[MyAppleMenu] Jun 7, 2001

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

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

Economy Casts Conservative Hue On Color Trends (Orlando Sentinel)
<http://db.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=698213&pic=none&TP=getbusiness>
Designers said blue, the color of air and water, is now big and likely to surpass the ubiquitous green as the shade of the decade. Eight of every 10 people say blue is their favorite color, one designer said. He expects it to show up in updated navy to retro aqua, similar to what was popular in the 1950s.

Apple's Fundamentally New Operating System (Scripps Howard News Service)
<http://augustachronicle.com/stories/060701/tec_124-4187.shtml>
Apple's operating systems - improved little by little over the years with upgrades - often have been light-years ahead of the Windows-type OSs, made by the Microsoft Corp. The new OS X (a Roman numeral meant to be pronounced "10") continues the tradition.

No Mac Is An Island (Interactive Week)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/columns/0,4164,2769048,00.html>
The profound change in the Mac's OS architecture has shaken up the game board and left Mac loyalists unusually open to considering the advantages of those applications that exploit the new ecosystem to its fullest.

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

Economy Casts Conservative Hue On Color Trends (Orlando Sentinel)
<http://db.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=698213&pic=none&TP=getbusiness>
Designers said blue, the color of air and water, is now big and likely to surpass the ubiquitous green as the shade of the decade. Eight of every 10 people say blue is their favorite color, one designer said. He expects it to show up in updated navy to retro aqua, similar to what was popular in the 1950s.

Apple's 'Digital Hub' Concept Extended To Home Health Care (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/07.health.shtml>
The software lets asthma sufferers collect, store and chart health information. It can be used on computers, handheld devices and Web-enabled cellular phones.

Macs Help Drive 'Driven' (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/07.driven.shtml>
Macs and Pixel Magic's Commotion software helped drive "Driven," the summer racing flick written by and starring Sylvester Stallone.

Macs Get ITN's Vote (Macworld UK)
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=3005>
The UK TV news giant is using a suite of iMacs and Power Mac G4s to edit polling-day feeds from camera crews around the UK, integrating this into its election-day broadcasts.

Apple Distributor Ingram Micro To Cut 1,000 Jobs (Applelinks.com)
<http://www.applelinks.com/articles/2001/06/20010606141450.shtml>

Apple's Fundamentally New Operating System (Scripps Howard News Service)
<http://augustachronicle.com/stories/060701/tec_124-4187.shtml>
Apple's operating systems - improved little by little over the years with upgrades - often have been light-years ahead of the Windows-type OSs, made by the Microsoft Corp. The new OS X (a Roman numeral meant to be pronounced "10") continues the tradition.

Apple Releases PowerBook G4 Titanium Firmware Update (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/article/2001/06/06.11.shtml>

Apple Hires New Exec (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6207631.html?tag=cdshrt>
Apple Computer has hired John Brandon as vice president of the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Brandon will be in charge of Apple's sales in these regions, excluding education-related sales and Apple's retail stores.

Creativebase.com, Apple Team For iMovie Project (MacCentral)
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0106/06.creativebase.shtml>
"We are looking for the most innovative, powerful or witty approach to working with a straightforward DV camera and the most simple of editing packages -- iMovie," said Creativebase.com.

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

Crunch Time, Part 3 (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/musings/01/crunch3.html>
As the dot-coms learned last year, it's hard to get rich publishing content on the Internet, but at it looks like everything has fallen into place for Low End Mac the rest of the year.

No Mac Is An Island (Interactive Week)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/columns/0,4164,2769048,00.html>
The profound change in the Mac's OS architecture has shaken up the game board and left Mac loyalists unusually open to considering the advantages of those applications that exploit the new ecosystem to its fullest.

Laptops For Everyone! (MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/tangible/01/06/06/index.html>
Giving laptops to all the of the students will also motivate the teacher to learn as he or she will be hard-pressed to keep up with those computer-savy students!

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

Batch Image Processing On A Budget (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/woods/01/0607.html>

DragThing For OS X: Stocking Stuffer Deluxe (Applelust.com)
<http://www.applelust.com/resources/Reviews/dragthing/dragthing.html>
If “five stars” means a perfect product, then DragThing gets 4 and 7/8, because of the few features mentioned above that are still missing, even though it’s not for lack of willingness on the developer’s part. But if “five stars” means a product that does all it claims to do, as well as it claims to do it, then DragThing deserves ten.

