastest growing server operating systems.
Okay, this isn’t a joke so much as something I found interesting. Apparently when our good friend Mr. Jobs accused our other good friend, Mr. Gates, of stealing interface ideas, he replied like this: “No, Steve. I think it’s more like we both have this rich neighbour named Xerox, and when you broke in to […]
Myth II: Soulblighter is finally out! It took its sweet time getting here, but it has finally gotten to the stores. But was it worth the wait? What about the bug that delayed its release two weeks? Should I get it? These questions will be answered (unless I forget some).
I remember a time when the Mac was the laughing stock of the computer industry. It had “no software” (unless you compared it to, say, Amigas, Ataris, or other ‘toy’ computers). The market share was decreasing (but still large enough that companies in other markets would kill for it). Worst of all, there were virtually […]
This month I was planning on writing a nice little piece on the personal style of the Mac. A little article that talked about how cool they are with their aesthetics, design, and following. But that is no more. Due to some unaccounted for problems I will be writing about the possible advent of the […]
The Columbine massacre in Colorado has been on my mind – and probably yours as well. It’s very troubling on any number of levels.
“Computer, tell me a joke!” you say – and nothing happens. Why? Because you didn’t install the Speech Recognition software correctly.
1999: The idea of an iMac with “Intel inside” is both more and less ludicrous than it sounds.
It’s easy to visit a site like Low End Mac and find out when a model was first produced and when it was discontinued. But how do you determine how old a specific device is?
“Don’t lie to me, Gustav! You’re a stinkin’ Mac user!” – Ratbert, from a Dilbert comic strip, in which he proposes a “Holy War” in order to “standardize on one computer” by having the company “identify and eliminate the deviant users of Macintosh, Unix and – God help us – OS/2 Warp” “What if half the […]
1999 – The Power Mac 7200 offered good value, but its only official upgrade path involved replacing the entire logic board. What other options were there?
1999 – It happens to the best of us, and it will probably happen to you eventually. Yep, it’s the one thing we all say won’t happen, but always does – a hard drive failure. I’ll show you how to safeguard your iMac from disaster, and, aside from some sort of disk drive, it won’t […]
1999: I think Apple surprised most of us by releasing the iMac Revision D at 333 MHz instead of 300 MHz. A lot of us had expected the lower speed, possibly coupled with a boost to 64 MB of RAM or the addition of a DVD player, neither of which happened.
1999 – I have an issue of BYTE magazine from many, many years ago with a cover story on benchmarking (along with one on a new computer from Apple called Macintosh). It’s a topic the computer industry has followed with keen interest for decades.
1999: Once upon a time there was a compact computer called the Macintosh. It used small disks, a small keyboard, and a small screen. Then a company called Radius invented a revolutionary device: a full page display for the Macintosh. Unlike conventional displays, this was a portrait monitor – taller than it was wide.
1999: Mark Twain is purported to have said, “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Whether he actually said it or not, the fact remains that statistics can and do lie. Of all computer users, Mac users should know it best.
A Limited Mac At 350 MHz, it may not seem a whole lot faster than the Revision D iMac, but the new “Kihei” iMac uses a 100 MHz system bus – plus RAGE 128 graphics and 2X AGP for superior video performance. In addition to regular iMac features, the new iMac has two separate USB […]
code name: Lifesavers Skipping right past 300 MHz and coming on the market just three months after the 266 MHz Revision C iMac, the Revision D iMac runs at a speedy 333 MHz. In addition to a 25% faster CPU, the iMac 333 ships in the same five colors: tangerine, grape, lime, blueberry, and strawberry. […]
The PowerBook 1400 was available in several different configurations, including two different displays (dual-scan and active matrix) and three different CPU speeds (117, 133, and 166 MHz). Only the 117 MHz version merits a Road Apple rating – and only because Apple left out the Level 2 (L2) cache.
So you have an iMac or Blue & White G3, and you totally love it – but you need to buy a low-cost removable-media drive. What should you get? With this criteria, you have three options: a Zip drive, a SuperDisk (a.k.a. LS-120) drive, or a standard floppy drive.
The Macintosh IIcx, IIci, and Quadra 700 share the same case design, and some users have found it a challenge removing the hard drive. That’s a shame, because the IIcx was designed for ease of construction. Apple demonstrated assembling one from part in under two minutes, if I recall correctly. You can use any standard […]
1999 – If you haven’t read Fred Langa’s latest anti-Mac tirade, you’ve missed a great compilation of misinformation and innuendo. (By now most Mac users know that Fred Langa seems to have a low tolerance for Apple Computer, the Macintosh, and especially the iMac.)
1999 – Like any other computer, the iMac, has it’s occasional problem. I’m not talking about a problem like, “Oh no, I got lime, but I wanted grape” or “Where’s the serial port?” I’m talking about bigger problems, like the devastating flashing question mark.
