Getting the Most Value from Your Mac

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $192 / 2GB kit $109. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 1GB $23--Free shipping available.

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The mission of Low End Macis helping users get the most value from their Macs and Mac clones. We're not concerned with having the fastest, most tweaked out computer possible. We're not concerned with keeping ancient Macs in use long after they've become bottlenecks. We are concerned with value: getting the most use from your hardware for the money, whether that means an upgrade or a newer Mac.

This site covers everything from the Lisa to the latest Macs -- because sooner or later, every Mac becomes low end. Due to our focus on value, the primary focus of Low End Mac is older models.

For the benefit of low-end users, this site uses no frames, no Java, no sound, no QuickTime movies, no PNGs - just text, tables, GIFs, JPEGs, and a little Javascript for our subscription system. For best viewing, your browser cache should be on.

Site History

I began Low End Mac in April 1997 as a way to keep track of the older Macs I had to support at work. (That was the year we finally began retiring Macs - by selling our beige Mac Plus with a GCC HyperDrive to one of our employees. Although the drive has since expired, "Blitz" is still running.)

Originally called The New Low End Mac User and served on my personal Internet account at iserv.net, Low End Mac joined the MacTimes Network in November 1997. There it grew tenfold in popularity. During our months with MacTimes, we also created the iMac Channel, MacInSchool, and a lot of other content which would later be integrate with LEM.

In February 1999, we moved to the lowendmac.com domain as one of the few Mac-related sites served on a Macintosh computer. The Power Mac G3 server was capably managed by Innovative Technologies.

At the end of March 1999, Low End Mac severed its relationship with MacTimes. We joined the infiniMedia Network in May 1999, moving to their server. Although it was a bit of a disappointment no longer being served on Mac hardware, the simple fact is that their Unix server was much faster.

Low End Mac is currently hosted by BackBeat Media, who also handles our ads. The site is running on Apache (Web server software) on the Linux operating system.

Personal Mac History

For several years, I worked as information systems manager for Baker Book House. Baker used Macs for over a decade and had a network of about over 90 when I left in January 2001. Since then, I've been working full time for Cobweb Publishing, Inc., the company I formed to publish Low End Mac and my other Web projects.

I've been working with Macs since 1986, began selling them in 1987, and got my first Mac (a Plus) in 1990 or 1991. Owning that Mac converted me from being a DOS geek and put me on the path to becoming a Mac guru.

Not only do we have a lot of older Macs at work, but I've acquired a collection of low end Macs for home and personal use as well. At home we have a Plus, SE, Mac II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci, IIfx, PowerBook 150, LC, LC II, Color Classic, Centris 610, Centris 660av, Quadra 950, Radius 81/110, SuperMac J700, SuperMac S900, iBook, and PowerBook G4, among others. They're all over the house, and many are connected with ethernet.

My Mac II, built in 1988, has 8 MB RAM, a 160 MB hard drive, and an ethernet card. It functioned day in and day out as a personal web server (running NetPresenz) and mail list manager (running Macjordomo) for my reformed.net domain for several months. (The site was subsequently hosted on a Mac IIfx, and later moved to a Quadra 650.)

In 2000, I reacquired my first Mac - a platinum Plus with a 16 MHz Brainstorm upgrade, 4 MB RAM, an external 800 KB floppy, and a wicked fast, rock solid Microtech hard drive with a 40 MB Quantum mechanism (well, it was wicked fast when I bought it) - from its third owner. I even have a genuine Apple carrying case: black with a stitched Apple logo. Except for the drive being dead, everything works just fine.

For fun, I've obtained a Portable, a IIfx, Centris 660av, and lots of other vintage Macs and started a personal collection, the Low End Mac Computer Museum (donations gladly accepted).

