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The Low End Mac Link Archive, October 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.
Rumor: Apple
looking to take next step in retail, AppleInsider, 10/29.
"...it finally appears as if Apple is taking the next step towards
implementing these retail locations."
Opinion: Apple Store
customer service: Grade C-, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday,
10/29. "All I really wanted to know was the UPS tracking number for
the errant shipment of my two copies of OS 9."
Palm: Atelier
ships SimCity for Palm [Slashdot]. This is the vintage b&w
version I used to play on my Mac
Plus. Now I've got an excuse to look into a Palm or Handspring.
;-)
Analysis: The
end of Moore's Law, Roy Brander, osOpinion. Transistor density
doubles every 18 months, but there is a physical limitation
engineers are rapidly approaching.
Opinion: Outlook Express 5
or Green?, Charles Moore, Applelinks. Lots of commentary on OE
5, plus a quick look at Green, a new free Mac email client.
News: Notebook,
screen makers agree on display standard, c|net, 10/28. "This
[will] allow notebook vendors to use a variety of displays in their
machines, and will allow panel vendors to work with a larger number
of notebook vendors."
Opinion:
Future iBook wish list, Louis Pierce, The Pierce Perspective,
10/28. "...when Apple released the iBook it was more of a teaser
than anything. It was sort of a prelude of what will be."
Opinion:
iBook's appeal deeper than looks, Charles Haddad, Cox News
Service. "In its design, Apple has managed to convey a sense that
the iBook is a special computer just for kids."
Review: Testing the
Power Mac G4/450, MacWeek, 10/28. " CPU, graphics and hard disk
performance blow away all previous models."
News: Jesse gets
an iMac!, ZDNet, 10/28. After complaining about Windows
instability, Apple shipped Jesse Berst an iMac DV Special Edition.
Hope he like it.
News: OS 9
(in)security, Think Secret, 10/28. "Also note that by starting
up from a CD or other System Folder, anyone can gain full access to
your computer. Important files should still be backed up routinely,
and they should be encrypted to keep anyone from opening
them."
Opinion: A/S/L
to death, Eric Barzeski, Mac Opinion, 10/28. "Chat, in most
forms, is bad. It's a waste of time, and it's bad for a variety of
reasons."
Web: Outlook Express 5
FAQ, Microsoft. If you're using or want to use Microsoft's
latest Mac email client, this is one of many resources you'll want
to visit.
Review: iMac DV
SE, Accelerate Your Mac!, 10/27. "The phrase 'More than the sum
of its parts' comes to mind the more I use the iMac DV SE."
News: Fujitsu thinks
different, FMWorld [MOSR.net].
Pliché 243 resmbles the iMac, is about the same size and
weight as a Mac Classic, and
uses a 12.1" flat panel display like the iBook.
Advice: Mac OS 9
install guide, MacTips. Step-by-step guide from preparation
through installation.
News: Italian law
taxes AirPort, iBook2day, 10/27. "An Italian law puts a tax on
the use of each AirPort card and base station, which totals to $600
a year for a network of 10 iBooks (or iMacs)."
Rumor: Rev. B iBook
update, MOSR, 10/27. Some silly speculation: 177 MHz cache with
366 MHz CPU, an unsupported CPU:cache ratio, and a 96 MB
configuration which would have to use the only RAM socket.
Advice: Email
efficiency, part 4, Deb Shadovits, Mac Central, 10/27. The
good, the bad, and the ugly of styled email. Must reading for those
who style their email.
Analysis: Is the Pentium
RISC?, David K. Every, MacKiDo, 10/27. "The design philosophy
of the processor didn't change - and RISC is a design
philsophy."
Opinion: Apple's next
retail gambit, Tony Smith, MacWeek, 10/26. "Apple is preparing
to bring all its sales in-house through its existing direct-sales
operation, the online Apple Store, as well as the establishment of
its own 'High Street' chain of retail outlets...." (Also see
The Apple Store.)
Rumor: Multiprocessor
Macs, Apple's "next big thing," AppleInsider, 10/26.
"...multiple sources have reported that Motorola is quietly
preparing multiprocessor PowerPC G4 boards that will begin shipping
to Apple sometime early in the year 2000."
Dark Side:
Microsoft Windows 2000 beta 3, PC Magazine. "...the folks at
Microsoft seem to have put a lot of effort into improving both
reliability and security."
Dark Side: Intel
seeks profits from Coppermine, Yahoo/ZDNet. Intel announces 733
MHz Pentium III, but mobile version still tops out at 500 MHz.
