1998.09: Last week I suggested that Apple produce a set-top version of the iMac with a DVD player, infrared keyboard, and the ability to display as clearly as a TV screen allows. (See I Want iMacTV.)
1998: From the original Macintosh of 1984 through March 1987, there was one Mac case: a compact beige box with a 9″ screen. (For more details, see last week’s Still Useful After All These Years: The Mac Plus.)
As of 31 January 1999, Apple has posted System 7.5.3 for free download (19 disk images!) – and don’t forget the System 7.5.5 updater.
1998.09: It was the first “gotta have it for looks alone” Macintosh since the first Mac shipped in 1984: Mac TV.
1998: The original Macintosh of 1984 was an incredibly cool computer – but impractical. With just 128 KB of RAM and a single 400 KB floppy drive, using it was an exercise in frustration involving a lot of disk swaps. A second floppy drive made the Macintosh a much more practical computer, but it was […]
1998: Some machines are designed to do a simple job simply. The best even do it with elegance. But some make you wonder what their creators were thinking.
“Honest question: What are the specific performance issues for a separate Web and Email machine?”
1998.09: A compact iMac? Isn’t the iMac already small enough? Yes, the iMac is remarkably tiny for a computer with a built-in 15″ monitor. But I’m thinking smaller: modular.
1998: Once upon a time, LCD panels were incredibly expensive, adding $1,000 to the cost of a laptop or portable computer. These were mostly passive matrix with 640 x 480 resolution. The best were backlit, supertwist LCDs. Most were only about 10″ on the diagonal.
1998: If you’re a webmaster, one thing you want to do is have people visit your website. There are lots of ways to get people’s attention:
The greatest obstacle to third party mice is the quality of Apple’s mice. Although the early Lisa/Macintosh mouse was a rather chunky affair, it was good enough – and the Mac market was small enough to attract little competition. Also, Apple’s mouse came free with the computer.
There have been alternatives to the Apple keyboard since the Mac Plus era. Macs introduced from 1984 through 1986 were plagued with a particularly thick, clunky keyboard.
1998 – I’m practically ancient for this industry. I remember lusting after the TRS-80 in Radio Shack flyers back in 1977. I think it was in 1979 that I first put fingers to keyboard and used a personal computer (an Apple II+).
1998 – I’ve received a lot of feedback to The iMac: Not for Me. Several readers applauded my honesty in admitting that the iMac isn’t for everyone.
1998 – Boy, was I ever wrong! Back in April, I wrote No $500 PC This Year. I didn’t see how anyone could combine a decent motherboard, hard drive, CD-ROM, case, power supply, floppy drive, keyboard, mouse, and a copy of Windows for under $500.
Sept. 1998: It’s a bit embarrassing to admit it, especially since I run one of the more successful iMac sites, but I don’t own an iMac, haven’t ordered an iMac, and doubt I’ll buy an iMac.
code name: WallStreet There were two different sets of WallStreet PowerBooks. Series I was introduced in May 1998; Series II (also known as “PDQ”) replaced it that September. These were Apple’s first notebook computers that didn’t automatically ship with a floppy drive, although it was a popular option. These were the first PowerBooks to offer […]
This PowerBook G3 Series II, code named PDQ, was announced Sept. 1, 1998. Changes from the earlier G3 Series include a 66 MHz motherboard for all versions and standard 14.1″ screen. The 1024 x 768 screen will also automatically scale, allowing users to emulate 640 x 480 and 800 x 600 resolutions.
A big screen will absolutely spoil you.
1998: Did you ever buy a computer, only to have them introduce a faster, more powerful model within months – sometimes at an even lower price? Better yet, did you ever have it not happen?
1998: I couldn’t believe the headline. The Clinton administration is asking the United States Postal Service to devise a system of permanent email addresses. The great benefit of a permanent email address is that, once you have it, you can use it forever, even if you change Internet service providers. How forward-looking!
1998.08: Don Crabb wrote today about Apple’s backorder problems (Supply and Demand, MacCentral, no longer online). Almost all dealers are out of iMacs, PowerBooks are back ordered, and Power Macs are hard to get. The price of success?
Hello (again). Do you remember the first Mac, the one that didn’t even have a model number? The amazing 8 MHz 68000 CPU, crystal clear 9″ b&w screen, huge 400 KB floppy drive, and radical mouse?
August 1998: In iMac-ulate Conception: How Apple Made a Miracle Out of a Mere PC on ZDNet, Robert Lemos disparages the iMac as featuring “very little new technology and . . . missing some standard features found in other computers, such as a floppy drive and built-in printer connectivity.”
August 1998: The iMac is Apple’s most important product roll-out since the original Macintosh. A column by Jim Davis on Cnet (The iMac’s Ancestors) reminded me how like and unlike the two computers are. Here’s a comparison of features.
August 1998: “This sounds like Apple trying to make it back with a last ditch effort, and I feel that this iMac will only resolve to be a slightly faster, showy machine with fewer capabilities than a GameBoy with a modem. Macs have always proven to be the slower, clunkier machines in a world that […]
August 1999: Last November I said that Macs needed parallel ports. I got a lot of letters on that, some saying I made a lot of sense. Others said parallel ports would soon be obsolete, replaced with the Universal Serial Bus (USB) and FireWire.
August 1998: I’ve been looking forward to the latest issue of PC Magazine, the one that looks at sub-$1,000 (sub-$1K) Windows systems. So many “experts” are chiding Apple for releasing a $1,300 computer when (they say) buyers really want sub-$1K PCs.
August 1998: Way back when, Apple invented a business version of the Apple II. The Apple /// was an incompatible bust in both its original 128 KB incarnation and the later 192 KB version. It didn’t quite kill Apple.
1998: Once upon a time there were no computers. We’ve come a long way, baby! The first computers were pretty primitive by any standard. There was no software – you had to wire the computer for its intended task. Then came neat things like software on punch cards, paper tape, and eventually hard drives.
August 1998: The iMac is an impressive computing value: performance, expansion, and the world’s greatest OS. But it’s not designed for everyone.
1998: On August 15, Apple Computer will launch a revolutionary new personal computer – the iMac. “It looks like it came from another planet – a good planet, one with great industrial designers!” quips Steven Jobs, Apple’s interim CEO.
August 1998: Three months ago it looked like a risky move: The iMac would use the universal serial bus (USB), but not ADB, SCSI, or a standard Mac serial port. Although Microsoft and Intel have promoted USB, and the vast army of clone makers have been building USB into their computers, I don’t know of […]
There’s a lot to like about the iMac: styling, size, price, value, and a willingness to venture into new territory. Face it: No Wintel company has completely abandoned their traditional ports to go exclusively USB.
August 1998: Every month PC World lists the 20 best selling computer systems – and USA Today publishes the 10 best sellers. The USA Today list from 8 July 1998 includes:
