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Friday, January 31, 2003

News

Wireless Firms Jumping Gun On New Spec?
by Richard Shim, CNET News.com
Although that means official certification is still some way off, a handful of companies have already released products, and others are racing ahead with their own plans to take early advantage of 802.11g's bandwidth.

Coder Finds New Way To Swap Tunes
by Leander Kahney, Wired News
Like Daniel entering the lions' den, programmer Jim Speth is about to release some new music-sharing software that could land him in a world of legal pain.

Macworld Poll: Overwhelming Support For Safari
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
Macworld asked readers: "Have you switched to Safari?". A stunning 66 per cent of 1,262 respondents replied 'Yes'.

Destineer Acquires MacSoft
by Tuncer Deniz, Inside Mac Games

Apple Price Policy May Save You Money
by John H. Farr, Applelinks.com

Apple's Demo Reel
by MacMinute
"If you'd like the chance for your best work to be seen by thousands of professionals worldwide, now's your chance."

Review

iMovie 3.0 Will Not Run On "Clam-Shell" iBooks
by MacFixIt

MYOB AccountEdge 3
by Michael Flaminio, Insanely Great Mac

Fix For The eMac Raster Shift Problem
by MacFixIt
Thanks to well placed sources outside of Apple who wish to remain anonymous, we are able to bring you news of a fix for the widely reported eMac "raster shift" screen defect, which generated more complaints and general discussion in the MacFixIt mailboxes than any other event in the past six months.

The Sims: Unleashed
by Michael Phillips, Inside Mac Games
As far as expansion packs go, Unleashed offers a great deal of new gameplay to the Sims experience.

Sidetrack

Friday, January 31, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

ONCE AGAIN : "A computer is not a TV, a typewriter and a tape recorder," repeats Dana Blankenhorn. "I'm going to repeat this periodically until the industry hears it."

GOOGLE SUCCESS : Pitch from Google's competition is essentially "first, tell us everything you have, then we'll tell you what you've got," reports Cory Doctorow.

APPLE SUCCESS : "[Apple] are already discovering just how they can make money on Open Source Software, and it's not even in the quasi-traditional 'support' line of business that people seem fixated on," observed Garin in Slashdot.

JUST BE HAPPY : Now when I head for the US, not only do I have to worry about delays at airports while people touches me, I also have to try not to go to too many public toilets.

And they say Singapore is a police state. :-)

Wintel

AMD Delays 64-Bit Athlon Chip
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
Advanced Micro Devices confirmed on Friday that it has pushed back the introduction of its Athlon 64 processor for desktop PCs.

Experts Say Microsoft Security Effort Failing
by Elinor Mills Abreu, Reuters
Computer security experts said on Thursday the recent "SQL Slammer" worm, the worst in more than a year, is evidence that Microsoft's year-old security push is not working.

Thursday, January 30, 2003

News

O'Reilly Offers UNIX CD Bookshelf V3.0
by Peter Cohen, MacCentral
If you're rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty with Mac OS X's Unix underpinnings, you might be interested in a new reference from O'Reilly & Associates.

Ming And Mini-Me's Magic Moment
by BrandWeek

Detroit Students To Get Wireless iBooks
by Mike Wendland
The 80 sixth-graders at Detroit's Malcolm X Academy are more eager than usual to head to school these days. So is teacher Jeffrey Robinson.

A Mac Angle On Linux
by Matthew Rothenberg, eWeek
If the company continues to sell itself as a good open-source citizen that gives back to this vibrant community, though, I'm counting on a warm reception for this Mac interloper at future LinuxWorlds.

Readers Confirm iLife Shipments In U.S.
by MacNN

Opinion

Sony Left Holding The Bag Again?
by Derrick Story, O'Reilly Network
In the end, I think DVD-R would prevail, but I don't want it to come to that.

Review

Keynote Vs. PowerPoint
by Paul Maidment, Forbes
With Keynote, Apple gives Mac users that haven't yet moved up to Jaguar one more reason for doing so. And for any Mac user who just wants their presentations to look that bit more polished—and have their belief in the Apple's design elegance confirmed—then Keynote is well worth the indulgence.

The Operative: No One Lives Forever
by Kirk Hiner, Applelinks.com

MPEG 1, 2, And Now 4: Shrinking Video Files
by J.D. Biersdorfer, New York Times
What is the difference between the MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video formats?

iPod Wants To Be Seen And Heard
by Tony Waltham, Bangkok Post
Apple's portable music player is proving both technologically and fashionably hip.

Double-Quick Browser Beating
by Garry Baker, Sydney Morning Hearld

Taming Mac OS X
by David Zeiler, Baltimore Sun
As the deadline looms for the transition to the new operating system, here are some helpful hints for making the switch as effortless as possible.

Cordless Trackman Wheel
by Ken Leyden, Inside Mac Games
The TrackMan Wheel series represents the best and most-comfortable thumb-controlled trackball I've ever used. My recommendation for TrackMan Wheel being a great first trackball still stands.

Sidetrack

Thursday, January 30, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

UPDATES SLOWING DOWN... : Updates are going to slow down just a notch here at MyAppleMenu, as me and my family celebrates the Chinese New Year.

It's the year of the goat comes Feb 1st.

Wintel

EU Says Microsoft Will Alter Passport
by Reuters
The European Union's watchdog arm said Thursday that Microsoft has agreed to make "radical'' changes to its .Net Passport system to ease concerns about data privacy posed by Internet identity systems.

Dell Plans To Sell PCs Inside Sears, Other Chains
by Dow Jones
Wednesday, Dell launched a trial with retail company Sears, Roebuck & Co. , opening the first of about 10 stores-within-a-store in Austin, Texas, according to John Hamlin, a Dell senior vice president.

Intel Aims For Longer-Running Handhelds
by Richard Shim, CNET News.com
Handhelds running Intel processors are likely to get a significant charge from a new chip.

Microsoft Eyeing Vivendi Unit?
by David Becker, CNET News.com
Reports mounted Wednesday that Microsoft is negotiating to buy video game assets of financially troubled French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal.

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Top Stories

Mac Vs. Windows: Who Cares?
by Leander Kahney, Wired News
Apple-hating sites have all but disappeared, Mac OS X is getting widespread respect, Mac fans are more confident, and Windows users apparently could care less what computers other people use.

Internet Worm Unearths New Holes
by Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post
The computer bug that ravaged systems throughout the world over the weekend showed how the increasing use of the Internet by businesses, banks and local governments has created vulnerabilities where few ever suspected them.

News

New Standard To Speed Chip Connections
by Michael Kanellos, CNET News.com
A key industry group is aiming to come out with a new specification for a high-speed chip connection technology that could more than triple the bandwidth for data.

Apple Activates .Mac Address Book Syncing
by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral
While the .Mac page still lists the feature as "Coming Soon," when we logged-in to our Address Book a page asked if we wanted to turn the feature on.

Apple Offers iLife And Keynote Education Bundle
by MacMinute

Alton High Grad, Microsoft Donate Cash, Software
by John Badman, The Telegraph
Students in the Alton High School Internet literacy class work on their iMac computers Tuesday using software and additional memory made possible through the donation of a former student, Chris Mitchell, 21, who works for Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft also donated 100 copies of its Microsoft Office 2001 software.

Readers: iLife Ships To International Users
by MacNN
Slightly earlier than the revised January 31st ship date.

iLife 'Will Inspire Home Networks'
by Macworld UK
Consumer interest in audio and video on computers could drive the consumer market to network their homes to make better use of such technologies.

Charity Begins At Home
by Straits Times
Radin Mas' Primary 5 pupils will try their hand at a traditionally adult venture — e-commerce — to raise funds for their IT pursuits.

Towards A New Beginning
by Straits Times
The school will be using Apple's OS X running on powerful G4 computers that the company says is particularly productive for bioinformatics research.

Some Parents Keep Track Of Kids Online
by Jamie Dunnigan, KFYR TV

All-In-One Living Room Gadgets Arrive
by Ben Berkowitz, Reuters
There are those who believe that while consumer electronics companies may be focused on building special boxes to draw digital media to the TV, the solution to the situation is already well in place: the standard home PC.

MPEG-4 On Road To Rights Management
by Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com
A streaming-media consortium set a schedule this week for finalizing technical specs for MPEG-4 security and rights management—components that are key to the open standard's adoption among content owners.

Apple To Open Richmond, VA Store In Fall
by MacNN

Opinion

Apple And Third Party Developers: Between A Rock And A Hard Place
by Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl
There is always room for a better mousetrap.

What's With The Hassles From Apple?
by Alex Salkever, BusinessWeek
Surprise charges. Annoying .Mac pop-ups. Hijacked e-mail preferences. Apple's overzealous drive to sell may create a user backlash.

Here's A Story...
by Damien A. Barrett
We all know those silly Mac folks slather at the mouth about Mac rumors... so you do the only sensical thing and create yet another Mac rumor site and litter it with ads for your product(s).

Review

Another Rave Review For Safari Browser
by Al Fasoldt, The Post-Standard
It's the best Web browser I've ever used, for any computer.

Sum Of PC Greater Than The Whole
by Yeong Ah Seng, Straits Times
The fact that there is more Mac software these days, and that Apple has come out with some pretty nifty software of its own, like the iLife collection, is, however, not reason enough to look at the company through rose-tinted glasses.

Sidetrack

Wednesday, January 29, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

NOT YOUR TYPICAL REVIEW : "Anyone who is looking to get rid of their helper monkey," claims Arbit Adams, "should definitely look into getting an eMac." After all, eMac smells better.

LIVE OR LIP-SYNC : Apparently, Shania Twain did do her singing live. But, backups did kick in.

Wintel

Sun Files Opposition To Microsoft's Appeal In Java Case
by Ashlee Vance, InfoWorld
Wants technology shipped as soon as possible.

Breaking Down The .Net Barriers
by Associated Press
Volunteer effort could oblige Microsoft to work with Linux.

Pentium Price Cuts At Hand
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
The chipmaker has planned the price adjustment for desktop Pentium 4 chips for late February, according to sources.

Microsoft Tablets Start Strong In Europe
by Joe Wilcox, CNET News.com
Despite only a partial quarter of sales, Microsoft tablet PCs accounted for 1 percent of European portable sales during the fourth quarter.

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

Top Stories

Apple Updates Power Macs, Releases 20-Inch Display
by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral
Apple revved the high-end Power Mac to 1.42GHz, while adding FireWire 800 and internal support for 54Mbps AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth wireless networking.

Mac Opera Gored On Safari?
by Paul Festa, CNET News.com
Opera Software expressed significant doubts it would continue producing a browser for the Macintosh operating system, illustrating a growing problem for third-party Mac developers as Apple Computer steps up its own application development efforts.

News

Apple Splits OS 9 Power Macs Onto Separate Page
by MacFixIt
For the first time, Apple has symbolically and tangibly split its Power Mac line into two sets - those that can exclusively boot Mac OS X and those that can also boot Mac OS 9.

Developer To Revive iTunes File-Sharing
by Matthew Broersma, CNET News.com
The developer of a peer-to-peer file-sharing plug-in for Apple Computer's iTunes music application has decided to give the software a new lease on life, after it was put out of commission by the computer maker's lawyers earlier this month.

Laptop Computers Beginning To Go Home With Students
by Elizabeth Dorsey, The Times Record
"The students have been fabulous with the computers. Overall, it's just been incredibly impressive."

Nisus Working On An OS X Version Of Word Processor
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
The long-in-the-works Mac OS X version of Nisus Software's Nisus Writer is could enter public beta testing in late February or early March, though the time frame is subject to change.

Sorenson Squeeze 3 Products Shipping
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
Sorenson Squeeze is a video compression tool designed for both novice and professional content creators. It allows users to encode and deliver QuickTime media for streaming and progressive downloads.

Review

Marble Blast
by Eddie Park, Inside Mac Games
While not very deep, the gameplay is addictive and very easy to learn. The levels are really easy on the eyes and are set up quite cleverly, particularly in the later stages.

DAVE Outshines Jaguar's Cross-Platform File, Print Sharing
by John Rizzo, MacHome
DAVE is the better choice when you have a Mac that you want to fit into an existing PC network, such as a student taking a Mac to college, or for someone bringing in an iBook or PowerBook to the office.

ThinkFree Office: Not Ready For Prime Time
by Steve Watkins, Low End Mac
I want to like ThinkFree Office. I really do. I would like nothing more than to find an office suite that would be a Microsoft Office killer. Unfortunately, ThinkFree Office ain't it.

The ABCs Of MP3
by Cliff Edwards, BusinessWeek
If a quick glance around my gym is any indication, Apple's sleek iPod remains the undisputed king of the digital-music-player market.

Emulators - The Copy-Cat Top Dogs
by Scott Colvey, vnunet.com
Did you realise that it's possible to persuade your PC to assume an entirely new personality, to masquerade as a different make and model altogether?

Going On Safari
by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
Currently, Apple is clearly focused on speed and elegance above all else, and that's a fine goal for a 1.0 product. But I hope that future versions of Safari incorporate additional features that simplify life on the Web.

The Right Database For Your Business
by Jeffrey Levine and Andrew Sherman, Fortune
Access or FileMaker Pro? Here's how to choose.

F1 Championship Season 2000
by Andy Largent, Inside Mac Games
With great effects and very detailed, realistic gameplay, F1 Championship has dashed across the finish line as a new milestone for Macintosh racing.

Sidetrack

Tuesday, January 28, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

REALITY-BASED JOURNALISM : Doc Searls compared the influx of reality TV with blogs. "Like all these TV shows, [blogs] cost relatively little to produce, they're done largely by amateurs, and they threaten Business As Usual."

Perhaps, the next big Hollywood television hit will not come to you via television, but at your local newstand, next to the weekies and dailies.

RSS-WEB : Matt Croydon wonders, "if a redesign happens and everyone is reading via RSS, did a redesign happen?"

CSS for RSS, anybody? :-)

Wintel

Some Microsoft Consumer Suits Quashed
by Reuters
A federal judge on Monday granted a motion by Microsoft Corp. to throw out five of the consumer antitrust lawsuits filed against the company in four states.

Worm Hits Microsoft, Which Ignored Own Advice
by John Schwartz, New York Times
The disruption was particularly embarrassing for Microsoft, which has been preaching the gospel of secure computing.

Final Microsoft Antitrust Overseer Named
by Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com
The U.S. Justice Department on Monday nominated a Silicon Valley engineer and entrepreneur to a technical committee that will oversee Microsoft's compliance with its antitrust settlement.

MS SQL Worm: Maybe Not A Case Of Ignorance Or Lazyness
by Andy Oram, O'Reilly Network
System administrators have good reason to refuse to install patches: many of them break systems.

Borland, Microsoft Tie .Net Knot
by Martin LaMonica, CNET News.com
Borland Software has licensed a key piece of Microsoft's .Net software and will build a new line of programming tools for .Net later this year, the companies announced Monday.

Setbacks In Search For Worm Author
by Robert Lemos, CNET News.com
Security experts are hunting for clues that might finger the person who wrote the SQL Slammer worm that hammered the Internet this past weekend. Yet chances are, the attacker will escape, investigators said.

Microsoft Fails Slammer's Security Test
by Robert Lemos, CNET News.com
Microsoft's policy of relying on software patches to fix major security flaws was questioned Monday after a series of internal e-mail revealed that the software giant's own network wasn't immune from a worm that struck the Internet last weekend.

Monday, January 27, 2003

Top Stories

Jobs For President? Not This Time
by Leander Kahney, Wired News
A grassroots campaign to persuade Apple's CEO Steve Jobs to run for President of the United States was launched on the Web last week, but it was over almost as soon as it began.

News

Apple Strengthens Server Support
by Ephraim Schwartz, InfoWorld
Despite its nascent status, Apple Computer's server division is gaining momentum among ISV partners and corporate users of its Xserve and OS X operating system.

The Mouse That Rolled
by Jim Shelton, New Haven Register
While todayís computer mouse is as ever-present as the common can opener, it was considered highly unusual back in 1983, when Apple introduced its Lisa personal computer with a built-in mouse.

Resnet Problems Continue
by Sherry Anne Rubiano, Daily Trojan
Pardee residents using Macintosh computers say they have trouble logging on to high-speed connection.

Opinion

Apple Moves Boldly Forward
by Jason Brooks, eWeek
Let's see if Apple's willing to up the ante enough to make things truly interesting.

Fulfilling The Promise Of Aqua And The Quartz Rendering Engine
by Dan Knight, Low End Mac
If we're going to have a processor intensive interface anyhow, let's take full advantage of it and give Mac applications that fluidity as well. Let's see Apple take the brilliance of the Quartz display engine and run with it.

How To Milk An Apple
by Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek
Apple may never again pose a threat to Microsoft and its PC allies, but its niche is safe.

Taking A Bite Out Of The New Apple
by Vishnu K. Mahmud, Jakarta Post
With the Mac, there are so many things newbies can do that they never thought possible — create and publish a photo album, record their own songs and even edit your own independent movie. Many professionals have, and now it's your turn.

Sidetrack

Monday, January 27, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

SMARTER AS WE GROW OLDER : Dave has an interesting argument about relating oldness (experience?) with smartness. Except there is a fundamental flaw: it may be correct to say that a person is smarter at age 40 than at age 20, but that still doesn't mean that a person at age 40 is smarter than another person at age 20.

Ah, the fun of logic... :-)

COMPUTERS AND CARS : Even if the analogy is correct, the solution is not to "educate" or make people go through training before they can put their computers on the network. The long-term goal should be to make cars so safe and easy that you do not need a license to operate them.

Wintel

IBM Rejuvinates Wireless ThinkPads
by Michael Kanellos, ZDNet
IBM on Monday will release a new family of ThinkPads that feature dual-band wireless, enhanced management software, and, for the first time, fashion choices when it comes to the navigational stick on the keyboard.

Worm Exposes Laziness And Microsoft Flaws
by Robert Lemos, CNET News.com
The Sapphire worm that hit servers running Microsoft's SQL Server database this weekend was a wake-up call for anyone who thought the Internet had become a safer place following increased attention by corporate and government leaders.

Sunday, January 26, 2003

News

Students' Grades To Go Online For Parents
by C. L. Waller, Daily Herald
With the click of a mouse, students will see grades for each class assignment. Parents will too.

This Student Gets The Apple Of The Class
by Patti Richter, The World Link

Townships Students To Receive Laptops
by Jane Davenport, The Gazette
"The biggest benefit would be that it will engage studnets more into their own learning."

Apple Accuses Unova's Intermec Of Infringing Patents
by Susan Decker, Bloomberg
Unova's Intermec unit is using the patented technology in software and scanners that are hand-held or mounted on vehicles and used by delivery people or warehouse workers, Apple claims.

Opinion

Apple's Ads Versus PC Ads: Cool Features Compared Instead Of Specs
by Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl
If Apple hopes to enter into that marketplace, its commercials need to deliver the proper message to appeal to the jaded IT manager who is reluctant to consider one of those pretty boxes with an alien operating system.

Review

Learning The Terminal In Jaguar, Part 2
by Chris Stone, O'Reilly Network
I'll show you how to configure cron to email you a report each time it runs one of these jobs.

Descender
by Kirk Hiner, Applelinks.com
There's nothing new about Tetris clones. There's also nothing wrong with them.

Wintel

'Slammer' May Punch In Monday
by Michelle Delio, Wired News
The global worming attack that fried much of the Internet this weekend may return on Monday as unpatched systems and applications boot up at the start of the workweek.

Computer Worm Slows Global Net Traffic
by Reuters
Worldwide Internet traffic suddenly slowed down dramatically for hours on Saturday, after a fast-spreading computer worm clogged pipelines of the global network, officials said.

Saturday, January 25, 2003

Top Stories

Surfin' With Apple Safari
by Tom Spring, PC World
Eat your heart out, Windows surfers. Apple's Safari browser is fast and feature-packed with functions that Netscape and Internet Explorer users can only long for.

No Gaming Mac Attack In Apple's Future
by Marc Saltzman, The Globe And Mail
Why wouldn't a company with such little market share devote more resources to gaming in order to lure more users?

Opinion

iLife: Worth The Price?
by Jason Deraleau, O'Reilly Network
I plan to buy iLife for the $50 regardless, because I want to support a company that I hope continues to stay in business. My only gripe is that iDVD doesn't support external DVD burners.

Review

iSync, Therefore I Am Waiting For A Bug-Fix Update
by Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post
The possibilities here are intriguing: Why share only contacts and calendars? Why not also synchronize Web bookmarks or MP3 playlists? First, though, Apple needs to get this software up to speed.

Logitech Marble Mouse
by Patrick Leyden, Inside Mac Games
Gamers who have never used a trackball before and are looking to add a new piece of gaming hardware to their collection would do well to consider purchasing this device. Those who are considering this trackball as their primary input device may want to look elsewhere, due to the limited number of usable buttons and the lack of a scroll wheel.

Wintel

Fearing The Penguins—For Good Reason
by Charles Cooper, CNET News.com
What do you know? Microsoft was right about Linux all along.

Microsoft Beefs Up Sales Force By 1,500
by Reuters
Software giant Microsoft is hiring 1,500 salespeople to promote its programs directly to corporate customers, Chief Financial Officer John Connors said on Friday.

What's In A Name? Not Palladium
by Robert Lemos, CNET News.com
Microsoft has dropped the code name of its controversial security technology, Palladium, in favor of this buzzword-bloated tongue twister: "next-generation secure computing base."

Intel Rounds Out Mobile Chip Family
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
The company will unveil three versions of its low-power Pentium-M processor, formerly code-named Banias, as part of the Centrino package.

Friday, January 24, 2003

Top Stories

Softly Does It! I'm Writing On The Edge
by Jessie Moniz, Royal Gazette
My name is Jessie Moniz. I'm a Microsoft Windows user. I'm relieved just to have reached the end of this column without my computer crashing.

News

Quebec's Eastern Township Schools To Buy 5,000 Apple Notebooks
by MacDailyNews
In its efforts to provide its students with the best learning experience, the Eastern Townships School Board announced today an innovative Enhanced Learning Strategy that will provide every student in its schools with an Apple portable computer. This will be the first board-wide laptop initiative implemented in Canada.

Henrico Parents Happy With iBook Program
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
Henrico schools teamed with Apple and launched the Teaching and Learning Technology Initiative.

Tech Coalition Fires At Hollywood
by Pamela McClintock, Reuters
The battle between Silicon Valley and Hollywood went public with a fury Thursday, as leading computer companies kicked off a campaign to paint the entertainment business as the bad guy in wanting to mandate strict copy protection technology.

Apple Confirms Keynote Glitch
by Ian Fried, CNET News.com
"Apple has identified a bug in the driver software for certain ATI graphics chips which can affect a small number of systems when used with Keynote," the company said.

Apple Posts New "Switch" Stories
by MacMinute

Sidetrack

Friday, January 24, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

WHEN IS THE 3'O CLOCK PARADE : And other tales of working in DisneyWorld.

Wintel

Microsoft Reorgs Windows Client Team
by Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft-Watch
Redmond elevates veteran Will Poole to run the expanded Windows client business for the company.

Microsoft's .Net To Get EU Nod
by Reuters
The European Union's privacy watchdogs are expected to say next week that Microsoft's .Net Passport system broadly complies with EU data protection rules and that only minor changes are needed, EU sources said Thursday.

Dell Switches Internal Servers To Linux
by Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com
Dell Computer has switched 14 of its internal servers from Sun Microsystems machines to its own systems running Linux and a new version of Oracle's database software, Chief Information Officer Randy Mott said Thursday.

Thursday, January 23, 2003

Top Stories

Apple Delays iLife Launch
by Ian Fried, CNET News.com
Apple Computer has delayed by a week the scheduled launch for iLife, its collection of programs for playing music, making movies, editing photos and creating custom DVDs.

Apple's Office Politics
by David Zeiler, Baltimore Sun
As crazy as this made-in-Cupertino-office-suite theory may sound, Apple has made a habit in recent years of making unexpected strategic moves, such as launching a chain of retail stores and building a portable MP3 player. Why not AppleWorks Pro?

Mac Users Find Glitches With Keynote
by Ian Fried, CNET News.com
Apple Computer originally created its new Keynote software to allow its boss, Steve Jobs, to make it through speeches without a hitch. But now that the company has released the presentation program to the public, early customers say it is anything but bug-free.

News

'We Will Build A Business-Friendly Environment': Apple Japan President
by Nobuo Hayashi, NikkeiBP

Apple: First 'School Night At The Apple Store' Jan 29
by Ron Carlson, Insanely Great Mac

Vintage PC's, Fondly Collected
by Phil Patton, New York Times
The holy grail of computer collectors is the Apple I, with only about two dozen in existence.

12" PowerBook In Stock At Apple Stores
by MacMinute

Opinion

Apple's Chess Game With Microsoft: Check!
by John martellaro, Applelinks.com
Of course, all this is just a fantasy. A conjecture. And the Macworld San Francisco Keynote 2003 was just a smoke and mirrors show by a checkers player. Right?

Poll: Desirable 12-Inch PowerBook Edges 17-Inch
by Macworld UK
Answering Macworld's online poll "Which PowerBook is for you", 39 per cent of readers plumped for the compact 12.1-inch PowerBook G4 - narrowly beating the preferences of the 34 per cent who'd rather have the new 17-inch PowerBook.

Review

The Little iTunes Book
by Jon Gales, MacMerc.com

Nostromo N50 SpeedPad
by Greg Gant, Inside Mac Games
Rarely are gamepads entertaining to use, but the n50 is an exception. The only thing holding it back from widespread adoption is the fact that it is designed for first and third person shooters. Fortunately Mac gamers can still get plenty of use out of it.

Switching From A PC To A Pair Of Macs
by Kevin Webb, Low End Mac
Friend buys a Power Mac and an iBook — and uses FireWire Disk Mode to tie them together.

The Next Front(ier) In The Disruption Of Traditional Media
by Rusty Coats, American Press Institute
The power of RSS goes beyond websites to applications that are designed to parse headlines from numerous sources.

Sidetrack

Thursday, January 23, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

YES, I'M CONFUSED : If I had too much money to spare right now, I would have a very hard time deciding on whether to get the new 12-inch PowerBook, or the 12-inch iBook.

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE : Patrick Berry speculates that RIAA is more involved in Apple's game plan than it appears.

MEANWHILE... : Do consider electing Steve Jobs as the next president of the United States.

Wintel

New Microsoft Flaw Exposes Servers
by Robert Lemos, ZDNet
Microsoft warned system administrators on Wednesday that a new flaw in its Windows 2000 and NT domain controllers could leave their networks open to attack.

Microsoft Appeals Java Ruling
by Reuters
Microsoft asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to shelve a lower court order that would force it to start incorporating Sun Microsystems' Java programming language into its Windows operating system.

Sputering Growth Sparks Changes At MSN
by Jim Hu, CNET News.com
Microsoft is rethinking the marketing strategy for its new MSN 8 Internet service, amid signs of stagnant growth and just months after launching a $300 million advertising campaign aimed at closing the gap on rival America Online.

Microsoft Loses Showdown In Houston
by Byron Acohido, USA Today
The nation's fourth-largest city rebuffed Microsoft's offer and has embraced an obscure competitor called SimDesk. SimDesk delivers software over the Internet at a fraction of the cost of Microsoft's Office, a software suite used on 94% of America's office personal computers.

Cisco, Microsoft Zero In On IT
by Ben Charny, CNET News.com
Cisco Systems said Wednesday that along with partner Microsoft it had begun offering businesses a new blueprint for installing office systems based on Windows 2000 and hardware from both companies.

Microsoft Auto Software Hits Exit Ramp
by Margaret Kane, CNET News.com
Microsoft is selling its Dealerpoint software business to Reynolds and Reynolds in a deal worth about $7 million, the companies said Wednesday.

Dell Throws Weight Behind Clusters
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
Dell Computer is adding more hardware to its high-performance clusters, aiming to up the number of computers that share heavyweight computing jobs.

AMD Talks Up Opteron Chip
by John G. Spooner and Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com
Though the new processor won't make its debut until April, AMD is talking it up in front of the crowds at this week's LinuxWorld trade show here.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

Top Stories

X11: Apple's Secret Formula
by Stephen Shankland and Joe Wilcox, CNET News.com
Apple Computer has quietly extended an overture to the Unix community, with the release of software that would make it easier for Unix applications to run on the Mac operating system.

News

And What About The Hardware?
by Peter Lewis, Fortune
The notebook is indeed a showcase for advanced technology.

Songs From A Room With A Laptop
by Mike Connor, Metroactive Music
Santa Cruz has become a nerve center for experimental electronic music as technology pushes creativity to a whole new level.

Technology Grant Changes Classroom Experiences
by Lu Ann Hurd-Lof, Park Rapids Enterprise
A grant has helped Park Rapids students become more technologically literate.

Opinion

Apple's Seeds Choked By Weeds
by Russ McGuire, Business Reform
Apple should be great. And profitable. Instead, the seeds of brilliance keep getting choked out by the weeds of commodity products.

Apple's Bumper Crop
by Brent Schlender, Fortune
To even begin to get the full benefit, you have to have a top-of-the line Mac, a gargantuan hard disk, and lots of time to burn. And it helps to be as obsessive about production values as Steve Jobs himself.

802.11a Stinks, But Don't Throw It Out
by John Taschek, eWeek
Sure, 802.11g is compatible with 802.11b, but with low-cost dual 802.11a/b units coming, does that matter?

Not Ready To Switch To Macs? Why Not Just Add One?
by Gene Steinberg, Low End Mac

THE Key To User-Friendly Computers?
by Alex Salkever, BusinessWeek
Jef Raskin, who helped design Apple's classic user interface, is working on a new system, THE, that could be a big improvement.

Macworld Disappoints — Again
by Michael Paric, Benicia News
I really want to believe Steve Jobs when he says, "What's driving us is one simple thing: innovation." But ever since the redesign of the iMac a couple years ago, I just haven't seen it.

Free
by Steve Frank
A whole lot of cool stuff from a lot of cool companies is probably getting stifled.

Market Share Versus Installed Base
by Mac Night Owl
To really get that market share up with new computer sales, Apple needs to be as aggressive in convincing its existing user base to switch to Mac OS X as it is with Windows and Unix users.

Review

Keynote
by Cortland Haws, TheMacMind.com
One thing it lacks in, though, is automation during the presentation.

Belkin iPod Case
by Russ Rocca, iPodlounge
The Belkin case is a decent everyday case. It's not going to protect your iPod if you drop it, but it will provide adequate scratch protection.

Where Next For RSS?
by Tm Bray, Textuality.com
I hate to be a wet blanket but I just don't see RSS readers persisting for too long as a standalone application class, this stuff just belongs in the browser.

ABSplus: "No Excuses" Hard Drive Backup Package Helps You Start To Prevent Data Loss
by Adam Engst, Macworld
The ABSplus generally worked well for us, and overall it compares favorably with other backup programs used in concert with a FireWire hard drive. If you don't already have a solid backup solution, it's an excellent way to start protecting yourself against data loss.

Upgrade The Lombard And Pismo PowerBooks
by Macworld
We reveal how to upugrade RAM and hard drive in the Lombard and Pismo models.

Sidetrack

Wednesday, January 22, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

WHAT AM I READING? : I wish I knew Italian, so that I can re-read The Luneburg Variation in its original language.

And I'm glad I didn't read any of the reviews at Amazon before I randomly picked this book up from the library.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING? : Chances are, you'll find at least one Applescript here that adds value to your listening pleasure.

WHAT ARE YOU EATING? : The quality of the ingredients is what makes the difference.

HONORS : The often-humorous As The Apple Turns, is one of the five best computers or technology weblog in this year's Weblog Awards.

ICON STORY : The battle for the desktop. (Shockwave)

Wintel

Microsoft To Seek Antitrust Deal With EU
by Reuters
The Commission was expected to take into account Microsoft's presentation and recent conditions imposed on the company by a U.S. court in its decision, the source said.

How Microsoft Could Get Out Of Shipping Java
by Marc Hedlund, O'Reilly Network
Sun's lawyers should have argued (or should have argued more strenuously) against any back door exit.

Microsoft To Buy PlaceWare
by Dennis Callaghan, eWeek
Microsoft Corp. announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire privately-held Web conferencing service provider PlaceWare Inc.

Dell Handheld Delays Irk Buyers
by Ian Fried, CNET News.com
Dell launched the competitively priced Axim X5 in November in a move that marked the direct PC seller's entry into the handheld computer market. But now message boards on Dell's Web sites are filled with complaints from buyers upset that they don't yet have the gadgets they ordered weeks ago.

Judge Sets Plan For Java In Windows
by Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com
A federal judge in Baltimore on Tuesday set a schedule that Microsoft must meet for including Sun Microsystems' Java programming language with its Windows operating system.

Microsoft Takes Wraps Off CRM Software
by Alorie Gilbert, CNET News.com
Microsoft released the first version of its customer relationship management software on Tuesday.

Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Top Stories

Is There Hope For Java?
by Farhad Manjoo, Salon
A judge has ordered Microsoft to make it easy for Sun's popular programming language to work with Windows. But the remedy may be too little, too late.

Wireless Far From Flawless
by Henry Norr, San Francisco Chronicle
For most people, my advice is to hold off on 11g for now — if you have to buy now, go with the tried and true 11b.

News

5GB iPod Unavailable At Apple Store Due To "Significant Holiday Demand"
by MacMinute

Apple Web Site Recognizes Safari Users
by MacMinute
Several MacMinute readers note that Apple's Web site now recognizes what browser you are using ó- as long as you are surfing with its new Safari Web browser.

Phoenix Browser For OS X Released
by MacNN

Opinion

Apple Takes On Enterprise Shine
by eWeek
To those who gripe about having only one real end-user IT choice, we have a suggestion: Stop complaining and look at Apple.

Focus Your Energies Wisely
by Ben Franklin, Entrepreneur
Don't spend so much time fighting competitors that you lose sight of what's important.

Review

Apple Safari 1.0 (Beta)
by Troy Dreier, PC Magazine
Speed is the main reason to try Safari, but the product also introduces several eyebrow-raising innovations.

Introductions To VPN's Under Mac OS X
by Thomas Vincent, OSXFAQ

AirPort Extreme: In The Key Of G
by Glenn Fleishman and Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
We're bullish on 802.11g because it's backwards compatible, and because it doesn't rely on unproven technology. Faster speed at about the same price? Count us in.

Sidetrack

Tuesday, January 21, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

AQUA : One of the casualty, I think, of the cross-platform reinvent-everything mentality of the Mozilla effort is the difficulty of adopting native features of operating systems.

TCO : "Although Windows is reasonably easy for the not-entirely-technically-competent person to install and administer, I think Macintosh leads it in that space." — Bruce Perens, former Linux/Open-Source strategist for HP.

YAHOO! : "I've got some really good news: I lost my job last week!" — Michael Clarke, in Hunkabutta

MUST BE BEFORE OS X : "I could make a Macintosh crash by sitting in front of it." — Bradley Belcher.

Wintel

When Bill Gates Speaks, Look For The Devil In The Details
by Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times
The Bill Gates who steps up to a conference podium is, in equal amounts, both sinner and savior ... and the devil will always be in the details.

Microsoft Reveals Source Code To Russia
by Reuters
Russia has become the first country to get its hands on one of the world's most closely guarded corporate secrets—Microsoft's blueprint for its Windows operating system, the software giant said Monday.

Monday, January 20, 2003

Top Stories

Apple Shows Real Substance Behind The Pretty Case
by Lee Gomes, Wall Street Journal
Who does Steve Jobs think he is, making the world of PCs interesting again?

News

Safari Tops 1 Million Downloads
by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral
Apple on Monday announced that its new Internet Web browser Safari has been downloaded more than 1 million times. Safari has been available as a public beta since it was introduced at Macworld Conference and Expo earlier this month.

Apple Enthusiasts Get All Wrapped Up In iPod
by Francine Brevetti, San Mateo County Times
MP3 player spawns robust harvest of accessories.

Apple's New Video Editor Designed For Business Use
by Charles Bermant, Seattle Times
With the new Final Cut Express, Apple is seeking to increase its presence in the video-editing market and offer professional capabilities to a wider user base.

Laptops Project To Boost Learning For Malcolm X Academy Students
by Mike Wendland, Detroit Free Press
"Technology lets every student have a seat in the front row."

O'Reilly Releases "Learning Unix For Mac OS X, Second Edition"
by MacMinute

Opinion

Computers Are Taking Over The World
by Patrick Richardson, Miami News-Record
It's fast, sleek and sexy. Only one problem. Stupid thing doesn't work right.

Meet Apple's Rendezvous — No Pain Networking
by David Coursey, ZDNet
It will be possible to bring home a new device—perhaps a video recorder or even new speakers—plug it in and start using it with no setup required. That's the world I'm really looking forward to.

Review

MacPower 60
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
The MaxPower 60 and its siblings are designed for those who must operate a laptop away from normal power sources for extended periods of time.

Connected Clothing For The Networked World
by Walter S. Mossberg, Wall Street Journal
Before you stuff one more gadget into your pocket, you might consider trying one of these garments. Some of them border on the geeky, but they also might make using your gadgets more convenient and comfortable.

Sidetrack

Monday, January 20, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

THE BROWSER WAR : The competition is not, I feel, between Safari and Internet Explorer and Mozilla.

Rendering of HTML data is a service provided by the operating system, something that Microsoft correctly supported in Windows, and something that Apple is now working on.

The competition, instead, will be the quality of such a service offered by the different operating systems: the completness and the usefulness of the APIs. The measurement indicator will be the number of innovative applications that arises from the availability of such an API from the operating system.

The result, so far, is a big fat zero (correct me if I'm wrong) on the Windows front. Apple do have some catching up to do, but the bar is not high at all.

THE SPELLING WAR : Echoing what David Coursey said... I once worked in a project with the code name Rendezvous. Nobody can spell the word correctly.

Wintel

Gates Upbeat About Technology's Future
by Paul Krill, Computerworld

Microsoft Sizes Up The Penguin
by Phil Hochmuth, Computerworld
A sign that the IT industry has taken notice of Linux is that for the second year in a row the world's biggest software firm (and Linux antagonist) will have a booth at LinuxWorld.

As Linux Nips At Microsoft, Its Advocates Talk Numbers
by Steve Lohr, New York Times
The evidence is now overwhelming that Linux, once a symbol of software's counterculture, has become a mainstream technology.

Sunday, January 19, 2003

News

6 Short Movies Reflect Real Life
by Alan Schnepf, San Bernardino County Sun
The six amateur filmmakers spent about a dozen Friday mornings learning how to use digital video cameras and filming things close to their lives.

Eight-Digit Salary Club To Drop Members
by Daniel Sorid, Reuters
Several executives who took home a bundle in 2001 — including Apple Computer's Steven Jobs and the chief of Tyco International's health-care unit — could lose their club membership with their pay dropping in 2002.

Opinion

Putting G Before A
by Ephraim Schwartz, InfoWorld
The choice of G is especially surprising because Apple practically owns the education and higher-education markets, which, according to most of the university IT people with whom I've spoken, are moving to A.

Review

No Reason To Pan Movie Maker 2's Effects
by James Coates, Chicago Tribune
Call it the Battle of the Ken Burns Effect. It's not a Civil War conflict but rather a clash between Microsoft Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. for the one area of home computing where Apple has been the hands-down winner—until now.

Sidetrack

Sunday, January 19, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

AIM for the fly, men.

Wintel

Windows Media Player: Easy On The Ears, But Not On The Eyes
by Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post
Unfortunately, the new Windows Media Player hasn't improved on its predecessor's inefficient, designed-by-committee looks.

What Lies Beneath
by Robert X. Cringely, PBS
Why Microsoft should build its next version of Windows on top of Linux.

Microsoft Unveils New CD Copy Protection
by Reuters
Microsoft announced on Saturday new digital rights software aimed at helping music labels control unauthorized copying of CDs, one of the biggest thorns in the ailing industry's side.

Saturday, January 18, 2003

News

"School Night At The Apple Store" Announced
by MacMinute
The program is "specially designed for K-12 schools to celebrate achievement."

Opinion

The Future Of Networking?
by Jason Deraleau, O'Reilly Network
I predict Rendezvous making it real big in our industry, especially in the home and small office markets.

Review

Windows iPod Music Player
by Sandy McMurray, The Globe And Mail
Like most Apple products, iPod for Windows sets a high standard for quality and features and charges accordingly. I think it's worth the price. Go get one — I will leave further rationalizations as an exercise for the reader.

Cleaning iTunes
by brian d foy, O'Reilly Network
Tidy up your MP3 records with a dash of AppleScript.

Friday, January 17, 2003

Top Stories

Mouth Wide Shut
by Joel Spolsky, Joel On Software
"Every word I say, by definition, is a promise."

Mix Master iPod Opens Up A World Of Sound
by Tom Mon, Chicago Tribune
Having so much music at your fingertips, with the ability to organize and quickly regroup tunes to follow one stylistic path or mix several, actually changes the listening experience.

News

Apple Silences iTunes P2P Software
by Mathew Broersma and Ian Fried, CNET News.com
Apple's move comes amid increasing hostility between the entertainment industry and music-swapping applications such as Kazaa and the now-defunct Napster.

Apple Posts 'iLife Up-To-Date' Details
by Peter Cohen, MacCentral
Apple on Friday offered details about its iLife Up-To-Date program, an incentive to get new Mac users to upgrade to the iLife package when it begins shipping later this month.

Apple Picks Up Wired Rave Award
by MacMinute
The Apple's Mac OS X team picked up an award for excellence in software design.

Students To Click With New Laptops
by Stephanie Angelyn Casola, Observer & Eccentric
The Livonia school board agreed to buy a mobile computer lab for classroom use at Johnson Elementary School.

Opinion

Is QuarkXPress Hurting Power Mac Sales?
by Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl
It may seem like an extreme headline, and perhaps a serious charge. But Apple's statements in recent weeks make it clear that Quark Inc.'s lateness to the Mac OS X party is having its effect.

Never Forget Your Customers
by Brian Babcock, The Globe And Mail
We may have to follow the example of Steve Jobs, who learned that it's with "hands-on" contact and real listening that a true understanding of the customer's problems can then be translated into a product that provides a solution and creates value.

Apple Needs More Of The Old Magic
by Mathew Ingram, The Globe And Mail
What Apple needs is something to drive sales in 2003 and 2004, and it's not clear that a new large laptop and a new small laptop will do it, or upgraded versions of the iMac and iBook.

How About An Apple-Sun Merger?
by Steve Anglin, O'Reilly Network
Given both companies' poor financial positioning in the equity market, an Apple-Sun merger or, at least, partnership would make sense for the following reasons.

David Pogue On Missing Manuals As Performance Art
by Jennifer Buckendorff, O'Reilly Network
Pogue dishes on what makes a poorly written guidebook, how it could be that Apple doesn't know what its own "letters" feature is, and why it's so important to him to get a book to press in a dizzying two weeks.

On iCommune
by Joey deVilla, Forwarding Address
The file-sharing capability might fall beyond the accepted definition of "console".

What Does That $8 Million Loss Mean?
by John H. Farr, Applelinks.com
The good news is that Apple is continuing to pump money into new products even in the midst of an unoffical recession.

Review

Heroes Of Might & Magic IV
by Jay Swartzfeger, Inside Mac Games
Heroes of Might and Magic IV is the best yet in the series. If youíre a fan of the legendary series or just looking for a new strategy title, then Heroes of Might and Magic IV will not disappoint.

iListen 1.5: New Speech-Recognition Software For OS X Lacks Polish But Offers Transcription Support
by Scholle Mcfarland, Macworld
At this point, IBM's ViaVoice—although it also has its flaws—is a better choice for most. The primary benefit of iListen today is the ability to transcribe documents dictated into a tape recorder.

Never Say Die
by Robb Mandelbaum, Smart Money
What to do when it costs more to fix your laptop than it's worth?

Links Championship Edition
by Adam Karneboge, MyMac.com
It is enjoyable in its current state if you have a relatively new Macintosh, but if your machine is more than two years old, forget about it.

PrinTrio
by Tim Robertson, MyMac.com
A good value. A good printer. You will not be unhappy with the PrinTrio.

Hexen II And Heretic II
by Bill Stiteler, Applelinks.com

PHP 4.3 And Mac OS X
by Adam Trachtenberg, O'Reilly Network
After reading this article, you'll know how to download, configure, and install your very own PHP on Mac OS X.

JBL Creature
by Patrick Leyden, Inside Mac Games
Keep in mind that sound fidelity can be very subjective, so if you are interested in the Creature speakers it would be a good idea to listen to them and decide for yourself. But after using the system for a few weeks, I found that the JBL Creature speakers deliver richly textured sound for both gaming and multimedia applications.

Sidetrack

Friday, January 17, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

OF RSS AND BANDWIDTH : "Just wanted to note that with sites like myapplemenu providing a full RSS feed I've stopped reading MacMinute's RSS feed and MacCentral's RSS feed. They just aren't useful to me." — john, in inluminent/weblog.

One concern many people have is the higher bandwidth imposed by RSS readers, causing the shrinkage of RSS content provided. Maybe there is a need for a P2P network (a la Usenet) for RSS feeds. Maybe RSS readers should default to a 24-hour updating frequency.

THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS : "MyAppleMenu has a lot of news that I look for on many places." — NUKLEOS weblog.

Thanks. I don't intend MyAppleMenu to be the one-stop newsstand for everybody. But if your interests coincide with mine nicely, welcome abroad.

Have you checked out the other sections in MyAppleMenu, such as Tomorrow and Reader?

AN APPLE A DAY : From Glenn Fleishman and Adam Engst, it's the Apple AirPort Weblog.

Another day, another poll. How much of an investment in Apple products does your organisation have?

THE PROBLEM WITH SINGAPORE'S WEATHER, is that it is almost never nice to venture outdoors. :-)

(Have a good two hours, Doc.)

Wintel

Microsoft Says Xbox Sales On Track
by David Becker, CNET News.com
A Microsoft executive said Friday that the company is on track to meet Xbox sales targets for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft: Security Fix Due For Phone OS
by Ben Charny, CNET News.com
Microsoft plans to update its Smartphone 2002 operating system to fix security flaws that make it possible to send rogue software programs to a specific model of phone that uses the OS, a representative said Friday.

Windows Media 9 Gets Sundance Showing
by Jum Hu, CNET News.com
Microsoft plans to screen four independent movies at the Sundance Film Festival with its Windows Media 9 Series software, as part of the company's ongoing efforts to warm Hollywood to its technology.

Microsoft Thrills, Chills Investors
by Joe Wilcox, CNET News.com
Microsoft's stock split and first-ever dividend weren't enough to overcome Wall Street's apprehension about the software giant's reduced projections for 2003.

One Year On, Is Microsoft "Trustworthy"?
by Robert Lemos, CNET News.com
A year after Bill Gates called for Microsoft to make its products more "trustworthy," executives are touting myriad initiatives as proof of the software giant's new resolve.

Microsoft Sets Dividend, Splits Stock
by Joe Wilcox, CNET News.com
Microsoft set its first-ever annual stock dividend Thursday and said it will split its stock as quarterly earnings surpassed expectations.

AMD Misses On Fourth-Quarter Earnings
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
Advanced Micro Devices on Thursday reported a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss, despite revenue from processor shipments rising by 60 percent from the preceding period.

Why 'Shared Source' Is A Lie
by Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, osOpinion
Having "access" to the source only means that it can be studied. Producing new software, or even fixing Microsoft's bugs, is strictly verboten.

Thursday, January 16, 2003

Top Stories

Apple's Looks, Functions Convert This PC Devotee
by Mike Wendland, Detroit Free Press
For years on radio and in my NBC News Channel reports, I've been known as PC Mike. So I'll explain that PC really stands for Personal Computer. For indeed, my new love for my Mac is very personal.

Apple Earnings Match Expectations
by Ian Fried, CNET News.com
Apple Computer on Wednesday posted fiscal first-quarter earnings that matched Wall Street estimates, with the Mac maker forecasting that sales and earnings would remain flat for the current quarter.

News

Warburg Reiterates "Buy" Rating For AAPL
by MacNN

Apple To Open Highland Park Retail Store On January 25
by MacMinute

Apple Rises After Q1 Report
by Rex Crum, CBS MarketWatch
Apple Computer shares continued to gain ground Thursday after the personal-computer maker reported a first-quarter net loss of $8 million, while forecasting a slight profit for its current quarter.

Apple Downgraded By Needham & Co.
by MacMinute

Symantec Reports 29 Percent Q3 Revenue Growth
by Paul Roberts, IDG News Service
Increasing demand among enterprises for the full range of Symantec's security products and services was responsible for the strong performance, according to Symantec, based in Cupertino, California.

Pumping It Up To 11: Music Is Rocking The Slopes
by John Clarke Jr., New York Times
"Music is essential to snowboarding and freestyle skinng."

Francais Made Fun
by Lorri Helfand, St. Petersburg Times
Modern technology makes a traditional subject interesting — and more easily learned — for kids at Tarpon Springs Middle.

iCommune Threatened By Apple
by MacMegasite
The author of iCommune, a music sharing plugin for iTunes, has received a "Notice of Breach and Termination of License" letter from Apple, stating that he violated the license to the Device Plug-in API which iCommune uses.

Connectix Updates Virtual PC To 6.0.1
by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral
The update addresses several issues bringing the most current version to 6.0.1.

Apple CFO Talks About Financials; The Road Ahead
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
iMac, iBook and PowerBook sales were solid, but that the Power Mac pro lineup remained the weak point in the company's lineup.

Interest Pinch Could Bruise Apple
by Ian Fried, CNET News.com
Apple Computer's checkbook may be earning lower interest, which could put a squeeze on the company's income.

Photography Class Changes Image
by Sara Dunn, The Argus Online
Photography class at Newark Memorial High School has moved into the 21st century.

Sony To Release Mac Fingerprint ID Solution
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
The FIU600 unit will offer fingerprint identification for, among other things, logging into Mac OS X.

Opinion

The DigiCam Chronicles: Assignment Macworld
by Derrick Story, O'Reilly Network
This is the first in an ongoing series of photo essays demonstrating how to get the most out of your digital camera.

Apple Loses Money! Quick, Sell Your Stock!
by John Manzione, MacNET 2.0

Apple Surprises All
by Marc Zeedar, MacOPINION

Apple's Financial: When Is A Loss Really A Profit?
by Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl
We can probably expect a steady stream of cool stuff from Apple over the coming year; enough, no doubt, to keep the Mac rumor mills running overtime.

Poll: Opinions Split On Intel Move
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
Macworld Online readers are split down the middle when it comes to the question of whether Apple should switch to Intel processors.

Apple's Safari Hunts Explorer Users
by David Zeiler, Baltimore Sun
The firm enters 'the browser wars' with its new software, but does Apple really have something else going on?

Apple: Long On Sizzle, Short On Steak?
by Ars Tecnica
When a core part of your business languishes that badly for that long, there's only one party who's ultimately responsible for the mess: you.

Confessions Of A Mac Collecting Addict
by Dustin Rinebold, Low End Mac
Do any of you have any suggestions of which Macs I should donate and which I should keep?

Review

Smallest PowerBook Has Ability To Make Apple Shine
by Walter S. Mossberg, Wall Street Journal
I found one notable drawback in the new PowerBook: Like its larger siblings, it gets pretty hot because of its metal skin. All in all, the 12-inch PowerBook is a dandy laptop — small, relatively inexpensive, yet powerful and beautiful.

Payback
by Nat Panek, Inside Mac Games

Sidetrack

Thursday, January 16, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

THE MYTH OF USER-INTERFACE

"Aqua might have some fancy bells and whistles, but at its core, it is a 'wrapper' around a UNIX kernel." — Timothy R. Butler

No, sir. User interface does not equal to wrappers, or skins, or pretty pictures.

STILL IN COPYRIGHT JAIL : Sorry, fellas. You're never coming out.

MY DEAREST... : I am going to use this article, where confidential information is retrieved from used hard disks, to convince my wife why we shouldn't throw away that Bondi Blue iMac in our storeroom, even though the power supply has already went dead.

PINGPONG AND iMAC at Heidelberg College Teen Center.

LISA : Hi, it's me again. (No, this is not a spam mail.)

Wintel

Intel Rewrites Itanium Roadmap
by Joe Fay, ComputerWire
Intel Corp has dramatically rerouted its Itanium 2 roadmap, delaying the transition of the 64 bit architecture to 90 nanometer technology but pulling forward its plans for a dual core version of the product.

Microsoft 2Q Seen Strong On Windows XP, Despite Xbox Drag
by Marcelo Prince, Dow Jones
Demand for personal computers was lackluster in the usually strong December quarter, but corporate spending on technology appears to have been better than feared. Microsoft partner and semiconductor giant Intel Corp. (INTC) said its profits doubled as revenue rose 3% in the December period.

Judge: 120 Days For Microsoft To Add Java
by Associated Press
Microsoft Corp. will have 120 days to release a version of Sun Microsystems' Java programming language for Windows after a federal judge issues his formal order against the software giant.

Microsoft's "Wireless Watch": How To Rescue It From Potential Doom
by Alan A. Reiter

Local Optimization, Or, The Trouble With Dell
by Joel Spolsky, Joel On Software
Michael Dell never told his employees to optimize for customer satisfaction or to optimize for delivery time, he told them to optimize for inventory velocity and nothing else, and that is what he got.

Security Flaw May Threaten Cell Phones
by Ben Charny, CNET News.com
Microsoft and U.K. carrier Orange are investigating whether hackers are sending rogue software to cell phones using Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 operating system.

Intel To Assemble Pentium 4 In China
by Reuters
Chipmaker Intel is set to begin its first CPU assembly in China this year at a newly upgraded plant, even as the company announced plans for a major cut in capital spending in 2003.

Intel Software Fine-Tunes Linux Code
by Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com
Intel announced on Tuesday new software to help programmers speed up Linux programs running on Intel Xeon and Pentium 4 processors.

Microsoft, Sun Disagree Over Java Order
by Reuters
A federal judge stepped in on Wednesday to referee a simmering dispute between Microsoft and Sun Microsystems over a court order that Microsoft start distributing Sun's Java programming language in its Windows operating system.

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Top Stories

Journalism 101: You Had To Be There
by Tom Yager, InfoWorld
Not one writer who claimed to have reliable inside sources at Apple was on the level. Apple's people kept their mouths shut and every nondisclosure agreement was honored. Steve Jobs got to surprise his Macworld audience. I couldn't be more pleased.

News

Apple Not To Everyone's Taste
by David Akin, The Globe And Mail
Some analysts sour on firm's prospects despite new wares.

Now Playing: The Human Genome
by Scarlet Pruitt, InfoWorld
Life sciencie technology is about as cutting-edge as it gets, but now it's apparently also hip.

J2EE Servers Reach Planet Apple
by Jack Vaughan, ADTmag.com
JRun 4 for Mac OS X could provide a low-cost alternative to some pricey Java servers now running on Unix or Windows.

Microsoft Commits To At Least One More Office Rev
by MacSlash

Maya Gets Oscar For Technical Achievement
by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral
Alias|Wavefront, has been awarded an Oscar for its development of Maya software, their professional 3D animation and effects package.

Opinion

Technology Press Versus Mac Users
by Mac Night Owl
Millions of Mac users may not embrace Jaguar or its successors for years and maybe never.

Is Apple Getting Too Cool Again?
by Alex Salkever, BusinessWeek
Steve Jobs wowed the Macworld faithful with more amazing stuff. My only worry: All this hardware, software, and stores could be distracting.

It's Crunch Time For Apple - Again
by Yeong Ah Seng, Straits Times
There is little doubt that Mac OS X is going places, but ultimately, third-party developers will have to be persuaded that there is a big enough market for their products.

Mac OS X Is Slow, But Safari Makes A Big Difference
by Julio Ojeda-Zapata, Pionner Press
Safari has the best bookmarking system Iíve seen. This browser is a keeper.

Baffling Software/Music Industry Copyright Deal
by Dan Gillmor, San Jose Mercury News
The ultimate meaning of these policy principles, which talk so smarmingly about "meeting the needs and expectations of our customers," is in the reality that we, the customers, are not really part of this process. These companies are dividing up the world. Our interests are secondary.

Review

Mac2Phone Delivers At Last
by Ron Carlson, Insanely Great Mac
Mac2Phone almost rocks.

iCab 2.9 Web Browser Released
by Charles W. Moore, Applelinks.com

Sidetrack

Wednesday, January 15, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

RUPERT GOODWINS ON MICROSOFT'S SMARTPHONE 2002: If you must place yourself in life-threatening situations with a mdoern information appliance as your only hope of rescue, don't pick something with an obscure user interface.

Oh, this is not a life-threatening situation, but did you know that you can disable pop-ups and pop-unders in IE?

Speaking of blocking, here's a way to block most advertisement in all your web browsers on Mac OS X. Warning: Some command line stuff needed.

Wintel

Judge To Hear Microsoft, Sun Proposals
by Darryl K. Taft, eWeek
The judge overseeing Sun Microsystems Inc.'s legal battle with Microsoft Corp. has asked attorneys for both sides to come before him Wednesday afternoon to discuss the caseónamely how Microsoft will comply with the court's order to include Java in Windows.

Dell Eyes Linux Future Despite Desktop Retreat
by Ashlee Vance, IDG News Service
In the case of the Linux desktop, Dell pulled back on large investments in 2001 as demand faltered, Dell said. But this failure has not stopped the company from attacking the nascent markets for HPCC (high-performance computing clusters) and for Linux clusters running Oracle Corp. database software.

Nokia And Microsoft On Collision Course
by Marko Junkkari, Helsingin Sanomat
The present development towards wireless networking and handheld computers will undoubtedly lead to a battle between Nokia and Microsoft — two leviathans and leaders of once discrete markets.

Microsoft To Face Questions On Cash Mountain
by Reuters
Investors are expected to be as interested in hints from Microsoft Corp. about plans for its $40.5 billion cash mountain as they are about this week's quarterly earnings report which is expected to show record sales.

Microsoft To Give Governments Access To Code
by Steve Lohr, New York Times
To try to slow the acceptance of the Linux operating system by governments abroad, Microsoft is announcing today that it will allow most governments to study the programming code of its Windows systems. Under the program, governments will also be allowed to plug their security features instead of Microsoft's technology into Windows.

Transmeta Notches Up Notebook Security
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
Chipmaker Transmeta is aiming to help notebook owners tighten the security of their personal data by incorporating into its Crusoe line features that protect sensitive information.

Intel Earnings Beat Targets
by John G. Spooner, CNET News.com
Intel on Tuesday reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, thanks in part to stronger sales of high-end processors for PCs and servers.

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Top Stories

Mozilla Hurt By Apple Blast
by Paul Festa, ZDNet
AOL Time Warner's Mozilla project is facing new questions about quality after Apple Computer's release of a browser based on rival open-source code.

Music, Technology Groups Agree On