Michael Spindler: The Peter Principle at Apple

Michael Spindler was born during the last throes of Nazi Germany. The family was split up before Spindler was born, because his father was forced to work at a munitions plant. The absence of his father during his early childhood appeared to make Spindler even more motivated to prove himself. He excelled in school and […]

A History of the iPod: 2005 to Present

More than any other product from Apple, the iPod has changed the company and the world. Before its introduction, MP3 players were the realm of small companies with limited budgets that were unable to provide content. After the iPod, the entire industry has evolved and grown to the point where the largest computer companies in […]

A History of the iPod: 2000 to 2004

More than any other product from Apple, the iPod has changed the company and the world. Before its introduction, MP3 players were the realm of small companies with limited budgets that were unable to provide content. After the iPod, the entire industry evolved and grew to the point where the largest computer companies in the […]

The Story Behind Apple’s Newton

In the late 1980s, Apple appeared to be in the middle of a resurgence. John Sculley had forced out the volatile Steve Jobs in 1985, and a cadre of older, more experienced executives focused on building the Apple and Macintosh brands. The company was beginning to grow complacent, working to protect Macintosh revenues at the […]

Mac Sales Decline

Mac sales have really taken off since Apple switched from PowerPC processors to Intel x86 CPUs in 2006. According to Apple’s data, over 90 million Intel Macs have been sold, with a peak of 5.198 million in the 2011 holiday quarter.

Best Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Prices

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger was the longest-lived version of OS X with 30 months on the market. It was released on April 29, 2005 and replaced by OS X 10.5 Leopard on October 26, 2007. Tiger officially requires a G3 or later Mac with FireWire, 256 MB of RAM, and 3 GB of available […]

Maximizing a 2006 Mac Pro

Now that Apple has kicked the first version of the Mac Pro out of the family, I think it’s safe to say that it’s now part of our family – a low-end Mac – yet one with extraordinary power waiting to be uncorked.

Google Maps Tips, the Forgotten eMate, Office for iOS Irrelevant, and More iOS News

News, Reviews, & Opinion 10 Tips on Using Google Maps on Your iPhone Stop Multitasking and Put Your Phone in the Trunk Apple’s Forgotten eMate 300 25% of American Adults Own Tablet Computers iPad mini Wins Because It’s Expensive iPhone Tops Americans’ 2013 Consumer Technology Wish List ‘Steve Jobs Wasn’t Malicious, He Was Just Trying […]

Your Mac’s Text to Speech Is Great for Proofreading

I have been a writer for over ten years. Before writing for Low End Mac, I was a professional business journalist writing for both UK and international magazines. There is nothing more annoying than putting together an article, writing it up, correcting it until you are blue in the face, dropping it into an amazing […]

The Late 2012 iMac Value Equation

Let’s get the gripes out of the way first: The iMac has always involved some compromises and forced some changes on Mac users. Back in 1998, it meant giving up ADB mice and keyboards and SCSI peripherals for something new called USB, and it meant no built-in floppy drive. But until now, every iMac has […]

Which Is Apple’s Biggest Threat, Microsoft or Google?

Much has been said about the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft. I agree with those who said that Microsoft has used its monopoly power to kill off competition. But times change; Apple and Microsoft no longer want or need to defeat the other. They have become dependent in strange ways. The biggest changes are the threat of regulation and […]

The Late 2012 Mac mini Value Equation

The littlest Mac has become a powerhouse. Apple updated the Mac mini last week, and while the entry-level 2.5 GHz dual-core i5 model is only about 5% faster than last year’s “better” Mac mini, the $200 more expensive model has made the leap from a 2.5 GHz dual-core i5 to a 2.3 GHz quad-core i7.

iMac (Late 2012)

Slimmer than ever, the Late 2012 iMac is the first iMac ever not to include a built-in optical drive. Apple has also managed to make the iMac’s glossy screen 75% less reflective than before. 27″ iMac is the slimmest yet. Another iMac first: You can’t upgrade memory. If you order your iMac with the base […]

Mac mini (Late 2012)

“Way more power” is Apple’s claim for the Late 2012 Mac mini, and that’s certainly true for the top-end quad-core i7-based model. It has the highest Geekbench score yet for a Mini at 10642 (vs. 6741 for last year’s 2.7 GHz dual-core i7 model), which is an impressive 58% better. However, at the entry level, […]

1997: Microsoft Saves Apple

Fifteen years ago, Steve Jobs announced at the Boston Macworld Expo that Microsoft was making a $150 million investment in Apple Computer, cash Apple desperately needed to remain afloat – along with a promise that Microsoft would continue to develop Office and Internet Explorer for Mac for at least five years, an assurance that helped […]

Which Macs Might OS X 10.9 Leave Behind?

The Apple world rarely rests, and talks are already beginning about the next release of Mac OS X. I am typing this on my 2009 MacBook with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion installed (see last week’s First Impressions of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion). It has only been a few days. The initial dust has […]