[MyAppleMenu] Apr 15, 2004

Thu Apr 15 13:15:00 EDT 2004

MyAppleMenu Newsletter
Thursday, April 15, 2004

MyAppleMenu
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<http://www.myapplemenu.com/index.html>
Mac News for Mac Users

[Top Stories]

*** Apple Prides Itself On Innovation. Creativity. Right. So What's With The Heavy Steel Box Downtown?
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/04/15/DDGHJ64KV21.DTL>
by John King, San Francisco Chronicle
Why has this bastion of creativity dropped a windowless box two blocks from Union Square?

*** RealNetworks Seeks Musical Alliance With Apple
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/business/media/15real.html>
by John Markoff and Steve Lohr, New York Times
RealNetworks made a direct appeal last week to Apple, its Internet music rival, suggesting that the two companies form a common front against Microsoft in the digital music business.

*** Profit At Apple Almost Triples On A Sharp Rise In iPod Sales
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/technology/15apple.html>
by Laurie J. Flynn, New York Times
"We feel great," Steve Jobs said in an interview. "We sold a lot of Macs, but we've sold more iPods in the quarter than all the Macs put together."

See Also : Apple Reports $46 Million Profit
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/14/profit/?lsrc=mcrss-0404>
by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral
In the quarter, Apple shipped 749 thousand Macintosh units and 807 thousand iPods, representing a 5 percent increase in CPU units and a 909 percent increase in iPods over the year-ago quarter.

[News]

*** An Apple A Day Keeps Outsourced Support Away
<http://www.itnews.com.au/storycontent.asp?ID=10&Art_ID=19174>
by Fleur Doidge, CRN
Sydney reseller AppleCentre Taylor Square is aiming squarely at support by beefig up customer service with a enew training centre and customer lounge adjoining its main store.

*** Apple Confirms Retail Store In London 'This Year'
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=8431>
by Macworld UK
Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson has admitted that Apple plans to open a flagship retil store in London by the end of the year.

*** Slow Power Mac Sales Trouble Analysts
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=8430>
by Macworld UK
Apple had indicated that it hoped to achieve 200,000 Power Mac unit sales in the quarter, but admitted that it now expects some quarters to see more sales, and other not to meet the target, "depending on the product life cycle and seasonality."

*** Apple Computer Shares Jump As 3rd-Qtr Forecast Tops Estimates
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=anQYO6GX3z98&refer=top_world_news>
by Bloomberg
Shares of Apple climbed as much as 10 percent in Europe after the company said its iPod music player shipments exceeded expectations and that its third quarter will top analysts' estimates.

*** Apple To Open Biggest AEC In Asia Pacific
<http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2004/4/15/prodit/7759116&sec=prodit>
by Malaysia Star
Apple will be launching its first Apple Experience Centre in Malaysia at the Ikano PowerCentre in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday. Aside from exhibiting Apple hardware, an extensive range of third-party products, the AEC has a seminar room for training sessions and other events.

*** Apple Pushes Feds Toward Broader Open-Source Use
<http://www.gcn.com/23_7/tech-report/25445-1.html>
by William Jackson, Government Computer News
Apple is seeking Common Criteria evaluation of the Mac OS X, which could open government doors wider to open-source software.

[Opinion]

*** Does Apple Need Resellers?
<http://www.insideapple.com/article.php?id=47_0_1_0_M>
by Steve McCullough, Inside Apple

*** Apple Leaves A Bitter Taste
<http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-1075254,00.html>
by Richard Irving, The Times
The success of the iPod may be good news for the iconic technology company but reflects troubles in the gloal music industry.

*** Manuals And Monopolies
<http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=2004041500492091>
by Ted Landau, MacFixIt
Why did manuals vanish over the years? There are several commonly accepted theories, although none of them justify the result.

*** Can .Mac Withstand The G-Force?
<http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2004/tc20040415_8968.htm>
by Alex Salkever, BusinessWeek
Apple should contract with Google to get Apple-branded Gmail.

*** Design Is More Than Meets The Eye
<http://www.zeldman.com/daily/0404e.shtml#designeye>
by Jeffrey Zeldman
A rudimentary computing task should not require arcane knowledge of secret handshakes.

*** Small And Stylish PCs Are Hot, So Bring Back The Cube
<http://lowendmac.com/scope/04/0414.html>
by Stephen Van Esch, Low End Mac
The small form-factor PC finally makes its debut.

[Review]

*** Oops, I Did It Again
<http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/technology/personal_technology/8431977.htm?1c>
by Julio Ojeda-Zapata, Pioneer Press
Every time I go on vacation, I vow to make it a low-tech trip for a change. And every single time, a day or so before stepping on the plane, I go, "shyeah, right." This year was no exception. But despite the inevitable headaches, I was pleased with the tech gear I took on my latest journey.

*** In A Sequel, File Making Made Easier
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/technology/circuits/15stat.html>
by David Pogue, New York Times
The good news is that the rewrite extends FileMaker Pro's power and potential so far upward, it begins to challenge far more expensive corporate database systems, yet it's still as friendly as a cocker spaniel. The bad news is that the program has been so thoroughly renovated, FileMaker veterans are in for some unlearning and redesigning.

*** Tools For Execs On The Go
<http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/money/3000347/detail.html>
by BusinessWeek
Despite a growing field of challengers, the iPod remains the best and easiest-to-use music player around.

*** Taking Control
<http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/14/1081838778946.html>
by Garry Barker, The Age
You Software is now in the plural with two products for Mac OS X, You Control and You Synchronize, which won the best-of-show at Macworld San Francisco this year.

*** The 1.25 GHz eMac Value Equation: Wow!
<http://lowendmac.com/musings/04/0414.html>
by Dan Knight, Low End Mac
Apple has a real value package here.

[Sidetrack]

*** The Two-iPod Lifestyle 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/04/15/#20040415bg000001>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
One for music, and the other for comedy and spoken word, that's how Chris Rock<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4741047/> organizes his tunes.

*** Rumor Today: PowerBooks, iBooks Are Next 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/04/15/#20040415bg000002>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
AppleInsider<http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=425> speculates that PowerBook and iBook revisions are next. The new laptops will be announced next Monday, but there's no mention of any price cuts.

[Wintel]

*** Microsoft: No Easy Mark
<http://news.com.com/2100-7343_3-5191812.html>
by Ina Fried, CENT News.com
Despite its "let's talk" posture, analysts say Microsoft is unlikely to open up the floodgates of new litigation.

*** Microsoft Patches: Too Much Of A Good Thing?
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1567925,00.asp>
by Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft Watch
So what's the problem? Too many users hitting too few servers. The result? Problems connecting to Microsoft's Windows Update site, where the downloadable patches reside.

*** A Windows Release By Any Other Name...
<http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1567732,00.asp>
by Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft Watch
Redmond says no new Windows releases are slated before Longhorn. In truth, there are a half dozen -- or maybe more.

The Tomorrow Weblog
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/tomorrow/index.html>
Emerging Technology. Innovative Applications. New Economy.

[Internet]

*** Berners-Lee Honoured For Creating The Web
<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39152156,00.htm>
by Graeme Wearden, ZDNet UK
The Millennium Technology Prize could soon be lined up next to the knighthood, honouring Tim Berners-Lee's achievement in building the foundations of the World Wide Web.

*** Google, Following Yahoo, Will Offer Regional Ads
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/technology/15search.html>
by Gary Rivlin, New York Times
In the tit-for-tat battle between Yahoo and Google to gain an edge in tailoring Internet searches to narrow geographic markets, Google plans to announce on Thursday that it will start offering companies the option of local advertising limited to Internet users in select regions.

*** Blogs: Here To Stay -- With Changes
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0415/p14s02-stin.html>
by Gregory M. Lamb, Chirstian Science Monitor
Out of this fervid experimentation are coming some new forms of communication that are already influencing public discourse.

[Linux]

*** Making The World Safe For Free Software
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/04/15/groklaw/index_np.html>
by Farhad Manjoo, Salon
A litigious blitzkrieg by the anti-Linux crusader the SCO Group has been enraging open-source developers for months. But SCO's attack has ignited its own counterreaction.

*** Stanford's Linux Supercomputers Compromised
<http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3340501>
by Jim Wagner and Ryan Naraine, InternetNews.com
Malicious hackers using sophisticated password-sniffing techniques have compromised multi-user Linux and Solaris computers that run academic supercomputer centers.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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The other things in life

[World]

*** Sunny Side Up?
<http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/05/chait.htm>
by Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic
Rethinking our political fixation on the bright side of life.

[Life]

*** The Subway That Started It All
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/nyregion/14subway.html?pagewanted=print&position=>
by Michael Luo, New York Times
Amid the daily scrum of the New York City subway, few ever go looking for the past. But this being the subway's centennial year, Joseph Brennan and Joseph Cunningham, a pair of transit buffs, agreed the other day to lead a small band in search of the original 1904 subway.

*** A Writer Carries On His Father's Legacy Of Poetry And Pain
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/books/15POET.html?pagewanted=print&position=>
by Dinitia Smith, New York Times
Franz Wright, who won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, is haunted by his father, who was also a prize-winning poet who struggled with alcohol and depression.

*** Call Me E-Mail: The Novel Unfolds Digitally
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/technology/circuits/15nove.html>
by Adam Baer, New York Times
As the epistolary novel comes of digital age, a new literature captures the primal urge behind instant-message patter.

[Expressions]

*** The Visionary Under The Knife
<http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/defrees/visionary.htm>
by Madeline DeFrees, The Atlantic

*** Dead Wren
<http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/cole/deadwren.htm>
by Henri Cole, The Atlantic

[EOF]

*** @ Issue: Long Code For A Small Symbol
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/technology/circuits/15comm.html>
by Mark Glassman, New York Times
The French say petit escargot; the Dutch call it a monkey's tail. On a qwerty keyboard, it's Shift-2. And next month, amateur radio enthusiasts will call it dit-dah-dah-dit-dah-dit. That is when the symbol @ officially becomes the newest character in the Morse code.

SingaporeSurf
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<http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/index.html>
Life in the city

[News]

*** Jobless Not Keen To Venture Overseas: Study
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/premiumstory/0,4574,113813,00.html?>
by Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times
They'd rather find work that paid less, took up more time or go on shifts.

*** Property Tax For HDB Flats Goes Up
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,245808,00.html?>
by Tan Hui Yee, Straits Times
The taxman has increased the annual value of HDB flats for the first time in 14 years, a revision that will double the number of home owners paying property tax.