All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more
secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.
The Low End Mac Link Archive, April 2000
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.
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.
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.
Interview: Mitnick reacts
to speaking ban, c|net, 4/29. Probation officer tells convicted
hacker Kevin Mitnick that he can't speak or write about computer
security.
Opinion:
Two monopolies for the price of one, Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet,
4/29. "Why I really think breaking up Microsoft is a boneheaded
idea - at least if it is done the way the DOJ and states are
allegedly suggesting - is it won't change the competitive landscape
one iota. In fact, I'd argue, it will likely kill off the few
remaining rivals Microsoft has...."
Advice: How
to change your default email client, About.com. I love the
ability to user Emailer with Internet Explorer. Mix and match your
favorite combination.
Review: Mac OS 09.
The Complete Reference, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 4/28.
"Gene Steinberg's 'Mac OS 09. The Complete Reference' is a tome in
the tradition of those great Mac books...."
Opinion:
An icky GUI metaphor, Patrick Gallot, osOpinion. A desktop is
not the best metaphor for your onscreen workspace. LEM spin: Break
the paradigm. Stop thinking of Aqua as a desktop. It's a different
kind of workspace.
Preview: Office 2001 for
Macintosh, MacNN, 4/27. Already dominant in word processing,
browser, email client, and spreadsheet on the Mac, Microsoft hopes
to leverage that into other areas. LEM spin: Office 2001 sounds
very ambitious, although I still love my Claris Emailer and
ClarisWorks (still happy with v.4).
Opinion: An Apple Society: Confessions of a former, former Mac
user, Thomas Wetzel, MacOS Daily, 4/27. "As it was in 1984, so
again that day: I had missed the hype, and that little bondi blue
was my first encounter with the new Apple."
Technology: NoBeige:
ThumbDrive ships, Go2Mac.com, 4/26. About the size of a pack of
Wrigley's, the ThumbDrive plugs right into a USB port (not yet Mac
compatible).
Health:
Smelling good but feeling bad, E Magazine. "Fragrances are . .
. easily inhaled by others, and this can create a health problem
akin to second-hand cigarette smoke."
Opinion: Road Warrior: Will Pismo be the best selling PowerBook
yet?, Charles W. Moore, MacOS Daily, 4/26. "It isn't that the
Lombard 333 was a bad deal, but the Pismo 400 for the same money is
a great one."
News: Sonnet G3/333 upgrade for PowerBook 1400 shipping,
PowerBook Source, 4/26. US$400-500 upgrade brings 117-166 MHz
laptops into the 21st century with Lombard performance.
OS: "Virtual
Mac" for the PC, MacCentral, 4/26. Yes, you can run the Mac OS
on a Windows or Linux box with any of three different Mac
emulators.
Dark Side:
Window Manager: Readers send in best tips...., Brian
Livingston, Infoworld, 4/21. Win2K doesn't support USB in Safe
Mode. This can be a real problem for "legacy-free" computers! LEM
spin: The Wintel folk can't get their own technology right. Good
thing Macs don't work that way.
Opinion: Rebel with a Mac
(attitude), Rodney O. Lain, Applelinks, 4/25. "You know that it
isn't just our affinity to the Macintosh that joins us together.
It's a refusal to accept 'good enough,' a refusal to be like the
rest...."
Opinion: iTools and iCards and the new look Apple site, Tim
Hillman, MacOS Daily, 4/23. "Apple has undergone a remarkable
change in the focus of its work. They have done more than establish
an internet presence."
Web: The 6400
Zone, covers the Performa 6400 and Power Mac 6500.
Analysis: Avoiding the
standardization blues, John C. Welch, MacWeek, 4/21. "Forcing
users to switch platforms is expensive, not just for the initial
hardware and software purchases, but also for servers, network
equipment, new training and support."
Deal: Mac OS 8.5, $29, see
DealMac, 4/21. With free update from Apple's site, this let's you
get to OS 8.6 inexpensively.
Advocacy: Operation:
Haverchuck attempts to find a new network home critically
acclaimed "Freaks and Geeks," recently canceled by NBC. More in
Salon.
Opinion: The
bittersweet end of the Macintosh utopia, Michael LaMorte,
Macville, 4/21. "And in the process, I notice that there's
Microsoft software on the machine... lots of it."
