[AppleSurf Inbox] May 26, 2000

[applesurf at myapplemenu.comapplesurf]

AppleSurf Inbox

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

Apple Germany Sees 36 Percent Growth (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0005/26.applegermany.shtml>
In the first quarter of 2000 Apple Germany has registered a growth in sales of 36 percent in comparison with the same time period from last year even though the overall German market only grew by 5 percent.

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

Viva G3! (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2578065,00.html>
I'm heartened at evidence that Apple is applying the same philosophy [of using the right tools for the right job] to its choice of processors.

Diverging Paths For PowerPC (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/05/21/0527ibmppc.html>
While G3s run optimized AltiVec code just fine, G4s run it faster... Apple seems to be hedging its bets and can easily support both.

An Armchair CEO Looks At Apple (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/05/21/0526dkonapple.html>
Apple's history through the Michael Spindler era.

Will Compatibility Issues Rain On The OS X Parade? (Mac OS Daily)
<http://www.macosdaily.com/opinion/columns/cmoore_036_20000526.html>
Can Apple achieve a repeat performance with the Mac OS X transition?

== Reviews (The good and the bad) ====================

Quake III Arena: Familiar Fun, No Surprises (Macworld)
<http://macworld.zdnet.com/2000/06/reviews/quakeiii.html>
d has done a nice job of making the game playable over the Internet, even with a dial-up connection.

Supporting Your Systems On A Limited Budget (The Business Mac)
<http://www.thebusinessmac.com/features/ptsupport.shtml>
If support is suffering at your company, look at the issues closely to determine if the problem is resource availability or resource management.

Z-Write - A Word Processor For Writers (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/zwrite.shtml>
[I]f you're a journalist or book author, give this one a look.

What System Is More Stable - The Mac Or Windows? (The Resurrected Mac)
<http://www.macspeedzone.com/frames2000/resurrectedmac.shtml>
The biggest difference you will notice when moving from the Macintosh to Windows or from Windows to the Macintosh is how easy it is to destabilize each operating system.

Optimize Your Mac's Performance And Stability (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/tips/2000/05/20000526munger.shtml>
[H]ere are a few solutions and tips to get the most out of your machine and to keep it running for days without a single crash.
 

Mac OS X DP4 (Ars Technica)
<http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/2q00/macos-x-dp4/macos-x-dp4-1.html>
Technically, it is as sound and innovative as ever.

Mac Freeware: A Guide Through The Orchard (BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2000/nf00524d.htm>
>From word processors to games, you can get it online for free or next to nothing.

Puck-Lovers Come Out! (Mouse Different) (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/articles/2000/05/20000525192528.shtml>
Mac user after Mac user, almost in shame, admitting that they too liked the hockey puck.

Inner Beauty: Looks Can Be Deceiving When it Comes To Apple's Newest Mobile Macs (Macworld)
<http://macworld.zdnet.com/2000/05/features/pismo.html>
Ever since Steve Jobs returned to Apple, we've come to expect drama when the company introduces new products, whether they're colorful and cuddly iMacs or shocking-blue Power Macs. But sometimes the most-dramatic changes don't have to do with a flashy appearance--they're all about what's inside.

Games For '030s (Low End Mac)
<http://lowendmac.net/gaming/2k0526.html>
Finding a game that will run well on a 68030 can be quite a challenge these days. Although the system requirements will let you know whether the game will run on a 68030, rarely do they say whether it will run well.

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

Corel Doesn't Rhyme With Morale (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,36620,00.html>
Employee morale is slumping and several senior executives are jumping ship.

Corel Gets Cash Infusion Worth Up To $20M (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/feature.php?id=21>
[H]owever, it still expects to make $40-million worth of cuts to support its current revenue expectations and "is likely to shed up to 400 employees from various departments," according to one report.

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

Windows Tablet Runs Up The Tab (PC World)
<http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,16924,00.html>
Aqcess Technologies prices its slick Qbe device at a hard-to-swallow $4,475.

Microsoft Patches Up Bruised Outlook (Inter at ctive Week)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2576982,00.html>
Critics of Microsoft say that while the patches will prevent viruses like Melissa and the Love Bug, they do little to address underlying weaknesses in the Microsoft platform.

Microsoft Postpones Strategy Forum, Cites Case (Reuters)
<http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000526/tc/tech_microsoft_3.html>
The sudden change of plans provides one of the clearest signs yet of how the antitrust case has disrupted business as usual at the company.

Justice Department Still Wants Microsoft Split Into Two Companies (San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/ms052700.htm>
[T]he government team had settled on a two-way split as the least complicated way of restoring completion to the operating system market.

Linux Programmers Get A Taste Of The Future (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1951178.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Linux programmers wanting a glimpse of things to come will be able to try out three machines at VA Linux Systems with Intel's upcoming Itanium chips, the Linux hardware maker will announce tomorrow.

Appeals Court May Be Next Stop For Microsoft (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1948724.html?dtn.head>
The Justice Department and 19 states may answer Microsoft's motto this afternoon with a revised remedy proposal seeking to break the software giant into two companies.

Microsoft Trial: Users Told To Check Contracts (VNU Net)
<http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2000-05-25-002-06-PS-BZ-MS>
[U]sers should not bet their businesses on future products that are not yet in beta, especially those that rely on Microsoft's entire portfolio such as next generation Windows services, because they may not be as effective if the company is split in half.

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

Wiring Schools For 'Window To The World' (San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/online052600.htm>
``What's most important? Reading books or computers? You shouldn't have to make that decision.''

China Internet Market Uncertain Despite WTO Progress (Reuters)
<http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,2171,3_108682_Ext,00.html>
Hong Kong Internet firms and analysts cautioned that the mainland's Internet sector will remain a murky area for foreign investors.

Kmart Belatedly Ready To Make Online Play (ComputerWorld)
<http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000526E30A>
Analysts said Kmart is cutting back on the number of stores it opens, which leaves the company with more cash to invest in technology.

China Trade Pact Boosts Telecoms, Chinadotcom (ZDII)
<http://www.zdii.com/industry_list.asp?mode=news&doc_id=ZE504335>
Here's a look at companies that could benefit from the trade pact.

House Wants To Ease Net Access With Tax Repeal (Associated Press)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1954117.html?dtn.head>
It may amount to a tax cut of only $24 a year for the average phone user, but Congress is rushing to repeal a 102-year-old tax that supporters call an outdated and unnecessary hindrance to Internet access.

Surfers In Singapore Shun Sex Sites (CNET Singapore)
<http://singapore.cnet.com/news/2000/05/25/20000525aq.html>
No sex please...free gifts and contests will do.

Brer Bill And The Briar Patch (osOpinion)
<http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/MattYork/MattYork1.html>
So they move the "good stuff" into application dlls and it's (relatively) safe. This is why they are playing for time. Their programmers are working at high speed to move those nasty little hidden APIs where no-one can see them...

A Web Phone Is Still A Phone (PC World)
<http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,16921,00.html>
But be warned: The airwaves are not the wide-open Internet. You can't do all this everywhere. And existing services can't do it all.

Japan's Internet Dominance Fading In Asia (Internet.com)
<http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/geographics/article/0,1323,5911_378191,00.html>
China and India will outpace Japan in Internet growth in the near future, according to a report by eMarketer.

Across The United States, Internet-Ready Houses Are Finding A Home (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/26build.html>
For a growing number of home buyers, high-speed Internet connections are becoming as important as a two-car garage or fireplace, prompting some developers to jump into the telecommunications business.

Disney Agrees To Pay $21.5 Million To GoTo.com (Associated Press)
<http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,500208486-500291618-501586644-0,00.html>
For Disney, the settlement comes as the company redesigns its Internet strategy and its Go.com site. The company decided in January to abandon its attempt to position Go.com as an Internet portal, similar to Yahoo! or AOL. Instead, Disney said it would focus the site - which was formed after Disney bought Infoseek, a search engine company - on recreation, entertainment and leisure.

Judge Rules In Favor Of eBay In Automated Search Case (Associated Press)
<http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,500208505-500291656-501586729-0,00.html>
A federal judge ruled that eBay, the world's largest online auction site, can prevent a rival company from conducting automated searches of eBay's inventory to list items for its own customers.

