Low End Mac Round Table
The LEM Round Table is a weekly conversation among Low End Mac staffers on a topic of interest to the Apple community.
- 2004: The First G5 iMacs, 2012.08.31. It was a pleasant surprise when Apple redesigned the iMac around the fast, efficient, hot running G5 CPU.
- 1999: The First G4 Power Macs, 2012.08.31. Thanks to the AltiVec vector processor, the G4 was a big step up in processing power from the G3.
- OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard at 3: The Best Classic Version of OS X?, 2012.08.28. Just three years ago, OS X left PowerPC Macs behind but still ran PowerPC software. A year later, OS X got iOSiffied, making OS X 10.6 a last, best option for many.
- Windows 95: Big Step Forward or Blatant Mac Ripoff?, 2012.08.24. Released 17 years ago, Windows 95 was a huge step forward for Microsoft and became real competition for the Mac.
- 10 Years Ago: The Last Power Mac to Boot OS 9, 2012.08.10. The Mirrored Drive Door Power Mac G4 without FireWire 800 was the last capable of booting into Mac OS 9, and it remains useful today.
- How We Choose and Use Cloud Storage Options, 2012.07.27. Low End Mac's staff shares which cloud storage options they use and how they use them.
- Preparing Your Mac for the Worst, 2012.07.18. Hard drives crash, laptops get dropped or stolen - are you prepared to recover from a disaster like that?
- iPhone and iOS: The First 5 Years, 2012.06.29. Five years ago, Apple's first smartphone came to market. Even at $599, people lined up for it.
- The G5 Legacy: Looking Back from 9 Years On, 2012.06.22. The first G5 Mac, the Power Mac G5, was introduced 9 years ago. It ran hot but was also a real powerhouse.
- Apple Loves to Release New Notebooks in May, 2012.05.04. New MacBook Pros may be just around the corner, and Apple has a long history of introducing new 'Books in May.
- Earth Day and Low End Mac, 2012.04.23. We like to think of Low End Mac as the greenest Mac website. How can Mac users be more earth-friendly?
- How Secure Are Macs?, 2012.04.02. Researchers keep saying that Macs are insecure, but do you really need to run antivirus software?
- Looking Back on 11 Years of Mac OS X, 2012.03.23. Apple shipped Mac OS X 10.0 eleven years ago. It pointed to the future but wasn't quite ready for it.
- Should I Run the Latest Version of Mac OS X or Not?, 2012.03.19. There are some good arguments for running the current version of OS X, but also some good ones for not doing so.
- 18 Years Ago Apple Introduced the First PowerPC Macs, 2012.03.14. The 68040 CPU was running out of steam, and RISC appeared to be the future, so Apple helped develop a new processor family.
- 25 Years Ago the Mac II and SE Changed the Face of the Mac, 2012.03.02. Until March 2, 1987, Macs had no expansion slots or color displays. The Macintosh SE and II changed all that.
- Pismo PowerBook Still Desirable 12 Years after Launch, 2012.02.16. Many Mac lovers consider the PowerBook Pismo the high water mark us usability and expandability.
- 15 Years Ago Motorola Unveiled the PowerPC G3, 2012.02.06. The G3 processor was optimized for real world Mac software and made a big leap forward in efficiency.
- 25 Years of AppleShare Networking, 2012.02.02. Macs have always had built-in networking, but Apple didn't have server software for Macs until 1987.
- 2 Years of Apple's iPad, 2012.01.27. As much as the iPad has changed the face of computing, it's hard to believe it's only two years old.
- Happy 28th Birthday, Macintosh!, 2012.01.24. The computer that changed it all was introduced in January 24, 1984, making graphical computing affordable for the first time.
- Looking Back at Macworld Expos Past, 2012.01.20. The first Macworld Expo was held a year after the Macintosh was unveiled. This year it becomes Macworld | iWorld.
- MacBook Air: The First Ultrabook Turns 4, 2012.01.13. Four years ago, the MacBook Air was impossibly thin and light, but also slow and underpowered.
- Intel Macs: The First 6 Years, 2012.01.10. The first Intel-based Macs were unveiled at Macworld Expo just six years ago, making Macs a bit more mainstream and a lot more compatible with Windows.
- Happy 10th Birthday, 'Luxo Jr' iMac G4!, 2012.01.06. It's hard to remember what a breakthrough a flat panel iMac was ten years ago, but the whole design was radical.
- Screen Size and Resolution: What Is Too Much? How Much Is Too Little?, 2011.11.18. A too small display can hobble your productivity, a too large one can just get in the way, and too high resolution can make working difficult.
- PowerPC G3 a Huge Step Forward in Its Day, 2011.11.16. When it was introduced in November 1997, the G3 offered a new level of efficiency compared with the more costly 604e CPU.
- The Hackintosh Conundrum, 2011.11.08. Macs going Intel meant they could run Windows, growing the Mac user base. It also meant PCs could run hacked installs of Mac OS X.
- The Authorized Macintosh Clone Legacy, 2011.11.04. Apple tried to expand the Mac's market share by licensing clones. It nearly killed Apple, but there was some innovation as well.
- Happy 10th Birthday, iPod, 2011.10.21. It's hard to believe that ten years ago Apple was just a computer company, and now iPods, iPhones, and iPads are its biggest business.
- The End of the Mac's PowerPC Era, 2011.10.19. Apple launched the PowerPC Era in 1994 and introduced the last PowerPC Macs - dual-core G5 Power Macs - six years ago.
- iOS 5 and iCloud: Should You Make the Move?, 2011.10.17. Apple released iOS 5 and iCloud last week. Low End Mac's staff ponders whether the changes are worthwhile or not.
- 20 Years Ago, Apple's PowerBook Redefined Notebook Computing, 2011.09.21. Introduced on Oct. 21, 1991, the first PowerBook models introduced a design that has influenced every new laptop design since.
- Will Apple Switch Macs from Intel to ARM?, 2011.09.12. Rumor has it that Apple will move the MacBook Air to its A6 CPU within a year. Low End Mac's staff doesn't think that's at all likely.
- My Favorite Mac Mouse, 2011.09.02. Low End Mac's staff discusses their favorite mice, trackpads, and other pointing devices.
- Steve Jobs' Legacy at Apple, 2011.08.26. Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO this week. Low End Mac's staff looks at the past 15 years of Apple with Jobs back at the helm.
- OS X Lion: Run With It or Run Away from It?, 2011.08.19. Low End Mac's staff explains why some of us love Lion and others are leery of making the switch.
- 30 Years On: The Legacy of the IBM PC, 2011.08.12. Low End Mac's staff looks back at the introduction and impact of the IBM PC, which was released 30 years ago.
- Change: Sometimes We Embrace It, and Sometimes We Hate It, 2011.08.05. Low End Mac's staff look at the positive and negative impact of change on Mac users.
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