The Low End Mac Link Archive, October 1999
External news links are listed below by the date of publication
with the most recent articles listed at the top, older ones below
them. Other monthly archive indexes are linked on the right. Links
were correct when originally posted. However, we cannot guarantee
that these links are still active.
- News: Low
End Mac launches email list for Canadian Mac users, Charles
Moore, Applelinks, 10/29.
- News: Apple stock closes at all-time high, 10/29.
- Rumor: Apple
looking to take next step in retail, AppleInsider, 10/29.
"...it finally appears as if Apple is taking the next step towards
implementing these retail locations."
- Opinion: Apple Store
customer service: Grade C-, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday,
10/29. "All I really wanted to know was the UPS tracking number for
the errant shipment of my two copies of OS 9."
- News: New iMacs slowly
tricking into Canada, ehMac, 10/29.
- Web:
How computers change the writing process for people with learning
disabilities, Richard Wanderman. "All of these effects
together; change in the input process, change in the editing
process, and change in the output process make writing much more
accessible to students and adults with learning disabilities."
- Palm: Atelier
ships SimCity for Palm [Slashdot]. This is the vintage b&w
version I used to play on my Mac
Plus. Now I've got an excuse to look into a Palm or Handspring.
;-)
- Analysis: The
end of Moore's Law, Roy Brander, osOpinion. Transistor density
doubles every 18 months, but there is a physical limitation
engineers are rapidly approaching.
- Opinion: Outlook Express 5
or Green?, Charles Moore, Applelinks. Lots of commentary on OE
5, plus a quick look at Green, a new free Mac email client.
- News:
XLR8 announces AltiVec support for Photoshop 3 and later, 10/28
[Accelerate Your Mac].
This is one up on Apple, which only supports AltiVec for Photoshop
5.5.
- News: Notebook,
screen makers agree on display standard, Cnet, 10/28. "This
[will] allow notebook vendors to use a variety of displays in their
machines, and will allow panel vendors to work with a larger number
of notebook vendors."
- Advice:
Should you upgrade to Mac OS 9?, Dave Hamilton, Mac Observer,
10/28.
- Advice: How
to get your parents to buy you that new iMac, iTeen,
10/28.
- Advice: Mac web
servers: wherefore Mac OS 9?, Mac Central, 10/28/99. OpenTransport
2.5 provides "improved performance and stability."
- Opinion:
Future iBook wish list, Louis Pierce, The Pierce Perspective,
10/28. "...when Apple released the iBook it was more of a teaser
than anything. It was sort of a prelude of what will be."
- Opinion: New iMacs cost
less, work harder, Don Crabb, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/28.
- Opinion:
iBook's appeal deeper than looks, Charles Haddad, Cox News
Service. "In its design, Apple has managed to convey a sense that
the iBook is a special computer just for kids."
- Review: Testing the
Power Mac G4/450, MacWeek, 10/28. " CPU, graphics and hard disk
performance blow away all previous models."
- News: Jesse gets
an iMac!, ZDNet, 10/28. After complaining about Windows
instability, Apple shipped Jesse Berst an iMac DV Special Edition.
Hope he like it.
- News: OS 9
(in)security, Think Secret, 10/28. "Also note that by starting
up from a CD or other System Folder, anyone can gain full access to
your computer. Important files should still be backed up routinely,
and they should be encrypted to keep anyone from opening
them."
- Opinion:
PowerBook 3400c, a potentially great 'Book with unfortunate
timing, Charles Moore, Road Warrior, 10/28/1999. "With
different timing, I think the 3400 could have been remembered as
one of the great PowerBook models...."
- Opinion: A/S/L
to death, Eric Barzeski, Mac Opinion, 10/28. "Chat, in most
forms, is bad. It's a waste of time, and it's bad for a variety of
reasons."
- Web: Interview with
Rodney O. Lain, MacDaily, 10/27. Rodney writes Things Macintosh here at Low End Mac, as
well as columns for several other sites.
- Web: Outlook Express 5
FAQ, Microsoft. If you're using or want to use Microsoft's
latest Mac email client, this is one of many resources you'll want
to visit.
- Review: iMac DV
SE, Accelerate Your Mac!, 10/27. "The phrase 'More than the sum
of its parts' comes to mind the more I use the iMac DV SE."
- News: Fujitsu thinks
different, FMWorld [MOSR.net].
Pliché 243 resmbles the iMac, is about the same size and
weight as a Mac Classic, and
uses a 12.1" flat panel display like the iBook.
- Advice: Mac OS 9
install guide, MacTips. Step-by-step guide from preparation
through installation.
- News: Italian law
taxes AirPort, iBook2day, 10/27. "An Italian law puts a tax on
the use of each AirPort card and base station, which totals to $600
a year for a network of 10 iBooks (or iMacs)."
- News: National
Geographic puts maps online, USA Today, 10/27 [MacSurfer]. If you loved 'em as a
kid, you'll love 'em
on the internet.
- News: 3dfx comments om
Mactell closing, Mac3dfx, 10/27.
- Benchmark: Sonnet
vs. PowerLogix G3/500 upgrade cards, Bare Feats, 10/27. Only
significant difference found in Bryce, Photoshop Gaussian
blur.
- Opinion: Canucks
being ripped off by memory distributors, customs brokers?,
Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/27.
- News: Dell
takes top education sales spot from Apple, Reuters/Yahoo,
10/27. Dell maintains a 5% lead over Apple.
- Rumor: Rev. B iBook
update, MOSR, 10/27. Some silly speculation: 177 MHz cache with
366 MHz CPU, an unsupported CPU:cache ratio, and a 96 MB
configuration which would have to use the only RAM socket.
- Advice: Email
efficiency, part 4, Deb Shadovits, Mac Central, 10/27. The
good, the bad, and the ugly of styled email. Must reading for those
who style their email.
