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The Low End Mac Link Archive, June 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: Oil barons
of the 21st century, Mac Opinion, 6/30. "When competitors sell
identical products, there is no competition."
Opinion: Is P1
really an eMate?, Mac Users Militia."...word from the beginning
was that eventually the eMate would be brought back to life, but
this time as a true Macintosh and not a Newton."
Opinion: Farewell to a friend,
Mac Mania, 6/30. "Today . . . I'm going to retire my faithful SE/30
that's worked for me perfectly...."
Dark Side: Coming
soon: Back Orifice 2000, Wired News, 6/30. "This will
demonstrate that Microsoft's operating systems are completely
insecure and a bad choice for consumers and businesses who demand
privacy."
Rumor: Apple
shifts resources to iBook intro, Applelinks, 6/29. "...Apple
wants to make sure the rollout is a success and may temporarily cut
back on other projects...."
Opinion: Powerful
simplicity, MacDiscussion, 6/29. "...what the Macintosh does
for the user is enable him/her to do powerful, great things -
simply and easily."
Opinion:
The internet flame column, osOpinion. "What we have to remember
is that when we disagree with someone, even someone who is being a
real jerk, there are better and more productive ways to react than
flaming."
Opinion:
Banning the beige boxes, ABC News, 6/28. "People want that
easy-to-use computer, and the [Wintel] industry is still trying to
figure out how to give it to them."
News: Mac OS ROM
Update 1.0, Apple, 6/28. For iMac, Blue G3, and Lombard with
Mac OS 8.6 only.
News: Big Brother wants to read your email, Charles W. Moore,
MacTimes, 6/28. British government wants ISPs to provide police
with ability to intercept internet traffic.
Opinion:
Apple's destiny vs. the PC's fate, Apple Trader, 6/28. "The
Pentium III has inspired about as much excitement as, well,
leftover pizza."
OS X: OS X on
old Power Macs?, Xappeal. "...the Client release will support a
wider range of hardware than the Server release."
OS X: Where's the
new finder?, MacKiDo, 6/28. "As Mac users, we need to face the
fact that the NeXT acquisition of Apple is complete."
News: MacRevolution
expands, 6/28. Mac-only ISP adds Arizona, Maryland, Mass.,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersy, New York, Oregon, Penn., and
Washington to California base.
Opinion:
The iMac challenge, osOpinion. "I recommend some real-life
shootouts between [the iMac and the E-Power]."
Science:
High dose of caffeine protects from radiation, New Scientist,
6/26 [Slashdot]. "A person
weighing 70 kilograms [about 155 pounds] might therefore need to
drink at least 100 cups to receive the same dose as the mice."
Opinion:
Apple for sale?, Mac Observer, 6/25. "Apple is a classic buy
out target!"
Opinion: The end is
near: backup now!, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 6/25. Overview
of backup hardware and software.
Opinion: Mac
in a box, Mac Mania, 6/25. One man's idea how Apple could make
a computer to take the world by storm.
Hardware: The
impact of the system bus, Daily Mac, 6/22. What does it mean to
have a 50, 66, or 100 MHz system bus?
OS: System
7.0 released 10 years ago, The Press On-Line, 6/22. Introduced
32-bit addressing (way before Win95), TrueType fonts, broader
network support, and more.
Advice: The
impact of RAM/memory, Daily Mac, 6/22. "If you're looking for a
secret elixir to make your iMac young again - err, faster and more
responsive, that is - I highly suggest a RAM upgrade."
Opinion:
Why convergence won't happen, osOpinion. "You go to your TV to
turn your brain off - you go to your computer to turn your brain
on."
Dark Side: Why Windows 2000 is
already a failure, ZDNet, 6/22. "It is too much for consumers.
And too little for mission-critical business environments."
Rumor: Apple
to standardize on DVD, AppleInsider, 6/22. "...Apple will begin
to completely phase out the CD-ROM starting sometime later this
year."
News: Modem security flaw
hits iMac, Global Village, others, MacInTouch Special Report.
