Used iPhones Are Undermining the iPod touch

In October 2001, Apple introduced the original 5 GB iPod with FireWire as its only data and charging port. Steve Jobs previewed the original iPhone in January 2007 – ten years ago and just over five years after iPod introduction. The iPhone shipped at the end of June 2007, and released the first iPod touch […]

Using an iPhone 6 Plus as an iPad nano

I love the huge 5.5″ 1920 x 1080 pixel display on the iPhone 6 Plus, but it’s such a large device that I wouldn’t want to stick one in my pocket and use it as my phone. The thing is huge – but there are other uses for it.

Our Big Fund Raiser

Due to some changes in the household, Low End Mac needs to get rid of one big debt fast. The business, such as it is, owes the IRS just under $7,000, and our monthly payment is $250. In recent months, donations have been short of our budget, and I’ve made some adjustments. The biggest thing […]

What Does Kaby Lake Mean for Next Year’s Macs?

Intel’s next generation CPU architecture, replacing the Skylake chips in most current Macs, is known as Kaby Lake. This 7th generation Intel Core i design provides up to 8 MB of Level 3 cache and is already being used in some PCs. We should see it in Macs in 2017.

5+ Year Old Macs – No Longer Low End

Something odd has happened over roughly the last 5 years. Moore’s law is hitting a brick wall (or at least it would seem so). As a result, the difference in a 5 year old Mac today versus a 5 year old Mac from 1995 in the year 2000 or a 5 year old Mac from […]

The Early Days of Computer Retailing

Some of you may remember seeing one of the first personal computers at a Radio Shack store in the latter part of 1977. Although there were three competing “home computer” systems on the market, only the TRS-80 was widely available – it was on display at 3,500 Radio Shack stores throughout the United States!

I Love a Good Deal

I love a good burger, a good pizza, a good beer, a good computer, a good TV show, and writing. One thing I find almost irresistible is a good bargain – which raises the question, What is a good bargain?

Apple’s Flaming PowerBook Fiasco

If you’ve been following the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 nightmare, you know it’s given Samsung a serious black eye. Kudos to Samsung for doing the right thing and recalling the entire production just weeks after its introduction.

Apple vs. Samsung

Apple and Samsung have had an interesting relationship over the years. On the one hand, Apple buys a lot of components from Samsung Electronics. On the other, Samsung is a leading competitor in the mobile market. Some might call them frenemies, others see it as a symbiotic relationship.

Word Processing and Personal Computers

Believe it or not, word processing predated the personal computer revolution by over a decade. In 1964, IBM combined its Selectric typewriter (1961) with a magnetic tape drive in the IBM MT/ST, making it possible for the first time to edit text without having to retype everything.

The Serker Files

The following collection of articles is adapted from postings by Scott L. Barber, an all around Mac geek, on our Quadlist email list circa 1998. Although a few of these are specific to 68040-based Macs, most have much wider application (or, at times, much narrower), and in some cases these look at technologies long since […]