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The Low End Mac Link Archive, May 2000
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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.
Review: Logitech
optical wheel mouse, Carson Baker, HolyMac, 5/30. "...the
absolute nicest input device I've seen in the ten years that I've
used the Mac."
Analysis: Apple earnings to be off
as iMac sales slump, MacNN, 5/31. With no updates since
October, the iMac is no longer the hot computer it once was. LEM
spin: Apple needs to boost the MHz, even if that means matching G4
clock speeds.
Advice: More
spiffy Web page tips, Nancy Gravley, Computing with Bifocals,
Mac Observer, 5/31. Tables with depth and mouse-overs.
Analysis: The hazards of
corporate vanity, UpsideToday, 5/31. "Overconfident management
has been responsible for most of the marketing disasters of past
decades." Think of Microsoft Bob, Macintosh TV, and Windows CE as
just a few examples.
OS: Core
changes to the Mac System, BusinessWeek, 5/31. "OS X, Apple's
new operating system, fundamentally transforms the venerable
Macintosh desktop."
Opinion:
Futureshop and Macintosh products, Jennifer Fraser, osOpinion.
"Why do you sell products that you know very little or nothing
about?"
Opinion:
Consumer Mac focus results in juvenile following?, Raging Bull,
5/30. Glad Low End Mac wasn't listed as one of the "Web sites with
little originality, a general lack of focus, and clear
juvenilism."
News: iRack shipping,
Marathon Computer. iRack allows user to repackage an iMac for
rack-mount use. Very cool if you have need for such a thing.
OS: User runs OS X DP4 on
Power Mac 7500, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/30. Maybe there is hope
for my SuperMac S900 with an "unsupported" installation.
History: One of the crazy ones: The man who invented the
computer, David Schultz, MacOS Daily, 5/30. Alan Turing was the
father of modern computing.
Web: MacToolbox, a new
site by Darren Edwards. Clean, friendly look with helpful
content.
Analysis: Diverging
paths for PowerPC, MacWeek, 5/26. "[The new G3] might sound
like great news for the Mac, but it does indicate that IBM and
Motorola are still following diverging paths in PowerPC
development."
Analysis: Which
is more stable, the Mac or Windows?, Gene Steinberg,
Resurrected Mac, Mac Speed Zone. The answer isn't surprising, but
it's nice to understand the reasons behind it.
Opinion: Will compatibility issues rain on the OS X parade?,
Charles W. Moore, View From the Bridge, MacOS Daily, 5/26. A
thoughtful look at the many issues involved in moving to OS X.
Deal: Free VCD from CoolVCD.com. Buy CD/DVD SpeedTools from
Intech, then buy one VCD from CoolVCD.com and get a second one for
free. (Latest version of SpeedTools adds DVD, DVD-RAM
support.)
Web:
Low End Mac reviewed on Access Internet Magazine. "There is an
unbelievable amount of information here in the form of on-site
articles and off-site links...."
Advice: Supporting
your systems on a limited budget, Paul Shields, The Business
Mac. If you're a regular at Low End Mac, other may already consider
you something of a computer expert. This article explains what that
can mean in the workplace.
News: IBM
plots next PowerPC chips, ZDNet, 5/25. New lower power G3 to
reach 700 MHz, have on-chip L2 cache. LEM spin: Expect faster
PowerBooks, iBooks, and iMacs - but never faster than the G4.
Opinion: Hey
Apple! Is that an injunction...?, Scott J. Gray, Big G Media.
An opinionated, irreverent, honest look at the litigious side of
Apple.
Opinion: Take
your right to a Mac for granted? The Mac in Poland, Nancy
Gravley, Computing With Bifocals, Mac Observer, 5/24. "During
[martial law] old Macs, because of their size and simplicity, were
brought home in private ways (sometimes smuggled), often in order
to serve in our informal underground...."