Opinion: Good
Friday, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 4/21. "Today is Good
Friday - the day on which Christians commemorate the Crucifixion of
Jesus Christ...."
Humor? Perfumed
PowerBook, O'Grady's PowerPage, 4/20. There's nothing funny
about a cat "marking" a PowerBook - unless it's not yours.
Hands on: New PocketPC
devices, Larry Garfield, 4/20 [Slashdot]. Palm user finds Windows CE
3.0 an improvement, but still not competition for the Palm OS.
Opinion: Kill your Microsoft products?, Stauffer & Hillman,
MacOS Daily, 4/19. The pros and cons of Microsoftware on your Mac.
A thoughtful, enjoyable read.
Opinion: What
to do with all those obsolete computers?, Charles W. Moore,
Applelinks, 4/19. You could recycle to avoid the landfill, but Low
End Mac prefers keeping old Macs in use somewhere.
Opinion: Time
to dump the GIF, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 4/19. I would,
but then a lot of low-end Mac users couldn't access Low End Mac
properly. :-(
Spam:
States outlaw spam, Salon, 4/19. "If laws could stop spam, we'd
probably get a lot less e-mail."
Virus:
Viruses on Macs are rare, but can wreak havoc for computers,
Union Tribune, 4/18. "...right now, there are only about 40
Mac-specific viruses and related threats, while more than 20,000
viruses have been written for the Windows PCs."
Opinion: Macs are
a myth, Michael Dinsmore, 4/18. "...they would no more consider
purchasing a Mac than they would consider an Edsel a reasonable
automobile purchase."
Opinion: Does the iBook SE make sense?, Charles W. Moore, 4/18.
"...on the basis of value and performance [not color], is there a
case to be made for the iBook SE?"
Hands On: iCab
Preview 2.0 browser released, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks,
4/18. "...not only the best iCab ever, but also the slickest,
fastest, most stable and polished browser available for the Mac -
period."
Deal: 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 AGP 16 MB
Card, $69.95, DealMac, 4/18. Too bad this isn't the PCI
version, but a great deal for G4 (Sawtooth) owners looking for
better 3D gaming.
Opinion: Yes,
we do and should criticize Apple, Michael Munger, Mac Observer,
4/18. "I will praise them when I feel that they deserve it, and I
will express my disagreement with their moves when I think I should
do it."
Spam:
Spam virgin, Lydia Lee, Salon, 4/18. Posting a new email
address on a web page can result in spam within days.
Opinion: Why are computers
still hard to use?, Rodney O. Lain, Pioneer Planet, 4/17. "But,
alas and alack, the iMac, too, is still a hard-to-use
computer...."
Analysis:
Power Mac bests gigahertz PCs, Henry Norr, SF Gate, 4/17. "[In
testing with Photoshop] the 450 MHz Power Mac blew both gigahertz
PCs out of the water...."
WebLaw:
Web links can be considered illegal, Osaka court says,
AsiaBizTech, 4/7 [Slashdot].
"...if somebody creates a Web page that includes a link to another
page, and if that other page is in violation of the law, then the
person who creates the link can be charged with aiding and abetting
the crime."
Health: When
the world makes you sick, 4/3. "Environmental illness
encompasses everything from sensitivity to perfume to sicknesses
caused by industrial byproducts to "sick-building" syndrome."
Opinion: Windows convert
amazed at Mac's ease of setup, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl,
4/14. "...the client was happily working on a complex document . .
. all the while amazed at the wasted hours she'd once spent on her
home PC making it half as productive."
Opinion: Tech support
defense, Macinstein, 4/14. A look inside the world of tech
support.
Advice: Quest for a free Mac software application suite,
Charles W. Moore, MacOS Daily, 4/14. No suite yet, but there are
lots of good freeware Mac productivity programs.
Analysis: Gagging
the net in 3 easy steps, BBC News, 4/13. "...under current UK
legislation, ISPs become responsible for the content of sites they
host once they receive complaints about it."
OS: Think
difficult: Extending Mac OS X, MacWeek, 4/13. "Apple's
forthcoming Mac OS X may change the way Mac users interact with
their favorite computer, but it will have an even bigger impact on
the companies that develop Mac OS utilities."
Opinion: Scented
email next?, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 4/13. As one
suffering from chemical sensitivities (mostly scents), I hope this
never comes to pass.
