[MyAppleMenu] Oct 4, 2000

[applesurf at myapplemenu.comapplesurf]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

== AppleSurf (Top Stories) ==============

Thinking Outside The Cube: Mac OS X For X86 (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2636634,00.html>
There’s an opportunity here. A comment that surfaced again and again in readers’ responses was that users are looking for a way out of Windows, and Linux isn’t cutting it for them.

Change The System! (Feed)
<http://www.feedmag.com/column/interface/ci398_master.html>
In the case of OS X, I think what has happened is the convergence of three things: a product designed with such attention to detail that the drop-shadows do grow and shrink as you move the windows around; an audience that has so fetishized the product that the shadows actually seem like a big deal to them; and a web of communication that enables people to share their excitement with thousands of other people before that excitement wears off.

Mac Users Deliver The Early Word On OS X (BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2000/nf2000104_209.htm>
Some praise its stability and jazzy looks. Some see a Mac-ified Windows. And nearly all griped about paying $30 for the beta version.

Apple Rallies Troops After Slump (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2636357,00.html>
Sources say Steve Jobs tells employees no layoffs are in the works, although some projects may be scaled back.

== AppleSurf (News) ==============

Change The System! (Feed)
<http://www.feedmag.com/column/interface/ci398_master.html>
In the case of OS X, I think what has happened is the convergence of three things: a product designed with such attention to detail that the drop-shadows do grow and shrink as you move the windows around; an audience that has so fetishized the product that the shadows actually seem like a big deal to them; and a web of communication that enables people to share their excitement with thousands of other people before that excitement wears off.

Give Us Mac OS X Or Give Us Death, Intel Users Demand (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/13745.html>
Even if Apple wanted to ship MacOS X for Intel, it's doubtful whether it can afford to do so.

Corel Chief: Mac Apps To Be Part Of .NET Venture (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/04.net.shtml>
"That represents a stronghold that we have on the graphics market and we're going to be forging that really far ahead on the Internet."

Road To Mac OS X: The Musc And QT Player (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/04.macosx.shtml>

Netscape 6.0 PR 3 Sports Redesigned Interface, More (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/04.netscape.shtml>

AirPort For Mac OS X Public Beta (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/10/01/1004rzpbairport.html>
The Mac OS X Public Beta doesn't officially support Apple's wireless networking technology, but that didn't keep MacWEEK contributor Raven Zachary from trying a hack he found on a message board. He provides step-by-step instructions for running AirPort from the new OS.

Funds Don't Halt 'E-Pack' Instruction (The Florida Times-Union)
<http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100400/ner_4234253.html>
The first phase of an ambitious program to put portable computers in the hands of every St. Johns County public school student is under way in 10 classrooms in five schools, including 45 students at Fruit Cove's Cunningham Creek Elementary School.

Mac Users Deliver The Early Word On OS X (BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2000/nf2000104_209.htm>
Some praise its stability and jazzy looks. Some see a Mac-ified Windows. And nearly all griped about paying $30 for the beta version.

Microsoft Plans Low-Key Launch Of Office 2001:Mac (TechWeb)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20001003S0016>
"It is sort of the poster product for the old way of doing computing. It's client-centric and code heavy and that's not the message Microsoft wants to put out at the corporate level anymore. It's sort of an embarrassment in terms of its architecture when you consider where Microsoft wants to go the .NET world."

Apple Rallies Troops After Slump (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2636357,00.html>
Sources say Steve Jobs tells employees no layoffs are in the works, although some projects may be scaled back.

Corel Follows Microsoft Deal With CEO Decision (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2923567.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>

Mac Developer Wendy Sternick Dies (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/03.developer.shtml>
"We received a wonderful response to our request, and for that we thank the Mac community on behalf of her family."

Casual Mac Gamers Get Four Newly Updated Hoyle Titles (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/03.sierra.shtml>
The games augment Sierra's line of casual, family-friendly games with new features and abilities.

The Readers Speak: Using OS X (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/10/01/1003rsosxinstall.html>
Many have fallen in love with the public beta, but others think OS X spells the death of the Macintosh as we know it. Here are early impressions from MacWEEK readers, pro and con.

Upgrade Vendors Announce Price Cuts (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/10/01/1003upgrades.html>

== AppleSurf (Opinions) ==============

Thinking Outside The Cube: Mac OS X For X86 (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2636634,00.html>
There’s an opportunity here. A comment that surfaced again and again in readers’ responses was that users are looking for a way out of Windows, and Linux isn’t cutting it for them.

OS X On Intel: Belaboring The Obvious? (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/articles/2000/10/20001004161928.shtml>

The Bridge to Nowhere: Part Two (Applelinks)
<http://www.applelinks.com/abacus/bridge_to_nowhere2.shtml>
 In the previous episode, "The Bridge to Nowhere: Part One, " the author has marched into the wilderness to find the mythical Bridge to Nowhere. Blind with fear, he leaps off the bridge and finds it remarkably like upgrading his operating system.

