Friday, May 5, 2000
Top Stories
Apple's Rating On The Rise?
Standard & Poor's today placed its double-B-minus corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings for Apple Computer Inc. on CreditWatch with positive implications.
News
Emulate Mac OS On Your Linux Box
Have you ever had a large number of desktop publishing files on a Mac-formatted Zip disk and wanted to transfer them to your Linux box? Did you ever want to copy a movie trailer from a Mac CD-ROM or use data from Mac hard disks? You probably know that it can be painful.
Merrill Analyst: Internet Appliances Key To Apple's Future
Apple will have little success in penetrating new markets for its Macintosh personal computers and will increasingly become more dependent on making Internet 'device appliances', Apple analyst Steve Fortuna of Merrill Lynch predicts.
Mac Office Will Leapfrog Windows Version
Today's version of Outlook Express is a powerful e-mail program, incorporating almost any feature imaginable (except for accessing AOL's e-mail). What's more, it's free. So what bag of tricks does Microsoft have in store for the commercial version that will be bundled with the next Office (due in the second half of 2000)?
'Espionage' A Good Fake That Has People Talking
What appears to be an Apple TV advertisement that ended up being distributed on Ad Critic.com, is actually a well produced fake, or 'speculation commercial,' produced by two guys simply trying to make a living in the dog-eat-dog world of commercial production.
Quake III Security Patch Creates Mac Troubles
Due to a security hole in the Windows version of Quake III: Arena, iD software released an updated version of the game today (version 1.17). The update was released across all platforms simultaneously, but the Mac build is having problems.
Real Explains AudioCatalyst Policy; Denies Its Abandoning Mac
Contrary to other published reports, RealNetworks, which recently-acquired Xing Technology Corporation, has clarified its policy on AudioCatalyst 2.1 for Mac and categorically denied it is dropping support for Macintosh users needing an MP3 encoding solution.
Review
The State Of The Browser
In which Charles Moore compares IE 5, iCab, and Netscape 4.72, and takes look at Netscape 6 and its potential for the future.
Screenwriting Software Is A Winner
The Academy Award-winning film "American Beauty" was something of a hidden boost for the screenwriting software Final Draft.
Simply Stated: Updates, AppleWorks 6.0.3 And Email
So if you've previously installed AppleWorks 6, and whether or not you've updated CarbonLib by itself, just download and install this AppleWorks 6.0.3 updater and you're all set with the new version. It is better.
iMovie
My advice is not to make iMovie something that it's not. iMovie is ideal for taking short video clips, and putting them together to tell a story with music, sound effects, transitions and then export it out to video device or file. iMovie is simple and fast for both the good and bad. You're not going to make a Hollywood feature with iMovie, but you can make some pretty cool home movies from the holidays.
Macworld Review: iBook And iBook Special Edition
Budget-conscious buyers who need a portable computerñbut don't need a lightning-fast processor, FireWire, an extra USB port, a PC Card slot, or VGA- and S-Video-out portsñwill appreciate the iBook's value. And if the graphite case is worth $200 to you, by all means get the iBook SE. Road warriors who need more options and more power should consider the new PowerBook or an older-model PowerBook.
Sidetrack
On Hiatus
I will be travelling again next week. This time, I will be at some place far far away (from my home, i.e.). Boston, MA.
This will be the second time I'm in Boston. The first time during when I was still a student at University of Maryland at College Park. (Do they still call it by that name?)
Anyway, there will thus be minimal updates to AppleSurf, The AppleSurf Reader, and SingaporeSurf during this period. Regular updates will resume only on the weekend of May 13-14.
Happy Mothers Day.
What To Do At LAX
During this trip, I will have approximately 6 hours of free time at L.A. Airport for the transit. Twice. Any suggestions on what to do during these 6 hours? I know a large part of the 6 hours will be taken up by the Custom checks, though.
Eyeball Tracking
Text is king, baby! According to a new study, as reported by E&P Online, text is what the web user will look. No real surprise here, but this confirms what a lot of people believe to be true. I remember (way back) I was on a web project where the majority of the web pages are just huge graphical image maps. I wimped out then and didn't complain loud enough. On hindsight, I should have.
Change The World
User-interface: a legacy that Apple is abandoning? A recent Macworld opinion piece tell Apple / Steve Jobs, basically, to please use your brain. Cool translucent plastic is, well, cool. But don't forget your basic UI research too. I second that!
Feedback
Yeah, just before I leave for the journey, I'm springing this new format of AppleSurf Sidetrack onto you, my dear reader. What do you think? Send in your feedback. And yes, this is heavily influenced by Scripting News, and other web logs.
Wintel
"Love" Virus Includes Password-stealing Trojan Horse
It is actually one of the more complex viruses that we have seen because it fits the category of a virus, a worm and Trojan Horse code that masquerades as one thing and then does something else in the background.
Love Bites
The most insidious thing about the latest e-mail virus is how it preys on users' hunger for affection.
Public Favors MS In Antitrust
Despite being dealt a blow in the courtroom, Microsoft appears to have fared well in the court of public opinion. Less than a week after the Department of Justice and 17 states recommended to a federal judge that Microsoft be forcibly broken up for antitrust violations, recent polls indicate that as many as three out of five computer users favor leaving the company as a single entity.
Employee Departures Possible Side Effect Of Microsoft Case
As the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft winds its way through the legal system, the software giant will have to guard against employee defections to keep its competitive edge, experts warn.
Manufacturing Users Tell Microsoft To Slow Down New Products
The year-old Microsoft Manufacturing User Group (MS-MUG) wants the software giant to slow down the introduction of new operating system releases affecting real-time manufacturing controls.
Love Virus Costs May Surpass Melissa
Analysts may never be able to figure out the exact total costs of the virus that hit global-computer networks Thursday, but preliminary figures show it may eclipse those of the Melissa virus, which set the standard for a fast-spreading malicious code sent through e-mail.
Microsoft Slammed For Email Security Holes
Security issues tied to Microsoft's Outlook Express email program drew heated criticism today from security analysts after a new virus swept through computer systems across the globe.
"I Love You" Virus Has "Very Funny" New Name
Network administrators warn that the "I Love You" virus is circulating under the new name "Very Funny," potentially evading the filtering efforts of those battling the worm.
Macs Mostly Immune From Worm
The Love Letter worm currently infecting PC systems worldwide cannot replicate itself on a Macintosh, experts told MacWEEK. However, Macs running Windows emulators could be affected, and because the worm clogs e-mail servers, it has the potential for crashing networks that include Macs.