Low End Mac Editorial Archive

March 2003

'Books without backup batteries, screen protectors for new PowerBooks, ultraportable USB hub, universal laptop power adapter, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 01.31. Also a PowerBook repair service, handles for TiBooks and iceBooks, Celestia planetarium software, and bargain 'Books from $400 to $2,250.
The music industry needs to embrace the digital age, reduce CD prices, and avoid copy cat artists, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 01.31. The record companies need to stop blaming file sharing for their woes and offer buyers good music at good prices.
Apple has always been a niche player, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.31. "Despite the myths, Apple has never been a dominant player in the personal computer industry."
More ways to share a USB printer with multiple Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 01.30. Two more ways to share a USB printer with two or more networked Macs.
Working around iDisk public folder limitations in OS 9, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 01.30. Freeware Goliath give OS 9 users read/write access to iDisk public folders, providing parity with OS X and Windows.
Coming back to the Mac after years with Windows, Julian O'Connor, My Turn, 01.29. Early exposure to a Mac Plus paved the way for a Mac addiction later in life.
The January 2003 Power Mac G4 value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.29. More performance. Less money. But where is the true value, with the newest Power Macs or the just replaced models?
ThinkFree Office: Not ready for prime time, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 01.28. The spreadsheet seems fully polished, and the presentation module works fine, but the word processor leaves a lot to be desired when working with Word files.
Apple's market share drops to one, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 01.28. Apple pulls out of consumer market, shifts focus to highest-end consumers, boosts profits.
PhotoWorks: A low end digital image solution for 35mm users, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 01.27. Mail order photofinishing service now offers prints, slides, and digital files from your 35mm color print film.
Fulfilling the promise of Aqua and the Quartz rendering engine, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.27. How Apple could leverage the Quartz technology to make Web browsing, mail reading, and other applications even more flexible.
Pixinator screen tester, 75W power inverter, CoolMac keyboard, 52x CD burner, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 01.24. Also several new laptop cases and bargain 'Books from $69 to $3,248.
The longer Apple sticks with Motorola, the behinder they get, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.24. Motorola's failure to keep up with the industry in boosting CPU speed provides the incentive Apple needs to adopt IBM's PowerPC 970 - not Intel or AMD.
The long term value of low-end Macs, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 01.24. If your Mac is good enough for your needs, what does it matter if someone else considers it low-end?
iDisk public folder more accessible with Windows than OS 9, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 01.23. Mac OS X users and Windows users have read-write access to .mac public folders, but Mac OS 9 user are only allowed to read files.
Switching from a PC to a pair of Macs, Kevin Webb, The Mac Webb, 01.23. Friend buys a Power Mac and an iBook - and uses FireWire Disk Mode to tie them together.
Using a USB printer with older PowerBooks, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 01.23. Two ways to connect a modern USB printer to an older PowerBook that doesn't have any USB ports.
Extreme wireless for older Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.22. Apple's AirPort isn't the only game in town. Other vendors offer PC Cards and PCI cards that give older Macs access to 802.11g "extreme" wireless networking.
Who's taking a beating, Apple or Quark?, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 01.22. Quark users may postpone upgrading to new Mac waiting for an OS X version of XPress - or Quark may lose them completely to InDesign.
California vs. Kazaa, Andrew W. Hill, Aquatic Mac, 01.22. Can a California court have jurisdiction over an Australian software company?
Judge uses Dell model for sentencing, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 01.21. With Dell using prison labor, judge decides to sentence criminals to refurbish old Windows PCs.
The value of a refurbished iBook with Jaguar, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 01.21. How well old iBooks hold their value - and the value of buying a newer factory refurbished iBook with Jaguar and Quartz Extreme.
What happened to the low end at Low End Mac?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.21. "Low End Mac has gone from being a site where all Macs were appreciated to a place where only the most recent, cutting edge systems are recognized and discussed."
New PowerBooks, Safari, Keynote, and other things to wean us from Microsoft, Dirk Pilat, Down But Not Out, 01.20. Microsoft makes too much money to abandon Mac users, but that doesn't stop us from running alternative software on our Macs.
The Lisa legacy, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.20. On the Lisa's 20th anniversary, we should remember how Apple's innovation paved the way for all future computers.
No USB 2 for iBooks, StarMax questions, System 6 on a G3, PCs faster than Macs, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 01.20. Also sources for WordPerfect for Mac, saving Web pages as plain text in OS X, changes with GMX free email, AppleWorks/MS Word compatibility, and more.
Jaguar troubleshooting, Combo drive for older TiBooks, compact USB hub, retractable FireWire cable, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 01.17. Also a new Bluetooth adapter, PowerBook icons, 'Book and iPod cases, and bargain 'Books from $99 to $3,798.
Webmail: The end of email clients?, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 01.17. Is webmail ready to replace traditional email client software? It does have some advantages.
Deliver us from evil: Thoughts on computer self defense, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.16. "Should you have the right to take active steps to stop a computerized attack on your computer system?"
More on Apple Education, disk images, cloning systems for the classroom, a low-cost education Mac, and OS X Server, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 01.16. Follow up on Apple education initiatives, working with CD-ROM disk images, cloning Macs with FireWire Disk Mode, the need for a low-cost education Mac, and issues with Mac OS X Server.
