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 […]

Linux and BSD Unix for Older Macs

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.)

iApps? My Eye!

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.

A Runtime Revolution for Linux and the Mac OS

The votes are in. PPC Linux is here to stay, but please don’t expect a weekly column (unless you all want to micropay me individually). Today I want to look at a specific application program named Runtime Revolution – it runs not only on Linux, but also in Mac OS, Mac OS X, Windows, IRIX, Solaris, […]

PPC Linux: The End?

Okay folks, it’s time for some democracy in action. As you probably know by now, I’m writing a new column on Low End Mac (LEM) called Mac Life. Now, between this and everything else I write, as well as the odd bit of graphic design, my fine art practice and my academic research, time is becoming […]

G4/500 WallStreet and Lombard Upgrades, iCurve Notebook Stand, TiBook RAM Install, and More

The biggest news of Macworld week for Apple portable fans didn’t come from the keynote, in which there were no laptop hardware announcements at all, but rather from Sonnet and Newer Technology, both of which released 500 MHz G4 processor upgrades for WallStreet G3 Series PowerBooks from the former and a WallStreet/Lombard G4 upgrade from the latter, joining […]

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 […]

Yellow Dog Linux on a Power Mac

Despite the use of the PowerPC in other computers, such as the IBM RS/6000 and even TiVo digital video recorders, the Apple Macintosh dominates the world of PowerPC computing, and as such, it’s Macs that Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) 7.2 is squarely aimed at.

Good-Bye, Rodney

Rodney O. Lain was one of the most erudite, informed, opinionated, and iconoclastic writers on the Mac Web. In other words, he thought for himself, spoke his mind, and did it well.

OS X from a Linux Perspective

Apple’s Mac OS X has been gaining a lot of column inches in the computer press, and for good reason. As you are no doubt sick of hearing, the new Mac operating system is not just another revision of a bloated and moribund, though elegant, desktop OS. It is Unix – BSD Unix to be […]

Open Source Reality Check

You would be forgiven for thinking that the open source in business debate had been finally put to bed with the likes of IBM backing Linux and even the notoriously secretive Apple opening parts of Mac OS X to the public. However, you’d be wrong.

Beyond Linux Apps: Mac on Linux

We’ve all heard it: Linux has no applications. Despite the availability of many professional desktop applications for Linux, such as Star Office and Corel WordPerfect Office, the rumour of the dearth of applications for Linux persists. In fact, it does have some truth in it, at least for users of nonstandard versions of Linux such […]

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 […]

Bring Out the GIMP

The Mac. Graphic Design. These phrases are practically inseparable. Before 1984 there was an entire career option missing, that of “Mac operator.” The next generation Unix OS, Mac OS X will no doubt cement Apple’s domination of the creative industries further with its improvements to the system such as the Acrobat-based Quartz display layer, preemptive multitasking, […]