Long before newfandangled contraptions known as word processors and eventually the Macintosh, and even longer before the iPhone and iPad, the manual typewriter reigned supreme for getting your muse from thoughts to paper. Tactile key action was king here. You had to apply a greater deal of force to each letter you struck compared to […]
Category Archives: Reviews
There was a time when computer keyboards were not considered a mere afterthought. Many keyboard manufacturers proudly promoted the comfort and durability of their keyboard. Computer manufacturers, including Apple, once included some of the best, if not the best keyboards possible.
There are times when you need to zoom in to take a better picture, a feature lacking on all current mobile phones. But what if you could buy a lens attachment?
It all started with Mapquest in 1996. Suddenly you could used that new-fangled Internet for something practical, finding the best route from point A to point B – whether across town or across the country. All you had to do was print out the driving directions and keep them handy while you drove.
At first glance, the LaCie 5big Network 2 could be mistaken for a new Borg ship in the Star Trek™ universe. However, it is actually a 5-bay network file server intended for small business use. Casual users will probably find the LaCie sufficient; power users will be frustrated.
Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion was released yesterday, and within a few hours of its release I had purchased it, downloaded it, and installed it. This is the first time I have ever bought a copy of Mac OS on launch day.
Can you really buy a decent iPhone case for under $4 shipped?
This review has taken a lot longer than planned, but I finally determined that the problem with my Mystic Power Mac G4 was a sporadically bad memory module, as determined by using Rember. Slimmed back from 1.25 GB of RAM to 1.0 GB, it’s been running more reliably, but still not without problems.
This review has been a long time coming. I’ve had some problems with my dual 500 MHz Mystic Power Mac G4, which was going to be the second Mac tested with the 40 GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD Legacy Edition. Working with my 350 MHz Blue & White G3 has taught me a few […]
Last December, I started a series on SSD (Solid State Drive) options for older Macs – see SATA and SSD Options for G3 and G4 Power Macs. At about the same time, Other World Computing (OWC) was preparing to address exactly that issue with a new line of “legacy” SSDs that would be plug-and-play compatible […]
I’ve been using the Macally iKeySlim for several weeks now, and the best thing I can say about it is that I’ve hardly noticed the change.
Do you have Bluetooth devices and an older Mac with USB but without Bluetooth support? Want to add Bluetooth support for a song?
Last week, Gadgets Page’s Michael Moncur posted Alternatives to Apple’s Aluminum Keyboard, a column about his search for a replacement for his iMac’s original keyboard, which had bitten the dust – more specifically, too many food crumbs from meals eaten at his workstation.
Silence is golden, and you haven’t experienced silent computing until you use a laptop computer with no hard drive at all. That’s the promise of flash drives.
In the world of personal computing, you can never have too much speed, too much RAM, too much drive space, or too many USB ports.
A long, long time ago – back in the days when Outpost.com had an affiliate program – I got my first laser printer. The HP LaserJet 2100TN was fast for its day (10 pages per minute), solidly built, and sharp (1200 dpi output). I used it for about 8 years, and it probably would have […]
I don’t own a Mac mini, and I don’t plan on buying one, so why in the world would I be interested in the NewerTech miniStack? For those not familiar with the miniStack, it’s one of many “zero footprint” drives designed to sit under the Mac mini and match its design.
Many Mac users from way back in the legacy era consider the old ADB Apple Extended Keyboard II to be the best keyboard Apple ever made. Others of us might debate that, but the Extended Keyboard II was certainly the biggest, heaviest keyboard Apple ever made, covering a vast expanse of desktop and weighing in […]
The latest thing in laptops is using them as desktops. Devices such as the Lapvantage Dome and forthcoming Oyster Laptop Dock let you move your ‘Book off the desk to position the screen at a more comfortable, more ergonomically correct height.
2001: Melonsoft’s Cabrio is a new and innovative Mac-only MP3 audio player.
It’s a good time to be reading about (and writing about) Macs. After the slow years of 1996 and 1997, we’ve seen a trickle of Mac books turn into a respectable stream. Part of the stream is two books that got their start in the early 90s and have just been updated. Enough has changed in […]
I recommend Rita Lewis’s Mac OS in a Nutshell – with mild reservations. The book is a concise (360 pages), inexpensive ($24.95) guide to Mac OS 8.x, with a primary emphasis on OS 8.5.
The SuperMac C500 and C600 used the PowerPC 603e CPU in a great variety of speeds, ranging from 140 MHz to 280 MHz on a 40 MHz system bus. The best performance, short of a G3 upgrade, comes from using a fast CPU along with the Cache Doubler module.
2000: The innovative, leaning joystick-shaped, Animax Dr. Mouse/Anir Mouse from Norway is a simple idea: a pistol-grip on top of a conventional, albeit flattened, mouse base, with a thumb-button for clicking.
I couldn’t believe it – a US$19 USB extended keyboard! At that price, it was worth a try. From the photo (below), it looked like a match for the Apple Extended Keyboard layout, or at least very close.
I’ve been using a different mouse and keyboard this week. I didn’t have to, but I wanted the full USB experience.
Supporting a over 80 Macs in three locations, consistency is very important. Most of the Macs at work are still running System 7.5.5. Newer ones are generally on Mac OS 8.1 or 8.6. We use the Apple ADB Mouse (in its various incarnations) almost exclusively, along with the Contour UniMouse on Macs without ADB ports.
1999 – Imagine something smaller, lighter, and far less expensive than an iBook. Imagine writing on a keyboard with no Mac attached. That’s one way of looking at the AlphaSmart 2000, the device I’m writing this review on.
First, thank you to Adesso for supplying a keyboard for this review. Since the advent of the Power Mac G4, we have to find a new keyboard we can use at work – the G4 has no ADB port for our old Apple Extended, Apple Adjustable, MicroSpeed KB-105M, or Adesso Nu-Form ADB keyboards.
Appendix II: iCab 1.7 Anomalies Identified by Daniel Morris
New Features in iCab Preview 1.7
1999: Now that I’ve been using the latest v1.7 preview build of the German iCab browser for several days, I’m happy to report that it is definitely more stable on my computer than its predecessor, v1.6a, was – and I can’t overemphasize how much more convenient I’m finding the new Save As Text function, which […]
1999 – I got home last night to find another box from Contour Design waiting for me. (The first one came in February; it contained the Contour USB UniMouse, a very nice three-button mouse for the iMac and the Blue & White Power Mac G3.)
1999: I have never seen a review of an email list before, but I thought it would be helpful to have someone check one out to see what is on the list, and whether or not joining the list would be worth the effort and the crowded email box. I have done such on “The […]
Got an old Color Classic, LC, LC II that’s just too slow to keep using? Using an LC III, LC 520, or LC 550 that just doesn’t pack enough power? If so, Sonnet Technology had a solution in the Presto 040 accelerator, which can push these older Macs to Quadra level performance.