Opinion: If no Apple PDA in the works, what other "digital
device" might Jobs have been talking about?, Charles W. Moore, View
From the Bridge, MacOS Daily, 5/24. "We're always trying to build
lighter laptops, but we're pulled in some different
directions."
Opinion: The megahertz
race, Erig, Big G Media, 5/24. "But people aren't buying G4s
for sheer speed, they use them because they are the best tool for
the job."
News: Cease and
desist (the First Amendment), Go2Mac, 5/23. Apple legal
pressures site to remove images of Aqua-like interfaces used to
illustrate articles.
Opinion: The challenge of change, John Martellaro, MacOS Daily,
5/22. "The Macintosh is the distillation of Apple Computer's wisdom
and philosophy about how one can best interact with a
computer."
Opinion: Help,
my software won't be updated!, John H. Farr, Applelinks, 5/23.
As a Home Page and Emailer orphan, I understand the feeling - yet
these applications continue to meet my needs. (Well, I may be
outgrowing Home Page.)
Opinion: Pismo
four months later: A second look, PowerBook Zone, 5/23. "...if
this is the biggest issue we can come up with, obviously Apple's
done a great job. "
Web: MacEdition
launches as site for Mac professionals.
Interview: Preaching
the gospel of Mac, Brandt Williams, Minnesota Public Radio,
5/22. "Every other weekend, Rodney Lain talks to the Mac-faithful
and the Mac-curious at the Roseville CompUSA."
Opinion: It's the
interface, stupid, Marko Cunningham, Holy Mac!, 5/22. "The main
strength of the Mac is the elegance and simplicity of the Mac
OS...."
News: IBM adds
zip to PowerPC chips, Excite/ZDNet. New technology reduced
power consumption, allows 30% higher speeds.
Analysis:
How Microsoft made virus-writing accessible, Baltimore Sun,
5/21. "By giving ordinary users-turned-programmers access to
powerful tools such as the computer's file system and e-mail
programs, Microsoft opened the door to the kind of malicious virus
writers who created Melissa (last year's nasty virus) and this
year's Love Bug."
Web: MacMadness has moved to its own domain.
Congratulations!
Opinion: The death of
sprockets, Brian Greenstone, Inside Mac Games. "I have to admit
that my perception of the Games Session at WWDC was that Apple is
killing the games API's and not replacing them with
anything...."
Review: Mac OS 09. The
Missing Manual, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 5/19. ...David
Pogue's "Mac OS 09. The Missing Manual" delivers on its promise to
be "the book that should have been in the box."
Virus: New,
nastier Love Bug virus threatens computers, Yahoo/Reuters,
5/19. "Herbie: Love Bug II" causes more severe damage than earlier
Love Bug virus. (Thank goodness it's also a Visual Basic Script,
leaving non-Windows systems essentially immune.)
Virus: New virus
more destructive than "Love," c|net, 5/18. "...the virus alters
itself to sneak around traditional virus scanners." Clever - glad
they're not targeting the Mac.
Petition: 3dfx
BTO petition to Apple, Accelerate Your Mac! If you believe
Apple should offer the 3dfx Voodoo cards as build-to-order options
on the G4, here's the place to share your thoughts.
Opinion: Tiny
treasures, Jeff Lewis, Mac Skeptic, MacOpinion, 5/17. "This
[the 8"x10"x1" IBM ThinkPad 2400] is the computer I wanted from
Apple and waited for."
Opinion: Backwards and forwards USB and FireWire connectivity
for PowerBooks, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, MacOS Daily,
5/17.
News: Apple
demonstrates dual-G4 Power Mac, Slashdot, 5/16.
"...Cocoa/Carbon applications do not need to be changed in any way
to take advantage of multi-processors. Benchmark demonstrations ran
roughly twice as fast on the dual-G4 system...."
OS: Mac OS X, Apple
Computer. Straight from the horse's mouth, including screen shots
of DP4.