The Sad Joke Of Public Betas (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/columns/flipside/2000/20001004.shtml>
Just as criticizing Apple or the Mac will offend fanatics, criticizing the beta version of somebody's favorite software is nothing less than a sin. How dare you! You are in for a spanking.

The iMac: Beauty Comes From Within (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2000/10/03.6.shtml>
In a word, elegance. And beauty. OK, that is two words, one of them won't do it alone, I think.

Avoid The Apple Trap (osOpinion)
<http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/JamesGlassman/JamesGlassman15.html>
Losing half the value of your holdings in Apple in an hour is a shock that can send many investors away from Apple forever, but telegraphing to them that sales are soft could actually be a confidence-builder.

Is The iMac Becoming Apple's K-car? (The Macjunkie)
<http://www.themacjunkie.com/archives/moore.10.3.00.html>
Apple has simply hung onto the iMac design as its mainstay for too long. Its tinkering with different color schemes and processor speed bumps is analogous to Chrysler's repeatedly tarting up the aging K-car floorpan and drivetrain with new sheet metal.

Apple, Wall Street And overreaction (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/10/01/1002appleedit.html>
You can call it a crisis or a wakeup call, but it's not an impending apocalypse, and Apple has already weathered one of those.

== AppleSurf (Reviews) ==============

FireWire CD-RW Drives (Macworld)
<http://macworld.zdnet.com/2000/11/reviews/firewire.html>
Do you have a need for speed? Macworld Lab evaluated seven new FireWire CD-RW drives that should keep even the greediest speed demon happy . . . for a while, anyway.

Netscape: Small Improvements, One Huge Mistake (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/10/01/1004jcwnetscape6.html>
MacWEEK contributor John C. Welch likes most of what he sees in Preview Release 3 of Netscape 6, but the lack of LDAP support in the e-mail client is a deal-killer, he writes.

Iomega HipZip (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/pipreviews/0,8827,375016,00.html>
Neither the hippest nor the zippiest of the portable MP3 players available, Iomega's $299 HipZip is an adequate digital audio player that offers only one advantage for budget buyers and students -- cheap media.

Adventures In X (MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/tangible/00/10/04/index.html>
Frankly, unless you're a developer or have a serious need for OS X, you're better off leaving the potential problems to those that can afford to have them. Average users are better off finding an Apple dealer or friend with a Mac running OS X and playing with it for a bit.

BBEdit Rules The Web (Macworld)
<http://macworld.zdnet.com/2000/10/03/bbedit.html>
If you're a Mac user who spends a lot of time working with plain text in any form, you owe it to yourself to give BBEdit a test drive. In my estimation, BBEdit (available only for the Mac OS) is one of the great unspoken joys of using the Mac platform.

== The Wintel Empire (Top Stories) ==============

Dell Warns Third-Quarter Sales Weak (Reuters)
<http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001004/tc/dell_dc_11.html>
Dell was only the latest tech victim of weak demand in Europe.

MS Lost The Verdict, But It's Winning The Trial (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/13723.html>
Microsoft may have comprehensively lost the trial, its lawyers and witnesses may have blown it at every available opportunity, but it hasn't a scratch on anything, apart from its reputation; nor will it have for a long while to come. So again, who was it that won?

Government Rips Microsoft's Appeal Schedule (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2925511.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
The government said Microsoft's proposal "is excessive and would delay resolution of this appeal unnecessarily."

== The Wintel Empire (News) ==============

Microsoft Plans MSN Blitz For Late October (TechWeb)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20001004S0010>
Leading the charge will be the new MSN Explorer client, to be officially unveiled that day, as well as high-speed DSL and satellite access service in the United States, according to the document. Microsoft and its partners plan to spend over a billion dollars in marketing on this project.

AMD Readies New Athlon, Duron Chips (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2636528,00.html>
Keeping the heat on chip rival Intel, Advanced Micro Devices is preparing to ship its next-generation processors.

Dell Warns Third-Quarter Sales Weak (Reuters)
<http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001004/tc/dell_dc_11.html>
Dell was only the latest tech victim of weak demand in Europe.

Microsoft Has Big Plans For New Office Complex (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2931977.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft unveiled plans for an 800,000-square-foot office complex in Issaquah, Wash., that could rival its Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

Give Us Mac OS X Or Give Us Death, Intel Users Demand (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/13745.html>
Even if Apple wanted to ship MacOS X for Intel, it's doubtful whether it can afford to do so.

MS + Corel = Office For Linux? In Your Dreams... (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/13714.html>

MS Lost The Verdict, But It's Winning The Trial (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/13723.html>
Microsoft may have comprehensively lost the trial, its lawyers and witnesses may have blown it at every available opportunity, but it hasn't a scratch on anything, apart from its reputation; nor will it have for a long while to come. So again, who was it that won?

Microsoft Plans Low-Key Launch Of Office 2001:Mac (TechWeb)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20001003S0016>
"It is sort of the poster product for the old way of doing computing. It's client-centric and code heavy and that's not the message Microsoft wants to put out at the corporate level anymore. It's sort of an embarrassment in terms of its architecture when you consider where Microsoft wants to go the .NET world."

Corel Follows Microsoft Deal With CEO Decision (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2923567.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>

Government Rips Microsoft's Appeal Schedule (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2925511.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
The government said Microsoft's proposal "is excessive and would delay resolution of this appeal unnecessarily."

== Breaking Barriers (Top Stories) ==============

Inching Toward Dot-Whatever (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39246,00.html>
 

Is dot-com here to stay as the be-all and end-all ending for any Web address that matters? No one knows whether the entrenched Internet name suffix .com will ever be successfully supplanted by an upstart competitor like .store or .site. But domain name registrars aren't waiting to find out.

Netscape Site Gets New Look For Browser Update (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2928828.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Netscape Communications today released a third preview version of its long-delayed Web browser update and unveiled a Web site redesign.

Yahoo Eyes Threat From "Screen Scrapers" (TechWeb Finance)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/finance/story/INV20001003S0012>
"Screen scrapers" like Yodlee Inc. and emerging wireless services are casting an ominous shadow over Yahoo Inc., an executive acknowledged Tuesday.

Let's Stick Together, Salon's Talbot Proposes To His Fellow Web Citizens (Reuters)
<http://www.inside.com/story/Story_Cached/0,2770,10427_13_4_1,00.html>
The chief of struggling Internet media company Salon.com on Tuesday called on his Web media peers to share marketing efforts in order to limit their reliance on online advertising services firms and cutting costs.

AOL Wants To 'Opt Out' (Reuters)
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39240,00.html>
America Online tells a Senate panel discussing privacy bills that it's a better world if laws that allow consumers to decide whether data can be collected about them online don't exist.

Web-Based Email Services Offer Employees Little Privacy (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-2924978.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Everyone knows the boss can read all of the email you send and receive through your corporate account. Unfortunately, security experts say many employees would be surprised to know that Web-based email services also offer little privacy.

== Breaking Barriers (News) ==============

Is The Internet Industry On Fire Or Burned Out (TechWeb Finance)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/finance/story/INV20001004S0006>

Microsoft Plans MSN Blitz For Late October (TechWeb)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20001004S0010>
Leading the charge will be the new MSN Explorer client, to be officially unveiled that day, as well as high-speed DSL and satellite access service in the United States, according to the document. Microsoft and its partners plan to spend over a billion dollars in marketing on this project.

EC Set To Approve AOL Merger (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2636869,00.html>
European regulators are expected to clear AOL's merger with Time Warner. But a separate Time Warner deal with EMI appears doomed.

Inching Toward Dot-Whatever (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39246,00.html>
 

Is dot-com here to stay as the be-all and end-all ending for any Web address that matters? No one knows whether the entrenched Internet name suffix .com will ever be successfully supplanted by an upstart competitor like .store or .site. But domain name registrars aren't waiting to find out.

Netscape Site Gets New Look For Browser Update (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2928828.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Netscape Communications today released a third preview version of its long-delayed Web browser update and unveiled a Web site redesign.

Employees Want Privacy, Too (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-2932525-0.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..sf>
Companies and their employees may differ radically over how much personal privacy a worker should have.

Corel Chief: Mac Apps To Be Part Of .NET Venture (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/04.net.shtml>
"That represents a stronghold that we have on the graphics market and we're going to be forging that really far ahead on the Internet."

Netscape: Small Improvements, One Huge Mistake (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/10/01/1004jcwnetscape6.html>
MacWEEK contributor John C. Welch likes most of what he sees in Preview Release 3 of Netscape 6, but the lack of LDAP support in the e-mail client is a deal-killer, he writes.

Wall Street To Amazon: Picture This (InternetNews)
<http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_476411,00.html>

Netscape 6.0 PR 3 Sports Redesigned Interface, More (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0010/04.netscape.shtml>

'Business-Method' Patents Create Growing Controversy (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/471592.asp>
Mr. Walker paid a group of 20 influential Manhattan attorneys to have lunch and talk about patent law. He asked them if the credit card could have been patented. They said yes. Then he asked about the ATM machine. They said yes. Finally, he asked about frequent-flier miles. And they said yes.

Yahoo Eyes Threat From "Screen Scrapers" (TechWeb Finance)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/finance/story/INV20001003S0012>
"Screen scrapers" like Yodlee Inc. and emerging wireless services are casting an ominous shadow over Yahoo Inc., an executive acknowledged Tuesday.

