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Although Mozilla ceased supporting PowerPC users with the release of FireFox 4.0, the dedicated team at TenFourFox has continued developing and deploying new versions for all PowerPC users.

FireFox 7 adds support for better memory use and management, more HTML5 technologies, improves performance and scalability of HTML5 media elements, updates the WebSockets protocol and adds CORS support to WebGL. Learn more about FireFox 7 here.

Get the download and more info @ TenFourFox

Sad news for Apple fans everywhere as Apple has now introduced a proprietary connector for SATA drives in it’s new lineup of 2011 iMacs.

“For the main 3.5″ SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration. Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself. From our testing, we’ve found that removing this drive from the system, or even from that bay itself, causes the machine’s hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT).” - OWC Blog

Here’s to hoping a remedy is just around the corner.

For the most part OS X is very fast and nimble. However, with just a little bit of time and effort, you may find that you can get even more performance out of your mac. Try starting with these apps.

ATIccelerator II is an overclocking app for ATI based video cards. This app allows you to increase the clock speed, and thus increase performance of ATI based video cards on your Mac.

I recommend atMonitor to monitor GPU temps to insure your card doesn’t overheat after overclocking. If you see increased temps after overclocking, try installing smcFanControl to increase system fan speeds.

Xslimmer works by removing unnecessary bits of code from apps you have already installed on your mac. The slimming of the apps can often speed up launch time as well as recover gigabytes of hard drive space. (I saved 3.8GBs over the span of 28 apps)

If your Mac is a bit on the older side, you may be able to eek a bit more performance if your not attached to the “Dashboard’. OS X’s Dashboard feature can consume upwards of 100MBs of RAM in addition to stealing some CPU performance. If your not using it everyday, try disabling it until you find you need it. Just paste this string of code into a terminal window. defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES Press enter, then this killall Dock

Mozilla’s Firefox has a theme that is easy on the eyes and just as functional, however, everyone’s taste is a little different and default isn’t always beautiful. So today we come to you with out three favorite Firefox themes.

Up first, Tylerc’s Chromifox. Chromifox, as you may have guested from the name, is a coat of Chrome for Firefox. It is a very clean and professional theme that is super intuitive and very nice to look at. If you haven’t given Chrome a try yet, this theme may perk your intrest. (also, give tylerc’s other theme Camifox a try if you dig Camino‘s theme.)

Secondly, we have gigeher’s Purity. It’s simple and straight forward design make for a great clutter-free interface. It’s white design with light accents of blue make it a very stylish choice. This theme is still in beta but it is fully functional.

Rounding up the list is Spewboy’s Strata40. Inspired by Firefox 4, this theme is very reminiscent of the default Firefox theme but improvements have been made and it definitely trumps what is shipping with as the default now.

This is a documentation of my project to mod a Powermac G4 into a hackintosh.
Very little effort went into the research of compatibility. I was shopping on a budget and I knew if they didn’t fit I could just get a cheap pc case.
So, $470 dollars later my tigerdirect shopping cart is full of mostly everything I need.

• Thermaltake Pure-Power 430-Watt power supply. – $39.99
• 250GB SATA 3.5″ HDD from Seagate. – $49.99
• 4 Gig of OCZ SLI-Ready PC6400  800MHz DDR2 RAM – $19.99
• Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 wolfdale @2..8GHz and a 1600MHz FSB – $119.99
• LG 22xDVD-R and  16x DL-DVD Burner – $29.99
• Gigabyte EP43-UD3l Motherboard.w/ 1600MHz FSB. – $84.99
• XFX Ultra-Silent GeForce 9400GTw/ 512MB DDR2 RAM – $49.99
• I also got a NetGear WiFi Card and a Wireless Logitech Keyboard/Mouse set- $19.96/$34.99

As of now I have been able to install the new Hard Drive, DVD Burner, and Power Supply into the G4.

Read on for pics,. Read the rest of this entry »

iFixit.com has a great do-it-yourself bundle that allows you to upgrade your Mac Mini’s storage all the way up to 1TB. Mighty impressive, even if you do loose your optical drive.

Buy the Package here: ifixit 1TB Mac Mini Package

or, if your just interested to see who they do it, check out the how-to link here. 1TB Mac Mini installation Guide.

What did Apple do the week of Febuaray 15th – 21st? Read on to get the goods.

• New 17″ MacBook Pro starts arriving at doorsteps

• Possible sneak peak of new MacMini -Video

• Apple discontinues 20″ cinema display

• Apple buying up all the RAM it can get its hands on

• Apple opens two new retail stores in France

• Turning the Dell Mini 9 into the Ultimate OS X Netbook

Keep your eyes open for my upcoming review of Linux Mint 6 (64bit) on the MacBook Pro as well more Apple tips, rumors, and news!

Interested in what I do when I’m not blogging? Follow me on Twitter to stay up to date. Twitter.com/lwestlie

Not to long ago I attempted to install Linux Mint 5.0 on my MacBook Pro. It went okay but things like the display driver and wireless just didn’t work right. Fast Forward to the release of Mint 6.0. Slick, the one word that sums up this new release. Automated driver retrieval and installation makes everything much much easier. The WiFi and ATI Control Center installed without a hitch. Combine all of this with Apple’s built in boot camp feature and you have the easiest and fastest dual boot system.

Here are the pics:

Although Apple claims they can only support 4GB max, those shiny new MacBook and MacBook Pros can support up to 6GBs of DDR3 memory. For the casual user, installing a 4GB and 2GB module in your MacBook or MacBook Pro may seem like a bit of overkill. Especially with a $600 price tag. But if you are looking for shear performance on the go, its good to know you can always add another 2GBs. Keep in mind though, that as of now, 6GBs is the absolute limit. 8GBs apparently gives the system issues.