Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Top Stories
American Icons: The iPod
In two years, it has changed how we listen to music.
Apple's Music: Microsoft's Sour Note?
Apple Computer's new music service could help shift the battle to control digital media away from Microsoft's proprietary file formats, according to analysts.
Apple Seeking Coder To Port iTunes To Windows
According to the Mac maker's employment opportunities site, the company is seeking a Senior Software Engineer. His or her key responsibility: "Design and build Apple's newest Consumer Application, iTunes for Windows."
News
Dr. Bott Offers AMP Interface For iPod
Wi-Fi Security Gets A Boost
The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the certification of products using the latest security specification, as it works to allay concerns about wirelessly transmitting data over networks.
Opinion
The 10-10-220 Of File-Sharing
A few record execs must have wandered into Steve Jobs' reality distortion field.
Steve Jobs, Pied Piper Of Online Music
I think Jobs's maneuver will go down in history as the final straw that broke the back of the old music-distribution system — and the industry's pyramid hierarchy that gives big stars big treatment and gives nearly everyone else squat.
iTunes Music Store
Quite possibly the best part is what you don't see — the pop-up ads, annoying news feeds, or other "push" data.
I Have Seen The Future Of Music And Its Name Is iTunes
Apple's new online music-buying system is everything Napster promised to be — cheap, easy and, best of all, legal.
Steve Jobs Blesses DRM, And Nothing Happens
Today, the bugnotes begin to appear.
Review
Expression 3: Illustration Program Combines Vectors, Rasters, And Something That Has Been Missing — Fun
Expression 3 might just be the illustration world's best-kept secret. If you're an illustrator, a graphic designer looking for an interesting type effect, or a fine artist working on a computer, this program is for you.
Neat Stuff In iTunes 4 Files
Very cool. So how does it work? What follows is some stuff that might be handy for devloping helper apps, or just poking around.
Sidetrack
FUN! FUN! FUN! : Mike Wendland has this theory on why Wintel people get nasty with Mac people. "[Wintel people] have no fun with their machines and resent those who actually enjoy using their computers."
FINANCIAL HEALTH : I shouldn't be reading rich people's blog. People who whine about not getting the new iPods yet. People who tells you why you should buy a 17" PowerBook now. I'm green with envy.
:-)
Wintel
HP To Bring 64Bit Windows XP To Itanic
Itanic releases have poured out of the HP and Microsoft vaults at a steady clip of late.
Tablet PC Receives Pentium M Boost
Motion Computing, an Austin, Texas-based start-up plans to release the M1300, a tablet PC based on Intel's new 900MHz ultra-low-voltage version of the Pentium M.
For Windows, Less Fat Means Fewer Bugs
With Windows Server 2003, Microsoft is promising greater security. However, its 50 million lines of code mean it'll never be secure enough.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Brings Good Karma To Online Music
After one night of testing, I have to say that I do believe that Apple has brought good karma to online music.
Apple Stores To Host 'Live On Stage' Event For iPods Friday
Apple will be holding a special "Live On Stage" event at Apple Stores nationwide this Friday, May 2 to unveil the new iPods to the public.
News
Belkin Launches Line Of Accessories For New iPods
Palm Desktop 4.1 Adds 'Send To Handheld Droplet'
The new version adds a "Send to Handheld Droplet" that enables users to more easily transfer image and audio files to the Palm PDA or to an expansion card.
CNN Talks To Steve Jobs About iTunes
"[We are] making the best music store in the world, and making the most popular and best MP3 player in the world."
Apple Sticks With Akamai
Apple's choice to stay with Akamai, especially given its high-stakes iTunes launch, is a vote of confidence.
AAPL Rises 4% In Wake Of Music Store Anouncement
Vivendi 'To Keep Universal'
Vivendi Universal appears likely to keep its Universal Music assets, according to a Reuters report yesterday.
Apple's Music: Evolution, Not Revolution
For all the glitz surrounding the unveiling Monday of Apple Computer's new music service, a quick look suggests that it's a solid, but hardly revolutionary, addition to the market.
Apple, Analysts On The New Music Service
How was Apple able to get support from the record companies, the RIAA and, judging from the reaction of many users to the announcement today, the buying public? IDC analyst Roger Kay summed it up in two words: Steve Jobs.
Apple Releases iPod AppleScripts
Apple on Tuesday released several new AppleScripts designed for the newly introduced iPod MP3 player. In addition to the music service, the iPod now supports the reading and storage of text-based notes.
Creative Introduces New Speaker Systems To Match iPod
Creative Technology today introduced two new white speaker systems designed to look and sound great with Apple's iPod.
Apple Launches Dream On Promotion
Dubbed "Dream On," the promotion gives interested users a savings of $500 when purchasing any Mac and Macromedia Studio MX by July 31, 2003.
REALbasic Update Improves Performance
Version 5.1 adds enhancements "that improve product reliability and performance," according to Real Software.
Apple Music Ads Posted Online
The ads take a style cue from Apple's Switch advertising campaign: A stark white background showing regular-looking folks singing along with their favorite songs on iPods.
Opinion
Apple Sweats The Details
The emphasis on quality for audio playback, online content and the purchase experience should also differentiate Apple's site from its competition.
Can The iTunes Music Store Reverse Apple's Eroding Market Share?
Ten Ways Apple Could Do Music Better
Breaking The Digital Music Logjam
The iTunes Music Store will raise the bar for digital music under Windows and change the industry, but it won't get Apple out of its 5 percent ghetto in the PC business—at least, not until Steve Jobs' next innovation comes along.
4 Reasons Why The Apple Music Service Will Make It Big
Apple clearly thought out the online music service concept and covered all the bases necessary to make it in the tough industry of online music.
Is The iTunes Music Store Really Music To Our Ears?
Will the iTunes Music Store end up as just another cool idea that just didn't catch on, or will it transform the music industry? A lot of fingers are being crossed on this one, that's for sure.
Apple Leaks Confidential Information To Discredit Customer
Better Distribution Of Mac OS X Software
You put a lot of work into your software, so don't undermine it by making unnecessary mistakes when distributing it to the world.
What Apple Finally Delivered
The announcement today of the iTunes Music Store is pure Jobs. It's proprietary, it's overpriced and everyone is going gaga for it.
Review
Master Of Orion III
The gameplay is so addictive, I often found myself saying, "Okay, just one more turn", 267 times in a row. This game is immersive, richly detailed and full of strategy. Furthermore, multiplayer support is quite fun when friends are involved.
Apple's Stealth iBook Upgrades
Any of the iBooks offers excellent value for the money, although as noted, go for the top-of-the-line 14-incher and get a useful amount of RAM.
Apple's New iPods
Apple's existing iPods are already cool, but the new models look even cooler.
Sidetrack
WHY ARE YOU IN SALES? : Why does some stores put a link on their web site, inviting audiences to send sales enquires, and then fail to answer those enquires?
NOT IN SF? : Here are the pictures of the unveiling of Apple Music.
Wintel
Microsof'ts Power Play
Will Trusted Computing mean the end of the PC as we know it?
Unifinished Business: The One Missing Piece
With all of the incredible strides that Linux has made from the smallest embedded devices to the some of the largest supercomputers ever made, there is one piece of its complete adoption in the enterprise that's still missing—a not so little piece still to be done: integration and interoperability with Active Directory.
Microsoft Makes Strides On New Windows
The operating system, code-named Longhorn, is expected to debut late next year or early in 2005. But analysts who examined the latest test release, dubbed "Milestone 5," which leaked onto the Web last week, said Microsoft appears to be slightly ahead of schedule.
Microsoft Recruits EMC For Storage Push
EMC is joining forces with Microsoft to attack the lower reaches of the network-attached storage market.
Microsoft's Plug-And-Play Biometrics
AuthenTec, a maker of fingerprint-recognition sensors, announced on Monday that it had signed a deal with Microsoft to integrate software support for biometrics into the Windows operating system.
Monday, April 28, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Unveils Music Store
Apple Computer on Monday unveiled its latest line of digital music products, including a long-awaited Internet music store and ultrathin versions of its popular iPod portable MP3 player.
Online Music Service Signals New Direction For Apple Computer
Jobs has long criticized other online music services as difficult to use. Apple's approach, say people who have seen it and spoken to Jobs, is to make delivery of online music easy and intuitive.
Slate Sets A Web Magazine First: Making Money
So after almost seven years, Slate could be the exception that ends up disproving the rule that held that content sites generally serve as a trapdoor for good intentions and prodigious amounts of money.
News
Behind The iTunes: Which Celebs Are Fans?
Artists go on the record about Apple's new music service.
Inside The iTunes Music Store
Apple's new digital music service is as simple and straightforward as anything CEO Steve Jobs has ever produced. Here's how it works.
Leader Of The Digital Music Pack?
Apple's competitors dismiss the iTunes Music Store as a niche product. But the real buzz in the music trade is that Steve Jobs has just created what is easily the most promising legal digital music service on the market.
"Apple Features For International Users" Petition Started
Following this morning's 'music to your ears' announcements, a new petition has emerged that challenges Apple's extent of localization in key products.
Apple To Unveil Music Service
Cloaked in secrecy, Apple's highly anticipated service has generated a healthy buzz among record label executives and music fans.
University Finds Innovative Uses For iPods
Using the digital devices and assisted by GC&SU's Electronic Instructional Services (EIS), two interdisciplinary teams developed and deployed curriculum materials on the iPods.
Taking It Online
When Apple Computer Inc., the small but influential PC maker, launches its foray into digital music downloads today, it carries the hopes of the beleaguered music industry on its shoulders.
Brave New World Of Web Services
What will the Web look like in 10 years? As rich Internet applications evolve, developers work on powerful new tools that could transform the online world.
Quark Reveals More XPress Details
The updated application will offer enhanced pages for Web design, simplified hyperlinks creation and more-comprehensive XML usage than before, Quark said.
Apple Said To Be Entering E-Music Fray With Pay Service
Unless Apple unveils something radically unexpected, its service will not represent a marked difference from some of the Internet services already in existence. The announcement, however, will bring a big-name company into the mix, presenting a potentially significant change in what has been a tense relationship between consumer electronics makers and the music industry.
Apple Music Service To Go Live
"The real win is not just to curtail piracy but to create a compelling, legitimate alternative."
Review
Orbz
The game's visual and aural polish, its mix of action and strategic gameplay, and the choice of Solo or Online gameplay is sure to please a larger gaming audience ignored by a lot of the titles hitting the shelves today. The variety in gameplay, however, doesn't detract from the fact that the game is essentially another computer golfing game, and will fall flat quite quickly with gamers not interested in the Scottish sport.
LapWorks USB Nite Key Lite
The Nite-Key-Lite is a well-made, affordable and useful little gadget that can help shed a little more light on the task at hand.
Thinking Outside The Laptop Box
Two factors limit the PowerBook's appeal. The more important — an insuperable problem for most businesspeople who work in a Windows environment — is that it operates only Mac software.
The Hydra Collaborative Editor At Work
I've really enjoyed being a Mac user at this conference. I finally understand what all the fanaticism is all about.
Drive 10: Disk Repair App For OS X Drags Its Feet
Drive 10 is just not yet mature enough to be ranked with other superior disk utilities like TechTool Pro or DiskWarrior.
The Art Of Dragging And Dropping
The Apple version, under a suite of software called iLife, is intuitive and user-friendly. The Microsoft Windows software, some of which comes included with Windows XP, is flexible and powerful.
Sidetrack
TO YOU, dear readers, your kindness is very much appreciated.
STATUS UPDATE : All the updates — 10.2.1, 10.2.2, 10.2.3 combo (I fail to find the standalone 10.2.3), 10.2.4 and 10.2.5 all ran successfully, and the iMac has been updated.
(As you may have recall, the combo 10.2.5 failed to update the 10.2.0.)
My PowerBook is now in the repair shop, and I'm supposed to get an estimate on the cost required in two or three days' time. Bye bye, PowerBook — for the moment.
I thought that moving from a PowerBook to an iMac DV, the worst thing will be the lost of portability. Well, not really. The worst thing, for me, is moving from a LCD to a CRT. Hey, Steve Jobs was right. (I will not consider an eMac for my next purchase then.)
BETTER WIFI THORUGH LOVE AND CARE : If I do get a second-hand Titanium PowerBook, I'll have to remember to massage it for better Airport range.
SARS DEVELOPMENT : Singapore's public hospitals have banned all visitors, essentially treating all patients as potentially having SARS. Mothers-to-be, children, and those patients who are "seriously ill" (read: dying soon) are exempted, and can have one visitor per day.
The Sept 11 caused airports around the world to be redesigned. The SARS incident — especially if we cannot contain it — will probably redesign public health care system and infrastructure in the coming months.
Oh, and there's a new poster up in the pantry where I work: how to wash your hands.
