Apple as the Next Consumer Electronics Giant

2007 – Apple’s recent corporate name change from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc. is more significant than most people think. It’s not simply a matter of dropping Computer from the name because some of Apple’s products aren’t in the Macintosh product line and aren’t actual computers. It’s because Apple is changing – and fast.

iPhone and Apple TV Make Macworld Expo Crowd Go Wild

2007 – This year I visited Macworld Expo in San Francisco for the first time to check out new products from over a hundred companies on the show floor as tech giant Apple unveiled more magical products. Macworld 2007 was the biggest Mac event yet, and attendance had increased since last year.

Roadmap to Intel’s Past, Present, and Future Icons

My wife seldom pays attention to the latest trends in technology unless it directly affects her business (photography). I will occasionally tell her about major events, such as the switch of Apple products from PowerPC to Intel CPUs, or whether or not Bono has decided to use his left or right hand while signing his […]

Rare Apple II Jigsaw Puzzle Found on eBay

Several months ago I was searching eBay, as many of you do, just to pass some time. I discovered an item I never expected to find, since it’s incredibly rare – an original Apple II jigsaw puzzle.

More Features of Apple’s Extended Keyboard II

Mistakes, mistakes . . . we all seem to make them, and I’m no exception to the rule. For those who haven’t been tuning into Welcome to Macintosh, the most recent article in the Keyboard Roundup was about the Apple Extended Keyboard II. I’ve received several emails informing me of things I failed to mention, […]

MacBook (Late 2006)

Has it already been six months since the original MacBook was introduced? Then it must be time for an upgrade. Now that Apple has solved most of the MacBook’s teething problems, they’ve improved it by replacing the Intel Core Duo CPU with the newer, more energy efficient, cooler running Core 2 Duo. Overall, that should […]

Dan Bricklin, Inventor of the Electronic Spreadsheet

Dan Bricklin (born 1951) codeveloped VisiCalc with Bob Frankston in the late 1970s while he was a student at the Harvard Business School. VisiCalc is widely credited for fueling the rapid growth of personal computers in business. He is currently president of Software Garden, Inc., a small consulting firm and developer of software applications that […]

Disco Brings Unique Features to Mac Disc Burning

2006 – I’ve been tracking Disco since Austin Sarner began development with Jasper Hauser. Disco is a simple but effective disc burning utility for Mac OS X. It includes basic features that you would expect from this type of application, such as burning blank discs, disc imaging, copying, adding sessions to discs, and so on.

MacExpo 2006 Lacking in Excitement

2006 – I’m taking a break from writing about Apple history today and writing about the present. On Saturday, I visited MacExpo 2006 in London for the day (I last visited MacExpo 2004).

iPod Birthday Articles Foster DRM Confusion

2006 – I want to take time today to congratulate the iPod for its impressive five year run, which seems primed to continue well into the rapidly approaching holiday shopping season. I further want to detail those little tidbits that make the iPod very much a part of my daily dose of tech joy.

17″ MacBook Pro (Late 2006)

On 2006.10.24, Apple moved the MacBook Pro line to Intel’s newer Core 2 Duo CPU, claiming “up to 39% faster” performance than the model it replaced. Part of that comes from the more efficient CPU, and part from an 8% faster CPU.

15″ MacBook Pro (Late 2006)

On 2006.10.24, Apple moved the MacBook Pro line to Intel’s newer Core 2 Duo CPU, claiming “up to 39% faster” performance than the model it replaced. Part of that comes from the more efficient CPU, and part from an 8% faster CPU.

Apple’s Extended Keyboard II: Sequel to a Legend

In my previous Welcome to Macintosh column, I looked at the legendary Apple Extended Keyboard as the beginning of my Keyboard Roundup series. Just as some movies follow up on the original with a sequel, Apple came out with a sequel to the Apple Extended Keyboard. It was named, appropriately, the Apple Extended Keyboard II.

Deodorizing a Stinky Old iBook that Smells Like Sweat

My previous article, A Stinky Old iBook that Smells Like Sweat, prompted a fair bit of email. Low End Mac’s publisher, Dan Knight, had requested that owners of stinky iBooks contact him with the specifics of their ‘Books so he could provide some meaningful consumer data. Six readers checked in, and he compiled what data he […]

A Stinky Old iBook that Smells Like Sweat

Last time, I discussed my purchase of a used Dual USB G3 iBook (see eBay No Longer Your Best Source for Low-end Macs). When the iBook arrived, I unpacked it from its tight bubble wrap cocoon, pushed the latch button, and opened it. Immediately, my olfactory sense was stimulated in an astonishingly negative way.