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The Low End Mac Link Archive, December 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.
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
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.
Advice: Email
attachments, Deb Shadovitz, MacCentral, 12/30. "Each computer
platform has a different file format, and that's where
complications set in."
Advice: Maximizing
time with a mac, Jordan Streiff, Mac Observer, 12/30. "So while
you love your Mac, if it takes up time instead of giving time back,
then what good has it done you?"
News: Bug fix draws
complaints, MacWeek, 12/29. "...users who have applied the new
OT
Tuner 1.0 patch are reporting loss of all network connectivity
or crashes during startup."
Opinion: If loving my G3 is wrong, I don't wanna be right,
Rodney O. Lain, MacSimple, 12/29. "Is it possible to fall in love
with a computer?"
News: eToys
relents, won't press suit, Wired, 12/29. With Christmas behind
them, the online retailer has decided to co-exist with etoy, the
art group.
Advice: 3dfx Voodoo3 cards
for gaming, Macs Only!, 12/29. "My advice is to save your money
and go with the 2000...."
News: OpenTransport
Tuner, Apple Computer, 12/28. Fixes problem with OS 8.6 on G4,
iBook, new iMacs and OS 9 on all Macs that can cause denial of
service attacks. This may cause problems with regular dial-up
connections.
News: Apple
may unveil new notebooks at Macworld, c|net, 12/28. "Apple had
dual processor servers ready to go for the Seybold trade show in
August but held back because of a shortage of the then new G4
processors."
Advice: Tuning your
browser, MacInTouch Reader Report. Tips seem to improve
performance on my setup.
Deal: G3 upgrades from $155, Small Dog Electronics. G3/250 and
faster upgrades at other special prices - click on the "PowerLogix
Special" link.
Review:
MoniSwitchUSB, USB Workshop. "...one should be pleased to see a
KVM switch that finally works between Mac and PC."
USB: Using a
Windows USB keyboard on a Mac, ResExcellence, 12/27 [No Beige].
Swaps Alt and Windows keys for Cmd and Opt. Warning: this involves
manually modifying your System file.
Analysis: Benchmarks
revisited, David K. Every, MacWeek, 12/28. "Benchmarks aren't
really addressing the issues people should care about."
OS:
Living with BeOS, Michel Claquin, osOpinion, 12/28. It's not
the Mac OS, Linux, or Windows, but it is a viable OS.
Coming: Epson Stylus
Photo 870 [Macs Only!].
USB, edge-to-edge photo printing, intelligent ink monitoring, but
not yet available in the States.
Review:
Two USB flash memory readers, The Review, 12/28. "Transfer
rates live up to their impressive reported speeds of 500-800
KB/sec."
Correction: Mac-on-Linux, tells how
to run the Mac OS on top of Linux with Mac hardware.
Web: Macs Only! is five
years old today, 12/28. Congratulations!
Review: Galaxy
Quest, CmdrTaco, Slashdot, 12/28. Recommended for science
fiction fans with a sense of humor - definitely on my "must see"
list.
Review: iMac
350, Daily Mac, 12/27. Hands on user report by Amy Hoy.
Web: Mac-on-Linux, how to get
Linux running on Apple hardware.
Consumer: Canon PowerShot A50
"Editor's Choice," Steve's Digicams, 12/27. "'...Best Overall
Value for a Digital Still Camera,' and . . . acknowledged
for its wide-angle zoom, sharp optics, easy handling, durability,
and price."
Analysis: Highlights
of Apple's annual report, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 12/24.
Unit sales up 25%, but net sales only up 3% due to lower cost
units.
Opinion: Multiple monitors,
multiple options, David K. Every, MacWeek, 12/23. "...remember
that having enough screen real-estate can make you far more
productive by requiring less scrolling or layering of information
you're working with."
News: Apple
sales in Japan, YTD, iMac NewsPage, 12/20. Nine of top ten
desktops, three of top ten notebooks made by Apple.
Analysis: Apple unit shipments expected to top one million,
AAPL Investors, 12/23. Last quarter with this many unit sales was
four years ago - and Apple lost $69 million.
Opinion:
The Apple of my eye, Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe, 12/23.
"Computer video editing isn't new, but the iMac DV with iMovie sets
a new standard...."
News: iMac
DVD-ROM Update 1.0, Apple Computer, 12/22. Improves ability to
load certain CD-ROM discs.
News: German
Win2K bug: Scientology, Wired, 12/21. "For years, German
officials . . . have pursued what they see as consitutional threats
posed by the Church of Scientology." (More on Scientology)
Opinion:
The problems with being a Mac user in Canada, Oliver Dueck, Mac
Observer, 12/21. "Apparently, Apple places a very high value on its
cozy relationship with Mac Warehouse and will stop at nothing to
protect it."
First Hand: AirPort with a
PowerBook 2400c, Macs Only!, 12/21. Lucent WaveLAN card allows
older PowerBooks to work with AirPort base station.
