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The Low End Mac Link Archive, August 2000
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
External news links are listed below by the date of publication
with the most recent articles listed at the top, older ones below
them. Other monthly archive indexes are linked on the right. Links
were correct when originally posted. However, we cannot guarantee
that these links are still active.
Opinion:
Micropayment wars over, PayPal wins?, Slashdot, 8/31.
"...PayPal is now sufficiently dominant that it is pretty well
certain to achieve de facto standard for micropayments over
the net."
Web: MacAddict
drops Farr, Lain, MacAddict forums, 8/31. The magazine site
that bucked convention has bucked two unconventional authors.
Opinion: Waiting for OS
X, Fly on the Mac, 8/31. "...when you compared it to a similar
Mac (they both ran 040s), the NeXT felt so much faster; so much
slicker."
Opinion:
The hypocrites at Motorola, MacSlash, 8/30. The company that
ditched Motorola-based Macs is giving employees Motorola cell
phones "to defend and applaud our brand."
Software: GifBuilder
1.0 released, VersionTracker. Great little utility for making
animated GIFs finally reaches 1.0 level.
Advice: Why
did my computer do that?, Nancy Gravley, Computing with
Bifocals, Mac Observer, 8/30. First steps in troubleshooting your
Mac.
Advice: Build-to-order
legacy Macs vs. $799 iMac, Charles W. Moore, Moore's Machines,
8/30. Unless you need the expansion of legacy Macs, the $799 iMac
is a no brainer.
OS: IBM,
HP, Intel, and NEC team up to form Linux lab, Yahoo/Reuters,
8/30. Consortium "to form an independent lab for Linux developers
to expand the alternative operating system for heavy business
tasks."
Opinion: Tortoises will
win the dot-com race, Michael Kinsley, WSJ Opinion Journal,
8/29. Slow but steady builds success. LEM traffic is over 25 times
what it was three years ago and continues growing.
OS: OS X beta
release date announced, Kyle D'Addario, Mac Observer, 8/29. "If
OS X is half of what it promises to be, and Beta is half of that,
then we will still have the best operating system in the
world."
Advice: A beginner's guide
to effective email, Kaitlin Duck Sherwood. On replies: "You
should only include enough to provide a context for the message and
no more."
Advice: Backup
media options, Paul Shields, Business Mac. Backup speed, media
cost big factors.
Opinion: Nihilism,
Apple, and the Mac Web, Part 3, David Schultz, Applelust. "We
must always keep in mind the distinction between the Mac as a
computer and the Mac as a Mac."
Opinion: Computers?
Who cares about computers?, Michel Munger, On the Flip Side,
Mac Observer, 8/29. "...people who live without the heavy presence
of technology can be happy."
Web: Site
to streamline how Web traffic is measured, LATimes.com, 8/28.
"...the companies agreed that when an Internet user views a Web
page that has multiple on-screen components, it should count as
only a single page view."
Opinion: Mac
Hammer: August 21-25, Michel Munger, Applelust, 8/27. Best of
the Web for last week. Also nice he gives one of our articles top
billing. ;-)
Opinion:
Apple getting the future right, Joe Sasanume, ThemeStream,
8/24. "Ironically, all the minute details which Jobs continually
insists on seems to be exactly where the future of the computer
industry is."
Software: Adobe
announced Photoshop 6, Macweek, 8/x. Editable type on curved
paths. I think it's time to upgrade from Photoshop 4!
Deal: Building a G3
PowerBook for under US$1,000, PowerBook Central, 8/24. Start
with a PB 1400 (still one of my
favorites) and add a G3 upgrade. Improved battery life and
impressive performance at bargain basement prices.
Deal: Blueberry iMac DV,
$899, details at DealMac, 8/24. Factory refurbished, free
shipping through Saturday.
Opinion: One
more high school devoid of Apple, Dave Egger, MacMonkey.
Thoughtful piece by a high school student on computers in our
schools. Needs editing, but definitely worth reading.
OS: Mac
OS X: A new beginning, Gene Steinberg, Arizona Central, 8/22.
"...the beginning of the end of the original Macintosh operating
system as we know it."
Lust:
Dell serves up crisper notebook displays, c|net, 8/22. 15"
1600x1200 pixel display - please, Apple, put this on a PowerBook!
(I'd be content with 1280 x 1024. My current dream screen is the
17.3" 1600x1024 SGI
1600SW)
OS: Unix and
Mac OS X, David K. Every, iGeek, MacWeek, 8/22. "...having Unix
as the starting point will help make it easier for Apple to get to
a better ending point."
Opinion: Had any
headaches lately?, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl. LCDs may
reduce visual stress, reducing likelihood of headaches at the end
of the day.
Hands on: G4
multiprocessing lesson for the masses, Michel Munger, On the
Flip Side, Mac Observer, 8/22. Symmetric Multiprocessing defined -
and what it means for Mac users.
Web: MacWrite.com is
back. We really like the idea of a site especially about Mac
writing and wish MacWrite.com great success.
Scam: Apple moving
to G5s next year?, Slashdot, 8/17. I've gotta hand it to Anne
Onymus, she cooks up some pretty credible rumors. A lot of
Slashdotters took this one seriously. ;-) At least
MacSlash understood....
Philosophy: Nihilism,
Apple, and the Mac Web, David Schultz, Infinite Loop,
Applelust, 8/17. "They're not fond of rules, and they have no
respect for the status quo."
Opinion:
Loading up your PowerBook G3 for serious road work, Tim Wilson,
Road Hog, Creative Mac, 8/16. "The advent of the 1999 PowerBooks
marked the first time when we untethered Mac users got envious
stares from peecee users...."
Opinion: The name
game, Marvin Smith, MacMilitia, 8/16. Apple's simplified naming
scheme actually creates confusion.
Review: USB
SuperDisk Drive, Macworld. Good news: floppy compatibility. Bad
news: still much slower than Zip.
Opinion: Apple's
corporate vigilantism, Wes George, Mac Observer, 8/16. "Apple
has not been a big supporter of the First Amendment. This in itself
is ironic...."
Hands On: Macs Only! has
some good Cube commentary and photos.
Opinion: 15-year-old
Macs still in demand, Joey Cooper, MacMilitia. "The Mac is the
perfect machine for someone who has never used a computer."
Opinion: An
online supermarket for legacy Macs, Charles W. Moore,
Applelinks, 8/16. "I went there and ended up spending more time
than I had anticipated exploring this well laid out Website with
its many bargains on legacy Mac hardware."
Rights: French
court defers Web censorship decision, Charles W. Moore,
Applelinks, 8/15. Freedom of speech vs. political correctness and
jurisdiction issues make this an interesting case.
Opinion: The
iMac's evolution, a plastic hell!, Michael Munger, Mac
Observer, 8/15. Bondi, blueberry, grape, tangerine, lime,
strawberry, graphite, indigo, ruby, sage, and snow. What's a
peripheral maker to do?
Low End: Refurb
Madness is our find of the day. Click on "Do It Yourself" to
find mounting sleds, bezels, CD-ROM cables, caddies, and more -
cheap.
Software: Connectix
drops RAM Doubler 9 price 40%, MacCentral, 8/15. This program
made my home computer much more stable than it was with Virtual
Memory. dk
Review: Apple Pro
Keyboard, AllUSB, 8/15. "The keys are well spaced and
comfortable for even a large hand."
Opinion:
The perfect PowerBook?, Charles W. Moore, MacOpinion, 8/15. One
size does not fit all; Apple needs to expand the line.
Opinion: The Blue Sea of
Death, Mat Honan, Macworld, 8/14. "I'm just worried that our
carriers will be so busy rebooting all the time that they won't
have any time left to go out and blow things up."
Web: MacMadness, one of our daily stops on the Web, has moved
to a new URL.
History: 1988
Apple ad, Fly on the Mac, 8/14. "Some computers are trying to
make headlines with features Macintosh had four years ago."
Health:
Oh, my aching back..., Karen M. Tavares, Post-Dispatch, 8/13.
Setting up your computer and furniture to avoid pain.
Opinion: Look to
the rainbow, John Martellaro, Warp Core, Applelinks, 8/13. "On
August 21, 2000, thanks to a lot of support from longtime Apple
friends, I will be an employee of Apple Computer, Inc."
Congratulations, John!
Review:
iMac DV SE (500 MHz), Gene Steinberg, c|net. "The latest iMac
DV Special Edition continues Apple's tradition of elegance and
excellence."
Tech: The
hazards of overclocking, David Read, MacWeek, 8/11. Why
overclocking sometimes works - and why you shouldn't do it.
Opinion:
Apple's deadly ties with Motorola, Joe Sasanuma, ThemeStream,
8/11. "Instead of sticking with the G3, which could be clocked at
over 700 MHz by now thanks to IBM, the G4's are still stuck at 500
MHz after one full year." Amen.
Web: Classic Mac Info
Page, John Christie. "A complete resource for old and rare
Macs."
Opinion: Sailing
beyond the sunset, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion, 8/11. "...when
it comes to distilling the spirit of mankind and forming it into a
machine that complements us as humans, no company on the planet has
ever duplicated the work of Apple."
