What Happened to the Mac?
From
Andrew Main
engadget.com's Peter Rojas asks: "So how does Apple avoid what
happened to the Mac?"
Haven't read the article - don't have time - but this one
sentence makes it plain where this typical computer writer is
coming from, i.e. that "what happened to the Mac" is some kind of
fate worse that death that must be avoided if at all possible.
What happened to the Mac? Yes, the Mac didn't become the
worldwide 95%+ standard computing platform, and I for one am
thankful. Apple is arrogant enough now and probably would be very
like Micro$oft if it occupied Micro$oft's "niche." However, though
the herd animals may be mystified, the Mac didn't cease to exist
either.
What happened to the Mac is pretty much what happens to all
truly excellent products in a world where mediocrity (or less) is
good enough for most. What, after all, "happened to" Rolls Royce?
To BMW? These companies are not considered failures (certainly not
by themselves or their stockholders - or their customers) because
they sell only a tiny fraction of the numbers sold by Ford, GM, and
other purveyors of barely-good-enough, quickly-obsolescent,
forgettable junk.
As for the iPod, even if - as seems likely, assuming Apple
continues its policy of keeping close control over its products
instead of licensing them so the world can mess them over - its
"market share" declines down to 20%, 10%, or less, like the Mac it
will continue to serve the market of those who appreciate quality.
We may be a minority, but we will always be here. The bulge at the
middle of the bell curve may be all the myopic can see, but it's
not all there is, and so long as there is anything approximating a
free market, there will always be a market for excellence.
Andrew Main
- Hi Andrew,
I agree with your analysis.
Charles
Sick WallStreet
From Adrian Carter
Hi Charles,
I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I have
encountered on a WallStreet 266
MHz PowerBook.
Basically a while ago the machine sheared it's screen hinges and
as a result tore the left hand ribbon cable from the logic board to
the screen itself. I replaced the hinges and the ribbon cable, but
that didn't solve the problem. The 'Book powered up, but there was
no display. I wondered if perhaps the cable getting broken had
damaged the screen, so I replaced it with a known working
WallStreet screen I had in stock. Again the machine powered up but
the display didn't work.
One thing worth mentioning with this machine is it is running
OS X 10.3.8 courtesy of XPostFacto,
when I connect it to an external monitor the external display
functions when booted into OS 9 but not when booted into
OS X.
Is there anything you could suggest that I might want to try to
resolve this issue?
Thanks
- Hi Adrian,
Since the external video works, at least in OS 9, it seems
that your video circuitry is still functional.
I'm wondering if your replacement ribbon cable might be
defective.
Were I troubleshooting this myself, I would concentrate first in
getting things working in OS 9, and then tackling
OS X.
It's a tough problem to diagnose hands-off (or probably on in this
case).
Hope this helps a little.
Charles
Re: Sick WallStreet
Hi Charles,
Thanks for the reply. The cable itself looks fine and appeared
to be new old stock when I got it. Unfortunately these days
WallStreet parts are pretty expensive and very thin on the ground
(non-existent in the UK), so I have no other cable to try. As I
think I mentioned before, I have a gut feeling the logic board
might have took damage when the original cable sheared (it was
switched on at the time). I've had partial logic board failures on
other Macs in the past, and I don't think this is beyond the realms
of possibility.
Another thing I'm going to try is another hard drive in the
machine, essentially one with a plain vanilla OS 9
installation, just to put my mind at rest that XPostFacto isn't
involved.
In the meantime I intend to put the Mac into cryogenic
suspension and simply wait around for WallStreet bits and pieces to
come available at decent prices, I could be waiting for a long time
but I like this machine too much too even think about stripping it
for bits, it was my first proper laptop and the amount of times it
has bailed me out of tricky situations means I'll keep it if only
to show my grandkids the machine that got me through my adult
education degree :)
Thanks again & all the best
Adrian Carter
- Hi Adrian,
Yes, I'm no expert on these matters, but it seems entirely
plausible that there could be circuit damage that could affect the
output to the LCD while the external VGA output still worked.
Charles
When Is a Mac Not a Mac?
From Peter da Silva
If it doesn't run Mac OS it's not a Mac.
- Hi Peter,
But is a Macintosh brand computer not still a Macintosh when it's
running Linux? If not, what would it be?
Charles
ColorIt
From: Chris Smolyk
Charles...
I was rereading the emails that come up on my name in Google,
and saw your mention
of ColorIt.
Is that still available somewhere?
chris s
- Hi Chris,
It sure is.
Color It! 4.0.x works great in System 7.x through OS X Classic
Mode and is faster than any native OS X graphics application
that I'm aware of, but it does require that you keep Classic Mode
up and running in X.
Color It! 4.5, a Carbon application that supports both OS 9
and OS X natively, is almost ready for prime time. It is
definitely no longer vaporware. I have a beta copy on my hard drive
that I've been using for several months.
The full price for new users of Color It! 4.0 is $49.95 (Electronic
Delivery - CD $5 extra for shipping).
To receive an email notification when the OS X version of
Color It! will be available, click here <http://www.microfrontier.com/general/whats_new/form.html>
Charles
Note Pad Replacements
From Richard Lindsey
Just read your review of Jotz 1.3, in
which you mentioned a couple of other note pad programs. I thought
I'd mention
MoosePad, found at WunderMoosen.com. It may not have all
the features of Jotz, but then again it may - I use it strictly as
a note pad, which is probably the biggest thing I miss from the
older OS's in OS X.
Enjoy your column - keep up the good work!
Rich
- Hi Rich,
Thanks for the report on MoosePad. I once requested a review copy,
but never heard back from them, although I've heard other fan
reports from time to time.
Charles
Battery for Pismo
From Michael
Hi Charles,
I've read your article on http://lowendmac.com/misc/05/0111.html
and you mention the Newer Tech replacement batteries for
Lombard/Pismo PowerBooks - but do you have information on where to
buy these? Through the online store at OWC but is it available in
US stores?
Hope you can help me. Thanx!
All the best,
Michael
- Hi Michael,
To the best of my knowledge, these batteries are only available
through Other World Computing's online store.
Charles
FireWire Chipsets
From Peter da Silva
When you review combo (FW + USB) enclosures, you should make a
note of whether they use the Oxford 911 chipset or not. I've bought
two enclosures with the Prolific chipset and sent one back and
relegated the other to the PC world. The Oxford chipset works,
reliably, and so do older Prolific products that use the Oxford 911
chip, but the current generation of PL chips are junk.
- Hi Peter,
I haven't reviewed an enclosure for quite some time, although I
frequently post news releases on various products.
I'll keep your suggestion in mind.
Charles
ATI Versavision on New PowerBook
From Michael DeJong
Howdy
I just want to confirm, I am eyeing up a PowerBook 15 with the 128 MB 9700
mobility chip. I have the new HP 2335 23" monitor which will do
landscape and portrait mode. Will the ATI update with Versavision
work, or do I have to stick to buying a G5 tower with the proper
ATI card?
Thanks
- Hi Michael,
I don't know.
I would suggest contacting ATI at 905-882-8440 or through this Web
page: https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894
Charles
PowerBook Tech Advice
From Steven Hunter
Mr. Rocek should contact his
credit card company as soon as possible.
More PowerBook Tech Advice
From Joshua DeHart
When using a credit card, one can dispute a transaction if they
are not getting a satisfactory response from the company posting
the payment. In the case if you can't contact the supplier posting
the charge, you start the dispute process with the company/bank
providing the card and state the reason as "I can't contact them
but my card has been charged."
Joshua DeHart
PowerBook Tech Follow Up
From Martin Rocek
I am glad to tell you that they have finally got in touch and
promise to send the logic board in the next few weeks.
I will let you know if it arrives.
The problem may have been some spam-filtering that my system
manager was doing - I am not sure.
Thanks for your advice.
Martin
EasyWatch Elgato DVB-T PCMCIA Module
From Jacques De Witte in response to EasyWatch Brings Mobile Digital TV
Reception to PowerBooks:
Hi
Wouldn't you have any other comments or feedback about this
module please?
cheers
Jacques
- Hi Jacques,
I'm sorry; I don't. I haven't used it. Perhaps some of our Mailbag
readers have.
Charles
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