- Opinion: The Register and
Apple's retail gambit, Think Secret, 10/27. Is Apple planning
to open its own retail stores and drop existing retailers? (Also
see The Apple Store.)
- Benchmark: Mac OS 8.6
vs. 9.0, Mac Speed Zone. OS 8.6 seems to be a bit faster.
- Advice: Using Mac OS
9? Better keep virtual memory on, Mac OS Planet. Enabling
virtual memory drops system memory requirements by about 13
MB!
- Analysis: Is the Pentium
RISC?, David K. Every, MacKiDo, 10/27. "The design philosophy
of the processor didn't change - and RISC is a design
philsophy."
- Rumor: Revision B iBook
in the works, iBook-User. Faster, slot-loading DVD, and maybe
even a graphite version.
- Opinion: The bumpy
road to DSL, Jesse Berst, ZDNet, 10/27. DSL will beat cable
modems - if the industry learns to stop shooting itself in the
foot.
- OS:
Clustering software takes Linux in new direction,
Computerworld, 10/26 [Slashdot].
Clustering allows using multiple computers acting as a single
server.
- News: 3Com scores with
modem geared toward serious gamers, Excite News, 10/26. PCI
modem designed for faster pings, more stable connections, and
reduced lag times. (No info on Mac support.)
- Opinion: Apple's next
retail gambit, Tony Smith, MacWeek, 10/26. "Apple is preparing
to bring all its sales in-house through its existing direct-sales
operation, the online Apple Store, as well as the establishment of
its own 'High Street' chain of retail outlets...." (Also see
The Apple Store.)
- News:
Mactell's FireWire line to be picked up, Mac Observer, 10/26.
New company rising from ashes of Mactell to handle FirePower
products.
- Rumor: Multiprocessor
Macs, Apple's "next big thing," AppleInsider, 10/26.
"...multiple sources have reported that Motorola is quietly
preparing multiprocessor PowerPC G4 boards that will begin shipping
to Apple sometime early in the year 2000."
- News:
Schools, teachers ill prepared to use computers effectively,
AP, 10/26 [MacSurfer].
"...the nation must focus on training teachers to do more with them
than surfing Web sites and sending email."
- Dark Side: Microsoft
web site hacked, ABC News, 10/26. "All the sites [hacked by
flipz] were running on Microsoft Windows NT software...."
- Dark Side:
Microsoft sets date for Windows 2000, Infoworld, 10/26. First
fully Y2K compliant version of Windows NT promised for February 17,
2000.
- Dark Side:
Microsoft Windows 2000 beta 3, PC Magazine. "...the folks at
Microsoft seem to have put a lot of effort into improving both
reliability and security."
- Opinion: Real
life shootout: iBook vs. Lombard, Joe Speiser, MacProvider,
10/25. Each has its advantages....
- Opinion: Much ado about
FireWire!, MacRocks.
- Low End: Building a Power
Colour Classic, Stuart Bell. Finally, a helpful resource for
boosting the Color Classic to a 68040, 603, or even a G3.
- News: Wacom
Graphire tablet and cordless mouse [allUSB]. Only $89.99 from
Outpost.com
- News:
Mactell closes its doors, PRNewswire, 10/25 [Macs Only!]. Formet Mac cloner never
recovered from Apple's decision to end cloning.
- News: AirPort gears up
for liftoff, MacWeek, 10/25. AirPort cards and base station
finally shipping.
- Analysis: FileMaker eyes
bigger clients, spruced-up image, Jim Davis, Cnet, 10/25.
"They have massive customer-relations problems," is a bit of an
understatement.
- OS: Mac OS 9 stole my
notepad!, Power-Macintosh, 10/25. Note Pad no longer in the
Apple Menu.
- Review:
Mac OS 9 boosts Internet access, file sharing, security,
Infoworld, 10/25.
- Dark Side: Intel
seeks profits from Coppermine, Yahoo/ZDNet. Intel announces 733
MHz Pentium III, but mobile version still tops out at 500 MHz.
- Dark Side: Intel's
"Coppermine" has no copper, Tom's Harware, 10/25. "I'd also
like to note that Intel's 'Coppermine' does not imply that
this new processor is built using IBM's new copper-technology. The
metal layers . . . are still aluminum."
- Opinion:
Best sounding computer speakers under US$100, ZDTV, 10/15.
- Opinion: Scents in the
Workplace, Dan Knight, ReformedNet,10/25. "For most, unwanted
scents are an inconvenience, but for some of us, these scents make
us dizzy or nauseous, give us headaches, and can even result in
migraines."
- Low End: PowerMac 6100
Upgrade Guide. Everything you could want to know about using
and upgrading a Power Mac 6100 or Performa 61XX.
- Hands On: Mac OS
9, Macs Only!, 10/23-25. Tested on 8 different computers.
Memory hungry, but very stable.
- Analysis: Three
distinct takes on the iBook, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/25.
Compare what Macworld, Low End Mac, and Nikkei MAC have to
say.
- Opinion: Macworld
doesn't get it either, John Farr, Applelinks, 10/25. "...surely
the revolutionary significance of wireless networking is not lost
on folks as astute as these, or is it?"
- Opinion: Apple
direct-only? Not anytime soon, please, MacBC, 10/25. "Whether
you are a direct seller or not, what you need most is to be
visible."
- News: Defective
mouse can prevent booting on USB Macs, iMacInTouch, 10/25.
- Opinion: iMac
under siege: Here comes another PC clone, Mac Junkie, 10/25.
"Fujitsu is releasing a PC system that looks suspiciously like an
iMac."
- Web: Apple
History: Apple 1 to G4 and beyond, 1984 Online. "To date Apple
statistics say that over 31 million Macintosh systems have been
sold...."
- Opinion: Apple's driven me to
write, Byte, 10/25. Reader feedback on last week's "Apple's
driven me to Wintel."
