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.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

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.

New PowerBooks, Safari, Keynote, and Other Things to Wean Us from Microsoft

Dirk Pilat - 2003.01.20

It is 8 a.m. on a cloudy Tuesday morning* at Sydney Airport, and I just have stepped off a grueling 19 hour flight from Frankfurt via Singapore, just to sit around now for another 6 hours until my plane to New Zealand buzzes off, so I thought I use the spare time to reflect on a couple of the exciting (or maybe not) new developments in our very own Vatican (also known as Apple Headquarters), presented to us by our very own prophet, the honourable archdeacon Stevie St. Jobs.

* The good doctor did write this on a Tuesday morning (which would have been Monday afternoon or evening here in the States), but he forgot his Palm's cradle, so he didn't actually send it in until Saturday, January 18. And that's why this article is appearing on Monday (or maybe it's Tuesday already in New Zealand, Australia, and the rest of the Orient). dk

There is plenty of good news to rejoice: 600,000 sold iPods, 250,000 sold .mac accounts, plenty of new software, and even the deliverance of our very own Web browser, the mysteriously named Safari. And what an interesting piece of software it is - based on KDE's Konqueror, this is (although still buggy) a lean, mean browsing machine that (by the time it's out of beta) will probably be the #1 browser for most Apple heads, and, as recently reported by MacSlash, the new source will probably end up in the new versions of Konqueror, being the good open source citizen that Apple intends to be.

With the coming evolution of OpenOffice for OS X out of beta and the release of the PowerPoint killer Keynote, this will be another stepping stone towards independence from Microsoft products - and good riddance.

On the other hand, I hear you wail, what happens if Bill "the devil" Gates finally has enough of Steve's shenanigans and closes down the (unusually aptly named) Macintosh Business Unit (MBU), leaving Apple without streetcred in the corporate world? Will we finally become a branch of Dell, or, even worse, Gateway? That would probably the time when we all would abandon our beloved PowerPCs and finally succumb to inevitable and all start using AMDs (of course running OpenBSD).

On the other hand, Bill Gates is still said to make quite a bit of money with the MBU and would be foolish to close down such a lucrative money spinner.

I personally believe that we will continue to find Microsoft products on our desktops (although I have been wrong so many times before that my predictions mean literally nothing) and continue to marvel what handsome and functional software can be produced by Microsoft if they only set a lean team of dedicated and excellent coders on the task. If you think that this is a compliment towards Microsoft, you're right. Yes, miracles happen sometimes.

Now quickly to the other stuff: The new PowerBooks are indeed beautiful, although I have to admit that I don't see the practicability of the 17" version - that thing is seriously broad, and after having a look around in my wardrobe, I certainly couldn't find hand luggage that I could fit this beastie in.

On the other hand, the small PowerBook is seriously sexy, and I have to admit that I am severely tempted by this extremely compact piece of engineering. I could certainly see the smaller PowerBook as the replacement of my beloved iBook in the next couple of months.

Mmh, let's just wait for the prices to fall a bit.

With that I'll leave you to make up your own minds and, as usual, post some feedback on thepilum.com so I can learn from your views. Just wish me luck that I won't sleep through the boarding of my flight.

Snore....

Recent Down But Not Out Columns

Thoughts and advice on replacing a two-year-old iBook G4, 02.01. This iBook G4 has taken a beating. Does it make more sense to buy a new iBook G4, wait for the Intel models, or look at the used market?
iBook on last legs, Mac mini saves marriage, and Macintel meanderings, 01.23. With the iBook G4 "falling apart at the seams", does it make more sense to buy a new G4 iBook or wait for the Intellified next gen iBook?
First impressions of the 14" iBook G4, 11.13. "Apple has managed to produce a machine that combines everything I want from a portable computer with appropriate processor performance for a competitive price."
Apple shines after a poorly timed iBook order, 11.06. The frustration of ordering a G3 iBook just two days before it was replaced by a G4 model.
More in the Down But Not Out index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook

Recent Deals

Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Down But Not Out begun April 26, 2002. All Down But Not Out articles ©2002-03, 2006 by Dirk Pilat. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 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.