Top Links: August 2000

Mac News Today

The Low End Mac Link Archive, August 2000

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.

Opinion: Micropayment wars over, PayPal wins?, Slashdot, 8/31. "...PayPal is now sufficiently dominant that it is pretty well certain to achieve de facto standard for micropayments over the net."
Web: MacAddict drops Farr, Lain, MacAddict forums, 8/31. The magazine site that bucked convention has bucked two unconventional authors.
Opinion: Waiting for OS X, Fly on the Mac, 8/31. "...when you compared it to a similar Mac (they both ran 040s), the NeXT felt so much faster; so much slicker."
Web: Mac Gamer's Ledge to be bought by Macgamer.com, Mac Observer, 8/31. There are already too few good Mac gaming sites; we hope this works to benefit all.
Analysis: iBook vs. budget Windows laptop, MacMonkey, 8/31. What's the better value?
Review: Newer Tech PowerBook G3 466 MHz upgrade, Accelerate Your Mac, 8/30. US$599 CPU upgrade runs faster and cooler, rivals Pismo 500 performance.
News: Apple replacing 8 GB WallStreet drives, PowerBook Zone, 8/30. Also nice mock-up image of widescreen Mercury laptop (I want one!).
Opinion: The hypocrites at Motorola, MacSlash, 8/30. The company that ditched Motorola-based Macs is giving employees Motorola cell phones "to defend and applaud our brand."
Software: GifBuilder 1.0 released, VersionTracker. Great little utility for making animated GIFs finally reaches 1.0 level.
Advice: Why did my computer do that?, Nancy Gravley, Computing with Bifocals, Mac Observer, 8/30. First steps in troubleshooting your Mac.
Advice: Build-to-order legacy Macs vs. $799 iMac, Charles W. Moore, Moore's Machines, 8/30. Unless you need the expansion of legacy Macs, the $799 iMac is a no brainer.
OS: IBM, HP, Intel, and NEC team up to form Linux lab, Yahoo/Reuters, 8/30. Consortium "to form an independent lab for Linux developers to expand the alternative operating system for heavy business tasks."
Virus: Palm gets hit with first Trojan horse, CNN, 8/29. "Once Liberty Crack executes, it could delete all of the applications on a Palm device."
MacInSchool: New computers for North Platte (NE) Schools, MSNBC, 8/29. Ironic that MSNBC is reporting on the schools new iMacs (which they call I-Macs).
Opinion: Tortoises will win the dot-com race, Michael Kinsley, WSJ Opinion Journal, 8/29. Slow but steady builds success. LEM traffic is over 25 times what it was three years ago and continues growing.
OS: OS X beta release Sept.13, Jobs says, MacCentral, 8/29. Hope it will run on my SuperMacs!
OS: OS X beta release date announced, Kyle D'Addario, Mac Observer, 8/29. "If OS X is half of what it promises to be, and Beta is half of that, then we will still have the best operating system in the world."
Seybold: Jobs' keynote fails to impress, MacNN, 8/29.
Advice: A beginner's guide to effective email, Kaitlin Duck Sherwood. On replies: "You should only include enough to provide a context for the message and no more."
Advice: Backup media options, Paul Shields, Business Mac. Backup speed, media cost big factors.
Opinion: Nihilism, Apple, and the Mac Web, Part 3, David Schultz, Applelust. "We must always keep in mind the distinction between the Mac as a computer and the Mac as a Mac."
Opinion: Computers? Who cares about computers?, Michel Munger, On the Flip Side, Mac Observer, 8/29. "...people who live without the heavy presence of technology can be happy."
Hardware: QPS says "burn-proof" FireWire CD-RW is fastest ever, MacCentral, 8/29. Looks like a real winner. Wish it also had SCSI or USB.
Dark Side: Intel recalls new Pentium III chip, Yahoo/Reuters, 8/29. How many PowerPC chips have been recalled?
Dark Side: Ex-Microsoft employee on Unix within the empire, Slashdot, 8/29. Hotmail, MSN, bCentral, and WebTV pretty much entirely Unix (not Windows).
Review: Apple Pro Mouse, John H. Farr, Applelinks, 8/28. Except for the short cord, a great mouse.
Rumors: Apple identifies employee as alleged source of leaks, Cnet, 8/28. Real person known as "Worker Bee," a.k.a. "John Doe 1," named by Apple in court filing.
Opinion: Attacks against Mac writers: a call for respect, Michel Munger, MacSolders, 8/28. "These few people have a tendency to try to make other people look or feel ridiculous."