For the past several weeks, we’ve been buying and installing new Power Mac G3s at work. You know, the Blue and White ones.
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March 1999
1999: A special thanks to Jeffrey Cho of The iMac NewsPage for bringing this one to my attention: Has the Age of Disposable Computers Arrived? The US$299 WEBzter Jr. from Microworkz is one of the first PCs to emulate the iMac by shipping without a floppy – but with a 56k modem, so it’s Internet […]
1999: I received a nice note from Road Warrior reader and PowerBook 1400 user Albert Juwono of Indonesia this week.
Standing as it does, not only head and shoulders, but knees and ankles above its competitors in terms of name recognition, Adobe Photoshop is in danger of becoming a generic term for image editing software. An overwhelming majority of graphics professionals use it, and a great many amateurs as well, despite the fact that it […]
1999: I’m not alone in my burnout. I received a lot of email after last week’s column on burnout. Several writers, including a fair number of webmasters, said it helped them put things in perspective and reduce their hectic pace a bit. I’ve been slowly recovering from a few consecutive days that thoroughly drained me.
IF YOU’RE NOT DUTCH, YOU’RE NOT MUCH That’s been a common bumper sticker here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for as long as I can remember. Our most prominent ethnic group, if not our largest, is Dutch-Americans.
1999: I’m going to begin this week’s column with a couple of soapbox issues. First, the much-maligned passive-matrix (STN) dual-scan flat screen displays.
This article was written in 1999, the days of the Classic Mac OS (then at version 8.5), which was designed for a single CPU – and the G3 was then bleeding edge. We now have OS X, which supports multiple CPUs, CPU cores, and hyperthreading, but some of the problems discussed in this article remain […]
1999 – When I told my friends and family that I had just bought a new iMac, I got pretty much the same response: “Eww! A Mac!!! Gross.”
1999: Some people still don’t get the iMac. The new InfoWorld (15 March 1999), in a sidebar on page 40, comments, “There is still no floppy drive on this computer….” Duh!
1999: Computers have fascinated me since I read the first Radio Shack flyer about the TRS-80. And once I got my hands on a personal computer, I discovered my destiny. I was born to be a computer geek. (See Geek Like Me for more on that topic.)
What upgrades are practical for an older (pre-Power) Mac?
1999 – I cut my teeth on personal computers in 1979 on an Apple II+. Back then, the computer (not including floppy drive and monitor) cost over $1,500. Today, the 300 MHz Power Mac G3 is about the same price without floppy and monitor.
1999: I have never seen a review of an email list before, but I thought it would be helpful to have someone check one out to see what is on the list, and whether or not joining the list would be worth the effort and the crowded email box. I have done such on “The […]
1999 – I’ve received a lot of questions about the Power Mac/Performa 5200 and 6200. Here are some recent ones.
1999 – Apple wants us to think different, right? So, why do all of our Macs look the same?
Have you heard about iCab, the new shareware Mac-only web browser from Germany?
1999 – DH writes: I have a Performa 550 (20/160/2x, built in 14″) with a failing hard drive. I also need to replace the keyboard, mouse, and printer.
Got an old Color Classic, LC, LC II that’s just too slow to keep using? Using an LC III, LC 520, or LC 550 that just doesn’t pack enough power? If so, Sonnet Technology had a solution in the Presto 040 accelerator, which can push these older Macs to Quadra level performance.
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February 1999
The Color Classic (also sold as the Performa 250) uses a 16 MHz 68030 CPU, but the Sonnet Presto accelerator provides either a 25 MHz 68040 or a 68LC040 (a 68040 without a math section), which are much more powerful. But how much more powerful is it?
The Color Classic uses a 16 MHz 68030 CPU, so performance should be comparable to a 16 MHz Mac IIcx or Mac LC. The tested unit also has a 16 MHz 68882 math coprocessor. The hard drive is an 80 MB Apple branded drive formatted with Apple HD SC Setup 7.3.5.
I got home last night to find a box from Contour Design waiting for me. Contour Design? It didn’t quite ring a bell, until I got inside and saw the green box marked UniMouse.
1999: Apple’s upcoming consumer portable, code-named P1, fills the missing “fourth box” of Apple’s systems portfolio. The P1 is still about 3 months from its expected introduction, but it has been generating a lot of buzz since early December. Although no details have been confirmed, many Mac experts and people familiar with Mac technological progress […]
1999 – NKM writes: You wrote in What about 7500 Upgrades? that, “There are also some nice G3 upgrades for the 6100, although I would find it difficult to justify that much expense on such a limited design.”
1999: Did you hear the one about the two 16-year-old boys in Canada who registered appleimac.com – and have now been threatened by Apple’s lawyers? If not, read Teen in Dispute with Apple Over Domain on Cnet.
1999 – Okay, so you’ve seen it, you’ve tried it, you like it. Now you want one.
1999 – It’s been three weeks since my last column, yet the email keeps pouring in. I hate to admit it, but I’m about two months behind on your letters, so I’ll be keeping a low profile on Mac Daniel (one or two columns a week) until I catch up.
1998: I miss the little guys. You may remember them. The original Macintosh (just Macintosh, no other name or model number). The 512K and 512K enhanced. The Plus. The SE and SE/30. Then the Classic and Classic II.
Unfortunately, not everyone knows the joys of networking with a friend in a coffee house or the pleasure of completing a report on your front porch. However, to those of us who do, or soon will, we at the Menagerie of Macs have created this handbook for your edification, enjoyment, and daily use.
I have a problem with the Pentium III. I have big problem, and I’m not alone. Several large privacy organizations are throwing a fit over it. It seems like a good enough processor, starting at 500 MHz and peaking at 800 MHz, but there’s something else. All this over a little three-letter acronym. The PSN.
I’ve been working on a project at work to ensure all our end users know how to backup data in preparation for company wide computer upgrades.
A certain Mac-basher implied that Mac users want to make everyone else use Macs. Well, that may be true in his world of beliefs. Actually, it might be entirely true in the US; I don’t know. I have never been outside Europe, so I cannot (and will not) say anything about Mac users in America.
Letters received in response to Menagerie of Macs #3.
1999 – Every computer has its flaws. The iMac is a computer, but, unlike other computers, you can very easily fix the iMac’s minor flaws. Oh, the iMac is also different than other computers, because it’s really cool looking. Today I’ll give you some easy tips to fix the problems you might have with your […]
February 1999 – This letter was written by a system administrator in the U.S. Army, who wishes to remain anonymous, after hearing how Cal State was planning on adopting Microsoft Exchange Mail Server.
Feb. 1999 – This letter was written by an employee of Cal State who wishes to remain anonymous.
1999 – Articles circulated in the past few days – see Cnet and Yahoo+ stories – note that Mac users shouldn’t be too smug about the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem. The Mac is not immune.
1999: It feels good to be right. Last August, I asked, “Is Apple Too Popular for Its Own Good?” – and I suggested that Apple needed to outsource iMac production if it wanted to increase market share.
1999 – A few days ago, Free-PC.com started giving away free Windows PCs. Ho hum Compaq Presarios. The Mac community yawned – or snickered. But now One Stop Communications is offering a free iMac. In fact, they’re offering a total of 25,000 free iMac.
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January 1999
1999 – When I first saw the original iMac, I knew that it would definitely be a trend setter, and definitely make a big iMpact on the world. I was right – the Bondi Blue Bombshell is definitely a trend setter, not only for other computers, but for many other things as well. Let’s review […]
1999: I got a lot of positive feedback on last week’s column, I Was Wrong about the iMac, but also a lot of negative feedback on two paragraphs:
January 1999 – The following letter was sent to the technology coordinator and members of the school board of the South Kitsap (WA) School District in response to Macs Under Fire in South Kitsap (WA) School District. A few clarifications have been added between [brackets].
1999: For over a dozen years, the personal computer industry has been producing incremental upgrades. The 4.77 MHz IBM clone gave way to 8 MHz “turbo” models, then 10 MHz, and sometimes more. With the 80286, speeds leapt from 6 MHz to 8, 10, 12, and 16 MHz.
1999 – KS writes: I’m considering upgrading my Umax J700/180 with one of the new cards from Vimage, Newer Technology, or PowerLogix. I upgraded my RAM to 96 MB when I bought the machine, but other than that I have not enhanced it in any way.
1999 – KSJ writes: I was wondering if you could help me figure something out. I have a Power Mac 5400/120 that I bought a couple of years ago. I am looking into a PCI-based G3 upgrade, but no one seems to acknowledge the fact that my machine has a PCI slot (as evidenced by […]
January 1999 – Response to the article Macs Under Fire in South Kitsap (WA) School District is really great! Unfortunately, the district has just recently approved their course of action in the matter. I’m just hoping that the school board gets enough email to possibly reconsider changing the policy. It’s never too late with this […]
1999: In all the excitement over the iMac, I got a bit carried away. I wrote editorials calling for a headless iMac (The Tiny iMac), a headless iMac with a DVD player and TV output (iMac TV), a behemoth 17″ iMac, a drive bay iMac, an expansion slot iMac, and more (see iMac: First of […]
1999 – EK writes: I own a PowerBook 540c and a Quadra 650. I feel as if I got left at Penn Station watching the train of technology zip by.
