Category: Columns
In Assembly Lines Podcast episode #121, Chris Torrence takes us inside of disabling the write protect switch in a disk II drive and the newer 5.25″ drive produced by Apple after 1982. He goes into disassembly, functioning of the switch and the disabling of the switch. Check it out here:
I have good news and bad news. The Bad News The time has come. I’m sad to announce that I’m closing Working Smarter for Mac Users forever in February. It breaks my heart, but it’s the right thing to do. Although Working Smarter for Mac Users has been my passion project for 4 years, and I don’t regret a minute of it, I need to be more careful of what I wish for. While I loved being in business for myself, it was a…
The 554th episode of the RetroMacCast has been released. In this episode, James & John discuss their latest eBay Finds including the following: Mac icons mug, collection of Steve Jobs magazines, and Chiat/Day newspaper congratulations. James also unveils The Macintosh Office, and news includes a tiny all-in-one Macintosh LC, Captain’s Quarters II, and NanoRaptor creations. The RetroMacCast is produced by James Savage and John Leake and you can join them for each and every episode of their podcast on their Facebook page, or catch them on YouTube….
January 2021 The Technology Industry did well in the otherwise annus horribilis of 2020. Remote teaching, learning, business and personal teleconferencing, combined with the need to outfit and/or upgrade home offices meant that sales of computing equipment finished well after a short-lived COVID-induced slowdown. Preliminary indications to the third quarter show that Lenovo, GP, and Dell still dominate the Windows-compatible market; Apple is increasing market share, and Chrome books are now dominating the bargain basement ultramobile market. Indeed, if the…
The global villagewas much touted back in the 60s and 70s. Better knowledge of our neighbours, countrypersons and those of other nations was supposed eventually to bring about unity, prosperity and a great love-in. The Spy has noted before in this space that his own prediction back in the day was quite the opposite, that the better we knew each other in an information age, the larger the divisions and even hatreds would likely become. He might today revise this…
COVIDhas dramatically changed university teaching, and not in the Spy’s humble opinion, for the better. Oh, yes, students can still take university courses when, but for a few requiring personal skills performance, they are entirely online. But the Spy has four major concerns: 1. the lack of face-to-face interaction. Not only does the professor not have access to body language, many students keep their cameras off throughout the class time or merely display an avatar, leaving one to wonder if…
This episode marks the end of the quest to play every single Infocom game by the EBAG hosts Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston. In this 39th Episode of the EBAG podcast, Kay and Carrington take a bit of a victory lap after completing every single one of the Infocom text-only adventures. As they say, “Turn on verbose mode and light the brass lantern, it’s time to take a look back at what they liked best, and least, from these classic…
The 543rd episode of the RetroMacCast has been released. In this Episode, James and John discuss eBay finds: Macintosh Portable prototype, interesting serial Mac HD, and Apple/Braun calculator. They recap the Apple Event, and news Newton, found Jobs audio, curved monitor G4 iMac, and more great NanoRaptor designs. To see all of the show notes and or to join the RetrMacCast Facebook page Check out the main webpage at RetroMacCast.
