Is Apple Looking for a Smack in the Head?

2002: Everyone remembers those old milk churns that were used to transport milk all over the country. Most of these churns have found new life at country fairs and as overpriced flowerpots. If you haven’t seen one before, it’s essentially a cylinder with a hinged lid on the top. There is an old Dutch saying […]

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.)

AOL 10.2 Preview Is Pretty Impressive

America Online started in 1985 as Quantum Computer Services, offering Q-Link, an online service with a graphical user interface for Commodores; it expanded to include Apples (AppleLink) and Macs in 1989, adding Tandy and other DOS PCs (PC-Link) in 1991.

More on Macs in the Workplace

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.

Faster Internet Access for Mac Users

Internet access on the Mac has been getting a lot of bad reports, since it is slightly slower opening a page on the Mac than opening the same page on a PC. Choosing a good Internet connection is key to getting pages to load quickly on your Mac.

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, […]

Fear and Loathing in Redmond

2002: The rift between Microsoft and Apple seems to be growing wider. Barely two weeks after Microsoft spread a little FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) regarding the Mac version of Office and threw a bit of mud at Apple regarding the number of users upgrading to Mac OS X, the announcement came that Apple and Sun would […]

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 […]

Command Key Truth and Fiction

During one of those endless Web searches the other day, I ran across one of Those Little Things I Never Knew – the origin of the “splat” symbol on the Mac keyboard, officially known as the Command (cmd) key.

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 […]

Apple Should Follow Microsoft’s Suggestion

2002: The cat’s out of the bag. Microsoft, the cute and cuddly monopoly that wouldn’t dream of harming a competitor, has let the world know that it’s Not Pleased with Apple and its promotion of Mac OS X. In fact, Apple’s lack of promotion has hurt Microsoft’s bottom line because Office v. X isn’t flying off the […]

OS X: The Best of Amiga, Linux, and the Mac OS

The first computer I can remember using was our family’s Amiga 500. We got it around 1990, when I was 10. It continued to be used by everyone for five years, until both my father and I decided independently of each other that we’d like our own PC.

Our Passion for the Mac

Computers are just tools. Like hammers are tools. Like washing machines are tools. You know it, and I’ve publicly argued it. So, there we go. That’s the end of that.

Overclocking the Blue and White G3

Last time we discussed overclocking your Macintosh, but we never really got into the nitty-gritty of actually changing the settings inside your computer, since this can be come a very complicated thing to do. This time we’re finally going to get into it and actually do some over clocking. Today we’ll be learning how to […]

Turning the Tables, One Software Company at a Time

2002: Apple’s recent purchase of Emagic adds another niche heavyweight to its growing list of acquired software companies. Now, to be completely honest, I’m not an expert in the field of sequencing software. From what I can gather, though, Emagic is a popular sequencing program with a strong Mac following.

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.

Undoing Years of Mac Evangelism?

2002: Apple’s latest campaign has been greeted with much relief and fanfare by the majority of the Mac press. “Think Different” has finally been put out to the pasture. Beyond retiring a good, if old, campaign, “Real People” (a.k.a. “Switch”) finally puts Apple on a collision course with the Windows world.

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.