Crescendo/PB G3 333/512K (Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2001/06/05/reviews/crescendo.html>
But improving the 1400's processor doesn't improve its other subsystems. You could max out its RAM and install a faster hard drive, but then you'll spend almost as much money upgrading your 1400 as you would by buying an iBook on eBay. We recommend the Crescendo/PB G3 333/512K only for those who use their PowerBooks primarily for Microsoft Office and Internet access. Otherwise, unless you're attached to your PowerBook 1400 until they pry your cold, dead fingers off the slate-gray casing, a G3 upgrade card just isn't a good value.

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

A Vote For Labour Is A Vote For Microsoft (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/52/19530.html>
Don't be surprised if the next election's ballot papers come with a "sponsored by Microsoft" stamp.

Microsoft Ties XP To The Web (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6210768.html?tag=owv>
Microsoft is extending to Windows XP a new technology that could give the company some control over choosing the Web sites, content and services consumers can access.

Microsoft Talks Xbox (GameSpot)
<http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2769488,00.html>
Ed Fries and J Allard of Microsoft's games division speak on various topics related to the company's upcoming Xbox console.

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

Battle Rages Over Windows XP Security (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2770517,00.html?chkpt=zdnn_rt_latest>
A row has broken out between a top security expert and Microsoft over whether Windows XP contains a feature that threatens the security of the Internet by making denial of service attacks easier.

Microsoft Sees Big Jump In Asian Sales (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,2770515,00.html?chkpt=p1bn>
Microsoft said on Thursday consumer affluence and increased government spending would spur its Asian sales to jump 27 percent in the financial year ending June 30.

Microsoft Messaging Tactics Recall Browser Wars (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-6208902-0.html?tag=lh>
The battle over today's instant messenger market is vintage Microsoft, whose strategy enemies call "the three E's" in a parody of the company's marketing mantra: Embrace a rival's technology, extend it to work best with Windows, and extinguish the competition. 

A Vote For Labour Is A Vote For Microsoft (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/52/19530.html>
Don't be surprised if the next election's ballot papers come with a "sponsored by Microsoft" stamp.

Intel: End Of The Internet Age For PCs (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2770423,00.html>
Intel is looking to a new generation of PC-based consumer applications such as digital video editing to sell its latest mainstream processor, but admits that even the onset of the "digital wave" might not be enough to boost flagging sales.

AMD Kicks Up Its Chip Speeds (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6206419.html?tag=owv>
The new 1.4GHz Athlon will target the high-end PC market, where sales have languished this year as consumers focus on machines in the $800 to $1,200 range. The 950MHz Duron will be aimed at the budget PC market.

U.S. PC Shipments Seen Declining (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6203633.html?tag=owv>
The next couple of years will be lean ones in the PC industry, research firm IDC predicted on Wednesday.

Microsoft Ties XP To The Web (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6210768.html?tag=owv>
Microsoft is extending to Windows XP a new technology that could give the company some control over choosing the Web sites, content and services consumers can access.

Clowning Around At Computex (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6206485.html?tag=cd_mh>
The war of words between Via Technologies and rival Intel has been fast and furious as usual, but the most heated comments at Computex are not about which deals were cut, but rather which balloons.

HP Looks To Windows XP To Bump PC Sales (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6208356.html?tag=lh>
The expected boost could be significant.

Microsoft Talks Xbox (GameSpot)
<http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2769488,00.html>
Ed Fries and J Allard of Microsoft's games division speak on various topics related to the company's upcoming Xbox console.

Intel Set To Release Mid-Quarter Financial Update (Reuters)
<http://news.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6207432-0.html?tag=ats>
Intel Corp. holds its first-ever mid-quarter update on Thursday, and while analysts don't expect the chip giant to say things are getting much worse, they aren't getting better very quickly, either.

Microsoft Migrates Its Java Developers (Interactive Week)
<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2769053,00.html>

What, Intel Worry? (Wired News)
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,44346,00.html>

Compaq Looking For Acquisitions (Reutersz)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6204589.html?tag=lh>
Compaq Computer is aggressively seeking acquisitions in the services market following its failed bid for Proxicom in May, while the company is seeing softening in European markets, Compaq Chairman Michael Capellas said Wednesday.

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

Battle Rages Over Windows XP Security (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2770517,00.html?chkpt=zdnn_rt_latest>
A row has broken out between a top security expert and Microsoft over whether Windows XP contains a feature that threatens the security of the Internet by making denial of service attacks easier.