Wintel
Faster Than The Speed Of Software
The record labels have a new idea for selling music online. The only catch: This time, they are ahead of the technology needed for it to happen.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
News
Opinion
Beware Rush To Laptops, Teacher Says
Let someone else take the risk of being first as a technology pioneer, especially in a market that changes daily. They may have money to burn on trying to set a new standard -= we don't.
Are You Ready For The Mac's 20th Anniversay?
At this early stage, we should look at the state of the Mac and see what we have to celebrate about. And the answer may not be the happy anniversary party some might have hoped for.
Sidetrack
STATUS REPORT : For those who were wondering where I was the past 24 hours... (if there are any of you who are actually wondering...)
My PowerBook died. Well, not exactly died. But it does not like my electricity. No matter how I shake and twiggle my power cord, it refused to accept the power supply.
So before my battery wind down, I backed up everything onto my Firewire hard disk. Towards the end, I think the battery has only 10 minutes of power left. Whew!
This afternoon, I stole my sister's iMac DV into the room, and start the painful process of install Mac OS X (it was on Mac OS 9.0 previously) and restore all my backup. (I also have to restore all my wife's data, and to create a new account and restore all the data for my sister.)
One major problem: the 10.2.5 combo update refuses to run, complaining about "some problem" and then fail to explain why.
I've downloaded the 10.2.1 update, and that seems to work okay. So now I'm downloading all the separate 10.2.2 to 10.2.5 updates. (Currently still downloading. Wish me luck.)
I will try to get my PowerBook repaired, but my heart is not there. I guess for the rest of the year, I'll probably be mainly using a Windows XP machine.
P.S. Typing on the Apple Pro Keyboard is so much more noiser than typing on my Pismo, and I'm so afraid of waking up my wife, now sleeping.
Saturday, April 26, 2003
News
Macs Making Music: On The Road With Steve Wood
2nd Apple Store Will Open At University Village
It's officially a two-fer: Apple Computer is not only opening its Bellevue Square Apple Store on May 10, but it's also starting construction soon on another in the University Village mall.
Apple To Answer Rumors With Facts
For a company that treasures secrecy as much as it does innovation, Apple Computer, by its standards, practically ran its mouth off about what it might unveil at a conference in San Francisco on Monday.
Mac OS X Tweak On Tap
According to the seed's release notes. 10.2.6 will improve graphics and OpenGL, as well as OS X's Address Book application.
Apple Music Service Trumpets Ease Of Use
Label sources tell Bulletin that the service is an a la carte download store — not unlike that of rival Liquid Audio — that is built into Apple's iTunes player. No subscription is required for the service, and tracks are expected to retail for an average of 99 cents.
Review
Freeware Gems For Mac OS X
We're talking about neat little apps that you might not have heard of, but that can do the job of something much better-known (and much more expensive) without you having to pay a penny for them.
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
ATI has delivered another solid product in the Radeon 9000 Pro. While it is aimed toward a specific market segment, it is still a very capable gaming card for the price.
Sidetrack
DEAR SENEATOR, "does oral sex between a husband and wife, when they're both consenting... does that constitute sodomy?"
Scarlet Pimpernel urges you to call Senator Rick Santorum for advice on appropriate sexual behavior.
Wintel
Not All Microsoft Apps Run On Window Server 2003
Amidst the ballyhoo over Windows Server 2003, the new server operating system software that Microsoft launched Thursday, something was forgotten: Many of the company's own applications won't run on Windows Server 2003 without updating. Some never will.
Windows Guru—Hackers To Hire
Responsible for the overall engineering and management of the Windows kernel, Rob Short talked about what makes Server 2003 different from previous Windows products, where Unix and Linux still have the advantage, hackers, application compatibility, performance and security.
Microsoft Offers Windows Security Guide
Microsoft released on Friday a tutorial and templates to help system administrators lock down the security of computers running the company's newest operating system, Windows Server 2003.
New Windows Stirs Up Server World
Microsoft's new Windows Server 2003 is opening up opportunities in the server landscape, particularly in the high-end area once dominated by Unix machines.
Red Hat Warms To Itanium-Booster Plan
Leading Linux seller Red Hat is looking fondly at an Intel technology that improves the ability of the chipmaker's Itanium processor to run older software written for Xeon or Pentium chips.
Friday, April 25, 2003
News
Billboard To Reveal Apple Music Service Plans Today
US Music-industry bible Billboard is to publish details of Apple's new digital-music service at 8pm UK time -? but only to subscribers of the Premium Services section of Billboard.com.
Apple Extends X For Teachers Deal
Tech Writer Axed For Thinking
The San Francisco Chronicle today sacked technology reporter Henry Norr in an apparent response to his protests against the US-led invasion of Iraq.
WSJ: Apple Signs Eagles, No Doubt For Music Service
Pui-Wing Tam reports for the Wall Street Journal that Steve Jobs' personal involvement has helped Apple's as-yet-unannounced music service secure rights to most of The Eagles' recordings.
Griffin Ships iTrip FM Transmitter For iPod
The iTrip rests atop the iPod and attaches securely to the headphone jack and can broadcast to any available frequency on the FM dial.
Public Beta Of Nisus Writer Express Available
Nisus Writer Express sports a new and customizable interface that's designed to capitalize on Mac OS X's Aqua interface. It offers support for plain text, RTF (Rich Text Format), and Unicode support. Nisus Writer Express is fully scriptable (AppleScript, menu-based, and Perl macros) and can open and save as Microsoft Word documents.
Apple Confirms 'Some' Interest In Online Music Service
pple Computer Chief Executive Steve Jobs said some of the reports about the company's interest in the music business are true.
Apple Vote: Treat Options As Expenses
Defying company management, Apple Computer shareholders on Thursday approved a resolution calling on the Mac maker to treat stock options as an expense.
NetNewsWire And Spring Earn Top Awards In Inaugural Mac OS X Innovators Contest
Henry Norr Fired: His Statement
"I consider this punishment a violation of my rights as a citizen and as an employee, and I intend to fight it with all the means available to me."
Opinion
Thoughts On Apple's Music Plans
Given the associated costs—infrastructure and royalties, among others—the key to that will be a huge volume of downloads. And the only way to guarantee that is to reach out to Windows users.
Who Knew Making A 3-Minute Digial Movie Could Be So Complex?
Is It Worth It To Upgrade Your Older Power Mac?
If you have never upgraded your system in the past, you might want to think twice about upgrading it now, especially if it was a low-end model to begin with.
Buying Vintage Apples On eBay
eBay is a great place for collectors to find vintage Apple computers.
Review
Optic Verve
Digitizing all those snapshots gathering dust in your basement is now fast and easy, thanks to a nifty new scanner from Hewlett-Packard.
Sidetrack
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS : Why are so many of today's movie trailers features so many short scenes spiced together that I cannot appreciate even a single scene? My head goes dizzy and painful after watching them.
I AM LEARNING that curl is indeed a good tool.
Except that it reminds me of Vignette every time I use it.
MICROSOFT IS VISIONARY : Wow, somebody in Microsoft has been planning for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition since 1995. (scroll down)
Wintel
Ballmer: We're More Innovative Than Linux
Just how long fence-sitting CIOs will take to heed that message and upgrade their existing servers is the big wild card.
Microsoft Pulls Patch That Can Slow Windows XP
Microsoft is working on a revised patch for Windows XP Service Pack 1 and will re-issue that patch when it has been completed and fully tested, the software maker said.
Sure, Windows 2003 Scales, But Will It Sell?
Microsoft is tapping into corporate anxiety in its launch of Windows 2003. It says the software is about doing "more with less."
Dell Demos Itanium 2 Server
Dell has expressed support for Intel's Itanium 2 processor in the past, but has been reluctant to share details about its plans for the chip. Thursday's demonstration didn't mark a change in that strategy, as Dell spokesman Bruce Anderson declined to comment about the server's price, configuration, or specific launch date.
Cisco Flaw Touches Windows Servers
A potentially critical vulnerability has been found in Cisco Systems' Secure Access Control Server for Windows servers, which is used to control devices such as routers in large networks.
Microsoft To Delay Office Debut
Microsoft is preparing a new test version of its upcoming Office 2003 desktop software, which will delay the final release of the product until later this year.
Patch Issued For Windows NT Flaw
Microsoft on Thursday released an update for Windows NT that fixes the critical vulnerability that allowed an intruder to sneak onto a military server running Windows 2000.
Ballmer: Right Product, Right Time
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday launched Windows Server 2003, a new version of the company's server operating system, which he described as "the right product" to help companies stretch their IT budgets.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Updates AppleWorks And AirPort
Apple on Wednesday updated its productivity suite, AppleWorks, to version 6.2.7 for Mac OS X, 6.2.5 for Mac OS 9 and 6.2.1 for Windows. The company also released a new version their AirPort wireless networking software.
Apple And AMD Working Together, Claims Senior AMD Official
We'd caution against reading too much into the AMD official's comments. But we think it unwise to rule out the possibility of co-operation between Apple and AMD, particularly at the HyperTransport level.
News
Apple CEO Ducks Questions On Music Strategy
"There have been a lot of rumors in the last few weeks. Many of them are not true and some of them are true."
Microsoft Unveils Special Edition Mice, Keyboards
Microsoft today introduced four new hardware products in special edition colors of white and black.
Jobs Finds A Taker For San Remo Penthouse
Steve Jobs' mega-million-dollar Manhattan apartment has gone to contract.
Macca's Stake In Kidney Charity
The most valuable G4 PowerBook in the world — signed by Sir Paul McCartney — is being auctioned to raise funds for a kidney dialysis ward for children in the North East of England.
MP3 Sales 'Set To Boom'
Analysts believe that online music services and portable MP3-player sales are poised for massive market growth, according to In-Stat/MDR.
Apple Unveils Data Storage That 'Rocks Around The Clock'
Apple Computer is betting Taiwan's small- and medium-sized enterprises will bite its latest product offering: A device that company cheerleaders say is ideal for storage space-greedy digital content such as video footage, high-resolution images, and large databases.
Getting A Little Help From Your (Mac) Friends
User groups endure among Apple's faithful but may be overlooked by newcomers.
Inspiring Design
With over 300 Macs and two Xserves forming the backbone of their workflow ó- much of which is automated using AppleScript ó- itís not surprising that leading UK graphics and design house, Trident, took several months to make the transition to Mac OS X, but the company is now reaping the benefits.
Apple Seen As Unlikely To Bite
Shareholders have been cool to the idea since it surfaced in an April 11 Los Angeles Times report.
Opinion
Apple Says "NO" To Shattered PowerBook Screen - An Update
The joy of owning a new Mac has died; it?s no longer fun to ride the edge of the technology of computing. And when Apple Customer Relations fails to act on behalf of its customers we all lose.
Do You Follow Mac Rumor Sites?
As much as you say you never pay attention to it, we all know you can't help but take a casual glance at the stuff every so often. That's human nature.
Review
Deluxe Board Games
With a nifty single-player mode, outstanding multiplayer support, stylish graphics and sound effects that won't make one's ears bleed, the replay value in these games is endless. So, head on over to the Freeverse Store and join in the fun!
The Sims Unleashed Extension Pack
Furry friends and more jam the largest Sims extension yet.
When Size Counts
Big Al has a specification sheet that, a couple of years ago, would have challenged a workstation in a filmmaker's post-production suite, yet you can slide it into your backpack and still have room for your lunch, runners and a copy of Shakespeare's sonnets.
17-Inch PowerBook Laptop Is Worthy Of Envy
Get one and tourists might even ask to pose with you at the Burbank airport.
Extensis PhotoFrame 2.5
Extensis PhotoFrame not only does a great job of providing frames for your photos, but if you like to play on your computer, this program is addictively fun.
Enigmo
Unique and visually appealing, Enigmo brings something to the table that everyone can enjoy. If you take one thing away from this review, let it be that Enigmo is fun, no matter how you play it. And thatís the greatest praise I can give to any game.
Sidetrack
MS-WORD IS NOT A DOCUMENT EXCHANGE FORMAT, explains Jeff Goldberg.
HOT SUMMER DAYS : Starting today, all taxis in Singapore, it seems, will have to turn off the air-con, and roll down all windows.
I am not too sure whether this will help deter SARS, but what I am sure is that the taxi companies will not lower the price.
(Years and years ago, when air-con taxis is the exception rather than the norm, there used to be two different taxi fare structure, depending on whether the taxi is air-conditioned.)
SHOPPING TIME! : I will possibly be looking for a new Powerbook sometime end of this year or early next year. My Pismo machine now has a pathetic battery life of 1 hour, and the power supply cable doesn't fit nicely anymore. And iMovie is slow.
I'm also thinking of a desktop too — just because it is cheaper — but I'm not sure I can ever go back to a desktop after being pampered by Apple's great PowerBook.
(And isn't this the year of the laptop?)
Wintel
The Hype Has Faded, But Microsoft Still Hot On .NET
After the initial hype, .NET has faded from public view. But .NET is still on Microsoft's radar scope, big and bright as ever.
