Low End Mac Editorial Archive

November 2007

Free, flexible video editing and conversion with MPEG Streamclip, Brian Gray, Fruitful Editing, 11.30. This freeware programs supports a multitude of video formats, makes it easy to create video clips, and can export the most popular types.
Leopard brings about a few changes for Boot Camp users, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows, 11.30. Boot Camp no longer requires a Windows drivers disc, and BootPicker makes it easy to choose Windows, Linux, or the Mac OS at startup.
Leopard on older Macs, 13-port USB 2.0 hub, Mac Plus emulator, WD's 'green' hard drives, and more, Mac News Review, 11.30. Also how to squeeze the OS X 10.5 installer onto a single-layer DVD, the top Macs, iMac Graphics Firmware Update, low cost USB DriveDock, and more.
MacBook Pro 'the best', PC veteran falls for Pismo, solar power for laptops, folding keyboard, and more, The 'Book Review, 11.30. Also Leopard gobbling up battery power, first laptop orchestra, 802.11n for AirPort Extreme Macs, battery status widget, bargain 'Books from $149 to $2,699, and more.
I'm never going back to Windows, Ben Zalutsky, My First Mac, 11.29. Early exposure to an iMac (in 4th grade) has created an obsession for older, useful Macs.
Pros and cons of vampire video, another way to install Leopard, looking for EasyShare, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.29. More details on integrated graphics, going G4 on the cheap, more unsupported Leopard reports, the death of DropStuff, and more.
Control your Mac from iPhone/iPod touch, WeatherBug goes mobile, in-car video hack, and more, iNews Review, 11.29. Also hacking the iPhone, RIM developing "device to rival iPhone", iBoom Travel iPod alarm clock, TuneBuds in six new colors, armband for 3G iPod nano, and more.
Is Mac OS X 'a better Linux than Linux'?, Keith Winston, Linux to Mac, 11.28. Is Apple really competing with Linux, or do the two operating systems have very different goals?
Many reasons for giving thanks this year, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.21. It's been a great year for Low End Mac and its publisher, with many reasons for gratitude.
Merely adequate: Why you want to avoid integrated graphics, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.10. A couple years ago, Apple laughingly pointed at Windows PCs with 'integrated Intel graphics' as substandard. Today low-end Macs all suffer from those barely adequate graphics processors.
Problem with Leopard on a MDD, the Road Apple label, bubble ads, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.20. Problems getting a Mirrored Drive Doors G4 to boot Leopard, Mac mini and the Road Apple label, problems with SCSI and Compact Flash, and more thoughts on contextual ads.
Options for replacing your older iPod, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
Mac mini value, reuse the best recycling, and more unsupported Leopard reports, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.19. More protest of the Road Apple label for the Mac mini, the best form of recycling is reuse, and Mac OS X 10.5 on additional unsupported hardware.
Classic still useful, a cooler running MacBook, Panther vs. Tiger for text editing, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.19. Classic is far from dead, Text Edit in Tiger slower than in Panther, the case for a quieter laptop, Buffalo WiFi in Pismo, and Word files on an 800K floppy.
Core Solo Mac mini, a Compromised Mac, Dan Knight, 11.16. Take the already compromised Core Duo Mac mini, remove the second core, and watch performance plummet.
Overheating Mac minis, 'Road Apple' label reconsidered, eMac repair extension, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.16. Also why the Mac mini is a wonderful computer, more Leopard on unsupported Macs, and contextual ads on Low End Mac.
Core 2 Extreme hits 3.4 GHz, free old Mac software, restore pre-Leopard Dock folders, and more, Mac News Review, 11.16. Also iMac "still the desktop star", a more intuitive Spaces experience, VMware Fusion updated, Dead Sea Scrolls for Accordance, and more.
64 GB flash drive in a MacBook Pro, Leopard kills keyboards, X3100 vs. GMA 950 graphics, and more, The 'Book Review, 11.16. Also PowerBook Medic, MacBook vs. MacBook Pro, MIT's pedal powered laptop, a free battery logger, bargain 'Books from $200 to $2,719, and more.
Core Duo Mac mini, a Limited Mac, Dan Knight, 11.15. The smallest, cheapest Mac went dual-core, increased in price, and used memory sucking Intel GMA 950 graphics.
Multiple users on the same Mac at work, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 11.15. How to set up a Mac so multiple users can log in and use it - and use the same pool of work files.
G4 Mac mini not a Road Apple, big drive support in Leopard?, leaking capacitors, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.15. Why the original Mac mini shouldn't be considered a Road Apple, maximum Power Mac RAM, a dual 933 MHz G4 upgrade, and more.
iPhone firmware 1.1.2 released and hacked, upgrade earbuds on the cheap, IM for the iPhone, and more, iNews Review, 11.15. Also iPhone earbuds violate California law, fix your broken iPod, iPod touch 'best ever', shopping for a home with the iPhone, iPod shuffle dock adapter, and more.
G4 Mac mini, a Limited Mac, Dan Knight, 11.14. The smallest, cheapest Mac ever could have been faster and even cheaper if Steve Jobs hadn't insisted it had to be so small.
1 working eMac from 2 broken ones, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 11.14. A pair of matching eMacs, each with a different failure, results in one working eMac and lots of leftovers.
Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
Leopard problems with GeForce graphics, on eMacs and Power Macs, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.14. More success running Mac OS X 10.5 on iMacs, eMacs, Power Macs, and PowerBooks. Also failures with a Cube and a Blue and White G3 with a G4 upgrade.
Beyond Google, 10 years on the G3, the Cube is not a Road Apple, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.13. Also the 64-bit advantage of Core 2, OS 9 on a USB flash drive, sound problems since switching to Leopard, and 7200 rpm in an eMac.
Cross-platform computing: Better than it's ever been, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 11.13. Macs can read PC media, both Macs and Windows PCs play nice with each other on networks, and emulation makes it easy for Intel Macs to run Windows apps.
The case for a quiet, cooler running, low powered MacBook, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.12. Not all notebook users need a lot of power - or the heat, noise, and shorter battery life that go with it.
10 years since the first G3 Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.10. The world's fastest notebook was soon joined by a 266 MHz Power Mac G3 that ran circles around 300 MHz Pentium II computers.
Leopard running on a dual 533 MHz Power Mac, DVD Player, and Quicksilver Road Apples, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.09. Success with OS X 10.5 on a 533 MHz Dual Power Mac, why some Quicksilver Power Macs could be Road Apples, and sorting out DVD Player in Leopard.
Proof Macs cost less, Leopard spanks Vista, Mac pride pins, Arabic OS X 10.4.10, and more, Mac News Review, 11.09. Also the pitfalls of Macintel recovery, waiting for the 10.5.1 update, QuickTime 7.3 released, new Leopard books, and more.
MacBook Pro fastest Vista notebook, 2-finger scrolling for older 'Books, 802.11n USB stick, and more, The 'Book Review, 11.09. Also Samsung announced 64 GB flash drive, bling shells for MacBooks, online petition about vertical lines, bargain 'Books from $100 to $2,719, and more.
Problems running Classic mode in Tiger, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 11.08. After upgrading to Tiger, the old Classic installation stopped working. Where to find the pieces to get everything up to date.
The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard, more OS X 10.5 success stories, and Pismo tips, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.08. A dual 533 MHz Digital Audio Power Mac that refuses to boot Leopard, other unsupported Macs that do run it, and suggestions for improving a Pismo running OS X 10.5.
The incredible transforming PowerBook 1400, Leo Titus LeBron V, Collection Spotlight, 11.07. You can change the look of the PB 1400 with its BookCover, upgrade RAM to 64 MB, add a video card, upgrade to G3, boot from flash memory, and more.
Refurb 17" Intel iMac deals, PowerBook 540 on Compact Flash, Newton as a mobile phone, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.07. Also PCI cards for older Macs, no such thing as a 933 MHz Digital Audio Power Mac, Mac OS longevity, and prospects for XPostFacto 5.
Better and safer surfing with Internet Explorer and the Classic Mac OS, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 11.06. Tips on which browsers work best with different Mac OS versions plus extra software to clean cookies and caches, detect viruses, handle downloads, etc.
Leopard with 384 MB RAM, on a PowerBook G4/550, benchmarked, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.06. Leopard on Digital Audio, Quicksilver, and Sawtooth Power Macs. Questions on CPU load in OS X 10.5 and whether beige G3s and PCI Power Macs might run it.
I can no longer move files using Mac OS X, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 11.05. Drag and drop stopped working. Here's how to make things work again.
Leopard on Pismo, how Apple thinks different, a universal Leopard boot drive, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.05. More Mac OS X 10.5 field reports on unsupported and barely supported hardware, including problems with the 867 MHz 12" PowerBook G4.
Dell's 802.11g card for PowerBooks, glad for the death of Classic, FireWire cams, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also silent computing with 'obsolete' Macs, Leopard and the 867 MHz limit, and Tiger performance on a 600 MHz G3 iBook.
The Santa Rosa MacBook value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.02. With nobody discounting the older MacBooks and an estimated 10-12% performance gain, the Santa Rosa MacBooks are hands down winners.
Using older peripherals with newer Macs, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 11.02. Sometimes all you need is the right hardware adapter, but sometimes you need drivers, and then things can get a bit tricky.
MacBook (Santa Rosa), 10.31. Apple quietly introduced an improved MacBook with Intel X3100 graphics, an 800 MHz system bus, and support for 4 GB of RAM.
Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
Happy with my G3s, plus Leopard on eMacs, G4 iMacs, G4 PowerBooks, and the G4 iBook, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.02. A reminder of the happiness found sticking with older versions of the Mac OS on G3 Macs, plus field reports of Leopard running on even more unsupported G4 Macs.
MacBook goes Santa Rosa, Seagate SATA drive alert, WD's quiet 320 GB notebook drive, and more, The 'Book Review, 20011.02. Also MacBooks face Intel chip shortage, FireWire 800 ExpressCard adapter, fan control software updated, bargain 'Books from $100 to $2,719.
Good-bye Classic, Leopard on old Macs, Leopard books, and more, Mac News Review, 10.29. Also Other World Computing says G4 upgrades compatible with Leopard, Opera updates Mac browser, new version of TypeIt4Me, and more.
What if Apple thought like a PC company?, Dan Knight, The Lite Side, 11.01. Apple has innovated and blazed its own trail. But what if it had followed the path taken by the PC copycats?
Best AGP Mac video card, Leopard on 667 MHz PowerBook G4 and 'Sawtooth' Power Macs, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 11.01. Also questions about booting a Pismo PowerBook from Compact Flash in a PCMCIA reader and whether Leopard might run in a G4-upgraded Power Mac 7500 or G3.
Fixing short iPhone battery life, happy 6th iPod birthday, iPodLinux, and more, iNews Review, 11.01. Apple receives $432 per iPhone contract from AT&T, Molson leaks Canadian iPhone launch, turn iPhone into a remote control, new iPod covers, and more.