[MyAppleMenu] Sep 16, 2000

[applesurf at myapplemenu.comapplesurf]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

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

Listings: A Voyage Around The Mac Mailing Lists (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2628511,00.html>
In a distributed, networked world, mailing lists have quickly become the virtual centers of wired life. And the Macintosh world, with its reputation for being a community of shared interests as much as a marketplace, has taken to mailing lists like the proverbial duck to the proverbial water.

Mac OS X: Don't Fix What Ain't Broke (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2628628,00.html>
The Macintosh Experience is what keeps the core faithful returning year after year, and it has sustained the company through some of its darkest days. Apple will do itself a great disservice by alienating its current users with features that are unnecessarily different from previous norms.

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

Battle Of The Operating Systems (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2780682.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Both Apple Computer and Microsoft this week released the latest versions of their separate computer operating systems, yet critics were pointing out problems and challenges even before consumers got a chance to tear open the shrink-wrapped boxes.

Apple CEO Gets Jeers And Cheers (IT-Director.com)
<http://www.it-director.com/00-09-15-3.html>
During the course of the annual Apple Expo, held in Paris last week, Mr. Jobs managed one minute to make announcements that had the audience booing and then followed this with news that pleased them. It just goes to show that you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Listings: A Voyage Around The Mac Mailing Lists (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2628511,00.html>
In a distributed, networked world, mailing lists have quickly become the virtual centers of wired life. And the Macintosh world, with its reputation for being a community of shared interests as much as a marketplace, has taken to mailing lists like the proverbial duck to the proverbial water.

Eudora 5.0: The New Face Of E-Mail? (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2628484,00.html>
The latest e-mail software from Qualcomm includes sharing and warning features not found in many competing products.

Office 2001 For Mac To Hit The Market Next Month (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2784227.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft will release Office 2001 for Mac next month, the company has confirmed.

PowerMax: The New Key Lime iBook Is "Too Ugly For Us To Sell Responsibly" (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2000/09/15.15.shtml>

No Printer Drivers In Sight For OS X (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/09/10/0915osxprinters.html>
Epson says it has no plans to develop drivers for the public beta; HP and Canon won't reveal their intentions. You'll need new drivers to print to USB ink-jets.

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

Why I'm In No Hurry To Get Mac OS X Public Beta (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/articles/2000/09/20000915125616.shtml>
I am not the first to make this observation, but I expect that there are many people who are not about to consign their main workaday computer that they depend on to make a living, to experimentation with a beta operating system.

Mac OS X: Don't Fix What Ain't Broke (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2628628,00.html>
The Macintosh Experience is what keeps the core faithful returning year after year, and it has sustained the company through some of its darkest days. Apple will do itself a great disservice by alienating its current users with features that are unnecessarily different from previous norms.

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

Windows Me: Let The Blames Begin (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2628752,00.html>
One day after Microsoft's retail launch of its new consumer OS, users have more complaints than kudos. Is there help after all the hype?

Is MS Ignoring Windows Me Vulnerability? (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2628556,00.html>
Mathew Bevan claims Microsoft's attitude to bug-fixing is harmful to consumers who have experienced bug issues with every release of Windows.

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

Battle Of The Operating Systems (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2780682.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Both Apple Computer and Microsoft this week released the latest versions of their separate computer operating systems, yet critics were pointing out problems and challenges even before consumers got a chance to tear open the shrink-wrapped boxes.

Windows Me: Let The Blames Begin (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2628752,00.html>
One day after Microsoft's retail launch of its new consumer OS, users have more complaints than kudos. Is there help after all the hype?

Is MS Ignoring Windows Me Vulnerability? (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2628556,00.html>
Mathew Bevan claims Microsoft's attitude to bug-fixing is harmful to consumers who have experienced bug issues with every release of Windows.

Gateway Cuts Low-End PC Prices, Targets Niche Audiences (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-2786957.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Gateway is cutting the price on two of its most popular computers and is introducing a variety of software and services packages to target specific groups, such as first-time buyers and Spanish speakers.

Gates, Allen To Dump $109 Million In Microsoft Stock (Reuters)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2783801.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen plan to sell a total of $109.3 million of stock in the company, according to new regulatory filings.

Office 2001 For Mac To Hit The Market Next Month (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2784227.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft will release Office 2001 for Mac next month, the company has confirmed.

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

Publishing Without A Net (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38643,00.html>
Interested in reading the latest article online from Talk magazine? How about Vanity Fair? What about that one article that came out a few months back in The New Yorker? Don't even think about looking for these articles using the Web. They don't exist. You'll have to head to your local library and thumb through the old card catalogue.

Web Sites' Merger Signals Consolidation Of China's Internet Industry (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/16/technology/16NET.html>
China's Internet industry, serving one of the most promising markets, is about to undergo a sweeping consolidation after the first major merger of the industry's short life.

A Scanner Darkly (Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/tech/col/rose/2000/09/15/cuecat/index.html>
If a company wants a magazine ad to drive traffic to its Web site, what's more reasonable for it to expect consumers to do: Type "www.companyname.com" into their browsers, or laboriously install the CueCat and its software and scan a bar code?

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

Publishing Without A Net (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38643,00.html>
Interested in reading the latest article online from Talk magazine? How about Vanity Fair? What about that one article that came out a few months back in The New Yorker? Don't even think about looking for these articles using the Web. They don't exist. You'll have to head to your local library and thumb through the old card catalogue.

An Olympic Blunder? (ABCNews.com)
<http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/olympics000915.html>
It could have been a special Olympics for the visually impaired this year. Instead, it looks like a missed opportunity.