The WallStreet PowerBook G3 Series was a trio of very capable models replacing the 250 MHz Kanga PowerBook G3 (Apple needs to do something about these names!). The 250 MHz and 292 MHz models were lightning fast, but the 233 MHz version was dog slow.
1999 – No, the Performa 6360 (also sold as the Power Mac 6300/160) isn’t part of the dreaded x200 family. It uses the same improved system board architecture that later made their way into the 6400 and 6500.
1999 – I remember the day I first heard of the iMac. I thought to myself, “Hey, this new computer can’t be much cooler.” But I was wrong. At Macworld Expo in San Francisco, one of the coolest new computers was announced, the new iMac.
1999 – GA writes: I read this article (Using a IIcx for Shared Internet Access) and liked it. I use IPNetRouter at my wife’s office (I guess that means she used it) for five Macs sharing a DSL line. Here in USWest-land, you must use the DSL modem/bridge they provide or they won’t support you. […]
1999: Apple unleashed the iMac 266 in five fruity flavors last week. Besides yellow (lemon? banana?), the only significant color missing was Bondi Blue, the color of the original iMac.
1999 – RK writes: I just got this old Quadra 610, and the only way I am going to get rid of this wonderful box is if somebody pries my cold lifeless fingers off of it’s case. 🙂
1999 – Two readers ask about upgrading drives in their Performa 6400, one looking at a SCSI hard drive, the other a replacement CD-ROM drive. This information also applies to the Power Mac 6400.
1999: The title of the PCWorld article is supposed to say it all: Apple’s World Is Still Small: Mac Sales Are Successful but Still Lag Behind Windows’.
When Karen closed off her message with “Thanks for the great mag!” I gave in. Not that these aren’t pretty funny.
For all those questions that you have about what runs your Mac, here is the definitive article that explains it all. Here’s lesson number one; it isn’t a little mouse that runs around on a wheel, it’s a ferret, on speed.
In your first issue you published a list of reasons why the Mac is better than the PC. This list is faulty, and I would like to show you why. “I’ll show you why you’re counter arguments are wrong.”
“Collect them all!” exclaimed Steve Jobs as he finished debuting the new iMacs. They now come in five different colours: lime, strawberry, grape, tangerine, and blueberry.
Thanks for the feedback to our first two issues!
Ah, freedom. It truly is amazing that we can put the power of a 45 pound computing ensemble into the case of a book and have it weigh in at about five pounds. The freedom that a laptop gives you is beyond compare. You can write, compile, archive, or even edit that new action flick […]
Editor’s note: article by Dan Knight. 1999 – “Now, time for an encore to keep Apple two steps ahead of Microsoft, Intel, and all those clone makers.” Those were the words that closed last week’s pre-Macworld Expo article, 1998: Apple Sells the Sizzle. I guess Apple answered that question quite clearly on the iMac and […]
1999 – Two readers approach the Power Mac 7100 from different perspectives – one as an upgrade to a Quadra 650, the other as a low-cost home computer.
1999 – It’s not every day we get questions about Mac clones. These were the first ones Mac Daniel received about Power Computing and Motorola StarMax clones.
1999: Apple surprised us again. Everyone expected that Apple would announce a faster iMac at Macworld – more speed at the same price (most of us expected 300 MHz). And just about everyone figured on a February 1 release.
1999 – ABV writes: Please give pros and cons for the upgrading my current Performa 630 CD. I have System 7.5, 8 MB of RAM plus RAM Doubler, the TV and video tuner, a 250 MB internal hard drive, a 500 MB external drive, and an HP DeskWriter 550C. I’m trying to upgrade the system to […]
1999 – ME writes: So, my Centris 610 . . . (I can hear you already. Hopelessly outdated; buy a 7500.) Okay, fine. Anyway, my Centris 610 cost me $30. (University surplus store; it’s raining G3 towers on campus right now, so they’re dumping these things like mad.)
Bold best summarizes the Blue & White Power Mac G3. With an entirely new minitower case design and huge graphics on the side, this Mac would stand out even without the bright color. In a big step forward, these models have 4 PCI slots, one more than previous models, and the B&W G3 is the first […]
It’s that time of year – since before Christmas, people have been looking back at 1998. What were the most significant events?
1999 – SB writes: I have the opportunity to purchase from a friend either a Power Mac 6100/60 or a Performa 6300/100. I know the 6300 is a Road Apple, but it does have the 603e processor. So should I buy the 6100 and add cache and RAM – or stick with the 6300
Even ten years after its introduction, there’s something compelling about the Macintosh Portable.
Steve Jobs announced this faster, more feature laden iMac at Macworld Expo 1999 in San Francisco. In addition to a 14% faster CPU and 50% larger hard drive, the 266 MHz iMac shipped in five different colors: tangerine, grape, lime, blueberry, and strawberry. There are rumors that some Bondi blue ones were built in January […]