Dark Side: Intel's
"Coppermine" has no copper, Tom's Harware, 10/25. "I'd also
like to note that Intel's 'Coppermine' does not imply that
this new processor is built using IBM's new copper-technology. The
metal layers . . . are still aluminum."
Opinion: Scents in the
Workplace, Dan Knight, Reformed.Net,10/25. "For most, unwanted
scents are an inconvenience, but for some of us, these scents make
us dizzy or nauseous, give us headaches, and can even result in
migraines."
Low End: PowerMac 6100
Upgrade Guide. Everything you could want to know about using
and upgrading a Power Mac 6100 or Performa 61XX.
Hands On: Mac OS
9, Macs Only!, 10/23-25. Tested on 8 different computers.
Memory hungry, but very stable.
Analysis: Three
distinct takes on the iBook, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/25.
Compare what Macworld, Low End Mac, and Nikkei MAC have to
say.
Opinion: Macworld
doesn't get it either, John Farr, Applelinks, 10/25. "...surely
the revolutionary significance of wireless networking is not lost
on folks as astute as these, or is it?"
News: Fujitsu clones
iMac - Apple lawyers on alert, The Register, 10/25. "But it's
not its spec. that draws attention - rather it's its uncanny
resemblance to a squashed iMac."
Opinion: Hey, buddy,
can you spare a job?, John Martellaro, Applelinks, 10/24. "In
the next century, the high paying jobs in this country will be for
people who know how to write human simulation codes that interact
with customers...."
Low End: System 6
for the Macintosh, Ruud Dingemans. It's been a long time since
I've used System 6, but if you have an older, slower,
memory-limited Mac, it's fast, stable, and still very usable.
Benchmark: iMac DV SE
game performance, Accelerate Your Mac!, 10/22. Best iMac ever,
but gaming does call for a memory upgrade.
Gaming: Guide to
game emulators for the Mac, Inside Mac Games. "What about Super
Nintendo, Neo-Geo, Gameboy and even Nintendo64? The good news is,
in some shape in form, all those systems and more can be emulated
today on your macintosh, and the software that does it is either
Shareware or completely free."
Opinion: Outlook
Express 05. Just say no, Mac Junkie, 10/22. "Overall, Outlook
Express 5 is clearly a hastily done Windows port, with little or no
attention paid to aesthetics or ease of use."
Opinion: Mac advocates and
misplaced zeal, Rodney O. Lain, The iMac, 10/21. "I used to do
the same things you do: I used to visit computer stores and defend
the Mac. I would literally sell computers to customers."
Hands on:
Checking out Apple's new iBook, Henry Norr, SF Gate, 10/21.
"I'll focus on what the iBook is and isn't good for, based on my
experience using it daily for the past few weeks."
Analysis: Portal numbers
flat - where is everyone?, Jim Hu, c|net, 10/21. Probably on
the Mac sites; Low End Mac traffic was up 4.3% in Sept., and over
10% so far this month.
Opinion: Barriers to
entry?, MacWeek, 10/21. "On the other hand I want Mac OS X to
act like a minor system upgrade so there are no barriers to entry
for the Mac community...."
News: Inside the
iBook, MacWeek, 10/21. "Indeed, the iBook represents an amalgam
of high-quality parts, each with exacting manufacturing
specs."
Tech: RISC vs
CISC: the post-RISC era, Hannibal, Ars Technica [Slashdot]. "The majority of today's
processors can't rightfully be called completely RISC or completely
CISC. The two textbook architectures have evolved towards each
other...."
OS: Mac OS 9
Special Report, MacNN. Ongoing report of OS 9 issues, including
software incompatibilities.
News: Future of G3
Power Macs "fixed," AsiaOne. Apple marketing director admits
Blue G3s intentionally crippled to prevent G4 upgrades.
Analysis: Is
Web growth tapering off?, ZDNet, 10/21. "Overall, Web users
increased about 2 percent [in September] to 63.4 million, but less
than usual 4 percent growth rate."
Low End: Cruising the web in black & white, John C. Foster,
MacWeek, 10/20. "I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride as
my elderly SE maneuvered the
Web...."
News: MacFixIt is
tracking USB issues on iBook, new iMac.
Software: Peek-a-Boo,
Clarkwood Software [Accelerate Your Mac]. Allows you
to monitor and change priority of all running processes.
News: XLR8
G4/350 upgrades "imminent," MacCentral, 10/20. You ship what
you can get - in this case, the 350 MHz G4. Should provide a real
boost for 266 MHz and slower Power Macs.
Review: Microsoft
Outlook Express 5, eTechNews, 10/19. "I was a die-hard Claris
Emailer user, but I migrated to Outlook when Emailer really started
to show its age."
