Mac Musings

Mac Musings 2004 Archive

• The best browsers for OS X, 12.23. Safari, Firefox, Camino, OmniWeb, Opera, iCab, Shiira, and Internet Explorer. Is there a single best browser for the Mac?
• Life intrudes, 12.22. Sometimes life intrudes, shattering our safety, forcing us to face our worst fears.
• Why iTunes and the iPod will continue to dominate the market, 12.22. "Put simply, Apple can't repeat the mistakes of the past because the iPod situation is nothing like the Mac situation."
• eMac a worst buy? I don't think so, 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."
• Canada, copyright, and levies: Buy an iPod now, 12.17. This week a Candian Justice removed the copyright levy from digital music players. Thoughts on copyright, levies, and digital rights management.
• On beyond iSync, 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.
• Apple's $549 eMac, 12.08. Refurbished eMacs, from $549 to $799, really do compete against the low-end PCs of the Windows world.
• Welcome back MacMall, and hello to Apple and CompUSA, 12.07. Low End Mac is back in MacMall's affiliate program - and adds Apple and CompUSA as well.
• Apple and IBM, a marriage made in heaven or hell?, 12.06. IBM selling its PC division and teaming up with Apple - does it make any kind of sense at all?
• Viruses, adware, spyware, and worse: The best reasons to use a Mac, 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.
• The October 2004 iBook and Power Mac value equation, 10.20. Faster iBooks and a single processor Power Mac G5. How does the value compare with the rest of the line?
• October one of Apple's favorite months for new products: What next?, 10.18. Apple has new product almost every October, but will it be a color 60 GB iPod, a flat-panel eMac, an Apple-branded PDA, a digital video recorder, or something else?
• October 1990: Apple unveils the first low-end Macs, 10.15. Fourteen years ago, Apple introduced the first sub-$4,000 Mac II, first sub-$2,500 color Mac, and first sub-$1,000 all-in-one Mac.
• Good things and bad things about the iTunes Music Store, 09.29. Apple's iTunes Music Store has a lot going for it, but there's still room for improvement.
• eMac, iMac, or PowerBook?, 09.27. The eMac is inexpensive and the PowerBook is portable, but does the G5 iMac have what it takes to be the best choice of the three?
• The significance of the 512K Fat Mac, 09.10. "512 KB was enough to turn the Macintosh from a cute proof-of-concept machine into the computer that would revolutionize the publishing industry."
• Is ATIcellerator worth trying?, 09.03. This freeware utility promises to unlock the speed of ATI Rage 128 and Radeon video. Does it work? What are the risks?
• The iMac G5: iPod success or Cube fiasco?, 09.01. The iMac G5 is undeniably cool and seems to be a good value, but will consumers flock to it or ignore it?
• Macs are great but still have room to improve, 08.25. "I still think Macs are the best information appliance on the market, but until they are as reliable and easy to use as my toaster or refrigerator, there's room for improvement."
• Divorcing Windows?, 08.06. "There is a great opportunity to evangelize the Mac OS among disaffected Windows users."
• The June 2004 Power Mac G5 value equation, 06.09. The newest G5s offer better values than the old ones, but which one comes in as the best value just might surprise you.
• Why the VCR is doomed, 05.28. Just as the iPod has replaced the Walkman and is replacing the Discman, digital video recorders will displace VCRs - and Apple could become the iPod of the DVR market.
• Use a Windows keyboard on your Mac with uControl, 05.26. Just plugging a Windows keyboard into your USB port can drive you crazy without a remapping utility to put the option and command keys where you expect them.
• NewerTech TiBook battery provides four hours of use, 05.24. "In the real world, I can get at least 4 hours of active use, and with the Energy Saver settings activated, a freshly charged battery usually shows over 5 hours of power."
• eMacs, 12" 'Books, and the Mac legacy, 05.19. "...in terms of value and that 'just right' all-in-one integration that Apple began to perfect with the original Macintosh, it's hard not to find the eMac and 12" 'Books excellent values."
• A wrinkle in life: Difference and divorce, 05.14. Thinking different sounds fine, but being different can lead to a lot of disappointments in life.
• Broadband Internet access: Picking the right speed, 05.12. With four different connection speeds to choose from, how do you figure out which will best meet your needs and budget?
• The iMac legacy: A focus on essentials, 05.06. By sticking to what users really needed and avoiding a shopping list of things people would like, Apple created one of the most popular computers in history.
• One size does not fit all: Mac solutions for the entry level, 05.05. "Apple's greatest potential isn't to switch people from Windows but to get Windows users to add a Mac next time they buy a new computer."
• Marketing the Mac: The lonely Mac support guy, 04.30. "The goal is to show the Mac as a real option. It's practical. It's affordable. It's reliable. It's easy to use. Its differences make it better - no viruses, no extra boxes, less wires."
• Marketing the Mac: Crossing the platform divide, 04.29. "If we don't make it easy to network the platforms, share files, and just work together simply, we'll have a hard time convincing Windows users to switch or even add a Mac as their next computer."
• Marketing the Mac: Turning a profit with low-end Macs, 04.28. There are plenty of ways to make money selling low-cost, entry-level computers, especially with add-ons and services.
• Marketing the Mac: The limited upgrade problem, 04.27. Compared with Windows PCs, Macs seem to have limited upgrade potential. Here's how Apple could address that perception.
• Marketing the Mac: Yes, Macs are different, 04.26. Apple stressed the wrong thing with the 'Think Different' campaign. It should have been about how a different computer does the same things as a Windows PC.
• Living the low-end life: It's not just about computers, 04.23. Low-end living is about budget, value, and priorities in all the areas of your life.
• The PowerBook 2004 value equation and Apple's best portable values, 04.21. New, close out, and refurb - what are the best portable values for today's Mac user?
• The iBook 2004 value equation: Good deals all around, 04.20. As expected, the new iBooks offer more value for the dollar than last year's models, but what about refurbs?
• Kissing Internet Explorer for OS X good-bye, 04.16. Microsoft's browser just kept hanging itself, so it was time to search for new solutions.
• The 1.25 GHz eMac value equation: Wow!, 04.14. Apple's value leader offers even more power for the price - especially the SuperDrive model.
• Television for the rest of us: Why Apple should make a DVR, 04.05. TiVo and Replay TV are hot, but an Apple-branded digital video recorder could be even hotter -- and good for Apple's bottom line.
• Newton 2004: A digital hub in the palm of your hand, 03.17. How Apple could leverage the brilliance of the Newton, popularity of the iPod, and power of the Mac to create the best PDA ever.
• Getting on with life and Low End Mac, 01.07. How low-end Macs, software, and the Internet are helping one couple communicate while separated.

More Mac Musings in the archive: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010