Welcome
 Wednesday, October 8, 2003 |
BloggerCon Redux
I (Bryan Bell) had an excellent time at BloggerCon 2003. At first I was skeptical of the event but the trip really helped me to clarify my concept of blogging, and to put faces, and personalities to the blogs I read every day.
I want to thank everyone who came up to me throughout the conference to thank me for my themes. I told Dave Winer that I felt like a rock star. Thanks! In the future I hope to create even more resources and themes for the blogging community.
Day one was very interesting. I sat behind David Weinberger who has some excellent writings on the event, and next to Heath Row who produced an near verbatim transcript of the event. That guy can type FAST!!!
David Weinberger points out that Ed Cone suggested Yom Kippur should become a national holiday: "Yom Kippur is a day of introspection and not eating, and if there was ever a culture in need of introspection and not eating, we’re it." I think that is a fantastic Idea.
Chris Lydon was very busy interviewing many luminaries who attended BloggerCon. (123456)
Erin Clerico was very excited to meet Dan Bricklin, one of the creators of VisiCalc. Erin went to announce/demonstrate is new Virtual Manila Server Hosting service.
Erin Clerico and I took a few photos at BloggerCon/Boston. I put some of them of them together here.
Doc Searl, who happens to be a very nice/cool person said "[BloggerCon] was one of the best conferences I've ever attended"
One of the the things that stuck me about the event, was the glut of really brilliant people. I was Humbled by the Intelligence that was apparent everywhere I looked.
Boston is a wonderful city, and I wish I scheduled more time so I could explore its rich culture and people. I especially wish I was there after game 5 when I'm sure I would have been privy to dancing in the streets, Go Sox! [BryanBell.com] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, August 12, 2003 |
Beta: Cross-platform rich text editor for Mozilla/Radio
The Radio/Mozilla wizzy editor I've been working on for the last couple of days is now in beta.
(I'm usingit to editthis post -- yay!)
If you're comfortable running beta software, or if you're a Mac user who likes Mozilla and you're hungry for WYSIYG text editing for your blog, please help test the new feature by following the instructions in this message on the radio-dev mail list.
Don't forget to send an email to the list to let us know how it's working for you.
While the feature is in beta for Radio users, I'm going to be workingon the Manila version. Since most of the code is shared, the Manilaversion will probably be released at nearly the same time as the Radioversion, Murphy willing...
[Jake's Radio 'Blog] # - Discuss
| Monday, August 11, 2003 |
Jake Did IT! Wizzy for the rest of us.
Wow I am Stunned. Jake did it! Soon a Wizzy for Mozilla will be incorporated into Manila/Radio. This will be a huge boon for my users, especially since the new Mozilla Wizzy is generates CSS, and includes a feature for creating tables. - this is going to be great!
I've got WYSIWYG editing working in my copy of Radio running withMozilla on MacOS X. It should work with Mozilla 1.3 or greater, on allplatforms.[BryanBell.com] # - Discuss (1 response)
I'm using it right now to create this post. (Cool, heh?) Here's a screenshot.
In a lot of ways, it seems more powerful than the editor included withIE 5 and up (Windows only). For example, it's got multi-levelUndo/Re-do, and it uses inline styles to do its formatting, instead ofthe rather ugly HTML that IE produces.
I'm planning on releasing a beta for Radio users later today. (Don'tworry -- a Manila version will be close behind, since most of the codeis shared.)
Happy. :-)
[Jake's Radio 'Blog]
| Tuesday, August 5, 2003 |
Hand-cranked Game Boy
This hand-crank charger for the Game Boy Advance is out in Japan for about US$15 -- not sure if it's available in the US.
| Friday, August 1, 2003 |
Lightning is COOOOOL
Last night we had a crazy lightning storm. Lightning in Bakersfield is fairly uncommon, for instance we might get a good lightning storm once every 2 years. So if you like lightning, you better get up and go take some photos, cause you're not going to see is again for a long while. And that's what I did. I'm glad that even half asleep I had the sence to set up my camera on a tripod, and take a very long exposure.
[BryanBell.com] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, July 29, 2003 |
Mozilla makes IE extinct
At the weekend, inspired by this site, I decided to download and install Mozilla Firebird 0.6.Wow.
I think I was initially surprised that under windows XP it ran, and not only ran, but ran quickly and reliably. I then went off to those rich content sites like macromedia shockwave, and the bbc. After a little searching and tweaking I had flash, shockwave and realone plugins plugged in and working. I was also nicely surprised that it had imported all my bookmarks from IE. It borrows a lot from the UI experience of IE, but adds so mouch more...
Themes, security, popup blocking and my best new toy Tabbed browsing all beat IE 6.whatever hands down. Congratulations to the OpenSource community, congratualtions to Mozilla Firebird my new defualt HTML browser. [Living Without Microsoft] # - Discuss
| Monday, July 28, 2003 |
Apple Cube: Alive and Selling
Apple discontinued the Power Mac G4 Cube three years ago, yet the machine commands a stronger following than ever. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] # - DiscussBuyMusic encounters first glitch
USA Today reports that early BuyMusic.com customers have found they can't transfer purchased tracks to their portable digital music players... [MacMinute.com] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, July 16, 2003 |
Will Mozilla fade and disappear? Gawd I hope not!!!
Even though Mozilla will continue, and that many of the folks let go today will continue to devote time and energy to it, the latest news feels like a blow to the web as a whole. Just more signs that Microsoft has successfully taken control of the internet.This will be that biggest test of the "open-source" community. Lets hope that Mozilla will be able to continue to innovate.
"It has been learned through public and private sources that AOL has cut or will cut the remaining team working on Mozilla in a mass firing and are dismantling what was left of Netscape (they've even pulled the logos off the buildings). Some will remain working on Mozilla during the transition, and will move to other jobs within AOL.[BryanBell.com] # - DiscussThe news isn't all doom and gloom, folks. I've been informed that the number of volunteer Mozilla hackers started eclipsing the number of Netscape hackers last month, and that a number of folks have already been snatched up by other organizations." - mozillazine.org
| Thursday, June 26, 2003 |
5 out of 6 bells agree
Link: bryanbell.com: Mainly Design NewsWhat we need is a campaign to show IE users what cool technologies they are missing out on. Hopefully this will inundate Microsoft with feature requests. If Microsoft is as good of a listener as then say they are then the updates we need will come quickly. If not then Mozilla Firebird is an excellent browser and a slip in IE's market share might be the motivation Microsoft need to update IE.See, I'm not the only Bell concerned with IE's lack of PNG support and misimplementation of CSS. 5 out of 6 Bells agree, in fact, that IE's myriad problems are a hindrance to web designers everywhere, and when we have the Bell caucus later this summer, we'll draw up a plan to throw our collective Bell weight around.
For the record, as far as I know, I am not related to Bryan Bell. # - Discuss
Multitasking OS for the Mattel Intellivision
If this really works, this is the coolest hobby OS I've seen it a while. IntyOS is an operating system for the old Intellivision gaming console. There are Intellivision emulators available if you'd like to try it out, but it's acutally possible to run this on the original console if you have a (now out of production) "Intellicart" unit. Of course, there are few applications for it (clock, CPU load, "IntyAmp"), so its chances of unseating Windows on the corporate desktop are slim. # - DiscussOK I have a secret need to know what the Amiga Community is up to.
I understand it's a sickness, but I like reading Amiga/MorphOS forums. They're full of odd eccentric people. Maybe since I'm a Mac zealot, I read them to get a sense of what to PC community is feeling about mac users. Im sure to an outside observer "Mac guys" are just as weird and aloof as the Amiga-people are to me. But then again these forums are filled with people who are a special kind of Crazy. Some of them are still under the impression that their Circa 1989 Amiga 4000, with PPC upgrade cards can still blow the doors of any PC on the market.
Here's my favorite quote for a recent debate about the new PowerMac G5.
i can take a orginal amiga and beat both the mac G5 and the pc . add a few more cpus make it even more faster . i cant do that with a mac or a pc im limited to what i can add on. its true they are stuck on mhz this ghz that. but didi you ever think of true -real time -ah thats something only the orginal amiga had. the ironic part is mac is goingto be pure pc by either using the clawhammer or itanium -hum the pegasos is too. At least the amiga rocks. - anonymous# - Discuss
| Wednesday, June 18, 2003 |
Internet Explorer
The key to understanding why Microsoft has killed IE: follow the money. [Daring Fireball] # - DiscussBBC : "A US senator wants to...
BBC: "A US senator wants to develop new technology which would remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music tracks." [Scripting News] # - Discuss
| Friday, May 23, 2003 |
Final 802.11g standard slows to 20Mb/sec
Infoworld reports: "The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has approved a new and final draft standard for 802.11g wireless LANs that will have a true throughput for Internet-type connections of between 10M and 20Mbit/sec., far lower than 54Mbit/sec. raw data rate initially billed for the standard....he lower actual vs. raw data rates for 802.11g arose from the need to assure backward compatibility with millions of existing 802.11b Wi-Fi client devices and access points that operate in the same 2.4-GHz frequency band....even at these data rates the 802.11g devices still outperform 802.11b devices, which have a raw data rate of 11Mbit/sec. but an actual throughput of about half that speed." Apple adopted a preliminary version of the standard for its AirPort Extreme products and touted a 54Mbps througput. A MacNN reader followed up on the article:"The article is misleading. The 802.11g now provides for 'better' backward compatibility in mixed environments, which will slow transmission (by about 2Mbps) on networks with both 802.11b and 802.11g devices. However, the networks almost never achieve the theoretical transmission maximums--in this case 54Mpbs on an 802.11g-only network; the actual transmission speeds of *both* the older and newly revised 802.11g standard is somewhere between 20-24Mpbs. So the revised standard may slow things a bit in mixed environments, but not as much as the article makes it seem."[MacNN] # - DiscussSafari for Windows?
MacPlus.org reports that Apple may be porting Safari for Windows.Safari is Apple's own Web Browser, which was released in January - to the surprise of many. Apple has already stated that iTunes 4 will be arriving for the Windows platform by the end of 2003, but has given no indications of porting other applications to the Windows platfor [MacRumors] # - Discuss (1 response)
| Tuesday, May 20, 2003 |
Palladium's Dirty Little Secret
The problem with turning off your NGSCB is that you can't read NGSCB documents that colleagues send you. Once a business buys into NGSCB, all its employees and all its partners must opt in, because document-sharing is critical to the enterprise.---
Can trusted computing be trusted? Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB, formerly named Palladium), is intended to make sure only trusted applications can run on your PC. But this is the question: trusted by whom?
It appears that the apps must be trusted by Microsoft or another third party. That is, the software will be on your PC, but if a user has NGSCB turned on, the decision about what's trusted will be made by someone else. I'm beginning to feel uneasy.
Look under the hood of NGSCB and you'll see that it's more concerned with protecting a certain software giant than the consumers who pay for its software. Still Vulnerable
Although parts of NGSCB are still in development, in essence it's a software-hardware combination (Intel is making the chip) that creates a secure data vault on your PC. At its best, the system combats viruses and creates a secure way to move data among memory systems, the hard drive and other trusted PC users.
But if the NGSCB system encounters files or applications that don't pass its test -- for example, that copy of a CD you made for personal use -- any number of things could happen, including forced disabling of software or remote administration of your PC.
You might ask, isn't loss of control worth it to protect ourselves from viruses and other hacking attacks? Perhaps -- if NGSCB actually did that.
But as it stands now, Outlook, a major virus portal if ever there was one, will be a trusted NGSCB application. So, even after you give up partial control over your PC, the system still doesn't close all the holes.
Read More here: http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/21530.html # - Discuss
| Monday, May 19, 2003 |
MacSoft to ship Unreal Tournament 2003
Destineer subsidiary MacSoft today announced that its long-awaited conversion of Unreal Tournament 2003 will hit stores on June 11.Unreal Tournament 2003 is the latest version of the popular first person shooter. Created by Digital Extremes in collaboration with Epic Games Inc., the game was published for the Mac by Atari. The Mac version is currently in development at Epic and will be published by MacSoft next month.
First unveiled to attendees of January's Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Unreal Tournament 2003 features arena-style gameplay where players can either go online on LANs or the Internet and compete against each other, or against other "bots," or computer controlled players. Unreal Tournament 2003 features a variety of new features and capabilities, weapons, maps and more. # - Discuss (4 responses)
| Tuesday, May 13, 2003 |
Huge hole in MS Passport
We haven't really been covering the neverending parade of MS security holes, but this one is too big to pass up. From the BBC's coverage:Microsoft has admitted that for the last seven months up to 200 million Passport accounts have been vulnerable to plundering by thieves and malicious hackers. The loophole in the online identity service only seems to have been exploited in the last month and Microsoft said it had locked all compromised accounts and fixed the bug...The Passport bug was found by Muhammad Faisal Rauf Danka, a freelance computer security consultant. Some of the Passport accounts owned by Mr Danka and his friends had been hijacked. In discovering how this was done, he found the website that gives privileged access to personal accounts and lets passwords be reset.