Little Anxiety Over China Web Rules (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/04/technology/04NET.html>

Let's Stick Together, Salon's Talbot Proposes To His Fellow Web Citizens (Reuters)
<http://www.inside.com/story/Story_Cached/0,2770,10427_13_4_1,00.html>
The chief of struggling Internet media company Salon.com on Tuesday called on his Web media peers to share marketing efforts in order to limit their reliance on online advertising services firms and cutting costs.

AOL Wants To 'Opt Out' (Reuters)
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39240,00.html>
America Online tells a Senate panel discussing privacy bills that it's a better world if laws that allow consumers to decide whether data can be collected about them online don't exist.

Internet Ad Revenues Climb, Study Says (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2925975.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Internet companies may be slashing their marketing budgets and folding altogether, but a report released today shows the Web is still a viable place for companies that rely on advertising dollars.

Web-Based Email Services Offer Employees Little Privacy (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-2924978.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Everyone knows the boss can read all of the email you send and receive through your corporate account. Unfortunately, security experts say many employees would be surprised to know that Web-based email services also offer little privacy.

== PenguinSurf (Top Stories) ==============

The Failure Of Linux: Credibility And Responsibility (osOpinion)
<http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/MontyManley/MontyManley15.html>
Instead of getting better, it's getting worse at an almost geometric rate. In spite of all the "open source means quality code" rhetoric, Linux has become the poster-child for buggy and idiosyncratic software.

== PenguinSurf (News) ==============

The Failure Of Linux: Credibility And Responsibility (osOpinion)
<http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/MontyManley/MontyManley15.html>
Instead of getting better, it's getting worse at an almost geometric rate. In spite of all the "open source means quality code" rhetoric, Linux has become the poster-child for buggy and idiosyncratic software.

Corel Follows Microsoft Deal With CEO Decision (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2923567.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>

== The AppleSurf Reader ==============

'Business-Method' Patents Create Growing Controversy (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/471592.asp>
Mr. Walker paid a group of 20 influential Manhattan attorneys to have lunch and talk about patent law. He asked them if the credit card could have been patented. They said yes. Then he asked about the ATM machine. They said yes. Finally, he asked about frequent-flier miles. And they said yes.

== SingaporeSurf (Top Stories) ==============

Field For Debate 'Wide Open' (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/sin18_1005.html>
"The field is wide open as far as public debate is concerned, but normal laws apply, like in Britain or anywhere else."

Let People "Meet" MPs Through The Net (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/for5_1004.html>
Xie Yanming: This would also help to lessen the workload and reduce the queues at RC centres during meet-the-people sessions. Residents would also be more willing to share their problems from the privacy of their homes and MPs could gather more feedback from the ground.

== SingaporeSurf (News) ==============

A-Level 'Guinea Pigs' Are Worried (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/1,1381,4971,00.html?>
No 10-year series or spotting of questions for this exam.

Field For Debate 'Wide Open' (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/sin18_1005.html>
"The field is wide open as far as public debate is concerned, but normal laws apply, like in Britain or anywhere else."

Production Of MediaCrop's First Newspaper Goes High Tech (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/singapore/cna/article.html?s=singapore/headlines/001004/singapore/cna/Production_of_MediaCorp_s_first_newspaper_goes_high_tech.html>
"If you've seen Streats, it's more like a supplement to a main newspaper, whereas we aim to be a complete paper by ourselves. We will be a paper with very comprehensive entertainment, lifestyle, sports, so in that sense, I don't think we are streats at all. While the content we give you is probably worth more than 60 cents, we just happen to give it away for free."

One Design School Will Do, Says Sculptor Iskandar Jalil (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/1,1381,4979,00.html?>
Merger of 3 institutions here will give students a vibrant education.

"3 Points May Be Restored To CPF" (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/pri3_1004.html>
Workers may get three percentage points of their Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions from employers restored next year, National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Lim Boon Heng said yesterday.

== SingaporeSurf (Technology) ==============

Let People "Meet" MPs Through The Net (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/for5_1004.html>
Xie Yanming: This would also help to lessen the workload and reduce the queues at RC centres during meet-the-people sessions. Residents would also be more willing to share their problems from the privacy of their homes and MPs could gather more feedback from the ground.

AsiaOne Incurs $15m Loss; Still Confident About Future (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/money/sinb5_1004.html>
AsiaOne chief executive officer Low Huan Ping attributed the growth in online advertising to the ""stickiness'' of the AsiaOne website, on which surfers spend about 22 minutes a time. He said that the website had about 750,000 users, of which 280,000 were registered visitors.

== SingaporeSurf (Entertainment) ==============

Cantonese Opera WIth European Flair (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/life/life6_1005.html>
The first appearance together of opera artistes from five European countries will feature in the S'pore International Cantonese Opera Festival 2000.