Low End Mac Link Archive, May 1999

Mac News Today

The Low End Mac Link Archive, May 1999

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.

News: Software developers finally bite on burgeoning Apple market, Star-Telegram, 5/31
Opinion: Mac OS X Server no easier than NT, so why bother?, Computerworld, 5/31. "...it was a shock to use an operating system that spread related functions across four very different interfaces in a seemingly random way."
Opinion: iMac: Easiest PC to use?, Don Crabb, ZDNN, 5/28. "But what happens when Apple begins shipping Mac OS X early next year?"
News: Australians demonstrate against net censorship, MacTimes, 5/28.
News: CompUSA starts training all sales reps about Macs, The iMac, 5/28.
Opinion: Here's to the crazy ones, Macville. "You see, we are not trying to change the world as much as we are trying to show the world, through our eyes, what it can become."
Review: Removable media drives, PC World. New ORB drive beats Jaz with over 20% faster performance, lower cost; rated best value.
Privacy: Massive internet tapping revealed, Mac OS Rumors, 5/27. "...a large majority of Internet traffic, including personal/business communication such as email, is being passively tapped...."
Hardware: ZIF daughter cards, an end to processor obsolecense?, About.com, 5/27
Rumor: Revised G3 may run at 10X bus speed, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/27. Current G3 tops at 8X; new version can offer 25% more speed.
Opinion: How to manage geeks, Fast Company. "Once a term of derision, the label 'geek' has become a badge of honor, a mark of distinction."
Deal: Newer Tech 250 MHz G3 daughter card, $239, Small Dog Electronics. No credit card surcharge; limited inventory.
USB: Three USB hubs that won't break the bank, Mac OS Planet. Each is US$50 or less.
Benchmark: Who is the king of 3D?, Bare Feats, 5/27. Compares Game Wizard, Power3D, RAGE 128, Vison 3D, Ultimate Rez, and Xclaim VR Pro.
Rumor: Apple sticking with PowerPC, not going Intel, Think Secret, 5/28. Egg on their face - and a good description of RISC vs. CISC chips.
Opinion: The $600 Apple, osOpinion. "If Apple can drop the price of iMacs to $999 and introduce the consumer laptop for $1,200, Apple will probably be number one in retail sales."
Opinion: Dirty little secret about Macs: They're hard to use, The iMac, 5/27. "What the Mac needs is a massive leap forward in user interface, akin to the leap that the original Mac made...."
News: Apple frees AppleShare IP 6.2 updates, Apple Computer, 5/27. Citing "strong feedback" from customers, ASIP 6.2 is now a free update to ASIP 6.0 and 6.1 users.
News: Netopia HouseCall allows users to remotely maintain Macs, cheaply, The Mac Observer, 5/27. "...you can use HouseCall to observe or control a remote Macintosh machine just as if you were sitting in front of it."
You can now support Low End Mac by purchasing through Outpost.com
Issues: Australian Broadcasting Authority given power to censor Internet, Australian Broadcasting Corp., 5/26 [Slashdot]
"The broadcasting authority will be given responsibility for ordering the removal or blocking of pornographic, violent or otherwise offensive websites, newsgroups and databases."
A bit more information on Yahoo.
Hardware: Promax TurboMax IDE controller review updated, Accelerate Your Mac!
Review now compares fast WD 18GB IDE vs. Ultra2 SCSI 4.5GB Cheetah drive.
Opinion: Email built into the Mac OS? It's about time!, MacSoldiers, 5/26
"One of the major flaws I've begun to notice about the Mac OS is that there are no standard Internet tools built into the system."
Issues: Amazon reverses decision on book ban, ZDNet, 5/20
"The book (A Piece of Blue Sky), a critical examination of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was pulled by Amazon in February after an injunction against its distribution in the United Kingdom." (I waited to post this until Amazon listed the book. dk 5/26)
Advice: All I ever needed to know about memory, MacInstruct
Speed up your applications by giving them more room to work.
Software: NetCD, Toby W. Rush Software
Automatically finds track names on the internet.
Connectivity: The dirty secret about web filters, ZDNet, 5/26
"A survey of parents of minors with Net access at home . . . showed only 31% use filtering devices."
USB: New Ariston USB products (with pictures), iMac2Day, 5/26
Includes floppy drive, video capture unit, and digital camera plus add-on lenses.
Rumor: Consumer Portable production to begin in June, AppleInsider, 5/26
iMac: iMac Firmware Update 1.2, Apple, 5/25
Apple recommends this be installed on all iMacs.
