A few weeks ago I wrote a series of articles about fonts. In A History of Font Technologies, I looked at the four major trends in Mac fonts: bitmapped, PostScript, TrueType, and anti-aliasing.
2000: One of the things I used to love about my Mac Plus back in the old days is that I could put a stripped-down version of System 6 and a text editor on a floppy disk, boot the machine from that, and work in blessed silence with the (external) hard drive shut down, disturbed […]
2000: The latest craze in the computing/music/real world is Napster, the notorious MP3 sharing program. There is a lot of controversy over this program. Many musical artists, like Dr. Dre and Metallica, are suing Napster. They are doing this because many people are using Napster to distribute MP3s of their music to other computer users.
Last week, I reconsidered computing speed and came to the conclusion that time spent picking the right software and customizing it for the way you work is time well spent. With speed in mind, I think it is right that I discuss the slowest component of most Macintoshes.
2000: We all know that the Newton, once Apple got all the kinks out, was a fantastic platform. And we all know that Palm, despite it’s numerous former Apple developers, doesn’t have such great Mac support. And we know that the Palm OS allows for competitive models from other manufacturers – the Handspring Visor is […]
2000: The Mac Observer’s Michael Munger has written another interesting and provocative piece entitled The Deplorable State of Mac Software, in which he argues that “the condition of Mac software is as pathetic as it could be.”
LisaList is Low End Mac’s group for Apple Lisa users, including those using Lisa emulation. The group was begun on 2000.06.18.
There’s been some interesting discussion of IBM’s new PowerPC 750CX and forthcoming 750CXe processors, especially related to IBM Discusses New PowerPC Chips on MacWeek. A lot of Mac users seem to think the 750CX would be a poor choice; I beg to differ.
June 2000: Since it’s unlikely that you spent the last few months in self-hypnosis by swinging your mouse back and forth, you probably heard that ATI leaked information about Apple’s new products before Apple announced them. And you probably heard that Apple “punished” ATI by removing all mention of their new Radeon chipset and using […]
2000: Apple’s newly released USB Printer Sharing 1.0 has a revolutionary new feature for non-networkable USB printers: It allows them to be networked! But wasn’t there something like this a few years ago?
2000: The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released results of its Internet Tracking Report on MP3 music traffic.
For years I have been following Macintosh hardware advances. When I first started using Macs in 1990, the wicked fast 40 MHz Mac IIfx was on the top. I was in college at the time, and I knew two frosh in my dorm who owned IIfxs. I did not realize then how rich their parents […]
One of the mistakes computer users make is confusing “complicated” with “complex.” Complicated means “Strap yourself in. The learning curve is about to get seriously steep.” Complex means “You can do really neat stuff with this program.”
2000: One of the problems of living out in the suburbs, where there are many trees and tall objects, is poor radio reception. Is there any solution to this problem for those who like to listen to the radio? Of course there is – Internet radio.
2000: The innovative, leaning joystick-shaped, Animax Dr. Mouse/Anir Mouse from Norway is a simple idea: a pistol-grip on top of a conventional, albeit flattened, mouse base, with a thumb-button for clicking.
In my previous article, Macintosh System Fonts, I surveyed the fonts that have shipped with the Mac OS and suggested that people without printers use a bitmapped font called Espy for everything on their system. Now I’d like to give a little more information about Espy.
Let me ask you this question: On a PowerBook, have you ever seen an out of memory warning? If not, you must have a newer machine. Every time I use my PowerBook 190cs, I get the same warning, but now that problem is gone. You could even say a birdie told me. A camera birdie […]
Once upon a time – April 1998 to be precise – Intel created a cheap version of the Pentium and named it Celeron. It had no level 2 (L2) cache, and it sucked.
This mod has been popular for a few years: Taking an old compact Mac, disassembling it, and applying a Stone Fleck finish to the case. In this instance, MacCollect has refinished a Macintosh Classic, although neither this reduced photo nor any on the MacCollect site really does it justice. You really have to see the […]
2000 – Let’s look at some options for 68040 based computers. If you do not have one, I will discuss which model might be right for you.
Mac users have it pretty good. Apple’s stock is high (despite its recent slide), a new OS is on the way, and market share has stabilized. So what’s next for Apple? How does it intend to remain on top?
Bernard Bélanger’s PowerSuitcase (also in French) is quite a bit different from most CustoMacs: It doesn’t even look like a computer.
2000: Last week’s article about cheap Power Macs for G3 and G4 upgrading was the most popular Miscellaneous Ramblings article that Low End Mac has published, beating out my previous champ – a piece on the economics of processor upgrades. Apparently, upgrades are a popular topic. They also generate a lot of reader feedback: From […]
In A History of Font Technologies, I talked a bit about font technologies on the Mac. If you are unfamiliar with terms like “bitmapped” or “outline” fonts, you might want to read that article first. Here I am going to discuss the fonts that Apple has shipped with the Mac. I am on my way […]
2000: Apple’s use of easy-to-use (and downright cool) slot-loading CD- and DVD-ROM drives in their iMac line shows that Apple has come a long way since using those awful CD caddies on their early CD drives. Those frustrating and easy to lose caddies actually helped Apple sell the smart but lethargic PowerCD, which was a […]
2000: Dan Knight tells me that my column last week about cheap Power Macs for G3 and G4 upgrading was the most popular Miscellaneous Ramblings article that Low End Mac has published, beating out my previous champ – a piece on the economics of processor upgrades. Apparently, upgrades are a popular topic. Thanks for reading.
My first computer was a 386 PC loaded with an elegant, almost forgotten program called GeoWorks. It was an impulse purchase in the fall of ’92, during a personal crisis. I badly wanted a distraction, something I could throw myself into. I dropped $1,300 on a credit card, carted home three boxes in my Honda, and […]
Fonts have been central to the Macintosh experience since the very first Mac. By looking at the history of font technologies on the Mac, I’m hoping to derive some suggestions about how you can get your fonts to work best for you. This is the first article in a short series.
2000: Is a Mac better than a PC? I’ve been asking myself that question for several weeks, and I have written many drafts while attempting to figure out which is better.
2000: You’ve probably seen the online ads from CoolVCD.com and read the press releases: Video Compact Disc (VCD) lets you watch movies on Macs or PCs that don’t have DVD drives.
Jonathan Ploudre first started using Macs in 1991 with a Mac IIsi. He’s a technophile who especially enjoys making things usable. He’s a Family Doctor in Mount Vernon, WA, where he lives with his wife and three girls. He wrote for Low End Mac from May 2000 through Sept. 2002.
2000: Many people can go through their computer-using career and never download a program to make their life easier. Why? Because they don’t know which programs to download. You don’t have to be one of those people because today I’ll review some helpful programs you never knew you needed until now.
2000: How would you like a Power Mac G3 for less than $500? Or perhaps a G4 Power Mac for less than $750? Both deals are currently available from Web sources with a little mixing and matching.
2000 – You’ve got your site up and running. You know people are visiting it, because they send you email (you do have a contact link on every page, don’t you). You’ve even registered with some search engines, joined a banner exchange or Web ring, and received a few links from other sites. But how […]
2000: Slashdot is a fantastic source for Linux news and a variety of other user-posted topics. One of the biggest independent computer news sites on the Internet, it has among the best implementation of technology, while keeping a very simple and quick-loading layout. However, it has one largely unnoticed weakness: Its Apple news.
