Low End Mac Editorial Archive

September 2002

Spam and freemail, WallStreets and OS X, MyRealBox and Yahoo! Groups, and pro-MS bias, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.30. Thoughts on spam and free email accounts, signing up with GMX, webmail vs. POP3 email, running OS X on a WallStreet, and a Mac-hostile website.
The questionable value of .mac, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.30. Looking for the true value of Apple's .mac service - it isn't your mailbox or homepage space.
Old Power Mac reaches 800 MHz, Maxwell M Cabral, My Turn, 09.30. Sonnet's affordable G4 upgrade boosts an old Power Mac 7300 to a whopping 800 MHz.
Mac OS X rapidly catching on with *nix geeks, Dirk Pilat, Down But Not Out, 09.27. Linux lovers and Unix users are discovering how easy, flexible, and powerful Mac OS X really is.
Computer cost and quality, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 09.27. They don't build them like they used to. Today's low-end computers aren't built to last as long as older or more costly models.
Epic Records steals Lite Side idea, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 09.27. "Epic records has implemented a brute-force copy protection scheme: They're gluing the players shut!"
Oyster laptop dock, hard drive deals,TiBook hinges, iPod accessories, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 09.27. Also Motorola and IBM team up on single-chip GPS and this week's bargain 'Books.
Apple losing ground in education, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 09.26. Why Apple is losing the education market - and how teachers can effectively advocate the Mac.
More "Dueling Civilizations" letters, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.26. More reader feedback and reflections on religion, Islam, Christianity, and Western freedoms.
Komando's bias skews iMac evaluation, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 09.25. "...I often find that the criticisms towards the Mac are the result of poor testing, lack of comprehensive fact checking, and a less than thorough research."
Groveling: Jaguar is not fat, slow, and deeply flawed, Dirk Pilat, Down But Not Out, 09.25. A clean install of Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) solves problems caused by earlier install over 10.1.5.
10 reasons to hate the Gateway Profile commercial, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 09.24. "Commercial doesn't show time delay between ordering and getting computer from Gateway Country Store."
Jaguar joyride, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 09.24. "I have just taken Mac OS X 10.2 (a.k.a. 'Jaguar') for a spin, and I am impressed. There's a lot of energy in this cat."
Internet article leads to Mac addiction, Alan O'Neil, My First Mac, 09.24. "I had never really given Macs much thought as usable computers, and even bashed them sometimes."
Rehabilitating an old school Quadra, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 09.23. Instead of letting schools pay someone to haul away their old Macs for recycling, here are steps users can take to rehabilitate vintage Macs.
Free and cheap .mac alternatives, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.23. Eight free and three low cost alternatives for those about to lose their mac.com email address.
TiBook crashpad, 40 GB drive deal, G3 for 2400, Hubzilla, lighted G4 keyboard, and more, Charles Moore, The 'Book Review, 09.20. Also FireWire CardBus card, laptop surge protection, FireXpress drives, new Tom Bihn cases, and bargain 'Books.
Taking back the schools, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 09.20. To hold on to Mac schools and win over PC ones, Apple needs to convince school systems that Macs are the better value.
Wireless Internet on a low-end PowerBook, Jim Williams, My Turn, 09.20. Cellular modems can let you use most PowerBooks with PCMCIA and PC Card slots anywhere your cell phone works.
A crop of newbies, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 09.19. The most frequently asked Mac questions in one teacher's classroom.
Integrating vintage Macs into a home studio, Grady Truchelut, My Turn, 09.18. The varied tasks Macs of different vintages can perform in a home multimedia studio.
Serving on Mac OS X, Jonathan Ploudre, Back & Forth, 09.17. The benefits of serving Web pages on OS X and first steps in setting up your Mac.
Interview with designer of Gateway Profile 4, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 09.17. The Lite Side interviews Blitz Schmelnick, the man behind the Gateway Profile 4 and the anti-iMac ads.
The sad state of the tech sector, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 09.17. The tech slump gives Apple a perfect opportunity to demonstrate their innovative products to the IT community.
Apple's changing colors, Max Morgenthaler, My Turn, 09.16. The company that ignited the 'colorful technology' trend has gone to white.
The "Dueling Civilizations" letters, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.16. Reader feedback and further reflections on the inherent incompatibility of traditional Islam and Western freedoms.
