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The Low End Mac Link Archive, July 1999
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.
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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: Rocket in the
house, MacWeek, 7/30. "At 11 megabits per second, the AirPort
is faster than a speeding bullet. Most other wireless home
networking products available today only claim 1 or 2 Mbps."
Opinion: Pull
the other one, John!, Applelinks, 7/30. "So why would a
seemingly intelligent, thoughtful and well informed columnist
regularly make foolish sweeping comments regarding the state of the
Mac...."
Opinion: iBook,
the machine you can handle, Applelinks, 7/30. "But there's one
thing about that machine, as with every other portable on the
market save the iBook: It has to be babied."
Gaming: Voodoo3
Performance Page, Accelerate Your Mac! "...I don't think there
is anything out there now or in the forseeable future that offers
the kind of performance and image quality that I've seen with the
Voodoo3 on the Mac."
Opinion: The
Barbie fixation, Janelle Brown, Salon, 7/28. "...Dvorak's
article is chock-full of sexist stereotypes."
News: Huge
losses, job cuts at Compaq, Wired, 7/28. $184 million loss,
8,000 jobs cut, and $700-800 million in restructuring charges. Only
thing missing from this article: the word beleaguered.
News:
Apple invests $100 million in Samsung, c|net, 7/28. This
investment "is aimed at ensuring Apple has an adequate supply of
displays for products such as the forthcoming iBook portable."
Dark Side:
Pentium III musters 600 MHz, c|net, 7/27. "...the introduction
of Intel's 600 MHz Pentium III chip makes us wonder if even the
privileged technology few need the speed."
iBook: New
sleep & conservation modes official, Daily Mac, 7/27.
"...with the iBook, several new sleep options were introduced as
unique and somewhat innovative ways of saving power and boot
time."
iBook: iBook
pricing: Here we go again, MacBC, 7/27. "From what I have seen
out of the Wintel notebook markets, the only things cheaper are
no-name companies or crippled machines."
iBook: iBook: An
iMac to go, Adam C. Engst, TidBITS, 7/26. "The most amazing
aspect of the iBook, though, is its support for Apple's new AirPort
wireless networking...."
Opinion:
The iBook disaster, John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine, 7/26. "I
suppose I shouldn't say this, but I can only describe it as a
'girly' machine."
Review: ORB external SCSI
drive, MacSoldiers, 7/26. "...the ORB drive does have a few
quirks, but overall I'm pleased I purchased one." (You can order
ORB from Outpost.com.)
Analysis/Gaming: The
benchmarking of the Macintosh, GameSpot. "What is unfortunate
is the relative lack of fast 3D hardware on the Macintosh."
Opinion: Apple's
iBook: A Mac to go, Newsweek. "We're the only company in the
industry that can take responsibility for the whole user
experience."
Mobility: Palm
reaches "the rest of us," MacCentral, 7/25. "...the company has
finally come up with a Palm that will attract the casual user: the
consumer who doesn't need a palmtop but would like one."
Web: iBookOnline,
third site dedicated to the iBook.
Opinion: Feels like the
first time, Macworld. "A forgotten breed of Mac users has
reappeared: the first-time user."
Opinion: Apple design?, Mac
Mania, 7/24. "The industrial design team at Apple has really been
outdoing themselves."
iBook: iBook in
depth special report, AppleInsider, 7/23. "When you look at the
big picture, the iBook rumors that were published leading up till
its release were mostly correct, except for two aspects: size and
weight."
iBook: A
look at the iBook, Salon, 7/23. "Will the clamshell computers,
due out in September, be the next insanely great thing - proof that
Apple's here to stay?"
iBook: iBook
makes it's debut, Charles Moore, Mac Opinion, 7/23. "The
iBook's behemoth proportions are a disappointment to me, and it
still leaves a big hole in Apple's product line where a thin,
sleek, subnotebook should be."
iBook: The Addict's
impressions, MacBC, 7/23. "It is by no means the crippled
machine that some were expecting...."
ibook: The
iBook from a gamer's perspective, MacCentral, 7/23. "The iBook
is certainly an impressive machine with a good enough amount of
horsepower to run most games available for the Mac without any
problem."
Low End:
Living the 8-Bit Dream in a 32-Bit World, NY Times, 7/22
[Slashdot]. "In a sense, their
devotion to the simple machines is an active refutation of the
Wintel world of quick obsolescence that frustrates many computer
users."
iBook: IBM copper chip powers iBook, c|net, 7/22. "The new
iBook laptop uses a specially designed low-power copper chip from
IBM to achieve its 'all-day' battery life...."
iBook: The iBook
looks to be a hit, MacCentral, 7/22. "I give it good odds of
besting the iMac's record setting sales."