OS: Mac OS X, Macs
Only!, 5/16. New hope for older Power Macs: "According to Apple,
Mac OS X is designed to run on all Macintosh computers using
PowerPC G3 and G4 processor chips, and requires a minimum of 64 MB
of memory."
Opinion: The
Urban Mac: What's the minimum Macintosh?, Dwain Elliott, 5/15.
"If you only have a few hundred bucks to spend, you can buy an
older, upgradeable Power Macintosh to start computing, and build
from there."
Opinion: Keeper of the iBook:
Does size matter?, Mark Newhouse, 5/15. "I use the iBook every
day, and have found it to be the perfect companion on my
commute."
OS: OS X looks
like a Mac, MacWeek, 5/15. "With DP4, Mac OS X now has a more
Mac-like Finder."
News:
Apple Germany against "false friends," Macwelt. Ad firm
"warned" for unauthorized use of Apple logo, Think Different slogan
in "Dear Windows-Users: We Love You!" ad.
Opinion: Can Apple seize the day?, David Schultz, 5/15.
"Microsoft is on the ropes; other options are springing up by which
Apple can distinguish itself, and Apple itself is coming out of its
second infancy."
Opinion: Sydow's Mind of Macness: An iMac or an iPC?, Don Parks
Sydow, MacOS Daily, 5/15. "It's pretty unlikely that Apple will
ever make a Mac OS capable of running on a PC that sports an Intel
processor, right? Wrong!"
Opinion: Should
I stay or should I go?, Newsweek, 5/15 [MyAppleMenu]. "The Mac
has always had an emotional appeal that often winds up making its
users more productive."
Opinion:
How to publish a trade secret, Esko Woudenberg, osOpinion.
"Traditionally trade secrets require the entity that claims the
secret to adequately protect that secret or trade secret
classification is lost. "Publishing" it on the Internet is far from
reasonable protective measures to safeguard."
News: 3dfx takes
aim at ATI, MacWeek, 5/13. "3dfx took aim at rival graphics
chipmaker ATI Technology this week by demonstrating an AGP version
of its Voodoo5 graphics card--and openly criticizing Apple for
shipping its Power Mac systems exclusively with ATI's Rage 128
chip." See also 3dfx
BTO petition.
Opinion: Dispatches
from the copyright war, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 5/12.
Mettalica, Microsoft vs. Slashdot, German "Apple" ad, Napster,
more.
Opinion: Dad, are you on
my computer again?, Bill Ball, Macville, 5/12. "My son might
rightly ask this question, as I load yet another game on his iBook
Special Edition."
Opinion:
Microsoft makes it hard to be a web developer, Oliver Dueck,
Mac Observer, 5/12. "Developing web sites using anything but the
most basic HTML results in severe incompatibilities between
browsers and platforms."
Opinion: Ever been in
upgrade hell?, Marion Delahan, HolyMac, 5/12. "Ever been in
upgrade hell? That is when a perfectly running system demands a
single change. Unfortunately, the single change creates a domino
effect that requires multiple upgrades."
News: Serious Mac
network bug being tracked by MacInTouch. Slot-loading iMac,
Pismo, iBook, and G4 can all lose network connection under certain
conditions.
Opinion: The "one OS"
strategy, Think Secret, 5/12. Speculation that the "one OS" may
be Darwin, not OS X. Provocative viewpoint.
Opinion: In praise of words, or why I detest graphics-cluttered
websites, Charles W. Moore, MacOS Daily, 5/12. Agreed, which is why
Low End Mac is content heavy, graphics light.
Opinion: All Mac Considered: The silly season, Joe Carson,
MacOS Daily, 5/12. "For the Mac world the Silly Seasons were the
periods a couple of months before one of the big MacWorld
Expos."
News:
Microsoft stumbles (again) with latest efforts to embrace &
extend, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 5/11. "The technique is
often called Embrace and Extend, which is the practice of seemingly
embracing a technology, officially "extending" its capabilities in
a proprietary way...."
