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Getting the Most Value from Your
Mac
The mission of Low End Mac is helping users get the most value from their Macs and Maclones. We're not concerned with having the fastest, most tweaked out computer possible. We're not concerned with keeping ancient Macs in use long after they've become a bottle-neck. We are concerned about value: getting the most use from your money and hardware, whether that means an upgrade or a different Mac.
This site covers everything from the Lisa to the latest Macs -- because sooner or later, every Mac becomes low end. Due to our focus on value, the primary focus of Low End Mac remains older models.
For the benefit of low end users, this site uses no frames, no Java, no sound, no QuickTime movies, no PNGs -- just text, tables, GIFs, and JPEGs. For best viewing, your browser cache should be on.
Site History
I began Low End Mac in April 1997 as a way to keep track of all the Macs I had to support at work. (That was the year we finally began retiring Macs -- by selling our beige Mac Plus with a GCC Hyperdrive to one of our employees. Although the drive has since expired, "Blitz" is still running.)
Originally called The New Low End Mac User and served on my personal internet account at Iserv.net, Low End Mac joined the MacTimes Network in November 1997. There it grew tenfold in popularity.
During the time at MacTimes, Low End Mac grew by adding the iMac channel, MacInSchool, and a lot of other content.
In February 1999, we moved to the lowendmac.com domain as one of the few Mac-related sites served on a Macintosh computer. The Power Mac G3 server was capably managed by Innovative Technologies.
In April, Low End Mac became independent of MacTimes. Their focus was news and commentary; ours hardware and commentary. In May, Low End Mac joined the inifiniMedia Network, moving to their server. Although it is a bit of a disappointment no longer being served by Mac hardware, the simple fact is that this Unix server is much faster. (I am hoping Mac OS X Server will someday make it possible to return to Mac hardware.)
Personal Mac History
My day job is as information systems manager for a small publisher. We've been using Macs for over a decade. I've seen the network grow from about a dozen Macs to over 90 (in three locations), from one huge LocalTalk chain to ethernet, from an isolated network to one connected to the internet.
I've been working with Macs since 1986, began selling them in 1987, and got my own in 1990 or 1991 -- a Mac Plus. Owning my own Mac converted me from a DOS geek to a Mac guru.
Not only do we have a lot of older Macs at work, but I've acquired a collection of low end Macs for home and personal use as well. At home we have a Plus, SE, Mac II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci, IIfx, PowerBook 150, LC, LC II, Color Classic, Centris 610, Centris 660av, Quadra 650, SuperMac J700, and SuperMac S900, among others. They're all over the house, and most are connected with ethernet.
My Mac II, built in 1988, has been upgraded with 8 MB RAM, a 160 MB hard drive, and an ethernet card. It functioned day in and day out as a personal web server (running NetPresenz) and mail list manager (running Macjordomo) for several months. (The site was subsequently hosted on a Mac IIfx, and later on a Quadra 650.)
I'd love to reacquire my first Mac, a platinum Plus with a 16 MHz Brainstorm upgrade, 4 MB RAM, an external 800KB floppy, and a wicked fast, rock solid Microtech hard drive with a 40 MB Quantum mechanism (well, it was wicked fast when I bought it). I even had a genuine Apple carrying case: black with a stitched Apple logo.
For fun, I've obtained a Portable, a IIfx, Centris 660av, and some other vintage Macs and started a personal museum, the Low End Mac Computer Museum (donations gladly accepted.)
Please use the index at the left to explore Low End Mac -- and some of the other top-notch Mac resources on the internet.
Interviews with Dan Knight, publisher
- Low End Mac's Dan Knight, MacMilitia, 1/14/2000
- Dan Knight, publisher and webmaster, Low End Mac, Mac Daily, 11/10/1999
Low End
Mac established April 7, 1997. This page,
the entire Low End Mac site, and all subsites of
<lowendmac.com> copyright ©1997-2000 by Dan
Knight unless otherwise noted. All rights
reserved.
LINK
POLICY: This site allows and encourages
links to any public page, so long as the linked page does not appear
within a frame that prevents bookmarking the linked page.
Low End
Mac is an independent publication and has
not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple
Computer, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iMac, and iBook are
registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and
product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the
individual companies and are hereby acknowledged.
Select content available in AvantGo format for Palm, WinCE users.
Mac of the Week
Mac IIfx (3/90-4/92). "Wicked
fast" 40 MHz processor trumped the DOS world.
Lists of the Week
Before Macintosh: Apple2list for
Apple II users and LisaList for Lisa
users.
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