Windows Calls On The Enterprise
Microsoft on Thursday will launch the most ambitious version yet of its Windows server operating system, as the company looks to push aside Unix servers and mainframes in the enterprise.
Microsoft Tries To Conquer The Corporate Data Center
A loud chorus of Wall Street and industry skeptics are suggesting that powerful forces sweeping through the corporate computing world may thwart Microsoft's ambitions.
At Microsoft's Mercy
Microsoft's decision to offer the really interesting XML bits of the new Office only in its high-end versions is likely not to be as harmful to as many relevant parties as it might first appear, though it does reaffirm the prudential wisdom of assuming the worst about Microsoft and waiting to be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected.
CodeWeavers Brings Office XP To Linux
Users are now able to run Office XP on Linux, following the release of a commercial application that allows the package to run on the open source operating system.
Microsoft CD Copy Protection Advances
Microsoft dug its roots a little deeper into the music business Wednesday, as copy-protection company Macrovision agreed to license its Windows digital rights management technology for CDs.
Microsoft Patches Holes In IE, Outlook
Microsoft once again has welcomed Wednesday with patches for security flaws discovered in its Windows applications.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Top Stories
Deep Inside Apple's Piles
Piles were seen as complementary to the folder filing system, which was used more for archiving than grouping recently used, but related documents.
News
The Next Outrage In CEO Pay?
Apple Computer has always prided itself on being a trend-setting company. Still, CEO Steve Jobs couldn't have been happy when recent headlines trumpeted his revised compensation package as the latest innovation in corporate gluttony.
Apple Completes Employee Stock Option Exchange
FileMaker Conference Set For August 24-27
Macromedia Makes A Data Connection
The goal of the development tool is to make it easier for Flash applications to integrate with a wide range of data sources such as XML documents, databases, application servers and Web services.
Schools Look To Wireless Net Access For Learning Boost
Most U.S. public schools are equipped with desktop computers and computer labs, but the relatively new wireless Internet technology called Wi-Fi gives pupils instant access to the Internet to help with any subject in any classroom.
FileMaker-To-Keynote Tool Released
Apple database software subsidiary FileMaker has released a free FileMaker-to-Keynote tool that allows you to transform data contained within FileMaker Pro 6 databases into native presentations for Apple's new Keynote software.
Opinion
A Plea For A Better Help System
Apple's New Tune
Will the company's much-hyped music service help it grow market share? Doubtful, considering whom it's partnering with.
Branch Out From The Core
Should a PC maker own a music company? It's a daring move, but anything is possible.
Steve, Steer Clear Of Universal Music
Here are five good reasons why Apple should pass on this deal.
Review
Least Expensive Laptops? Hint: It Ain't Dell...
For the first time in my life, I found myself unable to justify the purchase of a Windows PC, instead discovering that Apple offered more for the money.
Apple 17-Inch PowerBook
The latest portable from Apple is a home run. It keeps the best parts of the 12-inch and 15-inch PowerBooks and adds enough features to make it more desirable.
Simple, Little Machines Can Make A Big Difference
Just how important is raw processing speed? Not very, it turns out.
Wi-Fi Antenna Enables Web Surfing By The Pool
I'm looking forward to wireless freedom this summer. I'm planning to write my columns as I catch some rays by the pool, providing yet another example of why Wi-Fi is so hot.
Apple 17-Inch PowerBook G4
The 17-inch PowerBook has it all. I'm not sure that there's any stock configuration for any notebook computer that comes close to matching the features of this machine.
Sidetrack
INFEST, BUFFERFLY-MAN! : "Then I realized that [Microsoft] was using a bug as their mascot and the symbolism became clear," observed joaquim.
Wintel
Intel Plans Itanium Course Correction
Intel will release software later this year designed to dramatically improve how well its Itanium chips run programs written for its Pentium or Xeon processors.
Microsoft's Security Straw Man
Microsoft needs to take a more radical approach to bulletproofing its software. Until then, I and many others are not going to be very confident that the Microsoft software we use is not teeming with bugs and holes waiting to be discovered by the malevolent. Trustworthy Computing? You've got a long way to go, baby.
Latest Windows XP Patch Can Slow Down PCs
Microsoft's latest security patch can cause computers running Windows XP to slow down to a crawl, affected users say.
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Top Stories
iBook Hit 900MHz
Apple this morning improved its iBook, introducing faster processors across its consumer portable line-up.
News
NPR Responds To "No QuickTime" Decision
"Apple and NPR have tried to work out the terms to renew [the] arrangement, but were unable to come to an agreement."
'CREATE' Re-named 'Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo'
OS X Server Tops The Field
Network Magazine's editors chose OS X v10.2 Server as the Server OS of the year.
Mac OS X Quietly Adds Smart Card Support
Mac OS X quietly adds Smart Card support for Military Use to OS X 10.2.3 and higher with a Federal Smart Card package that supports the Department of Defense Common Access Card to enable login authentication, encrypting and signing of email, and login to protected web sites.
'Check Out Our New Store Design'
Software In The Salad Bowl
Since moving to Watsonville in 1991, Aladdin Systems, Inc., producer of award-winning computer products, has become a welcome neighbor in a community better known for its strawberries than its software expedients.
Can Apple Corner Music Market?
Apple Computer is readying to launch an online service that will cut straight to the core of digital music distribution, winning the praise of some record executives who see it is as a weapon against online piracy.
Liam Lynch: MTV Puppeteer/Screenwriter, Music Videographer And "Fake" Rockstar Uses Macs For "Whatever."
"The album is so multimedia and every single part and element was created 100% with Macs."
Opinion
Apple's Music Service Is A Huge Risk, Is It Worth It?
Perhaps Apple will unveil a music service that is too good to be true. But I doubt it.
Mac Show Gets Macworld Moniker Back
You don't change the name of a show as big as Macworld Expo without seriously pondering the strength of the alternatives. But it looks like whoever decided that Create was the way to go got it wrong.
Review
Wi-Fi Antenna Enables Web Surfing By The Pool
I'm looking forward to wireless freedom this summer. I'm planning to write my columns as I catch some rays by the pool, providing yet another example of why Wi-Fi is so hot.
17-Inch PowerBook G4/1GHz: Big Screen, Big Performance Highlight Apple's Largest Laptop
For people who do not live entirely on planes or who have fairly light travel requirements, the 17-inch PowerBook will be a fine, if slightly oversized, travel companion. It also serves well as a sleek (if expensive) replacement for a desktop Mac.
Wi-Fi Antenna Enables Web Surfing By The Pool
I'm looking forward to wireless freedom this summer. I'm planning to write my columns as I catch some rays by the pool, providing yet another example of why Wi-Fi is so hot.
Take Note Of NoteTaker
NoteTaker is an outliner, a writing tool, a categorizer, a snippet keeper, a presentation tool, a Web site maker. It can organize your thoughts, your files, your life. Its potential seems vast, and everyone will use it differently.
MonacoDCcolor: Color-Profiling Software For Digital Cameras Tries To Solve Color Problems
If you're looking for a simple point-and-click solution for camera profiling, keep looking — you need the knowledge and skill of a professional to get good results from MonacoDCcolor. If you shoot under controlled conditions but spend a lot of time correcting color postcapture, MonacoDCcolor can be a real time-saver.
The Web In A Window
A new Watson that's a superset of Sherlock 3 could remain a must-have utility. Otherwise, Sherlock 3 wins. No good code goes unpunished.
Sidetrack
SINGAPORE AIRLINES REALLY SCREWED : A "screw SARS" counterculture attitude is emerging among younger mobile-technology users in Hong Kong and Singapore, reports Xeni Jardin in Boing Boing.
"Are 'cough' ring tones next?"
THINGS I LIKE TO ANNOUNCE HERE, BUT CAN'T : Expect to see major changes, as somebody has paid me to do MyAppleMenu full-time.
Expect to see light updates to this site, as I'm taking a break from work and all that for my family.
Wintel
Gates Says States' Remedy "Impossible"
Bill Gates on Monday argued that it would be "impossible" in some cases to comply with a proposed remedy in the nearly 4-year-old antitrust trial.
Microsoft, SuSE, Red Hat TO Weigh In With OS Releases For AMD's Opteron
Microsoft, SuSE Linux and Red Hat Tuesday will launch versions of their respective Windows and Linux operating systems optimized for Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron processor.
Borland Details .Net Development Tools
Several months after announcing plans for a .Net IDE (integrated development environment) to compete with Microsoft's Visual Studio .Net, Borland Software elaborated this week on its intention to offer a complete suite of .Net application development tools.
Microsoft Prepares Windows Server Ads
Microsoft will launch a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign on Thursday to promote Windows Server 2003 to cash-strapped IT managers.
AMD Rolls Dice On Opteron Chip
Advanced Micro Devices will come out with a new chip on Tuesday—and once again, everything is on the line.
Intel Fixes 3GHz Chip, Cuts Prices
Intel has fixed a problem with its latest 3GHz processor and cut prices on some notebook chips.
Windows Faces New Competition: Itself
In April 2002, the software maker's chairman, Bill Gates, testified that too many versions of Windows would be bad for consumers and for competition. But since then, Microsoft has essentially doubled—to about two dozen—the number of "current" versions of the operating system software.
Microsoft To Ease Windows License Terms
Following complaints from some rivals, Microsoft said it would make it cheaper and easier for other software companies to access key pieces of computer code that their server software needs in order to properly function with the Windows operating system.
Monday, April 21, 2003
Top Stories
Steve Jobs And Tinseltown
The next piece of Silicon Valley's knife dance with Hollywood might be choreographed by Steve Jobs, an executive whose unique influence in both spheres gives him rare potential to shape the way the two industries evolve.
Apple To Hold Special Event April 28
The invitation says that Apple will have "announcements that will be music to your ears." Apple has several music products, but speculation over the past couple of weeks has focused on three things: a new iPod; a buyout by Apple of Universal Music; and a new music service by Apple.
News
Is Open Source Apple's Salvation?
While Apple's reliance on open source has changed the nature of its products, it is not likely to result in a huge change in market share. Open source is not the key to Apple taking over the world, says Roger Kay, director of client computing at IDC.
Apple Preps Productivity Update
Sources said that the update, Version 6.2.7, will include improvements to AppleWorks' presentation and spreadsheet modules. It will also make further compatibility inroads for Windows, with better handling of Office 97 and 2000 files.
Macway Debuts New FireWire 800 Drive Line
Talking Technology With Microsoft's Michael J. Kosek
"I think what really drives an operating system or a platform are the applications that they're trying to use... There are, obviously, some great applications for Macintosh, and people will continue to use those."
'Hotspots' Aren't So Hot In Calgary
We're moving one step closer to individuals being able to really work wherever they are, no doubt an admirable goal. The danger, of course, is that people will feel compelled to work wherever they are — even in the middle of a coffee "break" at the local cafÈ.
Opinion
American Idle
The music industry needs Apple. Apple needs the music industry.
Next Mac OS X Puts User At The Center
Apple Computer Inc. is planning to put the user at the center of its next major release of Mac OS X.
Time For An Apple Blade Server?
The market is already shifting from 1U rack-mount servers to racks of computers-on-a-card, known as blade servers.
A Windows User Spends A Week With A Mac
I?ve caught a glimpse of what it is that seems to make mac fans just that, ?fans?.
Review
All Power Big And Small
Apple now has notebooks in three form factors, based on screen size, two of them brand new, each setting new standards for the industry.
Virtual PC 6: Satisfy Your Need To Use Windows Without Leaving The Comfort Of Your Mac
Whatever your reasons, Virtual PC goes far to fulfill them, provided your needs don't demand bleeding-edge performance. Those who merely wish to dip a toe in the Windows world from time to time should welcome Virtual PC as a better solution than buying the real thing.
Scanner Gives Old Photos An Automatic Sprucing Up
Billed as the world's first one-step photo-restoration scanner, the ScanMaker 6800 actually repairs damaged photographs as it scans them.
Macromedia Freehand MX
The tight help integration and newfound cohesiveness with other Macromedia products makes the task of learning what FreeHand MX offers a little less daunting, yet I can't help but feel that after a month or two of evaluating the product, there's still plenty more I'd like to learn.
The Promise Of Omni-Potence
Hereís the test of whether it was the interface or the pretty text that people liked about OmniWeb all along.
Wintel
The 64-Bit Question
The introduction of Windows Server 2003 may well be a watershed for business computing, but uptake may be slow.
Microsoft Preps 'Voyager' Beta For Trip To Jupiter
Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on the beta code for the next release of its BizTalk application integration server, sources close to the company said.
Intel Banks On Centrino To Tap Wi-Fi Phenomenon
Intel's approach gives it a Trojan Horse advantage without the subterfuge. By associating its wireless vision with a soon-to-be familiar name -ó Centrino -ó the company hopes it will be at the front lines of any future wireless data revolution.
Sunday, April 20, 2003
Top Stories
NeXT Still Stands Out In Its Mac Incarnation
Software developers loved what they could create with the NeXT platform. And for many, OS X has meant a phoenix-like rebirth.
