I am on my way using RapidWeaver for my web site authoring tool. It is a very nice and elegant tool. What I like is the easy customization RapidWeaver allows with code (CSS, HTML, etc.) and plug ins. I have bought a few plug ins that make my life easier in the design and updating departments.

One example is the blog area. Now I have the ability to remotely post to my blog when I am on vacation or away for work. That is real nice! I use the RapidBlog plug in which allows this remote capability by using Blogger as the text storage area. I currently have Blogger to handle the comments, so that is not too elegant yet. More work to do.

So far I give RapidWeaver a thumbs up. Comment and let me know of any tricks or tips you have found out with the RapidBlog plug in...

I finally did it. After messing with iWeb for 2 years I have officially stopped using iWeb for The Mac 512. Why? The capabilities the Apple puts into iWeb is very basic. I should of left 1 year ago but thought I could modify the HTML good enough to really make The Mac 512 be the best it could be. I was wrong and have bring in RapidWeaver with a few plug ins. I could not be happier!

So my take:
iWeb = small personal web site for grandma to see my kids pictures. (easy and does not matter if 10 people see it)
RapidWeaver = easy to use yet powerful to make a serious web site.

I did look at DreamWeaver and Sandvox. Both of these are good tools, just not for me. The real thing that did it was RapidWeaver's plug in support! AMAZING!

Now you can leave comments. Please do and let me know how to make The Mac 512 better. Thanks!

I finally got my hands on a Geoport modem for my 20th Anniversary Macintosh. This one was made in France for the European model from what I am told. This small piece completes my 20th Anniversary Macintosh which includes all of the boxes, pen, pencil, leather cases, original cds, expansion card connectors, both CPU backs, subwoofer, etc.

My story is: In order to collect a complete 20th Anniversary Mac I needed to rely on the trust of others. Because some people who list items on eBay are not ethical in their listings (remember I said some people). I needed to purchase two units to find 95% of the pieces. I love it when the auction says “complete” but it is far from it. I was lucky to find through other text mailing lists and calling around to dealers who still had some old inventory. The remaining pieces were found and now I have a full working unit and an expensive spare unit. I still paid much less than the original price tag of $7,499 to $9,000, and much less than the fire-sale blow out at $1,999; so that makes me happy.

What do I use the unit for? Currently it is my Newton units backup Mac, a TV for the local channels, and I can play an olde medieval game called Lord of the Realm II.

A few days ago I decided on a new laptop for my couch. Travel to any exotic destinations will be a must, but mainly for my graduate school work now. Picking a lightweight laptop was important so I decided on one of the original MacBook Airs (Rev.A). By doing so I saved a lot of money. I may not have the best performance due to the Intel GMA integrated video card, but that was not my reason for using the Air. With a 13.3” screen I could play games, but I would rather use the 17” screen on my Mac Pro 8-Core. So far I have not taxed this Mac to get the dreaded 2nd Core shutdown. I use a few applications at a time (including VMWare Fusion for MS Access, Visio, and Project for my classes) so no overheating occurs. Now that I could I usually have 5-8 applications open. The Solid State Drive is a must from the performance I see out of my 64GB SSD. I am wowed by the speed.

For my use, this lightweight laptop is perfect for my needs. I did get the top of the line model from the revision A series as these are being fire-sale out right now. The extra money I could of paid for the revision B really would of been a waste for my needs. Since the 8-core Mac Pro is my workhorse all of my files are being file-shared, my iTunes library is shared, iPhoto (still have to figure out how to share this), and iWeb does nicely with a link to the domain file. This set up works without filling up the Air’s hard drive. I love my new Mac Book Air which sometimes sits next to my Mac Pro 8-core and my Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh.

Originally posted on The Mac 512

Apple Inc introduces a new Macintosh Mini aka Mini Macintosh product. This handheld device lets anyone tote this PC around like no other. With a stunning monochrome LCD screen built-in with a retro look for the Power Macintosh all-in-ones. Included is a keyboard and single button mouse. Software is the ultra new Macintosh OS with a built-in word processor. As you click the mouse your thoughts flow through your finger to the Mini Macintosh like magic! This is truly one of the Insanely great products of the 21st century! Thanks Apple!

More pictures of the handheld Macintosh Mini: Link to the photos on The Mac 512.

