September 2008
- What is a
low-end Mac?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 09.30. By definition, a
low-end Mac is enough Mac to do what you need to do without slowing you
down significantly.
- Apple innovation
includes exploiting existing technologies others ignore, Alan
Zisman, Zis Mac, 09.30. Among other things, Apple's 'think different'
innovation means taking advantage of technologies that the PC industry
has ignored.
- Dell's quad core
workstation notebook shows where Apple's 17" MacBook Pro falls
short, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 09.30. Inch thin notebooks have
their place, but some users need more power and expansion options that
current MacBooks simply cannot accommodate.
- Taking
apart a tray-loading iMac, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing,
09.29. There are a few tricks to getting into a tray tray-loading iMac,
whether it's to upgrade the computer or strip it for parts.
- 9 browsers
for G3 and older G4 Macs compared, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum,
09.26. The latest versions of Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon,
Firefox, Demeter, Sunrise, and Camino that run on Mac OS X 10.4
"Tiger".
- Barriers to Mac adoption
collapsing, run Classic Mac OS on Windows and Leopard, and more,
Mac News Review, 09.26. Also RIM promises new tools for Mac users,
Chrome browser likely on Mac before Linux, take control of buying a
Mac, iLovePhotos public beta, and more.
- $200 64 GB SSD for your 'Book,
Apple steering customers away from MacBook Pro, and more, The 'Book
Review, 09.26. Also how a $550 Windows notebook can cost over $1,200,
netbooks may cut into MacBook sales, widescreens getting wider, bargain
'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- iPhone 3G power adapter recall,
first look at Android phone, Newton better than iPhone, and more,
iNews Review, 09.26. Also confessions of an iPhone convert, slotMusic
to replace CDs?, iPhone Configuration Utility, iPDA software updated,
Sony's new iPod compatible boom box, and several new apps and
cases.
- What's so great
about a Mac? Plenty!, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings,
09.25. Alex Gallegos doesn't understand why anyone would choose a
virus-free, just-works Mac instead of the far geekier Windows.
- Perfectly
personalized internet radio with Pandora and the Music Genome
Project, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.25. Using a database that
categorizes music by its genes, Pandora Radio can serve up a great
selection of music based on your favorite artist or song.
- iPhone developers have
no reason to complain, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.25. Apple
provides developers with a software development kit, 70% of software
income, and only asks that they not undermine Apple.
- Mac or Windows: Does
it even matter any more?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 09.25. Today
computing is all about applications and the Internet. Does it really
matter whether you're using the Mac OS, Windows, or Linux?
- MacBook Air makes a
convert, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 09.24. Apple's thin, light MacBook
Air makes a great field computer for someone who already has a desktop
system up and running.
- Taking
apart a PowerBook G3 (Lombard or Pismo) battery, John Hatchett,
Recycled Computing, 09.24. Step by step instructions for opening up a
Lombard/Pismo battery to get to the lithium-ion cells inside.
- Car seats for computing, ThinkPads
vs. Mac 'books, power outages, and more, Charles W Moore,
Miscellaneous Ramblings, 20.09.24. Also Time Machine and hard drive
failure, more on early portable PCs, UPS for the Mac mini, IMAP and
dialup, and more.
- Mac nano? Brick? How
small could Apple make a Mac?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.23. The
iPhone and iPod touch show how small Apple can make a computer. What if
Apple wanted to build a very, very small Macintosh?
- SimpleTech
SimpleDrive: Fast and stylish, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous
Ramblings, 09.23. With attractive design by Pininfarina, an illuminated
capacity meter, and plenty of 7200 rpm storage space, SimpleDrive is a
great backup drive.
- Tiger vs. Leopard:
Which is best for you?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 09.22. Two great
versions of Mac OS X, but unless your Mac is well above the minimum
spec for Leopard and has lots of RAM, stick with Tiger.
- Converting a car's
front seat for use around the house, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value,
09.22. It started with the passenger seat from a 1987 Chrysler New
Yorker and became the most comfortable seat in the house.
- With 10% of the US
notebook market, where will Apple go next?, Dan Knight, Mac
Musings, 09.19. Apple increased its share of the North American
notebook market by 60% over the past year and moved to fourth place.
What can it do for an encore?