News: Retailers open
to iBook, MacWeek, 7/22. "Retailers are eager to cash in on
Apple's long-awaited consumer notebook...."
Opinion: Will AirPort
take off?, MacWeek, 7/22. "...compared with current wireless
LAN options, AirPort is fast, friendly and priced 'pretty
aggressively.'"
Web: The iBook
List, The Macintosh Guy. Begun October 29, 1998 as the
CPortList, the iBook List is a place to talk about the iBook with
others.
News: Apple
gains despite low-cost competition, c|net, 7/22. "For the month
of June, Apple Computer maintained its No. 3 ranking in the retail
and mail-order market with strong sales of the iMac...." And, by
the way, the iMac was #1 in June.
iBook: iBook arrives, The
iMac,7/22.
OS: Not too fast..., MacinThoughts. "After 15 years of
developing and evolving the Macintosh interface, 30 million users
have an OS which they are comfortable with."
Special report: Wireless
networking, MacInTouch, 7/22. "The forthcoming iBook and
AirPort will do for wireless networking what the iMac did for
USB."
USB: Microsoft announces new Mac-compatible mouse, MacTimes,
7/22.
Opinion: iBook OK, but AirPort is another story, MacBC, 7/22.
"What makes [iBook] the wave of the future is AirPort."
News: iMac
TV tuner, MacCentral, 7/22. You want iMac TV? MyTV provides it
on the iMac - or any other USB equipped Mac.
Opinion: Thirteen
interesting iBook facts, Mac OS Planet. "The iBook offers a
Save feature when sleeping or shutting down, this will take all the
contents of the RAM and save them to the Hard Disk so when you wake
up or turn on the unit you will have a much smaller startup time
and be able to continue your work exactly how you left it before
the save."
USB: Multifunction
peripherals, MacInTouch special report, 7/22. Print, scan, fax,
etc. with a single peripheral, although each lacks some useful
features.
iBook: An in-depth
look at the iBook, Mac OS Planet. "...although the price seemed
a little high ($1599) to me at first it turns out to be a fair
one...."
OS: The net's stealth operating system, MSNBC, 7/21 [Slashdot]. "It's the software behind the
world's most popular Web site and the world's most popular FTP site
&emdash; but unless you're a geek, you've never heard of
it."
Opinion: A
hands-on look a the iBook, David Pogue, ZDNet/Macworld, 7/21.
The power cord rolls into the AC adapter, which lights up!
iBook:
Apple launches iBook, BBC News, 7/21. "The iBook is the 'iMac
to Go' for both home and school."
Connectivity:
Farallon announces SkyLine PC Card to work with AirPort hub,
Mac Observer, 7/21. This will allow many older PowerBooks to use
wireless networking, albeit at a slower 2 Mbps (AirPort goes to 11
Mbps). SkyLine also supports peer-to-peer networking to 1000'
outdoors and 300-500' indoors.
Opinion: Apple's
biggest challenge, ZDNet, 7/21. "...Apple's biggest problem is
not its ability to deliver superior technology, but its ability to
deliver sales."
News: Windows 95
remains most popular operating system, c|net, 7/20. "Despite
the hoopla and expectations that accompanied the launch of the
Windows 98 operating system, research shows that its predecessor
remains the popular choice."
Field reports: ORB
drive, MacInTouch. Real competition for the Iomega Jaz.
Analysis: The winds of
change, MacTeens. "Although the transition between old
technology and new is not exactly smooth as silk, it is a necessary
evil."
OS: Amazing,
thy name is Ten, MacTeens. "OS X looks to be a representative
for the true future of computing."
Opinion: Cheap PCs
are just that, MacTeens. "I looked at it for a few minutes,
then I told my mom that I would rather have a Macintosh."
Rumor: Apple lays plans for
bundled DSL, Mac OS Rumors, 7/19. "Information from reliable
sources indicates that Apple is currently refining its plans for
bundling xDSL 'modems' as an option on all professional Macs, and
perhaps also on the iMac and Consumer Portable as well."
Consumer: $129 Agfa
ePhoto smile digital camera, Digital Eyes. Least expensive
digital camera I've seen. But it's Windows only - anyone want to
start a petition?
Review: 3dfx Voodoo2 driver
performance, Accelerate Your Mac, 7/19. New driver helps
Voodoo2 catch and sometimes surpass Rage 128.
Hardware: Stealth serial port
replaces iMac modem, GeeThree. If you don't need the internal
modem, this US$50 device lets you replace it with a Mac serial
port.