"...the modems fail to safely guard between data mode and control
mode, so that control sequences may be triggered remotely...."
Opinion: Apple's
engineering shakeup for the better, PowerBook Zone. "...if all
four of these projects are brought together under one group, the
combined shared development effort will speed each of these
projects."
Rumor: A look at Apple's next
PowerBook, Mac OS Rumors, 6/21. Business and creative versions,
maybe 1280 x 1024 (yes!), return of second device bay, lots
more.
OS: The promise of
Mac OS X, About.com, 6/21. "Most Mac OS users have high
expectations for their Mac: it should just plain work."
OS: Mac OS
X, raising the bar, Sunworld, 6/99. "Although I use FreeBSD for
my server, I use (gasp!) Mac OS on my desktop machine."
News: University
of Michigan not dumping Macs, MacCentral, 6/21. "While the
campus is cross platform from the student perspective, it is pro-PC
from an administrative office standpoint."
Connectivity: Fractal
antenna small, efficient, Scientific American, 7/99 [Slashdot]. Already used in some cell
phones, fractal antenna could find home in wireless networking,
portable computers.
Opinion:
What Windows users will put up with, Bryan Chaffin, Mac
Observer, 6/18. "What has stunned and amazed me time and again are
the things that [even experienced] Windows users will put up with."
Reinstalling Windows because they tried to install some new
component and something went wrong.
Paying someone else US$79/hour to do reinstall Windows for them
because they simply can't.
Having an "expert" install software for them (again at
US$79/hour).
Web: MacBC unveils Mac
101, 6/18. Includes articles on the Finder, the Apple menu,
Appearance Manager, more.
Opinion: Disappearing
software, Busman's Holiday, 6/18. "...users of vintage Macs are
in a real quandary as to where to find software beyond basic system
software that Apple keeps available."
Rumor: ATI
Universal Installer 4.0 on the way, MacCentral, 6/18. New
installer will include additional fixes and enhancements over
Apple's recent update.
News: More
Mac schools - and some defectors, MacCentral, 6/18. Looks like
the University of Michigan and the University of Tennessee at
Memphis may phase out Macs.
News: Mac hobbyist puts G4 in
6100, Mac OS Rumors, 6/17. "Of course, even the first G4s will
be severely bottlenecked by the slow main bus speeds on first and
even second-generation PowerMacs...."
Opinion: Five keys to Mac
OS X success, MacWeek, 6/17. "Can Apple release an operating
system so compelling that . . . owners of older Macs buy a new
computer to run the new operating system?"
Opinion:
Linux, the experience, osOpinion. "My experiences with Linux
were rough at first, but now I use it almost as my everyday
OS."
News: School
gives iMacs to students, MacCentral, 6/17. "...San Jose-Edison
Academy in West Covina, CA, where students get a new iMac computer
to use at home if they're third-graders or older."
News: Canadian schools using
iMacs, ehMac, 6/16. "I just returned from Nunavet and every
school that I visited was equipped with iMacs...."
News: Toronto
schools make huge Mac commitment, MacCentral, 6/16. "The
Toronto Board of Education has made a huge commitment to the Mac
platform, possibly to the tune of 10,000 iMacs for Toronto
schools...."
Opinion: The keys to
Lombard, Jason D. O'Grady, MacWeek, 6/16. "For the most part
the changes in Lombard are for the better."
Analysis:
Viruses: The danger of relevancy, Apple's Orchard. "As the Mac
OS continues to gain market share and continues to pop up in the
media we will have to deal with more and more Mac viruses."
Dark Side: Firm
exposes WinNT security hole, ZDNet, 6/16. "Nearly every Windows
NT-based Web server on the Internet is vulnerable to a newly
discovered security hole...."
Consumer: Divx is
dead, DVD Resource Page, 6/16. Owners of Divx disks will have
two years to watch them, then no more support from the DVD
alternative.
Opinion:
Microsoft and Standard Oil, osOpinion. "We reached the
conclusion that there were three great divisions in the petroleum
business - the production, the carriage of it and the preparation
of it for market. If any one party controlled absolutely any one of
those three divisions, it practically would have a very fair show
of controlling the others."
