Archive

Does anyone else remembers the release of Mac OS X James P. “Sulley” Sullivan?

Flavor Flav taking procession of his new Humane AI Pin

Extreme Newton Gaming

Do you think the new Mac mini Pro will be available in Titanium?

Should I upgrade now, or wait until the Mac mini Pro ships in November?

iTunes for Newton OS left a lot to be desired.

Apple has always been serious about Newton gaming.

The Nugget MessagePad was Apple’s first pen-based computer shaped like a chicken nugget. Its key features were its communications capabilities (fax, email), its built-in personal organizer applications (Names, Dates, To Dos, Notes) and its ability to recognize and the interpret written words.

Has anyone else tried porting the Einstein Newton OS emulator to the Apple Vision OS simulator?

I know I was surprised when I heard it too, but Apple Vision Pro will support dual-booting with Microsoft Bob and Windows Vista.

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” Tiger electronic game

The two-headed 15-inch iMac G4 “Hydra” was a special software development kit released by Apple in early 2002 in an effort to help lagging developers port that applications from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X. Capable of booting both operating systems simultaneously the hydra offered increased …

We have come so far, and yet Apple’s older laptop designs still feel so familiar.

Dual-booting between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X used to be very different.

Early examples of the Notch in Spring 2003

I can’t believe we have been staring at the Notch now for over 20 years…

Is anyone else waiting for the Apple Vision Pro with Pride headband?

Who can forget the Apple iNug, the best McDonald’s Happy Meal toy ever released.

The Power Macintosh Portable with amber gas-plasma display running System Software 6.

Does anyone know why the Power Mac G5 Cube wasn’t released?

The only wooden block I have ever wanted to play with.

Too Soon?

Lisa Frank iBook

Solo Jazz iBook

Why stop at 15 inches? MacBook Air 22-inch

What if the iMac came with Trapper Keeper style?

Who’s that Macintosh?

Despite having an integrated liquid cooling system with external radiator, the Mac mini G5 was not a success.

Who’s that Macintosh?

Move over Flower Power BIC made the most colorful iPods.

Who’s that Macintosh?

The only iPod powered by butane, the iPod + BIC could play approximately 45 minutes of music between refills.

Apple Mac Pro Zippo

I finally got around to upgrading my Macintosh SE to a G5.

Don’t ask me how, but the eMac nano’s killer app was iDVD.

eMac nano: Finally a way to take the classic iTunes visualizer with you on the go.

Stephen Hackett is looking forward to the next release of AirPods 512pixels.net/2023/04/d…

I Want to Believe

Reality Distortion Field Magic Card (Photo by James Duncan Davidson www.flickr.com/photos/x1…)

Games for HomePod: Crosswords

Games for HomePod: Tempset

It is a little known fact the original iPhone U2 Special Edition only shipped with The Edge. Later models would include Bono, Adam, Larry & 3G.

Games for HomePod: Simon

From Yum to Dumb. What if the eMachines eOne came in colors?

With rumors of upcoming Apple AR Glasses running wild and an Apple Silicon Mac Pro long overdue, no one expected Lisa Pro to be unveiled at WWDC 2023.

In July 2004, long before the introduction of the HomePod, Apple released the AirPod Express. With wireless data rates up to 54 Mbps, digital audio jack, and 40 GB hard drive, AirPod Express allowed users to stream music across the home without the need for an always-on computer.

Who else remembers the StyleWriter 2500 (PRODUCT)RED?

Did you know the first iPod wasn’t portable?

Introduced in October 1991, the Macintosh Classical took the 16 MHz Motorola 68030 of the base Classic II and paired it with double the memory, twice the storage and dual stereo speakers to produce the best classical music listening experience to ever be heard from a compact Mac.

Listening to Apple Music Classical from my Motorola ROCKR E1

The Workstation Server 7250/120L was designed by Apple Fellow Dana Sibera to accommodate double-height PCI 2.0 expansion cards. While the matching Multiple Scan 17L CRT allowed system administrators to keep an eye out for their bosses over the top-right corners of their monitors.

MessagePad Time: A Newton on Your Wrist (Hermès stainless steel double tour leather watch band, Newton stylus & international fax plan sold separately.)

New iPhone 15 Mute Switch Revealed!

What if Apple had taken early iPhone development in a “sidetalkin” direction?

I am running the 127th Boston Marathon on April 17th, 2023.

I just got my hands on an early release of the next version of macOS

Microsoft BOB for the Nintendo Game Boy

The Hunt for Red October Tiger Electronic Game

Ted Lasso Tiger Electronic Game

Boogie Nights was an unconventional choice for a Tiger Electronics handheld game for kids.

To celebrate their founder’s “magnetic personality,” Amazon Basics released the Wooly Jeff for ages three and up.

The Tiger Electronics handheld LCD game version of Stranger Things 2

She comes in colors…

Pinstripes!

Flower Power was my favorite OG iPad

The Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar promotional iPad

Early example of an iPad prototype.

Remember when Apple StyleWriters had style?

The “Shoebox” was a compact Power Macintosh designed for home server duties that was only available from Foot Locker stores during the Fall 1997 season.

The Hipster file server came in two separate drawer sizes and various wood finishes to appease the flannel wearing analog archiver in your family or office. (CERN web server and vintage Apple logo stickers sold separately.)

Released in October 1996, the PowerBook 720c was a cut-down version of the PowerBook 1440c. It featured a 117 MHz 603e CPU, 12 MBs of RAM and a 750 MB hard drive. Starting at $3500 its small size and 7-inch display lead some people to believe it was the predecessor to the 2010 11-inch MacBook Air.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.

Installing Mac OS 9 from the original 45 on a wood panel Power Mac G4 Cube.

The Casey Neistat iPod “Special Edition” was Apple’s response to Casey’s 2003 viral video criticizing the iPod’s non-replaceable battery. The Casey Neistat iPod “Special Edition” came with a belt clip accessory designed to support the extra weight and girth of this …

I just connected my Newton MessagePad 2000 to the Internet for the first time and U2’s Songs of Innocence started downloading…

Apple eMate 300 Yum poster with colored keyboards

Who can forget this classic Apple Network Server 700 ad from the late 1950s

What if the Apple eMate 300 hadn’t been discontinued in February 1998?

Vinyl sales have exceeded CD sales for the first time since the 1980s and Sony is taking notice with the latest release of the PlayStation Classic.

The Apple Macintosh Pro+ (predecessor to the iMac Pro), was based on the Alchemy+ architecture. It featured a 240 MHz PowerPC 604e processor, 32 MB of RAM, a 2.0 GB hard drive and a 12X CD-ROM drive in an ultracool black all-in-one case with a 17" shadow mask ultrawide color CRT.

Just one option for reusing your first generation HomePod now that the new models are out.

Apple introduces HomePod mini in bold and expressive new faces.

Apple’s AR Goggles Revealed!

Apple Game Studio

Released November 19th, 2005 on SNL, the iPod Pequeño was the “smallest iPod yet.” It held one million songs, had an iCalendar that went 7,000 years into the future, iPhoto, and you could watch movies on it. Sadly it was only released for 5 seconds and was obsolete by Christmas.

HomePod Shuffle (because Siri sucks)

iPod Touch Pro

On February 28th, 2006, the iPod Hi-Fi was released. The rackmount model, although rarely seen outside the datacenter, allowed system administrators to rock out to their favorite tunes over the deafening drone of their server’s cooling fans.

Holy HomePod of Antioch

What if the 2023 Mac Pro is just seven M2 Mac minis stacked in a 2019 Mac Pro case?

2023 Mac Pro Unveiled!

The Pumpkin Spice Power Macintosh G3 was smaller than the standard Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White), but what it lacked in height and expandability it made up for in GameCube compatibility. A 700 MHz PowerPC 750CXe made it a desktop publishing powerhouse when not playing Super Mario Sunshine.

Faster and more maneuverable than a standard TIE fighter, HomePod interceptor is also better armed with wingtip-mounted laser cannons, acoustically transparent fabric armor and a full-range driver for deep bass and crisp high frequencies. Given a wingman HomePod Intercepter is stereo pair capable.

That’s no moon…

HomePod U2 Special Edition

Oops! All G5s

The Power Mac G5 (Triple Threat) was a stop gap model released in between the Power Mac G5 (Early 2005) and Power Mac G5 (Late 2005). It included three 2.7 GHz PowerPC 970fx CPUs but no expansion slots. Discontinued 3 months after its introduction, it is the shortest lived Mac.

Does anyone else remember when Apple was serious about Mac gaming?

The 2002 release of iTunes for the Nintendo GameCube was not a success. The GameCube’s inability to rip standard size music CDs, store MP3s, sync an iPod, or burn user’s personalized mix discs may have contributed to the problem.

Netscape Navigator for the Nintendo DS

In a rare collaboration with Nintendo, Apple released Final Cut Express for the Nintendo DS in late 2009. The software allowed users to edit the footage they captured with the DS Lite’s plug-in camera accessory and share it with friends over the Internet. At $199 sales were slow.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Tiger Electronics handheld LCD game version of The Secret of Monkey Island

Designed to be a promotional tie-in for the 1993 MS-DOS release of Day of the Tentacle, the Tiger Electronics handheld LCD version of the game never shipped. According to die-hard Day of the Tentacle fans, its unexplained disappearance is still a mystery to this day.

You’ve heard of the Apple iPod+HP line of Hewlett-Packard-branded iPods, but have you heard of the Microsoft Zune+Sun line of Sun Microsystems-branded Zune digital media players? Built on its own RISC-based SPARC processor architecture running Solaris 9, battery life was abysmal.

HomePod G4 (Bring back the classic visualizer you cowards.)

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think Horizon Worlds for the Nintendo Virtual Boy is going to turn around Meta’s fortunes anytime soon…

True story, Mark Zuckerberg once played the Nintendo Virtual Boy too long.

Move over Siri, HAL 9000 is coming to a HomePod near you. “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Released on October 12, 2011 iMessage for BlackBerry was quickly discontinued after Apple found BlackBerry users were sending iMessages faster and with fewer typos than iPhone users. Old BlackBerry models with iMessage still installed are prized by CrackBerry addicts to this day.

Introducing HomePod Pro

Move over Macquarium it is now time for the iMac Ant Farm!

Who else wanted to keep editing their Macintosh resource forks while on the go?

Released in May 2000, Napster for the Game Boy Color allowed user’s to playback up to 100 MIDI songs stored on the catridge’s 8 MBs of internal storage. Songs could be shared with other users over the Game Link cable. Sales were slow due to the GBC’s poor audio capabilities.

The 1995 release of GeoCities for the Nintendo GameBoy allowed users to create and browse websites for free. A game link cable was required to connect to another user’s GameBoy in order to see their site. Communities were slow to grow as groups waited in line to share one cable.

Mastodon.mit.edu is flooded!: My volunteer, student run Mastodon instance is down due to flooding. SIPB Services down due to W20 flooding - Scripts, Mastodon, SIPB AFS cellSubscribe Identified - As a consequence of the closure and flooding in building w20, a number of services operated by MIT’s student computing group …

The iPod Shuffle SE 2021 was a reintroduction of the iPod Shuffle’s original 2005 “chewing gum stick” design but with an integrated single-use SARS-CoV-2 antigen test. (Optional lanyard sold separately.)

Despite its attractive yellow cartridge and smart portrait of Jeff Bezos, Amazon Web Services for the N64 was marginally less successful than GoldenEye 007. The Nintendo 64s lack of networking was a serious setback that should have foreshadowed its eventual recall from the market

NeXTSTEP 3.3 for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was a short lived project to expand the reach of NeXT’s software in February 1995.

Microsoft Windows ME Upgrade for the Sega Dreamcast

The July 25, 2008 promotional release of Mac OS X “Fox Mulder” was part of a short-lived partnership between Apple and Fox Broadcasting Company.

The Sonic & Tails version of Mac OS 8 was released exclusively for the Sega Genesis.

I always wanted to see About By PCalc for the Nintendo DS.

Released on June 19, 1995, Macintosh System 7.5 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System included an integrated Motorola 68020 “Super FX” co-processor @ 16 MHz with 2 MBs of RAM to supplement the SNES' Ricoh 5A22 3.58 MHz CPU and 128 KBs of general-purpose memory.

Released in 2001 for the Nintendo Game Boy, Mac OS X Server 1.0 not include the Aqua user interface (instead using NeXTSTEP’s Workspace Manager shell mixed with aspects of Mac OS 8’s “Platinum” user interface) or Carbon API.

Sitting down to listen to a podcast like it is 2012.

Mac OS X Tiger for GameCube: Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger was the only version of Mac OS released for the PowerPC-based CPU, codenamed Gekko, in the Nintendo GameCube.

I am still waiting for Quake 3 to be released for the NES.

The last version of Mac OS X released on vinyl was Leopard. It came on 20 LPs (not pictured).

Mac OS 9 was only released on Mini Disc in Japan. Here is an example of a rare English language version. (Probably the most 90’s thing you will see today.)

The limited edition Welcome to Mac OS X intro music LP is a rare find for Macintosh collectors.

Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar was the first version of Mac OS to be released on two double-sided LP records.

Mac OS 9 sounds so much warmer when you install from the original vinyl.

Stage Manager is destined to become this decade’s Dashboard of Apple user interfaces.

HalfBook Pro: Ars Technica reports the new M2 MacBook Pro’s 256GB SSD is only about half as fast as the M1’s SSD. Sustained disk read speeds run by Max Tech using the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test showed a drop from about 2,900MB/s in the M1 MacBook Pro to 1,446MB/s in the M2 MacBook Pro. Write speeds dropped …

iPad Display Support: One of the most exciting features announced at this year’s WWDC, external display support is coming to the iPad. But according to this footnote, extended display support is only coming to last year’s iPads with a M1 processor.1 Full external display support comes to iPad Pro with the M1 …

M2 Display Support: Back in the day of translucent plastics and PowerPC processors, Apple used to differentiate its pro line of PowerBooks by crippling the video hardware in its consumer line of iBooks. Starting with 1999's [PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard)][bronze] Apple's PowerBooks could extend their Mac OS desktop to …

2022 MacBook Air: Apple just announced the “all-new 2022 MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip.” Apple’s newest notebook comes with a larger 13.6" Liquid Retina display, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three-mic array/four-speaker sound system, in a streamlined chassis that resembles the 2021 …

Paul C. Pratt is Missing: Last week Richard Moss, author of The Secret History of Mac Gaming, tweeted: Mini vMac author Paul C. Pratt has been MIA for the past year, and after numerous failed attempts to check that he’s okay the folks at E-Maculation are worried something might have happened to him. If you know him, …

Swinsian: Swinsian1 is a native music jukebox app for the Mac. It displays songs in customizable columns with a browser just like iTunes did before it became a music store, video player, iOS app organizer, social network, and streaming service. With Swinsian you can make smart playlists. You can edit tags on …

Ripping My Music: During the pandemic I realized I am never going to subscribe to a streaming music service. At 38 I am spending less time discovering new music, and more time listening to the music I already own. I listen to albums, and own physical copies of most of my music. The COVID19 lockdown gave me the …

My First iPod: I got my first iPod in 2003. It was the second generation model; the first iPod to include a capacitive touch wheel. I bought the 10 GB model with the included inline remote control, not only because it was cheaper at $399, but because it was thinner at 0.72 inches1. All through out high school I …

Mac Source Ports: Video games were a big part of my adolescence. And although my memories of playing these games as a child will never die, far too often the chance to replay these games is tied to obsolete hardware that is both hard to come by and difficult to preserve. Not true for source ports! Source ports are …

Apple Store Pickup: I went to the Apple Store today to pick up a MacBook Air I had repaired under warranty. Apple requires a state ID or passport at time of pickup to prove identity. I am legally blind so I don’t carry a driver’s license, and my state ID had expired during the pandemic. I could prove my …

Universal Charging: Mark Gurman writing for Bloomberg: A major change to the new computers will be how they charge. Over the past five years, Apple has relied on USB-C ports for both power and data transfer on its laptops, making them compatible with other manufacturers’ chargers. But the company is now bringing back …

AirMessage: I made the switch from an iPhone 7 to Android last month. Not for a particular handset, but features like a headphone jack, expandable storage, USB Type-C, and a 128 GBs of storage Apple does not make available on a iPhone; let alone a phone that costs under $229. I am not an iOS power user. I don’t …

OutRun: I first heard about OutRun from Bradley Chambers, writing for 9to5Mac. OutRun is exactly what you’d want from a simple iPhone run tracker. It fits in nicely with a great iOS 13 design, is 100% private, and syncs with Apple Health. The syncing with Apple Health is optional as well. Settings wise, …

2020 MacBook Air: Last week Apple announced a new MacBook Air and not only is it good — for most people it’s the Mac to get. The new 2020 MacBook Air costs less, comes with twice the storage, more performance, all while ditching the unreliable butterfly keyboard. If I was buying a 2020 MacBook Air today, this is the …

Sideload to Castro: I have been a regular podcast listener since at least April 17, 2005. Over the last 14 years I have tried a lot of podcast apps. Switching podcatchers has always been easy thanks to the freedom of the open web (RSS) and the transparency of XML (OPML). For the last couple of years I have been using …

2018 MacBook Air: I did not consider an iPad. The only aspects of an iPad that interest me are its integrated LTE, and a long lasting battery life. As a systems administrator iOS’s App Store puts restrictions on the kind of applications I need to get my work done. If you are looking for a low-cost Apple portable with …

YouTube RSS: Watching Stupid Have you ever visited YouTube in a new browser without logging into Google first? If you have, you probably watched a lot of stupid videos on YouTube. The problem is the algorithm. YouTube’s algorithm works by showing you videos you are likely to watch. The algorithm does this by …

App Store Editorial: It is a shame that some of the best and brightest technology journalists to ever cover the Apple beat, have been hired away by their favorite fruit company and reduced to farming cultivated stories from within the high walls of a private orchard. I don’t blame them for following the money, and I …

Pizza Box Mac Pro: Does anyone remember a story from the early 2000’s where a guy was trying to make a business of selling Apple Power Mac G4 repair parts in a custom molded pizza box case? Long story short Apple Legal stepped in and persuaded the chap that he couldn’t use Apple repair parts for this purpose. I …

The Fate of the Internet Suite: With the SeaMonkey 2.49.5 release the 2.49.x line comes to an end. Unless a catastrophic bug is discovered 2.49.5 will be the last ESR 52 based version. Backporting security fixes and at the same time working on the next, already overdue, major release is not possible with the few remaining …

Choosing an 13 inch MacBook: Stephen Hackett, writing for 512 Pixels, outlines some of the differences between the entry level 2019 MacBook Air and entry level 2019 MacBook Pro. With today’s revisions to the Mac notebook line, choosing between a new MacBook Air and a new MacBook Pro has gotten a little more interesting. The …

Immutable Design: After reading about some of the new features available in macOS Catalina it became clear to me Apple is working towards an immutable design. Dedicated system volume nmacOS Catalina runs in a dedicated, read-only system volume — which means it is completely separate from all other data, and nothing …

New Materials: Last week Apple announced the 2019 MacBook Pro, and the word keyboard did not appear in the press release. Apple is not talking about MacBook keyboard reliability because the problem is fixed. They are not talking about MacBook keyboard reliability because they want the problem to go away. It will …

Why Vim: Seven years ago this blog post by Mark O’Connor changed my life. On September 19th, I said goodbye to my trusty MacBook Pro and started developing exclusively on an iPad + Linode 512. This is the surprising story of a month spent working in the cloud. Mark went from working locally on his MacBook …

Three Hour Marathon: I ran my first marathon in 3:34:31 (Boston Marathon 2009), my second marathon in 3:24:34 ( Boston Marathon 2010), and my fifth marathon in 3:05:43 (San Francisco 2013). But it would take me five more years, and over a dozen races before I would reach my goal of running a sub three hour marathon. My …

Infinite Loop: As an Apple fan growing up in the 90’s, Apple’s Infinite Loop headquarters has always been a special place. Not just an office park, but Disneyland. A place where magic happened and new Macs were made. One Infinite Loop is where the Apple faithful would pilgrimage, take self portraits outside the …

Goodbye iPhone SE: Harry McCracken “making sense of the most confusing new iPhone lineup ever“: As the iPhone lineup has expanded in recent years, Apple has let go of that minimalist clarity. It seems less like an accident than a willful decision, and—since nobody at the company is likely to acknowledge the shift as …

Micro.blog is a Community of Creators: Manton Reece explains how Micro.blog is serious about preventing abuse and harassment: the platform was designed, from the beginning, to prevent abuse and harassment. Your microblog is your own, where you are free to write about whatever you want, but we protect the timeline, where you can @-reply …

Farewell Fail Whale: I have been failing at social networks since the early 2000’s. I rode the MySpace wave in 2005. Joined and quit Facebook half a dozen times over the last decade. Paid $50 for a one year subscription to Apo.net. Since 2008, Twitter has been my water cooler of choice on the web; a place to …

NoScript: I read this post on Daring Fireball last year and I wanted to comment on it: Charlie: I simply hate people relying on brittle client-side javascript when there are other alternatives. In the same way as I wouldn’t rely on some unknown minicab firm as the sole way of getting me to the airport for a …

Legacy Apple Products: If like me, you follow Stephen Hackett’s 512 Pixels, then you know that every couple of months products from Apple’s past are added to the list of Vintage and Obsolete hardware no longer supported by the company. But what do these lists of legacy products mean, and how does an older Mac …

Mojave Dark Mode: During this year’s “Introducing Dark Mode” session at WWDC Apple gave us three reasons why they were including Dark Mode as a feature in Mac OS Mojave. Dark interfaces are cool. Dark interfaces are not just inverted. Dark Mode is content-focused. As Stephen Hackett points out, reason No. 1 is hard …

Mojave System Requirements: The system requirements for each new Macintosh operating system are rarely out-of-step with Apple’s marketing message. Mac OS Mojave is no exception. A big theme for this year’s WWDC keynote was improved performance through optimization, and as expected the Mac OS Mojave system requirements reflect …

Apple's Third Era: Jason Snell on May 23, 2018: Here’s a bit of numerology for you. Today marks 17 years, one month, and 29 days since Mac OS X 10.0 was released on March 24, 2001. That’s a strangely odd number—6,269 days—but it also happens to be the exact length of time between January 24, 1984 (the launch of the …

New Mac Pro Delayed Until 2019: This week we learned a new Mac Pro isn’t coming until 2019. Clearly this revelation is a Apple public relations move designed to reign-in expectations prior to this year’s WWDC. But what makes this announcement so absurd is the guises that it is being made in the name of transparency while omitting …

