Several months ago I was searching eBay, as many of you do, just to pass some time. I discovered an item I never expected to find, since it’s incredibly rare – an original Apple II jigsaw puzzle.
A long, long time ago – back in the days when Outpost.com had an affiliate program – I got my first laser printer. The HP LaserJet 2100TN was fast for its day (10 pages per minute), solidly built, and sharp (1200 dpi output). I used it for about 8 years, and it probably would have […]
Because the original Macintosh had a new operating system, software companies had to rewrite their programs or develop new software to work with the Mac operating system and take advantage of the mouse and the powerful graphical user interface (GUI) that the Mac OS provided. This meant there was a relatively small amount of software […]
Mistakes, mistakes . . . we all seem to make them, and I’m no exception to the rule. For those who haven’t been tuning into Welcome to Macintosh, the most recent article in the Keyboard Roundup was about the Apple Extended Keyboard II. I’ve received several emails informing me of things I failed to mention, […]
2006 – I’ve always had an interest in early personal computers and the history behind them. Gordon Laing explores into the evolution and design of the personal computer in his illustrated book Digital Retro.
Has it already been six months since the original MacBook was introduced? Then it must be time for an upgrade. Now that Apple has solved most of the MacBook’s teething problems, they’ve improved it by replacing the Intel Core Duo CPU with the newer, more energy efficient, cooler running Core 2 Duo. Overall, that should […]
Dan Bricklin (born 1951) codeveloped VisiCalc with Bob Frankston in the late 1970s while he was a student at the Harvard Business School. VisiCalc is widely credited for fueling the rapid growth of personal computers in business. He is currently president of Software Garden, Inc., a small consulting firm and developer of software applications that […]
2006 – I’ve been tracking Disco since Austin Sarner began development with Jasper Hauser. Disco is a simple but effective disc burning utility for Mac OS X. It includes basic features that you would expect from this type of application, such as burning blank discs, disc imaging, copying, adding sessions to discs, and so on.
Lately I’ve been using a Gmail account for most of my email. I find that Gmail has an elegant, easy to use interface that works well on pretty much any computer, as well as a good capacity for storage of old emails (2 GB and counting).
2006 – I’m taking a break from writing about Apple history today and writing about the present. On Saturday, I visited MacExpo 2006 in London for the day (I last visited MacExpo 2004).
In my earlier articles, I covered Apple’s bad times of the mid 1990s and their climb back to success through 2002. This article completes the series.
Bong! . . . :-) . . . Welcome to Macintosh! Chi chi chi, ha ha ha, chi chi chi, ha ha ha…. What’s that sound off in the distance? Chi chi chi, ha ha ha, chi chi chi, ha ha ha . . . Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!
2006 – I want to take time today to congratulate the iPod for its impressive five year run, which seems primed to continue well into the rapidly approaching holiday shopping season. I further want to detail those little tidbits that make the iPod very much a part of my daily dose of tech joy.
On 2006.10.24, Apple moved the MacBook Pro line to Intel’s newer Core 2 Duo CPU, claiming “up to 39% faster” performance than the model it replaced. Part of that comes from the more efficient CPU, and part from an 8% faster CPU.
On 2006.10.24, Apple moved the MacBook Pro line to Intel’s newer Core 2 Duo CPU, claiming “up to 39% faster” performance than the model it replaced. Part of that comes from the more efficient CPU, and part from an 8% faster CPU.
In my previous Welcome to Macintosh column, I looked at the legendary Apple Extended Keyboard as the beginning of my Keyboard Roundup series. Just as some movies follow up on the original with a sequel, Apple came out with a sequel to the Apple Extended Keyboard. It was named, appropriately, the Apple Extended Keyboard II.
My previous article, A Stinky Old iBook that Smells Like Sweat, prompted a fair bit of email. Low End Mac’s publisher, Dan Knight, had requested that owners of stinky iBooks contact him with the specifics of their ‘Books so he could provide some meaningful consumer data. Six readers checked in, and he compiled what data he […]
Last time, I discussed my purchase of a used Dual USB G3 iBook (see eBay No Longer Your Best Source for Low-end Macs). When the iBook arrived, I unpacked it from its tight bubble wrap cocoon, pushed the latch button, and opened it. Immediately, my olfactory sense was stimulated in an astonishingly negative way.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Apple climbed back to profitability and fame. Apple’s colorful computers put them back into the spotlight, and the iPod diversified Apple’s business successfully, bringing the Apple name to music.
Click . . . clock . . . click . . . clock . . . click-clock, click-clock, click-clock Oh, you’re probably wondering about that sound? If you listen closer, you may find it familiar.
Tommy Thomas looks at some of the finest keyboards built for personal computers – past and present.
Low End Mac contributor Tom Hormby posted an article on OSnews examining Apple’s Worst Business Decisions. Hormby’s histories are some of the most popular pieces we’ve ever published, but I’m have to question some of his analysis.
Ask just about any college student what Facebook is, and not only will they tell you, but they’ll probably also recount some of the site’s recent actions.
Apple was at an all-time low in 1996, in a severe financial crisis that worried Mac users around the world. Apple’s shareholders and customers were losing faith, and competitors were closing in fast. The worldwide press badmouthed Apple in 1995 and 1996.
VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet, was one of the key products that helped bring the microcomputer from the hobbyist’s desk into the office. Before the release of this groundbreaking software, microcomputers were thought of as toys; VisiCalc changed that.
In September 2006, Apple replaced the year-old plastic 1G iPod nano with a new aluminum bodied version virtually the same size and just a tiny bit lighter. The low-end model now came with 2 GB of storage, there was a 4 GB model in the middle, and the top-end Nano had 8 GB.
Tommy Thomas interviews people who keep the Mac spirit alive and well.
Pippin was a multimedia player developed by Apple Computer in the mid 90s. Apple decided to create and license the technology (named Pippin after a type of apple smaller than a McIntosh) due to their belief that home computers were becoming more and more important and popular with customers.
The 5G iPod was revised on 2006.09.21 with a brighter display, nearly twice as long video playback, search, and redesigned earbuds. It was the first model an 80 GB option. Commonly known as the 5.5G iPod, this model looks identical to the first revision.
Microsoft has done some stupid things in the past, and we’ve taken our pot shots at their PlaysForSure initiative. Microsoft is a big, easy target. But now they’ve taken the next step and created an MP3 player that’s not compatible with their own PlaysForSure standard or DRM protected WMA and WMV files (see Microsoft’s Zune Won’t Play […]