Solving startup problems on your Mac, Evan Kleiman, Mac Daniel, 09.16. "My Mac has a flashing question mark on start up. What do I do?"
I want to switch but...., Dan Knight, 10 Forward, 09.16. "Apple needs to help Mac users - especially those millions who never visit a Mac website - understand why OS X is for them."
CardBus upgrades, 3400 hotrodding, TiBook paint protection, sleep of death, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 09.13. Also the Datakeeper case, KeySpan's USB serial adapter, OS X on Mac-on-Linux, and bargain 'Books.
Everything old is new again, Patrick McCloskey, My Turn, 09.13. vMac lets you create a virtual Mac that runs System 6 or 7 on your current Mac OS 9 or X computer.
The never-ending upgrade cycle, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 09.13. Hardware, operating systems, and software seem to move in a vicious, upward spiraling cycle with no end in sight.
Time for Apple to do the right thing, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 09.12. "...Apple's in no position to be treating its faithful customers the way they have in the recent past."
Go ahead, stick with Mac OS 9, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.12. "Stick with your low-end Macs and low-end operating systems. They will continue to serve you well."
Switching off Mac OS 9, Andrew W. Hill, Aquatic Mac, 09.12. No more booting into OS 9 with 2003 Macs - is it a bad thing?
Leaving the past behind, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 09.12. "OS 9 will not be a boot option in 2003 Macs. While this is a reason to rejoice, when you move forward, you always leave something behind."
PowerBook 1400 woes, Sleep of Death, older PowerBook value, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.12. Some drawbacks of the PB 1400, more feedback on the Sleep of Death, OS X video patch and WallStreet, Electrovaya batteries, and more.
United We Stand, Dan Knight, 09.11. It's not one world, but the events of 9-11 have strengthened our identity as Americans.
Dueling Civilizations: Islam and the West, Charles W Moore, 09.11. "A failure of Western reality perception is the notion that Islam can be reasoned with."
Apple discloses entire OS upgrade code-name lineup, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 09.10. On beyond Jag-wire and Puma, Apple has a whole series of code names prepared for future OS X releases.
Microsoft: Just Say No, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 09.10. Alternatives to Microsoft Office XP abound, and giving PC users choices helps Apple in the long run.
Building a fast, reliable network economically, David L. Mitchell, My Turn, 09.09. Setting up eight user systems, a server, a fast network, and software for under $4,000 using older Power Macs.
Upgrading a Power Mac, using 2 mice at once, older Macs for college, and hacking Apple's CD driver, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.09. Upgrades give 7200/200 new lease on life, possible solution to "2 mice at once" problem, value of abandoned Power Macs, and making Apple's CD driver work with third-party drives.
Screen repair, iBook hard drive upgrades, MPEG-4 converter, bargain 'Books, and more, Charles Moore, The 'Book Review, 09.06. Also Apple's new "back to school" iBook discount, e-pac laptop case, Magma two-slot expansion chassis for PowerBooks, and Nisus email list.
The 10 greatest computer annoyances, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 09.06. Application and system crashes, misplaced menu items, programs and peripherals incompatible with your new OS, and more.
Norton Utilities warning, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.06. Norton Utilities has served me well for a decade, but booting from the 7.0 CD created no end of problems.
Graphical Analysis 3 in the classroom, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 09.05. "When it comes down to it, GA3 is simply the best tool for the job in a science or math setting."
Sharing your Internet connection, Evan Kleiman, Mac Daniel, 09.05. An introduction to sharing your broadband cable or DSL connection among two or more Macs.
The evolving low end, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.05. Unless it breaks, your hardware will always do exactly what it did when you bought it - and it may do more thanks to upgrades.
Low-end PowerBooks for college, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. A faithful 5300 and newer 1400 head for college and a dorm Internet hookup.
Contains Microsoft: Use at Your Own Risk, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 09.03. "How long will the computer world continue to blindly follow the Microsoft monopoly into continued mediocrity?"
Universal All Purpose Mac Editorial Generator, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 09.03. Now you can write boring repetitive editorials just like the professionals!
Return to Pismo, Kevin Webb, The Mac Webb, 09.03. Sharing an iBook didn't work out, so it was time to find a nice used PowerBook G3 (Pismo).