BoatnotesThe Royal Navy is running Windows ME – and XP, and even an early version of Apple Macintosh. But all is not as alarmingly obsolete as it may appear. Your correspondent, during a few days embedded aboard seabed survey ship HMS Enterprise, asked the crew what systems were in operation aboard the ship’s networks. The answer was a …

The Internet Archive has hooked up an Apple Mac emulator to its collection of vintage software so you can breeze through your afternoons reliving the 1980s – all from the comfort of your browser. The tech preservation organization is hosting the emulator online along with 45 applications and games for the original MacOS, …

Security watchers have spotted a shareware scam targeting Apple users that features malicious code signed with a legitimate Apple developer certificate. The dodgy software poses as an Adobe Flash update, typically presented to potential marks as a pop-up reminder. Those who fall for the ruse will end up unwittingly …

Our ongoing look at very, very old computers still in production has turned up another ancient artefact in the form of a 1989-vintage Mac that's still being used, for the very modern task of developing smartphone apps. Reader “Pascal” says he does most of his work coding apps for Macs, iOS and Windows on a 2012 Mac Pro. Part …

PicsThe year 1984 was a watershed for the personal computing market, a year which saw Apple introduce the Macintosh and forever change the way people looked at desktops. On the 30th anniversary of that January release, there was no shortage of coverage looking at the historic launch of the Mac and its impact on the industry and …

Dig through enough archives, old texts, magazine ads or historical archives and you're bound to see one: a bulky plastic oddity that looks vaguely like a portable sewing machine, save for a detachable keyboard and miniscule display sticking out of the front. This clumsy, unwieldy behemoth is the Osborne I, and the story of its …

ReviewWe all got a sneak preview last summer and many were miffed when the scheduled arrival time at the close of 2013 came and went. However, it appears that the new Mac Pro did ship in small numbers in January of this year. But the dispatch of new orders quickly slipped to March, and Apple’s UK and US websites are currently …

A team of researchers have unearthed a time capsule containing an early Apple mouse that once belonged to Steve Jobs. A television crew filming a program for the National Geographic Channel tracked and unearthed the capsule, which was originally buried outside of Aspen, Colorado in 1983. Among the contents pulled from the …

FeatureThere has been no shortage of rose-tinted retrospective adulation marking the 30th birthday of the Macintosh over past weeks. Here at El Reg, we’d be the last to deny Apple’s significance and continuing influence on the history of personal computing. But to put everything in perspective, we thought it was worth looking back at …

Three decades after launching one of the most famous ad spots in TV history, Apple has marked the anniversary of its 1984 Super Bowl commercial with a quietly subversive effort that once again pits the company against a perceived status quo in the industry. The company on Sunday released "1.24.14", a short film advertisement …

FeatureThirty years ago this Friday, at approximately 9:45am on Tuesday, 24 January, 1984, the Macintosh introduced itself after Steve Jobs unveiled it at an Apple shareholders' meeting in Cupertino's Flint Center for the Performing Arts. "Hello. I'm Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag," the odd-looking 16.5-pound box …

I'm a sitting behind a 2010 iMac. You know, it's one with the dodgy Seagate hard drives that Apple is replacing en masse. I must get this sorted soon, but it hasn't died ye—. Apple iMac 21.5in late 2012 Long time no see: Apple's late 2012 21.5in iMac Now I'm sitting behind a very late 2012 iMac. It's the super slim one …

The cost of Mountain Lion Server is a fraction of what Apple charged for its server software just a few years ago, especially if you look at the old 'unlimited client' editions of Mac OS X Server. Then, the software alone cost as much as a new Mac. Now, it costs as much as a Hollywood blockbuster on DVD, and it’s far more useful …

A functional Macintosh 128k prototype has been put up for sale on eBay, complete with rare "Twiggy" 5.25in floppy drive, original keyboard, mouse and power lead. The only non-authentic thing here is that the seller, who calls himself 'Woz', isn't actually Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak - a fact he's happy to highlight - but …

Apple sold more iOS devices in 2011 than the total number of Macs sold in all 28 years since the original Macintosh 128k first hit store shelves in late January 1984. "The iOS platform as a whole reached 316 million cumulative units at the end of last year," Horace Dediu writes on his Asymco blog. "The iOS platform overtook …

Apple officials have instructed members of the company's support team to withhold any confirmation that a customer's Mac has been infected with malware or to assist in removing malicious programs, ZDNet's Ed Bott reported on Thursday. He cited an internal document titled "About 'Mac Defender' Malware," which was last updated on …

Memoirs of a SalesmanToday, Apple seems unstoppable - its new products dominate their markets or create entirely new ones. But there was a time, 20 years ago, when Apple seemed to have lost everything. In 1984 I was caught in the middle of all this: I was a sales rep for ComputerLand Los Angeles; the top Macintosh salesman at the largest computer …

Amid all the ballyhoo and whoop-de-doo about Apple's resurgence being a result of the consecutive successes of the iPod and iPhone — and the promise of the iPad — one Cupertinian money-maker has been flying under the radar: Mac sales have tripled in the past five years. During the company's recently completed $15.7bn third …