OS: Packages (new
resources), MacKiDo, 6/16. The way Apple bundles resources is
changing with Mac OS X and Carbon.
OS: LinuxPPC 1999
ships, MacWeek, 6/15. "The new installer in LinuxPPC 1999 makes
it easier for users to install the operating system...."
Opinion: The Volvo Syndrome: Is the Mac really the liberal's
computer?, MacTimes, 6/15. "I know lots of conservative Mac-users,
and a significant number of conservative Volvo drivers too."
Opinion: Macintosh
model implosion: What's in a name?, Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
#485. "Apple is now . . . applying the same name . . . to machines
that have significant technical differences."
Games:
Sneak peek: SimCity 3000, Inside Mac Games. "...SimCity 3000 is
going to provide many, many hours of great gaming fun."
Opinion: Third
Voice, boon or bane?, The iMac NewsPage, 6/14. "...if
webmasters want improved feedback and interactivity with their
readers, it's best left to them to decide how to achieve
this...."
Web: Third Voice vandalizes
web sites?, Mac OS Rumors, 6/10. Now Windows only, IE only
plugin lets anyone put notes on your web site.
Also see Say No to Third
Voice. "This software is interpreted to be a violation of
copyright and should be investigated on a Federal Level...."
Register your complaint about copyright violation with Third Voice.
More discussion at MacNN.
Opinion: Stuck in the
middle again, MacWeek, 6/11. What if you're too advanced for
the iMac but don't want to ante up for a G3 system?
Virus: Some Macs may be
suceptible to virus, MacWeek, 6/11. Macs sharing files with an
infected Windows computer vulnerable to Worm.ExploreZip virus.
Rumor: The
selling of Apple, Don Crabb, ZDNet, 6/11. Is Steve Jobs
preparing Apple for new owners?
Virus: Dangerous
email worm crawls net, Wired News, 6/10. "Both Intel and
Microsoft closed down large sections of their email
networks...."
Also see Devastating
email worm on the loose, ZDNet, 6/11. "You're a target if you
use Windows 95, 998, or NT and Microsoft Outlook or Exchange for
email." What, no Mac support? ;-)
Opinion:
Intuit, Best Buy, H-P - who needs 'em?, Bryan Chaffin, Mac
Observer, 6/11. "These three companies have proven either inept or
just plain unwilling to make a successful go of it in the Mac
world."
Opinion: Is my Mac
interface eroding?, MacBC, 6/11. "Being pretty is one thing,
but it shouldn't come at the expense of functionality."
Opinion: PowerBooks
and subtlety, Charles Moore, Mac Opinion, 6/11. "...PowerBooks
are the logical Mac for most of us, providing that we can live with
the higher cost of admission."
Opinion: Complexity,
Mac Opinion, 6/11. "There are two types of people in this world:
those that love complexity and those that hate it."
Opinion: Macs
thrive at school, MacCentral, 6/11. Walter's State Community
College, University of Wisconsin Applied Superconductivity Center,
Television Studio at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Opinion: Macs
are in schools, MacSoldiers, 6/10. Many school districts
continue to prefer the Macintosh.
Rumor: Sawtooth
G4s may appear before holidays, AppleInsider, 6/10. "...it
appears that Motorola has been favoring to whom they seed
developmental versions of their new G4 processor."
Advocacy: Apple
and the IT Market, follow up, MacBC, 6/10. "Once we invest in .
. . NT, why would we want to remain Apple customers in the face of
a Board of Education and community that relentlessly push
Wintel?"
Opinion: Misguided administrators switch CSU to NT-only, Mac
Observer, 6/9. "Bean counters often make decisions that make sense
for bean-counters, and not necessarily the business or institution
they serve. This certainly seems to be such a case."
Surf Different: Daily iMac lets
visitors choose color scheme. Visitors can choose from six
iMac-related color schemes: Bondi, blueberry, lime, grape,
strawberry, and tangerine.
Review: Kinesis ergonomic keyboard, MacTimes, 6/9. One look
(see photo) and you know it's different - but does it help?