Review: VST's portable USB CD-RW: Smaller is better, Dave Hamilton, Mac Observer, 8/28. Battery allows burning CDs on the go.
Web: Site to streamline how Web traffic is measured, LATimes.com, 8/28. "...the companies agreed that when an Internet user views a Web page that has multiple on-screen components, it should count as only a single page view."
OS: Has Linux lapped Apple as competition for Redmond?, Slashdot, 8/28. Is the Mac OS "a noble but doomed cause"?
Analysis: $799 iMac vs. PC, Dave, MacMonkey. Apple product a better value than inexpensive Dell, Quantex, and Compaq systems - and less expensive?
Advice: Outfitting your G3-powered PowerBook 1400, PowerBook Central, 8/28.
Opinion: Mac Hammer: August 21-25, Michel Munger, Applelust, 8/27. Best of the Web for last week. Also nice he gives one of our articles top billing. ;-)
Benchmarks: What's the best all around graphics accelerator for under $300, Bare Feats, 8/25. ProFormance3+ vs. Voodoo5 vs. RAGE 128 Pro.
Opinion: Apple getting the future right, Joe Sasanume, ThemeStream, 8/24. "Ironically, all the minute details which Jobs continually insists on seems to be exactly where the future of the computer industry is."
Software: Adobe announced Photoshop 6, Macweek, 8/x. Editable type on curved paths. I think it's time to upgrade from Photoshop 4!
Low End: A long-discontinued Macintosh still thrills collectors to the core, Paul Kunkel, New York Times, 8/24. Love of the Color Classic, "one of the most sought-after cult objects in the Mac universe." [Registration required for this site.]
Opinion: Computer screen giving you headaches and eyestrain? Try an LCD monitor, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/24. Going to a PowerBook or LCD monitor can make headaches, eyestrain a thing of the past.
Deal: Building a G3 PowerBook for under US$1,000, PowerBook Central, 8/24. Start with a PB 1400 (still one of my favorites) and add a G3 upgrade. Improved battery life and impressive performance at bargain basement prices.
Deal: Blueberry iMac DV, $899, details at DealMac, 8/24. Factory refurbished, free shipping through Saturday.
News: New company to offer cheap Mac stuff, Mac Observer, 8/24. MacReQ, MacWorks merging to form eResQ.
Opinion: My crumby Mac: When your PowerBook loses its new car smell, Lisa Schmeiser, Macworld, 8/23. A humorous look at the pitfalls of mobile computing.
Opinion: One more high school devoid of Apple, Dave Egger, MacMonkey. Thoughtful piece by a high school student on computers in our schools. Needs editing, but definitely worth reading.
OS: Running OS 8.1 on 68030 Macs, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/23. It can be done on most '030 Macs.
Philosophy: Nihilism, Apple, and the Mac Web (part 2), Dvid Schultz, Applelust, 8/23. It's still 1984 as Apple redefines the computer industry.
Opinion: Is the Internet killing the English language?, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/23. I don't think so, but it is taking a beating in some areas.
OS: Mac OS X: A new beginning, Gene Steinberg, Arizona Central, 8/22. "...the beginning of the end of the original Macintosh operating system as we know it."
Virus: McAfee ships antivirus software for handhelds, TechWeb, 8/22. "There have not been reports of viruses specifically targeting handheld operating systems...."
Lust: Dell serves up crisper notebook displays, Cnet, 8/22. 15" 1600x1200 pixel display - please, Apple, put this on a PowerBook! (I'd be content with 1280 x 1024. My current dream screen is the 17.3" 1600x1024 SGI 1600SW)
OS: Unix and Mac OS X, David K. Every, iGeek, MacWeek, 8/22. "...having Unix as the starting point will help make it easier for Apple to get to a better ending point."
Opinion: Had any headaches lately?, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl. LCDs may reduce visual stress, reducing likelihood of headaches at the end of the day.
Opinion: Apple's PB 5300/190 repair extension and trade-in programs, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, 8/22. "Apple wants to get as many PowerBook 5300s out of users' hands and into the landfill as quickly as they can."
Web: AvantGo: Web pages from your Mac to your Palm, About.com, 8/22. Also, some Low End Mac content is available in AvantGo format for PDA users.
Hands on: G4 multiprocessing lesson for the masses, Michel Munger, On the Flip Side, Mac Observer, 8/22. Symmetric Multiprocessing defined - and what it means for Mac users.