- Mac notebook share up 60% in US,
Apple refurbs a great deal, RIP PowerBook G4, and more, The 'Book
Review, 09.19. Also speculation on next generation MacBooks, refreshing
a WallStreet, running a PowerBook 5300 from flash memory, 3G modem sale
booming, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Mac OS X 10.5.5 update, Mac
sales up 30%, Ubuntu aiming for Mac OS, and more, Mac News Review,
09.19. Also USB dongle allows OS X on PCs, 1.5" digital keychain,
CrossOver Chromium brings Google Chrome to OS X, free Alkitab Bible
software, and more.
- 5 must have iPhone freebies,
inside 2G touch and 4G nano, Yahoo oneConnect preview, and more,
iNews Review, 09.19. Also iPhone 2.1 software released, AT&T to tie
iPhone to its own television service, how to save images from Safari, 2
new speaker docks from Logitech, and lots of new apps and cases.
- Apple trumps
Microsoft in making the 64-bit transition transparent to users,
Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.18. To use more than 4 GB of RAM under
Windows, you need a 64-bit PC and the 64-bit version of Windows. On the
Mac, OS X 10.4 and later already support it.
- Reconfiguring and
repurposing a Power Mac G4, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing,
09.18. These 1999 'Sawtooth' Power Macs would be perfect for the
science lab with more RAM, bigger hard drives, and a newer version of
Mac OS X.
- Portable Mac as primary vs.
secondary computer, looking at ThinkPad design, and more, Charles
Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.17. Also learning from the Mac
Portable, upgrading a PowerBook 5300, another free app to assure
maintenance routines are run, and more.
- Apple isn't an 'evil
empire' like Microsoft, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.16. The issue
isn't whether you dominate a market, but whether you abuse that
position to unfairly stifle competition.
- Can smart
phones replace laptops?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 09.16. Smart
phones and mini notebooks are all the rage, but can even the iPhone
replace your notebook computer?
- Pure genius: Hands
on with iTunes 8's Genius playlist, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync,
09.16. "...the Genius playlist it created listed many other songs that
I would have also enjoyed, including many I hadn't heard before."
- Connect
any drive to USB with the $25 XLR8 AnyDrive USB 2.0 drive adapter,
Charles Moore, 'Book Value, 09.16. This handy device lets you connect a
2.5" or 3.5" IDE or SATA drive to any Mac with USB support. Windows
drivers are also included.
- 'I invented the
iPod', Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.15. Before CDs came to market,
Kane Kramer conceived of a portable personal digital music system that
anticipated the iPod and iTunes Store in many ways.
- Does constant
Time Machine activity compromise disk longevity?, Charles W Moore,
Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.15. Time Machine is a marquee feature of
Mac OS X 10.5, but isn't all of that disk activity likely to wear our
your drive prematurely?
- FileMaker version history,
Mike Weber, Mac Software Guide, 09.15. A historical overview of
FileMaker for the Mac.
- BYO $550 Mac netbook, new
MacBooks rumored for October, notebook battery famine, and more,
The 'Book Review, 09.12. Also MacBook Air owners have mixed results
with latest update, Intel's fast and costly solid state drives, laptop
docking station, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- iMac price cuts and new Mac mini
expected, Opera 9.6 beta released, DVD Drive-in, and more, Mac News
Review, 09.12. Also Google working on Chrome browser for Macs, printing
wirelessly from you PC on a Mac network, iLovePhotos includes facial
recognition, and more.
- Apple intros 2G iPod touch, high
demand for 1G iPhone, and lots of new apps and cases, iNews Review,
09.12. New iPod touch adds shake feature and Bluetooth, best mobile
phones for Mac users, Electiono '08 app, and lots of new cases and
protective films for iPhones and iPod touch.
- iPod nano overhauled and
reviewed, in-ear Apple headphones with mic, last iPod classic, and
more, iNews Review, 09.12. 4G iPod nano comes in a spectrum of
colors, Apple ads microphone to new earbuds, Proporta intros a range of
cases for the iPod nano, and the end of the road for the iPod
classic.
- In praise of rugged Mac notebooks
of the past, POP3 vs. IMAP email, and buying glasses online,
Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.11. G3 PowerBooks were the
high water mark for ruggedness, expandability, and reliability. Also
the benefits of POP3 email for dialup users, and another article
praising online eyewear.
- Know your Mac's
upgrade options, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 09.10. Any
Mac can be upgraded, but it's a question of what can be upgraded - RAM,
hard drive, video, CPU - and how far it can be upgraded.
