Friday, March 17, 2000
Top Stories
Resurgent Apple Adds Another Distributor
It's a good indicator of stronger overall demand, because if they didn't think they could move more product, they might not do something like this.
Jobs Bows Out Of Internet World
The Spring Internet Expo show will go on, but it won't include an opening keynote presentation by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, according to organizers of the annual industry gathering.
News
If You Haven't Tried AppleScript, You're Missing Something Insanely Great
AppleScript can be used to write script files which can control the actions of the computer and applications that run on it. Much more than just a macro-language that simplly repeats your recorded actions, Apple say that AppleScript scripts can "think."
USB Wakes Pismo
Plugging and unpluggin USB devices will wake your sleeping Pismo (PowerBook). Apple suggests that you add and remove your USB devices before sleeping the machine. With that procedure, the PowerBook is more likely to stay asleep.
Crafting The Next PC Interface
Experts agree: There must be a better way to 'talk' to a computer.
An Interview With Joe Lee: iMacButton Phenomenon
Joe Lee is the creator of the iMacButton, the popular reset button for the iMac. And he has a story to tell of creating a one-man company and becoming a huge success. And The MacMind has the interview...
Fluke's Flair For Design No Fluke
What do Martha Stewart, Apple Computer and Everett's Fluke COrp. have in common? If nothing else, they certainly have a flair for design.
Adobe Beats Estimates Again
Design software maker Adobe Systems said its fiscal first-quarter net income rose 69 percent, beating estimates for the sixth straight quarter, on sales of products used to design Web pages.
Andromeda Welcomes Rivals To Plug-in Site
Plug-in vendor Andromeda Software is inviting competitors to join anew service that lets consumers run Photoshop filters online. The company said eFXservices.com will replace low-end image-editing programs.
Jobs Bows Out Of Internet World Keynote Speech
Much... preparation has already been done, so it is not likely that Mr Jobs pulled out lightly. Witha ll that said, it could be that whatever Mr. Jobs had expected to tout at the show is not ready for prime time.
Opinion
OK, What Insanely Great New Thing Wasn't Ready In Time?
The new 2 GHz wireless pocket-sized clamshell Son-of-Pismo with glow-in-the-dark keyboards and free lifetime Internet access aren't ready yet. Either that or no Apple veep could be persuaded to jump from a 20-foot tower into a pile of Motorola executives to demonstrate its durability.
Why Is Apple's Name Game So Lame?
The automobile industry understands the importance of name choices in projecting product image and catching consumers' imagination... Unfortunately, the computer industry doesn't, and computer trade names (nut just Apple's) tend to be unimaginative, boring, geeky, and meaningless. Too bad Apple doesn't try to think different in this instance.
Stuck In The 500MHz Zone
Has Apple lost the speed race?
Missing The Little Things
The Mac has a lot of deficiencies these days, particularly in the price/performance, OS robustness, and third-party hardware/software availability arenas. But when it comes to the elegance and useability of the interface, the Mac maintains a large and important lead over the Wintel platform.
Hey, It's Still Pre-beta
Many things can change between now and the final rollout in July. Doubtless performance, appearance and operationg will all be refined over the next five months. Hopefully, most of the problems will be addressed. And while Mac users shouldn't get frantic over what appears (or doesn't appear) in developer versions, Apple should listen carefully to the feedback they're getting.
Review
Get In The Game With These USB Game Pads
Ultimately, the best gamepad is the one that is best for you... My personal preference is the Gravis Game Pad Pro, simply because it's the one that I feel most comfortable with. But every person, and especially every game player, is different — think about what you want out of a gamd pad, and then choose one.
Quark III
If you're expecting anything new in this version, you'll be disappointed. Quark III is very simply more of the same with better graphics, and that might not be enough to satisfy some.
iSub
To Harman Kardon, the subwoofer has become an icy, scyphozoan clay with whcih to render the sculptor's ultimate triumph of form over function. And for trendy iMac DV types, this just might be indispensable.
Star Wars: Episode I Racer
Even if the Star Wars: Episode I movie didn't impress you, you'll like Racer. Fast racing, lots of customizing options, and excellent visual and sound design make LucasArts' return to the Mac an impressive one.
Dramatica Pro 4.0
Dramatica Pro 4.0 is a serious character and story development tool for serious writers, though perhaps a bit too rigid for some. Maybe now you can finish that brilliant story lurking in the back of your head.
iBook
If you are looking for the iBook to be your primary game machine, you should really consider looking elsewhere... If you are looking for a portable Mac to supplement your current desktop system, the iBook offers a number of compelling features that make it well-worth considering.
MacInTax Deluxe 1999
MacInTax is an excellent way to prepare your tax return. It cuts through the maze of rules and regulations, making them understandable.
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament is a killer addition to the first-person shooter genre.
Dreamweaver 3
For the average user, Dreamweaver is an easy-to-use, powerful Web page creation tool that has some cool new features. For the large-scale site development team with an in-house programmer, Dreamweaver supports nearly limitless customization. It has a lot of offer almost everyone.
Is Windows Emulation A Real Option?
[Virtual PC] does require that you have a lot of RAM, but as I found out, even the lowest-end iMac has enough power to run it with no visible speed loss.
Sidetrack
Wired News sports a new look that is, well, "an old version of itself".
Dan Gillmor described it best when he compared two press releases side-by-side in his web log...
Microsoft: "Windows Media poised to become universal format for digital audio. RealNetworks joins AOL WInamp, Lycos Sonique, MusicMatch, Sonic Foundry, Yahoo! and over 70 companies in licensing Windows Media technology; Media Metrix Data shows Windows Media Player used by more households with PCs than any other player."
Real Networks: "RealJukebox becomes first universal digital music system, adds Windows Media Audio to long list of playback formats to extend reach to incremental 2% of media content."
Wintel
MS Gives Away Win2k Pro Code For Free
Microsoft face ssomething of a licensing issue in Spain, following the accidental free distribution of an estimated 100,000 copies of full, non time-limited Windows 2000.
Cost-saving Technique Causes Some Toshiba Laptops To Fail
Oficials at Toshiba on Thursday confirmed the existence of a problem with a selected batch of Toshiba Satellite 41000XDVD laptop computers that causes the mobile units to overheat and fail within a week following their deployment.
New Notebooks Save Power
AMD is nearing the release of a notebook computer feature aimed at extending notebook battery life by throttling back clock speed and voltage on its forthcoming K6-2+ and K6-III+ notebook chips.