[AppleSurf Inbox] May 15, 2000

[applesurf at myapplemenu.comapplesurf]

AppleSurf Inbox

== Top Stories ====================

Released Schedule Postponed For New Mac OS (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-1878965.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
A final version of Apple Computer's Mac OS X won't come out until early next year, although the effect of an apparent delay to the released schedule will be minimal, according to analysts.

Announced OS X Public Beta Hides The Real Issue (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/perspectives/d'addario/2000/20000515wwdcosxopinion.shtml>
Do not let the "announcement" of a public beta release fool you. This is indeed bad news, and another broken promise. My patience with Apple is wearing thin.

Good Macs Come In Small Packages (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36121,00.html>
[F]or some Apple enthusiasts, the company will never improve one of its earliest computers, the Color Classic.

== Seize the Day! (Great news for Mac users) ====================

Mac OS X DP4 Has Final API Specs (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0005/15.wwdc6.shtml>
The fourth developer preview of Mac OS X -- releasd today... --- includes the final API specifications required by developers to complete upgrades of their applications to take full advantage of Mac OS X's new capabilities.

QuickTime, New Features, And Cheerios (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0005/15.wwdc5.shtml>
In his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked the growing popularity of QuickTime and the next version of the multimedia software that's coming this summer.

WebObjects' Price Sliced, New Version (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0005/15.wwdc4.shtml>
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company was slicing the price of WebObjects... to $699 starting today.

Apple's WWDC Announcements (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/05/14/0515devkeynote.html>
Apple released a new developer preview of Mac OS X, dropped WebObjects' license fee to $699 and announced a forthcoming QuickTime upgrade.

== Bad Press (Bad news, or simply bad reporting) ====================

Released Schedule Postponed For New Mac OS (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-1878965.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
A final version of Apple Computer's Mac OS X won't come out until early next year, although the effect of an apparent delay to the released schedule will be minimal, according to analysts.

Mac OS X Slips Again (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36286,00.html>
This isn't the first time the release date for Mac OS X has slipped... Apple's attempts to update the famous but aging Macintosh operating system go back at least five years.

Apple Delays Final Release Of Operating System (Reuters)
<http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000515/tc/tech_apple_2.html>
Apple Computer Inc. on Monday delayed the release of the ifnal version of its eagerly awaited next-generation operating system software until nex year to give software developers and customers more time to work with the new system.

Apple's Stock Tanks As Jobs Says No Mac OS X Before Its Time (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/news/00/may/000515/wwdcaapltanks.shtml>
The effect of Steve Jobs' keynote address at the WWDC on Apple's stock was downer.

== Listen Up! (Opinions around the web) ====================

The Urban Mac: What's The Minimum Macintosh? (The Mac Junkie)
<http://www.themacjunkie.com/archives/urbanmac.5.15.00.html>
What is the "Minimum Macintosh" for the urban family seeking their first computer?

Announced OS X Public Beta Hides The Real Issue (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/perspectives/d'addario/2000/20000515wwdcosxopinion.shtml>
Do not let the "announcement" of a public beta release fool you. This is indeed bad news, and another broken promise. My patience with Apple is wearing thin.

Can Apple Seize The Day? (Mac OS Daily)
<http://www.macosdaily.com/opinion/editorials/dschultz_018_20000514.html>
Apple stands at one of those points in history which only comes very rarely in a company's lifecycle.

WWDC By Way Of Yosemite (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0005/15.notebook.shtml>
Now I'm back to work and eagerly awaiting Steve Jobs' WWDC today. Check back in later. The speech will doubtless be interesting, and we'll bring you all the details. 
 

Why We Need A New Mac Browser (MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/utopia/00/05/15/index.html>
Now that the principal Web browsers are all free, perhaps it's time for Apple to bundle a kick-butt browser with MacOS X. It seems only Apple Computer has the vision and imagination to take its customers to the next generation Web browser.

Will We Lose Control Of Our Computers? (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/warpcore/may00/wc-63.shtmlhttp://www.applelinks.com/warpcore/may00/wc-63.shtml>
Who knows, perhaps Apple's unintentional leadership in this particular area will lead to a more formal leadership in the future. It could be, in five years, that an Apple Macintosh computer will be the only computer you can trust to be your true personal servant, not the unwitting tool of the Internet moguls.

== Thousand Flowers (News on Macintosh third-parties) ====================

Maya Coming To Mac OS X In Early 2001 (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0005/15.wwdc3.shtml>
Maya is the award winning 3D animation and visual effects software for film, broadcast, video and game development.

Metrowerks Helps Developers Get Carbonized (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/05/14/0515codewarrior.html>
As Mac programmers headed to San Jose for Apple's Worldwide Deveopers Conference, Metrowerks was preparing to show them a Carbonized version of CodeWarrior that will make it easier to develop applications for Mac OS X.

== Know Thy Enemy (Keeping track of the Wintel empire) ====================

Tough Love For Microsoft Users (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2569655,00.html>
How many times do users of Windows need to be kicked in the head? It's as if we have a community of people who, upon discovery of "kick me" signs attached to their backs, do nothing -- and then complain when they eventually do get kicked.

Beta Of MS Office 10 On The Way (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2569683,00.html>
Besides patching and fixing Office 2000, the company is signing up beta testers for the next generation of Microsoft Office.

Ballmer, Kelin Sq Off In Print (Bloomberg)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1878653.html?dtn.head>
The U.S. Justice Department's proposed breakup of Microsoft would "destroy" the consistency of the way the company's Windows operating system works on personal computers, making computers harder to use, the company's chief executive officer wrote in an essay released yesterday.

Bug Testers Get Hands On Windows 2000 Service Pack (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1877309.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft has apparently released the first Windows 2000 service pack to testers.

Microsoft Combats "Love" Bug With Email Upgrades (Bloomberg)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1879017.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft will offer two new security features to help prevent computer viruses from using its popular Outlook email program to infect computer networks and spread to other users.

Windows Easy Hacker Target (Computerworld)
<http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000515DF36>
The renowened user-friendliness -- and popularity -- of Windows software will continue to make the platform a prime target for hackers, warned users and analysts in the aftermath of the "I Love You" virus and its variants last week.

Microsoft's Outlook: Cloudy Security (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2568904,00.html>
IT managers and security experts, increasingly cynical and sharply critical over virus assaults through Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook e-mail client, are questioning not only Microsoft's technology but also its reaction to the latest attacks.

PC Makers Await Direction After Intel Recall (Electronic Buyers' News)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000515S0003>
It's no Pentium bug, but Intel's recall of selected motherboards has customers waiting and wondering how quickly the company will correct the snafu.

Sony Plans Web Walkman (Reuters)
<http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,16704,00.html>
The Walkman creator will offer a wireless device based on Palm's technology.

Intel Aims To Secure Notebooks (Computerworld)
<http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,16690,00.html>
Intel is looking to set a new standard for notebook security with a proposed architecture that requires that a user's identity be authenticated before the computer even boots up.

WSJ: Microsoft Acknowledges Browser Flaw (Reuters)
<http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000515/tc/microsoft_browser_1.html>
Microsoft Corp. has acknowledged a flaw in its popular Internet browser that could let hackers steal ``cookies,'' sensitive files e-commerce sites use to track and conduct business with customers online, a report in the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.

Microsoft Cites AT&T To Fight Breakup (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/15soft.html>
As the Microsoft case hurtles toward its conclusion, both sides are drawing on the experiences of the AT&T breakup to support their arguments, though in some cases the references are inaccurate or incomplete.

== Breaking Barriers (About the internet and the web) ====================

Anonymous Surfer Sues Yahoo Over Privacy (The Industry Standard)
<http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,15064,00.html>
An anonymous Internet user filed a civil lawsuit in a Los Angelescourt Thursday against Yahoo, charging the company with violating federal and state law, as well as its own privacy policy. The plaintiff i saccusing Yahoo of handing over his personal information, without prior notice, to another company that was suing him for defamation.

Media Firms Log On To ".TV" Domain (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1878760.html?dtn.head>
Companies such as the giant entertainment firm Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Los Angeles-based television station NBC4, and gaming operation Sega of America announced today that they have purchased ".TV" domains from dotTV. 

Music May Be Only The Beginning Of Grassroots Piracy (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-1757865-0.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..sf>
Napster has done for piracy what America Online did for the Internet: put its technology within reach of the digital masses.

AOL Instant Messaging Efforts May Be At Cross Purposes (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1865851.html?dtn.head>
In the instant messaging war, America Online may not only be sleeping with the enemy, but paying its salary as well.

Newspapers Bring Threat Of Web Into Perspective (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/15medi.html>
Now, with three or more years of Internet experience behind them, including both failures and modest successes, when publishers look at the World Wide Web, they don't see business-destroying dragons any more.

Why We Need A New Mac Browser (MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/utopia/00/05/15/index.html>
Now that the principal Web browsers are all free, perhaps it's time for Apple to bundle a kick-butt browser with MacOS X. It seems only Apple Computer has the vision and imagination to take its customers to the next generation Web browser.

== Misc (The other stuff) ====================

Good Macs Come In Small Packages (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36121,00.html>
[F]or some Apple enthusiasts, the company will never improve one of its earliest computers, the Color Classic.

== Press Release (Spreading the news) ====================

Apple Releases Mac OS X Developer Preview 4 With Final API Specs (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/may/15macosx.html>
Preview comes bundled with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and supports the Java 2 platform.

More Than 200 Developers Committed To Mac OS X (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/may/15developer.html>
More than 200 developers have committed to delivering products for Mac OS X since early Januar, including Adobe, Alias|Wavefront, Avid, Canon, Dantz, Digidesign, Disney Interactive, EarthLink, Epson, FileMaker, HP, IBM, Macromedia, Microsoft, Palm and Sun Microsystems.

Apple Drops WebObjects License Price From $50,000 To $699 (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/may/15webobjects.html>
New version to be entirely Java-based.

QuickTime 4 Tops 50 Million Copies And Apple Previews Next Version (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/may/15qt.html>
Apple.com named number one movie trailer site.

Apple Expands Professional Services Organization (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/may/15iservices.html>
Apple iServices broadens professional support for WebObjects, Mac OS X and QuickTime.

== The AppleSurf Reader (Great Reads!) ====================

Beware The 800-pound Gorilla (Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2000/05/15/millionaire_behemoth/index.html>
As television network executives prepare to unveil their fall lineups to advertisers this week, ABC's 800-pound programming gorilla, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," is impacting the business as perhaps no show in history has.

== Technology (The Technology Scene In Singapore) ====================

Singapore Poly Develops Computer Mouse For The Disabled (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/articles/2000/05/15/singaporenews27402.htm>
A mouse is needed to perform many computer software functions, surf the net and it is simple to use. But for someone paralysed from the neck down, a simple click of the mouse is likened to a "mission impossible".

== Entertainment (The Entertainment Scene In Singapore) ====================

Singapore Porn Star A Hit In Korea (Asia E!Online)
<http://asia.eonline.com/News/Stories/Content/1,1028,1732,00.html>
Annabel Chong, Singapore's most famous porn actress, has penetrated the Korean box office with Sex: The Annabel Chong Story.