As the Tuesday event approaches, there are increasing rumors of the release of colorful iMacs. 9to5 Mac collects all of the rumors nicely.
I, for one, would love to see Apple add some more whimsey to their products, and colorful iMacs would be an excellent start. (If I were in charge, I’d also bring back the rainbow logo on at least some products.)
Adobe Co-Founder Charles Geschke Has Died at 81 ⇢
Geschke was one of those early Silicon Valley pioneers whose name probably isn’t as well known as it should be.
Timing ⇢
My thanks to Timing for sponsoring 512 Pixels this week. It’s a Mac app that automatically tracks which apps, documents and websites you use so you can see how you’re spending your time on your computer. It’s great for time tracking, eliminating distractions and improving your billing.
Mac Chimes of Death
We’re all familiar with the Mac’s startup chime. While it has changed over the years, it has greeted users with its friendly tone for decades.
What you may not know is that for years, the Mac also came with a death sound, that would play when the machine was unable to properly boot.
And they are glorious:
Macintosh II
The Macintosh II line used several different chimes. These large machines combined the Macintosh operating system with the open hardware of the Apple II, and while they aren’t as charming as the original Mac’s design, they were lusted after by many users in their day.
I think the IIcx is the nicest, but the IIfx chime feels the most deathy to me.
Macintosh II
Macintosh IIcx
Macintosh IIfx
Macintosh LC
The LC, short for “low cost,” was designed to get the Mac into more homes than ever before. The Macintosh II line ran circles around it, but it was how many people experienced the Macintosh for the first time. I think its death sound is pretty good, building on that of the IIfx, which was on sale at the same time as the original LC:
Quadra AV
The Macintosh Quadra line brought the Motorola 68040 to more people when it replaced the outgoing Macintosh II line in 1991. Most of these machines used the death chimes from the LC line, but the high-end Quadra AV systems got something a little more … funky:
This sound would also be used on the ill-fated Centris AV machines.
Power Mac 6100, 7100 & Performa 6100
Uhhhh, this one just sounds like a car crash, which must have been very upsetting to hear as your Mac died:
Thankfully, it was just used on these super-early PowerPC Macs in 1994.
Some Random Performas
The low-cost, sold-in-big-box-stores Macintosh Performa may have been a hot mess of a line of personal computers, but in the confusing list of models, it’s easy to tell Motorola 68k models from PowerPC ones: the former have names with three digits, while the latter use four digits in their names. A good number of the PowerPC models used this menacing sound:
PCI-based Power Macs
Thankfully on the pro sides of things, Apple showed some restraint once PCI became the standard expansion slot in these machines:
The death chime has been gone for over 20 years, and I’m not sad about that … especially when hearing that car crash one.
Connected #341: The Rickies (April 2021) ⇢
Apple is holding an event next week, so we have gathered our picks and are entering the Battlefield of the Ricky.
The Keynote Chairman title is on the line. Gulp.
My thanks to our sponsors:
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Apple to Stream Event on April 20
According to rumors, we’ll see new iPads and possibly new Macs and even AirTags.
40 Years Ago, the Shuttle Launched ⇢
Matt Haskell at Spaceflight Insider marked yesterday’s anniversary with an outstanding column on the history of the program:
The morning of April 12, 1981, proved to be a history-making event. For many, that day stemmed careers, dreams and imaginations alike. On that inaugural launch day began 30 years of advances in spaceflight, technology, scientific research, and would eventually lead to a permanent presence of humanity in space, but not without tragedy. This is the story of the Space Shuttle.
Kbase Article of the Week: Avoid Using Apostrophes in your iWeb Site/Page Names ⇢
If you create a site or page name in iWeb 1.0.1 with an apostrophe as part of the name, and subsequently update to iWeb 1.1, then the web addresses (URLs) to your site/page will no longer be valid. This will break any existing bookmarks to the page. This occurs because iWeb 1.1 handles apostrophes differently than iWeb 1.0.1.
People who bookmarked your iWeb 1.0.1 site need to bookmark your new site published with iWeb 1.1.
See also: iWeb 1.1: Slideshow Doesn’t Launch if an Apostrophe is in the Title
Siri is All Like, 420, Duuuuuuude ⇢
Sponsor: Timing — Automatic Time Tracking for Mac ⇢
Time is your most precious resource. You need to know how you are spending it. But time tracking sucks. Big Time. (Pun intended.)
Timing fixes that. It automatically tracks which apps, documents and websites you use — without start/stop timers. See how you spend your time, eliminate distracting activities, and improve your client billing.
It’s like Screen Time on steroids.
Timing also offers sync across all your Macs as well as a web app to record time on the go. So, if you need to track time in a meeting, you can do that right from your iPhone!
In addition, Timing offers a set of Siri shortcuts to track time as quickly as possible.
Stop guessing how you spend your time, and focus on doing your best work instead.
Download the free 14-day trial today and get 10% off for the first year!
Mac Power Users #583: The Obsidian Deep Dive ⇢
With the recent explosion in personal knowledge management tools, it is hard to know which one fits your needs the best. This week on MPU, David and I talk through Obsidian, which builds on top of plain, old-fashioned Markdown documents.
My thanks to our sponsors for the episode:
- 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.
- Privacy: Smarter payments. Get $5 to spend on your first purchase.
- Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
- Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.
Loopback ⇢
My thanks to Rogue Amoeba for sponsoring the site this week. Their app Loopback gives your Mac powerful audio routing, with no cables required. 512 Pixels readers save 21% with coupon code HACKETT21 in April.