What Is a Low-End Mac?
I’ve been an avid reader of Low End Mac for a number of years and have recently shown my appreciation and become a writer. But what exactly is a low-end Mac? Different people have different ideas. I...
View ArticleG3 and Low End G4 Mac Performance Comparison
I have a lot of Macs similarly spec’d, and I began noticing a lot of difference between them, so I set about benchmarking them and comparing the results. I thought I would share my findings with you....
View ArticleBack to My Comfortable Place with OS X
I have been out of the Mac world for a few months. But I am back, where I belong, using a Mac. After ten years as a dedicated Mac fan, I had decided that, as most of what I do is based online, it...
View ArticleOS X 10.4 Tiger Still Very Usable on a 500 MHz G3 Mac
At Low End Mac, we don’t scoff if you are still using a G3. We don’t laugh if you are still using Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. We embrace these and ask you to share you experience. This is why I am writing...
View ArticleMac and Linux Side by Side
I am an Apple fan with a itch to scratch called Linux. I’ve tried being without a Mac and I cant do it, so I’m left with running Mac and Linux on the same machine. The past year has been a weird and...
View ArticleHow to Remove the Markings from Your PowerBook or iBook Keyboard
I love to mod my Mac and personalise it, and over the years I have done some crazy things. But my latest idea has gained me some very interested looks. A few years ago I painted a Lombard PowerBook G3...
View Article2001: Apple Introduces the Dual USB ‘IceBook’ iBook G3
On May 1, 2001, Apple toned down its consumer portable range from the marvelous colourful and oversized Clamshell iBook to the sleek white “IceBook” (more officially called the “Dual USB iBook”). In...
View ArticleThe Clamshell iBook: Beautiful but Lacking
The Clamshell iBook has to be one of Apple’s most debated products. Some say it’s gorgeous, some say it’s hideous, and it’s described in some of the most bizarre ways - Barbie’s handbag and the toilet...
View Article12″ PowerBook vs. iBook: Is There Really a Difference?
In the last few days, I have become the proud owner of a 12″ PowerBook G4, a replacement for my 12″ iBook G4 that died a few weeks ago. Looking at the two machines, they are virtually identical...
View ArticleApple’s Climb Back to Success, 1999 to 2001
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Apple climbed back to profitability and fame. Apple’s colorful computers put them back into the spotlight, and the iPod diversified Apple’s business successfully,...
View ArticleWith a 600 MHz iBook Running Circles Around a 2.8 GHz Celeron, It Was Time to...
This article was first published on 2008.06.05 and is reposted as part of our 30th anniversary celebration of the Macintosh. Being a long suffering Windows user, I finally gave into the peer pressure...
View ArticleiBook (FireWire)
The second-generation iBook replaces the bright blueberry and tangerine of the original iBook with a more sophisticated indigo blue and a bright key lime. New features include FireWire and video...
View ArticleiBook SE (FireWire)
The second-generation iBook Special Edition (SE) adds key lime as an alternative to graphite. It replaces the 366 MHz G3 processor of the earlier iBook SE with the new G3e running at 466 MHz. The G3e...
View ArticleClamshell iBook Mod Lets You Easily Change the Hard Drive
Changing the hard drive in a Clamshell iBook G3 requires a complete strip down. I look at modding it to make it easier. I have taken apart, repaired, and upgraded many Macs in my time, but taking apart...
View ArticleTransparent Clamshell iBook Mod
I take the fantastic coloured Clamshell iBook and strip it back making it transparent. I have always had a fascination with technology you can see the innards of. There is something raw about using a...
View ArticleThere’s No ‘i’ in Apple Anymore
The late 90s saw Apple take on it’s iconic range of devices beginning with i – starting a whole era of products. Has this era ended? Apple created one of the most instantly recognisable brands ever –...
View ArticleTangerine Fusion’s Fun Facts: FireWire iBooks
2000: The new iBook SE has a new feature called processor speed-stepping. Working similarly to the technology that prevents Mobile Pentium IIIs from running down notebook PC batteries too quickly, it...
View ArticlePortability: Using iBooks, PowerBooks, and MacBooks in the Field
Owning a portable computer is great. In the world of computing, mobility has its benefits. You can use your computer virtually anywhere, which is definitely splendid to channel a burst of creativity...
View ArticleRebranding: They’re All Macs Now
2007: When Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, there were only two Macintosh computers: the original 128K and the 512K “Fat Mac”. When he returned in 1997, there were PowerBooks, Power Macs, and Performas –...
View ArticlePRAM and Battery Issues in iBooks and 12″ PowerBooks
Apple made an unusual decision when it designed the original iBook, the one with the handle. Unlike most Macs before and since, iBooks do not have a PRAM battery. Neither does the 12″ PowerBook G4,...
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