Opinion: With 1999, Apple's no
longer beleaguered, Martin Cortinas, Byte, 12/20. "By any
standard you care to use, Apple has had a year of unprecedented
success in 1999."
News: Computer
sales in Japan, 11/99, iMac NewsPage, 12/20. Nine of top ten
models by Apple, with 23% total market share.
Opinion: The fork in
the road ahead, John Martellaro, Applelinks, 12/19. "...Apple
is now calling the shots and making other companies look very bad
as they try to lamely follow Apple's lead."
Advice: Rebuilding
the desktop, Bob LeVitus, MacCentral, 12/18. Latest word on
rebuilding the desktop file.
Review: Apple's iMovie
software, MacWeek, 12/17. "This entry-level video editing
application is almost childishly simple and makes movie-making
something that even Prince Edward could do."
Opinion: The world's
worst keyboard, ZDNet, 12/17. No, it's not Apple's; it's
Microsoft's line of "natural" keyboards.
News: New
Mexico breaks DSL deadlock, c|net, 12/16. "...a glaring example
of how rural areas have been excluded from the boom in broadband
services."
Review:
Panasonic PV-SD4090, Digital Camera Resource Page, 12/16.
Clever: digicam uses USB and connects to computer as a 120 MB
SuperDisk drive!
News: Simplified
online tax system spawns complex debate, Yahoo/Reuters, 12/16.
"...this has created an uneven system where consumers have the
choice to buy offline and pay a tax or buy online and avoid
it."
Advice: Email: Say
it with feeling, Dev Shadovitz, Mac Central, 12/15. This week
covers abbreviations, emoticons, and emphasis.
News: E-riots
threaten eToys.com, Wired, 12/15 [Slashdot]. "The domain name battle
between toy giant eToys.com and the Swiss art site formerly known
as etoy.com continues to escalate."
Opinion: Internet
Tax Issue Resurfaces Following Seattle WTO Fiasco, Charles
Moore, Applelinks, 12/15. "If the government and regulatory
agencies take a forward-looking perspective on these issues, they
will nix the idea of Internet taxation."
Web: Protest
group out to 'destroy' eToys, ZDNet, 12/15. "...the campaign is
intended to protest a trademark infringement suit eToys is waging
against a European conceptual artist group called 'etoy.'"
Low End: How to
squeeze value from old PCs, Jesse Berst, ZDNet, 12/15. Of
course, low end in the PC world means pre-Pentium II (1997).
Dark Side: MS shops around
for Win2K web stats, The Register, 12/14. Microsoft claims
thousands using Win2K to build web sites, but doesn't trust it for
Hotmail, msn.com.
Review:
Umax AstraCam, Digital Camera Resource Page, 12/14. Darn, the
USB camera is Windows only. To think, Umax once made some great Mac clones.
Review: Sony
DSC-F505, Imaging Resource, 12/14. Sony electronics coupled
with a Carl Zeiss lens.
Review: Kodak
DC290, Imaging Resource, 12/14. Kodak's top consumer
model.
Tech: A multiprocessing
primer, David K. Every, MacWeek, 12/13. "The point of
multiprocessing is to make your computer go faster by allowing it
to do more things at once."
Opinion: Steve
Jobs: Exec of the year, ZDNet, 12/13. "...Jobs' biggest
achievement was the return of excitement and luster to a tired
brand."
Holidays:
Mac cookie recipe, Nancy Gravley, Mac Observer, 12/13. Cookies
that feature the Apple and Macintosh logos!
Opinion: Two of my favorite things, Rob Stevenson, MacSimple,
12/13. "...my two main tools are inexpensive and readily available
over the net."
Opinion: On selling
solutions, not computers, John Martellaro, Applelinks, 12/12.
"...Apple is selling solutions through effective marketing while
the PC camp is still selling hardware."
Web:
Some timely guidelines for web design, Dan Gillmor, Mercury
News, 12/11. Good advice on site design - I think Low End Mac meets
all but one of his suggestions.
Opinion:
SETI@home best viewed with Homewine.com, Mac Observer, 12/10.
New addition to Team Mac Observer moves it to 21st place overall
(up from 22, and nearing 20). Low End Mac supports Team Mac
Observer.
Opinion: Macs
rule; PCs drool!, ZDNet, 12/10. "...as a journalist, I try to
limit my unquestioning loyalty to my wife, my kids, and my mom; as
far as I can tell, Apple Computer does not fall into any of
those categories."
Web: AOL
unplugs CompuServe forums, Interactive Week, 12/9. AOL
"essentially gutting the formula for building proprietary online
communities that have long differentiated" CompuServe.
Review: Kodak
DC215, Digital Camera Resource Page, 12/10. "...a good choice
for an entry level [digital] camera."