News
Beware Extended Warranty Hard Sell
The expense may not be warranted.
CEOs' Options Keep Them Flush
Apple's stock plummeted 79 percent over the past three years, sending many workers' options undersater. But don't cry for co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Steven Jobs.
Opinion
Apple's Dead Again: How Does An Irrelevant, Struggling Company Keep Delivering New Technology?
If Apple is dead, it?s the most productive corpse I?ve ever seen.
Why So Many Bugs?
As Apple looks to how things might go better in Panther, one issue would be reliability. A Mac user should feel comfortable that an upgrade installation or an incremental update could be installed with near absolute success.
Review
Cleaner 6: Video Compression King Is A Must-Have App For Serious Videographers
Casual users won't get as much out of Cleaner as they invest in its cost and learning curve and they should be fine compressing a Web-ready video in programs like iMovie. However, advanced users, moonlighters and video pros will have complete control over all aspects of compression for online, CD, DVD and other formats.
Mac OS X Unix Package Management
With tools like Fink and DarwinPorts, installing these Unix utilities is easier than ever (especially when you look at the GUI management tools that are being developed for both projects).
Sidetrack
SARS IN SINGAPORE : Has the virus escaped into the wild? The Pasir Panjang Wholesale Center has been closed down after 2 cases of SARS were discovered there. Are vegetables safe to eat? The health ministry seems to think so, based on the absense of any warning on this matter.
Saturday, April 19, 2003
Top Stories
AirPort Extreme Firmware Update Released
Apple recommends the update for all customers with French AirPort Extreme Base Stations. It's also useful for users whose AirPort Extreme Base Stations stop responding after being on a busy Ethernet network.
Power Tunes Playback
The DJ's bulky music cart, once brimming with hundreds of CDs and lots of hardware (that required a van to lug around), seems to be shrinking in size, possibly down to the size of a 1" thick PowerBook.
News
Once You've Tried WiFi, There's No Going Back
WiFi has taken a strange path to popularity. For many users, it has gone something like this: first baffled incomprehension, then frustrated annoyance, and lastly zealous idolatry.
A New Wave Of Wireless
'WiFi' networks are expanding Internet's reach, profit opportunities.
"Wi-Fi Is Like The Internet Itself"
MIT's Nicholas Negroponte says the new technology is "reenacting the bottoms-up process that surprised people so much".
Sterling Rush: Dressing The Set For "24"
"The iBook is really durable, which is great for running around the different sets. I carry it out front of me in one hand!"
Jeff Blitz: Letter Perfect "Spellbound"
"We've been cutting on Final Cut Pro, and I'm having another wonderful time in the cutting room."
Macs And The Next Frontier: Proteomics
"Running a scan against the whole human genome will take about 16 minutes if it's distributed over the whole Xserve cluster."
Review
The Jaguar Experience On An Original iMac
MacOS X certainly runs on the original iMac, but it runs with the kinds of limitations you'd expect from a five year old computer.
Keynote
If you value style over gimmicks, and you don't need perfect integration with a PowerPoint using team, then Keynote is the OS X presentation application of choice.
Sidetrack
ARE NAVIGATION OUTSIDE THE HOME PAGE OBSOLETE? : With the advancement of tabs, I find that I rarely use nagivation links outside the home page anymore.
If I discover a site, like the New York Times, that I do want to read regularly, I'll just open up all the sectons that I am interested, bookmark all of them into one single folder, and use the open-all-pages-inside-the-folder into multiple tabs feature in all good browsers whenever I'm going to read the site.
Maybe that's why the New York Times decided to do away with the left-hand-side navigation bar in all the inside pages, and gave me larger content area.
Wintel
Advanced Micro Issues Challenge To Rivals
Intel will face its strongest challenge in more than a decade when its archrival, Advanced Micro Devices, formally unveils the Opteron 64-bit microprocessor next week.
No Dude, More Sales For Dell
Though it's retired its hip pitchman, Dell has regained the top spot as the world's largest computer maker, according to two research firms.
Friday, April 18, 2003
News
Macworld Magazine Available For Digital Download
With the release of Zinio Reader forMac OS X, readers can choose to subscribe to Macworld and read it on their computer, instead of receiving a paper copy in the mail each month.
Apple Confirms USB Bug In Mac OS X 10.2.5
Rising Profits Hide The Pain
Silicon Valley's technology companies are learning to live with the pain of an economic slowdown — pain that still doesn't show signs of abating.
Apple, Sun Should Use Cash To Boost Stock, Analysts Say
"Give the money back to shareholders more aggressively."
Apple Releases Darwin 6.5 Source Code
Reader: Apple Store Coming To West LA
AOL For Mac OS X Adds Broadband Options
America Online Inc. has released a new version of AOL for Mac OS X that includes the ability to add the AOL for Broadband service to any high-speed DSL or cable Internet connection, as well as beefed-up parental controls.
Opinion
How To Survive While Your Mac Is Gone For Repair
If you depend on your 'Book to get your work done, give some serious thought to a hardware backup plan.
Those Apple And Universal Music Rumors: They Just Won't Stop
Apple Design Helps Older Macs Retain Their Value
Apple laptops are designed to withstand changes in style better than most PC notebooks.
Apple's Non-Denial Denial?
Media outlets were quick to point out that the statement did not address the existence of talks between the media giant and personal computer company.
Steve Jobs, The Music Man
If he picks up even part of Universal Music, a pay-per-song download service would help to stop Apple devotees from straying.
Review
Your Digital Life Is Complete
It's not until you hold a shiny iLife box in your hands that you realise how spoilt we Mac users have been.
1GHz And Dual-1.25GHz Power Mac G4s: New Ports And Low Prices Distinugish Latest Power Macs
These are both fine machines that perform very well and include innovative features. However, in an economic climate where price is paramount, we are even more impressed that these attributes come at such an attractive price.
Final Cut Express 1.0: Final Cut Pro Sibling Offers Simplified Professional Video Editing For The Budget-Minded User
Learning to use Final Cut Express will take some time and effort, and you'll definitely need to reprogram the editing section of your brain if you're accustomed to working with iMovie. However, if you're looking to step up to professional-level video editing and if you don't require all of Final Cut Pro's advanced capabilities, Final Cut Express will serve you well.
The Quill: Ergonomic Mouse May Reduce Risk Of Injury
The Quill isn't the perfect ergonomic solution, but it's clearly a step in the right direction. If you're concerned about repetitive strain injury (RSI) and have plenty of desk space, The Quill merits your serious consideration.
Fax Software: One Application Proves To Be A Shining Light In A Field Dominated By Dim Products
Crashes. Freezes. Bugs. Classic. This roster of Mac-based fax applications isn't pretty, and if not for Page Sender, it'd be downright ugly.
Easy Card Creator 1.1: Greeting-Card App Has Promise But Needs Polish
If you want a fast, easy way to create paper and electronic greeting cards, Easy Card Creator 1.1 has potential. But Script Software needs to iron out the program's kinks.
3GHz Pentium 4 Versus The Dual 1.42 GHz Power Macintosh
Though I am biased toward the Mac, the fastest Pentium 4 system beats the fastest Power Mac G4 in every single task test but one.
Tips On Going Wireless
Modern wireless networking is three years old this month. And it's beginning to show signs of maturity beyond its few short years.
Safari, Camino Could Re-Ignite Browser War — On Macs
It's too early to say whether Safari or Camino will launch another browser war, but it's an interesting skirmish. If anything, the offerings might give Microsoft some ideas — or at least a not-so-subtle hint that it can't rest on Internet Explorer's laurels.
Apple's Desktop Computer Cases Suck
As a system administrator I want computers that store easily, don't get scratched, have parts I can easily interchange, are easy to carry by the armful, can be deployed in a variety of environments, and finally, I need computers that aren't so sleek that all my users are fighting over who gets the prettiest one.
Hands On: Hunter College's Experience With Apple Remote Desktop
ARD is a terrific application for monitoring and assisting end users, and can now install operating system patches and force net-installs. Given the price for unlimited clients, it?s a great value in remote management software.
Sidetrack
HAVE I CLICKED? : One problem I have with Safari is the lack of feedback when I cmd-click on a link, when my "link bar" is full. The new tab will go to the drop-down menu on the right hand side, but there's no feedback whatsoever from Safari to tell me that, yeah, "I have created a new tab for you, and you can go to that later when you want to, my master."
I have already filed this as a bug, but feel free to do so yourself if you are bothered by it.
Wintel
How MS Will Know ALL About You
At the risk of setting off a paranoid frenzy, I want to tell you about a Microsoft research project, the goal of which is to collect everything you watch, read, listen to, and write about into a single, searchable database.
There's No Power Like Low Power
Intel's Centrino appears to be all about Wi-Fi, but the real star is the Pentium M processor.
Microsoft Research Seeks Better Search
Scientists in the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant's labs are experimenting with new types of search and user interface technology that will let individuals and businesses tap into the vast amounts of data on the Internet, or inside their own computers, that increasingly will be impractical or impossible to find.
Dell Unsheats HP In PC Shipments
Dell Computer wrestled the top rank in worldwide PC shipments away from Hewlett-Packard in the first quarter of 2003 in a market that managed to grow a little bit.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
News
Apple Reseller Shuts Off The Lights
Elite Computers & Software, the Mac reseller known for its spot across the street from Apple Computer's headquarters in Cupertino, is closing that location and all of its other Northern California stores, plus a handful of ComputerWare by Elite stores elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay area.
The Man Behind Sony Ericsson Clicker
Sony Ericsson Clicker turns Sony Ericsson Bluetooth capable phones into remote controls for Macs?a quite remarkable application.
Opinion
Could Apple Really Buy Universal Music?
Apple is a gambler, and the recording industry needs some radical new leadership.
A New Leaf For Apple?
Steve Jobs has on more than one occasion cited Sony as a role model for the current Apple regime; as Apple's reach extends to consumer electronics and digital content, Jobs' words seem more like a blueprint than a metaphor.
Apple's Financials: Pro Users Still Not Buying Macs
While the oft-repeated phrase, "it's the economy stupid," might aptly describe the situation, maybe filling a few more market niches, such as building a really cheap iMac-style computer, without the built-in display, would help grow that market share. Just my opinion.
Apple's Universal Gambit Goes For Broke
Forrester's Bernoff said the enduring popularity of file sharing is pushing the record labels to change, but "somebody is going to have to bust things open." Apple may have just the right vision and technology to be that somebody, if, as it appears, Jobs is willing — literally — to bet his company on such a venture.
The PowerBook Mystique Revisited
Whatever, we Apple portable fans can rest assured that the PowerBook mystique will continue with new and exciting and Apple laptops in the days, months, and years to come. I can hardly wait.
Review
Spell Catcher X
While in some ways it performs well, its various problems with interactive spell-checking mean we can't recommend Spell Catcher X outright.
A Nice Little Bit On The Side
Take a look at the new 12-inch PowerBook and see if you can resist its charms.
Sidetrack
WELCOME! : I have no idea what is being said, but apparaently a blog at CNET Japan just linked to this web site. Welcome, folks!
COOL! : I haven't use Safari extensively yet, but it seems that it is probably the only browser that implemented the "zoom" feature (the little green gumdrop on the top left of the window) correctly.
FREE! FREE! FREE! : Not only can you surf wirelessly for free at Apple Stores, you can also do it at Sony's too.
CONSPIRACY THEORY : Note that Apple didn't say they will not buy Universal Music. They just haven't make an offer. :-)
Wintel
Microsoft Tangles With How Best To Cast .Net
The amorphous branding of .Net reflects persistent confusion over Microsoft's Internet software strategy nearly three years after Bill Gates announced it as a "bet the company" gambit in the summer of 2000. That doesn't mean the technology is stalled, just that hardly anybody understood it when Gates first trotted out the name and not many more do now.
Microsoft Shrugs Off Dial-Up Decline
Like America Online, Microsoft's MSN Internet service is feeling the pinch of competition from both high-speed and budget dial-up ISPs.
Office 2000 SR-1 Registration Bug Strikes Corporates
The Office 2000 Product Registration Wizard appears when any Office app is launched and invites the user to register. There's no way to get rid of the Wizard other than filling in all the details each time or clicking Register Later.
HP Toots Itanium Horn
Hewlett-Packard boasted of progress in establishing the merits of its servers using Intel's Itanium 2 processor less than a week before Advanced Micro Devices is scheduled to release its rival Opteron chip.
Microsoft Drops .Net Label From Servers
Microsoft is introducing a new branding convention for its server-software products to synch up with next week's launch of Windows Server 2003.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Top Stories
Laptop Sales Lift Apple Earnings
Buoyed by strong laptop sales, Apple Computer on Wednesday posted second-quarter earnings and sales that narrowly topped analysts' estimates.
Vivendi Director Confirms Apple Interest In Universal
Vivendi Universal has confirmed Apple's interest in buying its Universal Music Group (UMG) subsidiary, but it isn't the only potential bidder and it may have to cough up more cash if it wants the acquisition to succeed.