Apple and Tesla last week split their stock, the former by four-to-one and the latter by five-to-one. Since splits make the price of a single stock lower, such actions tend to attract more retail investors and this pushes the price up further. In the case of Apple this is merely the latest in a long line of such splits, now amounting to a 224:1 total from the beginning. Looking back on the initial IPO in 1980, this is equivalent to…
James Savage and John Leake have released the 536th episode of their RetroMacCast. In this episode, James and John discuss their latest eBay finds including: An Apple dealer sign The black ADB Mouse II, A sealed copy of the Macintosh manual. Michael Mulhern the Joins the RetroMacCast Crew to take a look back at August 1990 in Macworld magazine and included in the episode is the news of the day including: Action Retro’s cursed SE, Fortnite 1984 ad parody. To see all of…
Here’s the downloadable free companion project for my latest book, GarageBand For Dummies Second Edition The free download includes the GarageBand project (which you can edit or alter any way you like), my finished stereo master of the project, and my PDF notes. The song is an oldie entitled, “The House of the Rising Sun.”Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus and his All GarageBand BandClick here to play The House of the Rising Sun (final mix)Download
James Savage and John Leake have released the 536th episode of their RetroMacCast. In this episode, James and John discuss their latest eBay finds including Apple stockings, clear case Fat Mac, and Power Mac G4 Cube. John puts an SSD in his Lime iMac, and news includes using an old iBookand Mac OS 8 Javascript app. Also in this episode are a host of other items: StarTech.com IDE to SATA Hard Drive or Optical Drive Adapter Converter PNY CS900 120GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal Solid…
Applewas the first corporation to reach a stock valuation of $1 Trillion. Spectacular latest earnings results have pushed that to $1.85T, putting the company back in first place worldwide and poised to become the first to surpass $2T. Not bad for the little outfit from Cupertino that all the pundits once forecast would fail. Earnings were up in all categories, including its somewhat neglected computer business. Look for the antitrust and breakup vultures to circle. The Spy is still happy…
RetroMacCast Episode 532 has been released by James and John. In this episode, they are joined in their discussions by Steve from Mac84. Topics in this episode include: eBay finds: Apple playing cards, SE/30, and G3 All-In-One. news includes Intel future predictions and early ARM Mini benchmarks. To listen to the latest edition of the RetroMacCast, check out the podcast website at: http://retromaccast.ning.com/
Somethings new at WWDCdelivered a spate of announcements across the board about Apple products. The big one had long been predicted here, and the timeline was roughly as forecast when the Spy first mentioned it a few years back. Apple will now abandon Intel chips for the Macintosh line and switch to its in-house design, the A12Z chip. Indeed, the WWDC demonstrations were done on a machine running with the new chip. Developers will be seeded with MacMinis that have…
Will we?Yes, eventually, but as said repeatedly here, the Pandemic is far from over, and this particularly so in the rush by governments, corporations and unions to “return to business”. We cannot and we will not return to the way it was last Fall.We cannot because many of those employers are no longer in business and/or could not be viable if they were to re-open. Why? because for some old era businesses the customers have departed for good. Ordering online…
The MacCast, A podcast that covers all things Macintosh, has released their 744th episode. The current Adam Christianson produced episode of the MacCast covers: Apple’s 2Q 2020 Earnings. Lots of new names coming to Apple TV+. The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple addresses AirPods Pro issues. New iPad in 2020. Don’t Panic, you have an Apple Watch. The iPhone 12. All the things. Does Apple TV+ have a problem? Play AppleTV on Mac screen. Impressions of the 16-inch MacBook Pro….
The guys over at the Eaten By A Grue Podcast take on Infocom’s Planetfall with this months episode # 34. According to their website: Kay and Carrington foray into the future to face the mishaps and misspellings of Planetfall, Infocom’s rib-tickling romp about a boy and his bot. Star Patrol: it’s not just a job, it’s an adventure game. Blurb from the EBAG website If you would like to listen to the podcast or check out their resources list for…
The RetroMacCast Episode number 524 is now available. In this episode of the RetroMacCast, James and John discuss eBay finds: G3 beige tower, IIfx, and develop’s original Mac. They discuss the history of iTunes, and news includes the Worldwide Newton Conference, Apple race car, and how the Mac has thrived since 1984. To see all of the show notes and or to listen to the podcast, go to www.retromaccast.com. You can also check out the RetroMacCast Facebook page.
This month, Adam Christianson, the curator of the MacCast, takes us back in time to the very last MacWorld attended where the keynote speech was given by Steve Jobs. MacWorld Expo 2011 was held at the Muscone Center West in San Francisco from the 27th to the 29th of January, 2011 and featured mostly iPad related items. He talks with Cali Lewis from GeekBeat TV and that years featured Tech Girlz Panel in addition to numerous other going ons and…