News: ILOVEYOU
worm an accident?, ZDNet, 5/11. "...de Guzman did not confess
to creating the virus but said that he may have been responsible
for unleashing it onto the Internet."
Review: PowerBook
2000, Andrew Gore, Macworld. "With the release of the latest
PowerBook G3, Apple has added a host of improvements to a product
that just a year ago Macworld deemed without peer."
History: MITS Altair
8800, Obsolete Computer Museum. The first personal computer kit
(1975), and the machine Bill Gates
first wrote Micro-soft BASIC for.
Advice: Road Warrior: PowerBook hard drive upgrade options,
Charles W. Moore, MacOS Daily, 5/10.
Review: Vicomsoft
Internet Gateway, Paul Shields, The Business Mac, 5/10. "VIG
offers a complete selection of server products including DNS, DHCP,
NAT, Dial-in, WebCache, and content filtering...."
Opinion: Microsoft's
secret anti-campaigns, Macinstein, 5/9. "They knew that by
ruling the browser, they could rule a good portion of how the
internet worked."
Opinion: iGeek:
Defining a well run company, David K. Every, MacWeek, 5/8.
Thoughtful article on how companies get out of balance. Something
you'll want to print and reread several times.
News: Connectix to
revamp Speed Doubler into new product, MacNN, 5/8. Speed
Doubler's intelligent copy routines are the only reason I haven't
switched to Mac OS 9. It's brilliant, transparent software that I
find essential, leaving me with OS 8.6.
Virus:
Children of Love Bug: No celebration, ZDNews/Yahoo, 5/8. "The
worm also infects files on networked and mapped drives, and it
sends itself to people who join a chat room with an infected
member."
Opinion: Think About It: The Mac essence, part 2, David
Schultz, MacOS Daily, 5/8. "One could hold, and reasonably, that I
have only defined the essence of a Mac as a computer, not
the essence of a Mac as a Mac. And this is the real
question, isn't it?"
Opinion: Lyons' Den:
Will Apple's next ad tout a 2 GHz Power Mac?, Daniel J. Lyons
III, MacBC, 5/8. "...marketing the PowerMac Dual G4 as a GHz Mac
would be a smart move. This would also allow Apple to market the
Quad G4 as a 2 GHz system."
History: Viruses
on the Mac, Stephen Beale, MacWeek, 5/7. "The first Mac
viruses, nVir and MacMag, appeared in 1987...."
Opinion: Beneath Aqua: Carbon, Cocoa, and more, Don Parks
Sydow, MacOS Daily, 5/6. "What's the bottom line? Mac OS X holds
the graphics technologies that will be of interest to
programmers."
Web: The Mac
Junkie's jCards are back, Mac Junkie. Last week the creator of
MacCards released eyeCards; Mac Junkie now introduces original
Mac-related jCards.
Virus: Core Breach!
ILOVEYOU Microsoft, Scott McCarfty, GraphicPower, 5/5. "All in
the name of integration, Microsoft has created an array of tools
that play into the hands of the twisted minds of malicious
pranksters who wish to make their mark in the world by seeing how
much havoc they can wreck on business."
History: Osborne 1,
Obsolete Computer Museum. The first portable (1981) weighed 24
pounds - and you thought the Mac Portable was heavy!
Opinion: Media forgets Mac
immunity in new virus threat, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl.
"This is one time when the lack of full support for Visual Basic on
the Mac is definitely a blessing."
Opinion: Study
confirms text-oriented websites hold user's attention, Charles
W. Moore, Applelinks, 5/5. "This data would seem to vindicate my
own staunch unscientific view . . . that graphics-heavy content on
information Web pages is distracting and annoying...."
Opinion:
The thing that ate my desktop: 17" iMacs? Get real, Dan Willis,
Daily Mac, 5/5. "In short the iMac gave me my desk back, and I'll
be danged if I'm going to let someone take it away without a
fight."
Advocacy: Going against
the grain, Apple Computer. Law firms dumps Windows for Mac,
staff announces, "if [we] ever converted back to the PC, they would
quit!"