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

Senate Hears Concerns About Easing Export Controls (Associated Press)
<http://www.stlnet.com/postnet/News/wires.nsf/National/C5C8D6DE9CA0F08E862568EB0068FCAC?OpenDocument>
Apple Computer began selling its new G4 single-processor personal computer last fall but was unable to market it in more than 50 countries because export control changes did not go into effect until January.

Giving PCs A New Dimension (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36433,00.html>
"When we talk about 3-D, it should be a richer cue in terms of appearance, shape, color, look, location."

Laptops Of Luxury (Washington Post)
<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2839-2000May25.html>
The Apple E-Mates that students have been using for three years are rapidly becoming outdated and worn out. The company no longer makes the E-Mate, and newer laptops--such as the iBooks--are very expensive.

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

Who's Next? (The New Republic)
<http://www.thenewrepublic.com/online/mccullagh052300.html>
Asking our editors to make a risky legal decision on the spot about each link simply means we won't be linking to anything controversial at all.

Et Tu, Hambrecht: Underwriter Turns Guns On Salon (Inside)
<http://www.inside.com/story/Premium_Story?art_id=5017>
What's scary about Salon's predicament is that the company's not some also-ran content site.

Mad About Media Criticism (NewsWatch)
<http://www.newswatch.org/May%20stories/Mad%20About%20Media%20Criticism%20051900.htm>
Think about the thousands of newspapers in the States, the hundreds of television news shows, the omnipresent world of cable news and the multitude of Web sites. And now think about how many media critics there are in a constant state of employment.

O No! (Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/05/25/oprah/index.html>
Oprah produces a deeply flawed magazine for the deeply flawed.

What's Up With Those Big, Fat New Economy Magazines? (Slate)
<http://slate.msn.com/code/Moneybox/Moneybox.asp?Show=5/25/00&idMessage=5384>
Having spent a fair amount of time going through this pile, I can say with some confidence that, while each of these magazines has its good and bad points, there are not nearly enough interesting stories out there to fill so many pages. In fact, within these 2,714 pages, I found nine interesting stories.

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

Software Piracy Losses In Singapore Rise To US$61.8m (CNET Singapore)
<http://singapore.cnet.com/news/2000/05/26/20000526a.html>
However, the rate of piracy itself declined slightly from 52 percent in 1998 to 51 percent in 1999.

Surfers In Singapore Shun Sex Sites (CNET Singapore)
<http://singapore.cnet.com/news/2000/05/25/20000525aq.html>
No sex please...free gifts and contests will do.

Digital Video Editing On Macintosh For Beginners (MacSingapore)
<http://www.macsingapore.com/tutorials/dvbeginner.html>
A guide to hardware and software selection in Singapore.

== Around Town (News out of Singapore) ====================

Library's New Home In Club Hub (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/life/life7_0527.html>
Marine Parade Community Library is the first to be housed together with a community club and an arts group.

World Book Fair Gets Bigger (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/life/life3_0527.html>
The fair, jointly organised by Chinese Newspapers Division, Singapore Press Holdings and Times Conferences and Exhibitions, will be on from June 10 to 18.

CityCab Ride May Cost More Than One In A Comfort Taxi (Business Times)
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/6/news/nsing04.html>
CityCab commuters could end up paying more, especially downtown and during peak hours -- where standstill traffic is common.

Old Estate Designs Better (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/for5_0527.html>
Chiang Ming Yu: All of the flat-dwellers I know agree that the older blocks of HDB flats are better than the newer ones.

One-Minute Delay For Passengers On MRT Line Between Clementi And Buona Vista Stations (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/articles/2000/05/26/singaporenews28316.htm>
[This is the] result of safety measures implemented during the construction of the Dover station.

City Cab Announces Higher Taxi Fares From 26th Of June (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/articles/2000/05/26/singaporenews28314.htm>
City Cab in its statement says the increased earnings will help drivers defray rising operating costs especially higher diesel prices and ERP taxi charges which take effect in September.