- Opinion: iBook's
biggest flaw, Mac Junkie, 10/25. Reader survey finds 13% find
iBook perfect, but most want some improvements.
- Benchmark: G3/500 vs. G4/400, Bare Feats, 10/25. Accelerated
Power Mac 7500 vs. Power Mac G4/400.
- Tech: What is
RISC?, David K. Every, MacKiDo, 10/25.
- Hands on: Zip 250 USB
drive, MacCentral, 10/25.
- News: Fujitsu clones
iMac - Apple lawyers on alert, The Register, 10/25. "But it's
not its spec. that draws attention - rather it's its uncanny
resemblance to a squashed iMac."
- Opinion: Hey, buddy,
can you spare a job?, John Martellaro, Applelinks, 10/24. "In
the next century, the high paying jobs in this country will be for
people who know how to write human simulation codes that interact
with customers...."
- News: Dell topples
Compaq in U.S. market share, Cnet, 10/24.
- Rumor: Apple moving toward
mostly direct-sales model?, MOSR, 10/21. I've suspected this
for some time - Apple isn't leaving small retailers enough margin
to stay alive.
- News: No Wires Needed first
to market with 11 Mbps wireless, 10/21. Includes PC Card, ISA
card, and hub. AirPort is apparently also ready to ship.
- News: Lucent WaveLAN
Turbo provides 11 Mbps wireless networking. Mac drivers due "at
a later date."
- Low End: System 6
for the Macintosh, Ruud Dingemans. It's been a long time since
I've used System 6, but if you have an older, slower,
memory-limited Mac, it's fast, stable, and still very usable.
- Benchmark: iMac DV SE
game performance, Accelerate Your Mac!, 10/22. Best iMac ever,
but gaming does call for a memory upgrade.
- Web: 1984 online
ezine gets a facelift [Mac
Observer].
- Gaming: Guide to
game emulators for the Mac, Inside Mac Games. "What about Super
Nintendo, Neo-Geo, Gameboy and even Nintendo64? The good news is,
in some shape in form, all those systems and more can be emulated
today on your macintosh, and the software that does it is either
Shareware or completely free."
- News: Sony, Sharp
create optical 1394 for portable devices, The Register, 10/22.
New variant of FireWire uses optical fibre with up to 10m (33')
cable.
- News: Apple buys 3D
graphics company, Tom's Hardware Guide, 10/22 [Accelerate Your Mac]. Apple has
apparently purchased Raycer Graphics, which is developing a new 3D
chipset.
- Web: MacBanners,
banner exchange for Mac-related sites.
- News: First
full-sized flavored keyboards for iMac, Mac OS Planet. Micro Connectors makes
keyboards in grape, strawberry, lime, tangerine, and blueberry;
looks like a perfect match for Apple's extended layout.
- Review: iMac DV Special
Edition, Macworld. "For a moderately priced consumer model, the
iMac DV Special Edition packs a punch."
- Opinion: Choosing the right Mac email client, Charles Moore,
MacSimple, 10/22.
- Analysis: AirPort vs.
AnyPoint for home networking, Think Secret, 10/22. Phoneline
and slow speed or no wires and ethernet speed - any questions?
- Opinion: Dispatches
from the browser wars, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/22.
Netscape, Internet Explorer, iCab....
- Rumor: Next
generation PowerBook details, AppleInsider, 10/22. Expect them
at Macworld San Francisco.
- Opinion: Outlook
Express 05. Just say no, Mac Junkie, 10/22. "Overall, Outlook
Express 5 is clearly a hastily done Windows port, with little or no
attention paid to aesthetics or ease of use."
- News: Mini-notebooks
prepare for comeback, Yahoo/ZDNet, 10/22. C'mon, Apple, how
about a 3-4 pound PowerBook?
- Opinion: A
review of iBook reviews, Charles Moore, Mac Opinion,
10/21.
- Opinion: Mac advocates and
misplaced zeal, Rodney O. Lain, The iMac, 10/21. "I used to do
the same things you do: I used to visit computer stores and defend
the Mac. I would literally sell computers to customers."
- Hands on:
Checking out Apple's new iBook, Henry Norr, SF Gate, 10/21.
"I'll focus on what the iBook is and isn't good for, based on my
experience using it daily for the past few weeks."
- Analysis: Portal numbers
flat - where is everyone?, Jim Hu, Cnet, 10/21. Probably on
the Mac sites; Low End Mac traffic was up 4.3% in Sept., and over
10% so far this month.
- Opinion: Barriers to
entry?, MacWeek, 10/21. "On the other hand I want Mac OS X to
act like a minor system upgrade so there are no barriers to entry
for the Mac community...."
- News: Inside the
iBook, MacWeek, 10/21. "Indeed, the iBook represents an amalgam
of high-quality parts, each with exacting manufacturing
specs."
- Advice: Converting LPs,
tapes to CD or MP3, MacTIPS. "The first thing you are going to
need is a stereo to play the LP or cassette...."
- Opinion: Goodbye,
MacTimes. You'll be missed, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday,
10/21. A former MacTimes writer looks back at a glorious past.
- Tech: RISC vs
CISC: the post-RISC era, Hannibal, Ars Technica [Slashdot]. "The majority of today's
processors can't rightfully be called completely RISC or completely
CISC. The two textbook architectures have evolved towards each
other...."
- OS: Mac OS 9
Special Report, MacNN. Ongoing report of OS 9 issues, including
software incompatibilities.
- Web: Mac
Mania reborn as MacinStart, MacinStart
- Review: Outlook
Express 5 for Macintosh, Lee Barnes, MacNerds. Could be a
worthy successor to Claris Emailer 2.
- News: Future of G3
Power Macs "fixed," AsiaOne. Apple marketing director admits
Blue G3s intentionally crippled to prevent G4 upgrades.
- Analysis: Is
Web growth tapering off?, ZDNet, 10/21. "Overall, Web users
increased about 2 percent [in September] to 63.4 million, but less
than usual 4 percent growth rate."
- Low End: Cruising the web in black & white, John C. Foster,
MacWeek, 10/20. "I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride as
my elderly SE maneuvered the
Web...."
- Rumor: FireWire drives could
be G4 option by January, MOSR, 10/20.
- Opinion: The
social cost of connectivity, Wired, 10/20. Does "being
connected" mean being disconnected from those around us?
- Rumor: Apple accelerating
dual-processor plans?, MOSR, 10/20. Shifting priorities could
lead to dual-processor Power Mac in January-March timeframe.
- News: MacFixIt is
tracking USB issues on iBook, new iMac.
- Software: Peek-a-Boo,
Clarkwood Software [Accelerate Your Mac]. Allows you
to monitor and change priority of all running processes.
- News: XLR8
G4/350 upgrades "imminent," MacCentral, 10/20. You ship what
you can get - in this case, the 350 MHz G4. Should provide a real
boost for 266 MHz and slower Power Macs.
- Web:
Encyclopaedia Britannica goes online for free, Yahoo/Reuters,
10/20. Entire text plus news feeds available at
Britannica.com.
- Analysis: USB 2.0, David K.
Every, MacKiDo, 10/20. Can it compete with FireWire?
- Rumor: Apple
working on multiprocessor Power Mac, AppleInsider, 10/20. Okay,
we all know they're working on 'em, but AI has a little new
intelligence on it.
- News:
PC prices taking an unusual turn: up, Mercury Center, 10/19.
Apple is not alone in reconfiguring systems to keep the price from
changing.
- Review: Microsoft
Outlook Express 5, eTechNews, 10/19. "I was a die-hard Claris
Emailer user, but I migrated to Outlook when Emailer really started
to show its age."
- News: Hackers
ascend upper "Echelon," Wired. October 21 is "Jam Echelon
Day."
- News: G4/450
Photoshop 5.5 bug, Accelerate Your Mac!, 10/19. Bug also shows
up on G4/400 systems overclocked to 450 MHz.
- Opinion: Damned
if they don't, Sho, MOSR.net, 10/19. Apple needs "Yellow Box"
Windows compatibility in OS X.
- News:
MacTimes.com for sale at eBay, Mac Observer, 10/19.
- Analysis: Banner
ads celebrate last birthday?, ZDNet. The banner ad turns five
years old this month....
- Review: VST
FireWire hard drive, O'Grady's PowerPage.
- Review: Mac OS
9, Macworld UK. "I have not had OS 9 installed for long, but it
has reduced my number of crashes noticeably."
- Web: MacTimes.com up for
sale, MacBC, 10/19.
- Web: Perpetual
bubble wrap [The Daily].
Pop the virtual bubble wrap. Requires Flash.
- Opinion: Top 10
things Mac users want from Apple, MacCentral, 10/19. List
includes deep-sixing the cheap USB mouse and keyboard.
- Virus: Melissa
mutations keep coming, Yahoo/ZDNet, 10/19.
- Web:
MacTimes for sale, eBay, 10/18. It's a great domain name, but
probably not worth $100,000. On the other hand, if someone does buy
it, maybe those of us who used to be part of MacTimes will
finally see the money due us.
- News: Congressional
spam bull due Tuesday, New York Times, 10/18. Opt-out system
will allow registrants to sue spammers at $500 per message. (Also
see our Spam Filtering Guide.)
- News: FCC to
re-examine "modem tax," MSNBC. "The 'modem tax' is now
officially classified as an urban myth; however, the idea is not
completely dead inside the FCC; it's just on long-term hold."
- Advice: How
much Mac is enough?, Tim Hillman, MacCentral, 10/18.
- Connectivity: At
last, DSL gets real, ZDNet, 10/18. "Somewhere in the spectrum
of DSL choices is a cost-effective offer that will work for you,
whether you need to feed Net access to a family, a small office, or
a home office."
- News: Canon gets 1394 "FireWireless" up to 100 Mbps, The
Register, 10/18. FireWire is fast, wireless isn't. Canon blasts
past AirPort's 11 Mbps with wireless 1394.
- News: G4 ROM
upgrade, Apple Computer, 10/18. Fixes problem with data/file
corruption on "Yikes!" G4 systems (original G4/400).
- Opinion: Apple's PR
Waterloo, MacWeek, 10/18. "Today's another day. Will it bring
yet another change in G4 pricing policy?"
- Deal: Norton Utilities 4.0 OEM,
$19.99, reported on dealmac, 10/18.
- Opinion: One vote for the
iMac, iMovie, and Mac OS 9, Marty Cortinas, Byte, 10/18.
- Software: CPU
Charger, Orchard Software. Shareware version of CPU
Doubler.
- Opinion: WebStar transforms
Mac into a web server, Byte, 10/18. If it's good enough for the
U.S. Army....
- Opinion: I decided
to cancel my iBook order..., Mac Militia, 10/16. "The screen is
amazing - I would definitely have to say it's the best screen I've
ever seen on a laptop."
- Opinion: The iMac
brand, Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu, 10/16. "Should the iMac
be both an Internet machine, and a home entertainment machine? Is
Apple stretching the iMac brand too thin?"
- Benchmark: Vodoo 3000 AGP vs. Rage 128
AGP, Mac3dfx, 10/16. "Tests with the Voodoo3 show that the
Rage128 is a significant bottleneck in 3D games...."
- Dark Side: Microsoft
downplays Win2K scalability, TechWeb, 10/15. "Microsoft had
previously promised that Windows 2000 would be as scalable as its
Unix rivals."
- Opinion: Does the world really need another Mac website?,
Charles Moore, MacSimple, 10/15.
- Review: Kensington
USB Mouse-in-a-Box, MacNerds. "It's just like the ADB version,
except for the USB plug-in at the end of the cord." (Also see our
review of the Kensington
Mouse.)
- Rumor: AppleShare IP 6.3
imminent, Graphic Power, 10/15. "MacOS 9 is such a dramatic
rewrite of the OS, that I consider it highly unlikely that ASIP 6.2
will work with it."
- Rumor: Revised
PowerBooks to hit production in December, AppleInsider, 10/15.
Rumors of 400-500 MHz machines.
- New: 800
Mbps FireWire due in 2000, MacCentral, 10/15.
- Web: MacLaunch, new
Macintosh portal site, 10/15.
- News: G4 with 1GB
or more RAM won't cold boot, Apple TIL, 10/14 [MacInTouch]. Users must follow
failed startup with reset.
- Analysis:
An embarrassment of riches, Wes George, Mac Observer, 10/14.
"In essence, Fred Anderson said Apple has almost as many back
orders in the first two weeks of this quarter for Macintosh systems
than were actually delivered last quarter."
- News: Apple to
reverse G4 decision?, MacWeek, 10/14. "Apple may back off from
its previously announced plan to substitute slower processors in G4
Power Macs without offering a price break to customers who had
placed advance orders for the new systems."
- Tech: Big Blue touts
73 GB hard drive, Cnet, 10/14. Blows past Seagate's 50 GB
drive. (And you thought 20 GB was big!)
- Dark Side: Promise
broken: Windows 2000 delayed, ZDNet, 10/14. Some of us remember
that Win98 was supposed to be Windows 97.
- Tech: QuickDraw
3D acceleration in B&W Power Mac G3, Apple TIL 25020,
10/13. summary: No 8-bit support at any resolution, no Portrait
support, supports 16- and 24-bit video to 1280 x 1024 and some
higher settings.
- News: Apple reconsidering StyleWriter 4000 support, Apple Tech
Exchange, 10/12 [MacInTouch]. As a StyleWriter 4100
owner, I'm glad to hear it!
- News: Apple reverses G4
cancelation policy, MacNN, 10/14. "Discounts will reportedly
apply to orders of 500 MHz Power Macs, which will be shipped with
450 MHz processors instead."
- iBook: PowerBook,
iBook won't sleep with speakable items active, Apple TIL.
- News: Apple
Macs save Australian cops A$30 million a year, Applelinks,
10/14.
- Analysis:
USB 2.0 - not all it's cracked up to be, Kevin Ledgister, Mac
Discussion, 10/14. USB involves certain compromises FireWire has
already overcome.
- Opinion: Stevie in
Vaporland, MacCPU, Bob Moriarty, 10/14. "Apple took 86,000
orders for G4 machines they could not deliver because they weren't
scheduled to get the chips yet from Motorola."
- Opinion: Apple
goes crazy, Sho, MOSR.net, 10/14. "What a brilliant, creative
and yet unpredictable and arrogant company Apple is."
- News:
Apple announces G4 speed reduction, prices stay the same, Mac
Observer, 10/13. "This is an unbelievably bad move for
Apple...."
- News: G4 line revved -
downward, MacWeek, 10/13. Apple drops CPU speed, but not
prices.
- News: Apple
intros 350 MHz G4, postpones 500 MHz, Apple Computer, 10/13.
With high demand for the Power Mac G4 and no 500 MHz chips in
sight, Apple has introduced a 350 MHz version of its personal
supercomputer.
- News: Apple touts $111
million profit, IBM G4 chips, MacWeek, 10/13. IBM to become
second source for AltiVec G4s.
- News: Apple
reports 4th quarter profit of $111 million, Apple Computer,
10/13. Revenues down, but profits up.
- Dark Side: Gateway's
all-in-one PC to echo iMac concept, Cnet, 10/13. $799 Astro to
include 400 MHz Celeron, 15" screen, 64 MB of memory, but
Gateway.net not included.
- Advice: Email
efficiency, part 2, Deborah Shaodvitz, MacCentral, 10/13.
Turning of Vcards in Netscape, using the subject line, setting line
length, and more.
- Opinion: FileMaker
5.0 Issues, MacNN, 10/13. More reader feedback.
- Connectivity: DSL: One man's life in
the fast lane, Gary Krakow, MSNBC. "If you know what T-1 lines
cost per month, or how ISDN "per minute/per channel" charges add
up, DSL starts to look like a bargain (even in the Big
Apple)."
- Opinion: Megahertz does
matter, Tony Smith, MacWeek, 10/12. "...PC buyers do consider
megahertz the chief yardstick by which a computer's performance can
be measured."
- Opinion:
Wintel drove me to Apple, Stephen Van Esch, osOpinion. "I
bought a Mac clone in September 1997 and haven't bought a Wintel
product since."
- Opinion: Apple's
driven me from Wintel, David Gratton.
- Y2K:
Y2K problem identifies new cars as "horseless carriages,"
Mercury Center, 10/12.
- News: FileMaker Inc.
responds, MacNN, 10/12. FileMaker Inc. argues that FileMaker 4
was underpriced (street price about $180 before $50 rebate), so
charging $1,000 for the same capabilities somehow makes sense.
- OS 09. Technote 1176, Apple Computer. Changes and corrections
in Mac OS 9.
- News: Display scarcity
spurs iBook shortage, Jim Davis, Cnet, 10/12. "Apple isn't
alone, either. All computer companies are facing limited product
availability due to a combination of component shortages and
natural disasters."
- OS: OS X "preview" due in early 2000; final release delayed,
MOSR, 10/12. Apple may ship incomplete version of OS X as preview
version.
- Opinion: Third
Voice: Vox populi vox dei?, First Monday. The controversy has
settled down, but the authors claim Third Voice will never have
significant impact. (Also see Hands Off My Site, Third Voice and Copyright, and
Third Voice Revisited on
Mac Musings.)
- Review: AsanteTalk
LocalTalk to Ethernet, Raves and Craves. Get LocalTalk and
ethernet working together.
- OS 09. Mac OS 9
arrives!, Macs Only, 10/12. "Since I installed Mac OS 9 earlier
today my Mac hasn't crashed once! This is a new record for my
Mac."
- OS 09. Troubleshooting Mac
OS 9, MacFixIt Special Report. Reported incompatibilities and
fixes.
- Opinion: Microsoft's annual report - made on Macintosh, Salon,
10/12. "The report seems to have been composed on a Macintosh
computer. (At least, there are references to an author's G3 Mac and
records indicating the file was created using Word 98 for
Macintosh.)"
- Opinion: The
limits of power, part 2, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion, 10/12.
"On the other hand, one could also argue that to infringe on the
freedom of the press, when the likely damage was merely the
inability of Apple Computer to surprise and delight its customers,
would be going overboard in restraint of the press."
- Opinion: The
new iMac and Mac OS 9, Jeff Lewis, Mac Opinion, 10/12. "Is this
the iMac I wanted? Well, not quite, but it's a lot closer...."
- OS: The
LinuX-Files: Uncovering the OS conspiracy, Jesse Berst, ZDNet,
10/12.
- Advice: Answers
to your Visor questions, Tim Hillman, MacCentral, 10/12.
- PDAs:
After a wild handheld week, everything's different, allNet
Devices, 10/11 [Palm
Infocenter]. Visor and Palm OS are winners, while Microsoft
watches Philips and Sharp abandon WinCE.
- First look: iMac DVD
SE, Accelerate Your Mac, 10/11. "What blew away everyone was
watching my first attempt with iMovie and my firewire equipped
Panasonic PV-DV910 camcorder. Perfect plug-n-play video
capture."
- OS 09. Review:
Mac OS 9, MacSoldiers, 10/11. "Obviously I haven't had a whole
lot of time to tinker around with the new operating system, but I
did get to play enough to notice a few things."
- OS 09.
Mac OS 9 compatibility and the press, About.com, 10/11.
- Review:
Kensington Orbit USB trackball, Mac Observer, 10/11.
- News: 11 Mbps wireless
PC Card available, PowerBook Zone, 10/11. Cabletron card should
give PowerBooks full AirPort speed.
- Advice: PDF Web publishing: Little known facts, Kas Thomas,
MacSimple, 10/11. Includes information on a free PDF creation
tool.
- Dark Side: Bug
finder exposes Microsoft again, Wired News, 10/11. Bug lets
others read files on your hard drive - if you're using Windows and
Internet Explorer.
- Dark Side:
D-Link announces industry's first USB to 10/100 ethernet
adapter, USB Workshop, 10/11. The things PC users have to go
through to get "easy" networking!
- Dark Side: Researcher
predicts higher Microsoft prices, TechWeb, 10/11. "We believe
Microsoft will increasingly use changes to terms and conditions
related to use as a means of increasing revenue."
- News: Developers
debate FileMaker prices, policies, MacWeek, 10/11. "We might as
well keep using Version 4.1 until they offer some products we
want."
- Opinion: Apple's driven me to
Wintel, Joe Brancatelli, Byte.com, 10/11. "I switched to
Windows in November, 1997 and haven't bought an Apple product
since."
- Analysis:
How Windows costs the world economy billions in lost productivity
each year, Wes George, Mac Observer. 10/11. "I'm just not ready
for a world where the benefits of owning a Mac are clearly
recognized by a majority."
- Y2K:
New iMac really an improvement, Mac OS ready for Y2K, Star
Tribune, 10/11. "Apple is a bit smug about the year 2000, for good
reason. Even computers running the oldest version of its operating
system are Y2K-compliant."
- Web: MacSimple, striving for jargon-free Mac information.
- Review: Microsoft USB
IntelliMouse Explorer, MacInTouch, 10/10. "The two advantages
of the IntelliMouse Explorer over a regular 'rolling' mouse are
that there are no moving parts and no restrictions to the surface
of a pad."
- Benchmarks: iMac
DV vs. other Macs, Bare Feats, 10/10. iMac DV acquits itself
very nicely.
- Opinion:
Insanely great, Michael Krantz, Time, 10/18 issue [MyAppleMenu]. Interview
with Steve Jobs.
- Opinion:
The Intel confusium processor, Technobabble, 10/10. "...once
Intel started expanding beyond the original Pentium, figuring out
what to call all the new chips began to make life a little
confusing for everyone."
- News: Pulaski
graphics company outgrows home, Paul Dellinger, Roanoke Times,
10/10 [MyAppleMenu]. How one
home business outgrew the living room.
- Analysis:
Some web sites find third-party links something to get hyper
about, Dan Gillmor, Mercury Center, 10/9. (Also see Open Link Policy.)
- Opinion: Close,
but no PowerBook, Michael Martinez, ABC News, 10/8. The iBook
is competitive, but has some drawbacks.
- Rumor: Bootable
FireWire drives due early next year, AppleInsider, 10/8.
- Analysis: iMac
G4 upgrade rumor debunked, MOSR.net, 10/7.
- News: "Errata" delay 500
MHz G4s, MacWeek, 10/8. Motorola having problems providing 500
MHz G4s, may restrict G4/500 availability until December.
- Opinion:
Uh-oh, Steve Jobs may be finished, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer.
10/8. Is the iCEO preparing the way for new Apple leadership?
- Opinion: G4s for
consumers? Think different, Robert Morgan, MacWeek, 10/8. "You
see, a G4 iMac or iBook would be classified as a "weapon," just
like the G4 Power Macs."
- News: Another
controversy to relieve tedium and ennui in the Mac website
world, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/8.
- Web: MOSR.net, parody and
critique of MOSR.
- Opinion: iBook
fails in every category? I think not!, MacProvider, 10/8.
- Opinion: Why the
sub-$600 iMac smells like bad cheese, Dave's Webworld, 10/7.
Faster internet connections are coming soon - don't lock in to 56k
for the next three years.
- iMac: iMac DV's VGA port "supports only the display sizes that
are available on the internal monitor." Bummer.
- DVD: Star
Trek #3: The Man Trap, The Naked Time, Star
Trek #4: Charlie X, Balance of Terror, $11.99 prerelease price
through 10/19/99, Amazon. Watch 'em on the iMac DV or PowerBook
G3/400.
- Opinion: Legacy Macs and the
Professional Wedding Photographer, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous
Ramblings,10/8. Why one photographer prefers older Power Macs to
Apple's G3 and G4 machines.
- News: iBooks arrive at
CompUSA, Robert Aldridge, The iMac, 10/8.
- Opinion: FileMaker
5.0 Issues, John Halbig, MacNN, 10/7.
- News: $20 Mac OS 9
rebate, Apple Computer. Owners of Mac OS 8.5-8.6 may qualify
for $20 rebate. Details on coupon in OS 9 box. ($89.95 from
Outpost.com)
- OS: Mac OS 9
visual tour, MacNN. "The overall interface of Mac OS 9 remains
virtually unchanged...."
- Analysis: Are
WebSide Story's HitBox stats on Mac internet traffic
believable?, Charles Moore, AppleLinks, 10/7. "The HitBox
product is only available for the Windows platform. Therefore the
websites hosted on unix and linux or mac systems are excluded and
will skew the data."
- News: When
will new iMacs ship?, Ben Apple, Mac Junkie, 10/7. Despite what
Steve Jobs said, it doesn't look like they'll be available this
weekend.
- iMac: The scoop
on iMac memory upgrades, Insanely Great, 10/7. "The new iMacs
use standard PC-100 DIMMs...."
- Opinion: Game
developers weigh in on new iMacs, MacCentral, 10/7. Except for
the mouse, it's a winner.
- OS: Linux users
counter Microsoft's Linux Myths.
- Software: MCadContour,
sophisticated mapping software covers Canada, U.S.
- Web: How Mac are
the Mac ISPs?, MacBC. Would you believe one serves pages and
email with Windows?
- News:
Mac OS 9 breaks 384 open file limit, Ask Al, 10/7.
- Opinion: Why Jesse
wants an iMac, Jesse Berst, ZDNet, 10/7. "I still don't like
Apple products very much. But increasingly, I hate Windows even
more."
- USB: Kensington
ships new USB VideoCams, AllUSB, 10/7. Prices start at
$50!
- News:
Mac OS 9 shipping, Mac Observer, 10/6. "The Apple Store has
confirmed the fact that OS 9 is shipping...."
- Benchmarks: G4/400 vs. Blue G3 w/400 MHz
G4 upgrade, Bare Feats, 10/6.
- Rumor: Faster PowerBooks
lurking?, MOSR, 10/6. Rumored PB G3/366, 433, and 466 in the
wings.
- Rumor: Is the new iMac
upgradable?, MOSR, 10/6. It's a definite maybe.
- News:
Teachers ban Microsoft software deal, Fairfax I.T., 10/6. "The
schools complained after finding they would have to pay the fee
annually, and for each PC they used, whether they wanted the
software or not."
- News: Motorola's next
G4 chip to join 700 club, Cnet, 10/6. New microarchitecture
supports onboard L2 cache, more instructions per cycle, and speeds
beyond 700 MHz.
- OS: Linux
Myths, Microsoft, 10/4 [Apple's Orchard].
"...Linux simply cannot deliver on the hype." (As though Windows NT
can?)
- Deal:
Zip 100 USB, $54.99 at Sears stores [DealNews]. Offer could end any
time.
- Opinion: Cheap,
cheaper, cheapest: iMac takes sub-$600 plunge, Ben Apple, Mac
Junkie, 10/6. "...you can get a shiny new iMac, as seen on TV, with
three years of internet access all at the low low price of
approximately $1,320."
- Web: Mac
FireWire List, learn more about FireWire.
- Advice: Email
efficiency, part 1, Deborah Shadovitz, MacCentral, 10/6.
- Opinion: Fan Inside: Gauntlet
thrown down to create convective-cooled PCs, Rodney O. Lain,
The iMac, 10/6. Is the lack of a fan the new iMac's standout
feature? Could be!
- Benchmarks: SPECint,
SPECfp for G3, G4, others, Mac Speed Zone
- Connectivity: Why DSL
will win the fast-access fight, Jesse Berst, ZDNet, 10/6. In a
word, competition.
- News:
Apple unveils new iMac computers, CBS MarketWatch, 10/5
[MacNN]. "...an overloaded
Apple Web site kept journalists, Apple shareholders and even
internal Apple employees from watching Jobs speak...."
- Opinion: Rumor
sites knocked down a few pegs, John Farr, Applelinks, 10/5.
"Let's see now, which of all the many supposedly sure revelations
predicted by various Macintosh rumor sites actually came to
pass?"
- Opinion: iMac 2
released - the "real" iMac, Mac Junkie, 10/5. "Also of note is
the instant start-up system."
- Web: High School
Alumni, a place to maybe find missing classmates.
- Dark Side:
Intel keeps Itanium processor frequency under wraps, Infoworld,
10/5. CPU formerly known as Merced will have onboard L1, L2, L3
caches, but Intel hasn't announced CPU speed of claimed 6 GFLOPS
processor.
- News: Woo-hoo!
Now iMacs are awesome, Applelinks, 10/5.
- News: New iMac
released, Mac OS 9 announced, MacWeek, 10/5. $999 iMac, $99 OS
9 due out Oct. 23.
- Opinion: The
limits of power, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion, 10/5.
"Increasingly, Apple is acting like Microsoft."
- Opinion: Thou
shalt not speak ill of Apple, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/5.
"The 11th Commandment of Mac Website journalism might as well be
'Thou Shall Not Speal Ill Of Apple....'"
