Tuesday, October 5, 2004
Top Stories
Barred From The Apple Sotre
Last week, Apple barred Bare Feats' webmaster Robert Morgan from using the Mac at his local Apple Store as a performance test lab — right after Morgan published tests results for the iMac G5 that contradict Apple's claims for the machine.
Windows Desktop Strnaglehold Slipping
There are a few straws blowing in an increasingly strong wind for Apple.
News
Movie Magic Touches Students
Pupils are no longer dragging their heels to traditionally 'boring' lessons like maths and French thanks to an inventive teacher who uses digital video to boost the appeal of unpopular subjects.
Jobs Back To Work As Apple Chief Executive
Employees and others who have had dealings with Jobs since his return say he never acknowledges his illness or recovery. He is the same old Steve and just as intensely driven as before.
Apple Store Offers Price Matching Policy
Apple's online store is offering a price matching policy for new purchases.
Microsoft Releases Virtual PC 7
Among the many new features, Microsoft executives boast about a 10 percent to 30 percent increase in performance and support for Apple's Power Mac G5.
The Newton O.S. Creeps Toward New Hardware
There is real hope for an emulator.
Laptops Joins Lists Of School Supplies
Mid-Missouri colleges and universities are encouraging or requiring more students to purchase laptops, which educators say provide students with versatility and instructional benefits.
Ballmer: iPods Packed With Stolen Tunes
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, speaking to a gathering of reporters in London, didn't pass up the opportunity to take several digs at archrival Apple.
RealPlayer 10 Beta, RealOne Player For Mac OS X Affected By Security Issue
In the case of Mac OS X, users are vulnerable if they play a local Real media file in either Real Player 10 Beta or RealOne Player. RealNetworks has since released a patch for this vulnerability.
iPod To Drive Apple's Market Share Higher
Piper Jaffray maintained an "outperform" rating and $40 target price on Apple, saying a 0.5% increase in market share "is not unrealistic" for the computer company if the current acceleration in interest and demand for its products continue.
Microsoft CEO Ballmer On The Digital Home: "There Is No Way That You Can Get There With Apple'
Worried about something, Mr. Ballmer?
Eric Meyer: Turning The Tables Using CSS
"I'm so much mor eproductive on a Mac that it's almost silly."
Apple Help For iMac G5 Owners
Apple is offering a Web-based troubleshooting assistant for owners of iMac G5s.
Florida Apple Reseller Closes Doors
"The slow economy, the three hurricanes, the break-ins, lack of G5s and iMacs for many months, are some of the elements that played against us."
Pepsi Canada To Give Away 2,016 iPods
Apple's iTunes Music Store still isn't available in Canada, but iPods are — and now Pepsi drinkers can try to win a free iPod.
Apple Releases Security Update 2004-09-30
Apple fixes two AFP Server and CUPS issues as well as problems with NetInfoManager, postfix and the ServerAdmin component in Mac OS X Server v10.2.8 and v10.3.5.
Opinion
Those Criminal iPods
This is vintage Microsoft. When you're behind, it's cheaper to bash the leader until you can get people to buy your late-to-the-game product. And it works.
Macs Rule For Value When Cost Is The Key
At almost every level, Macs were less expensive than Dells with similar features.
The iMac G5: Elegant — But A Lost Opportunity
With any real improvement in Windows at least two years away, I think Apple could shake the industry by offering, for $700 or less, a PC-like Mac box for which consumers would provide their own displays.
MarsEdit User Interface Notes
I like writing about user interface — I like to write about the choices we made and why we made them.
Steve Ballmer: Where Is Your Survey?
We don't want your clumsy Microsoft DRM, we don't want your players, and we will listen to music the way we want to. Your control over this sort of thing is so over.
Ballmer: Apple The Wrong Bandwagon To Reach Digital Utopia
Say what you will about Microsoft, but they have an end-to-end solution for digital media in the home that just doesn't exist anywhere else.
Microsoft Can't Out-Cool Apple
You don't tell people you're cool. You show it. You offer it. You have to know what people want, and then give them more than they expect. Microsoft doesn't have that gene: it tells, not hears. And that won't play int he cool converged consumer space.
Review
Toon Boom Studio 2.5: 2-D Pro Animation Package Delivers New Tools For 'Toons
Toon Boom Studio 2.5 is a fantastic, reasonably priced program that gives you almost every tool you need in order to produce hand-drawn animated cartoons on a Mac.
VectorWorks 11: A Panoply Of Productivity And Drafting Improvements Boosts Popular CAD Program's Value
If you're thinking about buying a CAD program, VectorWorks 11 should be at the top of your list. If you already own an older version of VectorWorks, the improved DWG translation and the new Viewports make the upgrade a wise choice.
ManOpen Opens Man Pages
ManOpen is plenty useful in its current incarnation, and I've installed it everywhere I find myself using man pages. It's a great example of how using a graphical interface can improve the Unix experience for those who prefer a graphical approach.
FileMaker On Track
What is compelling about FileMaker Applications is their flexibility, with the prospect of low-cost customisation.
Why The RadioSHARK May Change Our Lives
RadioSHARK is the device that Howard Stern and other talk radio fans have wanted for more than a decade, and it supports AAC format (read: iPod compatible, highly compressed) recording.
ToyViewer, A Cool Free Graphics Tool For OS X
Deep Tinderbox
Tinderbox — here's something of a polarizing application.
Magic Bullet Editors 1.0: Final Cut Pro Plug-In Creates Magical Film Effects
Magic Bullet Editors 1.0 is the perfect tool for achieving a stylish film look or an authentic-looking "classic." Just make sure your hardware is up for some heavy lifting.
Sidetrack
A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous (And Sometimes Stupid) Thing
Or, why you might want to consult someone who do know Chinese before you pick up a Chinese character tatoo.
Wintel
Future Windows Component Could Spur Old-School Viruses
A planned component for Microsoft's next version of Windows is causing consternation among antivirus experts, who say that the new module, a scripting platform called Microsoft Shell, could give birth to a whole new generation of viruses and remotely exploitable attacks.
