New Macs are cool. They’re shiny, fast, sexy machines that can turbocharge your work and play. Apple is happy to sell you a new one as often as you can afford it! But whether you stay on the cutting edge or live the full Low End Mac philosophy, you will inevitably reach the day when […]
According to Google Analytics, Low End Mac has more readers in the United Kingdom (UK) than any country outside the US, with Canada in the third position. We asked Jason Walsh, a journalist based in Ireland and a longtime Mac user, to take a look at the UK Mac market.
Readers inclined to trawl back through the Low End Mac archives may know that one of my Macs is, in fact, no such thing. It’s actually a Dell Mini 10v netbook. (See Why I Didn’t Wait for the Apple Tablet.)
I am an Apple fan with a itch to scratch called Linux. I’ve tried being without a Mac, and I can’t do it, so I’m left with running Mac and Linux on the same machine.
To quote the Beatles, “It’s getting better all the time.” While much of the focus will be on the new high-end 12-core Mac Pro, the iMac has seen its share of significant improvements as well. All iMacs now use Intel’s Core “i” technology and support HyperThreading, which means they can function as though they have […]
The amount of processing power in the top-end 2.93 GHz 12-core Mac Pro boggles the imagination – as does the price. There are two audiences for the Mac Pro, those who need the most power possible in a Macintosh computer and those who need more expansion options than the iMac and Mac mini offer.
Apple has now moved the entire iMac line to Intel’s Core “i” family of CPUs, including the dual-core i3 and i5 as well as the quad-core i7. All CPUs used in the 2010 iMac support Hyper-Threading (on last year’s model, only the i7 versions supported Hyper-Threading). CPU speeds start at 3.06 GHz for dual-core models […]
It’s been over 15 months since Apple rolled out the 2009 Mac Pro, and the 2010 Mac Pro is yet another big step forward: every configuration uses quad-core Intel Xeon Nehalem or quad-core and even hex-core Westmere CPUs for even more power. Each core has its own 256 KB Level 2 (L2) cache, each quad-core […]
Starting with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), Apple began to move away from the core BSD Unix-like system that was the genesis of the Apple resurgence on the desktop.
About two years ago, I asked whether smartphones could ever replace laptops. With subsequent advances in the iPhone and the rise of the Google Android market, smartphones are the hottest new toy – and I raise the question again.
With the iPhone 4, Apple introduced its Retina Display. The screen was the same size as on previous iPhones, but with twice the vertical and horizontal resolution. It was a revelation. The iPhone 4 introduced a new design with glass front and rear, and it was the first iPhone with a FaceTime front-facing camera. The […]
Is Ubuntu a realistic alternative to Mac OS X? For some it could be, but your experience will differ if you have a PowerPC Mac or an Intel Mac. But does it match up to Mac OS X?
For the first time since Apple introduced the original G4 Mac mini in January 2005, the company has completely redesigned the smallest, least expensive Mac.
Time and things move slowly in the Hatchett computer universe. I have recently moved from using my trusty G3 Pismo PowerBook (from 2000) to a 12″ PowerBook G4 from 2003. Since the 12-incher has an 867 MHz processor, I was able to install the Leopard (OS X 10.5) operating system, and after a small period of time, I […]
For the first time since the G4 Mac mini was introduced in January 2005, Apple came up with a new form factor for its smallest desktop. Where all previous Minis had been 6.5″ square and 2.0″ tall, the new model measures 7.7″ square and just 1.4″ high. It also uses unibody construction like Apple’s notebooks. […]
This is the first and only update to the white unibody MacBook. The CPU speed gets a bump from 2.26 GHz to 2.4 GHz, it now has the same Nvidia GeForce 320M GPU as the current 13″ MacBook Pro, and its rated battery life jumps from a very good 7 hours to an impressive 10 […]
As someone who works with classic Macs (Macs that can boot the Classic Mac OS), I get contacted occasionally by people who still have files on the hard drives of their old Macs but aren’t sure how to move them to a newer machine. These are typically SCSI-based systems with floppy drives. They might also […]
Apple introduced redesigned MacBook Pro models in April 2010. They all use new Nvidia GPUs and claim to increase battery life – in the case of the 13″ model, from 7 hours to an impressive 10. The 13″ MacBook Pro is the only Pro model to retain the Intel Core 2 CPU – the bigger […]
The 15″ and 17″ Mid 2010 MacBook Pro models have lower clock speeds than the models they replace. However, because they use the mobile Intel i5 and i7 CPUs instead of the older, less efficient Core 2 Duo chips, they are more powerful despite lower clock speeds. These CPUs brings something new to Apple’s portable […]
The 15″ and 17″ Mid 2010 MacBook Pro models have lower clock speeds than the models they replace. However, because they use mobile Intel i5 and i7 CPUs instead of the older, less efficient Core 2 Duo chips, they are more powerful despite lower clock speeds. These CPUs brings something new to Apple’s portable line, hyperthreading, […]
I held out. I waited until I could actually pick up an iPad and handle it. I had to wait until a couple of mall rats stopped playing video games on it. Then it was mine.
With its color graphics, the Apple II had changed the world of personal computing. With its graphical interface and mouse, the Macintosh had further changed the computing world. With its massive storage and ease of use, the iPod had changed the MP3 market. With its touchscreen, the iPhone had changed the smartphone market. And then […]
Regular readers will know that I have been searching for the perfect Macintosh word processor for some time. I have almost found it.
Not too long ago, I was using one of my son’s old PlayStation Portables (PSP) to view videos, since it has a larger screen than the iPod touch. Last Friday, I took the plunge and traded both boy’s (I have twin sons) PSP 1000s – as well a bunch of games they didn’t want – […]
As my regular readers will know, I am searching for the perfect writing tool. Much as I prefer to write with a good pen, I want to find writing software that is ideally suited not only to my needs but also my temperament and taste. Frankly, it’s a tall order.
Leopard officially requires an 867 MHz G4 – but that doesn’t rule it out – and then there is Tiger. Depending on your needs and depending on your level of expertise, you will choose either Tiger or Leopard. It is time to revisit the options for low-end G4 users.
2010 – At Low End Mac, we don’t scoff if you are still using a G3. We don’t laugh if you are still using Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. We embrace these and ask you to share your experience. This is why I am writing about how Tiger handles on my 500 MHz G3 iBook.
I have been out of the Mac world for a few months. But I am back, where I belong, using a Mac.
Complaints about modern software being bloated and overpowered are a penny a dozen, but there is some truth in the idea.
Words are my life. They are, of course, the way I make my living, but they mean so much more to me than that. I’m no postmodernist, but Umberto Eco’s joy in language is something that speaks to me – I challenge anyone with a love of words to read The Name of the Rose […]
In the Mac world, netbooks exist on the Windows side of the fence. Until the recent unveiling of the iPad, Apple hadn’t throw its hat into the subnotebook arena. Even at that, the iPad is a tablet. For those of us who have become enamored with netbooks due to their size, real keyboards, and minimalistic functionality, […]
General Apple and Mac desktops is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews Review. All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
As a longtime Apple user – I cut my computing teeth on an Apple II+ circa 1979 – I get a kick out of reading articles about the 10 best or 10 worst Apple products of all time. The latest of these, Top 10 Worst Apple Products of All Time, appeared on the Australian PC […]
Can we please stop talking about “game changers”? The iPad is the future of computing. No, wait, it’s a waste of money and typically crippled product from Apple.
I have been mulling over getting a new computer for some time. It’s not so much that I needed one, more that I was dissatisfied with my current setup. Once I decided I was going ahead with the purchase, it crossed my mind more than once that I was doing this at precisely the wrong […]
