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The Low End Mac Link Archive, April 1999
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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.
Opinion: Rev
A or B, your iMac's still good, iMac NewsPage, 4/30
"Fact is, the difference in processor speeds between 233 MHz and
266 MHz, or even 333 MHz, is less discernible than you
imagine...."
Opinion: Your iMac is
not old!, the Daily Mac, 4/30
"If one thing can be said about the Mac it is that they stand the
test of time."
Deals: Apple extends PowerBook promo to 5/30/99, PowerBook
Source, 4/30
Virtual PC or 64 MB additional memory free with PowerBook G3 Series
purchase.
Review: Epson Stylus Photo
750, Mike Chaney
"...not only are the dots invisible to the eye, but you may also
notice that the colors produced are smoother and contain none of
the color patterning' which is caused by the printer creating non
primary colors."
OS: Mac OS 8.6 fixes DHCP problem, MacTimes, 4/30
New release solves problem introduced with Mac OS 8.5.
Opinion: The
Apple image is quality, MacSoldiers, 4/30
"...when it comes down to it, most people will sacrifice quality to
save money."
iMac: Best iMac prices, the iMac
Rev. B US$888 and up, Rev. C $999 and up, Rev. D $1179 and up.
Based on MacBench, performance for the dollar is almost identical
on all three models.
News:
Court rules META tag violates copyright, Slashdot, 4/30
"The San Francisco Ninth Court of Appeals has ruled that it is
illegal to use someone else's trademarks in your META tags."
Opinion: Search
different, macRelations 2000, 4/30
"...a lot of things Apple could do to improve Sherlock."
Dark Side: U.S.
Navy does Windows, Applelinks, 4/29
"Using Windows NT, which is known to have some failure modes, on a
warship is similar to hoping that luck will be in our favor."
News: Beginners' guide to surfing Mac sites, the iMac,
4/29
Opinion: Shut down
the schools?, macRelations 2000, 4/29
"First of all school should be voluntary. Completely."
Privacy: Deja
News privacy snafu uncovered, ZDNet, 4/29
"Richard Smith ... said Thursday the Deja News Internet search
engine has been quietly scooping up records of email addresses its
users click on for a year or more."
Analysis: Microsoft's
muddled OS test, ABC News, 4/28
"So what did the Mindcraft test achieve? It gave Microsoft strong
numbers to point to &emdash; but at the cost of a
public-relations embarrassment."
Review: Macally
iMouse Pro, macRelations 2000
"To some extent I still feel like I've sold out on an ideal of the
Mac, but the mouse is cute, my UI navigation is speedier than ever,
and my mouse lights up."
Review: Keyspan
USB card for PCI Macs, MacNN Review, 4/29
"...USB is quickly becoming the preferred means of connectivity for
low-power, low-bandwidth peripherals on the Macintosh."
Review: Epson Stylus
740, macRelations 2000
"All in all I'm very happy with the Stylus 740."
News:
Honda ends battery-powered electric cars, Reuters, 4/29
Like the 16 pound Mac Portable,
electric cars have not caught on. Honda cites cost, weight, and
limited range as contributors to miniscule electric car
market.
Opinion: Reader response to "Are all Mac users left-wing
liberals?", the iMac, 4/28
Interesting letters from several Mac users, including one I wrote.
dk
News: , Sacramento Bee, 4/28 (thanks, Slashdot)
"The company argued that Hamidi's e-mail - sent on separate
occasions to as many as 30,000 Intel employees - were the
equivalent of trespassing on the company's private computer
system." (Think of the implications for spam.)
Games: Quake3Test runs
adequately on Rev. A iMac (thanks, No
Beige)
Hot betaware for Mac gamers - and networkable at that.
Analysis: Ahead of the
game?, MacWeek, 4/27
"...Quake 3 is so important that hostility to the Mac is being put
aside because these guys are so keen to see the new shooter from Id
run."
Review: PowerJOLT
400 daughter card, Macs Only!, 4/27
"...the MacTell PowerJOLT 400 is a great buy, especially for those
who have not yet upgraded their PCI Mac and clones to a G3."
OS:
I want to live in a world where software doesn't stink,
BusinessWeek, 4/27
'I don't think Linux has to be accepted as a consumer operating
system to succeed in the business world, although I do think it
will get there. "
Review: Griffin
gPort, serial port for G3 Pro, Macs Only!, 4/26
"The gPort is an excellent alternative to a USB/serial adapter or
to replacing a serial device with a USB device."
OS: iMac OS X Server, the iMac, 4/23
"Everyone I've spoken with who have tried to install MacOS X Server
on their iMac has had success running with 64 MB, but not without a
few modifications. "
Virus: CIH 1.2 (Chernobyl) virus set to attack April 26, ZDNet,
4/23
Find out why Windows 95/98 users are in a panic today - and be
grateful you don't have to worry about it if you're using the Mac
OS, Linux, or some other "minority" OS.
Opinion: Cheaper, Better, Flat Panel Displays Coming?,
MacTimes, 4/24
"I love flat panel LCD monitors, which is one reason why I'm
partial to PowerBooks as my day-in, day-out workhorses."
Rumor: New G3 All-in-One in
the works?, Mac OS Rumors, 4/23
"...the company may be working on a version of the C2 iMac which
will fill the space left by the now-defunct G3 All-In-One (AIO)."
News: Apple
stock continues climb, hits 10 week high, Mac Observer,
4/23
"Expect more of this to happen during the next few weeks as other
non-Mac using analysts start realizing that Apple's comeback is for
real."
News: Schools
going Mac in a big way, MacCentral, 4/23
Willow School District (Ann Arbor, MI), East Noble School District
(Noble Co., IN), New York City "between 20,000 and 30,000
iMacs"
Opinion: The
greatest fix for Y2K, osOpinion
"Most people already have the best fix for the Y2K problem. Its
called denial."
Opinion: Mac Users Militia Journal Worth A Look, MacTimes,
4/23
"Freedom of the press," some luminary once observed, "belongs to
the man who owns one." Which is why the personal computer and
desktop publishing represent a democratic revolution in the fourth
estate.
Opinion: The Mac Y2K
advantage is moot, Tales from the Mac Side, 4/22
"The sad truth is it doesn't matter that our Macs are Y2K-compliant
when the Internet we log on to, the e-mail systems we use, the
banks we connect to with Quicken '98, and the trillions of Windows
machines out there can't handle it."
Analysis: Can OS
X Server catch up?, Xappeal
"If you make a Unix port with no Mac-like interface, then you lose
your reason for porting it to OSXS in the first place...."
News:
The little big man on the internet, New Media News
"We basically sold our PCs to our accountant, who wanted them for
her office, [and] I ordered Macs. They don't crash; I don't spend
any time taking care of these guys."
Opinion: Now
it's Compaq's turn to get dumped on!, Gene Steinberg, Arizona
Central
"With PC makers scurrying to shore up market share and profit
margins, Apple has a great opportunity to move into the breach and
show the real advantages of the Mac alternative."
Connectivity: LocalTalk
Bridge 2.1 available, Apple Computer
Now listed as unsupported software and apparently free for
downloading, LocalTalk Bridge lets you connect LocalTalk devices to
an ethernet or TokenRing network.
News: Microsoft develops Office 98 FileMaker Pro add-in,
MacCentral, 4/22
"The add-in is designed to make it easy for customers to use
familiar tools in Office 98 with data stored in FileMaker Pro for
Macintosh."
News: Virtual Game
System shipments stopped, MacWeek, 4/21
"Connectix Corp. on Wednesday said a court decision has temporarily
stopped shipments of Virtual Game Station...."
Hoax: Canada planning 5¢ tax per email?, MacTimes,
4/21
"Like any successful hoax, this one plays on fears we all
share."
Networking: Put your files in the fast lane, Macworld
Online
"In this, the first in a series of Macworld articles to focus on
working effectively in a networked world, Macworld Lab tested Mac
OS-, Windows NT-, and even Unix-based servers...."
Hardware: Ergonomic keyboards for the Mac, Mac Cave, 4/20
Connectivity:
Microsoft invests in DSL provider, Infoworld Electric,
4/20
"Microsoft and NorthPoint will build a co-branded Microsoft Network
(MSN) portal page for some 85 ISP partners."
Analysis: Linux: We
will crush Microsoft, ZDNet, 4/20
"Is Torvalds blowing smoke - or is it feasible that Linux could
stomp Windows?"
Opinion:
Is Apple doing Unix right?, Mac Opinion, 4/20
"The combination of Apple's usability engineering with the positive
side of the Open Software movement is great."
OS: Linux
shortchanged in comparison, Xappeal, 4/20
"...I use Linux on a daily basis for word processing, programming,
game playing, web browsing, etc., so I have enough of a grasp on
the system to offer a credible rebuttal to the errors in the
original article's criticisms."
OS:
Linux steals Microsoft's thunder at Comdex, Nandotimes,
4/19
"The man who claims to have no marketing machine - evidenced by the
meager two-page handout given at his company's booth at Comdex -
says his system is gaining popularity because it gives people what
they want."
Opinion: Resistance
is fruitful, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion,
"The personal computer revolution and the Internet are done deals.
They were built by the dreamers and the renegades."
Connectivity: Beyond 56k
modems: Cable and DSL, MacFixIt
"Wishing, hoping or planning to get a cable modem soon? There are
some downsides as well as upsides to these devices."
Opinion:
Keyboards and you, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 4/19
"Bob Thompson tells me he puts his keyboards in the dishwasher on
the top rack, keys down, warm water cycle, and of course, removes
the keyboard before the drying cycle overheats it."
Analysis: ClearType:
Whose idea was it?, Byte.com, 4/19
"...long ago, so-called stadium displays were using the
technique...."
iMac: 333 MHz, TV tuners, improved mouse, The Weekly iMac,
4/19
Analysis: Expert predictions
of Apple's demise vs. the facts, MacKiDo, 4/19
"All we understand is momentum, and that is what our pundit friends
are basing their predictions upon. They forget that momentum has
randomness, volatility, and Steve Jobs hacking away at it all the
time."
News: Apple bug cause of Road Runner woes, MacTimes, 4/19
"...the problems are in fact related to both the Macintosh OS and
[Road Runner] equipment upgrades."
Rumor:
Apple toying with Strawberry G3, AppleInsider, 4/19
"According to sources, Apple has been testing the waters with
another shade of Power Macs, Strawberry."
Opinion: How
low must Apple go?, Macintosh 4ever
"The fact of the matter is that they are selling computers as fast
as they can make them...."
Analysis: Bell tolls
for the humble PC, The Age,4/17
"...in the professional area Apple's high-end G3 Macintoshes have
reclaimed much of the ground they earlier lost to Wintel machines
and Windows NT."
News: Apple
Computer must pay Beatles' Apple Corps, Mercury Center, 4/17
(thanks, Macs Only!)
"Apple's computers became popular with musicians and were
increasingly used for music-related ventures. In 1989 Apple Corps
sued, saying the 1981 agreement had been breached."
Opinion:
Philistines, Del Miller, Mac Opinion, 4/16
"Complexity in the guise of progress is just dunderheaded
foolishness."
Opinion: Mac OS
8.6, My Mac
While Microsoft gets ready to charge almost $100 for a bug fix to
Windows 98, Apple prepares to release a major improvement to the
Mac OS for free.
Analysis: Linux and OS X: a
comparison, Xappeal
"...Linux is only free if your time is worthless. It offers great
stability, but OS X is ready to go NOW, and anyone who has used the
MacOS or NeXTStep can probably set up a server using it in an
afternoon."
Advocacy: Evangelist closes, MacTimes, 4/16
"The original purpose of EvangeList was to counteract the negative
news about Apple and Macintosh, and I believe that EvangeList has
served its purpose fantastically, as a matter of fact. So after
discussing what we should do with EvangeList with the folks at
Apple, we've decided to retire the list."
Web: "I Hate Apple" sites, MacTimes, 4/16
"If you've never seen an anti-Mac or anti-Apple Website...."
News:
Schools, procurement wrangle over supplies, Washington Posts,
4/15
"District elementary school classrooms are finally getting more
than 1,000 new computers - seven months after they were supposed to
be delivered."
Opinion: The ultimate gaming iMac has arrived, the iMac,
4/15
A speed bump, VooDoo 2 graphics, an ADB port, and a subwoofer
modification, but you'll have to send your iMac away for a few
days.
OS: NT
beats Linux...maybe, ZDNet, 4/15
A study commissioned by Microsoft found that, "Highly tuned NT
beats a barely tuned, if that, Linux. But, there's more to
it...."
Advice: Ask
Dave, The Mac Observer, 4/15
Ethernet printing, Netscape prefs, home networks, and
CrashGuard
News: Apple
market share is up significantly, MacCentral, 4/14
"ZD Storeboard says the company's market share in February was
12.5%, the highest since the time the iMac was introduced."
Opinion:
The tragedy of Melissa, ZDNet, 4/14
"Although the focus has been on the shock of realizing our
vulnerability to malicious attacks, we shouldn't lose sight of the
fact that Melissa really wasn't very destructive."
Rumor: Is Intel
courting Apple?, MacWeek, 4/14
"...with the cross-platform opportunities that Mac OS X Server and
client bring, it can now get in there and make it easier for Apple
to release Intel versions of those operating systems."
Rumor: G4 upgrades coming for
Power Mac G3, others, Mac OS Rumors, 4/14
"...several upgrade companies are already working on putting G4
processors in their upgrade cards, not only for the Yosemite and
Gossamer machines...but also for older machines with
daughterboards...."
News: Apple
officially releases iMac 333, Apple Computer, 4/14
They've been in stores for a few days, so it's nice to see Apple
admit to its existence.
Opinion: Start
a hand-me-down program for iMacs, The iMac NewsPage, 4/13
"Perhaps Apple should explore the possibility of removing buyers'
uncertainties altogether by making trade-ups possible."
Opinion: How rumor sites hurt Macintosh sales, the iMac,
4/13
"...I am led to believe that lately, the Mac-rumor sites have been
detrimental to Apple's sales figures."
Rumor: Apple to move on
Merced, The Register, 4/13
"Clearly an Intel insider can't be taken at face value where a
rival processor platform is concerned."
News: G4, Sawtooth, Mac SMP:
closer than we thought?, Mac OS Rumors, 4/13
"The G4 brings top-notch symmetric multiprocessing to the platform,
along with tremendous improvements in floating-point math and
vector processing for common tasks like multimedia and
networking."
Rumor:
More info on banana, cherry iMacs, The Mac Observer, 4/13
"...at some point Apple will introduce Banana and Cherry iMacs to
replace Tangerine and Strawberry units."
Opinion: Is Apple doing a "Lisa" with PowerBook trade-in?,
MacCave, 4/12
Opinion:
Do you need a Pentium III?, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com,
4/12
"The question is why you would need a Pentium III to begin
with."
Okay, Mac users don't - but it's still good reading.
Hardware: Intel's
64-bit Merced: Software Matters, Byte.com, 4/12
"Compiler software [not just hardware!] will play a critical role
in the performance of IA-64 microprocessors."
iMac: Weekly iMac, MacTimes, 4/12
"The [Epson Stylus] 900N is so loaded with support for different
connectors, it's a real example in its field: parallel, USB,
serial, and Ethernet are just a few."
Review:
FireWorks 2, webreview.com, 4/9
"...it's not much of a stretch to say that Fireworks 2 is the front
runner inWeb Graphics tool department."
OS: The beauty of
the beast, Macworld
"Unix has a reputation for being a scary, complicated system that's
the polar opposite of the friendly, easy-to-use Mac OS."
News: Where do you want to
go tomorrow?, The Register, 4/11
"Microsoft has demanded that German Linux site linux.de remove the
slogan 'Where do you want to go tomorrow?' from its front
page."
Review:
Flat panel displays, c|net, 4/7
"The [Apple] 4/13Studio Display demonstrates that desktop LCDs can
provide the benefits of flat panels with the features of CRTs with
today's LCD technology."
Opinion: Jesse's right,
Apple's too white, Mac Chick, 4/7
"[T]he San Francisco Examiner reports that many California computer
companies have paid hefty fines for failing to meet federally
mandating minority hiring goals. That includes Apple...."
Advocacy: Help a teacher obtain an iMac, Mac Madness
"[My teacher] is on an LC, and it is slow and crashes all the time
and can hardly run anything. My school did buy 22 new Apple
desktops this year.... She even had to resort to putting a
Macintosh SE in the corner of her room because people ... need to
type reports and other things."
iMac: Why is Apple making my iMac obsolete so fast?, the iMac,
4/6
"So why does Apple update the iMac every 2-3 months? Well, Apple
simply wants the iMac to be the best machine for the money."
Rumor: Faster
iMacs on the way, c|net, 4/5
"Apple Computer's newest iteration of the iMac is expected to
include a 333 MHz PowerPC processor"
Analysis: Impact of LG Mexico fire on Apple, AAPL Investors,
4/5
"Even if the damage to LG's Mexico plant was really as severe as
initial reports ... I believe the impact on Apple's Q3 99 revenue
will be minimal."
Opinion:
Chaos Manor, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 4/5
Jerry's always excellent column is now a weekly Byte.com
feature
OS: Mac OS 8.6 Promises Blazing Speed and Stability, MacTimes,
4/3
"It seems Apple is poised to really hit the nail on the head this
time."
Opinion: Fred Langa strikes
again, MacKiDo, 4/2
"...Fred Langa is either the least perceptive analyst in the
computer industry, or he's just flame baiting you all."
News: Fire
in Mexico plant halts iMac production, AppleInsider, 4/2
"...a fire that damaged part of the Mexcali, Mexico LG Electronics
plant last Saturday (3/27) has literally dampened Apple's hopes of
catching up with iMac demand anytime soon."
Opinion: Playing fast
and loose with your OS, Applelinks, 4/2
"Windows 95 and Windows 98: The only known PC operating systems
with the Y2K problem built right into their name."
Opinion: Macworld
magazine dumming down?, Dr. Tim Hillman, Mac Opinion, 4/2
"Clearly, Macworld has taken a slant toward the iMac user."
Connectivity: Time to
divorce your ISP?, ZDNet, 4/2
"Choosing an Internet service provider - and deciding whether to
stick with it - is a serious undertaking."
Dark Side: Microsoft preparing Y2K update for Window 95, PC
Week, 4/1
Patch will let Win95 properly display dates from 2000 to 2034.
OS: Pick
the best OS, osOpinion
"...the winning OS is the best OS when you consider all the things
a computer can do today and what is required to get it to perform
these duties."
Web: Designing for
the "other" platform, Web Page Design for Designers
"By far, the most obvious difference between Mac and Windows Web
page is the size of fonts."
Opinion: Giving CompUSA benefit of the doubt, the iMac,
4/1
"I think of savvy Mac users making a difference, not by
intimidation, but by tactfully encouraging the Mac as a mainstream
computer...."
Tempting offer: Turn off your modem! Join America
Offline, a group of concerned Luddites based in rural
Pennsylvania. Tune in, turn off, and drop out of the Internet rat
race. We offer all the amenities of the 18th century, including
horses, outhouses, and smallpox! (thanks, TidBITS)
News? Apple replaces board of directors, AAPL Investors,
4/1
"In light of recent criticism from former Democratic presidential
candidate and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson that Apple's Board
of Directors lacks diversity, Apple Computer Inc. today announced
significant changes to its Board of Directors...."
News? Green
iMacs faster, Bare Bones/Mac Resource Page, 4/1
"...the company was able to find proof of objective performance
differences between different colors of iMac."
News? Microsoft announces
MS-Linux, 4/1
"The new Linux distribution from Microsoft gives the operating
system the credibility it needs to gain a foothold in organizations
where it has never gone before."
