[MyAppleMenu] Jan 16, 2001

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

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

 Windows Users Not Tempted By Old Apple (ZDNet Australia)
<http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/dailynews/story/0,2000013063,20108152,00.htm>
A spokesperson for Apple’s local operation shrugged off the sale’s lukewarm reception amongst Windows users, explaining that the campaign was aimed at the vendor’s existing corporate and consumer-level customers, not new customers.

 Jobs Slams Computer Retailers (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2001/01/14/0115resellers.html>
In a criticism aimed at retailers such as CompUSA, Circuit City and Sears, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a crowd of independent Apple dealers last Thursday that the computer-buying experience is worse than purchasing a car. In addition, Jobs would neither confirm nor deny news that Apple would soon open retail stores, but defended such a move by saying, "this is America."

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

 MS' Mac Boss Weighs Apple Moves (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdii.com/industry_list.asp?mode=news&doc_id=ZD2674516>
When I first saw Aqua a year ago, I said, "That's what we have been thinking computers should look like in the year 2000." And I think to the extent that Apple and all of its ISVs are able to imbue their products with that kind of design esthetic that only the Aqua designers can bring to their design, it will bring that promise.

 Macromedia President Talks Mac OS X (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2674499,00.html>
Fresh from a keynote appearance at Macworld Expo, Kevin Lynch discussed his company's expectations for Apple's next-generation OS.

 Thinking Different On The Last Frontier (MacDirectory)
<http://www.macdirectory.com/culture/alaska/Index.html>
Windows is a good system if you live somewhere with 24-hour technical support, he said. But if you live in the bush, you want a computer you can troubleshoot.

 Macworld Sets The Stage For 2001 (Daily Yomiuri)
<http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20010116wo62.htm>
>From a psychological standpoint, I guess one could say that MacWorld is more than a normal trade show. To the Mac enthusiast and true believer, it is a reaffirmation of everything that is good and decent in computing.

 Windows Users Not Tempted By Old Apple (ZDNet Australia)
<http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/dailynews/story/0,2000013063,20108152,00.htm>
A spokesperson for Apple’s local operation shrugged off the sale’s lukewarm reception amongst Windows users, explaining that the campaign was aimed at the vendor’s existing corporate and consumer-level customers, not new customers.

 Rot In Apple Spreads Through Industry (The New Zealand Herald)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=168531&thesection=technology&thesubsection=general>
A swath of PC companies, including Gateway, Compaq and Dell, have said that their earnings will be down this quarter, although only Apple expects to fall into the red.

 Apple To Report 1st Quarter Loss This Week (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2001/01/15.3.shtml>
Judging by the price drops introduced by Apple in the week prior to Macworld, it is likely that Apple still had inventory left to sell at that time, which was after the quarter about to be released ended. There has been no indication from the company on how successful those price cuts were.

 Jobs Slams Computer Retailers (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2001/01/14/0115resellers.html>
In a criticism aimed at retailers such as CompUSA, Circuit City and Sears, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a crowd of independent Apple dealers last Thursday that the computer-buying experience is worse than purchasing a car. In addition, Jobs would neither confirm nor deny news that Apple would soon open retail stores, but defended such a move by saying, "this is America."

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

 Titanium PowerBook: Simply The Coolest Piece Of Hardware Apple Has Ever Built, Part I (MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/roadwarrior/01/01/16/index.html>
Apple is making no secret of the fact that the Sony VAIO was its target to exceed. The VAIO is a very nice piece of work as PC boxes go, but the Ti leaves it in its dust, with its solid Titanium case vs the VAIO's magnesium - fortified plastic one, and the big, 15.2-inch display, as opposed to VAIO's pedestrian 12.1-inch unit, and of course the G4 "supercomputer to go" power.

 Titanium PowerBook G4: Not Everyone Likes The Style (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/articles/2001/01/20010115134615.shtml>
Apple does need to change the pictures at its Web site so everyone can view the titanium PowerBook from a real-life perspective, i.e. not just squinting at its skinny cross-section.

 Inside The Box (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/scope/010116.html>
After shaking up the computer world with sleek hardware designs, Apple is finally getting serious about pushing the "other half" of their business: software.

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

 FireWire Web Cams (MacNN)
<http://reviews.macnn.com/reviews/firewirewebcams/firewirewebcams.phtml>

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

 Intel Intensifies Pentium 4 Production (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-4462827-0.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..sf>
As it prepares to announce fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, Intel is putting the pedal to the metal with its Pentium 4 chip.

