Mac users have it pretty good. Apple’s stock is high (despite its recent slide), a new OS is on the way, and market share has stabilized. So what’s next for Apple? How does it intend to remain on top?
Category Archives: Low End Mac
- 'Book Value
- 10 Forward
- 75 Mac Advantages
- Adam's Apple
- Apple Archive
- Apple Before the Mac
- Apple Everywhere
- Apple History
- Apple, Tech, and Gaming
- Back & Forth
- Benchmarks
- Best Tools for the Job
- Building Bridges
- Classic Mac Nostalgia
- Classic Mac OS Software
- Classic Restorations
- Collection Spotlight
- Compleat Guides
- CustoMacs
- Developer Transition Kits
- Different Branches
- Digital Fossils
- Down but Not Out
- Early Mac Clones
- Edelweiss
- Embracing Obsolescence
- Empowered
- Hacking Your Mac
- iBasics
- iBasics Classic iBasics articles for the Classic Mac OS
- iMac Channel
- In My Palm
- Interviews
- iOS & iDevices Articles about iOS and iOS devices: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
- iOS Accessories
- iOS Apps
- iOS Hardware iOS devices and accessories.
- iTed Talks
- Kitchens Sync
- Leo and Mac
- Linux to Mac
- Low End Campfire Discussion Campfire style storytelling of Apple finds, exciting discoveries and more.
- Low End Mac FAQs
- Low End Mac Mailbag
- Low End Mac Round Table Low End Mac round table discussion.
- Low End Mac Tech Journal
- The Serker Files
- Mac "Extras"
- Mac Accessories
- Mac CPU Upgrades
- Mac Daniel
- Mac Fallout Shelter
- Mac Gaming
- Mac Happens
- Mac History
- Mac Lab Report
- Mac Life
- Mac Metamorphosis
- LinuxPPC Chronicles
- Mac Musings
- Mac OS X Software
- Mac Resources
- Mac Restorations
- Mac Scope
- Mac to Windows Articles about using Macs and Windows PCs together.
- Mac UK
- Mac USB & FireWire
- MacInSchool
- Macinthoughts
- MacPaint and Its Children
- Matt's Macs
- Maximize Your Mac Jason Schrader's tips on getting the most out of your Mac hardware.
- Bluetooth & Wifi Upgrades
- Memory Upgrade Options
- Menagerie of Macs
- Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Moore's Mailbag
- My First Mac
- My Turn
- Older G4 Macs in the Age of Leopard
- One More Thing
- Online Thrifter
- Orchard
- Overclocking Your Vintage Mac
- Plays Well with Others
- PPC Linux
- Printer Reviews
- Reality Check
- Recycled Computing
- Second Class Macs
- SETI on Mac
- Software FAQs
- Stop the Noiz - Frank Fox tries to cut through the static and get to the facts.
- Taking Back the Market - Tim Nash on how Apple can retake its markets.
- Tangerine Fusion
- Tech Spectrum
- Tech Stuff
- The 'Book Page
- The Efficient Mac User
- The Lite Side
- Bumper Snickers
- The Low End Designer
- The Mac Pack Rat The every day adventures of a Macintosh Pack Rat. Repairing and using lower end machines for productive daily work.
- The Mobile Mac
- The Odyssey
- The Power of Mac
- The Practical Mac
- The Productive Mac
- The Review Vault
- The Road Warrior
- The Rumor Mill
- The Value Equation
- Things Macintosh
- 10 Commandments of the Church of Macintosh
- Triassic Mac
- Unofficial SuperMac Support Site
- Using WordPress - Tips on using WordPress, particularly as deployed at Low End Mac.
- View from the Classroom
- Busman's Holiday
- Teacher Tools
- View From the MacCave
- Vintage Mac Living
- Vintage Mac Workhorses
- Welcome to Macintosh
- In House with Low End Mac
- Working with Vintage Macs
- Zis Mac - Alan Zisman on Macs, iOS, and other tech.
Bernard Bélanger’s PowerSuitcase (also in French) is quite a bit different from most CustoMacs: It doesn’t even look like a computer.
2000: Last week’s article about cheap Power Macs for G3 and G4 upgrading was the most popular Miscellaneous Ramblings article that Low End Mac has published, beating out my previous champ – a piece on the economics of processor upgrades. Apparently, upgrades are a popular topic. They also generate a lot of reader feedback: From […]
In A History of Font Technologies, I talked a bit about font technologies on the Mac. If you are unfamiliar with terms like “bitmapped” or “outline” fonts, you might want to read that article first. Here I am going to discuss the fonts that Apple has shipped with the Mac. I am on my way […]
2000: Apple’s use of easy-to-use (and downright cool) slot-loading CD- and DVD-ROM drives in their iMac line shows that Apple has come a long way since using those awful CD caddies on their early CD drives. Those frustrating and easy to lose caddies actually helped Apple sell the smart but lethargic PowerCD, which was a […]
2000: Dan Knight tells me that my column last week about cheap Power Macs for G3 and G4 upgrading was the most popular Miscellaneous Ramblings article that Low End Mac has published, beating out my previous champ – a piece on the economics of processor upgrades. Apparently, upgrades are a popular topic. Thanks for reading.
My first computer was a 386 PC loaded with an elegant, almost forgotten program called GeoWorks. It was an impulse purchase in the fall of ’92, during a personal crisis. I badly wanted a distraction, something I could throw myself into. I dropped $1,300 on a credit card, carted home three boxes in my Honda, and […]
Fonts have been central to the Macintosh experience since the very first Mac. By looking at the history of font technologies on the Mac, I’m hoping to derive some suggestions about how you can get your fonts to work best for you. This is the first article in a short series.