Repairability Vs. Sturdiness: David Sparks: Over the years, Apple Products have become increasingly less repairable. The latest teardown of the new iPad evidences this fact with photos of densely packed electronic components and copious amounts of glue. This led iFixit to give the new iPad a low repairability score. I get that, …

TweetDelete: My Ephemeral nature does not stop at blogging. I delete my old tweets automatically using a service called TweetDelete. Protect your privacy by automatically deleting posts older than a specified age from your Twitter feed. This allows you to delete all your tweets all at once (up to 3,200 tweets), …

Ephemeral Blog: I am not a good writer. Words rarely flow for me. Compared to other people it takes me a lot longer to write a meaningful sentence. I spend far too much time editing when I should be writing. Combined with a touch of perfectionism, and you can understand why I am wary when it comes to publishing. I …

LTE Apple Watch: The Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE Cellular promises to free Apple Watch owners from the shackles of their iPhones. Allowing them to receive notifications, place calls, stream music, and ask Siri on the go while leaving their phone at home. But despite these freedoms the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE …

Prepare for High Sierra: September is a busy time of year. Summer vacations are ending. Back-to-school season has begun, Apple is putting the finishing touches on Mac OS High Sierra, and system administrators are getting their first glimpse of the new documentation. Mac OS High Sierra brings several exciting features to the …

iFixit's MacBook Pro Battery Kit: If two things are glued together using “industrial adhesive” they were not meant to be pulled apart. And if one of those two things is a MacBook Pro lithium-ion battery that releases “toxic smoke” when punctured, you should think twice before trying to save a buck. iFixit, everyone’s favorite …

iPhone Turns Ten: Only once in my life have I owned the undisputed best of anything. That was the original iPgone on June 29th, 2007; the first day it went on sale. Purchasing an 8 GB iPhone in 2007 bought me the best mobile phone money could buy. Android would not be released for another year. Windows Mobile …

WWDC 2017 Keynote: I skipped WWDC again this year. Apple’s emphasis on iOS over the last three years removed the sparkle I once felt as a Mac user Instead of flying to California, I watched the keynote with the CocoaHeads Boston crew in a lecture hall at MIT. Daniel Jalkut was there; he does not wear his Burger King …

Panic Pwned: Steve Frank of Panic fame admits to having his company’s source code stolen: Last week, for about three days, the macOS video transcoding app HandBrake was compromised. One of the two download servers for HandBrake was serving up a special malware-infested version of the app, that, when launched, …

Free iApps: Yesterday Apple updated several of its Mac and iOS apps, making them available for free on Mac OS and iOS. MacRumors has the story: iMovie, Numbers, Keynote, Pages, and GarageBand for both Mac and iOS devices have been updated and are now listed in the App Store for free. Previously, all of these …

New Pascal Drivers for Mac OS: Yesterday NVIDIA revealed they would be releasing Mac OS drivers for their Pascal microarchitecture GPUs. “This comes despite the fact that Apple hasn’t sold a Mac Pro that can officially accept a PCIe video card in almost half a decade.” So why is NVIDIA releasing a Mac driver to a market that, …

Modular Mac: John Gruber broke the news, the next Mac Pro will be a modular system. Apple is currently hard at work on a “completely rethought” Mac Pro, with a modular design that can accommodate high-end CPUs and big honking hot-running GPUs, and which should make it easier for Apple to update with new …

Internet Recovery: Since the release of Mac OS X Lion: Holding down Command + R at startup told your Mac to boot from the local Recovery Partition, allowing you to restore your Mac’s installed operating system. Holding down Command + Option + R at startup told your Mac to NetBoot from Apple’s Internet Recovery, …

FreeHand for Free: I became a FreeHand fan during the Macromedia era after the release Freehand 5.5. Despite its falling popularity, I have always found Freehand’s powerful page layout tools and unique approach to vector illustration appealing. Even after FreeHand’s untimely demise in 2005, you could still find a copy …

Genius Training Leaves Cupertino: Joe Rossignol writing for MacRumors: For years, Apple has sent new Genius hires to its Infinite Loop headquarters in Cupertino, or sometimes an auxiliary campus in Austin or Atlanta, to receive hands-on training for up to three weeks. Recently, however, Apple appears to have stopped offering these …

The Back Looks Better Than the Front: It is almost Spring and Stephen Hackett is back with a new nerdy t-shirt to celebrate the iMac G3 and his 512 Pixels website The original iMac brought Apple back from the brink with a lovable, colorful design. The quote on the back of the shirt is from Steve Job’s introduction of the machine, and …

Mac Pack: When I was a Mac Genius in 2003, Apple retail charged $30 for the installation of extra RAM, Airport wireless networking, or software purchased in the store.. For most Mac models $30 was a silly expense. It didn’t take much effort to install Microsoft Office on a iMac, an Airport Card in a iBook G3, …

iPad as a Platform: Dr. Drang makes the argument that software not hardware is holding the iPad back from becoming an independent platform. He compares the iPad’s capabilities to features the Mac had during its first seven years of life. What’s surprising to me is how slow iPad software has advanced in the seven years …

Swiss Army Knife: I agree with Rob Griffiths when he says: “limited ports limit my interest in new Mac laptops.” Apple’s pursuit of an insanely stupid “as thin as a knife edge at all costs” design goal has led to a new generation of machines that make them much less portable than they were before…despite being …

Right to Repair: Ben Lovejoy writing for 9to5Mac: Apple is fighting ‘right to repair’ legislation which would give consumers and third-party repair shops the legal right to purchase spare parts and access service manuals. The state of Nebraska is holding a hearing on the proposed legislation next month, and …

iOS Drops Support for 32-bit: Andrew Cunningham writing for ArsTechnica: Beta builds of iOS 10.3, the first of which was issued last week, generate warning messages when you try to run older 32-bit apps. The message, originally discovered by PSPDFKit CEO and app developer Peter Steinberger, warns that the apps “will not work …

