[MyAppleMenu] Jun 2, 2001

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

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

PowerBooks Rock (Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2001/07/buzz/badams.html>
Bryan Adams is a 21st-century Mac-head who uses his PowerBook for just about everything.

Fair Game: What OS X Means For Gaming On The Mac (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/01.osxgaming.shtml>
One thing about OS X is fairly certain -- it will change the way game developers approach the Mac platform.

Apple Retail Store Employees Move Swiftly To Pull PC-Only Title From Mac Games Section (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2001/06/01.5.shtml>
Every once in a while, life delivers a little shock when you just didn't expect it.

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

iTunes Gets New Visual Plug-In (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/02.itunes.shtml>
TechRTA provides faster transient response, a bigger, more visually engaging display, and more options than the built-in "thumbnail" real-time analyzer of iTunes, according to Robert Robinson of Monmouth.

Light Up My Keyboard (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/19358.html>
Do you need to compute in the dark or low light environments? Has your mum told you to go to bed but you want to keep tapping away all night without her being able to see you've still got the light on, because its shining under your bedroom door?

Mighter Than The Mouse? (Economist)
<http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=639703>
Pen-driven computers are suddenly back in fashion.

PowerBooks Rock (Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2001/07/buzz/badams.html>
Bryan Adams is a 21st-century Mac-head who uses his PowerBook for just about everything.

New Mac OS Runtime For Java Available For Mac OS 9 (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/01.mrj.shtml>
Apple notes that the new version of MRJ is an update that addresses several problems affecting caching, network behavior, and users of 2-byte international systems.

Fair Game: What OS X Means For Gaming On The Mac (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/01.osxgaming.shtml>
One thing about OS X is fairly certain -- it will change the way game developers approach the Mac platform.

Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 Teaches Mac New Tricks (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2767663,00.html>
With its splashy Aqua GUI and BSD Unix underpinnings, Mac OS X may command the lion's share of the Mac community's attention. However, Linux developers haven't ceded the PowerPC desktop to Apple Computer Inc.'s born-again OS.

CRT Remains For Apple Education Customers (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=6814>

Apple Retail Store Employees Move Swiftly To Pull PC-Only Title From Mac Games Section (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2001/06/01.5.shtml>
Every once in a while, life delivers a little shock when you just didn't expect it.

Even PC Magazine Mixes Up Mac OS X & Windows XP (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2001/05/30.12.shtml>
With all the confusion between Mac OS X's Aqua and Windows XP's Luna, it would seem that even the folks at PC Magazine are a bit confused when it comes to the differences between the two.

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

Mac OS X: The Trauma Of Change (MacWrite.com)
<http://www.macwrite.com/criticalmass/the-trauma-of-change.php>
An operating system is a computer's life-blood, and more than any other component characterizes the computer for what it is.

Why You Want A G3 (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/archive/010601.html>
Whether you buy a new iMac, iBook, a used PowerBook 3500/G3, or an original Power Mac G3/233, having a G3 processor will make your Mac computing experience better than it ever has been before.

Crunch Time At Low End Mac (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/musings/01/crunch.html>
As a result of the dot-com shakeout, ad income is about half what it was a year ago on a per page basis.

Mac Web Sites - Who Will Survive? (Professionalmac.com)
<http://www.professionalmac.com/articles/whowillsurvive.html>
I have never really tried to make a profit from this site, but that article made me realize that some people do this as their only means of income, and that the sharp drop in revenue really hurts.

iMac: Giving Power To The Kids (The Mac Observer)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/01.mrj.shtml>
Dang, how I wish I had grown up in a home with a Mac.

PC Journo Pleas For More Mac games, Because We Stink (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/01.macgamers.shtml>
"The fact that they use computers with baby-blue Dalmatian spots makes them all the more satisfying to blow up in online bloodbaths."

The Mac Is Dead! Long Live The Mac! (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2767609,00.html>
The software story on Mac OS X isn't great yet, incessant and strident railway metaphors notwithstanding. OS X has a long and hard way to go, but it's definitely showing promise.

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

Photoshop Elements (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/02.elements.shtml>
The new product -- which replaces Photoshop LE for "midrange users" -- offers all the features of Photoshop that I need, but without the steep learning curve.

Heavy Metal: FAKK2 (MacAddict)
<http://www.macaddict.com/issues/0106/rev.hmfakk2.html>
An unfortunate audio bug occasionally interrupts the party with a burst of static, but this does little to damage the overall effect of Gathering of Developers' effort. The mix of gun action and melee mayhem, spectacular visuals, and great gameplay combine to deliver an imaginative action adventure that's bold, loud, and simply maximum rock 'n' roll.

PhotoImpression 3.0 (Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2001/06/reviews/photo.html>
If Adobe Photoshop's highly technical approach to image editing seems like overkill to you, PhotoImpression 3.0 is a splendid, inexpensive alternative.

Gaming And 3D Video Cards (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/gaming/010601.html>

Learning Linux On The Mac (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/learnlin.shtml>

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Inside Mac Games)
<http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=162>

How Does The iBook 2001 Compare To The G4 Titanium PowerBook? (Bare Feats)
<http://www.barefeats.com/pb05.html>

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

Microsoft, AOL Talks Break Down (Associated Press)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/techwr/20010601/tCB00V4907.html>
Talks over whether America Online will be included in Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP operating system broke down, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed Friday.

Office XP: A Leap Worth Taking (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,44236,00.html>
No, Word doesn't write for you, and you still have to know how to do math to use Excel. But the changes, most of which are cosmetic, make the applications friendlier to use. There are both individual improvements to the applications, and then there are across-the-board changes.

How Microsoft Offended Millions Of Indians (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19387.html>
Oh dear, oh dear. It seems that they can't do anything right over there in Redmond.

It's Hard To Muster Enthusiasm For Office XP (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2767064,00.html>
The problem with Office XP as column fodder is that Office 2000, and Office 97 before it, were and still are strong sets of productivity applications that are more than sufficient for one to get work done.

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

AMD To Roll Out Two New Revved-Up Chips (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5091997,00.html>
The chipmaker, as expected, will announce its 1.4GHz desktop Athlon processor and a new 950MHz Duron chip next week at the Computex trade show in Taiwan, sources familiar with AMD's plans said.

Worm Holes Found In Hotmail, Yahoo Mail (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6162983.html?tag=owv>
Hotmail and Yahoo have left open a security hole that could be exploited to create a self-mailing worm that, while not damaging, could clog Internet mail servers, a security expert said this week.

Light Up My Keyboard (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/19358.html>
Do you need to compute in the dark or low light environments? Has your mum told you to go to bed but you want to keep tapping away all night without her being able to see you've still got the light on, because its shining under your bedroom door?

Mighter Than The Mouse? (Economist)
<http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=639703>
Pen-driven computers are suddenly back in fashion.

Microsoft, AOL Talks Break Down (Associated Press)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/techwr/20010601/tCB00V4907.html>
Talks over whether America Online will be included in Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP operating system broke down, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed Friday.

Office XP: A Leap Worth Taking (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,44236,00.html>
No, Word doesn't write for you, and you still have to know how to do math to use Excel. But the changes, most of which are cosmetic, make the applications friendlier to use. There are both individual improvements to the applications, and then there are across-the-board changes.

Office XP Makes Nightclub Song And Dance (ZDNet Australia)
<http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/breakingnews/story/0,2000020826,20225769,00.htm>
Microsoft Australia has chosen a trendy Sydney nightclub for the daytime launch of Office XP.

Microsoft Pulls Logo Off Aimster After One Day (Reuters)
<http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6161867-0.html?tag=ats>

How Microsoft Offended Millions Of Indians (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/19387.html>
Oh dear, oh dear. It seems that they can't do anything right over there in Redmond.

Gates: Office XP Will Sell 'Very Rapidly' (Reuters)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5092000,00.html>
A federal appeals court is expected to soon decide whether to break his company in two, and sales of its key products have slowed, but Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is smiling.

MS Uses Hammer To Crack Piracy Nut (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/19372.html>

It's Hard To Muster Enthusiasm For Office XP (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2767064,00.html>
The problem with Office XP as column fodder is that Office 2000, and Office 97 before it, were and still are strong sets of productivity applications that are more than sufficient for one to get work done.

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

DoS Attacks Underscore Net's Vulnerability (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6158264.html?tag=owv>
Denial-of-service attacks are becoming more common and, in many cases, more serious, security experts said in the wake of an attack on the Internet's main warning system for security threats.

Films Drive Web Surfers To BMW Site (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6159768.html?tag=lh>
BMWFilms.com has found an audience for its independent film series, a marketing experiment that uses marquee movie directors to indirectly hawk cars.

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

Worm Holes Found In Hotmail, Yahoo Mail (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6162983.html?tag=owv>
Hotmail and Yahoo have left open a security hole that could be exploited to create a self-mailing worm that, while not damaging, could clog Internet mail servers, a security expert said this week.

DoS Attacks Underscore Net's Vulnerability (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6158264.html?tag=owv>
Denial-of-service attacks are becoming more common and, in many cases, more serious, security experts said in the wake of an attack on the Internet's main warning system for security threats.

Complacency Is The Worst Foe (Gartner Viewpoint)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-6157094-0.html?tag=owv>
E-mail viruses are hitting enterprises more often. The reason does not lie in new virus technology but in the complacency of people who continue to open infected e-mail messages.

DoubleClick To Buy Second E-Mail Marketer (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6156779.html?tag=owv>
Internet advertising company DoubleClick said Friday it agreed to buy e-mail marketer MessageMedia in a deal worth about $41 million in stock--its second purchase of such services this year.

Mac Web Sites - Who Will Survive? (Professionalmac.com)
<http://www.professionalmac.com/articles/whowillsurvive.html>
I have never really tried to make a profit from this site, but that article made me realize that some people do this as their only means of income, and that the sharp drop in revenue really hurts.

Microsoft, AOL Talks Break Down (Associated Press)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/techwr/20010601/tCB00V4907.html>
Talks over whether America Online will be included in Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP operating system broke down, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed Friday.

Films Drive Web Surfers To BMW Site (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6159768.html?tag=lh>
BMWFilms.com has found an audience for its independent film series, a marketing experiment that uses marquee movie directors to indirectly hawk cars.

Microsoft Pulls Logo Off Aimster After One Day (Reuters)
<http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6161867-0.html?tag=ats>

Amazon Patches Auction Problem, Pays Fee (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-6159133.html?tag=lh>
Amazon.com has fixed a glitch on its auction site after sellers complained that the company wasn't providing a service they had paid for.

AOL 7.0 Leaked To The Web (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2767080,00.html?chkpt=zdnn_rt_latest>
Some Web surfers got a sneak peek at an internal alpha edition of Version 7.0 of America Online Inc.'s client software Wednesday when it was made available for download from several Web sites devoted to AOL software and insider information.

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

Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 Teaches Mac New Tricks (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2767663,00.html>
With its splashy Aqua GUI and BSD Unix underpinnings, Mac OS X may command the lion's share of the Mac community's attention. However, Linux developers haven't ceded the PowerPC desktop to Apple Computer Inc.'s born-again OS.

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

Learning Linux On The Mac (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/learnlin.shtml>

Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 Teaches Mac New Tricks (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2767663,00.html>
With its splashy Aqua GUI and BSD Unix underpinnings, Mac OS X may command the lion's share of the Mac community's attention. However, Linux developers haven't ceded the PowerPC desktop to Apple Computer Inc.'s born-again OS.

Linux Links Up With Original PlayStation (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6157865.html?tag=lh>
After high demand for Sony's Japanese release of Linux for the PlayStation 2 game console, another company is leaping into the fray.

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

Better Bus Services 'May Mean Higher Fares' (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,48347,00.html?>
"Commuters should appreciate that higher service standards and performance must come at an increasing price to the operators, which would eventually have an impact on the fare level."

Singapore Chews On Gum Ban Changes (Associated Press)
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=991395290990&call_page=TS_World&call_pageid=968332188854&call_pagepath=News/World&col=968350060724>
The review of the country's 1992 ban on all types of chewing gum follows an appeal by a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company, Pharmacia, that wants to sell nicotine gum in Singapore.

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

Lower Prices? No, They Have Increased (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,1870,48451,00.html?>
A careful look at the prices reveals that there is actually a price increase.