 Microsoft Branches Out (San Francisco Chronicle)
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/15/BU13048.DTL&type=tech_article>
As gloomy news continues to emanate from the personal-computer industry, Microsoft, once known for espousing "a PC on every desktop," is branching out in a big way. No longer are Microsoft and Windows logos just on personal computers, they're on -- or are scheduled to be on -- video game boxes, cellular phones and "e-cliners."

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

 MS' Mac Boss Weighs Apple Moves (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdii.com/industry_list.asp?mode=news&doc_id=ZD2674516>
When I first saw Aqua a year ago, I said, "That's what we have been thinking computers should look like in the year 2000." And I think to the extent that Apple and all of its ISVs are able to imbue their products with that kind of design esthetic that only the Aqua designers can bring to their design, it will bring that promise.

 Intel Intensifies Pentium 4 Production (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-4462827-0.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..sf>
As it prepares to announce fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, Intel is putting the pedal to the metal with its Pentium 4 chip.

 Start-Up Cuts Workers On Word From Microsoft (Bloomberg News)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-4489615.html?tag=st.ne.1007.thed.ni>
About 20 people were fired, all of them former Microsoft employees who had signed noncompete agreements with the software-0making giant, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Employees were told they could be rehired after the agreements expire, the paper said.

 Microsoft Branches Out (San Francisco Chronicle)
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/15/BU13048.DTL&type=tech_article>
As gloomy news continues to emanate from the personal-computer industry, Microsoft, once known for espousing "a PC on every desktop," is branching out in a big way. No longer are Microsoft and Windows logos just on personal computers, they're on -- or are scheduled to be on -- video game boxes, cellular phones and "e-cliners."

 Intel Acquires Xircom (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Intel-Xircom.html>
Xircom, based in Thousand Oaks, makes network adapters, modems, and cards that connect mobile computers to local or corporate networks and the Internet. The company, which has 1,900 employees worldwide and generated $492 million in revenue last year, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel.

 Coming Attraction : THX On PC (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,40867,00.html>
"We realized that this type of innovation was aimed at people who wanted to play DVDs or CDs on the computer," said Fincham, director of engineering at Lucasfilm. "The overall system performance, though, was a function not just of the speakers, but of the computer configuration as a whole. So we came up with a complete PC certification system."

 How 'Crzed Uncle' Bill Brought The Microsoft House Down (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/16104.html>
The sauciest - taking up less than half a page of the book - is the revelation already serialised in The Guardian and summarised here: which is where Sony CEO blows away business protocol and reveals what he really thinks of the beast of Redmond. And it isn't flattering.

 Rot In Apple Spreads Through Industry (The New Zealand Herald)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=168531&thesection=technology&thesubsection=general>
A swath of PC companies, including Gateway, Compaq and Dell, have said that their earnings will be down this quarter, although only Apple expects to fall into the red.

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

 Rivals Of AOL Time Warner Face Batle With Giant, Despite Curbs (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/516394.asp>
After a year of regulatory wrangling, rivals of AOL Time Warner Inc. won restrictions on the conduct of the new giant. But just how much these curbs will matter remains to be seen. Soon after federal regulators gave the final nod last week to the largest U.S. merger ever, competitors and consumer groups hailed the restrictions as a victory.

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

 Sale Of Used Books: Amazon's Prerogative? (ZDNet Asia)
<http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/dailynews/story/0,2000010021,20172021-1,00.htm>
Although Teo admitted that Amazon, with its undeniable consumer clout, may cause "significant dents" in new book sales by changing readers' shopping habits, he believes that companies should move with the times and acknowledge the choices that the Internet extends to consumers.

 Why You Can't Sell What You Buy (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41184,00.html>
First-sale rights are given to consumers so that they might sell a book they purchased to someone else, said Fred von Lohmann, visiting researcher at the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. But if the work is licensed -- such as software -- the argument is that, in conventional terms, there never was a sale in the first place. That is, while the consumer does own a CD with the software, technically they only own the license to use the product, not the right to resell it.

 Studios Look To Sidestep Antitrust Issues (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4463311.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
As Hollywood builds new online distribution networks, antitrust issues loom as a possible spoiler, some legal experts warn.

 Dot-Com Union Efforts -- So "Old Economy" (Gartner Viewpoint)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-201-4420489-0.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..sf>
Unionizing efforts at dot-com companies show customer-service managers that unions do not just belong to the "Old Economy." Companies should treat their employees in such a way that unions do not offer an appealing alternative.

 AOL's 'Transforming Transaction' (Newsweek)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/515985.asp>
While other dot-coms plunged, AOL was good enough—or lucky enough—to trade its paper for some of the world’s finest media jewels.