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

Battle Rages Over Windows XP Security (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2770517,00.html?chkpt=zdnn_rt_latest>
A row has broken out between a top security expert and Microsoft over whether Windows XP contains a feature that threatens the security of the Internet by making denial of service attacks easier.

Microsoft Messaging Tactics Recall Browser Wars (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-6208902-0.html?tag=lh>
The battle over today's instant messenger market is vintage Microsoft, whose strategy enemies call "the three E's" in a parody of the company's marketing mantra: Embrace a rival's technology, extend it to work best with Windows, and extinguish the competition. 

Two Film Web Sites To Announce Merger (Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20010607/t000047345.html>

Crouching Madonna, Hidden Beemer (Wired News)
<http://www.wirednews.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,44323,00.html>
The real star of these flicks isn't Madonna, Mickey Rourke or Forrest Whitaker -- although all three make their appearances. It's a BMW.

Dot-com Death Toll Still Rising (Reuters)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-6208359.html?tag=owv>
The Internet sector kept hemorrhaging in May, as 54 companies shut down, bringing the total of dot-coms turned dot-bombs to at least 493 since January 2000, according to Webmergers.com, an online marketplace that tracks Internet business activity.

Microsoft Ties XP To The Web (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6210768.html?tag=owv>
Microsoft is extending to Windows XP a new technology that could give the company some control over choosing the Web sites, content and services consumers can access.

Hey, Amazon Critics: PCs Will Sell (Motley Fool)
<http://www.fool.com/news/2001/amzn010606.htm>
Critics jumped all over the PC idea, complaining that computers are low margin, a slow growth business, and won't help Amazon. But they're wrong.

N.Y. Times Works To Keep Web Presense (San Francisco Chronicle)
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/06/06/BU229182.DTL&type=tech>
Amid big cutbacks, editors say digital media's key to future.

New Web Ads Target Floating Readers (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19514.html>

Deal Could Help Napster Clean Up Its Act (San Francisco Chronicle)
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/06/06/BU238278.DTL&type=tech>

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

Who Put The Sing In Singapore? (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/clevey/?id=95000585>
For the young hipsters of Asia's cities, most anything American will do. If only their governments could catch up with the times.

JBJ Exclusive: Opposition Better Off Without Me (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/0,1381,17970,00.html?>
Speaking to Eyeball in his first interview with the local media since stepping down from a position he had held for 30 years, he said: "I don't know how they think it's going to be better (without me)?"

POSB To Stay; $1m To Promote Trademark (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,49380,00.html?>
The reason? Because feedback has shown that the POSB customers have developed a clear emotional attachment to the 127-year-old brand.

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

ATM Machines Of Some Local Banks Tampered With (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010606/5/sla0.html>
ATM machines at some banks have been tampered with in a scam involving jammed cards.

JBJ Exclusive: Opposition Better Off Without Me (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/0,1381,17970,00.html?>
Speaking to Eyeball in his first interview with the local media since stepping down from a position he had held for 30 years, he said: "I don't know how they think it's going to be better (without me)?"

POSB To Stay; $1m To Promote Trademark (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,49380,00.html?>
The reason? Because feedback has shown that the POSB customers have developed a clear emotional attachment to the 127-year-old brand.

No 'ank' In POSBank (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,49378,00.html?>
This is because it is no longer an independent banking entity, said Mrs Elsie Foh, head of personal banking at DBS, which acquired POSBank in 1998.

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

Game Taken Off Store Shelves After Religious Complaints (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/0,1381,17975,00.html?>
Electronic Arts - a firm with headquarters in the United States that distributed Clive Barker's Undying here - has decided to withdraw the game after public complaints that the animation contained offending religious inscriptions.

PacNet Launches LAN Service Aimed At SMEs, Sohos (Business Times Singapore)
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,2276,10696,00.html?>

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

Who Put The Sing In Singapore? (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/clevey/?id=95000585>
For the young hipsters of Asia's cities, most anything American will do. If only their governments could catch up with the times.

Correct Decision To Ban Song (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,1870,49452,00.html?>
We can argue for 'artistic freedom' and have ruined relationships, marriages and families as a result. Or we can allow for some restrictions and have a more wholesome society.

Janet Not For Singapore (Rolling Stone)
<http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=14013>