Humor: Simon's
EyeCards, proving that Apple's iCards don't have a monopoly on
boring scenery.
Opinion: View From the Bridge: The Mac is the user experience,
Charles W. Moore, MacOS Daily, 5/5. "A big part of the Mac user
experience is the wonderful classic Mac graphical user interface
(GUI), which is why I, and many other commentators, are cautiously
apprehensive about the changes Apple has made in how the Mac GUI
looks and works in forthcoming OS X."
Opinion: Moore's Views
& Reviews: The state of the browser, Charles W. Moore,
Applelinks. "I keep IE 5 open, and use it every day for some tasks,
but I don't have the confidence in it that I have developed with
Netscape and iCab."
Review: iBook, iBook
Special Edition, Macworld. "Budget-conscious buyers who need a
portable computer . . .will appreciate the iBook's value."
Opinion: Apple,
serve Mac OS X online, Stephen Beale, MacWeek, 5/4. "What if
Apple created an online version of Mac OS X and its Aqua
interface?" Anyone with a browser could experience it!
Opinion: Road Warrior: What's the best choice for a budget
workhorse PowerBook?, Charles W. Moore, 5/3.
Opinion: Stauffer and Hillman Spar: Wanting more from Apple,
MacOS Daily, 5/3. "The iMac and iBook were barely the beginning - a
lot of exciting things are left for Apple to develop and
innovate."
Opinion: The Mac-Files:
On boycotts, MacBC, 5/3. "The reasons for a boycott is because
they do not believe the company in question is behaving properly.
And it is quite obvious that Microsoft has not been behaving
properly."
Consumer: Fans force
Star Wars DVD release, Wired News, 5/3. George Lucas resisted,
fans prevailed, "but it is still far too soon to know which films
will be released when" (not this year).
Upgrades: Newer
resurrects G3-L2 cards, Mac-Upgrade.com, 5/2. 400 MHz G3
upgrade sells for US$449, fits Power Mac 4400, 5400, 5500, 6400,
6500, Performa 6360, Umax C-series, Motorola StarMax, and Power
Computing PowerBase.
Opinion: Mac OS X and
Aqua tidbits, Think Secret, 5/2. Whether this comes from an
anonymous Apple insider or not, it's a very thoughtful piece on
"the iMac OS."
Opinion: Portable
thrills, David Schultz, Applelust, 5/1. Pismo, the newest
PowerBook, epitomizes the Macintosh.
Review:
Low End Mac profiled on Access Internet Magazine site. "There
is an unbelievable amount of information here in the form of
on-site articles and off-site links; that translates to a crowded
and confusing homepage." Confusing? Say it isn't so!
Review: 400 MHz G4
upgrade shootout, Insanely Great Mac, 5/1. Four upgrades
tested. All fast. All expensive.
Opinion:
Take a Break: My iMac meets E.T., Richard A. Good, Daily iMac,
5/1. The author joins SETI@home and gets a free screen saver.
News: Apple denies FishPC is
copyright target, MacNN, 5/1. "...the FishPC's CPU is separate
from the monitor in a stand-alone enclosure which looks like a fish
standing on its tail."
Review:
Low End Mac profiled on Access Internet Magazine site. "There
is an unbelievable amount of information here in the form of
on-site articles and off-site links; that translates to a crowded
and confusing homepage." Confusing? Say it isn't so!
Review: 400 MHz G4
upgrade shootout, Insanely Great Mac, 5/1. Four upgrades
tested. All fast. All expensive.
Opinion:
Take a Break: My iMac meets E.T., Richard A. Good, Daily iMac,
5/1. The author joins SETI@home and gets a free screen saver.
News: Apple denies FishPC is
copyright target, MacNN, 5/1. "...the FishPC's CPU is separate
from the monitor in a stand-alone enclosure which looks like a fish
standing on its tail."
Opinion: 