- Opinion:
Apple's weird relations with media and customers, Mihael
Munger, Mac Observer, 10/5. "Why does Apple do this to Web sites?
They offer an awful lot of free publicity to Apple and they do more
and better advocacy than anyone."
- Advice:
Using PC parts on your Mac II, The Idiots, Mac Observer, 10/5.
Adding an IDE drive to a non-IDE PCI Mac or clone, among other
things.
- News: Orange
Micro announces USB/FireWire PCI card , 10/4 [Macs Only!]. $159 card due in
November.
- Dark Side: Intel names Merced chip
"Itanium," MSNBC, 10/4.
- Dark Side: IA-64 is
RISC, David K. Every, MacKiDo. A look at how Itanium
works.
- Dark Side: Itanium:
Behind Intel's new brand, ZDNet, 10/4. "...this is not a
processor for the desktops."
- Opinion: "Those"
photos: they're at it again, John Farr, Applelink, 10/4.
- News: Scramble over
OS 9 conflicts, MacWeek, 10/4. "On the eve of Mac OS 9's debut,
several third-party developers are still finding compatibility
problems between the new operating system and their products."
- News: TidBITS publishes 500th
issue, 10/4.
- Rumor: Will ATM be
obsolete with OS 9?, Graphic Power, 10/4. "Mac OS 9 includes a
type 1 scalar, providing ATSUI support for all flavours of
Postscript Type 1 fonts, including OpenType."
- Opinion: Kihei's real
story, MacWeek, 10/4. "Apple is entitled to defend its
intellectual property and trade secrets vigorously. Nevertheless,
we question the wisdom of Apple's legal threats against small sites
eager to post the good news about the iMac...."
- Opinion: Rumors, Apple,
and leaks, David K. Every, MacKiDo, 10/4. "We like hype. We
need hype. Certainly a company needs hype. Having highly accurate
rumors kills hype."
- Opinion: Why I
think the "new iMac" pics are fakes, Amy Hoy, Daily iMac, 10/4.
"At first, I was made a believer, but when I started to pick nits,
I started to see the façade of Photoshop fall away."
- Opinion: Apple:
Lately even their friends don't like them, Charles Moore,
Applelinks, 10/4. "I love the Mac, but I am getting mightily
annoyed with Apple...."
- Opinion: Pulling
the pics; Apple was in the right, Ben Apple, Mac Junkie, 10/4.
"I agree completely with Apple's move to ask, tell or even demand
to webmasters that these pics be removed."
- Opinion: Which Apple
"special event?," Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 10/4. "In a
surprise move last week, Apple's legal department apparently
conducted a 'special event' of their own."
- Opinion: Open
letter to the Mac online community about Kihei, Guy Connors,
osOpinion, 10/4. "Every rumor, true or untrue hurts Apple. By full
filling curiosity about new toys being developed by Apple, the Mac
community is hurting Apple."
- Opinion: Sacred clowns,
Farr Side, Applelinks, 10/4. "And these days, if anyone needs the
intervention of irreverence, it has to be Apple!"
- Rumor:
New Kihei iMac photos, AppleInsider, 10/4. Real or not, these
folks are waving a red flag in front of Apple.
- Advice: Yes, you can
typeset your email, WebDesign.
- Review: Microsoft
IntelliMouse Explorer, Insanely Great, 10/4.
- Hardware: Macintosh Duo: Everything you ever wanted to know,
Power-Macintosh.com, 10/4.
- Hardware:
Do older Macs need USB, About.com. "...in general, right now
USB is a nice option for pre-USB Mac owners." (also see our
Guide to USB cards for PCI Macs)
- News: Apple
Lawyers threaten suit to 16 year old User Group leader, Dave's
Webworld, 10/2. "My ISP was notified instead of me, and my ISP (as
was their job, not their fault at all), contacted their lawyer, to
notify me of the situation."
- Rumor: Expected
iMac II specs, MacOS Commerce, 10/2.
- Analysis: Beware: Mac OS 9
disaster looming, Graphic Power, 10/1. "This is a critical
issue in the Graphics Industry."
- Review:
Apple iBook, Cnet. The iBook is rated an editors' choice!
- Virus:
Melissa-like virus re-emerges in Outlook, Cnet, 10/1. Another
virus targets Microsoft, ignores Mac OS.
- News: iBooks at Sears - get
'em while you can, The iMac, 10/2. But CompUSA and regular
Apple dealers have not yet received any.
- News: iBook now available at
Sears, Macs Only!, 10/2.
- Rumor: More than Kihei, OS 9
on Tuesday?, MOSR, 10/1.
- News: iBook abundant at
Sears, resellers not happy, MacProvider, 10/1.
- Opinion: Bad decisions
- this time it's Apple Computer, MacBC, 10/1.
- Opinion: Macintosh Web
Media Alienated by a "Hostile Apple"?, Think Secret, 10/1.
"...I think that it's time that Apple rethought how it should deal
with the Mac websites."
- Rumor: Graphite Kihei iMac to ship with "iMovie" software,
AppleInsider, 10/1. Includes anticipated specs for all three
models.
- iBook: First
impressions of a gamer, MacGamer.com, 10/1. Great screen,
dispapointing graphics.
- Web:
Team Mac Observer still needs your help, Mac Observer. If you
have a fast Power Mac, consider sparing some CPU cycles to help
find ET and boost Team Mac Observer.
- News:
Amid rumor hoopla, Apple announces special event, Mac Observer,
10/1. Apple may announce new iMac on Oct. 5.
- Rumor: Apple to launch
iMac II next week, The Register, 10/1.
- Rumor: Mac OS
9.0 reaches Final Candidate 9, AppleInsider, 10/1. "The release
will 'officially' be unveiled during Apple's Media Event to be held
on October 5th...."
- Benchmark: How fast is the
iBook?, iBookPlanet, 10/1.
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