2000: Is a Mac better than a PC? I’ve been asking myself that question for several weeks, and I have written many drafts while attempting to figure out which is better.
2000: You’ve probably seen the online ads from CoolVCD.com and read the press releases: Video Compact Disc (VCD) lets you watch movies on Macs or PCs that don’t have DVD drives.
Jonathan Ploudre first started using Macs in 1991 with a Mac IIsi. He’s a technophile who especially enjoys making things usable. He’s a Family Doctor in Mount Vernon, WA, where he lives with his wife and three girls. He wrote for Low End Mac from May 2000 through Sept. 2002.
2000: Many people can go through their computer-using career and never download a program to make their life easier. Why? Because they don’t know which programs to download. You don’t have to be one of those people because today I’ll review some helpful programs you never knew you needed until now.
2000: How would you like a Power Mac G3 for less than $500? Or perhaps a G4 Power Mac for less than $750? Both deals are currently available from Web sources with a little mixing and matching.
2000 – You’ve got your site up and running. You know people are visiting it, because they send you email (you do have a contact link on every page, don’t you). You’ve even registered with some search engines, joined a banner exchange or Web ring, and received a few links from other sites. But how […]
The SuperMac C500 and C600 are unique among Macintosh clones. They were the first clones to use a ZIF socket for easy processor replacement. Umax made processors in speeds from 140 to 280 MHz, as well as the CacheDoubler, which provides a double-speed (80 MHz) level 2 cache four times as large as the 256 […]
2000: Slashdot is a fantastic source for Linux news and a variety of other user-posted topics. One of the biggest independent computer news sites on the Internet, it has among the best implementation of technology, while keeping a very simple and quick-loading layout. However, it has one largely unnoticed weakness: Its Apple news.
2000: I received a ton of mail in response to the tragic Power Mac 9500 saga posted last week. The letters were so good that Dan Knight suggested we publish them, so here they are with some replies from me where appropriate.
Apple’s slot-loading iMac has arguably the best audio system available since the 20th Anniversary Macintosh. Engineered for three years by Harman/Kardon and utilizing rare-earth magnets, the Odyssey speakers provide unparalleled clarity and frequency response.
2000 – I received an interesting request from a regular site visitor last week: Jonathan Ploudre wrote me on May 3, wondered if I could adapt the new content on Low End Mac for AvantGo. For those, like me, who don’t own a Palm or Windows CE device, the first question is: What’s AvantGo?
2000: In my previous article I discussed why I think Microsoft products for the Macintosh should be viewed and reviewed in an unbiased manner. Since that article, Mr. Bob Allis has commented (The Mac-Files: On Boycotts) about my article and offered his opinion regarding why a Microsoft boycott would be sanctioned and supported.
2000: This is a story with a sad ending, and I’m not sure that it has any moral, but you may find it interesting. Our tale begins when my son was given the carcass of a Power Mac 9500 – the six-slot minitower that was Apple’s flagship desktop model back in 1996.
2000: I have been reading on many of the Macintosh-oriented websites and magazines how people are removing all Microsoft software on their Macs. Some columnists boast about how they are very proud not to be running the “Evil Empire’s” software. The writers say that their Microsoft software crashes very often, and others say that they […]
2000: It’s always good to have the latest released version of programs. What’s even better is getting the latest pre-release version of programs. Pre-released versions of programs are called beta or alpha software. I am testing out three pre-release programs at present.
2000: Project AppleSeed is one website you really must check out. A team at the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy has established that a cluster of four Blue & White Power Mac G3s now has the same computational power (and twice the memory) as one of the best supercomputers of eight years ago, a […]
2000: One of my other duties at Low End Mac, besides writing the articles you love to read every week, is helping out at the LEM Help Desk. Here, people email me (and a few others) with Mac questions. Most of the time, these questions are simple “how do I . . .” questions. Whenever […]
I was just starting out as a reporter back in 1976 and had to have a 35mm camera. The problem was, the Nikons at the little camera store in my town were way too much money – so I bought a clone.
2000: There is only one internet consumer that AOL doesn’t have a monopoly on – America’s schools. Well, not anymore. AOL will be soon releasing a new version of their software specifically for schools called AOL@school. As one of AOL’s “valued” beta testers, I was able to get ahold of a pre-release version of this […]
2000: You want to know how to make your old computer faster than it was when you bought it? Just erase everything on your hard disk!
2000 – Unless you know your visitors have browsers that support Flash, PNG, QuickTime, and other recent innovations, stick to JPEG and GIF images on your website. Knowing the audience of Low End Mac includes a lot of people surfing on version 3.0 and earlier browsers, you won’t find any other graphic formats here.*
2000: The name of this article was supposed to be “AppleShare IP vs. Windows NT”. However, in the last few weeks, I have had many problems with just getting AppleShare IP (ASIP) running.
2000: My faith in Microsoft has been restored. Why? Because this past week they unveiled Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0. And, I have to say, this program is amazing!
2000 – Based on some recent email that I have gotten, there seems to be a number of PowerBook 100 owners trying to find a way to make them portable again. The PowerBook (PB) 100 was one of Apple’s first successful notebook computers, along with the 140 and 170. In 1991, it took the computer […]
2000: In Bryan Chaffin’s latest The Back Page column on The Mac Observer, he argues that Apple was brilliant for showing Mac OS X’s new “lickable” Aqua user interface now, and he sharply chides the foot-draggers (your humble servant included) who have expressed misgivings about the GUI course that Apple has chosen to follow in […]
2000 – SETI@home is a scientific experiment that harnesses the power of hundreds of thousands of Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
2000 – Any wise words of advice on where I might pick up a new display for a PowerBook 5300c? The display on mine got cracked from the back, and while it still works, there’s a half-dollar sized blemish on the right side of the screen.