Opinion: The
shunning of the geek, Marko Cunningham, Holy Mac!, 4/12. "For
the geeks, the Internet was a habitat, the only social environment
on the planet where intellect was the only factor in interpersonal
relations...."
Hardware: Voodoo4,
Voodoo5 specs, Mac3dfx.com, 4/12. Only the Mac versions will
include DVI output for Apple's flat panel displays.
Opinion: Liberty,
fraternity, equality, David Schultz, Applelust, 4/12. Thought
provoking piece, although I had problems viewing it in IE 5.
News: AOL IM 4.0 not quite
here yet, MacBC, 4/12. Despite announcements earlier this week,
Mac v4.0 isn't quite ready yet.
Hardware: 3dfx
unveils first Mac products, MacCentral, 4/12. "The introduction
of the Voodoo4 4500 PCI and Voodoo5 5500 PCI cards marks the first
time that 3dfx has offered a Mac product."
Opinion: The
desks of a lifetime?, Robert Leone, osOpinion. Provocative
article on computer furniture.
Opinion: Mac Cards, jCards, and warning signs, Tim Hillman,
MacOS Daily, 4/10. Dead heads, Apple computer, and the little
guy.
Opinion: Breaking the
mold, John Martellaro, Applelinks, 4/10. "...Macintoshes are
products built with the same mentality as every other computer on
the planet."
Opinion: Gatekeepers,
David Schultz, Applelust. "They distill and distribute what we
really need to know (we are told), on any given day."
Opinion: Is the Internet's "Wild West" era drawing to a close?,
Charles W. Moore, MacOS Daily, 4/7.
Computer-as-furniture: 6100 coffee
table, Go2Mac, 4/6. I've written Jon Schalliol for more
information on his collection. I'm thinking a SETI@home array....
Opinion: Trademarks,
manipulation, and a question of taste, John H. Farr,
Applelinks, 4/5. "...we fail to see any crisis, fiasco, or reason
to blubber over the squashing of the MacCards Web site that
occurred recently."
Opinion: In
the wake of the Mac Cards fiasco, Mac Junkie launches jCards,
Charles W. Moore, 4/5. "I can only speculate that The MacJunkie
must have consulted with their lawyers and decided that they were
on decently solid legal ground in launching jCards."
Opinion: The soul of the Mac, David Schultz, MacOS Daily, 4/5.
"What Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak accomplished is nothing short of
amazing to me."
Opinion:
Yes, Rumor sites hurt us, Michel Munger, Mac Observer, 4/4.
"Just because there is a market for a type of information does not
mean that we have the right to publish it."
Software: TechTool 1.2.1
released, Micromat. Freeware utility, updated for OS 9.0.4,
zaps PRAM, rebuilds desktop. Servers have been very busy.
Opinion: The case
for Mac loyalty, Marko Cunningham, Holy Mac!, 4/4. "Macs, on
the other hand, just kind of chug along without a lot of
trouble."
Opinion: Bring back
the Duo!, Eliot Hockberg, Mac Junkie, 4/4. "...one of the
greatest ideas Apple ever had was the PowerBook Duo."
Opinion: OS X: A
major salvo against Windows or just a backfire?, George Graves,
Holy Mac!, 4/4. "Most Mac users would be very happy if this new OS
looked and felt like OS 9 yet had all of the buzzword technologies
working seamlessly and invisibly underneath. Unfortunately, OS X is
not that operating system...."
Opinion: Random introspection of an Internet start-up CEO,
Matthew M. Linton, MacOS Daily, 4/4. "Last month I took leave of
college to found an Internet company...."
April Foolery: Working with MacBC and Mac Junkie, we concocted
the story of Apple legal shutting down a lot of Mac sites, which
then chose to go Windows. Low End Win
has moved to a less prominent spot on our site, but if you missed
the foolishness over the weekend, just follow that link.
Opinion: Apple and
the G4 chip shortfall, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl. "I
mention it just to show how wild speculation can be when the
imagination is allowed to rule over good sense."
News:
Jobs introduces 17" iMac Pro, Macwelt. Specs include 24 GB hard
drive, 3dfx video, and 128 MB for US$1,399. An April Fools hoax?
(Can't load page in IE 5; works in iCab.)
Connectivity: