The Mac SE Experience, Part 2

This is part two of an epic saga about one man and his Macintosh SE. If you missed the first part or maybe you just need to get a quick refresh about part one, feel free to go back and enjoy it again.

CPUs: Intel 80486

From the 8080 through the 80386, CPUs gained most of its improved performance from greater clock speed and a wider data bus. With the next generation, released in 1989 and 1990 respectively, both Intel and Motorola (in their 680×0 family) worked on making their processors more efficient.

CPUs: Intel 80386 and 80386SX

The 80386 initially shipped at 16 MHz with sample quantities in October 1985 and release to manufacture in early 1986. At 16 MHz, it has a higher clock speed than any Intel version of the 80286. Although the ‘386 includes the same addressing modes as the 8086 and ‘286, it also included new addressing modes, including one […]

CPUs: Intel 80286

Intel’s 80286 CPU, introduced in February 1984, was the first big step forward from the 8088 CPU used in the original IBM PC and a host of PC compatibles.

CGI Story: The Development of Computer Generated Imaging

Alex Schure founded the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in 1955 to take advantage of the wave of students studying under the GI Bill. NYIT was initially a correspondence school awarding technical certificates. It distinguished itself from the other technical schools by sending graduates a mess of electronics parts supposedly taken from Soviet warehouses […]

CPUs: Intel 8086 and 8088

The IBM PC of August 1981 was build around Intel’s 8088 processor, a CPU released over two years earlier in June 1979. The 8088 itself was designed as a version of Intel’s 16-bit 8086, but on an 8-bit bus instead of a 16-bit bus. Although this made the 8088 a bit less efficient than the 8086, it […]

CPUs: Intel 8080 and Zilog Z-80

Although the Intel 8080 never ran MS-DOS, it is the direct predecessor of the 8086 and 8088 CPUs used in the first IBM PC. The 2 MHz 8080 was released on April 1, 1974 and formed the core of the first personal computers, the MITS Altair 8800 and the IMSAI 8080.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Apple previewed OS X 10.10 Yosemite on June 2, 2014, at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). In addition to a lot of new features and a whole new level of integration with iOS devices, Yosemite looks like the most beautiful version of the Mac OS to date.

The Mac SE Experience, Part 1

I had been on the lookout for another Mac to add to my collection. My wife had led me to believe that if I was so inclined to pick up another, that it should be free or very close to it. I posted some ads on the local buy/sell Facebook groups and even on the […]

OS X Tip: Save PDF to Web Receipts Folder

My wife clued me in to this nice little feature introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. She does a lot of online shopping, and when you buy something online, you usually get a screen that says something like, “Print this right now if you want a receipt.” You can’t usually save these screens effectively, […]

Need Macs for Your Classroom? Write a Grant

Not everyone can afford the latest computer and all the new software that accompanies it. Some teachers have older machines; others have only one or two machines available. Here at Low End Mac we often take the position of recommending refurbishing older machines to get something in the classroom.

Writing Your Grant Application

Last time we discussed deciding what to ask for with grants in Need Macs for Your Classroom? Write a Grant. today we talk about writing the application. Next time we’ll look at finding support from stakeholders and making your application stand out.

Getting Stakeholders Onboard

In our previous articles on grantwriting, we addressed establishing a purpose and identifying expenses to write into your grant. This article addresses the concept of getting others interested in your project – and why you should try.

Time for Macs with Apple CPUs?

There are frankly crazy rumors going about that Apple is ready to launch MacBooks, Mac minis, and perhaps even iMacs with up to four 4-core ARM-based CPUs. The next generation iPhone/iPad CPU will almost certainly be a 4-core 64-bit Apple chip named the A8. But in Macs?

Born Again Indigo iMac

This story starts off innocently enough. I was stopping by a small thrift shop, like I normally do when I have 5 to 10 minutes of spare time on my hands. I’m always on the lookout for a cheap Macintosh to add to my collection.

Smartphones: Size Matters, but Not the Most

With another “well duh” headline, Cult of Mac told us yesterday, Survey Finds Battery Life Is Most Important for iPhone Owners. Didn’t the fact that we use 3.5″ and 4″ smartphones while the Android world has gone bigger kind of make that obvious?

Will Your Mac Run OS X 10.10?

Apple is notoriously tight-lipped about upcoming OS versions and hardware. We fully expect OS X 10.10 to ship sometime this year, probably after a preview at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) held June 2-6, 2014.