In the late 1980s and early 1990s, computing made a great leap forward with the advent of 16-bit microcomputers like the Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, and Atari ST. The Apple II, introduced in 1978, was a phenomenally successful platform, eventually coming to possess a 20% share of the personal computer market in the US. But by […]
Author Archives: Jason Walsh
As a computer manufacturer, Apple gets a strangely distorted press. Its position as the only serious commercial competitor to Microsoft guarantees that every move the company makes is documented – and often distorted.
Jef Raskin founded the Macintosh project at Apple, which led to the development of the Apple Mac and the popularisation of the graphical user-interface. He was Apple employee #31 and left the Macintosh team in mid-1981 after Steve Jobs took over the project.
I have recently been driving around in a new car. Well, I say new. In fact, it’s rather old.
According to Google Analytics, Low End Mac has more readers in the United Kingdom (UK) than any country outside the US, with Canada in the third position. We asked Jason Walsh, a journalist based in Ireland and a longtime Mac user, to take a look at the UK Mac market.
Readers inclined to trawl back through the Low End Mac archives may know that one of my Macs is, in fact, no such thing. It’s actually a Dell Mini 10v netbook. (See Why I Didn’t Wait for the Apple Tablet.)
Regular readers will know that I have been searching for the perfect Macintosh word processor for some time. I have almost found it.
As my regular readers will know, I am searching for the perfect writing tool. Much as I prefer to write with a good pen, I want to find writing software that is ideally suited not only to my needs but also my temperament and taste. Frankly, it’s a tall order.
Complaints about modern software being bloated and overpowered are a penny a dozen, but there is some truth in the idea.
Words are my life. They are, of course, the way I make my living, but they mean so much more to me than that. I’m no postmodernist, but Umberto Eco’s joy in language is something that speaks to me – I challenge anyone with a love of words to read The Name of the Rose […]
Can we please stop talking about “game changers”? The iPad is the future of computing. No, wait, it’s a waste of money and typically crippled product from Apple.
I have been mulling over getting a new computer for some time. It’s not so much that I needed one, more that I was dissatisfied with my current setup. Once I decided I was going ahead with the purchase, it crossed my mind more than once that I was doing this at precisely the wrong […]
It’s that time of year again when lazy journalists trundle out lists instead of sitting down and writing articles. Never one to break an honorable tradition, Jason Walsh adds Low End Mac to the list of publications that includes just about every magazine, website, and newspaper in the world.
Apple began selling its first computer in July 1976. Apple Before the Mac looks at the Apple II and Apple III era that predate the Mac.
Jason Walsh examines Scribus, an intriguing alternative to the overpriced behemoths of Quark XPress and Adobe InDesign.
Back in November, we took a quick peek at Scribus running on Linux and promised to give it a go on the Mac. That’s what we’re doing today.
Lauded by some, despised by others, ThinkFree Office has clearly made an impression among Mac users – but what exactly does free mean? And do you get what you pay for?
Another alternative to the big boys of design – and this one is free. This week The Low End Designer is taking a break from the beloved Macintosh to have a quick squint at what the open-source world of Linux has to offer designers.
Richard Hunt is a London-based freelance graphic designer. He’s been working freelance for five years and has refused to upgrade to a new Mac since then, when he bought a secondhand Mac. Jason Walsh investigates.
This article incorporates the Low End Mac Designer survey results and some interesting comments, so without further ado, let’s get to it.
This week the low-end designer tackles more typographic woes, including leading, kerning, tracking, and justification.
Last week’s Low End Designer article was the most popular piece in the series so far. Clearly word processing is something that Low End Mac readers are interested in, but what about what happens with the text afterwards? This week, The Low End Designer looks a basic typography.
Text processing is the least glamorous aspect of design work – and probably the most important. This week, The Low End Designer looks at some alternatives to Microsoft Word, the 800-pound gorilla of the document processing market – and perhaps deservedly so.
Last week, the Low End Designer took a look at a few supplemental applications that can be used in conjunction with the major design and layout programs. This week we’re looking at drop-in replacements, and it’s Quark XPress that’s getting the chop.
2004 – One of the advantages of using a Mac is the wealth of software available for the platform. Of course, this runs contrary to common wisdom – the Mac is thought to be a poor cousin to Windows in terms of the number of applications available. This is literally true – there are many […]
It’s not uncommon for even the most Mac-oriented user to have a PC sitting in the corner. Why? Usually for testing designs. So will the prospective low-end designer need to get a Windows PC? Maybe.
This week The Low End Designer looks at printers, mass storage, and graphics tablets, all considered essential items to finish off the studio – but are they?
By this stage, anyone following this column should have collected a Mac or two and some software. This week we’re looking at obtaining a flatbed scanner. All of the information here intended as nothing more than examples – and hopefully an aid to understanding scanners, rather than an inducement to purchase a machine from a […]
In last week’s edition of The Low End Designer, we took a quick detour from hardware to look at the issue of Quark XPress. This week we’re focusing on software, and Quark will once again rear its head.
Last week you had the rant; this week you get the information. Jason Walsh examines the options when it comes to choosing inexpensive Macs for design work.
In this series of articles, Jason Walsh takes a look at how to run a design studio on low-end Macs. Whether you want to get off the upgrade treadmill, are just out of art school and want to set up shop on a budget, or just want to pick up a few tips and tricks, […]
Not long ago, I threatened you all with the end of the PPC Linux column. In response, many of you wrote in to ask for it to stay. (One person suggested that I let it die a graceful death for reasons which I happen to agree with, but he was outvoted.)
The late Douglas Adams once said, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly past.” It is in this spirit that I present the latest Mac Life.
Yes people, it’s another review of Yellow Dog Linux.
As the dust settles on Apple’s decision to charge us for the intangible iTools services (see Kiss iTools Good-Bye, Free mac.com Email Becomes Fee Mail, and The iTools Bait and Switch), people begin to ask how this will affect Job’s plans for the digital hub.