News
A Look At Apple's Second Quarter Unit Sales
A breakdown of the numbers shows bad news for some products, but good news for others, especially on the PowerBook front.
Apple Prepares To Open First Washington Store
Apple Computer Inc. promises a spectacle of giveaways and long lines next month when it opens its first Washington store at Bellevue Square.
Resellers Get Back To The Mac
After earlier balking at a new contract, several of Apple Computer's key resellers have inked deals to continue selling Apple gear. Among the holdouts that have reached a pact with Apple are Dell Computer and regional computer sellers Fry?s Electronics and Micro Center, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Apple Denies It Bid For Record Label
Countering speculation that it is close to buying Vivendi Universal's record label, Apple Computer said Wednesday that it has never offered to make such an investment or purchase.
Apple Set To Issue Q2 Results
A possible purchase of the world's largest music empire will be one of the main items investors expect to be covered after Apple Computer announces its fiscal second-quarter earnings results on Wednesday after the market closes.
Opinion
Poll: Do We Need A Tablet Mac?
Mac Myths And The Apple Challenge
Has anyone seen a rise in Apple market share in the last few years? I suspect that misconceptions regarding Apple are holding them back.
Review
TMac Gamers, Start Your Engines
For years, fans of open-wheel auto racing were forced to seek out PCs or game consoles when they wanted to fulfill their need for speed. But open-wheel racing has finally come to the Mac, thanks to a Formula One simulator that's a blast to play even though it's a few years behind the times.
Pocket Tanks
PT has hours upon hours of replay ability thanks to the dozens of weapons, and the CPU provides more than enough challenge to keep you on your toes.
Making The Switch: Virtual OSes Ease Software Compatibility Issues
The classic problem faced when switching to the Macintosh—for that matter, to any "alternative" platform—had been the issue of working with existing data.
Sidetrack
I THINK I'VE FIGURED IT OUT : I want an RSS news aggregator that runs on a server, with a rich client on both Windows and Mac OS X that stores preferences and history on the server. And a web interface too, if I'm stuck at an Internet cafe.
Pretty please? :-)
Wintel
Why Pocket PC Isn't WinCE - Microsoft
When is Windows CE not Windows CE? When it's part of Pocket PC, it seems.
Microsoft Weighs Challenges Ahead
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday gave an assessment of the challenges it faces, including the threat posed by Linux and open-source software.
MS Relieves Patching 'Pain Point'
Microsoft yesterday outlined plans to simplify patch management, which even Redmond admits has been a long-term "pain point" for its customers.
Microsoft Is Crawling Toward Trustworthy Code - Experts
A panel of security experts have faith in Microsoft's ability to produce trusted code. The problem is that they think it will take Redmond a decade to learn how to do it.
Manufacturers Try Out Tiny Tablets
The shape is shifting for tablet PCs as manufacturers test computer buyers' tolerance for offbeat designs.
Corel Debuts New WordPerfect
Corel will begin selling the new version of its WordPerfect office software Wednesday, but analysts don't expect the package to make much headway against Microsoft Office.
Intel Beats Wall Street Estimates
Intel on Tuesday reported a first-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations by 2 cents in an otherwise flat quarter.
Microsoft Beats Earnings Expectations
Microsoft beat Wall Street expectations Tuesday, chugging ahead despite a weak economy and slow technology spending.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Top Stories
Apple: AirPort Wireless Will Take Off
Overall, retail demand for 802.11g gear is robust. More than 20 percent of wireless networking gear sold at retail in March was 802.11g, up from 5 percent in March, according to NPDTechworld.
Apple Announces Over 150,000 AirPort Extreme Products Sold
Apple today announced in a press release that more than 150,000 AirPort Extreme wireless networking products have been sold this past quarter, representing nearly half of all 802.11 products the company shipped during the quarter.
News
Interview With Jordan Hubbard Of Apple And OpenDarwin
Beige G3s Get 1GHz G4 Boost
Sonnet Technologies has announced a 1.0GHz G4 version of its Encore/ZIF product, a processor upgrade aimed at beige Power Mac G3 models.
iCommune Resurfaces; Music-Sharing For iTunes
With iCommune installed, you and other users can share each other's iTunes libraries. iCommune music collections appear as iTunes playlists. You can browse through them, stream or download the music those playlists contain.
Apple Gets Bruised In Arab-Israel Fight
The problem came up yesterday when reports surfaced in the Middle East that Apple is purging Israeli-made components and parts from its computers sold to the Arab world.
Wacom Releases 10.2 Software Updates
Mac-Only Comic Thinks PC's A Hott
Scott Bruce, a stand-up veteran who has performed at venues all over the country, is an unabashed Apple advocate who gently berates Mac-hostile audiences with his partisan brand of humor.
MySQL Plugs Open Source Database At Show
MySQLthrew its first-ever user conference last week in San Jose, California, promoting its open source database as a viable, more affordable alternative to products from Oracle, IBM and the other top database vendors.
Opera Scales Up To 7.1, Vows Mac Version
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, on Monday said Opera had decided to stick with the Mac after all, citing new ease of development for multiple platforms with the company's rewritten browser code base, and what he called market demand for the Mac product.
Opinion
TidBITS Turns 13: Setting Goals
You're a good lot, and it's a pleasure and an honor to write for you each week.
Will Apple's Rip-Mix-Burn Tune Change?
I'm holding out hope, then, that Apple realizes all of this, pulls the trigger on the Universal Music purchase, and brings music distribution into the Internet age by injecting some much-needed liberalism into the mix.
Apple Needs To Reclaim Its Education Heritage
I cannot see how Apple will hold onto their shrinking education customer base if they do not get back to the fundamentals.
Review
Searching For A Better Video Editor
Apple has come up with a winning solution in Final Cut Express, which is neatly streamlined for use with consumer and pro-sumer DV video cameras.
SLIMP3: MP3, Get Thee To The Hi-Fi
The SLIMP3 player is a neat little device and a great way to bring the computer's MP3s to the home stereo.
The Browser Wars: Safari Update Sparkles
New Safari beta, though bearing that designation, is actually the fourth version released publicly by Apple—and I won't count those reports of leaked betas—and it shows plenty of progress.
ArchiCAD 8: State-Of-The-Art CAD Doesn't Skimp On Details Pros Need
Make no mistake, ArchiCAD 8 — the latest version of Graphisoft's architectural CAD program — is for professionals only. Expensive and relatively difficult to master, ArchiCAD is just not designed for the hobbyist.
Formac Studio DV/TV: Personal Video-Capture Device Records And Plays Television In High-Quality Digital Format
If you want to watch TV in large format or record it for DVD, this device is a good choice. If you don't need to capture such a large picture — and don't need to convert old analog tapes to DV format — consider the EyeTV.
Wintel
Judge Rejects Class-Action In MS Suits
A federal judge on Monday rejected class-action status for more than 60 consumer lawsuits pending against Microsoft, but allowed a more limited lawsuit alleging overpricing to proceed.
Victor: Software Empire Pays High Price
"Now you're back to doing everything the way it was pre-Netscape, where everything goes back to Redmond."
Monday, April 14, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Releases New Safari Beta
Besides improved stability, the new beta adds tabbed browsing, allowing users to view multiple Web pages in a tabbed format. Safari now also includes AutoFill, which allows web forms and password fields to be automatically filled out.
News
Mac OS X Server Updated
Apple on Monday released on update to Mac OS X Server, bringing the operating system to version 10.2.5.
Apple Announces iLife Educator Awards
Apple on Monday announced the "Apple iLife Educator Awards" to recognize the most innovative uses of iLife, the company's digital hub suite of applications.
Jobs Thinks 'Different' And Many Marvel
Buying Universal Music could put Apple in a position to determine digital music's future.
Enter Jobs, Exit Music Piracy?
If Steve Jobs wants to save the music industry, he'll have to convince millions of kids to give up free file-swapping networks and buy their MP3s instead.
Sound Recording By The 'Little Guys'
The proliferation of cheap, computer-based music technology, and the increase of freelance producers who know how to use it, threatens the survival of hundreds of small and midsize recording studios in New York City.
Cutting The Cord
A growing number of multiple-PC households seeking to pool Internet connectivity is driving a dramatic growth in wireless home networking.
Opinion
Does Apple Still Need Microsoft?
Even though a new agreement between the two companies is improbable, Microsoft still has incentive to continue developing Office for Mac OS.
Apple: Your Online Music Store
With all the paranoia and mistrust in the air, it is great to see motivated entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs offering up creative ways to sell downloadable music.
Review
Safari Beta 2: Tabs Are Nice, But AutoFill And Privacy Reset Are My Favs
When you choose "Reset Safari...", everything gets wiped: history, cache, downloads, Google search entries, cookies, saved names, passwords, and AutoFill text.
Apple On The Big Screen
Sexy is Apple Computer?s specialty. And the Macintosh maker has outdone itself again with its new high-end PowerBook G4, which has a sleek and durable aluminum exterior along with a gorgeous 17-inch display.
Apple Power Mac G4
Apple's Power Mac G4 tower seems to embody Moore's Law these days. Its chips are getting faster—currently topping out at 1.42GHz—and its prices are declining in tandem.
Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer
The Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer is a neat addition to the average Mac.
Hands On With The 12-Inch PowerBook
The 12-inch PowerBook is a great computer for anyone on the road that needs power and wants a light, portable notebook. Don't let the size of this notebook fool you — this is a thoroughbred PowerBook.
Sidetrack
DAILY WORRY : If the best part of your work day is the daily commute to and fro because you have a good book to read, should you count yourself very lucky to have discover a book that sync with you, or should you start to worry about changing jobs?
CONSIPRIACY AT EVERY CORNER : Did the RIAA, as claimed by Robert Ziemann, reduced the number of releases before the Napster hearings, so that RIAA can create the fact that sales are down?
The bigger question is, does Steve Jobs want to be the ring leader, or is he going in to change the world, again?
Wintel
Vendors Line Up To Support New Intel Chip Set
Several PC and workstation vendors released new models Monday that take advantage of Intel's new 875P chip set to improve overall system performance with support for a faster front-side bus.
Windows Gets Tough On Spam, Viruses
Microsoft on Monday will detail a future version of Windows that will make it easier to detect and isolate viruses.
Intel Delays New Pentium 4 Chip
A possible glitch with a new processor has thrown a monkey wrench into Intel's plans to bring out new silicon for high-performance chips for top-of-the-line PCs.
Microsoft Messing With Netscape, Opera, Mozilla Again?
Just enter a string, and the Vole will be ecstatic.
"Microsoft Limits XML In Office 2003"
There will be more and more people lining up to provide consumers with choices that redress these inefficiencies, and unless MS fundamentally change their DNA, they could be end up collapsing when their bubble bursts, rather than surviving by adaptation to the marketplace.
Sunday, April 13, 2003
News
Vivendi/Apple Talks In Key Phase, Could Still Fail
The source, who is familiar with the talks, said the negotiations had progressed since starting in earnest earlier this year. But the source played down speculation the sale of Universal Music to the firm run by California computer guru Steve Jobs was a done deal.
Apple To Report Quarterly Results Wednesday
Apple has not issued an earnings warning.
The Killer Browser
Itís been only a decade since the release of Mosaic, the Web application that changed finance, commerce, cultureóand the world.
Now It's M'Soft
Microsoft has expressed interest in buying Vivendi's Universal Music Group, setting up a possible bidding war between the software maker and rival Apple Computer, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Program To Make Parents Computer-Savvy Will Expand
School and government leaders supporting a pilot program that provides laptop computers and Internet access to parents announced Friday that it will be expanded to include 60 more elementary schools in the area.
Review
Mac G4 Laptops Pretty, Powerful; Apple Edits Final Cut Pro Software
Macintosh remains the gold standard for amateur and professional computer movie creators.
Apple's 'Lunchbox' PowerBook Delivers A Nice Midlevel Laptop
Home users and business travelers who have outgrown the iBook should look to the 12-inch PowerBook G4 as their next logical step.
1000MHz Ower Mac Bonanza
Two CPUs are better than one.
Hands On With Bretford's Digital Hub Workspace
I've looked far and wide for the ultimate desk for my home office. I think I've found it.
Sidetrack
SLOW NEWS DAY? : Everybody seems to have a source to contribute to the rumor of Apple buying Universal Music.
Wintel
Microsoft's Out To Rewrite The Same Old Story
With 25,000 free PDAs reaching key developers as we speak and a mammoth marketing effort already lurching into action, you wouldn't bet against this latest move becoming the tactical masterstroke that powers Microsoft well into computing's second generation.
Saturday, April 12, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Shares Tumble Over Talks
Shares of Apple Computer fell almost 9 percent on Friday over concern that its talks with Vivendi Universal to buy the Universal Music Group could yield a deal that would deplete Apple's cash trove and push it into an uncertain and troubled market.
News
Apple Said To Discuss A Music Deal, But Not Too Seriously
Apple, the iconoclastic computer maker, has discussed an investment in Universal Music, the world's largest recording company, people close to the discussions said yesterday. These people, however, also cautioned that a deal was unlikely to be concluded.
Opinion
Apple And Universal?
Wouldnít acquiring one of the big five music groups make it that much harder to do business with the other four?
Apple Buying Universal Music?
If Steve Jobs & company are interested in genuinely offering what customers want — the ability to use what they buy in any way they see fit for personal use — then this could be a great move. I have to wonder, though, whether it will turn Apple toward the side of control freakery.
Review
World War II Online
World War II online is not necessarily a bad game, but it can only be truly enjoyable to people willing to put a lot of time and energy into the game.
Sidetrack
HOW TO WATCH FREE CABLE WHILE YOU WORK... IN THE OFFICE : Tell your boss you need to review digital video recorders.
Wintel
Microsoft Limits XML In Office 2003
A distinction that Microsoft is making between professional and standard versions of Office 2003 means that many customers may not get all the features they've been expecting, including broad support for Web services.
Friday, April 11, 2003
News
Apple Trades At Near Five-Year Low
Apple 'Interested' In Music Giant
According to press reports last year, Vivendi turned down an offer from Mr Davis in November. The price tags currently under discussion may well be too small for Vivendi's expectations: Universal Music alone enjoys $6bn in annual revenues.
Davis May Drop Vivendi Bid On Apple Deal
Billionaire oilman Marvin Davis would drop his bid to acquire the entertainment assets of Franco-American conglomerate Vivendi Universal if Vivendi sells Universal Music to Apple Computer Inc., a source familiar with the situation said Friday.
MacHack Early Registration Ends April 15
Apple Boosts Bluetooth - Bluetooth Boosts Apple
Sometimes support for an emergent technology is just as important, and here Apple is surfing the crest of a wave. Microsoft's support for Bluetooth in Windows has been erratic, and now trails Apple significantly.
Apple Reportedly In Talks To Buy Universal Music
Such a seemingly unlikely combination would instantly make technology guru Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and chief executive, the most powerful player in the record industry.
MySQL Boasts Might Against Big Players
MySQL kicked off its first-ever users conference by releasing the source code of its upcoming MySQL 5.0 product and touting its reputation as the little database company that could.
Opinion
Apple Wants Vivendi To Dance
Apple could be wading into the market for downloadable music at just the right moment.
Apple Hears The Music?
Since the late 1990s, the halls of Apple HQ have echoed with the notion that computer makers must become media owners if they're going to differentiate themselves. Plus, Apple is far more than a computer maker.
Apple In Talks To Buy Universal Music Group - Report
Owning Universal would give Apple the clout to offer the kind of online music service it wants to without having to endure limitations placed upon it by the big labels.
Count Apple Out Of The Low Cost Desktop Market
We all know it, and I've said it a million times: Macs are not cheap computers.
Review
Why The Power Macintosh G4 MDD (With Noise Reduction Kit) Is Louder After Waking From Sleep
"When the computer goes into sleep mode, there is a heat buildup inside the computer due to the fact that the fan stops."
Sidetrack
RUMOR DU JOUR : Is Apple aiming to be Sony?
Defying conventional wisdom, Jobs apparently is betting that music is finally on the verge of becoming a profitable presence on the Internet.
What next? NBC?
Question: If Apple does buy Universal Music, does it still own big money to Apple Records?
Maybe the purchase will "offer Apple a guarentee of relevancy," asks James Duncan8181. "It would mean that any DRM system that is worked out for music will have to consider the interests of Apple/Universal. This effectively avoid a Microsoft lockout on music."
AND APPLE ASSERTS ITS INFLUENCE AGAIN : Is this how Visa's Titanium credit card got its name?
Head of marketing: OK, does anyone here know anything about science? What's better than plantinum?
Dsigner: My computer is made of titanium. It's pretty solid. And the screen is huge. Have you seen that commercial with Mini Me and...
Wintel
Microsoft Files Suit Against Lucent
Microsoft this week filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to determine whether patents held by Lucent Technologies-óand which are the subjects of suits Lucent has filed against two OEMsó-are valid.
Microsoft Cuts Xbox Price In Europe
Microsoft said Thursday that it will cut the price of its Xbox video game system by up to 20% in Europe - its third price reduction in 13 months.
Is Small Biz Microsoft's Next Big Thing?
With new software and an army of resellers, Gates & Co., are launching a massive offensive to target 45 million businesses worldwide.
Windows CE Open-Source Plan Under Fire
As part of its effort to deal with the threat of open-source software, Microsoft plans to let device makers modify more of the source code of its specialized Windows CE operating system. But some say the company's licensing terms could kill interest in the plan.
Dell Ships Out Pentium M Notebooks
The new notebook models are part of an effort by Dell to overhaul its entire notebook product line. The company has now replaced or refreshed all of its notebook models, except for the Latitude X200 and Precision M50 mobile workstation.
Itanium Gets Supercomputing Software
Researchers at the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure have built full Itanium support into software that can be used to assemble supercomputers out of clusters of Linux computers.
Thursday, April 10, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.2.5
As expected, Apple on Thursday released an update for Mac OS X, bringing the current version to 10.2.5. The update is also available through the Software Update control panel.
Apple Offers Mac OS X 10.2.5 Update CD
Apple on Thursday added a new product to its online store for customers running Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar: The Mac OS X 10.2.5 Update CD.
News
Apple Parts Ways With Some Resellers
A number of Apple Computer's resellers are no longer authorized to sell Macs as of April 1, following a shake-up that occurred during the company's annual renewal process.
Final Cut Pro 4 Wins NAB Best Of Show Awards
In recognition of outstanding achievement in the advancement of the art and science of video technology.
Corel: Painter 8 Due In May, Procreate Brand Nixed
Corel Painter 8 will be released by Corel Corp. in early May. The next version of the application that offers advanced natural-media painting and image editing capabilities will offer new mixing, brush, and sketching features, as well as a tweaked interface.
Merrill Lynch Bearish On Apple; Recommends Intel Switch
Saying Apple's primary markets will continue to be weak for some time to come, investment firm Merrill Lynch is telling its customers Apple stock is too expensive and they should continue to stay away from owning it.
Free Games .Mac Deal
Apple is offering another deal for .Mac members — eight free Freeverse board games, plus a discount on Freeverse's 3D Hearts and 3D Spades games.
Desktops Add Biometrics To Their Lineup
Seeing a demand from federal agencies, PC makers said they are increasingly launching new desktops that boast of biometric authentication, either embedded in the hardware or added as a separate scanner.
Opinion
Apple + Intel
I'm not ready to predict that this will (or won't) happen, but I will say that for the first time I find the idea truly intriguing and if Apple did indeed release a dual-platform Mac I'd be buying one.
The Browser Wars: First Safari, Now OmniWeb
So what does WebCore mean for OmniWeb?
Apple Service Price Structure... And The 4589 USD Plastic Clip
If you break anything on your iBook, and it's not under warranty it will cost you a minimum of $459.
Review
How To Hook Up
A step-by-step guide to building your own network.
Virtual PC, Airport Extreme And The 17" PowerBook Workaround
Sherlock Or Watson? It's Elementary
If you like Sherlock, you'll love Watson.
PrintReady: Online Alternative To Preflighting Falls Short
Some people can benefit from PrintReady, but most should either choose more-versatile preflighting software that resides on their desktops or wait until the service supports more applications and file formats.
Sidetrack
GOOGLE'S PR FIASCO : Doc Searls' advise to Google: Simply stop publishing press releases. "Trust me: They're junk mail."
Of course, "there's a reason [Google] call [Google News] 'beta'."
Wintel
Flaw Leaves Windows Open To Java Attack
Microsoft has warned of three flaws affecting its software, the most serious of which would allow an attacker to gain full control of a PC using Java applets.
Microsoft Licenses WinCE Source Code For Commercial Use
Pocket PC manufacturers will now be able to tailor their system software to better differentiate their products, after Microsoft today said it would allow Windows CE licensees access to the OS' source code.
Microsoft Searching For Source Of Pirated Windows Server 2003 Key
A Microsoft spokeswoman said every customer receives a unique keycode. Microsoft keeps track of who receives each one, and is working on tracking down the source of the leak.
Microsoft Warns Of Virtual Machine Vulnerability
Microsoft warned users on Wednesday about two new security vulnerabilities affecting its Microsoft Virtual Machine, Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 and Microsoft ISA Server 2000 products.
Microsoft Set To Launch Real-Time Server
Microsoft on Thursday plans to announce that its Greenwich software will be renamed Microsoft Real Time Communications Server 2003, which it plans to roll out the first half of the third quarter.
Microsoft, HP Bond On High-Tech Webcast
Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and others will conduct a live Webcast of a concert with high-definition video and 5.1-channel sound.
Microsot Plays Up PC-Phone Union
A Microsoft executive Wednesday detailed the software giant's vision of PCs and Internet-based phones working hand in hand as part of an overarching strategy to power real-time communications in the workplace.
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
Top Stories
Dell Drops iPod
Dell Computer has stopped selling Apple Computer's iPod music player after only six months, bringing to an end an unusual marriage of marketing convenience. Meanwhile, the 5GB iPod is fading further into the sunset.
Apple Drops Education eMac Pricing
Apple has lowered the educational price of its low-end eMac to US$779, a $70 price drop.
News
StuffIt 7.0.3 Expands Unix Archive Support
v7.0.3 is now able to browse .TAR archives, BZIP2 and GZIP formats.
OmniWeb 4.2 Released, V4.5 To Gain Apple WebCore
OmniWeb 4.2 adds a number of features intended to improve user experience and bring greater compatibility with Web servers and Internet plug-ins.
Apple Store Coming To San Francisco
Interview With Fink's Project Leader Max Horn
The Fink project wants to bring the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. They modify Unix software so that it compiles and runs on Mac OS X and make it available for download as a coherent distribution.
Runtime For Java Updated
Apple has released a Mac OS 9.2.2 version of Mac OS Runtime for Java MRJ 2.2.6.
PC Mall Gov To Sell Apple Products To Government Customers
PC Mall Gov, a subsidiary of PC Mall, announced today that it has received authorization to sell Apple products to U.S. federal government customers as part of its contract with the General Services Administration (GSA).
Opinion
I'll Take Mac OS X Only Please
Clearly developers took that mock burial ceremony for Mac OS 9 at last year's WWDC to heart.
Poll: Graphite 'Best iMac Colour'
Graphite and Bondi blue are the two all-time favourite colours of the CRT G3 iMac.
Review
No VPC Support For Airport Extreme
Final Cut Express
Final Cut Express embarrasses the likes of Adobeís Premiere, beating it in features and price.
Content Barrier X
It does a great job of blocking web access and monitoring chat software. But it is not a total solution for blocking, controlling and restricting Internet content.
Virtual Hosts, Mod_rendezvous_apple, And Apache On Mac OS X
A three-step workaround for serving locally-named virtual hosts to Rendezvous clients.
Sidetrack
BYE BYE SWEET MEMORIES : Derek Fakehany, in MacInTouch, reports that if you delete a Mail.app acocunt, all mails ever received and sent from the account will also be deleted.
MAKING THE NEWS : Dan Gillmor is writing a book about the "intersection of technology and journalism." And you are invited to be part of the book.
Wintel
Intel To Ship Canterwood, New 3GHz P4 Next Week
New chip set revs bus speeds from 533MHz to 800MHz.
Windows 2003: Could The Crusade Backfire?
The very nature of a Windows product launch could serve to underline to CIOs just how very different Microsoft's world is to their own.
The First Linux Marketing From Microsoft
Microsoft is admitting that in one quite crucial, huge area—consumer devices—they are going to have to live and let live with Linux.
False Alam
A hand-held PC is still a PC.
Microsoft Forms Trusted Computing Group
Microsoft Corp. and some of its key partners on Tuesday announced the formation of a new group that will develop and implement a set of specifications for trusted computing platforms.
HP Does Low-Price PC Limbo
Lowering the bar on the price of an entry-level PC, Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday introduced a line of build-to-order models that start at just $319 after a $50 rebate.
Tuesday, April 8, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Counters 'Slow G4' Claims
An eight-page report on the subject has been published by independent research firm, Pfeiffer Consulting. Apple is listed as a client by the company.
News
External PowerBook G4 Antennas Boost AirPort Reception
QuickerTek Inc. has announced a pair of new antennas that it says will boost wireless connectivity by up to 50 percent.
MacNET Launches New Shareware Site
This is a free site for all Mac OS X shareware developers to come and promote their shareware applications.
Mac Clone To Attack Unfilled Niche
Only Apple remained mum on the subject. Was the ever-inscrutable Macintosh creator ignoring the iBox project as beneath its contempt?
Better Mac Living Through Bluetooth
A Swedish software developer named John Salling has come up with a truly innovative combination that pairs a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone with an Apple Macintosh computer.
iKey Provides Mac OS X Automation Tool
How To Turn Your iBook Into An iMac (Sort Of)
The Dome is an iMac-esque hemispherical base with a clear perspex flat panel for your notebook where the iMac has its LCD screen.
Cashing In On Classic Computers
Yesterday's computers, so often dumped for the next new model, have finally come to be treasured as historical artifacts.
MySQL Database Scalability Peaks
MySQL 4.0 includes features designed to make it more suitable for mission-critical, heavy-load database systems.
A/V FireWire Capture Device For FCP 4 Announced
A high-end, 8- or 10-bit broadcast video device, Io lets you connect professional analog or digital audio/video to a Power Mac G4 or PowerBook G4 through a FireWire interface.
Opinion
Debunking Dvorak With Napkin Math For OS X On Intel
Perhaps as it ramped up its market share, Apple might eventually be able to support unfettered licensing of an Intel version of OS X. However, as it stands, John Dvorak's and others' hopes for OS X on Intel seem to be cries for Apple to tilt at windmills.
Steve Jobs Takes A 5 Million-Share Bite Of Apple
The cracks are beginning to show in the stock-option edifice built by Silicon Valley over several decades.
Are Tech Support Nightmares On The Rise?
The Boy Who Cried Bandwidth
After a lot of uncertainly and a great outpouring of support from TidBITS readers and GoLive users, the punchline has arrived: the charges are zero.
The Mac's Second Coming Just Begun
Apple technologies are actually causing a tectonic shift in the industry and perhaps a few people watching Schiller's dog-n-pony show actually did few a ripples of excitement.
Review
Apple's iLife Suite Could Tempt Windows Owners
For those dying to dabble in consumer-grade digital photography, digital-video editing and music-file organizing, iLife can make a Macintosh seem all but irresistible.
Bonzai USB Mini-Drive
As with any flash or USB drive, transfer speeds are painfully slow—otherwise, the Bonzai fits right in with our on-the-go digital lifestyle.
The Digital Shoebox: iData Pro X 1.0.5
What's in your digital shoebox? You know, the place where you stash those pesky snippets of pure text, be they a few words or many paragraphs, snippets that you know you'll need later but you just can't categorize.
Sidetrack
WHAT HAPPENED TO ME AND THE NEW GIRL : Or, "The girl who cried Webmaster," as narrated by AccordionGuy.
Wintel
Windows Key Leak Threatens Mass Piracy
A key code for installing Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 has leaked onto the Internet, a loss that could lead to widespread piracy of the software.
Microsoft Shortlisted For "Most Invasive Project"
Microsoftís Trustworthy Computing initiative was nominated ëmost invasive projectí by activist group Privacy International in its annual Big Brother awards in the USA.
Microsoft: No Activation Changes Until Longhorn
Windows Server 2003 will have no more of the controversial activation technology than was seen in the first Windows XP service pack, along with a few tweaks.
Microsoft's Ballmer Fights Linux In Munich
None other than Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer paid a personal visit to Munich city mayor Christian Ude at the end of last month to drum up support for the company's operating system software, which faces growing competition from open-source Linux, according to a report in the German newspaper S¸ddeutscheZeitung, citing people familiar with the situation.
SharePoint Gets MS Office Label
Microsoft on Monday said it will fold its SharePoint business portal software into its Office System product line.
Intel, Via Bury The Hatchet
Intel and Via Technologies have settled all of the lawsuits pending between the two companies and entered into an agreement that will let Via manufacture processors and chipsets and let Intel collect royalties.
Monday, April 7, 2003
News
Slow Going For FireWire 800?
Price, manufacturing constraints and unrealistic expectations may hobble FireWire 800 in the short run.
TiVo Desktop Allows iTunes, iPhoto Streaming
TiVo Desktop 1.0 has been released, which lets you stream photos and music to your Mac over a network to a TiVo PVR.
SGI Infinite Structure Coming To OS X
Developed around a 64-bit filesystem called CXFS, Infinite Structure is already in use in more than 300 customer sites worldwide and on more than 1,100 clients. The storage technology can scale up to an astounding 18 million terabytes of storage capacity. In practical terms, that's about 9 million uncompressed movies at 2K resolution, or thousands of years of 50Mb broadcast material, according to SGI.
Acrobat 6.0 Announced
Adobe has announced Adobe Acrobat 6.0, with the update bringing new features and enhancements for creative and corporate customers.
Alias|Wavefront Announces Maya 5
"Improvements added to both Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited software will energize artist and programmer workflows in such creative industries as game development, broadcast graphics, Web content creation, design visualization and film production."
Opinion
Apple Needs A Budget-Minded Box
How The MacIntel Will Change The Market
Right now, all things being equal, Apple should be able to grab half the market for operating systems. If it's as aggressive as Microsoft was with Netscape and essentially gives away the OS to the installed base, Apple could possibly knock Microsoft out of the box completely.
The Apple Guide To World Domination
Apple is poised to create a platform that could offer literally everything that an end user could possibly need, and the tools to fill in the blanksóscripting, development tools, and databasesóall included as part of the purchase price, or for the same cost as just upgrading the OS.
A Place For Everything, & Everything In Its Place, Except In Mac OS X
There are few good reasons for programs to strew files all over your hard drive; since OS X's release, however, more Mac users have to deal with programs that install in ways they cannot control.
Review
Apple's New iMac Is Almost Perfect (Almost)
I want an L3 cache in the next iMac revision or at least a good explanation as to why not.
Sidetrack
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO Q'S : Or as Robert Scoble says, "Influence isn't about how large your audience is. It's about how small it is."
Wintel
Microsoft's Scary Post-War Crisis
Microsoft's already precarious situation would be potentially worse should anti-U.S. sentiments inflame growing foreign resentment against the American company. Microsoft would do well to remember the largest software markets are in countries like China, India or Russia, places where the company isn't exactly welcomed with open arms and piracy is rampant.
Never Underestimate Michael Dell
Hewlett-Packard had better brace for battle, as the quiet billionaire prepares a full-scale assault on the printer business.
The Power Of Communities
One of the most important factors - and something typically missing from non-open source development is the emphasis on community.
Sunday, April 6, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Announces Final Cut Pro 4
RT Extreme provides new software based-real-time effects that scales with processor speed, according to Apple. The technology enables Final Cut Pro users to view software effects in real time or via an external broadcast monitor when connected via FireWire or an external breakout box.
News
DVD Studio Pro 2 Coming In August
A new outline view has been incorporated, along with more thorough asset information and a timeline-based track editor.
Apple's Shake 3 To Sport OS X-Only Features
While Shake will remain compatible with Linux and IRIX-based systems for its third major incarnation, the software now gains special capabilities for Mac OS X — Shake Qmaster network rendering management software, along with unlimited network rendering licenses.
Wired Willingly
From different perspectives, Kimberly and Michael Quinn, a married couple from Belgrade, have heavy involvement and high hopes for Maine's laptop initiative.
Opinion
Do We Need A New Interface?
How far would you allow Apple to progress in changing things before you yelled stop, you can't take it any more?
Review
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11
If you're looking to build a professional-caliber graphics toolbox from the ground up, the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11 provides plenty of punch at a nice price. These full-featured illustration and image-editing applications have strong Web-publishing and PDF-output features, plus a decent Flash-animation program.
Apple iMac 17"
The upgrades and features of the 17î model are substantial enough to gain the attention of those looking for a serious long-term system.
Mobile Devices Can Download Books Off The Web
Audible provides a smart, highly flexible alternative to standard books on tape or CD, especially for people who are comfortable with PCs and the Internet and who love small digital audio players.
Rendezvous: Coming To An App Near You!
Setting up a functional network with basic services is no longer the realm of the geekier among us. Rendezvous empowers the common man. Today I'm going to highlight three Mac OS X applications that make excellent use of Rendezvous.
ATI's OEM Radeon 9700 Pro AGP Graphics Card
How far would you allow Apple to progress in changing things before you yelled stop, you can't take it any more?
Sidetrack
ANOTHER AWARDS NIGHT : The Iraq war didn't deter the Oscars, while SARS didn't deter the Hong Kong Film Awards tonight.
However, the mood is probably a bit down, with quite a few people (though not the majority) donning face masks. Quite a few people from outside Hong Kong didn't turn up for the ceremony. The suicide of Leslie Cheung (Happy Together, Farewell My Concubine, Once A Thief, A Chinese Ghost Story, A Better Tomorrow) on April Fool's day didn't help either.
Saturday, April 5, 2003
Top Stories
It's Big, It's Groundbreaking — But The Price Eclipses It All
This laptop is a remarkable piece of work, with the biggest screen anybody has ever put into a portable computer, and it carries a price tag to match.
News
Tuning Into The Hype About Wi-Fi
Despite a spike in the number of locations, or hot spots, where people can get Wi-Fi Internet access, these businesses aren't attracting record numbers of new customers, industry analysts say.
OpenOffice Gets Programming Kit
The OpenOffice.org group on Friday announced a kit that lets programmers build new modules for open-source alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite.
With Buttery Steez, He Drops DVDs Like Hammers
"I want to blow minds with everything we do, and I can't compromise on quality. With DVD Studio Pro, I can just close the door, sit down and go from concept to a DVD."
Source: EarthLink Music Service Not Coming To The Mac
We have since received word from a member of the EarthLink Mac development team (who wishes to remain anonymous) indicating that no Mac OS X version is currently in development.
Sony Ericsson Clicker Gains New Features
Version 1.5 refines the use of AppleScript to build six different kinds of widgets in the phone's display, and includes enhanced action scripts for iTunes, DVD Player, Keynote, PowerPoint, and the Mac OS X system software.
Review
News You Can Choose
"News aggregator" programs, also called "news readers," take the Web out of the browser, bringing the news to you almost as fast as it can be uploaded.
Let The Slide Show Begin
There are plenty of software programs that can create photo shows, but not many that produce high-quality images and tasteful displays with optional captions and background music.
Apache Web Server With Jaguar
Most people know that Mac OS X ships with a built-in Apache web server, but don't realize that it's easy to configure and run. In fact, you can host a web site in minutes, after completing just a few simple steps. But that doesn't mean that Mac OS X is a lightweight in this category.
Sidetrack
Friday, April 4, 2003
Top Stories
Apple To Consolidate Apple ID, .Mac Accounts
.Mac accounts will now serve as the Apple ID.
News
Steve Jobs Highest Paid CEO Of 2002
According to research firm Equilar, Apple's Steve Jobs made US$116.3 million last year, making him the best paid CEO of 2002.
More Wireless Internet Access Set For Lower Manhattan Parks
A downtown business improvement district is planning to establish free high-speed wireless Internet access in six parks and public spaces in Lower Manhattan next month, significantly expanding the availability downtown of wireless connections to the Internet.
Pinnacle And Apple Help Switch Edit Facility To Final Cut And CineWave
Getting To The Hotspot
Fast, easy wireless access to the Internet is the promise of wireless hotspots.
Mac OS X Floppy Disk RAID Comes To Light
Mac OS X's included Disk Utility may be more flexible than you think. One enterprising Mac user named Daniel Blade Olson has managed to craft together a RAID system using, of all things, a series of floppy drives.
Opinion
Mac OS X And The Promise Of Stable Computing
I donít mind the current emphasis on ìsecureî computing. Security is a major concern and things do need to improve. But I still wish that as much energy was devoted to stability and reliability, especially at the application level, now that the major hurdles for system-wide stability appear to have been lifted.
Update On Antioch School District's Mac Vs. Windows Platform Debate
Review
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Versus GeForce 4 Titanium
ATI Technology's Radeon 9700 Pro takes the Quake3 frame rate bragging rights away from the GeForce4 Titanium, especially at higher quality settings.
Sound Advice
Whether it's a vital shareware utility or a cool gizmo you just shouldn't be without, these overlooked gems can transform your Mac from something you work with to something that works for you.
Finder Follies
To many Mac users, the proliferation of folders can be downright confusing, and rather than enhancing the ability to navigate through the file system, it makes it more complicated.
PowerBook Titanium/17" CD/DVD Ejection Problems
The system properly attempts to eject the disc (not a software issue), but is in some cases blocked by an apparent mechanical defect.
Sidetrack
WANT STEVE JOBS AS YOUR BOSS' BOSS' BOSS? : Pixar is looking fro two good Mac system administrator.
HOW TO YOU SAY 'YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE' IN JAPANESE? : As Michael Clark found out, "Japan must be the only place in the world where an atheist archaeologist can marry two Buddhists in a Christian ceremony and then go home to tell the world about [it] on his web site."
Wintel
Microsoft OKs Minor Changes In Windows
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to a government request for minor changes in its Windows operating system to make it easier for consumers to use software from rival companies to browse Web pages, listen to music and send instant messages.
Indie Films Go Digital With Microsoft
Landmark Theaters, a large independent cinema chain, is adopting Microsoft's technology for storing and showing digital movies, the companies said Thursday. The deal marks a significant step forward for Microsoft's bid to enter the young digital-cinema business
Microsoft Moves On VoIP
Microsoft Corp. yesterday launched its first VOIP (voice-over-IP) support in its Windows CE .Net embedded real-time operating system.