Web:
MacTimes for sale, eBay, 10/18. It's a great domain name, but
probably not worth $100,000. On the other hand, if someone does buy
it, maybe those of us who used to be part of MacTimes will
finally see the money due us.
News: FCC to
re-examine "modem tax," MSNBC. "The 'modem tax' is now
officially classified as an urban myth; however, the idea is not
completely dead inside the FCC; it's just on long-term hold."
Connectivity: At
last, DSL gets real, ZDNet, 10/18. "Somewhere in the spectrum
of DSL choices is a cost-effective offer that will work for you,
whether you need to feed Net access to a family, a small office, or
a home office."
News: Canon gets 1394 "FireWireless" up to 100 Mbps, The
Register, 10/18. FireWire is fast, wireless isn't. Canon blasts
past AirPort's 11 Mbps with wireless 1394.
News: G4 ROM
upgrade, Apple Computer, 10/18. Fixes problem with data/file
corruption on "Yikes!" G4 systems (original G4/400).
Opinion: Apple's PR
Waterloo, MacWeek, 10/18. "Today's another day. Will it bring
yet another change in G4 pricing policy?"
Opinion: I decided
to cancel my iBook order..., Mac Militia, 10/16. "The screen is
amazing - I would definitely have to say it's the best screen I've
ever seen on a laptop."
Opinion: The iMac
brand, Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu, 10/16. "Should the iMac
be both an Internet machine, and a home entertainment machine? Is
Apple stretching the iMac brand too thin?"
Benchmark: Vodoo 3000 AGP vs. Rage 128
AGP, Mac3dfx, 10/16. "Tests with the Voodoo3 show that the
Rage128 is a significant bottleneck in 3D games...."
Dark Side: Microsoft
downplays Win2K scalability, TechWeb, 10/15. "Microsoft had
previously promised that Windows 2000 would be as scalable as its
Unix rivals."
Opinion: Does the world really need another Mac website?,
Charles Moore, MacSimple, 10/15.
Review: Kensington
USB Mouse-in-a-Box, MacNerds. "It's just like the ADB version,
except for the USB plug-in at the end of the cord." (Also see our
review of the Kensington
Mouse.)
Rumor: AppleShare IP 6.3
imminent, Graphic Power, 10/15. "MacOS 9 is such a dramatic
rewrite of the OS, that I consider it highly unlikely that ASIP 6.2
will work with it."
Analysis:
An embarrassment of riches, Wes George, Mac Observer, 10/14.
"In essence, Fred Anderson said Apple has almost as many back
orders in the first two weeks of this quarter for Macintosh systems
than were actually delivered last quarter."
News: Apple to
reverse G4 decision?, MacWeek, 10/14. "Apple may back off from
its previously announced plan to substitute slower processors in G4
Power Macs without offering a price break to customers who had
placed advance orders for the new systems."
Tech: QuickDraw
3D acceleration in B&W Power Mac G3, Apple TIL 25020,
10/13. summary: No 8-bit support at any resolution, no Portrait
support, supports 16- and 24-bit video to 1280 x 1024 and some
higher settings.
News: Apple reconsidering StyleWriter 4000 support, Apple Tech
Exchange, 10/12 [MacInTouch]. As a StyleWriter 4100
owner, I'm glad to hear it!
News: Apple reverses G4
cancelation policy, MacNN, 10/14. "Discounts will reportedly
apply to orders of 500 MHz Power Macs, which will be shipped with
450 MHz processors instead."
Opinion: Stevie in
Vaporland, MacCPU, Bob Moriarty, 10/14. "Apple took 86,000
orders for G4 machines they could not deliver because they weren't
scheduled to get the chips yet from Motorola."
Opinion: Apple
goes crazy, Sho, MOSR.net, 10/14. "What a brilliant, creative
and yet unpredictable and arrogant company Apple is."
News: Apple
intros 350 MHz G4, postpones 500 MHz, Apple Computer, 10/13.
With high demand for the Power Mac G4 and no 500 MHz chips in
sight, Apple has introduced a 350 MHz version of its personal
supercomputer.
Advice: Email
efficiency, part 2, Deborah Shaodvitz, MacCentral, 10/13.
Turning of Vcards in Netscape, using the subject line, setting line
length, and more.
Connectivity: DSL: One man's life in
the fast lane, Gary Krakow, MSNBC. "If you know what T-1 lines
cost per month, or how ISDN "per minute/per channel" charges add
up, DSL starts to look like a bargain (even in the Big
Apple)."
Opinion: Megahertz does
matter, Tony Smith, MacWeek, 10/12. "...PC buyers do consider
megahertz the chief yardstick by which a computer's performance can
be measured."
Opinion:
Wintel drove me to Apple, Stephen Van Esch, osOpinion. "I
bought a Mac clone in September 1997 and haven't bought a Wintel
product since."
News: FileMaker Inc.
responds, MacNN, 10/12. FileMaker Inc. argues that FileMaker 4
was underpriced (street price about $180 before $50 rebate), so
charging $1,000 for the same capabilities somehow makes sense.
OS 09. Technote 1176, Apple Computer. Changes and corrections
in Mac OS 9.
News: Display scarcity
spurs iBook shortage, Jim Davis, c|net, 10/12. "Apple isn't
alone, either. All computer companies are facing limited product
availability due to a combination of component shortages and
natural disasters."
OS: OS X "preview" due in early 2000; final release delayed,
MOSR, 10/12. Apple may ship incomplete version of OS X as preview
version.
Opinion: Microsoft's annual report - made on Macintosh, Salon,
10/12. "The report seems to have been composed on a Macintosh
computer. (At least, there are references to an author's G3 Mac and
records indicating the file was created using Word 98 for
Macintosh.)"
Opinion: The
limits of power, part 2, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion, 10/12.
"On the other hand, one could also argue that to infringe on the
freedom of the press, when the likely damage was merely the
inability of Apple Computer to surprise and delight its customers,
would be going overboard in restraint of the press."
Opinion: The
new iMac and Mac OS 9, Jeff Lewis, Mac Opinion, 10/12. "Is this
the iMac I wanted? Well, not quite, but it's a lot closer...."
First look: iMac DVD
SE, Accelerate Your Mac, 10/11. "What blew away everyone was
watching my first attempt with iMovie and my firewire equipped
Panasonic PV-DV910 camcorder. Perfect plug-n-play video
capture."
OS 09. Review:
Mac OS 9, MacSoldiers, 10/11. "Obviously I haven't had a whole
lot of time to tinker around with the new operating system, but I
did get to play enough to notice a few things."
Advice: PDF Web publishing: Little known facts, Kas Thomas,
MacSimple, 10/11. Includes information on a free PDF creation
tool.
Dark Side: Bug
finder exposes Microsoft again, Wired News, 10/11. Bug lets
others read files on your hard drive - if you're using Windows and
Internet Explorer.
Dark Side: Researcher
predicts higher Microsoft prices, TechWeb, 10/11. "We believe
Microsoft will increasingly use changes to terms and conditions
related to use as a means of increasing revenue."
Opinion: Apple's driven me to
Wintel, Joe Brancatelli, Byte.com, 10/11. "I switched to
Windows in November, 1997 and haven't bought an Apple product
since."
Y2K:
New iMac really an improvement, Mac OS ready for Y2K, Star
Tribune, 10/11. "Apple is a bit smug about the year 2000, for good
reason. Even computers running the oldest version of its operating
system are Y2K-compliant."
Web: MacSimple, striving for jargon-free Mac information.
Review: Microsoft USB
IntelliMouse Explorer, MacInTouch, 10/10. "The two advantages
of the IntelliMouse Explorer over a regular 'rolling' mouse are
that there are no moving parts and no restrictions to the surface
of a pad."
Benchmarks: iMac
DV vs. other Macs, Bare Feats, 10/10. iMac DV acquits itself
very nicely.
Opinion:
The Intel confusium processor, Technobabble, 10/10. "...once
Intel started expanding beyond the original Pentium, figuring out
what to call all the new chips began to make life a little
confusing for everyone."
Opinion: G4s for
consumers? Think different, Robert Morgan, MacWeek, 10/8. "You
see, a G4 iMac or iBook would be classified as a "weapon," just
like the G4 Power Macs."
News: $20 Mac OS 9
rebate, Apple Computer. Owners of Mac OS 8.5-8.6 may qualify
for $20 rebate. Details on coupon in OS 9 box. ($89.95 from
Outpost.com)
OS: Mac OS 9
visual tour, MacNN. "The overall interface of Mac OS 9 remains
virtually unchanged...."
Analysis: Are
WebSide Story's HitBox stats on Mac internet traffic
believable?, Charles Moore, AppleLinks, 10/7. "The HitBox
product is only available for the Windows platform. Therefore the
websites hosted on unix and linux or mac systems are excluded and
will skew the data."
News: When
will new iMacs ship?, Ben Apple, Mac Junkie, 10/7. Despite what
Steve Jobs said, it doesn't look like they'll be available this
weekend.
