Low End Mac Editorial Archive

December 2004

iBook repair extension, Pismo CPU upgrade tutorial, buying a used laptop, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 12.23. Also 24-hour worldwide 'Book repair, high capacity iBook and iPod batteries, Iomega's triple-interface drives, bargain 'Books from $430 to $2,515, and more.
Why a Flash iPod makes sense, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 12.23. There are plenty of buyers who don't want to spend $249, don't need 4 GB of storage, or don't want a fragile hard drive in their digital music player.
Florida community votes to go metric, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 12.23. "...the council eventually decided to restrict all city purchases to materiel which is marked primarily in the metric form of measurement."
The best browsers for OS X, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.23. Safari, Firefox, Camino, OmniWeb, Opera, iCab, Shiira, and Internet Explorer. Is there a single best browser for the Mac?
Why iTunes and the iPod will continue to dominate the market, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.22. "Put simply, Apple can't repeat the mistakes of the past because the iPod situation is nothing like the Mac situation."
iPod sport, the SUV of digital music players, Anne Onymus, Rumor Mill, 12.22. "...Apple will sell the iPod sport to people who aren't into sports, just like the auto industry sells SUVs to people who never take them off road."
Life intrudes, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.22. Sometimes life intrudes, shattering our safety, forcing us to face our worst fears.
Scribus: Free DTP on the Mac, Jason Walsh, The Low End Designer, 12.21. "The question is, all other things being equal, is Scribus up to the job of professional DTP? The answer is yes, with a few caveats."
eMac a worst buy? I don't think so, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.21. "PC Magazine's Jim Louderback calls the eMac one of the ten worst products of the year. You know, the computer Mac site after site calls Apple's best computing value ever."
You might be a Mac fanatic if, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 12.20. Dozens of indicators that you just might be a Mac fanatic.
Adium, a great free multiservice chat client for OS X, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 12.20. Connect to AOL, MSN, and Yahoo messaging services with a single client program.
Replacement 'Book batteries, Classic install tip, Mac SE on Net with DSL, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 12.20. Also PowerBook 145 troubles, Gmail and Outlook Express, a recalcitrant B&W G3, and backing up to multiple CDs.
Canada, copyright, and levies: Buy an iPod now, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.17. This week a Candian Justice removed the copyright levy from digital music players. Thoughts on copyright, levies, and digital rights management.
Spotty iBook reliability, you might be a Mac user if, faster and dual-layer SuperDrives, and more, Charles Moore, The 'Book Review, 12.17. Also a homemade iTablet, disabling and spanning the iBook display, laptops and infertility, bargain 'Books from $209 to $2,515, and more.
Show me the savings: A request for the Sarasota school board, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 12.17. "...I have yet to see a copy of any firm prediction from anyone, anywhere, that actually details the savings such a single platform switch actually engenders."
Snail Mail prints envelopes from your Address Book, Dan Knight, X-Wares, 12.16. This simple freeware application does one thing and does it well - print envelopes using information on the Address Book.
Analogies to help pundits comprehend the difference between Macs and Windows, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 12.16. "...we're about to do our civic duty in providing analogies to help you understand the difference between the Mac OS and Windows."
On beyond iSync, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.15. Apple's iSync is a great beginning, but someone needs to extend the capabilities beyond a few Apple programs and the limitations of iDisk.
PhoneValet turns your Mac into a powerful voice mail system, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Reviews, 12.14. If you need more than a simple answering machine offers, PhoneValet may be the product you've been looking for.
iBlog or Blogger, which is better?, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 12.14. Each program has its pros and cons, but one is a lot less flaky than the other.
How to dream up your own Apple rumor, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side, 12.13. "The best time to make up a Mac rumor is when you've been up all night surfing the Web looking at tech sites."
Mac OS 9 compatibility, upgrades, hacks, and resources update, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 12.13. Which Macs can boot into Mac OS 9, where to buy a copy, and how to obtain and install the various OS 9 updates.
Preparing for Scribus: Working with X11 and FinkCommander, Jason Walsh, The Low End Designer, 12.10. Two free tools that help get *nix software installed and running under OS X.
iBook repair program winds down, AlBook keyboard problems, iBook handles, end of Combo drives, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 12.10. Also combo USB/FireWire hub and paper tray, 'Books praised and reviewed, Pod Shield, bargain 'Books from $330 to $1,899, and more.
Best Web browsers, word processors, and MP3 players for the Classic Mac OS, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 12.10. These may not be the latest and greatest programs, but they're definitely good enough.
Apple's $549 eMac, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.08. Refurbished eMacs, from $549 to $799, really do compete against the low-end PCs of the Windows world.
Internet sharing and printer sharing for your Macs, Evan Kleiman, Mac Happens, 12.08. Sharing your Internet connection and USB printer is easy, with wires or without.
Stand for the Mac against mindless conformity, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 12.07. It's time to take a stands against those who preach mindless conformity to the dominant Wintel standard and speak up for platform diversity.
Welcome back MacMall, and hello to Apple and CompUSA, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.07. Low End Mac is back in MacMall's affiliate program - and adds Apple and CompUSA as well.
Mac Bible software, POP3 Gmail access, Eudora 5.2 and SSL, OS 9.1 on NuBus Macs, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 12.06. Also dwlindling support for older Macs, archiving Jaz to CD, ethernet on a Mac SE, WMA to MP3 conversion, and Apple II software.
Apple and IBM, a marriage made in heaven or hell?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.06. IBM selling its PC division and teaming up with Apple - does it make any kind of sense at all?
No sympathy for pundit bashing Macs in schools, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 12.03. Perhaps Rich Brooks can explain how bannning Macs will solve all the problems caused by Windows malware on the school's network.
Downgrade to upgrade, 'Book fragility, combo drive for Lombard and Pismo, smallest laptop stand, and more, Charles W Moore, The 'Book Review, 12.03. Also Temperature Monitor 2.3, presentation software for the iPod photo, an LCD screen breakthrough, bargain 'Books from $209 to $1,699, and more.
Upgrading a Power Mac G3 from Mac OS 9 to Panther, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 12.03. Is this 1999 Power Mac really up to the task of running OS X or it it too slow to be useful?
Viruses, adware, spyware, and worse: The best reasons to use a Mac, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 12.03. By letting you work on your computer instead of fighting malware, Macs let you be more productive and keep support costs way down.
ThinkFree Office: Slow, unpolished, yet useful, Jason Walsh, The Low End Designer, 12.01. Despite the name, this isn't free software, and it really calls for a higher end Mac, but it does the job.
How and why I use an eMac, iBook, and Power Mac G3, Evan Kleiman, Mac Happens, 12.01. Sometimes you need power, other times portability, so using both a desktop Mac and a 'Book makes a lot of sense.
MacLink Plus 15: Still capable after all these years, but..., Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows, 12.01. MacLink Plus still does a great job of translating files from one format to another, but how many Mac users still need it?