Low End Mac Archive for November 21

November 21 in Low End Mac History

Adventures in OS upgrades, downgrades, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings. Mac OS 9.0 was incredibly stable, but the 9.0.4 upgrade ruined all that.
AltiVec vs. Pentium III, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal. Don Granberry of ZDNet uses bad math in claiming a 2.6 GHz PIII matches a G4/500 for certain functions. We correct it.

Saved by the clones, Alex Dalmady, My First Mac. Calculators, pocket computers, and how clones kept one business from going to the dark side.
The computer of the future, Andrew W. Hill, My Turn. Tomorrow's personal computers won't be so much faster as it will be more flexible.
Multimedia greeting cards for any occasion, Matthew Urban, Matt's Mac. How to create your own online multimedia greeting cards for birthdays, holidays, and more.

Advice for Apple Education: Let's get to it, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report. If Apple wants the education market back, it needs to work with real teachers to solve real problems in real schools. Here are some ideas to make Apple the front runner.
To err is human, to correct divine, Manuel Mejia Jr, Triassic Mac. More information on why the Mac Plus degrades over time - and how to fix it.

Panther lets Macs and Windows work together better, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows. Sharing files between OS X 10.3 and Windows users is easier than ever; so is printing to shared Windows printers.
Is Apple's $99 iPod battery replacement fee fair or a rip off?, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive. Considering the size and value of older iPods, isn't it better to just buy a new one?
Ideas for truly desperate out of work programmers, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side. Ten ways unemployed programmers could use their skills and make a buck instead of just griping about outsourcing.
eMac II brings Apple to the Gates of Dell, Anne Onymus, Rumor Mill. For the first time ever, Apple will have dual processors on entry-level models.
World's lightest laptop, Lombard SCSI bug, MisFox restores user control of defaults in OS X, and more, The 'Book Review. Also BatteryStatsX updated, new PB G4 auto adapter, new laptop sleeves and wraps, the Squid flashlight, new laptop video chips, and bargain 'Books from $699 to $2,399.
Change can be good, even when it's hard, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. Sometimes life just gets overwhelming, but if you face down the issues, things can get better.

3 survivors from the 1970s: Microsoft, Intel, and Apple, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. Older companies like IBM and Radio Shack have entered and abandoned the personal computer realm, and many others have failed. How do Microsoft, Intel, and Apple survive?
Real world 'Book battery life is inadequate, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 2005.11.21. In daily use, we're looking at 2-3 hours of battery life. We need room for a second battery.
Windows PC to classic Mac file transfer using Zip disks, Marin Balabanov, My Turn. Without ethernet, it's not easy to move big files to an older Mac. Here's one way to use Zip disks for the task.
Papyrus Office: A $99 alternative to Microsoft Office, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings. Papyrus Office 11 has been ported to OS X. With word processing, spreadsheet, a relational database, and desktop publishing, can it replace Microsoft Office?

Parallels revisited: Release version far more polished than beta, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows. Parallels lets you run Windows or Linux without rebooting your Intel-based Mac, and it's made great strides since the beta came out earlier this year.
Roadmap to Intel's past, present, and future icons, Jeff Adkins, The Lite Side. From a simple "intel", Intel's logo has gained "inside", leaped ahead, and gone Core. Here's what you can expect in the years ahead.

Many reasons for giving thanks this year, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. It's been a great year for Low End Mac and its publisher, with many reasons for gratitude.

The long term value of a high end Mac, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job. Low-end Macs are more affordable up front, but the flexibility and upgrade options of a top-end Mac can make it the better value in the long run.
15 reasons Macs are better, quad-core iMac in January?, USB 3.0 spec finalized, and more, Mac News Review. Also 25 years of Macs, 'Snow Leopard' in Q1?, SimpleTech's faster and greener hard drive, Hyperspaces, StarOffice for OS X, and more.
DisplayPort copy protection, trackpad update, netbooks not to be taken lightly, and more, The 'Book Review. Also Apple set for record sales, 4-finger gestures on original MacBook Air, MacBook Apple's best consumer notebook to date, Cricket laptop stand, bargain 'Books from $490 to $2,299, and more.
iPhone #1 worldwide, Google voice search for iPhone, iPhone 3G battery pack, and more, iNews Review. Also British accents throw off Google voice search, lots of new iPhone apps, universal USB car charger, new protective cases, and more.

Planned Obsolescence and the iPhone, Consumer Christmas List, iOS 5.0.1, Dolphin Browser, and More, iNews Review. Also speeding up your iDevice if iOS 5 slowed it down, 1G iPod nano replacement program, iOS 5.0.1 doesn't solve battery woes for some, and more.