Monday, November 17, 2003
Top Stories
Thrill Ride
"Using Macs wasn't just a design choice — it was a ruthless business decision. We crunched the numbers, and for evey scenario they spelled out Mac."
News
Swim With The Big Fish
"We're known for being extremely efficient, meaning we get the job done very economically. So the Macintosh gives us an enormous advantage over our competition."
IMG Interviews Andrew Welch
It's been over a decade since Andrew Welch created Ambrosia Software.
iCab Web Browser Updated
The update includes a new version of the OpenSSL library that fixes some security issues of previous versions of this library.
Apple Updates Bluetooth Software
The update provides enhanced stability for Bluetooth connections and improves performance with human interface devices (HID) including enhancements to wake from sleep.
FrogPad Aims To Cut Keyboard Size
The five-employee, Houston-based start-up is actively marketing a fully functional, 20-key keyboard at Comdex this week, which measures three inches by five inches—about the same size as a personal digital assistant.
Mixed Outlooks For iPod, iTunes
Apple is consolidating iPod as the world's market-leading MP3 player, but industry watchers warn that the iTunes Music Store is far less likely to enjoy such domination.
Opinion
Sony, Take A Page From Apple's Playbook
The electronic division may have its best shot at redemption by creating a content distribution business that boosts the consumer appeal of its hardware, much as Apple has buoyed its iPod MP3 player sales with its iTunes download service.
How Linux And The Mac Can Compete Against Windows
The lesson of Windows 95 is that the dominant vendor doesn't have to be better than competing platforms, it only has to be good enough.
Review
Serious Mac OS X File-Save Bug Could Delete Files
Power Mac G5 Puts Apple In The Big Leagues
Power Macs are really for power users.
15-Inch PowerBook G4
If portable power is your prime directive, the 15-inch PowerBook is the just right answer to your this one's too small, that one's too big PowerBook dilemma.
After Effects 6.0
If you use After Effects for compositing work, the Professional Edition is truly a must-have update. If you don't need such high-end compositing firepower, the AE Standard edition, with its new type engine and zippy Open-GL rendering, is a worthy upgrade.
Dual 2GHz Power Mac G5
Not only is the Dual 2GHz Power Mac G5 the fastest Mac ever, but after developers optimize all their software for the G5 processor, Apple rolls out a 64-bit OS, and developers create 64-bit applications, it'll be even faster. We can't wait.
DVD Studio Pro 2
Once you get the hang of its sprawling interface, you'll be able to build full-featured disks from scratch with relative ease and speed.
iView MediaPro 2
Advanced features such as version control; the ability to create multimedia slide shows; the option to store, back up, and burn digital files to CD-ROM and other media; and the ability to automate tasks using AppleScript make it an ideal tool for both serious creative professionals and small workgroups.
Pro Tools LE 6.1.1
It's as easy to use as ever, and much easier to set up, thanks to OS X's Core MIDI and Core Audio.
Retrospect Desktop Backup 5.1
Retrospect Desktop Backup is great for businesses that make incremental, frequent backups on multiple media. For personal use, though, it's overkill.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
No matter how mad or sad your skills are, Pro Skater will challenge you — and if you're anything like us, it will lead to obsession, sleep deprivation, unbelievably sore thumbs, and great satisfaction.
Sidetrack
MEET ANDY RUFF, your new program manager for Entourage.
WHAT AM I HEARING NOW? : Remember all those scrolling news tickers that was all the "rage" when Java applets and applications first came on the scene? Pretty annoying. If I want to read the news, I'll go to a web site and read the news.
But then, maybe there's a use for all those tickers, afterall? The idea I'm thinking is perhaps the lyrics to the song I'm listening right now. Now, somebody just need to create a tunes-to-text interface...
WHERE'S THE SUNSHINE? : "Singapore is currently in effect running on the equivalent of hte usual 'Spring Forward, Fall Back' type of Daylight Saving Time... Albeit we are on this DST throughout the year." — The long history on how Singapore got its time zone.
RUMOR DU JOUR : 20-inch iMac and Dual-1.8 GHz G5, coming soon.
Wintel
Euopean Hearing Against Microsoft Ends
Sun, RealNetworks presented arguments on last day.
Microsoft Pries Open Office 2003
Microsoft on Monday said it will license the XML-based file formats used in the latest edition of its Office applications on a royalty-free basis.
Start-Up Promises Streaming Desktop Apps
Start-up Softricity is looking to reduce the cost of managing desktop Windows applications with a server software product the company says takes a step toward an industrywide vision of utility computing.
Microsoft Tests Web News Service
Microsoft has started testing an international news search service in competition with Google's, upping the ante in the hotly contested Web search market.
Five Myths About 'Wronghorn'
Microsoft promises the world with Longhorn, but customers may call it "Wronghorn" by the time it sees the light of day, several years from now.
RealNetworks Says Windows Works Without Media Player
In a demonstration before European competition regulators on Friday, RealNetworks, maker of a music- and video-playing computer program called Real One, showed how a little-known version of Windows - Windows XP Embedded, which is licensed only for industrial use - can work without Microsoft Media Player attached, three people at the closed-door hearing said.
Microsoft Plans To Sell Music Over Web
In a move likely to send waves through the growing online music market, Microsoft plans to introduce a song-downloading service next year that will compete with similar offerings from Apple, Roxio's Napster and others, Monday's Wall Street Journal reported.
Vision Of Personal Computers As Heart Of Home Entertainment
If Intel and Microsoft have their way, the personal computer will soon be moving out of the office and den into the living room, kitchen and bedroom.
Why Computers Are Screwed Up
All I can say is it's a good thing Bill Gates didn't invent television. If it took as long to start up a television set as it takes to start up a computer, you'd need two hours to watch 60 Minutes.
Gates Addresses Spam, Security Flaws At Comdex
Addressing a more button-down crowd than in past years, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates attempted Sunday to usher in a new era of computing he dubbed "seamless computing."
Microsoft And EU To Detail Office Accord
Microsoft this week is slated to make a major announcement with an unspecified European government to ease interoperability issues between its Office software suite and third-party programs, as well as alleviate its overseas antitrust headaches.