Gimp-Print to the rescue: Letting Macs with Jaguar print on Windows networks, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows, 01.15. Gimp-Print adds support for a plethora of printers not otherwise supported by Mac OS X.
Confessions of a Mac collecting addict, Dustin Rinebold, My Turn, 01.15. "Hello, my name is Dustin, and I have an addiction to old Macs."
Don't buy the new 'Books quite yet, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.14. Because the new aluminum PowerBooks won't boot the classic Mac OS, you may not be able to run your disk utilities should a problem occur.
The new PowerBooks, Safari, and other Apple innovations, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 01.14. A killer portable presentation 'Book, a use-it-anywhere PowerBook G4, a very polished browser, a PowerPoint killer, and wireless connectivity.
Choose the Right Marker When Writing on Burned Discs, Mike Webb, Mac Lab Report, 01.14. Using Sharpies and other solvent-based markers to write on your burned CDs puts your data at risk.
Top 10 Internet annoyances, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 01.14. Blogs, pop-somewhere ads, chat room spelling, Microsoft innovation, buzzwords, causes, and other annoying silliness on the Web and elsewhere.
Ten years, two PowerBook Duos, Spencer Garrett, My First Mac, 01.13. The portability, compact size, and the Mac OS made Apple's subcompact Duos perfect computers.
Review: Keyspan 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 01.13. How and why you might want to add USB 2.0 support to your G3 or G4 PowerBook or Power Mac.
I switched (from OS 9 to OS X), Dan Knight, 10 Forward, 01.13. A year with OS X, a week with Jaguar, and I've finally made the switch from the classic Mac OS to OS X.
Apple price cuts, importance of OS 9 drivers, variable speed 800 MHz Pismo upgrade, Nvidia Mobile GPUs, and more, Charles W. Moore, The 'Book Review, 01.10. Also a steel TiBook stand, IrDA for USB Macs, PowerSleevz 'Book protectors, OS X wares for 'Books, bargain 'Books from $98 to $2,549, and more.
The new PowerBooks, iLife, and pros and cons of Safari, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 01.10. Initial impressions of the 12" and 17" PowerBooks, the $49 iLife bundle, and the current state of Safari.
AirPort Extreme should drive full line overhaul at Apple, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.09. AirPort Extreme is significant enough that Apple needs to overhaul its entire product line to support it.
Safari shows off the Apple difference, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 01.09. Safari and the other iApps demonstrate that Apple's specialty is clean and simple software.
Impressions of Safari beta, Dan Knight, 10 Forward, 01.09. A day with Safari finds a lot to like about Apple's beta Web browser.
Big 'Book, little 'Book, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.08. Thinking through the value of the new 17" and 12" PowerBook G4 models.
Risk and safety at Macworld, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 01.08. Apple seems to have hit just the right balance between risk and safety with their new releases.
Things I really like about Jaguar, Dan Knight, 10 Forward, 01.08. Independent windows, the dock, PDF screen capture, faster finds, and better browsing are positive aspects of Mac OS X.
Changes in Jaguar compared to 10.1.5, Dan Knight, 10 Forward, 01.07. Some of the ways Jaguar is different from Mac OS X 10.1.x.
Move2Mac, divergent reviews, and making your own choices, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 01.07. Reviewers disagree, but that diversity provides you with more information so you can make a better decision.
Still yet even more new bumper snickers, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 01.07. Nine more bumper snickers guaranteed to offend somebody somewhere somehow.
Jaguar on a 400 MHz PowerBook G4, Dan Knight, 10 Forward, 01.06. I upgraded to Jaguar last Friday. Will it be good enough to make OS X my primary operating system?
WordPerfect advice, AirPort via USB, browser feedback, the TextEdit service in OS X, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 01.06. Also more on PC cards, CD-RW in iBooks and Pismos, recycling old computers, and Bible software for the Mac.
iApps go from free to fee?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.06. Rumors are that Apple will charge for upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. Does it make sense?
QuickLink Mobile connects 'Books and cell phones, Supergo laptop stand, $10 2.5" USB hard drive enclosure, and more, Charles W. Moore, The 'Book Review, 01.03. Also the slim iceKey keyboard, FireWire Dino hub, LapBottom, WristLinx Communicator, and bargain 'Books from $199.99 to $1,949.
The Best Reason for Mac OS X on Intel, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.03. What better way to demonstrate that Apple has the best hardware than to release an optimized version of Mac OS X for Intel?
Predictions for the Macworld Expo, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 01.03. Ten unexpected announcements Steve Jobs just might make during next Tuesday's keynote address - maybe.
Why we need anti-spam legislation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.02. "Unlike rain, sending spam is a human behavior which can and should be covered by law."
How to make a bootable emergency CD, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 01.02. How to create your own custom bootable CD for diagnostics, repair, and software restoration.
Thinking through Macworld Expo rumors and speculation, Dan Knight and Anne Onymus, RumorLog, 01.02. Anne and Dan weigh in on the rumors and speculation about the upcoming San Francisco Macworld Expo.