Safari Should Support VP9: Mike Wuerthele writing for Apple Insider. The shift appears to have taken place on Dec. 6, according to a Reddit thread delving into the issue. Google has been pushing the open and royalty-free VP9 codec as an alternative to the paid H.265 spec since 2014, but has never said that it would stop …

Fedora: Wesley Moore: I deeply value the consistency, versatility, reliability and integration of Mac OS X and the excellent quality hardware it runs on. However the current state of the Mac has me considering whether it’s still the right platform for me. I started looking at alternatives to Mac OS after …

Einstein Lives!: Steve Frank has brought the Einstein Newton Emulator back to life: On behalf of the Einstein team, I’m happy to announce that a new release, Einstein 2017.1.0, is available for download! (For anyone who doesn’t already know, Einstein is an emulator for the NewtonOS platform.) This release includes …

Farewell Fever: Shaun Inman: As of today I’m officially suspending sales and support of Mint and Fever. But! As self-hosted software, absolutely nothing changes and you can continue using both Mint and Fever as you were yesterday. I have been a Fever customer since 2012. It is still my RSS reader of choice today. …

Default Apps in iOS: Kirk McElhearn, writing for Macworld, is frusterated he can’t choose his default apps in iOS. But iOS offers no such option. If you tap a URL, it opens in Safari. If you tap a link to send an email, it opens in Mail. The default calendar is Apple’s Calendar app. And so on. You may not want to work …

Apple's Support Gap: Nick Heer: I’ve been trying to book some time at my local Apple Store to get my iPhone’s battery swapped, and it has not been easy — at least, not compared to the way it used to be. Previously, I’d open the Apple Store app on my phone, open up my store’s page, and tap the button to get support. I …

Apple Abandons Airport: Mark Gurman writing for Bloomberg: Apple Inc. has disbanded its division that develops wireless routers, another move to try to sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue, according to people familiar with the matter. If the rumors are true, and Apple is …

Workouts++: Workouts++ is a new app for your Apple Watch from David Smith. It allows you to customize your workouts and view them in new ways on your iPhone.nI am a long distance runner so I won’t be writing about how Workouts++ works with a bicycle, on a rowboat, or in a Yoga class. Instead I can tell you how …

Gimmick Strip: Last weekend I had the chance to visit my local Apple Store and check out the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I was not impressed. The Touch Bar could have been the greatest user interface advancement to hit the Mac since the Multitouch Trackpad. Instead it is a Gimmick Strip used to quickly tap …

Good, Better, Best: Take a moment to look over Apple’s product line. Pay special attention to the Macintosh. On the desktop side we have the Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro. On the notebook side we have the MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, Several models come in more than one screen size. The larger models usually …

The Last Mac Pro: The 2013 Mac Pro has been a disaster. After 1,056 days since its last update, Apple has proven they are no longer interested in making a computer for the high-end professional. While the iMac has always been the computer for the rest of us, the Mac Pro has always been the computer for the …

Amazon Premium Headphones: If you can wear Apple Earpods, you can wear Amazon Premium Headphones. If you think Apple Earpods sound good, Amazon Premium Headphones sound the same. If you take calls or pause the music on your Apple EarPods, Amazon Premium Headphones won’t let you down. And if you replace your Apple Earpods …

Apple Watch Series 2: I skipped the first Apple Watch. I missed the benefits of customizable watch faces, the importance of complications, and the appeal of swappable bands. I read how Apple Watch was slow, the screen was dim, but battery life was OK. I learned you could get Apple Watch wet even if you shouldn’t take it …

Ceramic: Last April I was worried the $10,000+ Apple Watch Edition would alienate Apple’s core customers. Separating technology enthusiasts and everyday people from a company that once prided itself upon making “the computer for the rest of us.” I wasn’t alone. Estimates “Apple Watch revenue will be …

Courage: I have been waiting all Summer for the introduction of the iPhone 7. Not because I plan on buying an iPhone 7, but because I wanted to hear Apple’s reason for removing the headphone jack from their flagship phone. Here’s what Phil Schiller had to say about the subject during the September 7th Apple …

Photive HF1 Bluetooh Headphones: I do not own a wireless keyboard. I do not own a wireless mouse. Because when it comes to wireless, wired is always faster, cheaper, and without batteries to charge or replace. But starting this Summer I began to get tired of running my earbuds up under my shirt to avoid tangles. I watched horrified …

New Apple: Ii his article ‘New Apple,’ Stephen Hackett tells us what makes the Apple of today different from the Apple he discovered in the early 2000’s. Apple of today is different. It’s not only one of the world’s largest companies, it’s been that way for some time. Employee head count has swelled and the …

Why Lightning?: The Apple en.wikipedia.orgwikiLightning_(connector text: Lightning connector) was introduced on September 12, 2012 to replace the 30-pin dock connector on the iPhone 5. It went on to replace the 30-pin dock connector on all new Apple products including popular accessories like the Apple Pencil, …

Return to First Boot: I repair people’s Macs for a living. Often the task requires reinstalling the operating system, and installing updates. Before I return a computer to its owner I always remove the temporary user account I created, and reset the machine back to the Setup Assistant. By following these commands, the …

Fire Phone: For the past month I have been the owner of an Amazon Fire Phone. The mythical device whose name is adhered upon many an Amazon shipping container, but whose visage is rarely seen in public.nFor the past month I have grappled with a decision.nShould I accept the Fire Phone as my primary digital …

EasyFind: Before Spotlight there was Sherlock.nAnd before Sherlock there was the Find.nWe have come a long way since the search in System 7.nContent awareness, deep indexes, and live results have made modern search powerful.nBut sometimes I wish I could return to a simpler search.nWhere the indexing every …