 Rivals Of AOL Time Warner Face Batle With Giant, Despite Curbs (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/516394.asp>
After a year of regulatory wrangling, rivals of AOL Time Warner Inc. won restrictions on the conduct of the new giant. But just how much these curbs will matter remains to be seen. Soon after federal regulators gave the final nod last week to the largest U.S. merger ever, competitors and consumer groups hailed the restrictions as a victory.

 AOL Time Warner: How Big Is Big? (The Industry Standard)
<http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21480,00.html>
The numbers show the merger's impact on the wired world will be huge.

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

 Merger Sparks Interest In Linux Product (The New Zealand Herald)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=168534&thesection=technology&thesubsection=general>
The open source operating system Linux is set to get a bigger push in this country when distributor Base10 Technology adds Caldera OpenLinux to its portfolio.

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

 Merger Sparks Interest In Linux Product (The New Zealand Herald)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=168534&thesection=technology&thesubsection=general>
The open source operating system Linux is set to get a bigger push in this country when distributor Base10 Technology adds Caldera OpenLinux to its portfolio.

 IBM Opens Up AIX Server For Linux (Silcon.com)
<http://www.silicon.com/public/door?REQUNIQ=979600054&6004REQEVENT=&REQINT1=42024&REQSTR1=newsnow>
IBM is making a concerted effort to promote Linux on the mid-range server and mainframe platforms with the launch of AIX version 5.1.

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

 Gus Dur And Singapore: Is All Forgiven? (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,1870,17631,00.html?>
If there is a contract that epitomises the saying 'business first, politics later', Indonesia's multi-billion-dollar West Natuna gas sales to Singapore might be it.

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

 Indonesia's Wahid Seen Thawing Ties In Singapore (Reuters)
<http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=255099>
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid visits Singapore on Monday to sign a gas deal, in what is being seen as a chance to thaw frosty ties with the country he chastised as money-grabbing.

 Get Power Supply To Give Rebate In Lieu Of Fine (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,1870,17713,00.html?>
Ivan Loh Teck Chuan: The $150,000 PUB fine is simply not the right thing to do. Instead of a fine, PUB should make Power Supply give a rebate or other benefits to customers, amounting to $150,000.

 Gus Dur And Singapore: Is All Forgiven? (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,1870,17631,00.html?>
If there is a contract that epitomises the saying 'business first, politics later', Indonesia's multi-billion-dollar West Natuna gas sales to Singapore might be it.

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

 Sale Of Used Books: Amazon's Prerogative? (ZDNet Asia)
<http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/dailynews/story/0,2000010021,20172021-1,00.htm>
Although Teo admitted that Amazon, with its undeniable consumer clout, may cause "significant dents" in new book sales by changing readers' shopping habits, he believes that companies should move with the times and acknowledge the choices that the Internet extends to consumers.

 Broadband: SIngapore's Industry Get Boost With Association Launched (IDG)
<http://www.idg.com.sg/dev/idgnew.nsf/UNID/EFF937A674397CE1482569D60023BF12!opendocument>
Singapore's growing broadband community will get another boost after the official launch of its first association of the broadband industry Tuesday.

 Singapore's IDA Fines MobileOne For Message Inseration (Dow Jones)
<http://asia.biz.yahoo.com/news/asian_markets/article.html?s=asiafinance/news/010116/asian_markets/dowjones/Singapore_s_IDA_Fines_MobileOne_For_Message_Insertion.html>
Singapore's InfoComm Development Authority said Tuesday it has imposed a fine of S$5,000 (US$1=S$1.7345) on MobileOne (Asia) Pte. Ltd. for its insertion of a 10-second message in the International Direct Dial (IDD) calls of its rivals.

 Hong Kong Bank Overtake Singapore In Internet Banking Survey (AFP)
<http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/singapore/afp/article.html?s=singapore/headlines/010116/singapore/afp/Hong_Kong_banks_overtake_Singapore_in_Internet_banking_survey.html>
Hong Kong banks have overtaken Singapore to offer the best Internet banking services in the Asia-Pacific region, a regional survey released Tuesday showed.

 Unlimited Connectivity With Second Cable Modem (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,1870,17737,00.html?>
Cassie Fong, Executive Corporate Communication, Singapore Cable Vision: Unlike the sharing of a single cable-modem connection, having a second cable modem from SCV provides a separate Internet connection via SCV's broadband network, hence the performance of one cable modem is independent of the other.

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

 Private Musings In The Vagina Monologues (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/1,1381,11977,00.html?>
The Vagina Monologues, a series of stories in which women talk about their secret parts and thus examine different facets of the feminine experience, has made it to Singapore. Our reporter finds out what the first-night audience thought of this unusual play.