Home Profiles Articles Groups Deals News Software Mac Help News Feed

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Daniel's Advice

Improving AOL 5.0

Evan Kleiman - 2001.03.09

Q. I've been using AOL 5.0 for awhile now, and I'm starting to get tired of it. All of my PC friends are using the new AOL 6.0, and it has way more features than my AOL 5.0 does. Is there any way to make AOL 5.0 for the Mac any better?

A. Yes, it seems that AOL has been totally gypping their Mac users. The Windows users have AOL 6.0 already, which has many improved features and new features compared to AOL 5.0 for Mac, and it doesn't look like we'll be receiving AOL 6.0 any time soon. What do we do in the meantime? Well, we try to make due with what we have - by making it better.

One of the most vexing problems with AOL 5.0 is that its browser is painfully slow, not to mention very unstable. However, what some people don't know is that you can use any browser with AOL. All you need to do is sign on like normal, then switch to the Finder and launch your favorite browser. You can even use your favorite copy of Lynx or Netscape 1.5!

Another problem is one that inconveniences many people. When you write emails, instant messages, etc., when you go to choose a color for your font or background, you're presented with only 25 color choices, most of which don't even match! But this problem is solvable, too, and you can add many different colors. however, it does require some work and using ResEdit.

First, open any program such as Internet Explorer (preferably a browser) that you can use to copy it's colors in ResEdit. (If you don't have ResEdit, you can get it by clicking here.) Once you have the program open, you'll see a screen with many different icons. Pick the one that says "clut" and double click it.

Next, a window will pop up that has a few lines in it. Each line is a different color pallet. Pick the one you like best and double-click it to open it. Now that it's open, select all (command-a) and copy it to the clip board. You're done with your donor application, so you can close all of it's windows. Now, it's time to give AOL a color transplant.

First, open AOL in ResEdit. Then open the "clut" resource, like you did with Internet Explorer (or whatever your donor application was). You'll then see a line that says AOL Colors. Double-click this, and a window will open up, select all again, and instead of copying the colors, paste them in. You should see your new color pallet appear. If it does, you're all done! Just save the program, start up AOL, and see your new and improved color choices.

These small tricks might not really help out AOL that much, but it can still make your everyday AOL use more enjoyable - or at least bearable until AOL 6.0 is finally released for the Mac.

Evan Kleiman has been writing for Low End Mac since January 1999. He also runs his own site, Evansite. Evan uses an iMac, along with some vintage hardware. You can read more about his computing experience in The Many Macs of Evan Kleiman.

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

WiFi Hardware Compatible with Desktop Macs Running OS X, MetaPhyzx, 03.11. USB, ethernet, PCI, and other wireless hardware compatible with Mac OS X.
WiFi CardBus Adapters Compatible with PowerBooks, MetaPhyzx, 03.11. CardBus hardware and drivers compatible with PowerBooks running Mac OS X.
WiFi PC Cards Compatible with PowerBooks Running OS X, MetaPhyzx, 03.11. PCMCIA/PC Card hardware and drivers compatible with PowerBooks running Mac OS X.
WiFi PC Cards for PowerBooks Running Mac OS 9, MetaPhyzx, 03.10. PCMCIA cards and drivers reported to be compatible with PowerBook running the Classic Mac OS.
More in the Mac Daniel index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Macintosh IIsi, Oct. 1990 - The most compact Mac II was underclocked and designed not to compete with IIci.
Group of the Day: PowerBooks covers pre-G3 PowerBook users.
July 31 in LEM history: 01: A revolutionary database - New iBook sans DVD-ROM - Macs, MIDI, and making music - 02: OS X Maintenance Program falls short - Fear and loathing in Redmond - Runtime Revolution for Linux and the Mac OS - 03: The myths keep people from switching - 06: The ins and outs of booting Linux on the Mac - More on FireWire installation of OS X - 07: The Mac mini isn't dead - No region-free DVDs on MacBooks
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best Mac Pro Deals, 07.28. Used 2.0 GHz 4-core, $1,150; 3.0, $1,600; 2.8 8-core, $2,230; refurb 2.66 4-core, $2,149; 8-core, $3,999; new 2.66 4-core, $2,289; 2.26 8-core, $3,016; more.
Best Intel iMac Deals, 07.28. Updated to include the July 2010 iMacs and close-out prices on 2009 models.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 07.27. Used from $620; refurb 2.4 GHz C2D, $1,299; i5, $1,529; new, $1,669; refurb 2.53, $1,699; new, $1,799; refurb 2.66 i7, $1,869; new, $1,969; more.
Best iPhone Deals, 07.27. 8 GB iPhone 3GS, $99; 16 GB iPhone 4, $199; 32 GB, $299.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.27. 867 MHz Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $330; SuperDrive, $439; 1.5 GHz, $459; more.
Best G3 iMac Deals, 07.26. 500 MHz CD-ROM, $40; 400 MHz DVD, $179 shipped; 600 MHz CD-RW, $55.
Best Time Capsule Deals, 07.26. Refurbished 1 TB, $209; new, $275; refurb 2 TB, $369; new, $455. Shipping included.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.