Web: MacInstruct, learn more about your Mac
Opinion: Is under $1,000 iMac needed now?, The iMac, 5/25
"Is the under $1000 iMac needed now? Well, yeah!"
Opinion: Mac OS advantages, About.com, 5/25
"I continue to notice a trend: users who believe that Windows is 'close enough' to the Mac OS. Is there a difference? Of course!"
Opinion: Mentality of the OS upgrade, osOpinion
"If you greet crashes with resignation, then Windows is most suited to your temperament."
Opinion: Censorship: Canada sets example for the world!, The Mac Observer, 5/25
"...the government of Canada refused to censor content on the Internet."
Opinion: Mac OS and Windows Evolution, MacKiDo, 5/25
"People noticed Microsoft changes because they were inconsistent and dramatic - but the goal of good interface is consistency and nice smooth (subtle) evolution."
Hardware: Infowave ships PowerPrint for Networks, MacCentral, 5/25
Allows using PC parallel printers on ethernet.
Review: iMac 333, Macworld
Review: VirtualPC crosses Mac divide, Newhouse News Service, 5/25
"...there's no way to tell (without looking at the Apple logo on the computer) that you're not working with a real PC."
Review: Promax TurboMax IDE controller, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/25
"Based on what I've seen finder level tests will show little difference between the fastest IDE drives and a fast U2 SCSI drive. Again value is what we're after (bang for the buck) and the combination tested here delivers it in spades."
Review: Imation USB 2x SuperDisk drive, The iMac,
"...it might now be the Zip killer I thought this product always could be."
Opinion: Hate mail to Apple over AppleShare IP upgrade pricing, GraphicPower Page, 5/25
"Yesterday, the long awaited update for AppleShare IP turns out to be an upgrade . . . $500 bucks!"
See also ASIP 6.2 Backlash at MacNN
News: Kenwood 52x CD-ROM drive delivers the goods, MacTimes, 5/25
"A SCSI version of this drive is in the works and should be released by Summer 99."
News: New Amiga computers coming, MacTimes, 5/25
New models will use PowerPC.
News: Apple places OEM orders with Taiwan PC makers, AsiaBizTech, 5/24
Consumer portable to be built in Taiwan?
Web: MacMania updates design, adds new features
Connectivity: Modems' last stand, Macworld
"...today's fastest modems can't compete with digital technologies such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), and cable modems...."
Opinion: Divide & conquer: April numbers read awry, The Apple Trader, 5/24
"Apple can be insanely great while being the computer company for the rest of us because they thought different and are developing information appliances while the rest of the PC universe rests stagnantly on their decaying laurels."
Opinion: Is it time for a cheaper Mac?, MacBC, 5/24
"It should be a machine that can bring OS X to everyone, including the old Mac users still running their Quadras as their main machine...."
OS: Is it time for Linux?, Network Computing
Pretty balanced comparison of Linux and Windows.
Opinion: More on censorship and school violence, MacTimes, 5/24
Opinion: Primary, secondary, slave: It does make a difference, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 5/24
The kind of Wintel nightmare stories only Jerry Pournelle can write.
Analysis: Where the truth lies, The iMac NewsPage, 5/23
"Statistics can paint all sorts of different, contradictory scenarios if you only just look at one tiny corner of the whole canvas."
Advice: Mac/cable modem problems, About.com, 5/23
Advice: Inside the iMac, MacCentral, 5/23
An excerpt from The Ultimate iMac Book.
Advice: Ask Dr. Mac #20, Bob LeVitus, MacCentral, 5/22
News: Apple's comeback impressive, but not over yet, San Jose Mercury Center, 5/22
"Over the past couple of years, the principal reason for buying a personal computer has changed."
Opinion: Lies, damn lies, and statistics, AAPL Investors, 5/21
"I received quite a few emails regarding the conflicting reports of Apple's April retail sales."
Opinion: Don't put all your bytes in one basket, MacWeek, 5/21
"Now is the perfect time for system builders to take a more distributed approach to computer design"
Privacy: U.S. uses key escrow to steal secrets, TechWeb, 5/18. "European plans for controlling encryption software are nothing to do with law enforcement and everything to do with U.S. industrial espionage...."
Analysis: Combined, iMacs reach No. 1 in April, MacNN, 5/21
Power Mac G3/300 ranked number 16.
Opinion: Have we grown deaf to the plight of alienated teens?, USA Today, 5/21
"School districts that have enacted strict rules against bullying have taken a key step toward imposing the discipline of civility on their students. But more is required."
OS: Costs, benefits of NT to Linux migration, Slashdot, 5/21
Hardware: Installing iMac hard drive in an external USB case, The iMac, 5/21
"...plug in the drive cable and power cord, screw the drive into place, put the case back together and away you go!"