Unverified Install: Have you ever tried to install OS X from a USB Flash Drive and received this error message? This copy of the Install OS X Mavericks application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading. The issue is not with your installation media, but rather with your …

Soldered to the Board: Apple’s trend of replacing user-upgradable parts with components soldered to the logic board has begun. The following is a list of the first Macs in a given form factor to have their upgradable memory and storage replaced with components that are not upgradable short of replacing the logic board. …

Blixt: I met Bryan Clark and Jesse Herlitz during last year’s WWDC. Under the cover of darkness, in the backroom of a bar, they showed me the beginning of a brand new client for App.net . By combining slick animations, colorful transparencies, and intuitive natural gestures, they created an app the looked …

ADB, the Epitome of Early Apple: Lightning, the Epitome of Apple is one of the best things John Gruber has written all year. The Lightning adapter epitomizes what makes Apple Apple. To the company’s fans, it provides elegance and convenience — it’s just so much nicer than micro-USB. To the company’s detractors, it exists to sell …

Killing the Xserve: On November 5th, 2010 Apple killed the Xserve. At the time I thought killing the Xserve was a mistake. Like so many thousand Macintosh IT Professionals I thought Apple’s future in the Enterprise was tied to the existence of a shiny 1U rack-mountable Macintosh server. Without it how would the PC …

The Price of Windows: Ben Brooks brought this post by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes to my attention. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is a long-time Windows power user who now prefers OS X, iOS, and Android for their simplicity and reliability. My primary work system is a MacBook Pro, and in the ten months I’ve had it it’s flawlessly …

Repair Disk Permissions: Readers ask me when is a good time to Repair Disk Permissions? My answer, “when is the last time you booted into Mac OS 9?” Many things you install in Mac OS X are installed from package files (whose filename extension is “.pkg”). Each time something is installed from a package file, a “Bill of …

Coffee Break: Apple has a long history of including Java in its desktop operating systems. The Macintosh Runtime for Java included a JIT compiler developed by Symantec, the standard Java class library from Sun, additional classes providing Macintosh-specific functionality, and the Apple Applet Runner for running …

Fast Times & Short Life of Fusion Drive: Fusion Drive, we barely knew you. Announced as part of an Apple event held on October 23rd, 2012, Fusion Drive combined the large capacity of a conventional hard drive with the speed of a 128 GB flash storage to create a single logical volume with the space of both drives combined. The operating …

DEFCON: DEFCON is a real-time strategy game created by independent British game developer Introversion Software. Inspired by movies like Dr. Strangelove, and WarGames: Players are given a 1980s vector graphics computer-themed world map, a varied arsenal of nuclear and conventional weaponry, and a primary …

Apple's First Digital Camera: During the holidays many of us gave and received the gift of photography.nDigital cameras, family portraits, and photo greeting cards, are all part the holiday tradition.nThe accessibility of digital cameras has helped to strengthen the importance of photography during family gatherings, but the …

Bond Phone: In the late 2000’s the original iPhone was the best phones money could buy, but it wasn’t necessarily the best phone for British Secret Agent James Bond. For one, the iPhone 2G was too flashy. Its broad aluminum back, shiny chrome Apple logo, and large illuminated 3.5 inch screen attracted too …

Bond Watch: When you think of a Bond Watch, what comes to mind? Style, luxury, sophistication? Perhaps the actor who played James Bond in your favorite 007 movie, or maybe the over-the-top gadgetry that made the Bond Watch a trademark of the 007 films from the late 70’s and early 80’s?1 No matter …

Das Keyboard: I am spending more time on the PC these days; running Windows 10 and dialing into MIT’s Linux servers. My trusty Apple Extended Keyboard hasn’t been getting much use. Instead of taking the time to perform the obvious task or remapping my Apple keyboard, I decided to indulge my curiosity and purchase …

Abandoned PowerBook G4: When I worked behind the Genius Bar in 2003 there was no Concierge, no booking system, no appointments, and no Genius Bar assistant to help people get in line. Instead there was a sea of faces, impatient customers waiting to be assisted. In the old first come first serve model for Genius Bar …

Apple's History of Skeuomorphism: A lot of people have been displeased by the skeuomorphic design elements appearing in Apple’s latest operating systems. Some attribute these design decisions to the tastes of Steve Jobs. I don’t think anyone could clearly define the tastes of Steve Jobs, not even himself. One minute he might be …

What Mountain Lion Left Behind: For those of us already running Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion will be a minor update. Continuing the iOSfication of Mac OS X, Mountain Lion brings even more apps and features back to Mac from our iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Unfortunately not everyone will be able to take advantage of the polish …

Pretty Eight Machine: I missed out on the original release of Pretty Hate Machine in October of 1989. I was only six years old. Since then Nine Inch Nails has become my favorite band, Pretty Hate Machine my favorite album, and Trent Reznor my favorite artist. It is hard to sum up why I like Nine Inch Nails so much. As …

Path Finder 6: As a long time Mac user I was born into the desktop metaphor of files, folders, drag, and drop. It is hard to imagine using my computer in any other way. iOS opened my eyes to how functional a simplified mobile operating system can be, and why ditching the filesystem might not be a bad thing for …

Why Steve Jobs Killed the Newton: Steve Jobs came back to Apple to save the company, not to kill the Newton. Killing the Newton was a sacrifice that had to be made to save Apple. It is pointless to think if things had been different, if the Newton had survived. Because if it had we would not have the Apple we have today. I am glad …

Feed a Fever: Google Reader is dead. NetNewWire is a shadow of its former self. For the last couple of years I have been using Shaun Inman‘s Feverº to access my feed from any browser. Install Fever is not your ordinary web app. You have to install it on a hosted server you control. The system requirements are …