Review: ADS
2-port USB PCI card, The Review, 6/9. "The ADS card worked like
a charm with every device I threw at it."
Opinion: What is
a web page?, MyAppleMenu, 6/9. What about ad blocking software,
or Third Voice, a program that lets you put notes on other people's
sites?
Advice: AppleScript
Library, MacBC, 6/9. Ready to use scripts and information on
learning and developing your own AppleScripts.
Opinion: iMacs at
home in business, MacWeek, 6/8. "...the iMac is the only really
great low-end computer Apple has ever designed."
Review: Mac OS X Server
on the right track, Network Computing. "Although Mac OS X
Server is a perfectly viable server as it stands, Apple is
continuing to fine-tune it."
News: New
PowerBooks start to arrive, MacWeek, 6/7. "Apple's online store
has started shipping the newest generation of slim and light
PowerBooks, but retailers say the new models won't be available in
significant quantities on store shelves for several weeks
yet."
Opinion: A Luddite
reconsiders, Slate. "And then Apple introduced a power-packed,
immensely loaded, seductively designed new line of notebooks, the
PowerBook G3s."
Connectivity:
Judge to AT&T - free access for all!, ZDNet, 6/4. No, not
free access for end users, but AT&T-owned cable systems must
allow user choice of ISP.
Opinion: I have made my peace
with Apple, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 6/4. "Cloning was the
biggest issue. I was a big fan of Power Computing."
Opinion: That rumbling
sound, Dr. Tim Hillman, MacOpinion, 6/4. "Apple computer is
indeed coming, and the PC makers are acting scared."
Rumor: Apple ends MkLinux
development, Mac OS Rumors, 6/4. Apple to focus on OS 8.x, OS
X, and leave Linux to other developers.
Review: Mac
OS X - Ready to serve, NewMedia. "What you get is a pre-emptive
multitasking, protected memory, multi-user, server operating
system-UNIX that runs on Apple hardware."
Rumor: PowerPC
G4 delayed, AppleInsider, 6/4. G4 may not ship until first
quarter 2000.
OS: Mac vs. PC,
Redisential Computing, Standford University. "Many students have
asked us for advice on what type of computer to buy."
OS: The Unix war:
Epilogue, osOpinion. "Compare this to the Windows or Macintosh
communities where the OSes, while superficially customizable in
appearance, are virtually identical underneath."
Opinion: Apple retail stores
needed, The iMac, 6/3. "It's now time for Apple to put their
name all over the place in major markets."
Advice: New uses for
extra clock cycles, Jason D. O'Grady, MacWeek, 6/2. "If you are
a longtime advocate of the platform you probably own more Macs than
you would comfortably admit to in mixed company."
Rumor: Apple to buy
iCab?, Think Secret, 6/2. "...my personal feeling is that Apple
intends to buy iCab and write it for Carbon so that it can avoid
the constant stability problems associated with Netscape or
IE."
Connectivity:
Getting DSL, Slashdot, 6/2. "I wrote this is in an effort to
purge myself of experience in getting DSL service, and in the hope
that it helps make us DSL consumers a little more
informed...."
News:
White House warns hackers they will be punished, Reuters/Yahoo,
6/2. "Attacking U.S. government Web sites is becoming an
increasingly popular tool of people angry with the Clinton
administration and its agencies."
Media Bias: Apple rolls out
faster desktops, PC World, 6/1. Article notes G3 case is
similar to iMac, computer is twice as fast as similarly configured
Pentium II (not "up to twice as fast"), and then compares price of
G3/450 with 450 MHz Pentium II system. Clueless?
Opinion: Interface Hall of Shame:
QuickTime 4 Player, Isys. "The new interface represents an
almost violent departure from the long established standards that
have been the hallmark of Apple software."
OS:
AppleTalk services under Linux, Linux World. "If you're trying
to integrate Mac and Linux environments, the Netatalk suite of
programs will take care of basic communication over file sharing
and printing services."
Hardware: 
Dark Side: 
Opinion: 
Dark Side: