[MyAppleMenu] Jun 1, 2001

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

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

"Duality": A Home-Made Sci-Fi Epic Film (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2001/06/duality/>
Two friends without any filmmaking experience or background in computerized special effects are rocking the desktop moviemaking world with “Duality,” a short Star Wars fan film with a look that rivals sci-fi epics made by Hollywood's biggest names. And they made the film entirely on Macintosh, using off-the-shelf cameras and software, learning as they went along.

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

"Duality": A Home-Made Sci-Fi Epic Film (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2001/06/duality/>
Two friends without any filmmaking experience or background in computerized special effects are rocking the desktop moviemaking world with “Duality,” a short Star Wars fan film with a look that rivals sci-fi epics made by Hollywood's biggest names. And they made the film entirely on Macintosh, using off-the-shelf cameras and software, learning as they went along.

PC Makers Begin To Woo Hispanics (Associated Press)
<http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGA5HV2ODNC.html>
The nation's top PC vendors all have some services aimed at Spanish speakers, including multilingual help desks or Web sites. But none have marketing campaigns as intensive as Gateway.

Apple's CompUSA Program Spreading Nationwide (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=6773>

CD-R Prices Spinning Higher (Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2001/05/30/cd-r.html>

OmniWeb 4.0.1 Arrives For Mac OS X (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/31.omniweb.shtml>
The Omni Group has shipped OmniWeb 4.0.1, a native Cocoa Web browser for Mac OS X. Changes in the latest version include increased stability and compatibility, as well as support for German and French, according to Ken Case, OmniWeb's lead developer.

LaCie Intros FireWire DVD-R/CD-RW Combo Drive (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/31.lacie.shtml>

An In-Depth Look At ATI's Truform Technology (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/31.truform.shtml>

Titanium Fan Gives iBook A Paint Job (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/31.tibook.shtml>
Basically, the effort requires a bit of disassembly, some careful masking, the application of primer and spray paint, clear coat, and reassembly.

Mac OS X Gets A New Way To Browsers (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2767023,00.html>
Now, with Apple Computer's wholesale conversion to the Unix-based Mac OS X, the terrain has changed once again, causing developers such as Microsoft to scramble to re-establish their niche while allowing others, such as Norway's Opera Software and the Seattle-based Omni Group, the opportunity to grow.

Bare Bones Releases BBEdit Lite 6.1 (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=6777>

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

Retail Store & PR Hell (Macinstein)
<http://www.macinstein.com/pressrelease.cfm?ID=958>

The Whole Widget (osOpinion)
<http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/10148.html>
Apple needs native applications. Now. Today. Not "to be announced." We need to be able to stay in OS X. Every time I leave OS X, the working environment makes it harder to return. To prove that OS X is viable, you have to keep me in its environment. If there are no applications or drivers to do that, then Apple has to build them. It's time for Apple to remember its history. It's time to build the whole widget again.

A Piece Of Cake With Cocoa (BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2001/nf20010531_563.htm>
Steve Jobs is banking that programmers will acquire a taste for this easy-to-use package of OS X software-development tools -- and fast.

Rumors, Press, And Apple's Secrets (Macinstein)
<http://www.macinstein.com/pressrelease.cfm?ID=956>

Cocoa Dreams (MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/engine/01/05/31/index.html>
This is what Apple has spent the last four years putting in place; a huge, integrated framework for the future.

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

TiPB Accessories (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/01.accessories.shtml>
We've road tested three TiPB accessories that are worth your consideration.

Apple's New OS - Is It Ready For Prime Time? (MacSpeedZone)
<http://www.macreviewzone.com/hardcider/Reviews/OSX03.shtml>

Apple's Revised iBook Laptop Has Great Blend Of Features (Wall Street Journal)
<http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB991261061504794737.html>
This is an excellent laptop with a very attractive and thoughtful design. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for home users or college students.

Nisus Writer 6.01 (MacAddict)
<http://www.macaddict.com/issues/0106/rev.nisus6.html>
Nisus Writer is worth a look when you consider its power and price.

Mac OS X Server Can Meet All Your Business Needs (The Business Mac)
<http://www.thebusinessmac.com/features/osxserver.shtml>
At first glance, one might be quick to summarize OS X Server as OS X with a collection of add-on Apple and third-party tools. The reality though is that this is a completely integrated package and not just an ad-hoc collection of tools.

Mac OS X: Reg Box Stable - At Last... (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/19342.html>
This week I finally realised that I was using Mac OS X more than Mac OS 9. After two hard months trying to get Apple's NeXT-generation operating system to work, that realisation came as something of a surprise.

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

Office XP: All Your Hyperlinks Are Belong To MS (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19361.html>
One of the noted characteristics of Microsoft software is that it has a tendency to behave, with absolute assurance, as if it knows better than you.

Reports Of Clippy's Demise Exaggerated (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6133676.html?tag=owv>
Baby boomer Bill Gates may remember the 1960s "Paul is dead" rumor that dogged Beatle Paul McCartney. Now, the Microsoft chairman is spinning his own urban myth for the millennium generation: Clippy's demise.

Intel Feels Cool Response To Pentium 4 (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5091950,00.html>
The chipmaker, which told financial analysts in January that it expected to sell 20 million or more Pentium 4 chips this year, might fall far short of that goal, thanks in part to a slow summer for the PC market, analysts say.

MS Launches Counter PR Attack (Wired News)
<http://www.wirednews.com/news/antitrust/0,1551,44170,00.html>
On Wednesday, two groups and one attorney who receive money from Microsoft -- the Association for Competitive Technology, the Computing Technology Industry Association, and conservative superlawyer C. Boyden Gray -- organized a conference call to deny allegations of Microsoft wrongdoing.

e-Envoy's Office Defends Windows-Only Portal - Climb Down Begins? (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19340.html>
So there you go, having chosen a system and an implementation that is currently skewed towards Microsoft, the Government Gateway only supports, er, Microsoft properly.

Microsoft Reanimates Bob To Cover Missing Windows Features (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19349.html>
Surely, the twisted World of Windows can't get much stranger than this.

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

Look Before Leaping To XP (Gartner Viewpoint)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6153506.html?tag=owv>
Office XP represents a solid, incremental upgrade, but many enterprises are having a hard time justifying it in terms of cost.

Windows XP: Why Launch It Now? (Newsbytes)
<http://www.washtech.com/news/software/10145-1.html>
Wall Street didn't exactly go ga-ga over today's launch of Microsoft's heavily hyped Office XP.

Office XP: All Your Hyperlinks Are Belong To MS (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19361.html>
One of the noted characteristics of Microsoft software is that it has a tendency to behave, with absolute assurance, as if it knows better than you.

Microsoft Noticed Cold Shoulder (Chicago Tribune)
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/tech/news/article/0,2669,ART-52149,FF.html>
Microsoft Corp., while not budging from its contention that it did not violate antitrust laws, is working harder to collaborate with industry partners than before its landmark legal battle, CEO Steven Ballmer said Thursday.

Micrsoft Ignores Porn Link On Its Site (ZDNet UK)
<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,s2088001,00.html>
Gaming fans have been getting more than they bargained for on the Microsoft gaming site.

Virus Poses As Nude Jennifer Lopez Photos (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6135045.html?tag=owv>
By promising to display pictures of actress Jennifer Lopez naked, the destructive Chernobyl virus is again spreading across the Internet via e-mail.

Duped By Worm Hoax, Victims Seek File Fix (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6135335.html?tag=owv>
A hoax e-mail warning people that their PCs might contain a virus tricked an untold number of people into deleting a beneficial Windows application--and now they're scrambling to get it back.

Reports Of Clippy's Demise Exaggerated (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6133676.html?tag=owv>
Baby boomer Bill Gates may remember the 1960s "Paul is dead" rumor that dogged Beatle Paul McCartney. Now, the Microsoft chairman is spinning his own urban myth for the millennium generation: Clippy's demise.

PC Makers Begin To Woo Hispanics (Associated Press)
<http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGA5HV2ODNC.html>
The nation's top PC vendors all have some services aimed at Spanish speakers, including multilingual help desks or Web sites. But none have marketing campaigns as intensive as Gateway.

Microsoft's New Software Suite Makes Use Of The Web (New York Times)
<http://www.startribune.com/viewers/qview/cgi/qview.cgi?story=84271564&template=business_a_cache>
Discounting an imminent federal court ruling that could limit the company's march toward dominating the commercial Internet, Microsoft plans to introduce today a new version of its Office program that is the most Internet-connected product yet from the software giant.

Intel Feels Cool Response To Pentium 4 (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5091950,00.html>
The chipmaker, which told financial analysts in January that it expected to sell 20 million or more Pentium 4 chips this year, might fall far short of that goal, thanks in part to a slow summer for the PC market, analysts say.

Dell, Compaq, IBM See Server Share Gains (Bloomberg News)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6132910.html?tag=owv>
Dell Computer, Compaq Computer and IBM gained market share in first-quarter global sales of server computers, while Sun Microsystems was unchanged, a study found.

Word, XP To Carry Translation Feature (CENT News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-6131584.html?tag=cdshrt>

Little Enhancements (ZDNet)
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/580834.asp>
Though Microsoft has made some nice enhancements on the surface, underneath it's the same old Office. Most users won't find any compelling reasons to rush out and buy this upgrade.

MS Launches Counter PR Attack (Wired News)
<http://www.wirednews.com/news/antitrust/0,1551,44170,00.html>
On Wednesday, two groups and one attorney who receive money from Microsoft -- the Association for Competitive Technology, the Computing Technology Industry Association, and conservative superlawyer C. Boyden Gray -- organized a conference call to deny allegations of Microsoft wrongdoing.

Retailers, PC Makers Pile On Office XP Extras (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5091913,00.html>
Microsoft isn't alone in trumpeting Office XP: Retailers and PC makers want consumers and small businesses to buy the new version of the software--and they're ponying up extras to drive sales.

e-Envoy's Office Defends Windows-Only Portal - Climb Down Begins? (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19340.html>
So there you go, having chosen a system and an implementation that is currently skewed towards Microsoft, the Government Gateway only supports, er, Microsoft properly.

