Top Links:April 2003

Mac News Today

The Low End Mac Link Archive, April 2003

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.

Web: New ultra-intrusive pop-up ads introduced, Slashdot, 04.30. "...Unicast is attempting to introduce a new on-line ad format that takes over the entire screen of the PC for about 15 seconds and must be closed by the viewer."
News: Apple seeking coder to port iTunes to Windows, Tony Smith, The Register, 04.30. "...the company is seeking a Senior Software Engineer. His or her key responsibility: 'Design and build Apple's newest Consumer Application, iTunes for Windows.'"
Opinion: The iPod: In two years it has changed how we listen to music, Rolling Stone, 04.30. "The iPod makes the days of portable CD players seem like a bad, distant memory."
Opinion: Apple Music Store: The new 8-track tape, John Kheit, The Devil's Advocate, Mac Observer, 04.30. Apple's solution should offer discounts, higher encoding rates, easier export to non-iPod MP3 players, and better support of music for Macs not connected to the Net.
Opinion: Apple scores a hit, Marc Zeedar, Less Tangible, Mac Opinion, 04.30. "The service itself is nicely done and elegantly integrated right into iTunes (brilliant)."
Hardware: PoGo! Products releases Radio YourWay digital AM/FM radio recorder, Mobilemag.com, 04.29. It's like TiVo for radio. Never miss your favorite radio programs. Archive them on your computer.
Opinion: The 10-10-220 of file-sharing, Paul Boutin, Slate, 04.29. "For the first time in three years, iTunes lets music buyers pay for only the songs they want."
Rights: RIAA gets the message about IMs, Katie Dean, Wired, 04.29. "On Tuesday, the RIAA began sending thousands of instant messages to file traders using IM services on Kazaa and Grokster, warning them that trading copyrighted songs is illegal."
Analysis: Is the iTunes Music Store really music to our ears?, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl, 04.29. "...Apple feels that the setup is fair to users, the music companies and the artists."
Opinion: Apple's stealth iBook upgrades, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, Mac Opinion, 04.29. "On April 22, Apple just upgraded the specifications of the four iBook models on their Website...."
Spam: Virginia governor signs tough anti-spam law, Steven Ginsberg, Washington Post, 04.29. "The law, which takes effect July 1, creates stiffer criminal penalties for spammers and allows the state to seize some of their assets."
Spam: FTC: Two-thirds of e-mail spam contains false claims, Linda Rosencrance, Computerworld, 04.29. "...the FTC is holding a three-day Spam Forum to focus on the proliferation of unsolicited commercial e-mail and to explore the technical, legal and financial issues associated with it."
Opinion: History sucks (so study it, already), John H. Farr, Grack!, Applelinks, 04.28. "...technology writer Norr was canned because his bosses didn't like his views, and so far they're getting away with it."
Analysis: Apple attempts to patent iPod-like 'scroll-disk' mouse, Tony Smith, The Register, 04.28. "Essentially, Apple's patent application details an iPod-style scroll-dial on the face of the mouse in place of the usual scroll-wheel."
History: MacOS and the 128K Macintosh, John Ward, Vectronic's Apple World, 03.04. "It is quite remarkable that Apple was able to pull off such an effective graphical operating system using rather sparse hardware."
Rights: Judge throws out case against file-sharing services, Scarlet Pruitt, MacCentral, 04.26. Judge dismisses case, states ""It is undisputed that there are substantial noninfringing uses for defendants' software."
Software: Freeware gems for Mac OS X, Giles Turnbull, Mac DevCenter, O'Reilly Network, 04.25. "...neat little apps that you might not have heard of, but that can do the job of something much better-known (and much more expensive) without you having to pay a penny for them."
Opinion: OS X has taken my blinders off, John Ward, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.25. "Classic OS was a great operating system for its time. I could have gone on using it for many years, but in the wake of OS X, I could never go back."
Dark Side: Not all Microsoft apps run on Windows Server 2003, Gregg Keizer, TechWeb News, 04.25. "Many of the company's own applications won't run on Windows Server 2003 without updating. Some never will."
Dark Side: The curious world of Windows, John H. Farr, Applelinks, 04.24. "...two of the three claimed that it was impossible to delete emails in Outlook Express without opening them first."
Spam: E-mail marketers sue antispammers, Daniel Tynan, MacCentral, 04.24. "Antispammers contacted for comment seemed more amused than concerned by the suit."
Web: AOL blocks BigPond mail, Kate Mackenzie, Australian IT, 04.23. "Telstra is negotiating to have a block lifted on some of its BigPond customers' mail being delivered to AOL and Compuserve users."
Apple: Apple updates AppleWorks and AirPort, Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral, 04.23. Lots of little improvements to AppleWorks.