Review: Canon
PowerShot S10, Imaging Resource, 12/10. "...an excellent
digicam that we anticipate will do very well with consumers."
Review: Kodak
CD-215, Imaging Resource, 11/26. "...the Kodak DC215 camera is
clearly intended to meet the needs of the point & shoot user,
and succeeds well in that goal."
Review: Canon
PowerShot A50, Imaging Resource, . "The PowerShot A50 produced
some of the best-looking images we've seen from any 1.3 megapixel
camera to date!"
News: Mode32
back in action, Apple. They recently changed the link, but
we've managed to find this essential utility for some early
Macs.
USB: MS
Natural Driver, Khalid Shakir. Remaps Alt/Option and Command
keys to regular Mac locations on MS Natural Keyboard.
Opinion: Mac
clone controversy revisited, Charles Moore, Applelinks, 12/9.
"Between 1995 and 1997, Apple's own Macintosh system sales dropped
from about 4.5 million units to 1.8 million units...."
Opinion: Mac community: community, continuum, or cult?, Rodney
O. Lain, MacSimple, 12/9. "We are a movement, as I've elaborated on
other occasions. We are a zeitgeist. We are a worldview."
Review: XLR8 USB
Performance Package, MacTips. "...a terrific value for a lot of
Macintosh owners, helping to bring [older] desktop Macintoshes
closer to current standards."
Analysis:
Cloning the iMac, Tom Egan, Channel 4000, 12/7. After looking
at clones, "If you're looking for a new computer that's easy to
use, go for the iMac. It takes more memory and has more options for
expansion."
News: Apple Computer
raided by Japan fair trade authorities, Canoe, 12/6. "Officials
searched the Japanese unit of Apple Computer on Tuesday for
evidence the company broke Japan's antimonopoly law by allegedly
fixing prices...."
Web: Pair Networks moved today, and about two dozen Mac sites
were down for much of the day. Although it's been a nuisance, it
says a lot about industry respect for Pair Networks. Here's the
play-by-play.
Low End: SE fever: the lure and reward of vintage computing,
Steve Wood, MacTimes
Opinion: I don't do
reviews!, Steve Wood, Busman's Holiday, 12/6. No, Steve really
does do reviews, but here he explains why some products won't be
reviewed.
Web: Help me pay my writers, Jason Pierce, MacTimes, 12/6.
"Some of my writers and editors have not been paid for over a
year...."
Review: XZR8
IceView 4-Port USB Hub, The Review, 12/6. "...XLR8's exclusive
USB Loadmeter is what really sets the hub apart from all
others."
News: Internet provider
no liable for defamation, NYLJ, 12/3 [Slashdot]. "...the Court of Appeals on
Thursday held that an Internet Service Provider is merely a conduit
for information, as opposed to a publisher, and consequently is no
more responsible than a telephone company for defamatory materials
transmitted over its lines."
News: Support for
OpenGL slipping, MacWeek, 12/1. Microsoft, among first to
embrace OpenGL, now pulling support for cross-platform
standard.
Consumer: Digital
projection and Toy Story 2, DVD Resource Page, 12/3. "Plain and
simple, digital projection is the future of movie theater
projection systems."
First Look: PowerLogix Z-Force in a
PowerBase, Macs Only!, 12/3. Card allows use of ZIF upgrades in
"daughter card" Power Macs, clones.
Opinion: Hot Wheels,
Barbie make poor PCs, Jim Louderback, ZDNet, 12/3. "I recently
tested to new computers from Mattel. They look great, but perform
like dogs."
Analysis: No etoy for
Christmas, Slashdot, 12/3. "It's absurd to think that one
website can shut down another for having a similar domain
name - when the second site is not a domain poacher and has been
operating two years longer than the first."
Analysis: More forgotten
Mac markets, MacWeek, 12/2. "Add South Korea to the list of
countries that suffers from a serious shortage of Macs. Then add
India, Brazil and most of the Middle East."
Opinion: Kanga:
The forgotten PowerBook G3, Charles Moore, 12/2. "...obviously
a transitional model designed to hold the fort until the WallStreet
Series was ready to ship."
OS: Mac OS X:
The NeXT generation, Bill von Hagen, Adobe Magazine. "The core
component of Mac OS X is the Mach kernel, initially developed at
Carnegie-Mellon University in the 1980s and enhanced and fine-tuned
ever since."
News:
Cable charges stirr up Big Pond users, Fairfax IT, 12/1.
Australia's only provider of cable internet service wants to charge
users by the megabyte.
Benchmark: Castlewood
SCSI ORB, Hog Heaven. Drive appears optimized for large files.
ORB Tools compromises performance. Fast SCSI is a must.
Opinion: Palm vs.
WinCE, Jason O'Grady, MacWeek, 12/1. "...big names like Compaq,
Sony and Everex will stop making Windows CE devices in the new
year."
Opinion: 
News: