[MyAppleMenu] Thursday, Nov 20, 2003

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter
Thursday, Nov 20, 2003

MyAppleMenu : Top Stories
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Apple CFO: Co. Has 'Really Strong' Music Position (Paula L. Stepankowsky, Dow Jones)
<http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031119/1946001594_1.html>
Leveraging consumer products into sales of other Apple products is the strategy, he said.

MyAppleMenu : News
------------------
Macworld Announces Best Of Show 2003 (Macworld UK)
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/top_news_item.cfm?NewsID=7335>
Macworld today announced the winners of the "Macworld Best of Show Awards," representing the most exciting new hardware and software products announced at MacExpo 2003 in London.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University: Self-Service Math (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/virginiatech/index.html>
Outfitted with nearly 550 iMac systems running Mac OS X, the Math Emporium has created a unique academic community in which students have control of their own learning.

Washington University In St. Louis: Art Works (Apple)
<http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/wustl/>
Here's a look at why WUStL's School of Art went the Mac route, and the benefits that have been realized in the various majors.

Engineered Intelligence Brings Supercomputing To Power Mac G5 With Parallel Programming Software (MacDailyNews)
<http://www.macdailynews.com/comments.php?id=P2203_0_1_0_C>

District Given Technology Grant (Sandhya Somashekhar, The Argus)
<http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83~1971~1776297,00.html>
Students at Alvarado, Barnard White and Csar Chvez middle schools will be spending a lot more time peering into computer screens this year.

iMac G4 1GB Memory Upgrades Available (MacMinute)
<http://www.macminute.com/2003/11/20/transintl>

Guitar.com Offers 'Great Apple Giveaway' (MacMinute)
<http://www.macminute.com/2003/11/20/guitar>

Apple Releases QuickTime 6 MPEG-2 Playback Component (MacDailyNews)
<http://www.macdailynews.com/comments.php?id=P2200_0_1_0_C>
QuickTime 6 now has the ability to play back MPEG-2 content via the QuickTime 6 MPEG-2 Playback Component. It is available as an add-on to QuickTime 6 for $19.99 in the Apple Store online.

Macintosh Users Join Kazaa Network (John Borland, CNET News.com)
<http://rss.com.com/2100-1027_3-5109645.html>
A new piece of file-swapping software for Macintosh computers is drawing thousands of downloads by offering peer-to-peer options previously available largely to Windows computers.

Poll: Innovation Defines Apple (Macworld UK)
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=7314>
Asked "What does Apple mean to you?", 36 per cent of Macworld Online readers said innovation was the company's defining characteristic.

Music Will Be Saved By Piracy Crackdown, Not iTunes: Study (Jo Best, Silicon.com)
<http://www.silicon.com/networks/webwatch/0,39024667,39116974,00.htm>
Informa believes that online music sales will rise in the next five years, but will only represent a total of around 12 per cent of the market as a whole, with digital sales only making up 5.7 per cent.

Apple Crops Up In Windows World (Ina Fried, CNET News.com)
<http://news.com.com/2100-7340_3-5109259.html>
What's a Mac person to do at Comdex? Well, although the annual trade show is a Windows-dominated event, there are a few signs of Mac life here.

Naxos: Apple Overcharging For iTunes Albums (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/news/22130>
According to Naxos, the correct pricing for their albums in the ITMS should be $6, not the standard $10 per album fee currently being charged.

Crutchfield Begins Carrying iPod (MacNN)
<http://www.macnn.com/news/22133>

MyAppleMenu : Opinions
----------------------
Singing A Different Tune (David Mourra, Daily Californian)
<http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=13595>
Although I do credit Apple for their cleverness in this venture, their timing deserves the most credit.

No, Virginia, There Is No Headless iMac (Bill Palmer)
<http://billpalmer.net/com000036.html>
After five years of evolution, Apple's consumer offerings have reached a point where they've made the concept of a "headless iMac" as obsolete as the original bondi blue imac itself.

Linux, Microsoft And Mac (Todd Bishop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
<http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/001024.html>
Whether Linux can overcome that accomplish what Apple hasn't in that regard remains an open question, at least on the corporate desktop.

Why Apple Is Tuning In (Garry Barker, Sydney Morning Herald)
<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/19/1069027175527.html>
It seems the Big Five record companies are dragging out negotiations over the regional licences Apple needs to open download sites outside the United States. Why? It has to be money. Perhaps they see an auction developing.

MyAppleMenu : Reviews
---------------------
iPod As iGod (Michaelangelo Matos, Seattle Weekly)
<http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0347/031119_diversions_gg1_ipod.php>
The iPod is fast changing the way people listen to music.

A Switcher's Story And His Review Of The New iBook G4 (Assad Maseed, OSNews)
<http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=5176>
If you love Unix, and need a laptop that is light, durable, high-quality, quiet, has a long battery life, comes with OSX 10.3 Panther and is sheer eye-candy inside and out, then the new iBook G4 is the way to go.

Keynote's XML Connections (David Miller, O'Reilly Network)
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2003/11/18/keynote.html>
Keynote goes one step further than PowerPoint by making it easy to dynamically create presentations from within other applications.

15-Inch PowerBook G4s: Apple Hits The Sweet Spot, But Machines Have Inconsistent Quality (Chris Breen, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/15inchpowerbookg4s/>
The new 15-inch PowerBook G4s are impressive pieces of engineering, with stunningly bright screens, plenty of power, all the right ports, and a solid feel. We hope that by the time you read this, Apple will have worked out the kinks in the consistency of its PowerBooks, so the laptop you receive will be the laptop you love.

FireWire Web Cams: Apple's iSight Goes Up Against Established Products (Matthew Honan, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/firewirewebcams/>
The iSight's overall picture quality was noticeably better than that of the other cameras. It almost always provided a sharp, crisply defined image and did the best job with movement and backlighting. The Pyro slightly edged out the iBot in image quality, but the two were closely matched. The Fire-i had the lowest overall picture quality, but it made up for this in other areas.

After Effects 6.0 Professional: Titling And Keying Tools Provide Terrific New Core Capabilities (Sean Wagstaff, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/aftereffects6professional/>
After Effects 6.0 is a terrific upgrade -- especially considering the lower price -- for its new type-handling features alone. We recommend it to anyone involved in dynamic media.

DVD Studio Pro 2.0: Elegant New Interface, Feature Refinement Streamline Authoring (Jim Heid, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/dvdstudiopro2/>
DVD Studio Pro 2.0 is a spectacular update, but we recommend that veteran users ease into the new version of the program. By all means, buy the upgrade and start learning to use it. But as with any major upgrade, don't switch to it in the middle of a project, and don't make your first DVD Studio Pro 2 project a complex one that has a very tight deadline.

Toast 6 Titanium: A Good Program Gets Even Better (Jonathan Seff, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/toast6titanium/>
Toast 6 includes every feature you can reasonably expect from this type of app. It's ideal if you have an external DVD burner that didn't come with DVD-authoring software, or if you burn a lot of CDs and DVDs.

Pixels 3D 5.0: 3-D-Modeling And -Rendering App Blends Function And Low Price (Sean Wagstaff, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/pixels3d5/>
Pixels 3D 5.0 doesn't provide the ultimate tool set for creating 3-D animations and still images. But at $399, it's certainly an excellent choice for beginners. And it may be a reasonable option for professional artists who don't need the elaborate features of high-end, and more expensive, 3-D tools.

Soundtrack 1.0: Apple's Flexible Music-Creation Application Is Fun And Easy To Use (Anton Linecker, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/soundtrack1/>
Soundtrack won't instantly transform you into Mozart, but its easy-to-use workflow does make creating music a pleasure.

Chartsmith 1.2: Innovative OS X Charting Program Has A Few Rough Edges (Franklin Tessler, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/chartsmith12/>
Despite a few rough edges, Chartsmith is a highly capable charting tool that's easy to use once you learn its idiosyncrasies. It sells for less than half the price of DeltaGraph, and even lower educational pricing makes it attractive for students and teachers.

Reviews In Brief: 24U Email OSAX 2.2, Cookie Muncher 1.0.6, JumpDrive Secure, KidzMail 1.1.2, MacAstronomica 2.0.2, MacResponder 1.0.2, Mystical Lighting, PodQuest 1.0.1, TimeCache 5.1.5, WorkStrip 3.0, Zoom & Pan 3.0 (Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/reviewsinbrief/>

The Game Room: Survival Of The Fittest (Peter Cohen, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/thegameroom/>

Mac Gems: More Fully Functional (Dan Frakes, Macworld)
<http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/reviews/macgems/>
Some of the best gems are those that let you do what you should have been able to do in the first place.

Verbatim Store 'N' Go USB Drive (Jason D. O'Grady, O'Grady's PowerPage)
<http://www.powerpage.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/powerpage.woa/wa/story?newsID=11587>

Apple 'sudo' On Laptops May Let Local Users Execute Commands Without Authenticating (SecurityTracker)
<http://www.securitytracker.com/alerts/2003/Nov/1008239.html>
It is reported that the sudo application uses the graphical interface clock instead of the system clock. When sudo is executed via Apple's Terminal.app and then the laptop is placed in sleep mode and subsequently woken up, the laptop may take 10 - 20 seconds to update the graphical clock. As a result, a physically local user can wake up the laptop and execute sudo commands with root privileges without having to authenticate within the 10 - 20 second period.

MyAppleMenu : Wintel News
-------------------------
Microsoft's New Security Mojo (Richard Forno, CNET News.com)
<http://rss.com.com/2010-7355_3-5109347.html>
Rather than address its own problems, Microsoft has decided to use creative marketing as a substitute for good security and software development. The problem isn't that virus writers are exploiting Windows; it's that Microsoft makes Windows easy to exploit by anyone with a modicum of programming know-how. Instead of accepting responsibility, the company is trying to pass the blame for such problems off onto others.

More Wintel news at <http://www.myapplemenu.com/wintel/>

MyAppleMenu Tomorrow: News & Opinions
-------------------------------------
Singapore Reels In Digital Cinema (John Lui, CNET Asia)
<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/emergingtech/0,39020357,39118022,00.htm>
The island state is to build the world's third-largest network of digital movie theatres in an effort to develop local technical expertise.

Wish List Remains Just That Online (Catherine Greenman, New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/20/technology/circuits/20wish.html>
While mall-weary shoppers might opt for online purchases and free shipping over the holidays, will they actually use a friend or relative's wish list to shop?

Retailers Rise In Google Rankings As Rivals Cry Foul (Lisa Guernsey, New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/20/technology/circuits/20goog.html>
Because search engines like Google give weight to sites that are linked to other sites, companies set up networks, creating or encouraging others to create large numbers of sites that sell the same products and then linking them together. If the strategy works, what the searcher sees is a list of links that lead back to the same product or company.

Utility Computing's Elusive Definition (David Becker, CNET News.com)
<http://rss.com.com/2100-7784_3-5109671.html>
That's because utility computing isn't any one thing. It's an IT management approach, it's a business strategy, it's a hardware breakthrough -- depends on who you're dealing with and what your needs are.

Should Reporters Have Brains (Dana Blankenhorn)
<http://www.corante.com/mooreslore/20031101.shtml#60662>
Should the reporter challenge what he hears, when he hears it, or simply pass it along? Should a reporter, when he hears nonsense, explicitly call it nonsense for his readers, or is dropping a few hints good enough?

AT&T's Zeglis Expounds On Wireless Plans (Carmen Nobel, eWeek)
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1389242,00.asp>
Since he last delivered a keynote address at Fall Comdex three years ago, AT&T Wireless Inc. CEO John Zeglis has learned that hype doesn't pay.

High-Tech Jobs Dwindle, But The Worst May Be Over (Marianne Kolbasuk McGee, InformationWeek)
<http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16101259>
There's bad news and good news for out-of-work technology professionals.

AOL Acquires Multimedia Search Provider (Jim Hu and Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com)
<http://rss.com.com/2100-1032_3-5108968.html>
America Online on Wednesday said that it acquired audio and video search service Singingfish in an effort to improve its own Web search engine.

Bill Gates: Unplugged (Jai Singh, CNET News.com)
<http://rss.com.com/2008-7345_3-5109369.html>
For two decades, Bill Gates has used his Comdex keynote speech to mark out his vision for technologies from the Internet to XML. This year he used the bully pulpit to make it clear that the industry is at one of its perennial crossroads.

Number Portability: 10 Things You Must Know (Joni Blecher, ZDNet)
<http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/AnchorDesk/4520-7296_16-5107973.html?tag=adss>
There are a lot of unanswered questions and potential pitfalls ahead. So before making the switch, arm yourself with the facts, and be wary of hidden costs.

MyAppleMenu Reader: Life
------------------------
Shhh! (Tim Whitaker, Philadelphia Weekly)
<http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/article.asp?ArtID=6415>
People are trying to compute.

The Penguin Is Mightier Than The Sword (Jesse Jarnow, Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2003/11/20/breathed/index_np.html>
"Bloom County" cartoonist Berkeley Breathed talks about bringing Opus back to the nation's comics page to rip Garfield (and maybe George Bush) a new one.

A PC Salesman Who Pushes The Right Buttons (Katie Hafner, New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/20/technology/circuits/20sale.html>
A computer superstore can be like a Hieronymus Bosch tableau, with infernal aisles of inscrutable merchandise and demons in the form of salespeople on commission. And the sales staff can be most tormenting, it seems, during the holidays: in a store crowded with shoppers hunting for big-ticket gifts, a good salesperson can be hard to find, and given to abandoning one shopper in favor of a more lucrative sale across the aisle. But then there are salesmen like Mr. Garcia. 

MyAppleMenu Reader: Expressions
-------------------------------
The Apparition (Maxine Kumin, The Atlantic)
<http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/kumin/apparition.htm>

MyAppleMenu SingaporeSurf : Top Stories
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Stop Acting So Superior, Ex-Envoy Tells Singaporeans (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,220985,00.html?>
Former Chinese ambassador to Singapore Chen Baoliu did not mince her words when she told Singaporeans yesterday to drop their 'air of superiority' if they hope to see Sino-Singaporean ties improve further.

MyAppleMenu SingaporeSurf : News & Opinions
-------------------------------------------
AirAsia Optimistic Of Getting Landing Rights In Singapore (Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/58169/1/.html>
Malaysian-based low-cost carrier AirAsia has expressed optimism that it will be granted landing rights by Singapore to operate in the republic.

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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 (C) 1996-2003 Heng-Cheong Leong. All rights reserved.