Power Mac G5 (Late 2004)

Has Apple heard our pleas for a lower-cost modular Mac? The single processor 1.8 GHz Power Mac G5 knocks US$500 from the price of it’s dual-processor sibling while matching it in almost every specification. The only significant difference, besides a single CPU, is the use of a 600 MHz memory bus vs. 900 MHz on […]

Text and Typography: Serifs and Dashes

Last week’s Low End Designer article was the most popular piece in the series so far. Clearly word processing is something that Low End Mac readers are interested in, but what about what happens with the text afterwards? This week, The Low End Designer looks a basic typography.

Kill Bill: 12 Alternatives to Microsoft Word

Text processing is the least glamorous aspect of design work – and probably the most important. This week, The Low End Designer looks at some alternatives  to Microsoft Word, the 800-pound gorilla of the document processing market – and perhaps deservedly so.

Killing Quark: Three Layout Alternatives

Last week, the Low End Designer took a look at a few supplemental applications that can be used in conjunction with the major design and layout programs. This week we’re looking at drop-in replacements, and it’s Quark XPress that’s getting the chop.

Apple’s New Click Wheel Mouse

2004 – If our usually reliable sources are to be believed, Steve Jobs has finally relented. After the stunning success of the iPod, Jobs now agrees that users may be able to handle more than a single button on a mouse.

4 Shareware Programs Every Mac Designer Should Try

2004 – One of the advantages of using a Mac is the wealth of software available for the platform. Of course, this runs contrary to common wisdom – the Mac is thought to be a poor cousin to Windows in terms of the number of applications available. This is literally true – there are many […]

20″ iMac G5 (2004)

Where did the computer go? It’s behind the flat panel display in the iMac G5! And the mouse and keyboard are available as wireless models with Bluetooth (which remains optional and can only be installed at the factory) – that means less cable clutter than most users are used to. Not just smaller and lighter, […]

17″ iMac G5 (2004)

Where did the computer go? It’s behind the flat panel display in the iMac G5! And the mouse and keyboard are available as wireless models with Bluetooth (which remains optional and can only be installed at the factory) – that means less cable clutter than most users are used to.

iMac G5 (2004)

Where did the computer go? It’s behind the flat panel display in the iMac G5! And the mouse and keyboard are available as wireless models with Bluetooth (which remains optional and can only be installed at the factory) – that means less cable clutter than most users are used to. Not just smaller and lighter, […]

Scanning the Scene with a Flatbed Scanner

By this stage, anyone following this column should have collected a Mac or two and some software. This week we’re looking at obtaining a flatbed scanner. All of the information here intended as nothing more than examples – and hopefully an aid to understanding scanners, rather than an inducement to purchase a machine from a […]

Why Design Using Low-End Macs?

In this series of articles, Jason Walsh takes a look at how to run a design studio on low-end Macs. Whether you want to get off the upgrade treadmill, are just out of art school and want to set up shop on a budget, or just want to pick up a few tips and tricks, […]

4th Generation iPod

The fourth generation (4G) iPod introduced the click wheel that we’re all familiar with today. Rather than 4 buttons surrounding the scrollwheel or a row of buttons above the scrollwheel, these functions are now controlled on the scrollwheel itself, a feature that had arrived with the iPod mini in January 2004.

Hardware Failure, That Rare Mac Headache

2004: My trusty PowerBook had its very first hardware failure yesterday. I must admit that I’m surprised and disappointed by this event. This PowerBook is only a little over two-and-a-half years old.

Still Waiting for iTunes Music Store Canada, Sort Of

2004: As poor cousins, we Canucks are used to waiting a tad longer for some of the wonderful goods introduced south of the border. It’s been some time since the iTunes Music Store made its appearance in the States, and, well, we’re still waiting.

Power Mac G5 (Mid 2004)

Less than a year after unveiling the original Power Mac G5, Apple released a new line of G5 models, each with dual processors and an 8x SuperDrive. As before, the entry level model uses 64-bit PCI slots and only supports up to 4 GB of RAM vs. PCI-X slots and an 8 GB RAM ceiling in the […]

Use a PC Keyboard with Your OS X Mac via uControl

Have you ever wanted to plug a low-cost PC keyboard into your Mac’s USB port, only to find that a few minutes of trying to type is driving you crazy? Or have you ever wanted to pick up an inexpensive USB keyboard for your ‘Book so you can have all those extra keys or be […]

PearPC’s Slow Mac Emulation: What’s the Point?

2004: If your head’s been buried in the sand, you may have missed the fact that Mac OS X finally made it to Intel hardware. It’s dog slow and buggy as, well, as Windows, but we can’t blame that on x86 architecture because this is just an emulator called PearPC.

Windows Stability: Nothing Really Changes

2004: It’s been some time since I’ve used Windows with any regularity. I can’t say I’ve missed it terribly. About the only time I need to go near Windows is when my Dad needs a hand with his machine.

iBook G4 (Early 2004)

In April 2004, the 12″ iBook jumped from 800 MHz to 1 GHz, while the 14″ iBook was available at  1.07 GHz (nominally 1.0 GHz) and 1.2 GHz speeds.

14″ iBook G4 (Early 2004)

For the first time, Apple offered a SuperDrive as an option on the iBook, making the 14″ 1.0 GHz model (actually 1.07 GHz) a very affordable, very portable way to burn DVDs.

12″ 1 GHz iBook G4 (Early 2004)

In addition to a 33% speed boost over the 800 MHz Late 2003 model, the 2004 iBook uses a 1.07 GHz G4 processor with a 512 MB level 2 cache – twice as big as on the previous iBook G4. Another improvement is 256 MB of RAM on the system board (twice as much as […]