PPC Linux: The End?

Okay folks, it’s time for some democracy in action. As you probably know by now, I’m writing a new column on Low End Mac (LEM) called Mac Life. Now, between this and everything else I write, as well as the odd bit of graphic design, my fine art practice and my academic research, time is becoming […]

G4/500 WallStreet and Lombard Upgrades, iCurve Notebook Stand, TiBook RAM Install, and More

The biggest news of Macworld week for Apple portable fans didn’t come from the keynote, in which there were no laptop hardware announcements at all, but rather from Sonnet and Newer Technology, both of which released 500 MHz G4 processor upgrades for WallStreet G3 Series PowerBooks from the former and a WallStreet/Lombard G4 upgrade from the latter, joining […]

Yellow Dog Linux on a Power Mac

Despite the use of the PowerPC in other computers, such as the IBM RS/6000 and even TiVo digital video recorders, the Apple Macintosh dominates the world of PowerPC computing, and as such, it’s Macs that Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) 7.2 is squarely aimed at.

OS X from a Linux Perspective

Apple’s Mac OS X has been gaining a lot of column inches in the computer press, and for good reason. As you are no doubt sick of hearing, the new Mac operating system is not just another revision of a bloated and moribund, though elegant, desktop OS. It is Unix – BSD Unix to be […]

Open Source Reality Check

You would be forgiven for thinking that the open source in business debate had been finally put to bed with the likes of IBM backing Linux and even the notoriously secretive Apple opening parts of Mac OS X to the public. However, you’d be wrong.

Beyond Linux Apps: Mac on Linux

We’ve all heard it: Linux has no applications. Despite the availability of many professional desktop applications for Linux, such as Star Office and Corel WordPerfect Office, the rumour of the dearth of applications for Linux persists. In fact, it does have some truth in it, at least for users of nonstandard versions of Linux such […]

Bring Out the GIMP

The Mac. Graphic Design. These phrases are practically inseparable. Before 1984 there was an entire career option missing, that of “Mac operator.” The next generation Unix OS, Mac OS X will no doubt cement Apple’s domination of the creative industries further with its improvements to the system such as the Acrobat-based Quartz display layer, preemptive multitasking, […]

Getting the Most from Your Older Mac

Luddite Mac is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek celebration of vintage Macs — and even Apple IIs. The point we always try to make at Low End Mac is that until it dies no computer is ever less capable than it was when you bought it, so try to make the most of it. Our other focus […]

Surfing with Sega: The Late, Great Dreamcast

In a lot of respects, the Dreamcast was ahead of its time. It was released in 1998 in Japan and 1999 in the rest of the world – a year before PlayStation 2 – and was the first 128-bit console gaming system ever. Sega, a Japanese company started by American expatriate David Rosen in the 1950s, seemed […]

Low End Linux?

Last week I was reading an article [no longer online] about how one county was saving several million dollars a year by implementing Linux on all it’s desktops. It wasn’t only the Information Technology department – it was secretaries, receptionists, firefighters, police officers, and other county employees.

Revolutions and Participation

July 2001 – Last week’s Macworld Expo was a disappointment for many people attending the show. People wanted to be amazed or surprised – flat screen iMacs were hoped for by many. The surprise was that the products were evolutionary.

Brenthaven Cases at Apple Store, Micro USB Flash Drive, OS 8 for $22, and More.

2001-07-13: Apple Store selling Brenthaven cases. Tiny KangururMicro USB flash drive. Get OS 8 for $22. More ‘Book news. Brenthaven ‘Book Cases at Apple Store MacCase and MacPacks on Special at Jam Online Store Interactive Media Corporation USB Flash KanguruMicro Drive My Replacement WallStreet Power Adapter Is on Its Way A Really Expensive PowerBook Hinge […]

The Underrated Power Mac 5400

A few weeks ago I got a letter from my friend David in Western Samoa. I lived next to David in Vaitoomuli village for two years while I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. We taught at the local high school together. I trained him on Macs, because I wanted to have someone to troubleshoot the […]

NeXT: Apple’s Right Choice

When I first wrote about BeOS, several readers were careful to point out the good sides of Apple picking NeXT instead of Be. Without the purchase of NeXT, we never would have gotten Steve Jobs back as iCEO, and there would be no iMac or iBook. But Apple got much more than Steve and a […]

Using BeOS on a Power Mac

In my past couple articles (BeOS or NeXT: Did Apple make the wrong choice? and User Interface: Mac vs. BeOS), I’ve described parts of BeOS. It’s a technically impressive OS that lacks some of the finesse that the Mac OS has.

User Interface: Mac vs. BeOS

Last week I talked about some of the advantages that BeOS has over Mac OS X. When Steve Jobs first demonstrated Mac OS X, Mac users got a taste of their own medicine – we’re used to having a superiority complex.

BeOS or NeXT: Did Apple Make the Wrong Choice?

It’s hard to believe it has been four years. In early 1997, Power Computing announced that they would ship BeOS with its clones. An upstart clone maker shipping an upstart OS, if you will. This was big news, since BeOS fixed many of the problems that System 7 faced. The discussions from then sounds all […]

4 Years of Low End Mac

2001 – Four years ago, there was no Low End Mac. There were good resources for PowerBooks and Power Macs, but support for older models was spotty. You might find a really good Mac Plus page or a site with excellent Mac IIfx info, but I couldn’t find a comprehensive resource covering the oldest Macs.

75 Mac Advantages, Part 3

2001 – There’s been a hiatus in the Mac Lab Reports, a column I have been writing consistently once a week for several months, while I did research for this entry, especially regarding QuickTime. I’ve wrestled with that one in particular because of the issues surrounding the implementation of multimedia on PCs.