News:
Teachers ban Microsoft software deal, Fairfax I.T., 10/6. "The
schools complained after finding they would have to pay the fee
annually, and for each PC they used, whether they wanted the
software or not."
News: Motorola's next
G4 chip to join 700 club, c|net, 10/6. New microarchitecture
supports onboard L2 cache, more instructions per cycle, and speeds
beyond 700 MHz.
OS: Linux
Myths, Microsoft, 10/4 [Apple's Orchard].
"...Linux simply cannot deliver on the hype." (As though Windows NT
can?)
Opinion: Cheap,
cheaper, cheapest: iMac takes sub-$600 plunge, Ben Apple, Mac
Junkie, 10/6. "...you can get a shiny new iMac, as seen on TV, with
three years of internet access all at the low low price of
approximately $1,320."
News:
Apple unveils new iMac computers, CBS MarketWatch, 10/5
[MacNN]. "...an overloaded
Apple Web site kept journalists, Apple shareholders and even
internal Apple employees from watching Jobs speak...."
Opinion: Rumor
sites knocked down a few pegs, John Farr, Applelinks, 10/5.
"Let's see now, which of all the many supposedly sure revelations
predicted by various Macintosh rumor sites actually came to
pass?"
Dark Side:
Intel keeps Itanium processor frequency under wraps, Infoworld,
10/5. CPU formerly known as Merced will have onboard L1, L2, L3
caches, but Intel hasn't announced CPU speed of claimed 6 GFLOPS
processor.
Opinion: The
limits of power, John Martellaro, Mac Opinion, 10/5.
"Increasingly, Apple is acting like Microsoft."
Opinion: Thou
shalt not speak ill of Apple, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 10/5.
"The 11th Commandment of Mac Website journalism might as well be
'Thou Shall Not Speal Ill Of Apple....'"
Opinion:
Apple's weird relations with media and customers, Mihael
Munger, Mac Observer, 10/5. "Why does Apple do this to Web sites?
They offer an awful lot of free publicity to Apple and they do more
and better advocacy than anyone."
Advice:
Using PC parts on your Mac II, The Idiots, Mac Observer, 10/5.
Adding an IDE drive to a non-IDE PCI Mac or clone, among other
things.
News: Scramble over
OS 9 conflicts, MacWeek, 10/4. "On the eve of Mac OS 9's debut,
several third-party developers are still finding compatibility
problems between the new operating system and their products."
Rumor: Will ATM be
obsolete with OS 9?, Graphic Power, 10/4. "Mac OS 9 includes a
type 1 scalar, providing ATSUI support for all flavours of
Postscript Type 1 fonts, including OpenType."
Opinion: Kihei's real
story, MacWeek, 10/4. "Apple is entitled to defend its
intellectual property and trade secrets vigorously. Nevertheless,
we question the wisdom of Apple's legal threats against small sites
eager to post the good news about the iMac...."
Opinion: Rumors, Apple,
and leaks, David K. Every, MacKiDo, 10/4. "We like hype. We
need hype. Certainly a company needs hype. Having highly accurate
rumors kills hype."
Opinion: Why I
think the "new iMac" pics are fakes, Amy Hoy, Daily iMac, 10/4.
"At first, I was made a believer, but when I started to pick nits,
I started to see the façade of Photoshop fall away."
Opinion: Pulling
the pics; Apple was in the right, Ben Apple, Mac Junkie, 10/4.
"I agree completely with Apple's move to ask, tell or even demand
to webmasters that these pics be removed."
Opinion: Which Apple
"special event?," Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 10/4. "In a
surprise move last week, Apple's legal department apparently
conducted a 'special event' of their own."
Opinion: Open
letter to the Mac online community about Kihei, Guy Connors,
osOpinion, 10/4. "Every rumor, true or untrue hurts Apple. By full
filling curiosity about new toys being developed by Apple, the Mac
community is hurting Apple."
Opinion: Sacred clowns,
Farr Side, Applelinks, 10/4. "And these days, if anyone needs the
intervention of irreverence, it has to be Apple!"
Rumor:
New Kihei iMac photos, AppleInsider, 10/4. Real or not, these
folks are waving a red flag in front of Apple.
Web:
Team Mac Observer still needs your help, Mac Observer. If you
have a fast Power Mac, consider sparing some CPU cycles to help
find ET and boost Team Mac Observer.
Rumor: Mac OS
9.0 reaches Final Candidate 9, AppleInsider, 10/1. "The release
will 'officially' be unveiled during Apple's Media Event to be held
on October 5th...."