OS: Good
outweighs bad with Mac OS X Server, Byte.com, 7/19. "For
starters, X Server is that Holy Grail Mac people have been begging
for for years: a modern OS."
Opinion:
Inside look at Outlook Express 5.0, AppleInsider, 7/19.
"Microsoft's Macintosh team is planning to capitalize by producing
most powerful and feature-filled Macintosh e-mail client available
to date."
Opinion: PowerBook G3/400: So this is the future!?, MacTimes,
7/19. "...my new machine is powerful enough to serve fine as both
my portable and my main computer, and I use it as both."
Review: ORB drive,
MacEase. "So, does the ORB live up to its advance publicity?
Preliminary testing indicates that it does!"
Hardware: 2 Gigs
to go, Mac Review Zone. Comparison of Jaz and ORB removable
media hard drives.
Opinion: Will Mac OS X Client
succeed?, Xappeal. "...the advantages will make themselves
apparent when the Mac OS X Client version offers superior
features."
Opinion:
Silicon Valley can't compare to the Northwest, Seattle Times,
7/18. "Windows 95 not only matched but in several ways exceeded the
Macintosh and Unix operating systems for usability and
flexibility."
Analysis: Processor upgrades:
The G4?, GraphicPower Page, 7/18. "There is still going to be
some wait time for development and testing of their designs."
Advice: Ask Dr.
Mac, Bob LeVitus, MacCentral, 7/17.
Opinion: This time
the Flavorade is sweet, I, Cringely, 7/15. With the iMac,
"Apple instituted a 100 percent test policy and diverted the bad
boxes before they reached customers."
Web: Applefritter, a
look at prototypes and creative user hacks (be sure to look at the
DLZ-3).
Analysis: Some
analysts can't accept it, but Apple is back, Business Week,
7/16. "The Apple product really is different from the rest of the
world. It has a different look, feel, color, software."
Schools: Good
news from schools all over, MacCentral, 7/16. Peace Academy,
Hillel Academy, and Luxembourg happily using Macs.
Advice: It's a
Macintosh Enigma, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 7/16. Dealing
with the other spam - telemarketers.
Software: Track world
time with World Clock CSM, Mac Junkie, 7/16. It's one world
with 24 time zones. World Clock lets you know the time in
California, Australia, India, France, and Quebec.
News:
District buys new computers, auctions off old, Bay City (MI)
Times, 7/15. "Nearly 100 MacIntosh computers will be up for grabs
next week . . . as the school system moves to an all-PC format for
consistent computing across the district." Another Mac loss, but an
opportunity to buy used Macs inexpensively. (Support Macs in
education: visit MacInSchool.)
Rumor: PowerPC future
updates, Mac OS Rumors, 7/15. Forthcoming G3 will pass 500 MHz,
increase multiplier to 10x or greater; G4 may debut at 600 MHz;
on-chip L2 cache likely.
Huh?: Open-source
Apache encroaches on Microsoft, c|net, 7/15. "Although
Microsoft firmly believes its own Web server software is better
than the open-source Apache program, it turns out that the software
giant has become one of many firms using Apache."
Web: MacTeens - and the
Save Jon's
Mac campaign. MacTeen's webmaster's dad wants to sell the Mac
and go Windows. :-(
OS: What's
it gonna Be?, Salon, 7/15. "After nine years of building an
operating system, Be is going public. But has the company figured
out what it wants to be?"
News: Microsoft
join "free PC" fray, PC World, 7/15. $650 get you three years
of MSN and a 400 MHz Windows computer - monitor not included.
User review: ORB removable
drive, MacNN, 7/14. SCSI version of 2.2 GB cartridge drive now
shipping.
Opinion: Sawtooth
G4: Hopes and expectations, Mac Junkie, 7/14. "Sawtooth is
expected to be more of a high-end machine than Yosemite, the
codename for the blue and white G3s."
News: Amiga chooses Linux for next generation OS kernel,
MacTimes, 7/14. With Mac going OS X and IBM's OS/2 out of
contention, the PC world will soon be divided between Unix-like
operating systems and proprietary ones (read: Microsoft
Windows).
Review: PowerPrint
for Networks, Macs Only!, 7/14. New ethernet version of
PowerPrint allows use of parallel port printers on a Mac
network.
News: Iomega to Castlewood:
See you in court, MacTrack, 7/13. Castlewood's 2.2 GB drive was
developed by the founder of Syquest. Now that Iomega owns Syquest's
patents, one has to wonder. Personally, I'm rooting for the ORB
drive - Iomega needs the competition.