Sun Vs. Microsoft: Harding Vs. Kerrigan Revisited
Is Sun Microsystems Inc. really a force in the PC operating system market? That question was the crux of the hearing Thursday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit here.
Dell Sets Sights On $60 Billion
Dell Computer says it's now well on the way to becoming a $60 billion company.
Thursday, April 3, 2003
Top Stories
New Apple PowerBook Boasts 17-Inch Screen
If you mainly use it as a desktop replacement, or at most tote it back and forth between home and office, the 17-inch PowerBook is a great choice and another design win for Apple.
News
Watson, Spring & NetNewsWire Bundle Available
Transform Your Mac Into An Internet Radio Station
Live365, the largest Internet radio network, today announced the release of Studio365-Live for the Mac, a powerful broadcasting tool for users running Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher.
QuarkXPress 6 Features Revealed
New features in QuarkXPress 6 will include "layout spaces," collections of layouts that let users assemble print pages, Web pages and other content by size and orientation. Components like style sheets, colors, hyphenation settings and lists can be shared among layouts.
Apple Extends 'Every Mac Needs .Mac' Offer
Willow Design Debuts Cases For 17" PowerBook
The three slipcases and two traditional briefcase style cases range from an ultra thin slipcase designed to be slipped into other bags to a protective two-level case with tons of peripherals.
How Digital Pioneers Put The 'Personal' In PC's
The modern personal computer came to life three decades ago this month when a group of Xerox engineers projected an image of Cookie Monster from "Sesame Street" onto the screen of an unfinished machine known as the Alto.
Laptops To Bolster Riddle Students' Skills
In addition to using the Internet, the laptops will help improve reading and comprehension, said Denny Arnett, visual art teacher at Riddle.
Apple Rethinks Trade Show Circuit
Company scales back involvement in the New York expo, eliminating Jobs' keynote.
Opinion
Is Macworld Expo's New Name The End Of The Road?
Personally, Iím rooting for a successful show, not for Apple, but for smaller companies that have been very loyal to Mac Community.
Free Content: Why Not?
It is the power of low-cost distribution, combined with subsidized free services, that will save and transform the music business.
Apple Not On The Leading Edge Of Everything; Analysts Worry
Missed a potential new market? Darn it, we're so busy creating all this new stuff that we didn't notice.
Review
Wrangle That Text
A good text editor, such as the two from Bare Bones, can do things that would bring most word processors to their knees.
iRock!, A Gadget We Can't Live Without
The iRock! 300W plugs into the headphone or line-out jack of your iPod (or other portable music device) and transmits its signal to your car or home stereo.
DVD Authoring: Now There's A Production
Apple was among the first to introduce computers with built-in DVD burners two years ago, and has continued to turn out software for editing movies and creating DVDs.
All Business
Managing a small business can be difficult—especially if you can only afford a handful of employees. Although software can't completely replace the IT professionals, accountants, and sales reps, at least you'll be able to do their jobs just as well, and without screaming.
Mini-Mac: The Smallest PowerBook Yet
Apple's new ultralight power notebook, the $1999 12-inch PowerBook G4, comes with plenty of connections and processing muscle, but it still doesn't provide a flawless computing experience.
NetNewsWire 1.0.1
When I say that NetNewsWire has changed the way I view the Web, Iím not exaggerating.
Sidetrack
PANTHER IN SEPTEMBER, according to the latest rumors out on eWeek.
"Apple will freeze development on new features in May and finalize enhancements to the user interface in July," said Matthew Rothenberg.
That would mean the "public" feedback on UI changes will only be one month, from WWDC 2003.
TO THE iBOX GUY, don't call it the iBox. Call it something like Power PC Linux Box, and bundle Linux on it. Sell a linux box, not a Mac box.
Make sure Mac OS X can be installed on it (perhaps with some minor hacks), but don't advertise this fact, and don't support it. Better still, don't even acknowledge it.
Then, maybe you can sell a few hundred boxes.
AGAIN, BUT LOUDER! : Reading discussion groups (*cough*slashdot*cough*) always give me a very strong sense of deja vu now and then.
Wintel
New MSN Leaks Onto Internet
A preview of an upcoming version of Microsoft's MSN service has leaked onto the Web, offering an early glimpse of the software giant's ever-evolving online strategy.
Report On Microsoft Sinks Overture Stock
Shares of Web search firm Overture Services Inc. tumbled Wednesday after an analyst said one of its biggest customers, Microsoft Corp., would create its own search technology, a report both companies refuted.
MS Digital Media Guru: Windows Watching
The group's greatest challenge, however, may not be in responding to competitors or critics but in attracting content creators and consumers. At the heart of Microsoft's digital media strategy is digital rights management (DRM) technology that could advance the distribution of online digital content.
Microsoft Clears Voice For The Web
Microsoft is making a double-barreled effort to trigger new action on a flagging Web speech specification.
Report: Microsoft Eyes Paid Search
Microsoft is significantly stepping up its investment in search technology, including paid models, in a move that could eventually supplant its relationship with Overture Services, according to a new research report.
Microsoft To Score New C# Standard
Microsoft on Tuesday said that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in April will certify Microsoft's programming language C# (pronounced C sharp) and the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI), which is underlying software "plumbing" that can run applications written in different programming languages.
Dell: We're On Track For PC Growth
Dell Computer reaffirmed its financial goals for the current quarter, saying it expects to meet targets for sales, earnings and PC unit growth.
Office For Schools Tempts Consumers
The company will modify the licensing terms for its teacher and student productivity suite when Office 2003 ships this summer. This is an apparent attempt to lower the cost of Office for consumers without actually repricing it and, thus, could spur greater adoption in the consumer market, say analysts.
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Remote Desktop 1.2 Adds Features
Apple Remote Desktop v1.2 adds Remote Software Installation and Remote Network Startup Disk as new features.
News
Bella Debuts Keyboards For DV-Editing Apps
The keyboards have an integrated jog/shuttle controller and work with leading video applications, such as Final Cut Pro , Avid Xpress DV , Adobe Premiere , Media 100 i and others.
Apple Ships G4s With Radeon 9700 Cards
Power Mac G4 systems built to order from Apple's online store customized with Radeon 9700 Pro Edition graphics cards are now shipping, according to e-mails received by MacCentral readers.
Publishing To The Power Of X
MacUser recently became the first nationally-distributed UK publication to be produced using an end-to-end Mac OS X-based workflow. Simon Kent finds out how the transition from Mac OS 9 was handled and meets the staff who are reaping the benefits of the worldís most advanced OS.
Apple Included In Time's 80 Days That Changed The World
"Nobody [then], not even Jobs, saw what was coming next: that Apple would create the look and feel of every desktop in the world and start our love affair with the personal computer."
Pizza Box Or iMac? No, An iBox
A Minnesota man has plans to launch his own Macintosh-manufacturing business, building a low-cost, upgradeable Mac called the iBox.
Eudora Update Adds Dozens Of Fixes
Specific work was done to correct crashing problems, hangs, work arounds for outstanding issues, and many other change.
Independent Mac Shareware Dev. Group
A group of shareware developers is attempting to gauge developer interest in an organization tentatively called the Independent Macintosh Shareware Developers Group.
Opinion
Apple Moves To Jungle Rhythms
If a single sign points to the transformation of Apple, it is the speed with which it innovates and develops industry-changing products.
Poll: Create Needs Keynote
Two-thirds of Macworld Online readers believe that dropping Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote from the Create event is ill-advised.
Do You Feel You're Part Of A Cult?
You see we're part of a cult. We want things to "just work," and if they don't, we will complain vigorously about it. Now is that so strange?
Gee Whiz: The New Wireless Networking Standard
This time around, Apple chose a half-baked standard, and some customers could get burned.
Review
About The Finder...
I'm going to outline what I believe is a fairly conservative vision of what the Finder could be, and explain what makes it better than the current Mac OS X Finder—not just for me personally, but for all Mac users.
Wintel
Licensing Under Fire
Software licensing, ever a sticky subject, has of late been getting stickier still for Microsoft Corp. SQL Server customers.
Microsoft Sets Office Bundling Terms
Microsoft will not include InfoPath and OneNote as part of the Office suite sold at retail or installed on new computers, the company will disclose Wednesday.
Microsoft's Shifting Plan Has Users Frustrated
The only thing clear about Microsoft's ongoing remake of its collaborative software strategy is that large corporations can expect it to require yet another round of expensive infrastructure upgrades.
Ellison: Linux Will Wipe Microsoft Out Of Data Center
At a gathering here Tuesday of current and potential Oracle ISV partners, Oracle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison extolled the virtues of Linux and predicted that the open-source operating system will soon decimate Microsoft in the battle for the data center market.
Microsoft Puts Its Spin On Office Chat
In a keynote speech Tuesday at the Voice on the Net conference here, Microsoft executive Peyton Smith outlined the ways a corporation's phone system and computer system will operate under one common network. Central to this trend will be the adoption of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is designed to enable companies to operate voice, data, video and messaging through a single system.
Intel Ships Prelude To Desktop Overhaul
Intel came out with two new Celeron processors for desktops this week, a prelude to a slew of desktop technology coming in the next few months.
Tuesday, April 1, 2003
Top Stories
Apple 12in PowerBook G4
Apple's 12in PowerBook isn't the lightest or thinnest notebook we've seen, but it's certainly the best looking, and we've enjoyed using it. It's also one of the most compact.
Info-Mac Archive Mirror Network Improved
We've taken a significant step forward in making the Info-Mac Archive significantly more useful for everyone.
Troika Ranch: MIDI-Triggered, Mac-Based Dance Troupe
"The Mac's PowerPC G4 AltiVec processor is key... To do real-time video manipulation in our performances requires not just a fast processor, but one that is tailored to that task."
News
Mail Courier For OS X Syncs Entourage, Palm Mail
Ligature Technologies LLC has released Mail Courier 1.0 for Mac OS X. The new application synchronizes e-mail messages between Microsoft Entourage v.X and the e-mail client included on Palm OS-based PDAs.
Apple Web Site Rated For 'Customer Respect'
Out of 500 Web sites, Apple's ranked 325th, and was awarded an overall ranking of 8.2, well above the industry average, but behind some other major firms including HP, IBM, and even Microsoft.
Happy Birthday! Apple Computer Founded 27 Years Ago Today
Today in 1976, on April 1st, Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs founded Apple Computer Incorporated.
Mariner Write Update Adds Microsoft Word Translation
Mariner Write 3.1 now adds the ability to translate files produced with Microsoft Word.
Streaming Group Perps MPEG-4 Encryption
Aiming to close a long-standing gap in digital rights management for MPEG-4, a streaming media consortium is seeking comments on an encryption specification slated for release in June.
Washington Apple Pi To Celebrate 25 Years
Apple Westfield Announce NZ "Shop For Your School" Campaign
Westfield, a global shopping center organization, and Apple today announced that they have partnered for the "Shop for Your School" campaign, which will provide over NZ$500,000 worth of computers and associated educational equipment to New Zealand primary and intermediate schools.
Opinion
The Case For A 3% Market Share
So, yes, Apple has a relatively small market share in the scheme of things, but you can't rate its value by such numbers. For many of us, regardless of how many units Apple sells, it is number one with a bullet.
Review
Good News And Bad News About The Jaguar Update And Other Thoughts On OS X
Spell Catcher For Mac OS X: Welcome Back Old Friend
Spell Catcher X is a reality, and it is no stripped down version, like some other software that made the Mac OS X transition.
Performance Preferred
After Effects is not exactly a model of multiprocessor efficiency. It isn't the processor or the operating system; it's the software.
Printer Sharing And Print Spooling In Mac OS X
Despite my disheartening failure to set up LPR printing for Classic applications, I was stunned at how easy the overall process was, particularly the Mac OS X parts. Mac OS X certainly isn't perfect, but at least in this case, it was easier and more pleasant to work in than Mac OS 9. Here's hoping that becomes true of ever-more facets of using the Mac over time.
Sidetrack
AFD : Apple has a brand new chip that can render a Photoshop image five million times faster than the Pentium 4.
This, and other stories, are also available at the EOF section over at MyAppleMenu Reader.
MAC PEOPLE : Charlie Yates, 78, runner.
Wintel
Microsoft Says It Won't Pay Legal Fees, Hand Over Documents To Mass., W. Va
"The states failed to substantially prevail on their legal claims, failed to keep contemporaneous time records, failed to exercise billing judgment and engaged in improper billing of weeks at a time."
Windows Server 2003 Worth The Wait
Long-awaited OS a strong performer with good scalability.
Most IT Experts Do Not Trust Microsoft - Report
Three-fourths of computer software security experts at major companies surveyed by Forrester Research Inc. do not think Microsoft Corp.'s products are secure, the technology research company said on Monday.