The eMate 300, one of the last Newton models to be released in 1997. My first foray into the Newton world was with the Message Pad 100 back in 1994, so I am not new to this world. What I like about the Newton is the sleek NOS that makes pen computing possible. The benefits of the eMate 300 is the larger screen (not physical size as it is the same as the MP 2000/2100) due to the buttons being removed and placed on they keyboard. I like the keyboard to control the text portions and the eMate 300 has that down pat. The benefits of the Message Pad series is the portability of that unit to quickly turn on and take notes by handwriting recognition or drawing. The benefits of the eMate 300 is a true light laptop that specializes in word processing. Once you have seen the Newton become a lightweight laptop, it just makes sense. Of course the eMate 300 is more than a word processor with applications including: games, e-books, Internet browser and email access, and many utilities.

I recently heard about a Year 2010 bug in the Newton. This bug effects the unit when it rolls over to the year 2010 (some effected in 2009 what from I read). I hope a good Newton developer creates a permanent patch for the Newton community. Remember that the Newton was the first pen computing platform that predates the touch aspects of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Will Apple release a true iPhone/iPod Touch PDA with a larger screen? Yes. I feel they will. They already have 80% of that in place. All we need is the handwriting recognition portion (remember the Newton handwriting recognition was ported to Mac OS X 10.2 and how is called Inkwell) become active with a stylus and we are there. The App Store from Apple has already many good apps that duplicate the Newton’s applications.

Traditionally, I always have planned a Newton section here on The Mac 512 but it never materialized. My goal is to document what i have done to get a series of Newtons on the Internet and provide useful ways of using this platform. There are tons of good resources already on the Internet. I feel that even though the Newton platform is gone I may be able to bring some good information for historical purposes.

Originally posted on The Mac 512

This tale starts out two days ago when my new-in-box OrangeMicro+ FireWire 1394+USB PCI board arrived. I had high hopes that this card will work with Mac OS 8.6 and higher. What I found out is a different situation. I had a partition with Mac OS 9.0 loaded and loaded the drivers from the included CD - nothing worked. Most of the drivers need to be downloaded from Orange Micro’s website! Excuse me? I load the installer application and it puts three files does nothing, and tells me I need to download the USB support from their website? Crap! Orange Micro went out of business years ago.

From that point I read in the PDF manual that Mac OS 9.1 includes all of the software. So I proceed to find my Mac OS 9 to 9.1 updater. Install and reboot. Nothing. I removed the Orange Micro drivers; nothing. At this point I realized that I have three Mac OS 9 CDs (9.0, 9.1 and 9.2.2). I proceeded to install Mac OS 9.1 on a separate partition. Rebooted and we still nothing.

I found a little patch called PCI Bridge Patch that makes the OrangeLink+ card work with the 20th Anniversary Mac (also the Power Macs 5500 and 6500). (The Mac 512 has made this patch available for download as Orange Micro won’t be able to provide it to anyone as they closed their doors.) Once this patch was installed we have success! Thank goodness. That made me think maybe the installer software will work with Mac OS 8.6 or 9.0? That message about downloading the USB drivers still makes me wonder. I cannot find my Mac OS 8.5 or 8.6 installer CDs so this will have to remain a mystery for now.

So if you pick up one of these cards just use Mac OS 9.1. Mac OS 9.1 has all of the software built in to use it. One interesting thing is I cannot use my 16GB flash drive, but my 2GB flash drive works fine. I wonder if the “4GB limit” is coming into play.

Originally posted on The Mac 512 - software link available through this link to the Orange Micro PCI Bridge Patch.

What helps make a 20th Anniversary Macintosh a 20th Anniversary Macintosh is the accessories including: The Italian Leather CD case, remote Italian Leather remote control/pen & pencil case, 20th Anniversary Macintosh Pen and Pencil set. and the Apple remote control. Not to be outdone by the accessories, the 20th Anniversary Macintosh is truly a one-of-a kind Macintosh. Some say performance is slow, others say it looks cool. No matter what, this Macintosh has a special place in many people’s hearts.

New forums have been released for the 20th Anniversary Macintosh here on The Mac 512. Lets make this an official TAM community.

The 20th Anniversary Macintosh hot spot here on The Mac 512 can be found in the navigation bar or just click here.

Originally posted on The Mac 512 - LInks through this link