Hackers Amass New Zombie Army (MSNBC)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/460824.asp>
The nation’s government-funded computer security watchdog issued a warning Friday that computer intruders have taken control of hundreds of computers connected to the Internet. The attackers are in a position to launch a serious attack, according to the CERT Coordination Center, which said that the situation "poses a significant threat to Internet sites and the Internet infrastructure."

Web Sites' Merger Signals Consolidation Of China's Internet Industry (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/16/technology/16NET.html>
China's Internet industry, serving one of the most promising markets, is about to undergo a sweeping consolidation after the first major merger of the industry's short life.

A Scanner Darkly (Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/tech/col/rose/2000/09/15/cuecat/index.html>
If a company wants a magazine ad to drive traffic to its Web site, what's more reasonable for it to expect consumers to do: Type "www.companyname.com" into their browsers, or laboriously install the CueCat and its software and scan a bar code?

eBay At Five: Babe Or Brat? (AuctionWatch.com)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2628302,00.html>
Now, with five years' operation under its belt, I have to wonder if it's a site that's on the rise or poised for a fall. Although growing pains were to be expected, eBay has shown signs of big business self-destruction that longtime users have decried, bemoaned and foretold.

Eudora 5.0: The New Face Of E-Mail? (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2628484,00.html>
The latest e-mail software from Qualcomm includes sharing and warning features not found in many competing products.

MSN Glitch Overcharges ISP Customers (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2786460.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
An undisclosed number of MSN Internet Access subscribers today were charged around $500 on their credit card accounts as the result of a computer glitch, a Microsoft representative confirmed.

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

Downgrade, Sell-Off Zap Red Hat Shares (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2783775.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Red Hat shares dropped 16 percent today in the wake of an analyst downgrade and a stock sell-off, one day after the Linux seller edged past analysts' earnings estimates.

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

The War Against Boys: A Conversation With Christina Hoff Sommers (Christianity Online)
<http://www.christianityonline.com/bc/2000/005/6.16.html>
Boys are politically incorrect. They like action, competition, rough-housing. They are the one group of Americans who do not spend a lot of time talking about their feelings. This worries many people. A group of psychologists -— mainly at Harvard —- have convinced themselves that boys need to be "rescued" from their masculinity.

George W. Bush, Likable Extermist. Sweetness & Right (New Republic)
<http://www.tnr.com/092500/chait092500.html>
One of the reasons Bush's conservative policies have not received the same scrutiny as Gingrich's is that Bush announced them after his public image as a moderate had already taken hold. This led the press to conclude that his right-leaning policies were insincere sops to the right, designed to head off a primary challenge from Steve Forbes. The problem with this theory is that Bush declared his most politically risky stance--privatizing Social Security--after the primaries.

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

The Sage Of Singapore (Asiaweek)
<http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/magazine/2000/0922/cover1.html>
Lee Kuan Yew tells of a golf pro's trick of hitting a tee with an egg on it, and his reluctance to repeat it because 'I may not be as lucky the second time around.' Like the building of Singapore. 'We've been lucky and survived,' Lee says in the following interview, which begins a 14-page report on the Senior Minister's second volume of memoirs, From Third World to First, covering Singapore from 1965 to 2000. It has more of an international flavor than The Singapore Story (1998), noted for its bare-knuckle account of Separation from Malaysia, and may be more mellow. Here Lee talks about the new book, his family and the future.

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

Expect Slight To Moderate Haze Over A Few Days (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com.sg/articles/2000/09/16/singaporenews16924.htm>
Singapore can expect slight to moderate haze over a few days during the next two weeks, caused by the dry weather here and parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The Sage Of Singapore (Asiaweek)
<http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/magazine/2000/0922/cover1.html>
Lee Kuan Yew tells of a golf pro's trick of hitting a tee with an egg on it, and his reluctance to repeat it because 'I may not be as lucky the second time around.' Like the building of Singapore. 'We've been lucky and survived,' Lee says in the following interview, which begins a 14-page report on the Senior Minister's second volume of memoirs, From Third World to First, covering Singapore from 1965 to 2000. It has more of an international flavor than The Singapore Story (1998), noted for its bare-knuckle account of Separation from Malaysia, and may be more mellow. Here Lee talks about the new book, his family and the future.

Another Leisure Project For Tang Dynasty City Site (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/sin7_0916.html>
Tenders called to redevelop the site on a 38-year lease, but experts say theme parks are losing propositions.

Enduring Mystery Of Singapore's Vanishing Taxis (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/sin2_0916.html>
Cabbies "vanish' because they have been booked, to avoid accidents and -- surprise -- to make an extra buck.

"Where's The Cab When I Need One?" (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/sin1_0916.html>
Night-time turns the roads into a sea of blue lights, as taxis come out in droves. But where are the passengers? Off-peak hours are a nightmare for cabbies, who have to cruise around town for hours before they get the next fare. For them, it's a case of too many taxis on Singapore roads. But is it, really?

TV3 Fee Due To SCV Re-Transmitting Service (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/for9_0916.html>
Vivien Chiong, Senior Manager, Corporate Communication, Singapore Cable Vision: Since the channel cannot be received clearly in most homes here, SCV performs a service by providing equipment and resources to re-transmit the signal clearly.

Onus Is On Listeners, Not Speakers (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/for5_0916.html>
Cheng Chiao Lun: After all, who would be the ones deciding what is responsible, or substantiated, or slanderous? It is all up to the listeners.