Oops: It's
true: iBook speed bump ahead, ZDNet, 8/10. "...details of a
forthcoming speed bump to Apple Computer Inc.'s iBook - details
that were, ironically enough, featured in documents Apple filed
last week in its effort to clamp down on what it says are leaks of
trade secrets."
History:
Apple unleashed 350 MHz machine, c|net, 8/5/97 [MyAppleMenu]. Three
years later you can still buy a 350 MHz iMac, while the bleeding
edge Power Mac G4 runs at a remarkable 500 MHz.
Deal: Power Mac G4/400 US$1,347, limited supply,
Outpost.com.
Analysis:
Abandonware, c|net [Slashdot]. Abandonware is "software that
is at least five years old and is no longer sold or supported by
its publisher or developer." See also Legal software for older Macs.
Opinion: Mike's
Cards, a great Mac card game, Nancy Gravely, Computing With
Bifocals, Mac Observer, 8/9. "There are 144 different card games
ranging from video poker to what must be every known version of
solitaire...."
Analysis: PC vs.
Mac, Popular Mechanics, 7/00. "Just as with the games, the Mac
consistently loaded programs faster than the Presario."
Web: Mac OS Journal,
new ezine rises from the ashes of MacOS Daily, MacOS Monthly
(formerly Apple Wizards).
Opinion: The
Macintosh platform: It's so irrational!, Michel Munger, On the
Flip Side, Mac Observer, 8/8. "Do not get me wrong, I do not mean
that being irrational is necessarily a bad thing. Au
contraire."
Analysis: More
on "trade secrets" vs. freedom of the press, Charles W. Moore,
Applelinks, 8/8. "Companies should pursue the 'leakers' if there
are valid grounds to do so, and not try to intimidate the
press."
Opinion: The Surf
Report, Dennis Field, Mac OS Journal, 8/00. Links to useful Mac
site, including "rather different" Low End Mac. We think that's a
good thing. ;-)
Opinion:
BeOS in retrospect, Stanslav Kelman, osOpinion. A brief history
of a great OS, one Apple almost bought instead of NeXT.
History: Looking
back at ATA and SCSI, David Read, MacWeek, 8/8. SCSI for
performace, ATA for cost - and high speed serial will probably
replace both.
Opinion: Run
Mac OS 8.1 on your '030 Mac, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/8.
"Born Again enables certain 68030 Macs to support Mac OS 8.1."
Advise: Gaming
on a low end Mac, Ben Shelton, MacInstruct. First, tweak your
system to make it run faster.
Opinion:
Quest for a scent-free PowerBook, Charles W. Moore, Road
Warrior, MacOpinion, 8/8. "Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) is
a not very well understood immune system disorder in which the body
becomes exquisitely sensitive to nominally 'sub toxic'
concentrations of various chemicals...."
The problem with New York, Ceolaf, MacinThought, PowerBook
Source, 8/4. Excellent analysis of the cost of setting up a booth
at Macworld New York.
Hands On: REALbasic
for Mac OS X, Raven Zachary, MacWeek, 8/2. "Visual Basic for
Mac" supports 68k Mac, OS 8-10, and Windows.
Dark Side:
Hotmail migrating to Win2K, Internet News, 8/2 [Win98Central]. "Only time
will tell whether putting Hotmail on Windows 2000 [vs. FreeBSD]
will help correct or exacerbate those problems."
Analysis: Multiprocessing
makes sense, Oliver Dueck, Mac Observer, 8/2. "...at these
feature and price points, it makes sense for many customers to buy
the dual-processor machines."
Analysis: Apple plugs
corporate leaks, Donna Ladd, Village Voice. "...Apple should
keep its employees from leaking information, not come after
journalists who publish it."
Opinion: Is
this Apple or NeXT?, Michel Munger, On the Flip Side, Mac
Observer, 8/1. A Unix-based OS and a Cube - NeXT had 'em in
1988.
Opinion: Hands-on
with AirPort, David K. Every, MacWeek, 8/1. "It is amazing
that, for a few hundred dollars, something could so quickly and
radically alter the way I work."
News: Apple Q3-00
10Q filing, Insanely Great Mac, 8/1. Over one millions Macs
sold, an increase of over 10% vs. Q3-99.
Opinion: Why I
recommend Mac, Tim Yarbrough, Christian Computing Magazine.
"I've never really considered myself a 'Mac advocate,' rather I'm
an advocate of easy-to-use computer systems."
Opinion: How
we hurt Apple, Joe Ryan, Applelinks, 8/1. "Apple does not exist
because of Mac websites, Mac websites exists because of
Apple."
Dark Side: Microsoft
slashes price on Windows Me, c|net, 8/1. "[Microsoft] has had a
hard time getting customers to buy boxes off the shelves, analysts
say."