Huh?: UN
proposes global email tax, Wired News, 7/13 [Slashdot]. "What you'd end up doing is
creating a pork barrel program . . . doing very little to help the
poor people of the world."
Humor: Despair praises
Future Power, tells world to "think same," Despair. "Twenty
some odd years ago Steve Jobs stole a truly original idea from
Engelbart and company at Xerox PARC. Today, Karma has come to
collect the debt, with interest."
News:
OS upgrade for Mac due out this fall, Cox News, 7/13. "The fall
upgrade, code-named Sonata, will include major improvements to the
Mac's ability to support multiple users and Web connectivity."
Advice: Simple fix for iCab 1.6a stability problem, MacTimes,
7/13.
Poll: Separated
at birth, TechWeb. Weigh in on Apple vs. Future Power's iMac
clone.
Opinion: Future
Power's iMac rip-off analyzed, On the Flip Side, 7/12. "Once
again Apple has shown that the PC industry is no good at creating,
but skilled enough to copy, follow like a sheep, and rip Apple
off."
Opinion: Multiprocessing for
the masses?, Mac OS Rumors, 7/12. "...Apple may be developing a
kernel-level process manager for Mac OS X that assists the
distribution of processing load across the system's CPUs."
Web: New
standard could remake ecommerce, ZDNet, 7/12. "Tomorrow,
leading e-merchants, Internet stalwarts, consumer and community
advocates and even the U.S. Secretary of Commerce will announce The
Standard for Internet Commerce."
Opinion: The
price of Apple's innovation, Don Crabb, ZDNet, 7/9. "...the
price of QuickTime innovation, along with the Herculean efforts to
create Mac OS X, has been a serious lack of innovative Apple
efforts in other software (or hardware) domains."
AAPL: Apple stock projected to $75, AAPL Investors, 7/8.
OS: What's wrong with
Linux?, Think Secret, 7/8. "The people bandying about the idea
that Microsoft is even remotely threatened by Linux are
fools."
Rumor: P1 rumors
building steam, MacWeek, 7/8. "...reports continue to spread
across the Internet that Apple will use this month's show as the
springboard for its long-awaited consumer notebook, also known as
P1."
Apology: I've been fighting ISDN problems at work, which has
kept me from regular updates this week. I hope that's behind me
now.
News:
Oregon facing school funding crunch, Access Waco. "Walk into
the average classroom, and you'll see a MacIntosh computer that's
12 years old."
Opinion: Christmas in
July, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 7/9. A Christmas list for
the Macworld Expo.
Opinion: Is
Future's iMac-esque PC playing fair?, About.com, 7/8. "...there
have been cases, particularly when a brand image is involved, that
duplicating a product has been considered illegal."
Opinion: Will
the real iMac please stand up?, Arizona Central, 7/7. "If Apple
prevails, other PC clone makers will think twice about mimicking
such case designs."
OS: Mac OS X developer
preview 1, Mac OS Rumors, 7/7. "...paves the way for one of the
most important revolutions in Mac computing since the PowerPC
processor."
Y2K: The
real Y2K problem, Ottawa Computes, 7/99 [MacNN]. "Macs are so Y2K compatible
that Revenue Canada specifically excludes them from its special
accelerated depreciation tax rules for Y2K replacement."
Opinion:
Dangling conversations, Salon, 7/7. "...my initial experiences
with Third Voice had left me unimpressed with the kind of dialogue
taking place."
Opinion: Apple's ISP plan
may hit the mark, The Register, 7/6. "It's now well known that
most buyers of consumer-oriented computers are doing so to get onto
the Internet."
OS: One with
everything, MacWeek, 7/6. "The Mac OS - Apple's brand - relies
heavily on that ease of use, look and feel. It's been that way all
along."
Opinion: Confessions of a Mac
bigot, the iMac, 7/6. "...like some Mac users, I often defended
the Mac with my heart instead of my head."
Hmm: Geek
unions?, Jon Katz, Slashdot, 7/6. What if high school geeks
were to organize and promote their interests in our schools?
Opinion: P1's
not quite at work, Dr. Tim Hillman, MacCentral, 7/5. "P1 has
got an important job to do for Apple, and the quicker it can get
around to it, the better off the company is going to be."
Review: Railroad Tycoon
II, Applelinks. "Railroad Tycoon II is the type of game that
you spend far too much time thinking about when you should be doing
real work."
Opinion: Spam
attacks, MacKiDo, 7/1. "...spammers prey on people and assume
that they will be so impassioned by the message that they will drop
all skepticism and reason, and any rudimentary research or thought,
and forward the message...."
