Power Mac G5 (Mid 2003)

The Power Mac G5 was introduced on 2003.06.23 – the same day Intel officially unveiled the 3.2 GHz Pentium 4. In terms of increased clock speed, that means Intel had a 6.7% speed bump the same day that Apple announced a 40% improvement in clock speed (from 1.42 GHz to 2.0 GHz), allowing it to […]

eMac ATI Graphics (2003)

After a year on the market, Apple speed bumped the eMac from a top speed of 800 MHz to 1 GHz while moving from a 100 MHz data bus to 133 MHz and adding support for 802.11g AirPort Extreme WiFi. Apple also switched from the Nvidia graphics of the original eMac to Radeon 7500 on this model […]

3rd Generation iPod

With the third generation (3G) iPod, Apple replaced the four buttons surrounding the scrollwheel with a row of round buttons between the scrollwheel and the display. The 3G iPod also introduced the 30-pin dock connector and no longer had separate Mac and PC versions. The buttons are, left to right, previous track, menu, play/pause, and next […]

Xserve G4 (Early 2003)

Nine months after introducing the Xserve as a 1 GHz server, Apple bumped performance with one or two 1.33 GHz processors, a 167 MHz system bus, and Ultra ATA/133 support. The Early 2003 Xserve also includes FireWire 800 ports. In terms of performance, although the CPU is only 33% faster, Geekbench scores show this model has over […]

17″ iMac G4 (Early 2003)

The first iMac to reach 1 GHz, the 17″ G4 iMac has a wide aspect ratio “cinema” type screen and displays 1440 by 900 pixels – just perfect for DVDs. Other improvements over the old 800 MHz model include a slot for an 802.11g AirPort Extreme card, space for internal Bluetooth, 64 MB of video […]

15″ iMac G4 (Early 2003)

Apple decided to simplify the iMac lineup by offering just one 15″ model and one 17″ model. The Early 2003 17″ iMac has a 1 GHz G4 processor, a SuperDrive, and 64 MB of video memory. The Early 2003 15″ iMac runs at 800 MHz, includes a Combo drive, and sells for a very competitive US$1,299. Except […]

FireWire 800 Power Mac G4

The January 2003 Power Mac G4 was the first to require OS X. It was also the first with FireWire 800 ports. A good rule of thumb: If it has FireWire 800, it isn’t meant to boot OS 9, although we have heard of a workaround. The FireWire 800 model was also the first Power Mac with a Bluetooth […]

17″ PowerBook G4 (Early 2003)

Just two months after Apple boosted the 15″ Titanium PowerBook to 1 GHz, they surprised a lot of people by rolling out both the largest and the smallest PowerBooks ever, including this 17-incher. The 17″ PowerBook G4 is Apple’s first portable with a 17″ display. It’s also the first PowerBook with a fiber optic LED-backlit […]

12″ PowerBook G4 (Early 2003)

Just two months after Apple boosted the 15.2″ PowerBook to 1 GHz, they surprised a lot of people by rolling out both the largest and the smallest PowerBooks ever, including the first 12″ PowerBook G4. The 12″ PowerBook G4 is the first PowerBook in years without a PC Card slot. It’s also the only current model […]

12″ PowerBook G4 (Early 2003)

Just two months after Apple boosted the 15.2″ PowerBook to 1 GHz, they surprised a lot of people by rolling out both the largest and the smallest PowerBooks ever, including the first 12″ PowerBook G4. The 12″ PowerBook G4 is the first PowerBook in years without a PC Card slot. It’s also the only current […]

12″ iBook G3 (Late 2002)

Apple improved the popular iBook by boosting CPU speeds another 100 MHz. The entry-level 700 MHz model has a CD-ROM drive, while the 800 MHz one includes Apple’s Combo (CD-RW/DVD) drive. The new iceBooks use ATI’s Mobility Radeon 7500 with 16 MB or 32 MB of VRAM. The 700 MHz model was the first opaque […]

14″ 800 MHz iBook G3 (Late 2002)

The November 2002 14″ iBook runs at 800 MHz, 100 MHz faster than its predecessor. The new Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics offers improved video performance and has 32 MB of video memory, twice as much as the previous 14-incher. MacInTouch has called the dual USB G3 iBooks Apple’s most unreliable notebooks ever. According to their […]

15″ PowerBook G4 (Late 2002)

A bit more than six months after bumping the fastest TiBook from 667 MHz to 800 MHz, Apple once again updated the titanium workhorse with faster processors (867 MHz and 1 GHz) and ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics (with 32 MB of video memory on the slower model, 64 MB on the faster). The 867 MHz […]

Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar

Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar was released on 2002.08.24 and was last updated on 2003.10.03, when the 10.2.8 update was released. There were rumors that 10.2.9 would be released in mid-2009 to address several bugs and vulnerabilities that remained in version 10.2.8, but that never happened.   Jaguar was the first version of OS X […]

Power Mac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors (Mid-2002)

Apple hit the 1 GHz mark with the Quicksilver 2002 in January 2002 and 1.25 GHz with the Mirrored Drive Door (MDD) in August 2002. Even the entry level 867 MHz Power Mac G4 now has dual processors. This was the last Power Mac to natively boot Mac OS 9. Beware Apple’s claim of “four […]

Power Mac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors (Mid-2002)

Apple hit the 1 GHz mark with the Quicksilver 2002 in January 2002 and 1.25 GHz with the Mirrored Drive Door (MDD) in August 2002. Even the entry level 867 MHz Power Mac G4 now has dual processors. This was the last Power Mac to natively boot Mac OS 9. Beware Apple’s claim of “four […]

17″ iMac G4 (Mid 2002)

Announced at the Macworld Expo on July 17, 2002, the 17″ G4 iMac has a wide aspect ratio “cinema” type screen and displays 1440 by 900 pixels – just perfect for DVDs. The new screen is about 1.6″ wider than the one on the 15″ iMac and just a bit taller, and the 17″ iMac […]

14″ 700 MHz iBook G3 (Mid 2002)

Didn’t think 600 MHz was fast enough? The May 2002 14″ iBook runs at 700 MHz and has a 512 KB level 2 cache, twice as large as its 600 MHz Early 2002 ancestor. The new Mobility Radeon graphics is also up to 35% faster, according to Apple, and it also has twice as much […]

12″ iBook G3 (Mid 2002)

Apple improved the already popular Dual USB iBook by boosting CPU speed 100 MHz and using a newer version of the G3 with a twice-as-large 512 KB level 2 cache. The entry-level 600 MHz model has a CD-ROM drive, while the 700 MHz one includes Apple’s  Combo (CD-RW/DVD) drive. The new Mobility Radeon is up […]

Xserve G4 (Mid 2002)

After years of repackaging off-the-shelf Macs for use as servers, Apple introduced Xserve in May 2002 as its second attack on the server market – and the industry’s first 1U dual processor RISC server. Xserve supports up to 480 GB of internal storage, one or two 1 GHz G4 CPUs, dual gigabit ethernet, RAID, hot swappable drives, […]

15″ PowerBook G4 (DVI)

A bit more than six months after speed bumping the TiBook to 550 and 667 MHz, Apple overhauled the titanium workhorse with still faster processors (667 and 800 MHz); a brighter, higher resolution screen (1280 x 854 vs. 1152 x 768); and ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics with 32 MB of video memory. This is […]

eMac (2002)

Rumors of a 17″ iMac had been circulating since 1998. Apple finally did it by introducing the eMac to the education market at the end of April 2002 – and to the consumer market that June. The base 700 MHz CD-ROM model does not include a modem; all other models have one. The top-end 800 […]

4 Apps for Your Science Class

2002 – Here are four free (not shareware) programs you might find handy when teaching math, physical science, astronomy, or biology. Everything works under Mac OS X either natively or in Classic Mode except as noted. Enjoy! Graphing Calculator original Mac calculator OS X calculator If it weren’t for Graphing Calculator, the only option open to […]

2nd Generation iPod

With the second generation (2G) iPod, Apple replaced the rotating scrollwheel with a touch-based one, replaced the 1G 10 GB iPod, and added a 20 GB model capable of storing 4,000 songs. Apple retained the 5 GB 1G iPod as its entry-level model. Visually, the 1G and 2G iPods look the same. Only the scrollwheel […]

Quicksilver 2002 Power Mac G4

Apple first hit the 1 GHz mark in January 2002 – and doubled 1 GHz G4 performance with a dual-processor model. Although these look like the earlier Quicksilvermodel, they run 800 MHz, 933 MHz, and dual 1 GHz G4 processors. These were the first Macs to officially support hard drives over 128 GB on the built-in […]

14″ 600 MHz iBook G3 (Early 2002)

Apple addressed perhaps the biggest objection to the otherwise nearly perfect iBook by introducing one with a 14″ screen at the January 2002 Macworld Expo in San Francisco – all in a package just a pound heavier than the 12″ iBook. The larger screen doesn’t have any more pixels, but the pixels are bigger, making […]

15″ iMac G4 (Early 2002)

The 2002 iMac is definitely different with its 10.5″ hemispherical base and 15″ flat panel display. Definitely different. Steve Jobs says the design was inspired by a sunflower. All three versions feature a G4 processor and can burn CDs. The less expensive models have a 700 MHz G4, and the middle of the line has […]

Original iPod

Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPod at a special event on October 23, 2001. The new device was a hard-drive based MP3 player with a well thought out menu system and room for 1,000 songs. It would to change Apple Computer forever. The first iPod had a scroll wheel that actually rotated, a feature that […]

12″ 600 MHz iBook G3 (Late 2001)

A little over five months after Apple released the first Dual USB iBook (a.k.a. iceBook), they replaced it with this 600 MHz – 20% faster – model available in DVD, CD-RW, and ComboDrive versions. Changes include a faster CPU, a faster system bus (100 MHz vs. 66 MHz) and a larger hard drive (15-20 GB, […]

667 MHz 15″ PowerBook G4 (VGA)

Just nine months after releasing the first titanium PowerBook, Apple replaced it with two faster models – this is the faster of the two. Both models share the same logic board, but they run the bus and CPU at different speeds. The 667 MHz CPU in this model runs on a faster (133 MHz vs. […]

550 MHz 15″ PowerBook G4 (Late 2001)

Just nine months after releasing the first titanium PowerBook, Apple replaced it with two faster models; this is the slower one. Both models share the same logic board, but they run the bus and CPU at different speeds. The 550 MHz CPU runs on the same 100 MHz system bus as the original TiBook. Standard […]

Quicksilver Power Mac G4

Code named Quicksilver, this was the fiftth computer to share the name Power Mac G4, but the first to be housed in an obviously different case. With processor speeds ranging from 733 to 867 MHz, the G4had the power to outperform any Pentium 4 machine made at the time. The top of the line was a […]

700 MHz iMac (Summer 2001)

The July 2001 iMac came in speeds of 500, 600, and 700 MHz, although the 700 wasn’t available until August. All models included CD-RW drives and at least 128 MB of RAM. Except for the $799 indio-only model, each version was available in snow (white). The 500 MHz models were available in indigo, and the […]

12″ iBook G3 (Mid 2001)

The Dual USB iBook had been the subject of great speculation in the weeks before its introduction. Gone were the tangerine orange, key lime green, graphite gray, and indigo blue colors of the past – the new iBook is simply white. Gone are the curves – the new iBook is a white box with rounded […]

400 MHz iMac G3 (Early 2001)

There were four different G3 iMacs that ran at 400 MHz: two introduced in 1999, one in 2000, and one in 2001. The 400 MHz iMac DV and 400 MHz DV Special Edition were introduced in October 1999. These included a DVD-ROM drive and were the first iMacs with built-in FireWire. They have RAGE 128 […]