Apple's Greatest Keyboard: You have heard it on The Talk Show. The loud clickity-clack of John Gruber’s Apple Extended Keyboard II. The keyboard that Daring Fireball was written upon. Known for its massive size and generous weight, the Apple Extended Keyboard II is a behemoth compared to the minimalist “Chiclet” inspired …

How I Met John Gruber: While attending Macworld 2012, I met John Gruber. I was waiting outside the men’s room in an upscale hotel lobby. I was not alone. Stephen Hackett, and Pat Dryburgh were with me. We were all waiting for Shawn Blanc and Ben Brooks who were attending a private get together in the hotel bar across the …

Bringing iCloud to Snow Leopard: If like me, you are still using a Mac running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and want to continue syncing your iCloud email, calendars, and contacts, then these are the insturctions for you. iCloud Email Email is the only iCloud service Apple currently supports in Snow Leopard. Setting up Mail.app for …

My Favorite Tech Support Story: When I was a Mac Genius, and the Genius Bar was new, a red phone with a direct line to Cupertino used to sit behind the bar. The phone didn’t call anyone important, but it did get you AppleCare Tier 2 support if you got stumped by a customer’s question or needed to ask a inquiry of your own. I never …

Trine 2: Trine 2 takes place in the same fantasy world as the original, and once again our three heroes, Zoya the thief, Pontius the knight, and Amadeus the wizard are bound together by the Trine and forced into saving the kingdom from darkness. Trine 2 shares the same game mechanics as the original. Only …

Limbo: Limbo is a puzzle-platform game that was released for the Xbox 360 in July 2010. It has only recently made its way to the Mac. I have been excited to play Limbo since I first saw the concept art over two years ago. Once you see a screenshot of Limbo you will know why it is unlike any platform puzzle …

Trine: Trine. is a side-scrolling platform adventure.nThe game follows the adventures of three heroes bound together by a mythical crystal force known as the Trine.nOnly one hero can be on screen at a time, and the player must switch between the three heroes often in order to complete the games various …

The Life and Death of Camino: By July 2002 Mac OS X was just over one year old, Safari was still several months away, and very few web browsers took advantage of the innovative new features and bold aqua interface of 10.1 Puma, the latest version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Opera looked like it belonged on Windows. …

Today’s Mac Genius: Even at training (Early 2009) our instructor warned us about ‘Old School vs. New School’ Geniuses. His emphasis was that the needs of the business change. Today’s Mac Genius are no longer required to have the same deep understanding of the Mac OS, its UNIX roots, or classic past. They can no longer …

Zapping the PRAM: If you have ever encountered a problem with your Macintosh you might have been advised to zapreset the PRAM, but what is the PRAM and what does it do? The PRAM, or parameter random access memory, is a small amount of non volatile storage on your Mac’s logic board. It uses a built-in battery or …

Apple’s Greatest Year: Now that 2011 has come to a close, we are able to look back at Apple’s greatest year. Not only did 2011 show record profits and important product updates, but new technologies were released, and brand new versions of all of Apple’s operating systems were unveiled. Customer’s experienced new ways of …

NetNewsWire Lite: NetNewsWire Lite is an almost perfect app. It does one thing, and one thing well, deliver RSS. Released on March 3rd of this year, NetNewsWire Lite has become my favorite news reader not because of the features it includes but because of the features it leaves behind. Rewritten by its creator Brent …

Should You Buy AppleCare?: Should you buy AppleCare? Every Apple product comes with 90 days of complimentary telephone technical support and a limited one year warranty. AppleCare for Mac extends your service and support coverage to three full years from the date you purchased your computer. It gives you global repair …

Why I Bought MobileMe: I have had a Mac.com email address ever since I had a Mac that could send email. iTools, the predecessor of .Mac and MobileMe, has been part of my online identity since the summer of 2001. I remember when the only way to access my iTools’ IMAP email was through Outlook Express. When sending files to …

What Lion Left Behind: Apple may be adding 250+ new features to Mac OS X Lion, but just like Snow Leopard before it some features are scheduled to be taken away. Early Intel Macs Lion’s aggressive system requirements excludes early Intel Macs without a 64-bit compatible processor. This includes the first few versions of …

Burn a Lion Boot Disk: With the absence of easily obtainable installation media Mac OS X Lion looks like it might make for a difficult clean install. Not so, Apple was hiding the official installation media disc image under our noses the entire time. Purchase and download Lion from the Mac App Store on any Lion …

The Best Mac OS: With the unveiling of Lion just days away it is easy to look back at past releases of Mac OS and see how we arrived at Apple’s latest system software. Over the last 27 years Apple has introduced more than 17 major releases of its premier desktop operating system. Some releases such as System 7, and …

Stacey CMS: Stacey is a framework for building simple websites. The project is based around two core ideals: Separating textual content & assets from your HTML Keeping ugly PHP-style logic out of your templates Stacey accomplishes this without a database, or installation files. Simply drag the application …

Choosing a Newton: Apple released four distinct Newton form factors containing eight different models between August 1993 and February 1998. Each form factor was an evolutionary step forward for the platform, and introduced design considerations and features that were different from past and subsequent models. …

Why I Carry a Newton: A Newton MessagePad, the grandfather of all PDAs, is a funny thing to carry around with you when most people are sliding super slim, constantly connected, application-rich smartphones into their pockets. Compared to the iPhone a Newton MessagePad looks like a green brick, and I have been accused …

How I Sync My iPod: iTunes can tell you a lot about a song. It can tell you the title, the artist, the album, and the genre. It can tell you the year a song was released and when it was added to your iTunes library. iTunes can even tell you the bit rate of a recording, and how many times you have played or skipped a …

My Backup Strategy: My backup strategy is simple. I have two computers, in two different locations, synchronized in real time over the web using Dropbox. Each computer is backed up hourly using Time Machine on two separate external hard drives. Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for …