Connectivity: More AirPort compatible wireless solutions, Go2Mac.com, 8/22.
MacInSchool: It's part of how they communicate, Lancaster New Era, 8/21. Franklin & Marshall College has a computer store and sells Macs to students.
Analysis: The iMac: A case study in historical contingency & evolutionary convergence, Wes George, Apple Trader, Mac Observer, 8/21. Why nobody has been able to duplicate the iMac.
History: A look back at the NeXTstation, Fly on the Mac, 8/21. "...may well change the way we work in the 90s." Steven Jobs.
Software: Another new version of iCab Web browser released, Macwelt, 8/21. Preview 2.1a available for 68K and Power Macs.
Analysis: Adobe's "tabbed" lawsuit, Eliot Hockberg, Mac Junkie, 8/21. A good look at prior art.
Opinion: I hate modems, Trevor Harrison, MacWrite.com, 8/17.
SETI: Mac SETI@home team needs your help, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 8/17. Team Mac Observer "that close" to catching Team Nippon.
Web: MacMadness has moved to another server.
Web: MacWrite.com is back. We really like the idea of a site especially about Mac writing and wish MacWrite.com great success.
Scam: Apple moving to G5s next year?, Slashdot, 8/17. I've gotta hand it to Anne Onymus, she cooks up some pretty credible rumors. A lot of Slashdotters took this one seriously. ;-) At least MacSlash understood....
Opinion: Why I'd never work for Apple, Rodney O. Lain, Mac Spirit, Applelinks, 8/17.
Philosophy: Nihilism, Apple, and the Mac Web, David Schultz, Infinite Loop, Applelust, 8/17. "They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo."
Opinion: iBook still the standard in laptops, Bruce Schwartz, USA Today, 8/16.
Opinion: How a group of strangers sells a Mac at a wedding, Nancy Gravley, Mac Observer, 8/16. Mac users help disillusioned PC user see the light.
OS: With any luck, Linux as we know it will disappear almost entirely within five years, Nicholas Petreley, Infoworld. Interestingly enough, all his arguments point to success for Apple's OS X strategy.
OS: An introduction to Unix, David K. Every, MacWeek, 8/17. Excellent historical overview of where Unix has been and why Apple chose it for OS X.
Humor? More Web censorship follies, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/17. "This is like something out of a Monty Python sketch."
Opinion: At last Steve really does think different!, Bob Moriarty, MacCPU Café, 8/16. Apple's newest board member actually uses Macs. A very good read.
MacInSchool: Dartmouth's incoming freshmen pick PCs over Macs for first time ever, Excite/U-wire, 8/16 [Macsurfer]. "...incoming freshmen were encouraged to order or bring to campus whatever machine they were more comfortable with."
Opinion: Loading up your PowerBook G3 for serious road work, Tim Wilson, Road Hog, Creative Mac, 8/16. "The advent of the 1999 PowerBooks marked the first time when we untethered Mac users got envious stares from peecee users...."
Opinion: The name game, Marvin Smith, MacMilitia, 8/16. Apple's simplified naming scheme actually creates confusion.
Review: USB SuperDisk Drive, Macworld. Good news: floppy compatibility. Bad news: still much slower than Zip.
News: Norton Utilities CD being updated for latest Macs, Symantec. Newest iMac DV, iBook, G4, Cube, and PowerBook will not boot from older Norton CD.
Opinion: Apple's corporate vigilantism, Wes George, Mac Observer, 8/16. "Apple has not been a big supporter of the First Amendment. This in itself is ironic...."
Hmm: The Terrible Three-Headed Turbo IIci, Baggins.
Hands On: Macs Only! has some good Cube commentary and photos.
Opinion: 15-year-old Macs still in demand, Joey Cooper, MacMilitia. "The Mac is the perfect machine for someone who has never used a computer."
Opinion: An online supermarket for legacy Macs, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/16. "I went there and ended up spending more time than I had anticipated exploring this well laid out Website with its many bargains on legacy Mac hardware."
Opinion: Power Mac G4 Cube: Insane first, András Puiz, Applelust, 8/15. "Insane" as in "insanely great." A very good read.
Rights: French court defers Web censorship decision, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/15. Freedom of speech vs. political correctness and jurisdiction issues make this an interesting case.
Opinion: The iMac's evolution, a plastic hell!, Michael Munger, Mac Observer, 8/15. Bondi, blueberry, grape, tangerine, lime, strawberry, graphite, indigo, ruby, sage, and snow. What's a peripheral maker to do?
Low End: Refurb Madness is our find of the day. Click on "Do It Yourself" to find mounting sleds, bezels, CD-ROM cables, caddies, and more - cheap.
Software: Connectix drops RAM Doubler 9 price 40%, MacCentral, 8/15. This program made my home computer much more stable than it was with Virtual Memory. dk
Review: Apple Pro Keyboard, AllUSB, 8/15. "The keys are well spaced and comfortable for even a large hand."
Opinion: The perfect PowerBook?, Charles W. Moore, MacOpinion, 8/15. One size does not fit all; Apple needs to expand the line.
Opinion: The Blue Sea of Death, Mat Honan, Macworld, 8/14. "I'm just worried that our carriers will be so busy rebooting all the time that they won't have any time left to go out and blow things up."
Web: MacMadness, one of our daily stops on the Web, has moved to a new URL.
Deal: Indigo iMac 350 only US$739, see DealMac, 8/14.
Connectivity: DSL line sales increase 59% in 2nd quarter, MacCentral, 8/14. Sick and tired of AT&T @Home cable internet "service," I have mine on order. dk
History: 1988 Apple ad, Fly on the Mac, 8/14. "Some computers are trying to make headlines with features Macintosh had four years ago."
Health: Oh, my aching back..., Karen M. Tavares, Post-Dispatch, 8/13. Setting up your computer and furniture to avoid pain.
Opinion: Look to the rainbow, John Martellaro, Warp Core, Applelinks, 8/13. "On August 21, 2000, thanks to a lot of support from longtime Apple friends, I will be an employee of Apple Computer, Inc." Congratulations, John!
Review: iMac DV SE (500 MHz), Gene Steinberg, Cnet. "The latest iMac DV Special Edition continues Apple's tradition of elegance and excellence."
Tech: The hazards of overclocking, David Read, MacWeek, 8/11. Why overclocking sometimes works - and why you shouldn't do it.
Opinion: Apple's deadly ties with Motorola, Joe Sasanuma, ThemeStream, 8/11. "Instead of sticking with the G3, which could be clocked at over 700 MHz by now thanks to IBM, the G4's are still stuck at 500 MHz after one full year." Amen.
Web: Classic Mac Info Page, John Christie. "A complete resource for old and rare Macs."
Opinion: Sailing beyond the sunset, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion, 8/11. "...when it comes to distilling the spirit of mankind and forming it into a machine that complements us as humans, no company on the planet has ever duplicated the work of Apple."
Opinion: It never was the "computer for the rest of us," Rodney O. Lain, Mac Observer, 8/11. "Average people can't afford themÖ never have been able to; never will."
Oops: It's true: iBook speed bump ahead, ZDNet, 8/10. "...details of a forthcoming speed bump to Apple Computer Inc.'s iBook - details that were, ironically enough, featured in documents Apple filed last week in its effort to clamp down on what it says are leaks of trade secrets."
Opinion: Adobe sues over tabbed widgets, Slashdot, 8/10. "Is this lamer than one click shopping?"
Consumer: No such thing as a free PC, Cnet, 8/9 [Mac Observer]. A hard look at the economic realities of building and selling inexpensive computers.
History: Apple unleashed 350 MHz machine, Cnet, 8/5/97 [MyAppleMenu]. Three years later you can still buy a 350 MHz iMac, while the bleeding edge Power Mac G4 runs at a remarkable 500 MHz.
Deal: Power Mac G4/400 US$1,347, limited supply, Outpost.com.
History: Genesis and history of the Macintosh project, Jef Raskin, 1991/93. A ClarisWorks-like application and battery power were part of the early-1980s project. Fascinating.
News: Low End Mac launches Road Warrior email list for Mac users on the go, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/10.
Advocacy: Put Intel inside your Trash, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 8/10.
Opinion: Embracing OS X: Why I won't miss the Macintosh desktop metaphor, David Chilstrom, MacInStart, 8/9. "Like it or not, simplicity seems to be the overarching mantra at Apple."
Web: The Fly on the Mac has some interesting daily editorials. See a younger Steve Jobs on the August 7 entry.
Web: Mac Monthly, another new Mac ezine.
Analysis: Abandonware, Cnet [Slashdot]. Abandonware is "software that is at least five years old and is no longer sold or supported by its publisher or developer." See also Legal software for older Macs.
Opinion: Mike's Cards, a great Mac card game, Nancy Gravely, Computing With Bifocals, Mac Observer, 8/9. "There are 144 different card games ranging from video poker to what must be every known version of solitaire...."
Analysis: PC vs. Mac, Popular Mechanics, 7/00. "Just as with the games, the Mac consistently loaded programs faster than the Presario."
News: Women outnumber men on the Web, Yahoo/Reuters, 8/9. In U.S., 50.4% of users are female. You go, girl!
Web: Mac OS Journal, new ezine rises from the ashes of MacOS Daily, MacOS Monthly (formerly Apple Wizards).
Opinion: The Macintosh platform: It's so irrational!, Michel Munger, On the Flip Side, Mac Observer, 8/8. "Do not get me wrong, I do not mean that being irrational is necessarily a bad thing. Au contraire."
Analysis: More on "trade secrets" vs. freedom of the press, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/8. "Companies should pursue the 'leakers' if there are valid grounds to do so, and not try to intimidate the press."
Hmm: Concept: New Apple subnotebook, Go2Mac, 8/8. Just a dream, but a very cool one.
Review: Sonnet Tempo Ultra ATA PCI Card, Bare Feats, 8/8.
Opinion: The Surf Report, Dennis Field, Mac OS Journal, 8/00. Links to useful Mac site, including "rather different" Low End Mac. We think that's a good thing. ;-)
Opinion: BeOS in retrospect, Stanslav Kelman, osOpinion. A brief history of a great OS, one Apple almost bought instead of NeXT.
History: Looking back at ATA and SCSI, David Read, MacWeek, 8/8. SCSI for performace, ATA for cost - and high speed serial will probably replace both.
Palm: Make your Palm more Mac-like, Go2Mac, 8/8. SilverScreen gives Palm OS a Mac-like look and feel.
Opinion: Run Mac OS 8.1 on your '030 Mac, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 8/8. "Born Again enables certain 68030 Macs to support Mac OS 8.1."
Advise: Gaming on a low end Mac, Ben Shelton, MacInstruct. First, tweak your system to make it run faster.
Opinion: Quest for a scent-free PowerBook, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, MacOpinion, 8/8. "Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) is a not very well understood immune system disorder in which the body becomes exquisitely sensitive to nominally 'sub toxic' concentrations of various chemicals...."
The problem with New York, Ceolaf, MacinThought, PowerBook Source, 8/4. Excellent analysis of the cost of setting up a booth at Macworld New York.
Hands On: REALbasic for Mac OS X, Raven Zachary, MacWeek, 8/2. "Visual Basic for Mac" supports 68k Mac, OS 8-10, and Windows.
Legal: Apple files suit against "John Doe," MacNN, 8/2. "Apple is targeting the individuals responsible for the leak rather than the outlets."
Dark Side: Hotmail migrating to Win2K, Internet News, 8/2 [Win98Central]. "Only time will tell whether putting Hotmail on Windows 2000 [vs. FreeBSD] will help correct or exacerbate those problems."
Legal: Apple files lawsuit to stop misappropriation of Apple Trade Secrets, Apple, 8/2 [MacNN]. How do you serve papers on an unknown (not unnamed) individual?
Analysis: Multiprocessing makes sense, Oliver Dueck, Mac Observer, 8/2. "...at these feature and price points, it makes sense for many customers to buy the dual-processor machines."
Analysis: Apple plugs corporate leaks, Donna Ladd, Village Voice. "...Apple should keep its employees from leaking information, not come after journalists who publish it."
Opinion: Is this Apple or NeXT?, Michel Munger, On the Flip Side, Mac Observer, 8/1. A Unix-based OS and a Cube - NeXT had 'em in 1988.
Opinion: Hands-on with AirPort, David K. Every, MacWeek, 8/1. "It is amazing that, for a few hundred dollars, something could so quickly and radically alter the way I work."
News: Apple Q3-00 10Q filing, Insanely Great Mac, 8/1. Over one millions Macs sold, an increase of over 10% vs. Q3-99.
Opinion: What to expect in the next iBooks, PowerBooks, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, 8/1. "Rumorphobes, cover your ears...."
Opinion: Why I recommend Mac, Tim Yarbrough, Christian Computing Magazine. "I've never really considered myself a 'Mac advocate,' rather I'm an advocate of easy-to-use computer systems."
Opinion: How we hurt Apple, Joe Ryan, Applelinks, 8/1. "Apple does not exist because of Mac websites, Mac websites exists because of Apple."
Dark Side: Microsoft slashes price on Windows Me, Cnet, 8/1. "[Microsoft] has had a hard time getting customers to buy boxes off the shelves, analysts say."

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