Interviews with Dan Knight, publisher

Recent Content on Low End Mac

  • Mac Pro beats HP and Dell at their own game: Price, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.16. Whether comparing the top-end or low-end of Mac Pro options, comparable models from Dell and HP cost more.
  • Best iPhone deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.16. New 8 GB iPhone, $399; 16 GB, $499.
  • Best iBook G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo w/AP, $350; 1.33 GHz w/o AP, $400; 14" 933 MHz w/AP, $400; 1.07 GHz, $425; 1.33 SuperDrive, $450; 1.42, $500.
  • Best Mac Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.16. Refurb 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,888; 2.8, $1,999; 3.0, $2,299; 8-core '07, $2,499; new 2.8 4-core, $2,199; 8-core, $2,598 after rebate; 3.0 '08 $3,399 a/r; 3.2, $4,169 a/r.
  • Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, May 1994 - 25-33 MHz 68040 powered PowerBooks with smart batteries, grayscale and color displays.
  • List of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks.
  • May 16 in LEM history: 98: iMac: A second look - 00: Raised in a 6-color world - 01: The exclusivist Mac - Troubleshooting your Mac - 02: MP3 and the Mac - SE/30 catharsis - 03: Don't confuse a pretty interface for an easy OS - SCSI and OS X on a beige G3 - 05: The Apple III and Lisa era - Bigger, faster, more: Enough! - G4 upgrade for iMac A-D - 06: MacBook - PowerBook 3400: Surprisingly useful and spry - 07: MacBook value equation - 3 GB in a MacBook
  • Leopard is the way to go, even on most old G4 Macs, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 05.14. The useful and just cool features in Mac OS X 10.5 make this the biggest step forward in the history of the Mac OS.
  • Windows on Macs: Three paths for integration, Jason Packer, Macs in the Enterprise, 05.14. Mac users have three routes for running Windows apps: Run Windows using Boot Camp or virtualization, or use a compatibility layer such as WINE.
  • Mac OS 9 still nice, anticipating Odysseus, PowerBook 1400 upgrades, and more, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 05.14. Also rebuilding PowerBook batteries, FastMac vs. NuPower replacement batteries, and only one G4 upgrade left for WallStreet PowerBooks.
  • Up-to-date or low-end, we need technology in our schools, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 05.14. Modern computers are great educational tools, but sometimes less distracting options (like no Internet) make more sense.
  • Best iMac G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.14. Used 15" 800 MHz Combo, $320; SuperDrive, $380; 1 GHz Combo, $400; SD, $485; 17" 1.25 GHz, $459; 20", $750.
  • Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.14. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $40; 10.1, $49; 10.2, $60; 10.3 DVD, $50; CD, $100; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $109; 10.3 Server, $130.
  • Best MacBook Air deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.14. 1.6 GHz, 80 GB, $1,694 after rebate; 1.8 GHz, $1,994 a/r; 1.6 GHz, 64 GB SSD, $2,689 a/r; 1.8 GHz, $2,950 a/r; SuperDrive, $99.
  • 10 cult Macs adored by collectors, Tamara Keel, Digital Fossils, 05.13. Macs are not only noted for their longevity, but also by the passion which collectors have for some of the most interesting models ever made.
  • Low End Mac's Compleat Guide to the Lombard PowerBook G3, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 05.13. With the Lombard PowerBook, Apple abandoned the legacy ADB and serial ports for USB, trimmed 20% from WallStreet's weight, and hit 400 MHz.
  • Best PowerBook G3 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.13. Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $200; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
  • Best Apple TV deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.13. Refurb 40 GB Apple TV, $199; new, $210; refurb 160 GB, $279; new, $319.
  • Best Xserve deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.13. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $1,399; close-out 2.0 dual-core Xeon, $1,999; refurb 2.66, $2,799; 3.0, $3,499; new 2.8 GHz quad, $2,888; 8-core, $3,299; 3.0, $4,059.
  • More links in our archive.

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  • Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, May 1994 - 25-33 MHz 68040 powered PowerBooks with smart batteries, grayscale and color displays.
  • List of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks.
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