6 Extensions to Make Firefox Even Better

A while back, I wrote about Camino, a Mozilla project that brings Gecko rendering goodness to a truly native Mac OS X interface. Since then, Camino has been my primary browser, and I know I’m not alone. I started reading a lot of articles around the Mac web singing Camino’s praises shortly after my piece ran.

France and the End of DRM as We Know It

2006 – It seems that you can’t win for trying. Apple and Microsoft have each developed DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) technology that provides enough security for the recording industry to allow online music sales.

Capture Stills from OS X DVD Player with a Simple Hack

My seven-year-old son enjoys taking screen shots of scenes in movie previews so he can print them out and hang them on the wall of his room. He recently decided he wanted a screen grab from a DVD he was watching, but – as many of you know – that function isn’t available when using Apple’s […]

The Solution to Piracy Is Quality Content at Fair Prices

Charles W. Moore’s essay on copyright law (see Copyright Bullies May Win Some Battles but Must Lose Their War) raised a lot of good points about the way vested interests (such as the RIAA and MPAA) have changed the nature of copyright from something that serves the public interest into something that only serves publishers.

Mac mini (Early 2006)

The Mac mini was the third Mac to make the switch to Intel CPUs. Both Early 2006 versions of the Intel-based Mini include AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0, Apple’s remote control, gigabit ethernet, and Front Row with Bonjour. In addition to this 1.66 GHz Core Duo model, Apple also sold an entry-level Mac mini with a […]

Mac mini (Core Solo)

We cannot recommend the Core Solo version of the Mac mini unless you plan to upgrade to a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo CPU. Performance of the Core Solo model is so sluggish that most buyers who have written us express regret at their purchase. We call the Core Solo Mac mini a Compromised Mac. Because […]

The True Cost of Waterbeds

February 2006 – A good mattress isn’t cheap, most cheap mattresses aren’t very good, and waterbeds remain a popular choice for people who loathe spring mattresses or can’t afford a good conventional mattress.

Control Hard Drive Spindown with Apple’s Free CHUD Tools

There are pros and cons to working with an external hard drive. On the plus side, you can easily move your operating system, applications, and work files from one computer to another. And you can pick as big and fast a drive as fits your budget. And you can avoid having to open up a […]

TopXNotes Classic: A Powerful, Easy to Use, Low Cost Information Organizer for OS 9

While compiling what was to be my latest article for Low End Mac, a column detailing my media center project, I was simultaneously testing a program for review. I’m sure my adventures setting up a Mac media center are positively engrossing and will be sorely missed, but TopXNotes Classic has proven itself a helpful addition to […]

Using a Shared Windows Printer from Your Mac

Each version of OS X has done a better job than its predecessors of “playing nice” with Windows networks. OS X 10.0 didn’t have Windows networking at all; as with the classic Mac OS, 10.0 users needed a third-party program like Thursby’s Dave to connect to shared Windows folders.