- The 2008 iPod
value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.10. Apple has
redesigned the iPod nano, slimmed down the iPod touch, simplified the
iPod classic line, and introduced new colors for the iPod shuffle.
- Microsoft pays
Jerry Seinfeld $10 million to sell shoes to Bill Gates, Frank Fox,
Stop the Noiz, 09.10. Some pundits berate the Microsoft ad as
pointless, but it's paving the way for ads yet to come.
- Routine maintenance tasks still
run inconsistently in Leopard, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous
Ramblings, 09.10. Apple has been trying to get routine maintenance
scripts to run consistently since the release of Mac OS X 10.4, but
users are still reporting problems under 10.5.4.
- There's still a
place for G3 Macs in the Age of Leopard, John Hatchett, Recycled
Computing, 09.09. Whether it's a sage iMac or a Pismo PowerBook, G3
Macs can be very productive with Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger'.
- Bring back the
Macintosh Portable, Charles W Moore, 'Book Value, 09.09. Not to fault
today's MacBooks, but there's something to be said for a no compromise,
very expandable, portable Macintosh as well.
- Antique Macs are still
useful computers, Charles W Moore, From the MacCave, 09.09. Charles
Moore's first online article looks at the utility of compact Macs - and
foreshadows his longterm affection for PowerBooks.
- Joomla and WordPress highly
recommended content management systems, Dan Knight, Low End Mac
Mailbag, 09.09. Low End Mac share their suggestions for a powerful,
friendly, WYSIWYG content management system.
- Are G3 Macs still
viable work machines?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 09.08. For basic
tasks - writing, email, and using the Web - a G3 Mac with Mac OS X 10.4
and sufficient memory provides plenty of power.
- SATA, SATA II, SATA 600,
and Product Confusion Fatigue, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.08. In
addition to the original SATA specification and the current 3 Gb/s
specification, SATA revision 3.0 is just around the corner.
- Seashore: A free, basic
image editor for Mac OS X, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings,
09.08. Seashore is an open source image editing program for Mac OS X
that uses parts of the GIMP but also integrates will with the Mac
OS.
- Anticipation: New
iPods now, new Macs later, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.05. The
season of new iPods is at hand, but new Macs may wait until 2009.
- Listen to just the
music with the V-Moda Vibe earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to
Macintosh, 09.05. Well built, the noise reducing earbuds will let you
hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background
noise.
- Macs gain ground in August,
consumers most likely to buy Macs, LaCie USB speakers, and more,
Mac News Review, 09.05. Also migrating Time Machine to a new drive
and two new keyboards from Logitech.
- Buy a MacBook now or wait?,
MacBook touch patents, Samsung X360 takes on MBA, and more, The
'Book Review, 09.05. Also 20 years of portable Macs, data backup and
preservation, universal U-Charge battery charger for Mac 'Books,
bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Source of iPhone 3G problems,
Army uses iPods as field translators, gains with business, and
more, iNews Review, 09.05. Also UK bans iPhone ad as 'misleading',
iPhone password easy to bypass, GM to offer radios with USB in 2009
models, weather tracking software, and more.
- Tomorrow's solid
state drives and notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash
drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building
better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
- Overclocking a Mac
mini got me hooked on souping up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac,
09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on
the cheap.
- Only Leopard runs routine
maintenance tasks after startup or waking from sleep, Charles
Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine
system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or
waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this.
- Apple will not abandon optical
drives, the Mac drought, purposeful Mac acquisition, and more, Dan
Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded
Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a
Quadra 700.
- Psystar strikes
back, countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar
is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac
OS.
- 11 Mac
browsers compared, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 09.03. The latest
versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon,
Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in
Leopard.
- Another free POP3 provider,
recharging a dead PRAM battery, current Kanga value, and more,
Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available
in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM
battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
- Save internet radio, USB and hard
drives, hardware manufacturers vs. Linux, and more, Dan Knight, Low
End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer
versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6,
unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more.
- Upgrade
options for 15" and 17" aluminum PowerBooks, Charles W Moore, 'Book
Value, 09.02. Memory, hard drive, optical drive, and flash card readers
for 15-inch and 17-inch aluminum G4 PowerBooks.
Editorial Archives
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2000 Sept.-Dec., May-Aug., Jan.-March
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1997 �
