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I've only recently become a Mac owner - after watching the
platform's progress since 1984. Back then I was part of a Commodore
family. I had interest in all computing platforms and would study their
capabilities, but I remained a devoted Commodore 64 user until 1988,
when I became an Amiga user.
The Amiga was a terrific hybrid between the Mac's usability and the
power of Unix. Plus, if I really wanted to, I could run Mac apps on my
Amiga with the added benefit of running them faster than on a "real"
Macintosh. I never felt the need to do this but always envied the
greater polish and sophistication of the Mac's interface relative to
the Amiga's window manager.
In 1993 my Amiga died. It was a sad day. My trusty Amiga(s) had
always been good to me, and I don't think that my career in visual
effects would have taken off as quickly as it did had I not had access
to the kind of 3D software that was available for the Amiga.
It wasn't until almost a year later that I bought my next computer,
a DEC Alpha running Windows NT. That, I can say with great
certainty, was a mistake. I spent $5,000 on a very fast machine
running a flavor of Windows that had almost no support except for a few
3D and graphics applications. Because of my work, I rarely wanted to
animate once I got home, so it became a rather expensive Web station.
It didn't even do that well, because most of the plug-ins and apps that
make the Web so neat didn't run under Alpha NT.
A few years later I bought a Pentium 233 laptop. This was an
infinitely more useable machine than the Alpha NT desktop computer. I
liked how easily I could find and run software on Windows 95. But, as
with NT, the interface left a lot to be desired. Also, the layout and
functionality of the operating system in general was exceptionally
poor, compared with what I knew from home (Amiga) and work (SGI Irix).
Windows is such a messy operating system that just becomes worse and
worse the more you do with it and the more software you load onto it. I
dare anyone to tell me differently. It also got slower and less snappy
with each update, both Windows and NT (Win95 -> Win95 + Explorer 4
-> Win98 . . . NT 3.51 -> NT 3.51 + W95 shell -> NT4).
Then I saw the first iMac
commercial. It was pretty amazing. Steve Jobs had really turned the
company around. Apple was finally making compelling machines again.
Apple hadn't made an interesting machine since the days of the Quadra 840AV. All those Centrises,
Performas, and Power Macs just had no soul to them. Here was a Mac with
a fresh personality injection. But still I waited.
Then came the Power Mac G3. Man, was
that ever a beautiful design (as is the G4 update). I had to have one.
Actually, I had to have two. I bought an iMac for my girlfriend in
exchange for "permission" to buy a G3 for myself. After having used
both Windows and Windows NT for the last five years, the Mac is such a
pleasant experience.
I've finally become a Mac person. It feels pretty good.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.19.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.19.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,649; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.19.
Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, $70; DVD, $90; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $72; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $130.
List of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
August 20 in LEM history: 98: Unplanned obsolescence - 99: Open Link Policy - 01: Video editing on low end Macs - Picking a PCI video card - 02: iTunes 3 review - 04: Bad RAM can crash your Mac - Dual-core G4s coming - 07: White iBooks still a good bet? - VMware Fusion good for fusing Windows with OS X - Restoring PowerBook batteries
Snow Leopard, Windows 7, Midori, and the End of Windows, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 08.18.
A look at some of the technologies planned for Mac OS X 10.6, Windows 7, and Midori, Microsoft's future OS that could be the end of Windows.
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, Gordon R. Brown, My Turn, 08.18.
When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
REALbasic Growing to Include Cocoa, Mobile, and Web Development, Rick Lawson, Pioneers in Mac Development, 08.18.
REALbasic is a cross platform development tool for Mac, Windows, and Linux. The company is working on expanding that to the Web, mobile devices, and the Mac's Cocoa.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.18.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.18.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz SuperDrive, $625; 1.33 GHz, $611; 1.5 GHz SD w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
iPod 'Missing Manual' Grows but Drops Coverage of Older iPods, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 08.18.
The 6th edition of iPod: The Missing Manual has extensive coverage of all the current iPod models, but at the cost of dropping coverage of all earlier models.
Best Apple TV Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.18.
Refurb 40 GB Apple TV, $199; new, $224; refurb 160 GB, $279; new, $322 - prices include free ground shipping.
The iMac Legacy: The G3 Era, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.15.
10 years ago today, the original iMac went on sale. One of the most popular lines of computers ever, the G3 iMac would be Apple staples for nearly five years.
The iMac Legacy: After the G3, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.15.
The G3 iMac influenced the whole industry, but Apple continued to move forward with innovative designs using G4, G5, and Intel processors.
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Then I saw the first 
