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PowerBook G4 Gets Slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo
Drive, Retrofit Upgrade Program Coming January 14
The big 'Book news this week was Apple's announcement that it has
made slot-loading Combo (CD-RW/DVD-ROM) optical drives standard across
the PowerBook G4 line. And if you recently purchased one of the
Revision B 550 MHz or
667 MHz TiBooks, don't
feel bad. Starting January 14, 2002, Apple will also offer current
PowerBook G4 550 MHz and 667 MHz owners the opportunity to upgrade
to the new Combo drive for US$299.
The PowerBook G4's slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive plays
CD-ROM, audio CD, DVD video, DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM discs. You can use
iTunes to burn audio files and the Disc Burner feature in Mac OS 9
or Mac OS X to burn data CDs.
The PowerBook G4 line is now available in two standard
configurations:
The 550 MHz PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $2,299,
includes:
256 MB SDRAM
20 GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive.
The 667 MHz PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $2,999,
includes:
512 MB SDRAM
30 GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive; and
AirPort Card for wireless networking.
The PowerBook
G4 Combo Upgrade Program will be offered worldwide from January
14 to March 30, 2002. Customers should check the Apple Web site
starting January 14 for further details on how to place an order.
Only the 550 MHz and 667 MHz PowerBook G4 systems with
DVD-ROM or CD-RW drives are eligible for this upgrade. The Combo drive
does not fit in the structure of the PowerBook G4 400 MHz and
5 MHz systems.
In last week's report on the Plasticsmith
Lapvantage laptop computer stands, one of which is designed to support
viewing in Portrait mode, I erroneously noted, "Unfortunately, to the
best of my knowledge, Apple laptops do not support portrait mode
viewing."
Not so. Portrait Displays'
PivotPro 6.0 offers one-click rotation software, allowing you
to switch from landscape to portrait with a hot key combination, and it
supports Mac OS 7.1 to 9.x. Mac OS X is not yet supported.
I myself am a dedicated Mac user genuinely torn between the
Portrait mode in OS 9.2 and the beauty/stability of Mac OS X. In
fact, I came up with the idea of Lapvantage: Portrait Edition by
putting my TiBook on its right side and imagining all the vertical real
estate it would provide in a "long-screen view."
The design of the computer display was originally based on the
landscape shape of the television. We're accustomed to viewing
information on a display that is wider than it is tall. While the
landscape orientation works for television, it's not well suited for
working with documents.
Since the advent of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
technology, computer document handling has followed the portrait
orientation of the 8.5" x 11" or A4 paper document standard. Over 70
percent of the documents computer users work with are in portrait
orientation. Research has shown that over 60 percent of those users who
set up their rotating computer displays in portrait orientation, keep
it there.
For most computer users, the standard computer display contains a
substantial amount of wasted space along the right-hand side of the
display. Since only a few types of documents call for landscape
orientation, the portrait view makes better use of the desktop space by
allowing you to see and work with more of your document without
constant scrolling.
Pivot software allows you the advantage of changing the orientation
of your computer display. Get your free trial now to experience the
power of the portrait view.
An independent survey by Jon Peddie Associates found that nearly
half the users of Pivot® software spend 90% of their time in a
portrait orientation.
PivotPro 6.0 features:
Supports all rotating LCDs
Supports stationary LCDs with VESA-compliant rotating mounting
kit
Supports all rotating orientations: 90, 180, 270, and
landscape
Dynamically switches from portrait to landscape, and back
Dynamically resizes windows and applications
Pivot is resolution independent, supporting the highest resolution
that the graphics card can output
Automatically adapts to the language version of the operating
system (language support: English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish,
Dutch, Italian, Korean, and Chinese, traditional and simplified)
Portrait Displays' Pivot for Macintosh is not compatible with Mac
OS X, and there are no plans for supporting it in the future. If
you plan to upgrade to OS X in the near future, be aware that
Pivot for Macintosh will only support up to Mac OS 9.2.
Other known issues:
Drag and Drop will exhibit some redraw errors in 9.x. When dragging
an icon over a folder while in portrait mode, the image of the folder
will become distorted. Refreshing the affected area by dragging the
cursor or window over it will restore the image. These errors do not
occur with versions of Mac OS prior to 9.0.
Window Tabs will exhibit redraw errors in 9.x. Dragging a folder to
the bottom of the screen will create a tab. Opening and closing this
tab in portrait mode will cause redraw errors within the window.
Refreshing the affected area by dragging the cursor or window over it
will restore the image.
Pivot for Macintosh is fully functional with all Mac applications.
The above mentioned anomalies only occur under Mac OS 9.x and are
related to the same redraw issue.
Pivot Mac Software v6.25 sells for $49.95
Willow Design Releases New Walmopiztreet
Slipcase
Willow Design
president Nigel Peck says that after multiple requests, Willow has
introduced the Walmopiztreet
Slipcase, designed for everyone still carrying around Pismo or
WallStreet PowerBooks. The Walmo is not
included in Willow's
Year End Sale, now extended to Dec 31st, but purchasers will
get half-price rates on ground shipping in the US and Canada to the end
of the year.
The Walmo is the first of a new line of Willow slipcases, featuring
a contoured protective flap, large mesh accessory pocket, zippered
organizer pocket and convenient back map or magazine pocket. "The
amazing thing is that although the slipcases only weigh about a pound
and a half, they really do offer excellent protection," commented
Peck.
"We've built into the Walmo all the suggestions of Willow slipcase
users over the last eight months", said Peck. "One simple but logical
improvement was luggage feet for the bottom of the slipcase. If heavily
loaded, the case may not stand upright on its own, but its riveted
rubber luggage feet allow you to lean it against items, up off the
ground".
Asked why the new slipcase line is being launched with a slipcase
for an old PowerBook, Peck quipped that he is one of those still
carrying around a Pismo and his wife hauls around a WallStreet. "We
needed slipcases, and G3 PowerBook slipcases coalesced into an exciting
new design."
Available Colours: black, charcoal, navy, teal, purple, royal,
mauve
Walmopiztreet Slipcase Pricing: $65 U.S./$98 Cdn.
Dr. Bott's iPod Connection Kit II with Tape
Adapter
Dr. Bott's iPod Connection Kit II with Cassette Adapter includes
everything you might need to bring your music anywhere you might want
it. iPod Connection Kit provides most every option for connecting to
iPod's 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack to automobile stereo systems, home
stereo systems, mic input of computers and other devices, boom boxes,
and tape players.
Dr. Bott's iPod Connection Kit includes:
Auto Charger for iPod
Cassette Tape Adapter
Mini Stereo Extension Cable (male/female)
Mini Stereo to RCA Cable
Mini Stereo Connection Cable (male/male)
iPod Carry Pouch
iPod Connection Kit II w/ Tape Adapter sells for $47.95
Availability: Dr. Bott's iPod Connection Kit II will be shipping in
January and can be pre-ordered today.
Bargain 'Books
There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233 MHz,
the cacheless MainStreet version and the
later Series II with
a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from the
vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included links within
this paragraph to the two models.
New Revision A iBook 500s
Jeff Hubert of ipowerlease.com in Victoria, BC,
Canada, has a line on about 200 brand new Revision A iBook 500s that he is
offering for US$998. These units are covered by a full one year
warranty and will ship from Canada. Jeff will be purchasing these units
from a very large Canadian Apple reseller that recently made a special
deal on these units.
Mac of the Day: Centris 650, Feb. 1993 - The replacement for the Quadra 700 has room for an internal CD-ROM.
List of the Day: Old Mac MP covers 604-based multiprocessor Macs and clones.
September 7 in LEM history: 98: Banner exchanges - 00: Tips from the Mac manager - Getting a Mac job - 01: Apple and the gray market - Repositioning the 'Books - 04: Tray loading iMac a good choice for OS X? - Pismo CPU upgrades - 06: Mac mini value equation - Setting up a Mac Classic II - Putting the Intel transition in perspective - 07: Region free DVD viewing, - My Newton - Solving Mac disk and hardware problems - 2 apps every MacBook should have
Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05.
Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04.
Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03.
Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
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WallStreet PowerBooks. The Walmo is not
included in 