Microsoft Reanimates Bob To Cover Missing Windows Features (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19349.html>
Surely, the twisted World of Windows can't get much stranger than this.

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

OmniWeb 4.0.1 Arrives For Mac OS X (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/31.omniweb.shtml>
The Omni Group has shipped OmniWeb 4.0.1, a native Cocoa Web browser for Mac OS X. Changes in the latest version include increased stability and compatibility, as well as support for German and French, according to Ken Case, OmniWeb's lead developer.

Net Guru Questions EU Web Rules (Reuters)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6133490.html?tag=lh>
Vint Cerf, a founding father of the Internet, said Thursday that European Union plans for new rules to fight crime on the Web risked clashing with existing EU privacy regulations.

Mac OS X Gets A New Way To Browsers (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2767023,00.html>
Now, with Apple Computer's wholesale conversion to the Unix-based Mac OS X, the terrain has changed once again, causing developers such as Microsoft to scramble to re-establish their niche while allowing others, such as Norway's Opera Software and the Seattle-based Omni Group, the opportunity to grow.

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

Micrsoft Ignores Porn Link On Its Site (ZDNet UK)
<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,s2088001,00.html>
Gaming fans have been getting more than they bargained for on the Microsoft gaming site.

OmniWeb 4.0.1 Arrives For Mac OS X (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/31.omniweb.shtml>
The Omni Group has shipped OmniWeb 4.0.1, a native Cocoa Web browser for Mac OS X. Changes in the latest version include increased stability and compatibility, as well as support for German and French, according to Ken Case, OmniWeb's lead developer.

Net Guru Questions EU Web Rules (Reuters)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6133490.html?tag=lh>
Vint Cerf, a founding father of the Internet, said Thursday that European Union plans for new rules to fight crime on the Web risked clashing with existing EU privacy regulations.

Battle Brews Over Web Streaming (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6134257.html?tag=owv>
Tension is building between broadcasters and content programmers as each seeks to gain more control over rights to stream audio and video online.

Mac OS X Gets A New Way To Browsers (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2767023,00.html>
Now, with Apple Computer's wholesale conversion to the Unix-based Mac OS X, the terrain has changed once again, causing developers such as Microsoft to scramble to re-establish their niche while allowing others, such as Norway's Opera Software and the Seattle-based Omni Group, the opportunity to grow.

Bare Bones Releases BBEdit Lite 6.1 (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=6777>

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

Why 2001 Is Not The 'Year Of The Penguin' (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2763698,00.html>
Although Linux has grown by leaps and bounds during the last few years, it is still plagued with a lot of issues that will keep it away from being a 100 percent viable alternative to Windows for a long time.

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

Why 2001 Is Not The 'Year Of The Penguin' (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2763698,00.html>
Although Linux has grown by leaps and bounds during the last few years, it is still plagued with a lot of issues that will keep it away from being a 100 percent viable alternative to Windows for a long time.

Sharp Chooses Lineo For Linux Handheld (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6135902.html?tag=lh>
Japanese electronics maker Sharp will use Lineo's version of Linux in an upcoming handheld computer, a significant victory for the Lindon, Utah, company as it works to push Linux into non-PC devices such as network equipment and set-top boxes.

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

NTUC Seeks Freeze On Fares And Service Charges (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,48055,00.html?>
Since workers have been told to lower expectations and accept smaller wage increases this year, it would be unfair to hurt them with price hikes, said Mr Nithiah Nandan, an NTUC vice-president.

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

Drivers Taking Advantage Of Trafic Police's 'Low Profile' (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,1870,48202,00.html?>
It is now not safe to go past a traffic light that has just turned green because someone will inevitably try to shoot through from the other side.

Enhance President's Powers As Custodian (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,1870,48154,00.html?>
To enhance the Presidency's ability to act as the people's custodian for the nation's wealth, Clause 5 should be removed or amended to give the President both a greater discretion in appointments and a constitutionally-stated slate of top staff and advisory posts.

NTUC Seeks Freeze On Fares And Service Charges (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,48055,00.html?>
Since workers have been told to lower expectations and accept smaller wage increases this year, it would be unfair to hurt them with price hikes, said Mr Nithiah Nandan, an NTUC vice-president.

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

The News, 30 Minutes Earlier (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/0,1381,17811,00.html?>

One Special Potato (Business Times Singapore)
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/life/story/0,2276,10025,00.html?>
Les Amis recently devised a menu in honour of La Bonnotte.

Marina Square To Undergo $150m Upgrade (Business Times Singapore)
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,2276,10102,00.html?>
Lasting 18 months, the key changes for the mostly two-level shopping centre include converting nearly the entire ground-level carpark into prime shop space, fitting glass on part of the mall's exterior to 'open up' the mall, as well as bringing about a 'grand centre stage' by creating double-volume space and eliminating some of the usable area on the fourth level.

SCV Cuts Cable Subscription Costs (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,1870,48120,00.html?>
Channels have been repackaged into five interest-specific groups to offer selective viewers more choice and to attract more HDB subscribers.