Advice: Buying vintage Apples on eBay, John Ward, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.23. "Color Classics, once rare and expensive, are now cheap and plentiful. You can come by a decent Color Classic for $30 to $45."
Low End: Simple, little machines can make a big difference, Andy Ihntako, Chicago Sun-Times, 04.23. Even last generation computers provide plenty of power for most users.
Advocacy: A plea for a better help system, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl, 04.23. "...aside from the usual brand of performance and stability enhancements, we need a proactive help system."
Opinion: Least expensive laptops? Hint: It ain't Dell..., Jim Banahan, OScast, 04.22. "I hadn't considered Apple in the past because I perceived their prices to be so much greater than their PC counterparts."
Analysis: Why am I getting all this spam?, Center for Democracy & Technology, 04.22. "...it is very interesting to see the different ways that e-mail addresses attracted spam - and the different volumes - depending on where the e-mail addresses were used."
Analysis: PC sales climb, Centrino builds slowly, The Register, 04.22. Worldwide PC shipments up 6%. What about Apple?
Advocacy: So when will Apple take off the gloves?, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl, 04.22. "....Apple's sales, with few exceptions, are dipping quarter by quarter, and so is the market share."
Rights: Telemarketer reveals tricks of trade, Bob Sullivan, MSNBC, 04.21. Epixtar Corp. allegedly alters taped phone conversations to "prove" it is authorized to tack $29.95 onto your phone bill.
Benchmarks: Notebook drives: Toshiba 60G "GAX" versus Hitachi 80G "GN", Bare Feats, 04.21. Which is the fastest? Which is quietest? Which makes the best replacement drive?
OS X: Next Mac OS X puts user at the center, M Rothenberg, N Ciarelli, eWeek, 04.21. "...one proposed feature will let users take home directories they've saved on peripherals and networks and use them for file access or securely log into a Mac running Panther."
Opinion: Apple's desktop cases are just fine, Kris Hookerman, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.21. "The advertising department's shiny Macs may irritate IT people, but the creative artists love them, and so do millions of home users."
History: Apple lore: The creation of the Macintosh, John Ward, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.20. "...I don't think rational people could argue that every computer wouldn't work this way someday."
Analysis: NeXT still stands out in its Mac incarnation, Dan Gillmor, SiliconValley.com, 04.20. "...the tools and platform make it possible for a significant number of individual programmers or small teams, not just corporate behemoths, to create seriously innovative applications."
Analysis: Google's page rank - Great for searching the Internet but not single sites, petersu, Kuro5hin, 04.19. Why Google is great for searching the entire Web but less useful finding the right page within a single site.
Web: Beware! Bogus Paypal email, Macs Only!, 04.19. "We received this email purportedly from 'Paypal Security' regarding a non-existent eBay account."
Advice: The IIciMac: An iMac in a Mac IIci case, Pat Sullivan, Accelerate Your Mac!, 04.18. "I couldn't believe how perfectly the Logic Board/Mass Storage Chassis and the power supply fit into the case."
Review: One application proves to be a shining light in a field dominated by dim products, Jeffery Battersby, Macworld UK, 04.18. "This roster of Mac-based fax applications isn't pretty, and if not for Page Sender, it'd be downright ugly."
Review: 17" PowerBook G4, how fast is it?, Macs Only!, 04.18. "...until one sees it next to the 15" Powerbook G4, which also has a 'huge' screen, one doen't really appreciate how large the new 17" PowerBook's screen really is."
Opinion: Apple's desktop computer cases suck, David Brickner, O'Reilly Network, 04.17. "Look at the trend in corporate desktop PCs, it is to smaller integrated devices."
Opinion: Mac retailer Elite Computers of Cupertino shuts its doors, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 04.17. "...with a market as small as Apple's, it's seldom smart to burn bridges."
Dark Side: Office 20k reg. bug in code used to block registrations, Tony Smith, The Register, 04.17. Source of bug "apears to have been identified as glitch in code incorporated in the software to prevent requests for product registration after 15 April 2003."
Dark Side: Corporations suffer Microsoft activation bug, Slashdot, 04.17. "As of the 2003-04-14 update, people are reporting that Office 2000 SR1a is now asking to be 'registered' again. And again, and again."
Review: Move large files to your compact Mac with SplitIt! v2.0, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.17. Shareware program lets you split large files over several floppies, making it easier to move large files, programs, and installers to older Macs.
AAPL: Apple announces Q2 financial results, net profit of $14 million, Mac Observer, 04.16. "Gross margins were 28.3%, the highest in the industry, and Apple increased its cash on hand to US$4.5 billion...."
Analysis: A look at Apple's second quarter unit sales, Peter Cohen, MacCentral, 04.16. iMac/eMac sales way down, iBook sales weak, Power Mac sales level, and PowerBooks way up.
Advice: Megapixels and sufficient resolution, Dan Knight, Digigraphica, 04.16. How many megapixels you need to create a decent snapshot or a really sharp 8 by 10 depends on how the final image will be printed. Inkjet demands much less resolution than other processes.
News: Cupertino Mac retailer Elite sues Apple for $5m, Peter Cohen, MacCentral, 04.16. "The $5 million suit, filed last month in Santa Clara County Superior Court, claims breach of contract, unfair competition, false advertising and fraud."
Opinion: Replacing a new driver with an old one, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl, 04.16. "Would it be so hard to deliver a warning to the customer if the software you have is more recent than what it's trying to install?"
Benchmarks: P4/3.06 vs. G4/1.42 dual updated, Bare Feats, 04.15. When running multiple tasks at once, hyperthreading helps P4 at 3.06 GHz nearly match dual G4 1.42 GHz performance.
Upgrade: 500 MHz G4 upgrade for slot-loading iMacs, Insanely Great Mac, 04.15. G4 power, a bigger level 2 cache, and 500 MHz speed. US$307 shipped.
Opinion: The PowerBook mystique revisited, Charles W. Moore, Mac Opinion, 04.15. "...PowerBooks aren't just spectacular-looking; they've always had substance to match their style."
Huh?: Israel-made battery found in computer, Tariq Khonji, Gulf Daily News, 04.12. "Steps were taken by a distributor for Apple Computers to ensure that Israeli-made parts do not enter Bahrain after an Israeli-made battery was discovered by a customer in an old Apple...."
Benchmarks: 1000 MHz Power Mac bonanza, Bare Feats, 04.12. Yes, Virginia, two CPUs really are better than one.
Benchmarks: Pentium 4 3.06 GHz versus the fastest Power Macintosh, Bare Feats, 04.11. Sorry, Mac fans, but the dual 1.42 GHz Power Mac G4 only wins a single comparison.
Review: Charles Moore reviews "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual", Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 04.11. "...if you're one of the many folks who are obliged to use a PC at work but have a Mac at home, this book will serve admirably as a cross-platform reference manual."
OS X: Thoughts and musing on the OS X 10.2.5 upgrade, Charles W. Moore, OS X Odyssey, Applelinks, 04.11. "...MacFixIt is reporting kernel panics after restart , as the most worrisome glitch with this version so far."
Apple: Apple in talks to buy Universal Music Group - report, Tony Smith, The Register, 04.11. "Universal is the world's largest music label, accounting for around 25 per cent of world CD sales."
OS X: Mac OS X 10.2.5 available through Software Update, downloadable, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 04.10. Updater is about 38 MB - or available on CD for US$19.95.
.mac: Free games .mac deal, Macworld UK, 04.10. Eight free OS X games for .mac subscribers.
Advocacy: The case for a new LC Macintosh, John Ward, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.10. "...there is a gap in the kind of products Apple produces and the kind of products many consumers are demanding."
Apple: Dell stops selling Apple's iPod, Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral, 04.09. "Dell is discontinuing sales of the iPod because of changes Apple wants to implement in the reseller agreement between the two companies."
Opinion: I'll take Mac OS X only please, Gene Steinberg, The Jaguar Report, Mac Night Owl, 04.09. "When it just has to run under Mac OS X, developers can concentrate on getting the best possible performance and stability."
Advice: How to double your After Effects render speeds, David Nagel, Creative Mac, 04.08. Adobe After Effects already comes with all the tools necessary to use both CPUs. Here's how to do it.
Advice: Never delete a Mail account, Derek Fakehany, MacInTouch, 04.08. If you delete an account in Apple's Mail program, it deletes every email sent or received by that account.
Dark Side: Microsoft shortlisted for "most invasive project", iTnews, 04.08. "Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative was nominated 'most invasive project' by activist group Privacy International in its annual Big Brother awards in the USA."
Rights: Label's copy protection keeps radio station from playing CDs, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 04.08. "...if we can't transfer the CD tracks to our digital playout system the CD ain't going to get any airplay at all!"
Analysis: Debunking Dvorak with napkin math for OS X on Intel, John Kheit, Mac Observer, 04.08. "...how realistic is a move to OS X on Intel hardware by way of licensing to clone makers?"
Advocacy: Apple needs a budget-minded box, Eduardo Rodriguez-Perez, MacMerc, 04.08. "Despite the design genius of the iMac, it's still tough to go in and shell out $1300+ at an Apple store, when a late model PC with ALL the bells & whistles pops in under a grand...."
Forum: What Mac maintenance apps do you run?, MacSlash, 04.07. "MacJanitor, fsck, Disk Utilities, Disk Warrior, Tech Tool, Norton Utilities... What maintenance, repair, or optimizing utilities do you run on a regular basis to keep your Mac happy?"
History: Make your old compact Mac talk with Speak, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.07. Tiny program appears to be the one Steve Jobs used when he unveiled the original Macintosh in 1984.
Opinion: How the MacIntel will change the market, John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine, 04.07. "There is no doubt that a MacIntel machine could supplant the Wintel platform." Uh, right.
Opinion: The Apple guide to world domination, John Halbig, Mac Design Online, 04.07. "The goal is obvious: Not just to sell an operating system and a platform, but a complete, integrated package."
Opinion: Comments: Doomed iBox effort?, John H. Farr, Applelinks, 04.07. Much as we'd like to see a cheap desktop Mac, Apple just isn't going to let someone else do it.
Advice: Crash as crash can, CodeBitch, MacEdition, 04.07. "...it's not acceptable to have browsers crashing on your content."
Tech: Types of printers, David K. Every, iGeek, 04.06. The differences between laser, inkjet, and dot matrix printers.
Benchmarks: ATI's OEM Radeon 9700 Pro AGP graphics card, Mike Breeden, Accelerate Your Mac!, 04.05. "Huge boost in shader performance over previous models. Literally no performance drop even at the highest resolutions."
Low End: A cool use for old Mac boards, Vectronic's Apple World, 04.05. "Here is a cool use for old Mac motherboards you may have never considered. Use them as decorative wall ornaments."
Dark Side: Your loss, their gain, Ed Foster, The Gripe Line, InfoWorld, 04.04. Under Microsoft Licensing 6.0, companies can keep paying for software on computers they've already sold.
Benchmarks: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro versus GeForce 4 Titanium, Bare Feats, 04.04. Unless you play games like Quake, you might not see any difference between these cards.
Advice: Create disk images from DVD movies for longer playback, Mac OS X Hints, 04.04. Create a disk copy of a DVD, watch it from your hard drive, get longer battery life.
Advice: Leave Windows 9x behind, Greg Shultz, ZDNet UK, 04.02. Five top reasons to migrate to Windows XP - should sound familiar to users of the classic Mac OS.
OS X: Mac OS X 'Panther' on track for September, Matthew Rothenberg, eWeek, 04.02. "...sources report that the 'Panther' release will reach end users in mid-September."
News: Apple ships G4s with Radeon 9700 cards, Peter Cohen, MacCentral, 04.02. "The Radeon 9700 is one of the fastest graphics chips you can get on the Mac...."
Upgrade: 1 GB DDR-RAM module for 12-inch PowerBook, O'Grady's PowerPage, 04.02. "Macup in Germany is reporting that DSP Memory has a 1 GB DDR-RAM module for the 12" G4 Powerbook, enabling one to have a maximum of 1.148 MB of RAM...."
Low End: Apple updates obsolete and vintage products list, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 04.02. "Apple has discontinued support for certain technologically obsolete and vintage products."
Upgrade: Pizza box or iMac? No, an iBox, Leander Kahney, Wired, 04.02. "A Minnesota man has plans to launch his own Macintosh-manufacturing business, building a low-cost, upgradeable Mac called the iBox."
Opinion: The case for a 3% market share, Gene Steinberg, Mac Reality Check, AZ Central, 04.02. "So if Apple offers the better mousetrap, why didn't it take over the market?"
Opinion: Do you feel you're part of a cult?, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl, 04.02. "You see we're part of a cult. We want things to 'just work'....
OS X: USB floppy disk striped RAID under OS X, ohlssonvox, 04.01. Five USB floppies plus OS X RAID software yields one 4.22 MB floppy array. Wierd and impractical, but it works.
Huh?: Intel inside: Apple partners with Dell, reintroduces PC compatibility card for Mac, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 04.01. "Perhaps more importantly, the product will allow Apple to use the coveted 'Intel Inside'" labels on Macs that include the card."
Opinion: My ideal laptop would be easy to fix, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, Mac Opinion, 04.01. "...user-unfriendly policies do not endear me to Apple Corp."
Humor: Top 100 April Fool's Day hoaxes of all time, Museum of Hoaxes, 04.01. The Swiss spaghetti harvest, sale of Liberty Bell to Taco Bell, the Sydney iceberg, and other incredible foolery.
Review: Spell Catcher for Mac OS X: Welcome back old friend, Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl, 04.01. "A quick comparison between Spell Catcher 8 and Spell Catcher X shows the latter has all the features of its predecessor and is well integrated into the Mac OS X environment."

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Cobweb Publishing. Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all.
Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2016 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad, iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, Mac Pro, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it, and we don't share the information we have with others. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Macgo Blu-ray Player
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

Mac News Today

The Low End Mac Link Archive, April 2003

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Favorite Sites

Affiliates

Advertise