News: Move over stuffed animals, here comes the stuffed iMac, About.com, 5/21
Available in all six flavors.
News: Many sites reporting new PowerBook G3 (Lombard) delayed to June 1
OS: Microsoft starts group to counter Linux, Cnet, 5/21
As noted on Slashdot, this shows Microsoft does see Linux as a serious threat.
News: iMac sales slow in April, Cnet, 5/20
Contrast with Apple retail sales more than double in April, MacChat, 5/20
and Retail PC unit sales rise 21% in April, Bloomberg, 5/19
Spin: Despite a fire at the iMac factory in Mexico on March 31 reducing iMac supplies, overall Mac sales make Apple #3.
First Look: XLR8 CarrierZIF daughter card, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/20
More info on ZIF daughter cards, New Type of G3 Daughter Card.
Software: Remember? 3.3 available
Great shareware has reminded me of many important dates!
Opinion: Apple missing out on IS market, Don Crabb, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/20
"...Apple Computer Inc. proved it still does not believe selling to corporate information systems accounts is important to its future."
News: UniTrap, ergonomic shell for iMac mouse, Contour Design
Advice: Mac web servers: Keeping it up, MacCentral, 5/20
Star Wars: The Naboo Flu, Andy Ihnatko, MacCentral, 5/20
News: Amazon drops controversial book, Wired News
Unable to supress publication, Scientology fights distribution of critical books.
Web: ehMac, Canada's Mac neighbourhood
Web: iMac Linux - think different; think Linux!
Advice: Ask Dave, Mac Observer, 5/20
Review: Startup Doubler 2, The Mac Junkie, 5/20
Tests on a Quadra show 12-20 second improvement.
Opinion: The Macintosh's secret weapon, The Menagerie of Macs
"...the greatest strength of the Macintosh is its international capability."
Opinion: Whither Mac OS elegance and simplicity?, osOpinion
"...I fear that by adding complexity and slowly remaking the Mac OS interface ..., Apple will be alienating the new computer users...."
OS: Linux on Mac, Chris Rogers, iTeen Online, 5/19
Hardware: Kenwood 52X True-X CD-ROM + TurboMax card works in 9600, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/19
Gotta use OS 8.5 or later, but preliminary tests are very encouraging. More to come.
Opinion: It is too censorship!, Applelinks, 5/18
John H. Farr disagrees with It Isn't Censorship on Mac Musings.
Opinion: Internet censorship column catalyzes debate, MacTimes, 5/18
Charles W. Moore responds to It Isn't Censorship on Mac Musings.
Opinion: Shopping for PC? Consider Mac, Dallas Morning News, 5/18
"None of the computers we use now will be what our children will have when they grow up. So learning a particular model doesn't matter."
Review: Hands on SpeedStartup, MacCentral, 5/18
"I personally don't find 9-14 seconds enough of a time savings to be concerned with."
Promo: Win an Epson Stylus 740i, Epson [Macs Only!]
Promo: Win one of five iMacs, Borders.com
OS: A look at Mac OS X Client, Xappeal
Rumor: Internal Hardware Projects, Power Macintosh G4 Roadmap, Apple Insider, 5/18
Connectivity: DSL speeds can smoke cable, Cnet, 5/17
"...even low-grade DSL is as much as 12 percent faster than cable - at least during consumers' prime-time evening hours...."
Hardware: Epson aims at photo market with Stylus Photo 1200, MacCentral, 5/17
1440 dpi, 6 color printing, up to 13" x 44" paper, $499!
Web: Mining Co. becomes about.com with Mac support, iMac support, 5/17
Opinion: Thin Edge Of The Wedge: Why Internet Censorship Is A Bad Idea, MacTimes, 5/17
"It is unacceptable for governments, or parents, to demand that ISPs act as surrogate nannies...."
Hardware: External USB vs. internal IDE drives, The iMac, 5/17
Very helpful, detailed comparison including benchmarks.
Hardware: ePhoto 780 digital camera, Agfa
Point-and-shoot 24-bit color camera for only US$199.
News: Apple doing what we wanted them to, MacBC, 5/17
Apple placing employees in some CompUSA stores to boost sales.
Opinion: Adventures in email on an NT machine, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 5/17
Too many open windows slows, crashes Windows NT.
Rumor: Red box (Window on Mac OS X) rumors confirmed, Think Secret, 5/17
"Having Windows on the Mac will greatly increase marketshare."
News: iKids? Generation Y eyes iMac, ZDNet/Yahoo, 5/17
"...Apple is hoping these children of the baby boomer generation will replace PCs with the Mac."
News: Pentium III hits 550 MHz, Cnet, 5/14
Of course, a 400 MHz G3 will easily beat that, as will the 333 MHz iMac and PowerBook.
Opinion: New G3 PowerBooks on par with desktops, Tales from the Mac Side, 5/14
Rumor: Apple planning back to school specials?, Think Secret, 5/14
May release consumerportable, next generation iMac, and small modular Mac in August.
News: Alsoft DiskWarrior wins two AppleDesign awards, MacMania, 5/14
"DiskWarrior's ability to rebuild your directory and recover lost files and folders is unrivaled."
OS: Major tech firms embrace Linux, ZDNet, 5/14 [Slashdot]
"Silicon Graphics Inc. is expected to announce next week that it will make Linux a primary offering...."
Rumor: Next desktop Mac to have larger keyboard, two-button mouse, PowerPage, 5/14
OS: Mac-on-Linux project
Book: The Ultimate iMac Book, MacCentral Press
available online only, US$21.95 plus shipping
Review: MRJ 2.1.2 nearly doubles Java speed, Macworld Online
Macworld tests show it's twice as fast - not quite the 5x Jobs claims.
Opinion: Microsoft Mactopia, thumbs up or down?, The Mac Junkie, 5/14
"It's a good resource for finding Mac news, software, and general Mac sites, but I didn't happen to notice any 'Mac advocacy' links...."
News: $30 utility boosts G3 Macs up to 20%?, Mac Speed Zone
Opinion: All not well in Webzter Jr. land?, MacTimes, 5/14
"...some have suggested that the day of the disposable computer has arrived. However, in order to dispose of it you first have to get it...."
Review: World's fastest CD-ROM, 52x Hi-Val True-X drive, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/13
"By reading 7 tracks in parallel extremely high RPMs are not needed and performance easily exceeds anything possible with a conventional design CD-ROMs."
OS: OS 8.6 Hands-on Report: Mayhem and horror, Daily Mac, 5/13
"Well, I will leave the objective reports to the other guys&emdash;I personally had a very bad experience with the OS 8.6 update...."
Review: Railroad Tycoon 2, iTeen Online, 5/13
Updated classic - I used to play the original on my Mac Plus and a IIci at work. dk
Humor: Linux users: a summary, osOpinion
News: Senate unanimously passes filtering bill, Cnet, 5/13
ISPs with over 50,000 users will be required to provide a content filtering option so parents can block access to objectionable sites by minors.
Rumor: Sonata in-depth, Mac OS Rumors, 5/13
"A multi-user operating system with rapidly evolving navigation, interface, and efficiency technologies. Industry-leading security features and user permissions down to the single-file level. Bundled strong encryption for files, folders, even whole drives. Superior performance and multiprocessor support. And it's even nice to look at."
News: G4 upgrade development heats up, cards coming soon, MacCentral, 5/13
"A company spokes person tells MacCentral that PowerLogix already has a design completed for a G4 upgrade card, and is merely waiting for prototype chips from Motorola to begin production."
Web: MacOS Gamer, new Mac gaming site
Deals: PowerBook G3 (new) price tracker, PowerBook Central
Opinion: The desktop metaphor, MacKiDo, 5/13
"Didn't Xerox PARC create the desktop metaphor?"
Rumor: "Lunchbox" smaller than PowerBook Duo, Think Secret, 5/13
Lunchbox is Apple's code name for a new compact laptop.
Opinion: Bloatware proliferating despite Web, PC Week/Yahoo, 5/13
"Wirth's Law ... says that software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster."
Opinion: Wherefore art thou, AppleWorks?, MacCentral, 5/12
"AppleWorks should be updated along with every major update of the Mac OS. When possible it should incorporate and spotlight new features of the Mac OS."
OS: Finding OS X support, MacWeek, 5/12
Opinion: Paradigms of personal computing, part 2, Dr. Barney Hadden, MacOS Planet, 5/12
"But the internet is the great second paradigm. It takes the personal computer and makes it part of a network again."
OS: Eight.Six Plus!, Mac Tips
Mac OS updates more recent than Mac OS 8.6.
OS: Accelerate Your Mac! reader recommends setting Speed Doubler to not always active with 8.6
News: Apple, others cut FireWire license fee to $0.25 per system, Yahoo/PR Newswire, 5/12
OS: Linux approaches the enterprise, Intel
"Linux may be a hit in the Web server arena, but signs point to the operating system becoming a powerful force in business-critical enterprise applications...."
OS: OpenGL 1.0 released, MacTimes, 5/12
"OpenGL is a piece of software that enables your computer to display accelerated three dimensional graphics using applications designed to take advantage of it."
USB: USB Mass Storage Support 1.3, Apple Computer, 5/11 [Daily iMac]
New driver speeds USB hard drives, Zip drives.
OS: Apple sets stage for e-commerce, CBS MarketWatch, 5/11
Sonata (OS 8.7?) to provide "desktop portal" as customized e-commerce machine.
Opinion: Access for Microsoft, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 5/11
"...while Office 98 is truly a great tool, it is incomplete without a Mac version of Access."
Opinion: What's in a name?, Jason D. O'Grady, MacWeek, 5/11
"That name was OK the first time Apple used it back in 1997, when the PowerBook G3 was first announced, but giving three consecutive models the same name is crazy."
Opinion: Reasons "Why not Macintosh" withering away, MacBC, 5/11
Hardware: Next generation Nintendo to use PowerPC, Next Generation Online, 5/11
Unnamed game machine will run 400 MHz PowerPC chip and incorporate DVD.
iMac: 384MB of iMac RAM is almost dirt cheap, the iMac, 5/11
Well, not quite, but memory prices are at the lowest level in a long time - and dropping.
News: Sneak peak at G4 Macs, MacWeek, 5/11
Bad news: they're not expected until next year.
News: Apple shows G4 with AltiVec; should ship in October, The Mac Observer, 5/11
"According to Apple, the G4 will run processor intensive apps like Photoshop 1.5 times faster than a G3."
News: G4 sneak peek; machines will offer more power than Pentium III, execs say, ZDNet, 5/11
Since the G3 already toasts the Pentium III at integer math, it goes without saying that the G4 will outperform the Pentium III by an even greater margin.
Advice: Performa art part 2, MacCentral, 5/11
Color coding your system, second drive in a Performa.
OS: OS 8.6 improves battery life of the existing Wallstreet models by 25% to 37%, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/11
OS: Sonata expected late 1999, OS 10.0 Client in early 2000, Macs Only!, 5/11
Advice: Migrating from Windows to Mac, iMac2Day, 5/11
Why is there no equivalent to "Windows Update..." on the Mac?
OS: Linux for dummies?, Salon, 5/11
"With every new release of a Linux distribution, the operating system takes another giant hopscotch forward in addressing one of its most frequently criticized aspects: ease of use."
Opinion: I Mac, therefore I am, Macville, 5/11
"...I'm thrilled that my 71 year old parents, neither of whom have ever used a computer, are purchasing an iMac."
Analysis: Tech workers in demand, but field has dark side, LA Times, 5/10
"Long hours, intense competitive pressures, disappointments and regrets, loneliness and boredom all take their toll on computer workers." Amen.
OS: Mac OS X Client moving along, developer release 1 out, MacBC, 5/10
First Look: Mac OS 8.6, The Mac Observer, 5/10
"Mac OS 8.6 is a solid upgrade and in our view, a 'must-have' for Mac users with PowerMacs."
OS: New PlainTalk works with iMac, Blue G3, MacCentral, 5/10
"PlainTalk is a collection of software programs that let your Macintosh speak written text and respond to spoken commands."
OS: Mac OS 8.6 available for download, Apple Computer, 5/10
Also available from download.com - which seems much faster.
News: WWDC anouncements, MacFixIt, 5/10
NewPowerBook, 8.6 available, OS X plans, and iMacs coming to Sears.
OS: Mac OS X Client delayed to 2000, MacInTouch, 5/10
Apple shifting to Mach 3.0 microkernel, new "Quartz" windowing system, and different compiler.
OS: MacFixIt has a good, quick overview of Mac OS 8.6 changes
OS: Troubleshooting Mac OS 8.6, MacFixIt Special Report
Hardware: Canon multifunction peripheral first for Macs, Mactimes, 5/10
Low End Mac has long advocated (11/13/98, 8/9/98) bringing MFPs (printer, scanner, fax, and copy peripherals) to the Mac. Canon is the first to do so, with a new USB device.
Education: Backward migration underway at Pitzer College?, MacCentral, 5/10
Moving from Unix to NT or OS X?
First Look: Castlewood's ORB drive, The MacNN Review
"Although we were unable to obtain benchmarks, performance of the ORB drive was phenomenal."
Opinion: Then I got a Mac..., Macville
"Work gave me a Mac IIcx. Really they just gave it to me to shut me up, I think. Anyway, I love it. It runs system 7.5.5 and does everything that I need it to do and more, plus it's cool!"
Opinion: Transparent Macs, Macville
"The transparent nature of the Macintosh platform is one of the primary reasons that it produces such dedicated users."
Opinion: Pet peeves, Mac OS World, 5/10
"I hate it when...."
Web: MacBC replaces discontinued Macintosh 4ever
Opinion: One more Windows 98, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 5/10
"You will recall a few years ago, Microsoft announced Win 2000 would take the place of both Win NT for offices and servers, and of Win 98 for consumers."
OS: Linux makes it easy to build your own internet server, Byte.com, 5/10
"I could do it all with my one cable modem and my old 486 machine. In addition, the Linux OS functioned as a firewall gateway, letting all the computers on my home network access and browse the Internet simultaneously."
Review: Speed Startup, The MacNN Review, 5/10
"...the savings will vary considerably between different Mac models, processor speeds, and System Folder configurations."
Review: Speed Startup 1.0, The MacOS Page
"...I am very pleased with the Speed Startup's performance on both my G3 and 6400."
Review: Mac OS 8.6, Macs Only!, 5/9
"I have only had a short time to use the final public version. It is extremely stable."
Advice: Data recovery & backup with your iMac, Daily Mac, 5/9
"There are a thousand reasons you don't need floppies, but you do need a data back-up system in place...."
Advice: How to Share Internet Access on Your Network, Accelerate Your Mac!, 5/8
Hardware: Don't believe promises of easy transition to Merced, Byte.com
"...the debate is whether Merced will deliver sufficient bang for the buck."
Advice: Ask Dr. Mac, Bob LeVitus, MacCentral, 5/8
The iMac modem, Iomega drives, and more.
Advice: More on iMac crashes, MacCentral, 5/8
News: Brokerage fires 25 for email abuse, Post-dispatch, 5/7
"Several employees who spoke anonymously said they understood that some of the infractions involved off-color jokes."
OS: Mac Linux email lists, 5/8
Want to dig into Linux but need help? Try these lists.
News: WWDC: What's coming next?, MacWeek, 5/7
New OS, new PowerBook, and Jobs only knows what else.
Opinion: Happy birthday, iMac! What a ride, the iMac, 5/7
News: Memory chip prices plunge, Cnet, 5/7
It's been a long time coming: "Memory chip prices are once again in a downward spiral."
Opinion: Net censorship and Apple, Don Crabb, ZDNet, 5/7
"The Internet, in fact, did nothing, except provide an inexpensive and readily available information conduit that may have allowed those kids to proclaim their own violent alienation from our society in the form of a Web site and postings on AOL."
Opinion: Colors blooming everywhere in the Mac market, the iMac, 5/7
Mice, speakers, printers, scanners, and more.
News: Major PC makers plan Y2K alliance, ZDNet, 5/7
"Analyst's aren't convinced that the effort will have a significant impact on Y2K understanding or readiness."
News: Your spreadsheet is almost right!, MSNBC
"Every major Windows spreadsheet on the market today routinely returns mathematically incorrect answers when the sums soar beyond the trillions."
News: iMac sales extremely strong down under, Daily News, 5/7
History: Steve almost sold Apple to Commodore, MacSpeedZone
OS: File naming, MacKiDo, 5/7
Long file names, spaces, special characters, accent, and smart searching set Mac OS apart.
Opinion: iCab browser gets better with each release, MacTimes, 5/7
Opinion: Paradigms of personal computing, Barney Hadden, Mac OS Planet, 5/7
"In the begining was the Apple. It began something no one had ever anticipated: personal computing."
Opinion: Name your poison, Mac Opinion, 5/7
Fascinating (albeit lengthy) article about human folly past and present, including Microsoft and Apple.
Web: Macintosh 4ever comes to an end, to be replaced by MacBC.com on May 9.
Advice: How I made a small fortune at Apple Computer (out of a much, much larger one), Ask Tog
More about investment than computers, but lots of good advice learned the hard way.
Web: The iMacGeek
Rumor: 101 PowerBook G3 design markups, the final details, AppleInsider, 5/7
"...information on 101 is extremely constrained, and to put it frankly, just not available."
Rumor: Lombard pictures declared fake, The PowerBook Zone, 5/7
Connectivity: SoftRouter Plus adds web caching server, Vicomsoft
Software router also shares internet access and acts as a firewall.
Opinion: Linux Inside!, Daily Mac, 5/7
"The authors all agreed that Linux was the best thing since sex. So, liking sex, I decided to find out what this Linux was all about." (also see Linux Links for Mac Users)
Opinion: Compact Mac: Uno, Macville, 5/7
"Apple's compact Macs are pretty much the 'apple-of-the-eye' of their product lines...."
News: Bright, bulbous iMac quickly becoming a favorite, The Star, 5/6
Review: Microtech Mii Zip, the iMac, 5/6
Compact USB Zip drive for the iMac, G3 Pro.
News: Math professor wins landmark crypto ruling, Cnet, 5/6 [Slashdot]
"U.S. export limits on encryption are unconstitutional, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled...."
Software: SpeedStartup, Casady & Greene
$20 startup accelerator is first competition for Startup Doubler, a $20 shareware program.
OS: Quad Xeon processors running NT are a weak value proposition, Linux Today, 5/6
"...poor options for upgrades make it a dead end system."
Happy birthday, iMac - unveiled by Steve Jobs on May 6, 1998.
(Click here to see the Top 25 iMac Sites.)
Rumor: The Star Wars sick-out, Wired News, 5/6
May 19 expected to be "National Geek's Day Out" for Phantom Menace premier.
Opinion: Teaching an old Mac new tricks, MacTeens
"Today we'll take a look at just the effort it takes to bring a Macintosh SE back from negligence and into a great world of productivity once again."
Opinion: 365 days of WallStreet, iMac, The PowerBook Zone, 5/6
"What a difference a year makes."
Rumor: The new PowerBook G3, Mac OS Rumors, 5/6
Even a very nice photo (this may not be the final appearance)
Advice: Hardware for your Mac web server, MacCentral, 5/6
Opinion: A Mac by any other name is not the same!, Macville, 5/6
"There's a certain synergy that exists between the hardware and the operating system when they're designed in tight unison, all under one roof."
News: iCab preview release 1.5 available, 5/6 [Macs Only!]
Compact Mac-only browser keeps getting better.
Rumor: Mac OS X to run PC software?, Think Secret, 5/6
"Apple is probably going to outright buy Insignia and Connectix once it has Mac OS X far along enough that it can focus on integrating PC software support and making that support as transparent as possible."
Humor: Sit Different (lots more images)
Opinion: Why people hate Macs, Macville, 5/6
"...their computer is a cheap knock-off of the computer they hate so much."
Opinion: What's in a number?, Applelinks, 5/5
"Why should I pay over a thousand dollars for a 266 speed [iMac] when I can get a PC at 350 for less?"
Rumor: Apple developing new font technology, Mac OS Rumors, 5/5
"...designed to replace the existing Mac OS font control system as well as the many third-party solutions...."
News: Motorola, IBM have big PowerPC plans, Jim Davis, Cnet, 5/5
"...the new design allows for the easy addition of what he calls 'application-specific processing units.'"
Hardware: Currently available FireWire products, FireWire Watch
First Look: VST FireWire hard drive, MacNN, 5/5
"The drive performance is pretty snappy. Not like a high-end SCSI drive, but nothing to complain about."
First Look: Mac OS X Server, MacWeek, 5/5
"One of the differences between Mac OS X Server and the current desktop Mac OS is the versatile multiuser environment."
Opinion: PowerBook Duo 2.0?, Jason D. O'Grady, MacWeek, 5/5
"...there is a reasonable compromise between the bloat of the PowerBook G3 Series and the tiny footprint of the PowerBook 2400. The solution is a dockable PowerBook...."
Dark Side: Windows 98 SE (second edition) released to PC makers, Cnet, 5/5
"Microsoft has been criticized in some circles for charging users for what is essentially an OS update, especially as it is a departure from past practices."
Call to arms: School computer purchases urged, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/4
Plan includes replacing Macs in high schools with Windows machines.
See MacInSchool for amunition.
Advice: Can the iMac be upgraded?, Mining Co., 5/5
Don't expect processor upgrades for the iMac.
Web: Mudbrick Award to uggliest sites on the web, Net Studio
My kids do better than this with no training!
Web: Fast Search, lightning fast new search engine.
OS: Open benchmark invitation, Mindcraft [Slashdot]
Mindcraft works to regain credibility from the Linux crowd with a third Windows NT vs. Linux test, this time involving Linux experts to tune the OS.
News: Maine courts Mac-based since mid-80s, Macs Only!, 5/5
"The Maine court system continues today as essentially Mac-based, with most of its original Mac equipment still functioning."
Rumor: MacMate to run full OS 8.6, not lite version, Think Secret, 5/5
"Back when Apple discontinued the Newton ... and grudgingly announced that Apple would ... market PDAs running the Mac OS, Apple publically stated that it was 'not interested in splitting the Mac OS code base.'"
OS: Keeping Linux in tune, Salon, 5/5
"...a bevy of wannabe 'ultimate' central locations for tuning information have sprung up."
Opinion: iMacs aren't the only tasty computers, Macinsite, 5/4
"Every attempt to mimick the iMac is a vain attempt by the Wintel community to overcome their own unimaginative platform."
News: Neiman Marcus sells iMac, The Mac Observer, 5/4
Opinion: How much longer before the iPC?, The Mac Observer, 5/4
"It is simply a matter of time before PC clone makers start shipping curvy cases with translucent plastics in different colors."
Opinion: Bland PCs for a bland world, John C. Dvorak, ZDNet, 5/4
"I would argue that the beige computer is a universal thing and the sign of a deeply rooted sociology - the sociology of tedium."
OS: Cool your jets, penguin, Mac Opinion
"The point here is that I don't want to be a UNIX expert, I just want to use my Mac to get my work done."
Overview: Mac, WindowsNT servers compared, Macworld
"For general file serving in a Mac environment, don't let anyone force you to abandon the Mac OS."
OS: Unix and beyond, an interview with Ken Thompson, computer.org
Ken Thompson is the father of Unix
OS: Practical manager's guide to Linux, osOpinion
"This document on Linux is unique in that it speaks the language of business, from the viewpoint of a corporate user."
Rumor: New portables, desktops, and Mac OS 8.6 due at WWDC, AppleInsider, 5/4
WWDC begins May 10 with keynote address by Steve Jobs.
News: Mac OS 8.6 finished, provided to developers, Macs Only!, 5/4
News: iCab 1.5 expected this week, MacCentral, 5/4
Compact Mac-only browser already accounts for 0.5% of lowendmac.net traffic, ahead of WebTV.
Dark Side: IE 5 has security bug, ZDNet, 5/4
"The next person who sits at your machine can easily return" to secure sites you've visited.
Advice: How to add USB to your PowerBook, Mac OS Planet, 5/4
Review: Mac OS X Server delivers, Infoworld, 5/3
"Mac OS X Server is essentially a Unix box running a GUI that looks like Finder and acts like a combination of Finder and NextStep...."
News: Apple stock hits 6 year high, The Mac Observer, 5/3
Dark Side: Springtime is here, and so are all the bugs, Internet Week, 5/3
"Considering that lack of stability is one of NT's most notorious problems as a serious enterprise server platform, you'd think Redmond would be putting more effort into changing that perception."
Opinion: Back when I was a kid..., the Daily Mac
"...what the world of computers used to be like, back in the late 70's and early 80's."
(Also look into The rise and fall of Sinclair Computers.)
Opinion: What life with a cable modem is really like, CNN interactive
"...after six months of use, I can say cable was worth the wait. At least, that's what I tell myself on the good days. "
OS: Linux tuning repository, TuneLinux.com [Slashdot]
Mindcraft couldn't find the answers, so Owain Vaughan has launched TuneLinux.com.
OS: Linux gushes savings for oil giant, Computerworld, 5/3 [Slashdot]
"Saddled with low oil prices and a need to cut costs, ... Amerada Hess Corp. is saving millions of dollars by replacing a costly IBM supercomputer with high-end parallel clusters running Linux...."
News: Apple stock reaches 52-week high, AAPL Investors, 5/3
News: Free NT servers to every school in South Dakota, MacSoldiers, 5/3
"...the state is ... providing each school with a fully equipped NT server."
Web: Think Secret, new Mac rumors site
Hardware: Apple discontinues PowerBook G3 Series floppy drive, PowerBook Source, 5/3
Advice: When to buy a PC, MacKiDo, 5/3
"If you don't touch anything, and just use the machine as a turnkey solution, they work fine. "
Dark Side: Windows 95 Y2K fix kept from users, Computerworld, 5/3 (thanks, Slashdot)
"For almost a year, Microsoft Corp. withheld from its 125 million corporate users of Windows 95 the information that a software patch was in the works to make the desktop operating system fully year 2000-compliant...."
Opinion: The inmates are running the asylum Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 5/3
News: iMacs in education, No Beige, 5/3
"All in all, the iMac is a great educational machine...."
Opinion: Linux in your family network, Byte.com, 5/3
Opinion: Power Mac 5400 model of instability?, Macville
"Crashed and burned, those 5400s did."
Opinion: Take my iMac, please!, Mac Opinion, 5/3
News: Epson Stylus 740i comes in iMac colors, Mac OS Planet, 5/3
"Aside from its great looks the 740i is one heck of a great printer."
Advice: My iMac rashed big time!, iMac Tips & Techniques, 5/1
"When crashes are a recurring problem, one of two situations exists: Either data on your iMac's hard drive is corrupt, or there is a conflict between two or more system extensions."

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