[MyAppleMenu] Dec 19, 2002

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter
Thursday, Dec 19, 2002

MyAppleMenu : Top Stories
-------------------------
Microsoft To Bump Apple Into Sync-Hole? (Joe Wilcox, CNET News.com)
<http://news.com.com/2100-1040-978408.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed>
Apple Computer is refining a strategy for connecting cell phones and other portable devices to its Macintosh systems in an effort to boost sales. But a rival endeavor from Microsoft, expected to be unveiled early next year, could dim the company's hopes, analysts said.

Shake Composites Middle Earth (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com//shake/stories/lotr/>
Weta Digital's state of the art stuiod works magic for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

MyAppleMenu : News
------------------
Where OS X Still Needs Work (Robyn Weisman, NewsFactor)
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20292.html>
Many peripherals, such as scanners and printers, are incompatible with Jaguar because drivers have not yet been written for them. And support for SCSI devices, which is standard in so-called "Classic" versions of Mac OS, has been spotty at best.

Mac OS 9: Never Say 'Never' (David Zeiler, Baltimore Sun)
<http://www.sunspot.net/technology/custom/pluggedin/bal-mac121902,0,7256313.column?coll=bal-business-indepth>
Why is Apple causing such headaches for its loyal customers? The answer is simple: the company has bet the farm on the new operating system and needs both its software developers and its customers to switch to OS X as quickly as possible.

A Q&A With Spring Creator Robb Beal (Rob McNair-Huff, Mac Net Journal)
<http://www.whiterabbits.com/MacNetJournal/springin.html>
I opened this Q&A interview questioning what led to the development of Spring and where Beal sees the application going. The topics branched out from there to include comments on the state of independent software development on the Mac and much more.

An Interview With David Pogue (Jennifer Buckendorff, O'Reilly Networks)
<http://www.missingmanuals.com/pub/a/oreilly/missingmanuals/news/interview1_1202.html>
After five minutes with David Pogue, it's clear that this is a man who would make any computer class interesting.

MyAppleMenu : Reviews
---------------------
Connectix Virtual PC 6.0 (Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl)
<http://www.macnightowl.com/index.htm#connectix>
While Virtual PC isn't going to replace a high-powered PC box, it is an ideal solution for folks who need to run Windows business and Internet applications from time to time and don't want to invest in a second computer.

Online Chatter Box (Garry barker, The Age)
<http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/18/1040174289359.html>
Quite why they called this dinky Web camera a UniBrain is a mystery, but the UniBrain Fire-i camera is a serious piece of kit and a notable advance on your average webcam.

Griffin iCurve Laptop Stand (Charles Moore, MacOPINION)
<http://www.macopinion.com/columns/roadwarrior/02/12/17/index.html>
It could stand on its own as a piece of modern sculpture, but it’s functional too.

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (Corey Tamas, MacGamer)
<http://www.macgamer.com/features/?id=1381>

MyAppleMenu Tomorrow : Top Stories
----------------------------------
Simplicity Is Key (Michael kanellos, ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/communications/story/0,2000024993,20270781,00.htm>
Ideo was one of the first firms to tackle design issues in the computer industry. And, with US$60 million in annual revenue and 360 employees, it remains the largest and one of the most influential.

Is $200 The Magic Number For PCs? (John G. Spooner, CNET News.com)
<http://news.com.com/2100-1001-978355.html>
Welcome to the dawning of the age of the $200 personal computer.

Copyright Verdict, New Technology Are Reasons To Hope (Dan Gillmor, San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4762271.htm>
In a year when the news on copyright was so consistently sour, let's be thankful for the gifts we've received this week.

MyAppleMenu Tomorrow : News & Opinions
--------------------------------------
Putting The Brakes On Blowhard 'Bloggers' (Norah Vincent, Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-vincent19dec19,0,7720880.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dcomment%2Dopinions>
Freedoms come with responsibilities. Common journalistic standards of accuracy and fair play exist for good reasons, and bloogers, like the rest of us, must abide by them.

Snooping In All The Wrong Places (Jane Black, BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2002/tc20021218_8515.htm>
Not only would the Administration's plan to centralize every American's records destroy privacy, the security payoff would be minimal.

Finidng More Than You Bargained For (Leslie Walker, Washington Post)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9254-2002Dec18.html>
Marketing via search engines, once thought to be the province of hucksters and tricksters, showed signs of becoming a major force on the Internet this year as more and more companies turned to consultants to place ads in search results and help them gain greater prominence in the actual result listings.

Web Services Giants Propose Specifications For Security, Policy (Mitch Wagner, Internet Week)
<http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW20021218S0005>
Leading Web services vendors including Microsoft, IBM, and BEA Systems on Wednesday introduced a set of proposed standards for security and policy for Web services.

High-Speed Internet Use Saw Uptick In '02 (Caron Carlson, eWeek)
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,777087,00.asp>
Belying cautionary tales that broadband deployment faces major hindrances in the United States, high-speed Internet connectivity rose 27 percent in the first half of this year.

Sampling High-Speed Internet: AT&T Broadband (Julio Ojeda-Zapata, Saint Paul Pioneer Press)
<http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/business/technology/personal_technology/4767723.htm>
Dial-up still rules.

You've Got Sex (Michael Wolff, New York Metro)
<http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/media/columns/medialife/n_8135/index.html>
Or rather, dear America Online, you had it. But as the suits at Time Warner prudishly looked away, you squandered your lead as the nation's leading purveyor of dirty chat.

MyAppleMenu Reader : Life
-------------------------
Putting The Brakes On Blowhard 'Bloggers' (Norah Vincent, Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-vincent19dec19,0,7720880.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dcomment%2Dopinions>
Freedoms come with responsibilities. Common journalistic standards of accuracy and fair play exist for good reasons, and bloogers, like the rest of us, must abide by them.

Foie Gras In The Freezer? Just Don't Tell Anyone! (Elaine Sciolino, New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/19/international/europe/19PARI.html>
The French, like household chefs nearly everywhere, have steadily cut in half the time they spend in the kitchen. In recent years, with varying degrees of passion and stealth, they hae embraced frozen foods, too.

Too-Tall Christmas Tree Makes OVer The Top Sight Gag (Garret Jaros, The Register-Guard)
<http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/12/18/1a.tree.1218.html>
Forget about keeping up with the Joneses, the Chisholm family has set the bar one notch higher after mom finally approved dad's wacky holiday wish -- a Christmas tree poking from the roof rafters.

Can't Judge A Book By Its Owner (Doug Moe, Capital Times)
<http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/moe2/38951.php>
Now I know why he has been nice to me. He is consumed by guilt, as he should be. Let me explain.

You've Got Sex (Michael Wolff, New York Metro)
<http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/media/columns/medialife/n_8135/index.html>
Or rather, dear America Online, you had it. But as the suits at Time Warner prudishly looked away, you squandered your lead as the nation's leading purveyor of dirty chat.

MyAppleMenu Reader : Expressions
--------------------------------
Field Guide (Margaret Rozga, The DMQ Review)
<http://www.disquietingmuses.com/nov02/rozga.html>

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MyAppleMenu is edited by Heng-Cheong Leong. This site is not affiliated with Apple Computer, Inc., or any other companies in any manner. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, PowerBook, iMac, iBook, iPod, and eMac are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other brands or product names are trademarks of their registered holders. Copyright &copy; 1996-2002 Heng-Cheong Leong. All rights reserved.