"It was so simple to do it. It shouldn't have been so simple," said Mr Danka, "Anyone could have done this." Reportedly Mr Danka sent 10 messages to Microsoft detailing the vulnerability but got no response.
Microsoft only reacted when information about the flaw was posted online.
Oops.[Ars Technica] # - Discuss
Sony to release handheld game player
LOS ANGELES--After winning the battle for the living room, Sony now wants your pockets.The electronics giant, whose PlayStation 2 games console has outsold rivals from Microsoft and Nintendo 3-to-1, announced plans Tuesday for a handheld game player.
The PSP, introduced during a press conference in advance of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show here, would compete to some extent with Nintendo's Game Boy, which has all but owned the portable game market for more than a decade.
But Sony apparently has grander plans than a nice game of Tetris. The PSP will have a screen capable of showing 3D images, stereo sound, USB 2.0 connectivity and a custom processor built on cutting-edge 90-nanometer chipmaking technology. # - Discuss
| Tuesday, April 29, 2003 |
iTunes for Windows... and AOL?
Fortune Magazine was apparently given an exclusive on the new iPods and Music Service.They published a series of articles on Apple's new offerings, and provides some details and industry opinions of the planning and execution of the new service.
Of particular interest mentioned in the article are the economics of the endeavour -- with Apple paying the record companies an average of 65cents per track... as well as Apple's expansion into Windows.
According to the article, Apple is planning on introducing a Windows version of iTunes -- not only that, but it's also trying to land a deal in which AOL would adopt iTunes as its music management software... opening the doors to AOL's 26 million subscribers. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, April 16, 2003 |
Florez reverses on classic car smog rules
With Jay Leno and the rest of California's classic car buffs on his case, State Sen. Dean Florez has dropped his proposal to require smog checks for cars as old as 1958 models.
Leno, "The Tonight Show" host who has a large collection of vintage autos, personally called Florez's office to lobby against the plan.
The lawmaker was also inundated with letters, e-mails and phone calls from many other members of the highly organized hobby car community.
One of their tools was a cartoon depicting Florez in his state-leased SUV chasing classic cars out of California.
Florez was forced to back down on the bill, one in a package of 10 bills aimed at cleaning up the air in the Central Valley, before it even got its first legislative hearing. [ccFalconClub News] # - Discuss (2 responses)
| Tuesday, April 15, 2003 |
Florez collides with classic car buffs over bill to tag them with emission rules
Despite heavy opposition from classic car owners and businesses, state Sen. Dean Florez is pushing ahead with legislation that would require owners of all older cards to meet the stateês emission standards.Current law exempts pre-1974 vehicles because they were not originally equipped with smog control devices.
The Florez bill, SB 708, is scheduled to be heard April 29 by the Senate Transportation Committee where Florez, D-Shafter, is a committee member.
Opponents have deluged the senator with telephone calls, emails and letters, urging him to withdraw the measure. Political cartoons depicting Florez in his SUV chasing classic cars out of the state are circulating via emails, public forums, and web sites. Manufacturing and repair shops have posted them on walls. Some of Florezês constituents are talking about recalling him, or supporting a rival in the next election.
Florez says he won't capitulate. more [ccFalconClub News] # - Discuss
Political Impact
Apparently My Political cartoon about Dean Florez's SB 708 had some impact. In an article by Roberta Barth of the Political Pulse (a newsletter of California politics, government and transportation), she said that:
"Opponents have deluged the senator with telephone calls, emails and letters, urging him to withdraw the measure. Political cartoons depicting Florez in his SUV chasing classic cars out of the state are circulating via emails, public forums, and web sites. Manufacturing and repair shops have posted them on walls. Some of Florez's constituents are talking about recalling him, or supporting a rival in the next election."I think that it's pretty cool that people have been posting my cartoon on their shop walls. You can read the entire article here. [BryanBell.com] # - Discuss (1 response)
| Monday, April 14, 2003 |
LinuxWorld: " Migrating to Linux not easy...
London as a starry galaxy
File-paths don't infringe trademark
One for the good guys: a Sixth Circuit court has ruled that file-paths don't violate trademark: in other words, http://www.trademark.com might be infrigning, http://www.foo.com/trademark/trademark2/trademark3.html isn't.Panther Feature: 'Piles'
MacNews.net.tc linked this article from 2000 entitled "Apple Squandering the Advantage".Of most interest is a description of a long-patented UI feature of Apple's... known as "Piles":
Apple holds a patent on this one. Developed by Gitta Salomon and her team close to a decade ago, a pile is a loose grouping of documents. Its visual representation is an overlay of all the documents within the pile, one on top of the other, rotated to varying degrees. In other words, a pile on the desktop looked just like a pile on your real desktop.A recent Naked Mole Rat Report from MacEdition claims that Mac OS X 10.3 will bring us an implementation of Piles... along with some new dynamic featuers causing windows to "shrink and jump" in response to users' movements.To view the documents within the pile, you clicked on the top of the pile and drew the mouse up the screen. As you did so, one document after another would appear as a thumbnail next to the pile. When you found the one you were looking for, you would release the mouse and the current document would open.
Piles, unlike today's folders, gave you a lot of hints as to their contents. You could judge the number of documents in the pile by its height. You could judge its composition very rapidly by pulling through it.
Of note, LoopRumors had recently claimed that Panther will be "unlike anything else" and raises hopes on the upcoming release. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
Safari Public Beta 2 (v73) Released
Apple released the latest public beta of Safari today:Safari Public Beta 2 features tabbed browsing, autofill forms & passwords, privacy ?reset?, import of Netscape and Mozilla bookmarks, increased standards compatibility, improved AppleScript support, and localized language support for English, Japanese, French and German.The long awaited version officially brings Tabbed Browsing to the popular Apple browser. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
| Friday, April 11, 2003 |
Elephant frees captive antelopes
"The matriarch of a herd of elephants in South Africa opened a gate with her trunk to free antelopes being held at a camp in the east of the country, conservationists said on Tuesday."LinkDiscuss(Thanks, Jim!) [Boing Boing Blog] # - Discuss10.2.5 OS X
Mac OS X 10.2.5 is now available Via Software Update for FREE. Just like that last 5 updates (Scott),
The 10.2.5 Update delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for the following applications, services and technologies: AirPort, Bluetooth, Classic compatibility, FireWire, Graphics, Image Capture, Mail, and OpenGL.The update includes improvements to AFP, web services, dial-up connections over PPP, and Windows file services, as well as audio, disc recording, graphics, and printing improvements.
The update also provides updated security services and includes the latest security updates.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25405 details improvements. [MacRumors] # - Discuss (2 responses)
Apple to Buy Universal Music?
Can it be true?Several readers report the following links: LaTimes and Spiegel Online indicating the same rumor -- that Apple is in talks with Vivendi Universal to buy Universal Music Group ("the world's largest record company"). From the LATimes:
The discussions, a closely held secret for several months, could founder over unresolved issues. Apple hasn't made a formal bid but may offer $5 billion to $6 billion for the music company before Vivendi's April 29 board meeting, according to the sourcesThe implications of which would be remarkable. The LATimes also notes Apple's rumored plans to offer music distribution online:
Defying conventional wisdom, Jobs apparently is betting that music is finally on the verge of becoming a profitable presence on the Internet. Apple has been quietly testing a service that some music business insiders believe could pave the way for widespread online distribution of songs. [MacRumors]# - Discuss
| Thursday, April 10, 2003 |
Qwerty
John C. Dvorak continues to trumpet the Apple-switching-to-Intel rumor... [Daring Fireball] # - Discuss (1 response)Sell Your Computers, Keep Paying MS For Licenses
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Licensing 6.0 requires a company to pay up on software maintenance when the computers that are covered under the license are sold off. Here's the kicker though: MS is no longer obligated to provide maintenance even though the contract is paid up! # - Discuss (2 responses)
| Tuesday, April 8, 2003 |
Gobe Returns
Gobe is back...Gobe produced an office suite for Windows, Linux and the BeOS platforms which met positive reviews... and until this most recent website update, Gobe had ceased business operations.
Apple reportedly recruited three of GoBe's founders (but not Gobe, itself) -- Scott Holdaway, Scott Lindsey, and Carl Grice -- who are currently working at Apple on an undisclosed project.
Apple is rumored to be working on a Office suite due later this year, according to ThinkSecret. The word processor component ('Document') was first reported by MacWhispers, and later corroborated by ThinkSecret. MacOSXRumors gave first notice of an Apple Office suite in the works in July 2002. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, April 1, 2003 |
BBC: Nude volleyball angers game makers...
The makers of a video game which features cyber babes playing volleyball have been angered by attempts to remove the women's digital bikinis.Japanese games developer Tecmo has warned of legal action against anyone who published information rendering the women in Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball completely nude during gameplay. [Scripting News] # - Discuss
| Monday, March 31, 2003 |
New Design for the Village News
I created a new theme for Sofea Clerico's Village News. It's a simple modification of the "SwimFan" Manila™ theme I released Friday. All I had to change was the background image, some of the link colors, and I inserted her new banner at the top. I know I say this a lot, but feel free to modify my themes for your site to make them fit you style better.
Sofea seems to like the design I sprung on her. she said:
"...the snappy new design was a COMPLETE surprise. Thank you Bryan Bell! Wow! Bryan is possessed of an artistic gift from the gods of design! The new design was quite timely. Now I will be obliged to put together a more entertaining blog to match his stylish touch. I am going to tuck in now, but will update tomorrow. Did I say THANK YOU, Bryan Bell? — Sofiea Clerico."[BryanBell.com] # - Discuss
| Friday, March 28, 2003 |
Manila Theme: Swim Fan
I created a new theme for and London based swimming-pool activist group (believe it or not). It's based on the Candid Blue Theme I did a few months ago, but it does not have any of the rapping navigations problems. It also features an Updated Discussion Group theme, and an Include message macro that gives users an area under that navigation that they can add to without digging into the template.
Frontier Server Managers can download this new theme here. [BryanBell.com] # - Discuss
| Thursday, March 27, 2003 |
'TIME-TRAVELER' BUSTED FOR INSIDER TRADING
Federal investigators have arrested an enigmatic Wall Street wiz on insider-trading charges -- and incredibly, he claims to be a time-traveler from the year 2256!Sources at the Security and Exchange Commission confirm that 44-year-old Andrew Carlssin offered the bizarre explanation for his uncanny success in the stock market after being led off in handcuffs on January 28.
"We don't believe this guy's story -- he's either a lunatic or a pathological liar," says an SEC insider.
"But the fact is, with an initial investment of only $800, in two weeks' time he had a portfolio valued at over $350 million. Every trade he made capitalized on unexpected business developments, which simply can't be pure luck. [Yahoo News] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, March 26, 2003 |
Rio maker SONICblue files for bankruptcy protection...
Morocco offers US monkeys to detonate mine
RABAT, D.C., Morocco, March 24 (UPI) -- A Moroccan publication accused the government Monday of providing unusual assistance to U.S. troops fighting in Iraq by offering them 2,000 monkeys trained in detonating land mines.The weekly al-Usbu' al-Siyassi reported that Morocco offered the U.S. forces a large number of monkeys, some from Morocco's Atlas Mountains and others imported, to use them for detonating land mines planted by the Iraqis.
The publication quoted a highly-informed source as saying, "that is not a scientific illusion but a well-known military tactic." # - Discuss
| Monday, March 24, 2003 |
Dvorak: Apple will go Intel.
John Dvorak, the most...a-hem...avid Macintosh user in the Mac community claims that Apple will switch to Intel within the next 12-18 months. Although many in the past have criticized Dvorak of being anti-Apple, he actually wrote this story as someone with a brain would. It appears he hasn't done his research very well, however, as he doesn't mention the possibility of IBM's 970 chip at all.His latest column predicts that Apple is on the verge of going Intel, as soon as July's MacWorld Expo.
Can someone refresh my memory, is this the same guy who predicted Apple's demise years ago? # - Discuss (2 responses)
| Tuesday, March 18, 2003 |
Farewell Old Friend: Apple iMac 1998 - 2003
Back in late 1998, I needed a computer for my office. I wasn't there much, and only did correspondence, light spreadsheet, and some equally light web update work from there. So, when I went shopping, my eyes turned toward Apple's recently introduced Bondi Blue lollipop. And, I ended up buying a a new 233Mhz iMac. [MacWhispers]# - DiscussP62 On 20th
If MacBidouille's rumours turn out right, Apple will give order to build the new case for the next PowerMac (yes, a newly designed case specifically to fit the new motherboards rumoured earlier), the P62, on 20. March 2003. This leads to speculation about when to expect new PowerMacs from Apple. Our own sources provide us with information that testing of the new motherboards is still a high priority, which contradicts the rumours that the motherboard has already be sent off for production, so while other rumours claim a release in about two or three months, we're not holding our breath: July/August is a much more likely date.Our sources also confirm that the motherboard is built around the thought of being able to hold PowerPC 7457 and PowerPC 970 processors. A release of the PowerPC 970 could be held off for later in the year, or Apple could release a line with dual G4 processors at 1.3 and 1.5 GHz (7457, running significantly cooler than the 7455 used now) and a high end machine with one PowerPC 970 at either 1.6 or 1.8 GHz, depending on what parts IBM will actually be able to deliver. (fryke) [macnews.net.tc] # - Discuss
10.3 due this Fall.
It appears that Apple is going to upgrade MacOS X to version 10.3 codenamed "Panther," the next major revision of its operating system, this Fall. Improvements are said to be as follows:
- System-wide metal interface
- Support for 64-Bit architecture
- QuickTime 6.5
- iChat 2.0 with videoconferencing capabilities
- Final Safari release 1.0 GM
- Updated iApps (possible inclusion of iWorks?)
- Enhanced Dock features
- Overall system speed enhancements
- Optimized for the new systems
We'll keep you informed of any new developments and information we receive as it becomes available.
| Thursday, March 13, 2003 |
I need a fog blaster!
Apple Aware of Speed Gap
Sources inside Apple have told LoopRumors that increasing the clock speeds of its computers has become a major priority. The gap between the current G4 chips and its competitors such as Intel and AMD has strongly affected sales. Our sources have revealed that sales of Apple's pro line have been lagging for nearly two years as a result. The good news is that changes are "well under way." Our sources also hinted but wouldn't confirm that the current PowerMac form factor will be the last, as the new processor will reportedly bring a new design to the Pro line. When asked when we might see these changes, we were simply told: "Before the Fall." # - DiscussThe Ultimate Lock-In
Microsoft Office 2003, which recently went into public beta, has the potential to tie customers to Microsoft products all the way down the line: desktop, productivity applications and server systems. [osOpinion] # - DiscussThe Downward Spiral
| Wednesday, March 12, 2003 |
CeBit: PPC 970's up to 1.8GHz
Car lovers recognise vehicles as faces
Men who are fanatical about cars identify vehicles using the same brain circuitry used to recognise faces, new research shows.Forty men, half of whom were proven automobile aficionados, were fitted with sensors to monitor electrophysiological activity in part of the brain linked with facial identification. They were then asked to identify faces and cars, individually and then together.
The car lovers had greater difficulty in recognising vehicles from isolated details, suggesting they recognise them "holistically". This method is normally associated with facial identification. [New Scientist]
| Monday, March 10, 2003 |
Hardware PC versus Software PC
Last week's article on PC buying proved surprisingly timely. Even as I debated the cost difference between a hardware and software solution, things were changing. If you haven't heard the news, Microsoft just bought the Virtual PC line of products from Connectix!In many ways this makes sense. Virtual PC is a complimentary product to everything Microsoft offers, and of course every copy of VPC sold is just another PC to Microsoft. Microsoft certainly won't be killing off the product.
My hope is that with Microsoft controlling both VPC and the OSes that run on it, the product will drop in price. After all, I can't be the only person to notice that a $250 software product is expensive compared to a $300 hardware product! With Microsoft making most of its money on the OS and other software packages, perhaps they can make the price of the software make much more competitive. [macopinion] # - Discuss
| Friday, March 7, 2003 |
ABCNEWS.com : Lawyer Arrested for Wearing a...
ABCNEWS.com : Lawyer Arrested for Wearing a 'Peace' T-Shirt [Daypop Top 40] # - Discuss (1 response)Camino 0.7 Released
Camino 0.7 has been released. Check out mozilla.org for details. Lots of new stuff, especially if you're coming from 0.6. It now has a history sidebar (yay!) and an improved download manager. Kudos to Pink, Simon, Brian, and the rest of the gang.
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - Discuss
| Thursday, March 6, 2003 |
More Info on SB708
Wade Nunez (Fortune Motors Inc.) Wrote this on the Ferrarilist Discussion group.A little more information about California Senate bill *SB 708* (authored bySenator Florez), which if passed would make smog checks required of all(gasoline powered) cars in California up to *45* model years old starting in2005.[ccFalconClub News] # - DiscussI spoke with *Michael* in Senator Florez' office today. He stated that theyare trying to *define* classic cars in order to exempt them from thisrequirement. He also stated that if they could not do so, they would not goforward with the legislation. I asked if "public input" was sought and Michaelsaid they would prefer *LETTERS* addressed to the Senator's Sacramento office(see address below). Letters should clearly state the writer's position onthis issue. Let's provide that "public input" in a big way!
I would also suggest that you contact (write or call) both your Assemblyrepresentative and your State Senator, to also state your opposition to theprovisions of SB 708 (see link below to locate your state representatives).
I ask that you help circulate this information by forwarding this informationto any other relevant mailing lists you may be on. Below are links to the billitself, the author, and a web site where you can locate your electedrepresentatives.
Send letters to the author of the bill to:
Senator Dean Florez
State Capitol, Room 4090
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-4641
Fax (916) 327-5989
| Wednesday, March 5, 2003 |
Denali Driving Dean
Pat Delaney goaded me into making an editorial cartoon about my displeasure with SB708. he suggested that I should show classic cars as animal being herded out of California by Dean Florez. California would then be depicted as "Denali refuge for SUV's."Since every argument is better when distilled into one Visual Image, I started work on it last night. And this is what I ended up with.
[BryanBell.com] # - Discuss (1 response)I'm Still Upset About SB 708
Seems as though I'm not the only one upset...Senate Bill 708 (SB 708)- INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 21, 2003. repeals the current pro-hobbyist exemption for vehicles 30 years and older and replaces it with an exemption for vehicles that are 45 or more model years old commencing January 1, 2005. This means your 30 year old car emission exemption goes to 45 years; Yes, your car will need to be made in 1960 or before to be exempt from smog laws! This bill may be acted upon on March 25, 2003.This bill was introduced by Senator Dean Flores, who drives a 12 mpg GMC Denali. (Senator Dean Florez is from District 16.) Please write, phone, fax and email your local assemblyman (woman) and State Senator to lodge your protest against this bill... [CaliforniaCarClubs]
If you would like to make your voice heard on this subject, then I invite you to fax your legislature. A list of California Legislatures can be found here.
Also, If you would like to call Dean Florez's office to register your opinion, his number is (661)395-2620. I'm told that a nice lady will answer your phone call to take down youe name and position.
More Contact Info
Capitol Office
State Capitol Room 4090, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-4641; Fax: (916) 327-5989District Office
2550 Mariposa Mall Suite 2016, Fresno, CA 93721
Phone: (559) 264-3078 Fax: (559) 445-6506[BryanBell.com] # - Discuss (1 response)
| Tuesday, March 4, 2003 |
More reasons BlueTooth Rocks
Sony Ericsson Clicker is a revolutionary application, allowing you to remotely control a wide range of applications with your Sony Ericsson phone.
If you don't have one of the compatible Sony Ericsson phones (and a Bluetooth-enabled mac) you'll want to get one! Here are some ideas on what you may want to do with Sony Ericsson Clicker:
- Control PowerPoint or Keynote when giving presentations.
- Control DVD Player or iTunes from your sofa or bed.
- Use AppleScript to control anything you like!
Further, Sony Ericsson Clicker has a built in "proximity sensor", allowing you to trigger actions when you leave or come back to your Mac. Again, here are some ideas
- Pause iTunes when you leave the room, turn it on when you come back.
- Use AppleScript to let your presence (or absence) control anything you like!
The sky is the limit when it comes to controlling AppleScriptable applications from Sony Ericsson Clicker. You can even create your own sliders and message boxes to control things like volume or see what song is currently playing in iTunes. # - Discuss
| Monday, March 3, 2003 |
Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts
WASHINGTON, DC—In a move designed to make the United States seem more "bad-assed and scary in a quasi-heavy-metal manner," Congress passed a bill Monday changing the nation's name to the Ünited Stätes of Ämerica. "Much like Mötley Crüe and Motörhead, the Ünited Stätes is not to be messed with," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK). An upcoming redesign of the Ämerican flag will feature the new name in burnished silver wrought in a jagged, gothic font and bolted to a black background. A new national anthem is also in the works, to be written by composer Glenn Danzig and tentatively titled "Howl Of The She-Demon." # - Discuss
| Friday, February 28, 2003 |
Hypothetically Speaking...
... if there were a Safari v62, and it did happen to leak to the public, and someone did happen to run it, and that person did happen to discover a bug with text-decoration, well then I would hypothetically be most grateful, and would in fact fix such a bug with the utmost expedience. In fact, it might even be fixed already, assuming of course there were such a build, and it did in fact have this problem.
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - Discuss
| Thursday, February 27, 2003 |
New iPods and New Apple Music Service?
Despite several false starts, iPods continue to be expected shortly with minor updates. Features such as color screens and FW800 are not expected according to reliable rumors.The iPod updates may, however, bring us a new unexpected service from Apple.
Sources report that Apple will be introducing an MP3 music-downloading service to users. The service partner to provide the music has not yet been identified, but songs are expected to cost $0.99 per song. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
PowerPC 970 up to 2.5GHz?
This IBM press release on their new PowerPC Blade servers reveals details on upcoming PowerPC 970 processors. [MacRumors] # - Discuss (1 response)Sun stickin' it to Intel, will use AMD
Sun's upcoming "blade" form-factor servers are going to utilize Athlon XP M (mobile) CPUs, running between 1.2 and 1.4 GHz in single-CPU systems. Why the mobile version? According to this article, Sun wanted a CPU that could be plugged into a 16-blade supporting chassis that would still consume less than 1,000W. While this is certainly a boost to AMD, Sun says that it does not have any interest in AMD's 64-bit offerings at this time. It's perhaps a telling sign of AMD's tough-luck in the industry: as soon as a major vendor is interested, they're interested in relatively older technology at a time when AMD is trying to switch gears into being a 64-bit powerhaus. [Ars Technica] # - Discuss
Pioneer 10 falls silent
CNN.com is reporting that Pioneer 10 has fallen silent after almost 31 years of faithful service. The last three signals received from the spacecraft were very faint and a final attempt to make contact with it was made on February 7th. The NASA press release says that the radioisotope power supply has decayed and the craft no longer has enough power to send transmissions back to earth. [Ars Technica] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, February 26, 2003 |
A cheeky skirt?
IT'S the latest Japanese fashion craze – and it's making incredulous men look twice at the young women daring enough to adopt it.
But it isn't what it seems.
The apparently see-through skirts, which are all the rage in Tokyo, aren't see-through at all.
They are cleverly designed prints, where the outline of the wearer's derriere and underwear are painted on to the fabric.
We Don't Serve Their Kind Here
Mark Pilgrim's info on abusive web-crawling robots, and how to ban them from your site, brings back memories of the first time I saw robots being banned (which was from a cantina, not a web site)... [Daring Fireball] # - DiscussBulletproof Monk
I just watched the trailer for Bulletproof Monk. This movie has got to be the most obvious Matrix ripoff yet. Chow-Yun Fat is playing the role of Morpheus, Seann William Scott is Neo, and Jaime King is Trinity. Shameless.
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, February 25, 2003 |
My first letter to my congressman.
"In SB 708, only vehicles 45 years and older would remain exempt from the state's emissions standards. Current law shields any car or truck manufactured before 1974 from the Smog Check program, a policy that environmentalists say allows some of the worst polluting cars to stay on the road. Florez's proposal would require most cars to comply with emissions standards, exempting mostly rarely driven antique and classic cars." - SourceThis is Outrageous!
Existing law in California is sufficient and fair. It exempts all pre-1974 vehicles from emissions testing until 2003. After 2003, vehicles 30-years old and older are exempt from emissions testing.
Vehicles 30-years old and older already have a minimal impact of on vehicle emissions and air quality.
Vehicles 30-years old and older constitute a very small portion of the overall vehicle population and are a poor source from which to look for emissions reduction.
It is my experience that most antique and classic vehicles are overwhelmingly well-maintained and infrequently driven.
I feel that legislators like Dean Florez are feeling the heat from a failed effort to meet air quality goals and are looking for a convenient scapegoat. The old car hobby should not carry the burden of their mistakes!
Sincerely
Bryan Bell [BryanBell.com] # - Discuss (2 responses)Dean Florez wants all cars, in CA, made since 1958 to be smogged.
In an add on to a larger Farm Pollution bill, Dean Florez is attempting to move smog exempt status from 1974 to 1958.In SB 708, only vehicles 45 years and older would remain exempt from the state's emissions standards. Current law shields any car or truck manufactured before 1974 from the Smog Check program, a policy that environmentalists say allows some of the worst polluting cars to stay on the road. Florez's proposal would require most cars to comply with emissions standards, exempting mostly rarely driven antique and classic cars.I think it's time to write my congressman. # - Discuss (1 response)
| Monday, February 24, 2003 |
Wired News: Why Did Google Want Blogger?
Forget war and strife, the only news that mattered on the Web this week was Google's acquisition of Pyra Labs, the scrappy San Francisco startup behind the Blogger weblogging tool.News of Pyra's sale for an undisclosed sum broke on Feb. 14, but details about the deal have so far been scant. Neither Google nor Prya is saying much about it. Evan Williams, Pyra's co-founder, blogged his day-to-day life for the last three years right up until it got interesting. Williams pulled his blog offline earlier this week. [Daypop Top 40] # - Discuss
Huzzah! Tabs in Safari!
If you have downloaded the latest build of Safari (beta 62) via Software Update or from Apple's web page, you can start to use Tabs today! If you activate the hidden debug menu, you will be able to open a new tab with the press of "command-t". Link via Think... [Blogzilla] # - DiscussLindows Launches $799 Linux Laptop
Rumor: Safari tabbed browsing
Perhaps you’ve seen the rumor (with screen shots) that Safari is getting tabbed browsing. Assuming these rumors are true, my hope is that you’ll be able to set a pref that says to open URLs in new tabs (when requests come from other apps such as NetNewsWire).
This way I’ll be able to use NetNewsWire with Safari the same way I use it with Chimera (er, Camino). That is, I read through the news in NetNewsWire, opening URLs as I go—in the background, in new tabs—and then I switch over to Chimera.
By the way, I like the name Camino. (The reason why should be obvious, so I won’t spell it out.) [ranchero.com]"Brent is Hilarious. GET IT? Ranchero / El Camino. believe me it's funny"# - DiscussBush Cited Non-Existent Report
Bush Cited Non-Existent eport There was only one problem with President George W. Bush's claim Thursday that the nation's top economists forecast substantial economic growth if Congress passed the president's tax cut: The forecast with that conclusion doesn't exist. [metafilter.com] # - DiscussJust how easy is it to email a HD movie?
The FCC closed its reply comments period for the dreaded braodcast flag mandate last night. This is the proposal that argued that digital television would immediately "Napsterize" any movie broadcast over DTV, since everyone knows that digital files can be copied instanteously. In fact, the MPAA and its allies argued just that in the initial comments on the docket, and asked to therefore be put in charge of the designs of all DTV devices. So Raffi Krikorian, an MIT Media Lab student, undertook a series of empirical experiments to determine the plausibility of the MPAA's claims about the ease with which 30GB files can be emailed to your pals. The results were filed with the FCC last night, and they're high-larious. Don't miss it.LinkDiscuss [Boing Boing Blog] # - DiscussiPods Tuesday?
LoopRumors links to this Forbes summary of circulating iPod rumors.Not surprisingly, the Apple rumor mill is bubbling up with buzz about an upgrade to Apple's popular iPod digital music player.
Speculation and Hints of iPod updates have circulated for weeks now, with traditionally accurate ThinkSecret posting an update simply indicating that iPod updates are coming. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, February 19, 2003 |
Google Blogger Thoughts
Check out thoughts on the Google purchase of Pyra (makers of Blogger) in this ShiftyEye Article
[webgraphics] # - DiscussPopularity Contest
A week or so after Safari debuted, I took a look at my access logs to find out how many Daring Fireball readers were using it (along with numerous other common browsers).I just did it again, looking only at my logs from the first 16 days of February 2003... [Daring Fireball] # - Discuss1974 D&D; review
Allen sez, "A miniatures gamer named Arnold Hendrick wrote this 1974 review of a brand-new game called "Dungeons & Dragons." The review is actually perceptive in its judgments, yet misses badly by minimizing the originality of the roleplaying concept. (Hendrick went on to run Heritage Miniatures in the 1980s and to design some interesting fantasy boardgames for Heritage's short-lived game line.)"Link [Boing Boing Blog] # - DiscussMicrosoft Acquires Connectix
According to a statement by the director of marketing and business for the Macintosh Business Unit (of Microsoft), it appears Virtual PC for Mac will continue active development:
"What this means for Mac users is that Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) will be responsible for supporting and shipping all current versions of Virtual PC and development for all future versions of the product"According to the article, the MacBU will work to make Virtual PC work even better both with Windows and Mac OS X
The goal for the MacBU is to have seamless compatibility between Windows and Mac OS X, according to McDonough. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, February 18, 2003 |
Chimera -
Mike Pinkerton writes in his blog:
When I said we're not soliciting suggestions for new names, I really meant it. Right now Camino has passed the preliminary legal check and they are doing a more in-depth one. Expect resolution sometime next week and the 0.7 release very shortly after.
Doesn't exactly conjure up an image of speed, now, does it? I just think of "El Camino" and imagine something like this.
Not that Chimera was necessarily any better, but Camino just doesn't do it for me.
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - DiscussMacRumors Buyer's Guide
| Tuesday, February 11, 2003 |
Smooth out Mac OS X; remove Aqua's annoying stripes
Max Rudberg has done it again! Our Macs all still use Max's "Brushed Aqua," but now there's "SmoothStripes Gloss 2.1," which looks like a winner to us; we might have to switch. Smoother-looking than pure Aqua, it changes the Mac OS X appearance to a smoother, glossy look without stripes. Use Duality, here, to install one of Max's themes. Info and download links here.All of Max Rudberg's themes are here. [MacDailyNews] # - Discuss
| Thursday, February 6, 2003 |
Microsoft and NVIDIA makes Xbox amends
Microsoft and NVIDIA have been in dispute for almost a year now over the "agreed upon" pricing for NVIDIA's graphics chipset used in the Xbox. In a nutshell, Microsoft wanted to pay less and have unlimited ordering capabilities, while NVIDIA more or less wanted the reverse. Settlement details are not available (yet), but the two companies have apparently ended the dispute, and now both are committed to reducing the cost (and size) of the current version of the Xbox.The dispute itself isn't nearly as as interesting as NVIDIA's seemingly dwindling interest in the future of the Xbox. To be sure, the company wants to see profits from its investment in the current iteration of the Xbox, but the lack of success for the console makes NVIDIA's participation in an "Xbox 2" questionable. Just a few days ago, NVIDIA CEO JenHsus Huang had some rather interesting things to say to the Mercury News:
``We would be delighted to work with Microsoft on the next Xbox, but we are a company with many opportunities,'' Huang said.Indeed, and we might also add "and a few major competitors." Speculating on the "future" of the Xbox is nothing new, but it has increased as of late as even Microsoft has admitted that sales are much lower than expected, and that's even after its expectations had been lowered by the market. # - Discuss
| Wednesday, February 5, 2003 |
Dell Dropping The Floppy (finally)
adambwells writes "Dell wants to stop including floppy drives as standard hardware on its Dimension line of desktops, and will start this practice later this quarter, as reported in this Yahoo article. Says Dell's product marketing: We would like to see customers migrate away from floppies as quickly as possible, because there are better alternative technologies out there ... it's an antique technology. At some point, you've got to draw the line. You wouldn't think of using a processor from 15 years ago." They plan to educate their customers about recordable CDs and USB pen drives as replacements." [Slashdot] # - DiscussIraq accused of 'systematic evasion'
The US secretary of state plays tapes and shows photographs purporting to show the Iraqis obstructing weapons inspectors. [BBC News | Front Page] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, February 4, 2003 |
North Dakota Found To Be Harboring Nuclear Missiles
BISMARCK, ND—The stage was set for another international showdown Monday, when chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix confirmed that the remote, isolationist state of North Dakota is in possession of a large stockpile of nuclear missiles. North Dakota-Map
"North Dakota, still in its cultural infancy, cannot be trusted to responsibly handle weapons of mass destruction," French President Jacques Chirac said. "We are talking about a place that doesn't even have a Thai restaurant or movie theater that shows foreign films, but still they have the resources to build thousands of warheads. Do not believe their claims of being 'The Peace Garden State.'"[The Onion] # - DiscussTo the Moon in a Space Elevator?
Less than two decades from now, equipment and even people could reach the cosmos by way of an elevator zipping along a 62,000-mile carbon nanotube. By Steve Kettmann. [Wired News] # - DiscussLinux on the iPod
An anonymous reader writes "Linux Devices reports that Linux now runs on an Apple iPod. Further information about the project can be found on the Linux on iPod ... [Slashdot] # - DiscussReview of BeOS Developer Edition 1.1
Steve Jobs' Pixar about to put the hurt on Disney
Pixar's chief could shop for a new deal soon--leaving Disney minus an asset it sorely needs. What's the best way to tick off Walt Disney Co.? Make an animated movie with a mouse as the lead character. That's exactly what Disney's partner, Pixar Animated Studios, is doing. The movie, which doesn't yet have a name, is about a little critter who lives in an upscale restaurant. And, at least for now, Disney has no rights to it at all. Pixar's planned mouse tale is the latest jab in a... [MacDailyNews] # - Discuss (1 response)Apple updates the iMac; lowers price on...
ClearChannel's hyper-DJ
ClearChannel -- the media conglomerate that owns a sizable fraction of the music radio stations, advertising, venues, and concert promotion outfits in America -- has turned DJ Carson Daly into a super DJ by recording his voice in mix-n-match snippets that are pieced together to serve the top-10 request countdowns in markets across the country. Ah, the efficiencies of scale -- so good for local communities. And it's about to get better, as the FCC decreases regulation so that ClearChannel can buy even more stations."Most Requested" has been on the air for nearly two years, but only recently have people not directly involved in the program become aware of the extent to which technology is allowing Mr. Daly to cozy up to local listeners. Radio experts say the program involves perhaps the most extensive use yet of digital audio processing to offer localized shows from a central location. And members of a major broadcasting union are investigating to determine whether the techniques violate local labor agreements.Link [Boing Boing Blog] # - DiscussClear Channel executives and Mr. Daly declined to discuss the program and the technology. But according to former Clear Channel employees, Mr. Daly spends several hours a week in a studio in his Manhattan apartment, reading scripts with short song introductions and longer segments of D. J. patter. His audio feed is transmitted to Los Angeles, where the show's engineers turn the segments into digital files and drop them into a database.
| Saturday, February 1, 2003 |
Nasa shuttle lost on re-entry
Seven shuttle astronauts are feared dead after Nasa loses contact with space shuttle Columbia minutes before it was due to land. [BBC News | WORLD] # - Discuss
| Friday, January 31, 2003 |
Wired : "Ex-Apple programmer Jim Speth is...
Wired: "Ex-Apple programmer Jim Speth is about to release new open-source software that lets a select group of users share files over the Internet." [Scripting News] # - Discuss
| Tuesday, January 28, 2003 |
News.Com : "Opera Software says the future...
News.Com: "Opera Software says the future of its Mac browser is clouded now that Apple is producing its own." [Scripting News] # - Discuss (1 response)"Switch to Linux"
Lego Stanley Cup nabbed in Vegas
Is nothing sacred? A 6,000-brick replica of the Stanley Cup was reportedly swiped during a sports equipment convention in Las Vegas last week. The stolen hockey trophy copy is only one of two that exist, and was created to promote Lego's new NHL hockey kits. WorldnetdailyLink, Discuss (Thanks, Michael!)
[Boing Boing Blog] # - DiscussApple updates Power Macs, releases 20-inch display
Apple on Tuesday updated its desktop Power Mac G4 computers incorporating technologies first introduced during Macworld Conference & Expo earlier this month. The Power Mac got a slight speed increase, with the high-end system running at 1.42GHz. Apple also introduced a new 20.1-inch wide-screen flat panel display that replaces the company's 22-inch Cinema Display. 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. The Power Mac G4 line now features a single 1GHz, dual 1.25GHz and dual 1.42GHz processors with prices ranging from US$1,499 to $2,699. [MacCentral] # - DiscussNetNewsWire 1.0b14
NetNewsWire 1.0b14 adds a new command to the Services menu: Subscribe in NetNewsWire.
When you select text—the URL in the address bar of Safari or Chimera, for instance—you can choose the Subscribe in NetNewsWire command to subscribe to the site associated with that URL.
NetNewsWire of course uses RSS auto-discovery to find the RSS feed, if the selected URL doesn’t point to the RSS feed.
Other changes in this release include support for Blosxom sub-sub-folders, sub-sub-sub-folders, and so on.
More details are on the change notes page. [inessential.com] # - Discuss
| Monday, January 27, 2003 |
What's My IP?
WhatIsMyIPCom: exactly what it sounds like -- a page that gives you your current IP address. Mighty helpful if you've stumbled into an open network and you want to find out if there's a mail server available on the network.LinkDiscuss(via EvHead) [Boing Boing Blog] # - Discuss (1 response)iCommune is back!
iCommune, the iTunes sharing/streaming plugin that Apple nastygrammed out of existence a couple weeks ago is back, though it's not clear if the author is doing this in defiance of Apple or not. The new version has Rendezvous sharing, too!LinkDiscuss [Boing Boing Blog] # - DiscussRise of the Uber-Browser
Now that I've started using NetNewsWire to read blogs, I find it frustrating to be constantly switching back and forth between NetNewsWire and Safari. This led me to wonder: should RSS capabilities and browsing capabilities be merged into a single "uber-browser" application?
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - DiscussThe New Mustang Kicks Ass!
For any muscle enthusiast who can recall the gorgeous 1967-1968 Mustangs, the fastback coupe and convertible concepts conjure all the right emotions. Ford insiders confide that these concepts from the Ford Living Legends studio are 90 percent accurate to the production models, specifically the Cobra variant. These show stoppers pack a supercharged 4.6-liter DOHC V-8 producing 400 horsepower, with the coupe featuring a six-speed manual trans and the convertible packing a five-speed automatic. Both V-6 and lower-powered V-8 will also be offered, though output figures were not disclosed. It is expected the SVT model will feature an independent rear suspension, while the mainstream models feature a live axle -- just like the current line up. Sales are expected to begin in April 2004 to coincide with the influential Mustang's original debut. [MotorTrend] # - Discuss
| Friday, January 24, 2003 |
RSS Moves Even More Mainstream
JD Lasica (Online Journalism Review): News that comes to you. Instead of the hunt and peck of Web surfing, you... [Dan Gillmor's eJournal] # - DiscussWhat Lies Beneath
Why Microsoft Should Build Its Next Version of Windows on Top of LinuxThe idea of Windows as an operating system is purely a product of the Microsoft marketing department, and not some law of nature. When Windows 1.0 appeared, it was a separate program you loaded on top of MS-DOS. Same for Windows 2.0 and 3.0 up through MS-DOS 6.22, the last standalone version of DOS sold by Microsoft. That way, they thought at the time, if Windows ever proved to be a commercial failure (this was far from certain and it is easy to claim Windows WAS a failure before 3.0), it would have been easy for Microsoft to punt back to MS-DOS.# - DiscussI Like Syndication
Maybe it's NetNewsWire's wonderful interface, or perhaps just the efficiency of it all, it makes me very happy when websites take the leap and add syndication files of one sort or another. Even more so, when non-weblogs take the leap. Such is the case with graphics.com (not related to web-graphics.com), who now offer this graphics.com rss 0.91 newsfeed, for those interested. [webgraphics] # - DiscussSony's schizophrenia
"Where the iPod simply lets you sync its contents with the music collection on your personal computer, Walkman users are hamstrung by laborious "check-in/check-out" procedures designed to block illicit file-sharing. And a Walkman with a hard drive? Not likely, since Sony's copy-protection mechanisms don't allow music to be transferred from one hard drive to another - not an issue with the iPod. "We do not have any plans for such a product," says Kimura, the smile fading. "But we are studying it." [Boing Boing Blog] # - Discuss
| Thursday, January 23, 2003 |
The Bloggies
The Bloggies™ are publicly-chosen awards given to weblog writers and those related to weblogs in 30 categories. Who has received these awards in previous years, you ask? Check out the results from 2001 and 2002. [Daypop Top 40] # - DiscussApple's Office Politics
"Apple needed to ensure that Microsoft would continue to provide MS Office for Mac, or we were dead," Fred Anderson, Apple's chief financial officer, testified in U.S. District Court. "They were threatening to abandon the Mac." When the five-year deal expired last summer, neither company expressed interest in renewing it. Pundits speculated then that Microsoft was planning to abandon the Mac. Now, it appears the opposite is true. [OSNews] # - DiscussApple Delays iLife Launch
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. (CNET News.com via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, January 22, 2003 |
News.Com: RIAA chief to step down...
News.Com: RIAA chief to step down. "She was featured in the most recent issue of Wired magazine as 'The Most Hated Name in Music' -- a bold statement in an industry notoriously rife with avaricious record producers and label executives." [Scripting News] # - Discuss
Wired : "There are a lot more...
Wired: "There are a lot more voters downloading music than there are music company executives," Hayes warned. "If the RIAA was my client, I'd advise them to think this one through again." [Scripting News] # - DiscussScary Shit: The Donald Rumsfild Library of Quotations
For your enjoyment, Broadcasting House has diligently gathered together this fine collection of off-the-cuff remarks from one of the only remaining world superpower's most ingenious wordsmiths.
Rivalled only by the President himself, Mr Rumsfeld is prodigious in his output. Now, straight from the horse's mouth, hand-crafted from the finest Soundbite TM, mounted and polished for your pleasure, we give you:
The Donald Rumsfeld Library of Quotations. # - Discuss (2 responses)
Bar Monkey
The Bar Monkey, simply put, is a vending machine that serves mixed drinks.Using these 16 ingredients, a total of 188 different drinks can be made, with the included ability to add ounce increments of each ingredient to customize (or create) a drink. The drink database is easy to update and nearly infinitely expandable.
Customers of legal age sign up for a user account, for which they are assigned a unique, 5-digit, hexadecimal PIN. The account is debit-based, with each drink charging the customer at cost for the drink they are purchasing, automatically deducting from their account balance.
All told, the project took about 3 months and $235 to complete. It is worth mentioning, however, that the LCD (the most expensive single component) was donated (approx. value: $100+), and various other components were otherwise acquired for free. The Bar Monkey was graciously funded by West Dorm HMC, even though we were overbudget by $85. Continual maintenance and occasional improvements are still always a concern. # - Discuss
Chimera Not Dead Yet
Anonymous Coward writes "Yesterday, it was reported that Chimera is about to be killed off. However it now appears that Mike Pinkerton just forgot to take his happy pills: MozillaZine is reporting that Chimera is still on. Great news!" [MacSlash] # - DiscussCan the Mac Become the Unix Workstation of Choice?
"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." Read the interesting article at News.com. "The XFree86 Project had been working on a port for OS X, and Apple "took the ball and ran with it a little further and integrated it more tightly into the system. We also made it easier to download," Apple's Brian Croll said." NewsFactor has a similar story too. Update: Another Mac editorial today, this time a bit more controversial though. [OSNews] # - DiscussExperimental version of Phoenix for Mac OS X
Kevin Gerich, the creator of the Pinstripe theme has also created an experimental version of Phoenix for Mac OS X.... [Blogzilla] # - DiscussBye Chimera, thanks for trying
As posted on Slashdot (ugh!), Mike Pinkerton, the lead developer of Chimera is thinking about stopping development on Chimera, now that Apple has released Safari. I'm torn about what to do with Chimera. It's obvious it will only ever be a marginal product on a even more marginal platform. Is... [Blogzilla] # - DiscussMIT Conference Takes Aim at Spam E-mails
MIT Conference Takes Aim at Spam E-mails "Hundreds of programmers gathered Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to apply their collective brainpower to a problem …" Oh, thank heaven! [Village News] # - DiscussDance Dance Revolution Masters in Tokyo, Caught...
Dance Dance Revolution Masters in Tokyo, Caught Live on Tape"Japan pop-culture connoisseur Sam Humphries sez:
This page has insane video of Dance Dance Revolution masters from Tokyo scoring perfect games on the hardest setting with crazy/insane insane/crazy moves. They're the cup stacking girls of Japanese arcades. I recommend the third video, Take getting 10 Greats/3 Misses on Maxx Unlimited Reverse Stealth." [Boing Boing Blog]
Wait until I show these to the kids - they've never seen an arcade DDR, only the one we have for Playstation!
[The Shifted Librarian] # - DiscussWow, Brent's NetNewsWire gets a ringing endorsement
Dave Hyatt of Safari/Mozilla Fame, sings the praises of NNW. Congratulations Brent it truly is a "killer app".NetNewsWire Rocks![BryanBell.com] # - DiscussI have spent today playing with a piece of software called NetNewsWire. It's simply wonderful. I had used FeedReader before on Windows, but now I have a fantastic Cocoa application that can handle aggregated news feeds. And it's zippy too! Kudos to Ranchero Software.
NetNewsWire even displays HTML somewhat (if you include it in your RSS feed). I wonder what it uses to do that (the old HTML display component or its own home-brewed component).
Regardless, I smell a future customer... :)
NetNewsWire + Safari WebKit = Ass-Kicking Goodness.
I wonder who I have to sleep with to get into the default subscription list. Maybe I need to stop blogging about the technical guts of Safari and start seeding my blog with catch phrases like "Kate Bosworth Naked." [Confessions of a Mozillian]
| Tuesday, January 21, 2003 |
Cringely is killing me
Cringely is killing me. Dvorak is killing me. Computer Pundits are killing me. I swear, I get more valuable insight from the average Joe working at Subway Sandwiches than I do reading this drivel. All is succeeds in is frustrating me.Silly Cringley Quote of the Day
"Even today, you can still get to a C: prompt under Windows XP, which means a disk operating system is hiding there no matter what Microsoft wants us to believe."
Is this even English? (well, arguably "Is this even English" probably isn't a complete sentence, but that's neither here nor there.)
<sarcasm>Thanks, Cringley, clearly Microsoft needs to remove the command-line interface to gain street credibility.</sarcasm> Since when did the addition of of a Windowing Interface leave the realm of "Operating System Services." If I run an X-Server under Windows, what does that mean, I'm two OSes, or half of one? If I access my headless Windows box entirely via VNC or RDP then what does that mean? Explorer.exe is a shell, as is KDE and Gnome...but GDI and X are still optional, but often core OS Services.
Now, Norton Desktop, that should have been an OS, baby.
[Scott Hanselman's Weblog] # - DiscussWill New PowerMacs Have More Than 2 Processors?
JonP writes "OSNews published an interesting editorial exploring the possibility of Apple going multi-CPU (4 and 8-way) until the G5/IBM/Opteron/whatever deal might be ready. It is an interesting thought because it could bring Apple to the workstation market (continuing where SGI left the multimedia market) and bring in some extra cash." There's no real reason new PowerMacs couldn't have 4 or 8 processors, except for cost, and maybe the heat issue. [MacSlash] # - DiscussSo Maybe 802.11g Isn't Quite Ready for Prime Time Yet
Henry Norr Tears 802.11g a New One
"Sorry for the coarse euphemism, but there's no other way to put it. Norr tries out a variety of 802.11g gear, and finds poor performance and poor interoperability. If someone as tech savvy as him is having these problems with early gear, what can consumers expect? I'd like to see more information about the throughput issues: he was seeing lower throughput on 802.11g than b (using homogeneous equipment), but I wonder if he'd locked them into 'g only' mode?" [80211b News]
"Tom's Hardware Guide has done some thorough testing of the Linksys 802.11G Wireless Access Point, and obtained some interesting results." [Notes from the Cave]
[The Shifted Librarian] # - DiscussSwedish dirty book cover image gallery
Vast online collection of book-cover images from trashy novels printed in Sweden, by way Kraus99, a Swedish web magazine on the arts. Cover images range in date from the '20s through the '70s. Crazy stuff. Warning: link is not "work safe," some sexually explicit images. (via the eternally-amazing Reverse Cowgirl's Blog) [bOing bOing] # - Discuss
I'm glad that I'm not the only one wrestling with this issue.
Steven Garrity writes:"We've been struggling with CSS font-size issues. It's nothing original, but it is my hope that posting the explanation of the problem and one (of many, I'm sure) potential solution I wrote for my co-workers might be of help to others dealing with the same issues." [ acts of volition ]I personally lean toward giving up on IE 5/6 (Windows) and its ignorant font sizing behavior. [BryanBell.com] # - DiscussNew Harvard theme...
| Monday, January 20, 2003 |
Apple SW Update for 3rd Parties?
One source claims that Apple may open up Mac OS X's Software Update to 3rd party developers.Such a move would allow non-Apple applications to be automatically downloaded/updated with the same painless method as current Mac OS X updates.
Such a feature would be released as a SDK interface for developers and may find its way into OS X as early as 10.3. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
NetNewsWire Pro 1.0b12
This release adds better support for Blosxom and Blosxom-compatible weblogs, including support for sub-folders and a script that can be run when posting a new or edited file. See the change notes for more details. [ranchero.com] # - DiscussApple Not Exactly After Gobe Productive 3,...
iMacs Update Rumors?
LoopRumors claims to have specs for the upcoming iMac updates with up to 1GHz speeds as well as Firewire 800 and Bluetooth integration on all but the low end. [MacRumors] # - DiscussApple and Gobe Details
Bob Hearn maintains an interesting site detailing "A Brief History of Clarisworks". In it, he details the origins of Clarisworks and his involvement, back to a small company called StyleWare in the mid 1980's.Overall, an interesting history to read, but one of the most interesting components relate to the original development team's departure around the time of ClarisWorks 5.0's development. A few of the ClarisWorks developers who left at this time (Scott Holdaway, Scott Lindsey, Carl Grice, Bruce Hammond and Tom Hoke) left to found Gobe software. [MacRumors] # - Discuss
Safari tops 1 million downloads
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. [MacCentral] # - Discuss
| Sunday, January 19, 2003 |
Safari Newsflash: Fun with :hover
I spent all day today reworking :hover in Safari. I fixed the repainting problems that exist in v51 when using :hover with positioned elements. I also now have Safari working flawlessly with Eric Meyer's Pure CSS Menus. I haven't tested them yet, but I'm fairly certain that Safari will also now work with his Pure CSS Popups demos as well.
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - DiscussA Better Finder Rename 5.2
| Friday, January 17, 2003 |
Bush On N. Korea: 'We Must Invade Iraq'
With concern over North Korea's nuclear capabilities growing, President Bush reassured the American people Monday that "extreme force" will be used to remove Saddam Hussein from power if the Iraqi president fails to give up suspected weapons of mass destruction."For years, Kim Jong Il has acted in blatant disregard of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation Of Nuclear Weapons, and last week, he rejected it outright," Bush told reporters after a National Security Council meeting on North Korea. "We cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to remain in the hands of volatile, unpredictable leaders. Which is exactly why we must act quickly and decisively against Saddam Hussein." [The Onion] # - Discuss
Apple nixes iTunes-based sharing software
James G. Speth's recently introduced iCommune software has been pulled from distribution after the software's author received a request from Apple asking him to stop. The details have been reported by News.com.Designed as a plug-in for Apple's iTunes MP3 player software, iCommune enables iTunes users to share music libraries with one another. iCommune provides a way for you to download or stream music that other people have made available, as well. [MacCentral] # - Discuss
NetNewsWire 1.0b11
NetNewsWire 1.0b11 fixes a few bugs in the news reader, weblog editor, and notepad. More details are on the change notes page. [inessential.com] # - DiscussNew news aggregator for Windows
Syndirella. This is the news aggregator for Windows.
- Open source (GPL-licensed)
- A real application. Sorry, I've given that whole desktop web-based application thing more than its fair chance (even created my own for a client in my day job). It's just not working out.
- Simple 3-paned interface, ala NetNewsWire.
- RSS autodiscovery, and then some. It tries harder, like all news aggregators should.
- Support for
<content:encoded>(full HTML posts).- Support for
<pubDate>and<dc:date>(item-level dates).- Per-feed subscription properties (including how often to check for updates).
- Lots of other cool little features.
- And most importantly, a built-in scraper, ala RSSDistiller and Cheesegrater. Allows you to configure it to read stubborn sites that don't provide RSS feeds.
Note: requires the .NET framework. This will not install any evil spyware on your system or force you to sign up for Passport. It's just a bunch of APIs that sit around waiting to be called. It is 20 MB, though. [dive into mark]
# - DiscussNew Radio Theme: CandidBlue (lefty)
Last time i did a theme like Candid Blue, which has it's navigation on the right, I got a few complaints about overlapping. So for those of you that like this theme but run into right side nav issues, I have created a version with the navigation on the left. [BryanBell.com] # - Discuss
Speed up your web surfing with Apache
Mac OS X's built-in web server can act as a caching web proxy to speed up your web surfing by caching graphics and other page elements locally. [MacMegasite] # - DiscussNew Radio Theme: CandidBlue
Although Dave Mentioned that I had a new theme for you yesterday, it wasn't ready until this morning. But I am now happy to announce to the world that I have created a new Radio theme called candidBlue. It's a simple 2 column CSS based theme, which uses no graphics, so it should be a breeze to customize. Enjoy! # - Discuss
Wired calls Apple's iPod the 21st-century Walkman; says revolutionizing consumer electronics
"For Keiji Kimura, the problem is small enough to fit in his pocket and just heavy enough to weigh on his mind. Kimura is a senior VP at Sony headquarters in Tokyo, and the problem in question is Apple's iPod, the snappy little music player that's revolutionizing consumer electronics the way Sony's Walkman did some 20 years ago. By rights, Sony should own the portable player business... But the 21st-century Walkman doesn't bother with tapes or CDs or minidiscs; it stores hundreds... [MacDailyNews] # - Discuss
| Thursday, January 16, 2003 |
The Problem with Metadata
Apple's Looks, Functions Convert this PC Devotee
I'm a switcher. My main personal computer system is now an Apple Macintosh. It began innocently enough. Over a period of several months after Apple's new OS X Jaguar operating system was released last year, I tested a variety of iBooks, iMacs and G4s. I was playing with fire. [Detroit Free Press] # - DiscussPlayStation 2 shipments top 50 million
Sony says sales of its PS2 game console are steadily accelerating, broadening the electronics giant's lead over rivals Microsoft and Nintendo. [CNET News.com] # - DiscussSafari Response: news.com
Mike Shaver and Chris Blizzard respond to Paul Festa's anti-Mozilla ranting on news.com. Just goes to show you, boys, you have to be careful what you say in your blogs, since you never know when someone is going to come along and quote you out of context in order to satisfy some obsessive need to bash Mozilla.
[Confessions of a Mozillian] # - DiscussIt's 4:20, do you know where your kids are?
I saw this sign for some restaurant/bar while driving around town the other day. Needless to say I did a double-take after passing the joint (pun gleefully intended). This photo is pretty much how the place looks from the road. When I pulled in the parking lot to get a better look (and you know I did) I saw that there was a kettle styled pot with the word "The" prefixing the "Smoking Pot" signage. [webraw/blog :: uncooked web goodness] # - Discuss
Walt Disney understood the value of the...
Walt Disney understood the value of the public domainDan Gillmor has filed a special column, telling us all what we lost with the Supreme Court's rejection of Eldred:
Who got robbed? You did. I did.[bOing bOing] # - DiscussWho won? Endlessly greedy media barons will now collect billions from works that should have long since entered the public domain.Like public lands and the oceans, the public domain is controlled by no one -- a situation that infuriates people who believe that nothing can have value unless some person or corporation owns it. The public domain is the pool of knowledge from which new art and scholarship have arisen over the centuries.
The Constitution talks about granting rights to creators of ''science and useful arts'' but only for limited periods. After that, the works can be used freely by anyone.
Walt Disney understood the value of the public domain, and used it precisely as other great artists had done. He updated an out-of-copyright character to create Mickey Mouse, for example, and launched an empire.
Top 10 OS X Keyboard Shortcuts
MacHome has a very handy article on some frequently needed keyboard shortcuts you can use in OS X. If you were a little dismayed that the trusty "Command-N" shortcut mysteriously got replaced with the advent of OS X, then check out this list of other keyboard shortcuts you can use with X. [OSXGuide.com] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, January 15, 2003 |
Who wants an Aqua theme?
I started this new Manila theme a few months ago. It uses PNG files extensively so you can change the Background image and the drop shadows will over lay the new image perfectly. The problem is that Windows Internet Explorer is incapable of displaying the alpha channels that let the images gracefully overlay the BG. The Question is do I stick my middle finger up at all the IE users out there who will see the site like this, and just release the theme as is, or do I attempt to use one of the seemingly odd work arounds so IE users can see variable Opacity PNGs? Does anyone want a theme that looks like Apple's Aqua Interface? [BryanBell.com] # - Discuss
Wow I'm Number 42
I'm listed as Number 42 in the "Top 100 Technorati". Which ranks blogs by number of of time they are linked to. Most of my links come from that little "Theme designed by Bryan Bell" tag I started putting at the bottom of my Radio themes, but it's still kinda cool. 42 is in a real nice neighboorhood. I'm sandwiched between Tomalak's Relm(41), and the Daypop Top 40(43). [BryanBell.com] # - DiscussWe're all gonna die. In 500 million years.
A new book on astrobiology is out from a pair of American scientists, and it pegs the end of all life on earth at 500 million years from now. Co-authors Donald Brownlee Peter Ward describe the countdown to our imminent doom in The Life and Death Of Planet Earth, saying this should encourage humans to stop doing such a lame job of caring for the planet. AFP story snip:
"They said that when compared to a 24 hour clock, the planet is currently at 4:30 am after about 4.5 billion years of existence. At 5:00 am, the University of Washington professors write, animal and vegetable life will end after one billion years on Earth. By 8:00 am, the oceans will have vaporised and at midday, after 12 billion years, the Earth will have been absorbed by the Sun. By that time, the Sun will have become huge, destroyed any sign of the human presence and dispersed atoms and molecules across space.Link [Boing Boing Blog] # - Discuss'The disappearance of our planet is still 7.5 billion years away, but people really should consider the fate of our world and have a realistic understanding of where we are going,' said Brownlee."
I Want a 60Gig iPod
According to sources outside Apple who are familiar with iPod hardware and software development, Apple already has plans for numerous iPod updates and variations, up to and including video playback capability with a color screen that will cover almost the entire front face of the iPod. However, the more immediate revision will be relatively modest -- storage capacities of up to 60GB, a new enclosure with more customization options, an entry-level price tag of $199 for the 5GB model, and at least one of the following: AAC/AC3 audio playback support, direct audio recording support with a built-in microphone, and greatly increased integration with Apple's iLife/iApps software suite for smooth workflow on any number of host computers when you connect your iPod.
The update is not affixed to any firm schedule now; Apple is waiting for the strong stock of existing iPods to clear out of the distribution channel before announcing new models. Right now Apple has January 25th tagged as a possible release date, but that is rapidly becoming less likely according to new recon received by Rumors today. We now think it will come either in early February, or along with the 15-inch Powerbook/Xserve update we described above. [MOSR] # - Discuss
Media Companies Money Was Well Spent After All
Supreme Court OKs Copyright Extension
"The U.S. Supreme Court upheld on Wednesday a 1998 law extending copyright protection by 20 years, delaying when creative works such as Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons, F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels and George Gershwin's songs become public property.
The 7-2 ruling was a victory for supporters of the law, including large media companies and song publishers that argued the longer term was needed to protect a vital industry that contributes more than $500 billion to the U.S. economy. [The Shifted Librarian] # - Discuss
NetNewsWire 1.0b10
NetNewsWire 1.0b10 fixes a crashing bug introduced in the previous beta. (Nuts!) [inessential.com] # - Discuss"Clinton masturbates in the sinks," and other...
"Clinton masturbates in the sinks," and other quotes from Ann Coulter
"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"---Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01
The "backbone of the Democratic Party" is a "typical fat, implacable welfare recipient"---syndicated column 10/29/99
To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."---MSNBC [bOing bOing] # - Discuss
Apple, Gobe and Future Office Software?
| Tuesday, January 14, 2003 |
Stills from Pirates of Caribbean movie
Ain't It Cool News is featuring leaked concept art from the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. [Boing Boing Blog] # - Discuss
Monitor spanning in iBooks
The late-model dual-USB iBooks have the technical capacity to do "monitor spanning" -- plugging in an external display and showing different windows on each screen -- but they ship with the feature disabled. Not coincidentally, the higher-end Titanium laptops have this feature and use it as a selling-point. Anyway, a little judicious hackery-pokery will turn it on in your icebook, and "Hello, monitor-spanning!"LinkDiscuss(via Raelity Bytes) [Boing Boing Blog] # - DiscussJenny Bo-Benny
Just in case you ever need help with Shirley Ellis' classic song The Name Game, here's everything you ever wanted to know about it, including a generator for Name Game names! [The Shifted Librarian] # - DiscussDo you watch The Simpsons?
I'm a pretty regular viewer of The Simpsons. In Sunday night's episode (Jan. 12) Homer was asked by a private eye how to contact him. Homer's response was to email him at Chunkylover53@aol.com. Obviously no major network television show was going to give out some random email address so I immediately emailed Homer just to see what would happen. [webraw/blog :: uncooked web goodness] # - DiscussApple snub stings Mozilla
As Apple computer chooses open-source competitor KHTML for its Safari browser, Mozilla critics say AOL Time Warner's browser suffers from code bloat, among other problems. [CNET News.com] # - DiscussTiVo Loath to Admit Ad Skip Trick
Owners of personal video recorders like TiVo and ReplayTV are quick to say they can't live without them. So why does TiVo resist publicizing handy features -- like a 30-second instant commercial skip -- that make users love the boxes even more? By Katie Dean. [Wired News] # - DiscussPoll: My Favorite MacOSX Graphical Web Browser
iLife - Last Minute Reconsideration?
Think Secret has been told by a number of sources within Apple and outside the company that it was only after receiving negative e-mail and reading online message board traffic critical of Apple's decision to charge for brand new versions of iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, iDVD 3, and the already-available iTunes 3, that Jobs decided to distribute iPhoto and iMovie at no charge.Change of heart? [MacRumors] # - DiscussPalm inks handwriting recognition software deal
PalmSource Inc., the operating system division of Palm Inc., announced on that it will discontinue its Graffiti handwriting recognition software in favor of Jot technology from Communication Intelligence Corp. [CIC] based in Redwood Shores, Calif.The Jot software will be renamed Graffiti 2 and will be embedded in current and future versions of the OS.
According to PalmSource officials Jot emulates more natural printing input. While in Graffiti a user has to write an upside down L to depict a 't' in Jot the same letter is written as a plain 't'. "Users don't have to read a manual," said Michael Higashi, director of OS Marketing for PalmSource in Sunnyvale.
[MacCentral] # - Discuss
NetNewsWire Pro 1.0b8
NetNewsWire Pro 1.0b8 fixes bugs and adds features to the news reader. Here are the change notes. [inessential.com] # - Discuss
| Monday, January 13, 2003 |
Like we said
Om Malik: AOL Saga: Microsoft wins again, for no reason. Sez Om:
Bill Gates is not only smart, his rivals are stupid.
I said pretty much the same thing in The Shrinking Subject, in Linux Journal, back in August, '00:
For a year or two, Netscape looked like it could do no wrong. It was a Miata being chased down a mountain road by a tractor trailer. As long as it moved fast and looked ahead, there was no problem with the truck behind. But at some point, Netscape got fixated on the rear-view mirror. That's where they were looking when they drove off the cliff.
Somehow AOL got this idea that they were a media company, rather than an Internet company.
Dead wrong, it turns out.
[Doc Searls Weblog] # - DiscussThe Powers of X
All Mac OS X (Jaguar) users, click here. Bet ya didn't know that was running in the background, did ya? Everybody else can find more information here.... [C:PIRILLO.EXE ~ Chris Pirillo] # - Discuss (1 response)Mark is Mad!
"I bought into every argument the W3C made that keeping up with standards, validating, and using semantic markup now would somehow future-proof my site and provide some mystical forward compatibility. How about some fucking payoff now? How about some fucking compatibility? [dive into mark] # - DiscussThe Register
Reader reports are flooding in that the RIAA.org has been defaced - again. At time of writing, the site appears to be down, And several readers have been kind enough to include screen grabs, showing that the front page today carried the following message. [Daypop Top News Stories] # - DiscussDaimler Chrysler unveils concept ‘bike’
Car firm Daimler Chrysler has unveiled a 500hp concept ‘bike’ with a claimed top speed of 300mph.
The four-wheeled, V-10 Dodge Tomahawk is " about pure performance, in-the-face excitement and not being scared of any limits, " according to Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler Group’s president chief executive. Not surprising, with an 8.3 litre engine taken from a Dodge Viper. The four wheels were needed to carry the weight of the V-10, and at the same time, to handle the power the engine produces. Apparently, the firm claims spinning the rear wheels is " not a problem " . [News Is Free: Popular Items] # - Discuss
Big crowds fill The Empty Space
Wasn't this done before? with that group Eric Main was in?Big crowds fill The Empty Space ""The kind of theater The Empty Space wants to make shouldn't have much chance of working in Bakersfield. At least that's the popular perception. But after a successful opening weekend with only a few snags, it seems as if smart theater might have a chance in town." — Let's do our best to support this! [Village News] # - DiscussRecipeSource.com
"RecipeSource is the new home of SOAR: The Searchable Online Archive of Recipes and your source for recipes on the Internet".
An excellently organized and comprehensive archive of recipes. Check it! [VanEats] # - Discuss
Handspring Courts RIM
Infoworld is reporting that Handspring, who has been an exclusive Palm OS licensee, is interested in the RIM email software. The RIM Blackberry devices have proven very popular among business users, but the Blackberry units have limited PDA capabilities. Palm-based wireless messaging devices have been less popular. Presumably, Handspring is interested in producing a "best of both worlds" solution. [OSNews] # - DiscussiPhoto, iTunes Falling Down on Library Size
Just so you don't think all I do is kvetch about Apple, let me say up front that I thought today's keynote was a total gas, and I've already fallen head-over-heels for Safari. I think Final Cut Express perfectly fills the gaping maw between iMovie and FCP, I think Keynote is going to be a PowerPoint killer on the Mac, and that the new PowerBooks are right on target. All that said, I'm royally steamed about a glaring omission in the iLife suite. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com] # - DiscussNintendo unveils new GameBoy
The world’s most popular video gaming gadget just got a tuneup. Nintendo Co. unveiled the latest in its handheld GameBoy line on Tuesday, the GameBoy Advance SP, a slick-looking device aimed at adult gamers that’s about as big as a wallet and weighs just five ounces. # - Discuss
Safari beta updated to v51
If you downloaded Apple's new Web browser Safari when it was first released last week, check the Web site again -- Apple has released a new public beta version, v51. While Apple doesn't provide specific details about what's changed in the new build, it recommends the new version for all Safari users. [MacCentral] # - Discuss
| Friday, January 10, 2003 |
Prediction:
At some trade show in three months, at the end, Steve Jobs will say "Oh I almost forgot. I have one more thing." Everyone sucks in their breath. "We know you like our new Web browser, Safari, because there have been 285 million downloads. Did you know it's the most popular browser on the Internet? Well almost every one of the users has requested a tabbed interface, some many times. So we decided, what the heck, let's give them what they want." A virtual curtain opens on screen, says Tabs For Safari. The worldwide audience ejaculates spontaneously. - ScriptingNews # - DiscussShould Safari be intentionally buggy?
Dave Hyatt, one of the developers of Apple's new Safari web browser, is publicly responding to bug reports, including some of my Safari test cases. This is wonderful. Apple is making lots of friends in the design community by promptly and publicly responding to these early issues.
Problems reportedly resolved in internal builds: now using 96dpi instead of 72dpi, low frame rates in Flash are fixed, and
object type="text/html"is now supported. As far as I know, the only site which usesobject type="text/html"is the W3C, but they're important, because they host the CSS Test Suite. I actually already found a workaround and have been browsing through the CSS Test Suite with Safari and found several additional issues. These are all documented on my Safari test cases page.
One issue which Dave Hyatt brought to my attention privately, and which deserves public discussion, is the issue of CSS hiding tricks. There are many known CSS hacks which web designers use to hide CSS from various browsers. This is an evil but widely used (and in my opinion necessary) practice, since all browsers have different sets of features and bugs. (The alternatives are to have HTML-based hacks, which you would need to reproduce on every page, or to use server-side scripting to serve different stylesheets to different browsers, which adds load to the server and is just as complex to maintain.)
You can hide CSS from the public beta of Safari with any of the following hacks:
The problem is that all of these hacks affect other browsers as well; there are no known hacks that only affect Safari. The Inline High Pass Filter hides CSS from IE 5/Win and possibly others. The Simplified Box Model Hack hides CSS from IE 5/Win, Opera 5 on all platforms, Opera 6/Mac, and OmniWeb 4. Fabrice's Inversion hides CSS from all browsers except Netscape 4.
Dave Hyatt has suggested fixing these <q>bugs</q>, so that Safari would not be susceptible to any known CSS hiding tricks. I pleaded with him not to do this, and told him the story of OmniWeb, which for years had horrendous CSS support but had no bugs that web designers could exploit to hide CSS from that browser. (The community has since found a way to hide CSS from OmniWeb.) Last I heard, Dave was still on the fence about this; he views them as bugs (which they are), and wants to fix them. The problem is that fixing them may do more harm than good in the long run, by reducing options for web designers and forcing us back to the days of maintaining multiple browser-specific stylesheets.
I am wondering if we shouldn't go to the opposite extreme. What if the Safari developers developed a way for web designers to hide CSS only from Safari: a specific valid but rare syntax that it intentionally did not understand. Or a way to hide CSS from every browser except Safari: a specific invalid CSS syntax that it did understand. I am aware that this is inherently evil, but consider the situation: Safari will presumably become the default browser on Mac OS X at some indeterminate point in the future, so lots of people will use it. And it is already known to have a different set of bugs and features than any other browser. Even if all known bugs are resolved in this current beta testing period, others will inevitably be found. CSS hiding hacks are evil, but the alternatives are worse.
If the community decided this was a good idea, and we could convince the Safari team to implement it, what would such a hack look like?
<ins datetime="2003-01-09T21:30-0500">
Suggestions so far:
Scott Reynen suggests using fake selectors like
onlysafari body {display: none;}.
Adrian Holovaty suggests a comment hack, like
/* begin_safari_hide 1.0 */ body {display: none;} /* end_safari_hide 1.0 */.
Aaron Swartz thinks Safari should define its own media type (like
khtmlhack) so designers could define styles (or entire stylesheets) with Safari-specific overrides.
Chris Adams suggests using Java-style references for namespaces with a
requires-fixelement. Now that's out there.
Anyone think it's just a wretched idea in any form?
codepoetry thinks it's just a wretched idea in any form. So does Daniel Berlinger. And Scott Hanson.
</ins><ins datetime="2003-01-10T10:25-0500">
Alastair Campbell thinks Safari should pick a browser and try to match it bug-for-bug.
</ins><ins datetime="2003-01-10T04:01-0500">
Dave Hyatt is open to the idea, if a suitable solution can be found.
</ins><ins datetime="2003-01-10T09:12-0500">
Kevin Smith has an analysis of the solutions suggested so far.
</ins><ins datetime="2003-01-10T02:43-0500">
Update: In the last few hours, I've discovered at least a dozen parsing bugs that cause Safari to improperly apply (or improperly ignore) CSS. No word yet on which other browsers are also susceptible to these bugs. But at least we have choices.
</ins> [dive into mark] # - DiscussCNET: Study: Linux Headed for High End, Too
"Linux will be successful not only in lower-end servers, but also in higher-powered machines at the heart of corporate computing, a new study [entitled "Fear the Penguin"] concludes..." [Linux Today] # - DiscussAdobe vs. Apple vs. Avid
Of interest, it appears Avid and Adobe are both stepping up with applications which compete with a couple of Apple's applications:Avid will be releasing Avid Free DV (for free):
"a streamlined version of Avid's award-winning video editing software with capabilities that include two video tracks, four audio tracks, basic trimming and editing functionality, and up to two streams of real-time effects"While ease-of-use and overall functionality is unknown... the two video tracks add some functionality that users of Apple's iMovie have been asking for. Avid Free DV is expected to be available in mid-2003... for both Mac OS X and Windows XP.
Adobe is introducing a new product called Adobe Photoshop Album - This $49.99 package provides similar functionality to Apple's iPhoto, but is Windows only and will be available in February 2003. # - Discuss
Safari a Jaguar in Sheep's Clothing?
I think an Apple-branded browser, in the context of the iLife apps, suggests something bigger. We often talk about the Apple advantage of having the OS and the hardware under one roof; this begs the question, what sort of interaction could they achieve while controlling the web engine -- to which could be attached special Apple hooks, providing an even larger experience. Think of the way all of the iLife apps interact with each other now. Now think of .Mac users and what they could do with each other via a web browser. I don't think Safari is just a web browser.
| Thursday, January 9, 2003 |
What does Safari mean for OmniWeb?
Ken Case: What does Safari mean for OmniWeb? Interesting, because they rejected Gecko. [Hack the Planet] # - DiscussTiVo and Rendezvous
An anonymous reader writes "Just found this press release on the Apple web site. Time to upgrade the TiVo?" Looks way excellent. Right now I have an old iBook ... [Slashdot] # - DiscussApple's Safari. Why not Gecko?
From the KDE mailing list In short: The number one goal for developing Safari was to create the fastest web browser on Mac OS X. When we were evaluating technologies over a year ago, KHTML and KJS stood out. Not only were they the basis of an excellent modern and... [Blogzilla] # - DiscussMacworld Fans Go the Distance
Some Apple enthusiasts will stop at nothing to attend Macworld, the popular San Francisco tradeshow. Reana Armitage flew halfway around the globe from Tasmania, while Randy Nauert sleeps in his car because hotels don't favor his dog. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] # - DiscussGadget takes iTunes to the living room
SAN FRANCISCO--Many Macintosh fans have been hoping Apple Computer would introduce a device that would allow music stored on a Mac in the den to be played on a home stereo in the living room.Such a device did debut at this week's Macworld Expo, but it didn't come from Apple. One had to walk well past the massive Apple booth, past even the massage chairs and a memory reseller, to find the new gadget, which is dubbed the HomePod wireless stereo.
The $200 HomePod, expected to hit the market in March, was developed by a three-person start-up called Gloolabs and will be sold by Macsense, a maker of networking gear and other Mac hardware. The two companies were showing the device at Macworld from a small booth near the doors at the back of the main hall. Despite the off-the-beaten-path location, the company drew pretty good crowds, including a number of Apple employees. # - Discuss
Apple 'Switch' Campaign Shifts to UNIX Crowd
X11 for Mac OS X comes with software, client libraries and optional developer toolkits that lets developers build almost any X11R6.6 application with a simple recompile. Apple said its version of X11 is completely integrated with the Aqua user interface for better "cut and paste" between X11 and Mac OS X applications and full access to Aqua controls for zoom, close and minimization to the Dock. [Studio Log] # - DiscussOmnigroup CEO Considers Adopting Safari Engine For...
iPod Control in a Jacket
The limited-edition Burton Amp is the world’s first wearable electronic jacket with an integrated iPod control system. Made from waterproof GORE-TEX, the Burton Amp and an iPod allow snowboarders and other active users to control music from the sleeve of the jacket. [Jan 7] [Apple Hot News] # - Discuss
| Wednesday, January 8, 2003 |
Safari review
I've downloaded and installed Safari. This review is mainly for web designers who now need to support yet another browser. It is in no way a judgement on Apple. All browsers have bugs, and all web designers need to know about them.
Update: Safari test cases showing the various CSS and other rendering bugs (and successes) discussed below... [dive into mark]
# - Discuss (1 response)Apple's X11 for Mac OS X
In under the radar... With so many new products introduced... one item which was not well predicted was Apple's Keynote application... but this oversight was due to the fact that that particular rumor unfortunately made it to the reject pile.Backing up a little further, the word "Keynote" was trademarked by Apple in September 2002... which spawned some correct speculation... but no hard evidence. On Jan 1, 2003, we posted our 2002: Rumor Rejects and Unconfirmed report which summarized various rumors that never made it to the front page... due to lack of supporting evidence.
The first item on the list was "Apple Branded Presentation Software" which was said to be Apple presentation software, similar to powerpoint... "everything was drag and drop in it. Graphics transitions, and media." In hindsight, this information was correct... as other items could be on that reject list...
| Monday, January 6, 2003 |
CosmoSaver 1.2
iMovie Stills and DVD Text
Today in the Forums we're talking about what size to make iMovie stills, and how to get text to show up on DVD's. Video is where it's at on the Mac, and if you know what's up, please share your brain.
Option-Shift K Apple Hacker Swag! [MacMerc] # - DiscussGiant leap for China after safe landing of unmanned spaceshi
China moved a major step closer to joining an elite group of nations to send a human into orbit when its unmanned spaceship, Shenzhou IV, returned safely to earth Sunday, state media reported.Xinhua news agency said Shenzhou IV touched down in Inner Mongolia in northern China, six days after its launch into space.
Shenzhou IV is China's fourth test spacecraft to successfully complete its mission in the nation's bid to put a human into orbit and it is regarded as the final precursor to a manned space flight. [] # - Discuss
Apple To Introduce Video iPod?
"iPoding and Mac Rumors as well as eWeek newsletter and Reuters seem to think that Apple will be introducing either a video-capable iPod -or- even better a Tablet Mac which may run into direct competition with Microsoft's similar product. "The one thing you can say for sure is that they do have a lot of product out there right now and they're going to be hesitant to draw too much attention away from their existing products" by introducing new ones now, said Roger Kay, an analyst at market research firm International Data Corp. Instead, Apple may unveil the long-anticipated video-enabled iPod, which will likely work initially only on Macintosh computers, Enderle said. Apple's existing inkwell and Newton technologies seem to make them in the perfect position to take on Microsoft in what could be the biggest battle for the most worthless market sector (Tablet PCs), however as a Newton owner I think that the some-what-larger-than-Palm device size that the Newton line sported is much more user friendly and usable. Read the Reuters article at reuters.." It'd be nice, but I'm skeptical on it actually being that. [Slashdot] # - Discuss (2 responses)NetNewsWire Pro 1.0b7
NetNewsWire Pro 1.0b7 adds a new feature: you can now edit Blosxom and Blosxom-compatible sites with the Weblog Editor.
Another change makes downloading recent posts from Blogger sites (in the Weblog Editor) more reliable. [inessential.com] # - DiscussMicrosoft's masterplan to screw phone partner - full details
If Microsoft's extended family of lawyers was thinking it could now kick back and anticipate a kind of extended Spring Break for the rest of this Bush administration, the pre-Xmas filing by British phone company Sendo could yet be the cause of a few unexpected late nights.Sendo's 27-page filing in a Texas court - disclosed here for the first time - is a rich litany of double dealing, betrayal and larceny - if the dramatic (and at times apoplectic) allegations can be believed. Until November, Sendo was Microsoft's flagship phone OEM. It then announced that its four-times-delayed Z100 Stinger phone would be canned, and threw its lot in with Nokia, terminating the Microsoft agreement. [Daypop Top 40] # - Discuss
Kill Bill
| Friday, January 3, 2003 |
The Doughboy seems to like his own brand.
Brent Simmons who is now famous for...
Brent Simmons who is now famous for NetNewsWire, an RSS reader for Mac OS X, wrote docs about MacBird back in 1996. They're still there on his site on Ranchero. [Scripting News] # - DiscussNetNewsWire Pro 1.0b5
India Makes Steps Toward Officially Approving Linux...
| Friday, January 25, 2002 |
Blogger News Item
Blogger News Item
AP: "A former Enron Corp. executive who challenged the company's questionable financial practices and resigned last May was found shot to death in a car Friday, an apparent suicide, authorities said."[Scripting News] # - Discuss
Blogger News Item
Blogger News Item
New Radio 8 feature. Now you can post to categories without posting to the home page. If you have categories enabled, there's a new checkbox, the first one, called Home Page (it effectively becomes a category). By default it's checked. Now you can easily publish multiple weblogs, going to lots of different locations, from one edit box. Screen shot. [Dave Winer: Radio UserLand] # - DiscussBlogger News Item
Blogger News Item
New Radio 8 feature. Now you can post to categories without posting to the home page. If you have categories enabled, there's a new checkbox, the first one, called Home Page (it effectively becomes a category). By default it's checked. Now you can easily publish multiple weblogs, going to lots of different locations, from one edit box. Screen shot.Blogger News Item
Blogger News Item
Turning Macs on Thievery. Stolen computers are notoriously difficult to recover. But a Houston man cleverly found his sister's stolen iMac using remote control software, friends on the Net, luck and brains. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] # - DiscussBlogger News Item
Blogger News Item
New Radio 8 feature. Now you can change the file extension for rendered files as they upstream. The next feature in the queue is post-to-categories without posting to the home page.
| Wednesday, May 24, 2000 |
Sources Confirm New Apple Mouse, Keyboard
sources with ties to those in Cupertino claim that Apple's new mouse is indeed Wireless, Optical, and also 'button-less.' Apparently the new mouse will be programmable through software, similar to the way PowerBook users can set their trackpad to respond to certain actions such as touch-pad tapping and drag and drop. "It's really the coolest mouse in the world." one source said, "It's not just another wireless, optical mouse. It's done by Apple, so it's impressive." # - Discuss
| Wednesday, May 17, 2000 |
Star Wars Episode II being rendered with Maya on MP G4s?
We've been sitting on this one for quite some time awaiting more corroboration between reports...and that time has come. Numerous sources and good friends throughout Lucasfilm and the infamous Skywalker Ranch have reported on some very interesting developments their with regard to their use of unreleased Mac OS technologies.Apparently, rendering of "moving storyboards" and early versions of various scenes throughout Star Wars Episode II is being done with prototype multiprocessor PowerMac G4s using Alias|Wavefront's as-yet unreleased Maya rendering software. Reports conflict to varying degrees on the operating systems used; most indicate a mix of OS9 and OS X Pre-DP4 builds, but some stress a purely OS X environment.
Some reports suggest that Skywalker Ranch may even hold prototype caseless PowerMacs with V'Ger "G4e" processors at up to 700MHz, but these are of less certain nature. What's most interesting from these reports is that unlike with Episode I, Lucasfilm is seriously considering moving many of the tasks that it performed on high-end Silicon Graphics (SGI) workstations to this potent new combination of Velocity Engine, OS X, and Maya....imagine one of the biggest releases of next year (if the current schedule holds) being created almost entirely on the Mac OS.... # - Discuss
SWAT team visits Keith's house
Sunday night as i got home there were a dozen sheriff and police cars on my street. And a SWAT van parked in my driveway. I was able to get ito my house but the SWAT team questioned me quite thoroughly. I didn't know what had happened until i saw this story.... # - DiscussTimmy Bighands Reviews Saliva
| Tuesday, May 16, 2000 |
No Apple Handheld?
This article at the venerable MacUser UK quotes Apple VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller as saying that Apple is "focused on the personal computer space, not the handheld space, and that's that." # - DiscussWWDC 2000 Keynote Coverage
Ed Zander, COO and President of Sun, was welcomed on-stage to speak during Jobs' Mac OS X presentation where he made such comments as "I haven't been to a Jobs revival in years..." and "I have no reason to suck up to Steve cuz I don't work for him."Apple's marketshare in Europe rose from 3.0% to 4.1% since 1999, while it soared from 5.7% to 7.8% in Japan and from 4.5% to 5.1% in the State's on the sale of 4 million Macintosh units. 3.5 million iMacs have also shipped since its introduction 2 years ago, and as Jobs stated, it still has "no credible competition."...
In the QuickTime department, Apple announced that over 36 million copies of its media software had been downloaded (or over 50 million copies when you consider shipping computers (Macs and Windows) and Possibly 100 million or more considering that with QuickTime licenses by Apple to other developers who ship QT with their products)....
Jobs announced a new version of QuickTime in the works that should feature MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 codecs for both local and streaming media, native Flash 4 support, an AltiVec accelerated QDesign encoder and QTVR Cubic panoramas: "all the way up, all the way down." # - Discuss
| Saturday, May 13, 2000 |
Impact! Chandra Images A Young Supernova Blast Wave
Two images made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, one in October 1999, the other in January 2000, show for the first time the full impact of the actual blast wave from Supernova 1987A (SN1987A). The observations are the first time that X-rays from a shock wave have been imaged at such an early stage of a supernova explosion. # - Discuss
| Thursday, May 11, 2000 |
Astrophysicists Detect Cosmic Shear, Evidence of Dark Matter
Astrophysicists Detect Cosmic Shear, Evidence Of Dark Matter Astrophysicists supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) have announced the first observations of cosmological shear, an effect predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity....Using the NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile and a method known as weak gravitational lensing, the scientists were the first to map the distribution of dark matter over large swaths of the sky. # - Discuss
WWDC may not bring surprises
Many readers questioned the significance of Apple releasing dual-G4 Power Macs now, when few applications support the added power and Mac OS X, which will feature symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) support is still months away....By brining some level of multiprocessor support to Mac OS 9, Apple ensures that when they unveil these machines, the new date for which is currently unknown, they'll be able to woo the crowd and the media with more than just a series of Photoshop tests....
Due to the advanced features that are available only for Carbon or Cocoa applications, Apple wants to make it clear that it is in developers' and end users' interest that applications be native to the OS, despite being able to run classic applications with little, if any, shortcomings. # - Discuss
Apple's WWDC
Next week is Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference, or WWDC, in San Jose CA. Two related weblogs, one for Mac OS X, run by four editors, Jim Roepcke, Daniel Berlinger, James Spahr and Wes Felter (wow what a team!); and one specifically for WWDC, run by a group of three editors. # - DiscussMicrosoft's Latest Scam
Go2Mac reader Rich Trouton passes along this tidbit from a PC World article.
I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but I ran across this on PC World's Web site this morning, having been alerted to it by one of the Mac advocates on comp.sys.mac.advocacy. It looks like Microsoft is rolling out a new way to combat software piracy by no longer including full backup CD of the OS with systems sold by OEMs. Instead, customers receive two options for disaster recovery: a "recovery CD" locked into that type of system, or a hard-drive-based approach when a "recovery image" of the OS is loaded on a separate partition.# - DiscussIn my opinion, this stinks. Microsoft may see this as a nifty way to combat piracy, but it'll probably backfire on them in a big way. Can you imagine if Apple tried to do this, bundling just the Software Restore CD or lopping off part of the hard drive "just in case something went wrong?" You'd hear the screaming from New York to Cupertino.
| Wednesday, May 10, 2000 |
iMovie on the Bigscreen
Mitsubishi has announced plans for their 2000-01 line of digital televisions and Macintosh users are going to be very happy. The new models will give gamers a shot of adreneline and iMovie aficionados a screen size worthy of their work. All of Mitsubishi's new digital capable sets will include FireWire ports. # - Discuss
| Tuesday, May 9, 2000 |
We Are All Goliaths
Microsoft could have lost to Apple in the GUI lawsuits, it could have succumbed the various other operating systems that nipped at Microsoft's buds, but they didn't and hence Microsoft was able to leverage its power to assert a great majority of other market leading software, not of choice but by brute force.Now the United States government has finally realized it has a regular Rockefeller under it's own very nose and it's going to work hard to make sure that the American citizen will have the best choice....
And when you see Apple has barely invested all that capital into providing itself a future then you will see a huge bankroll that can bailout Microsoft at any time possible. # - Discuss
| Monday, May 8, 2000 |
The Case For Microsoft by Bill Gates
Two weeks ago, in response to the government's proposed regulatory scheme to break up Microsoft, I said that our company could not have created the Windows operating system if we had been prohibited from developing Microsoft Office as well....The benefits of developing operating systems (OSs) and applications software under the same roof will increase as new intelligent devices emerge over the next few years....
Just as chassis developments at Lincoln (owned by Ford) are shared with Ford's other car divisions, Microsoft takes the best thinking among its applications software developers and shares it with Windows developers (and vice versa). # - Discuss
Connectix to revamp Speed Doubler into new product
After overwhelming demand from customers, Connectix Corporation, confirmed Monday it will be releasing a new, re-designed, Mac OS 9-compatible version of Speed Doubler with a new name and expanded file copying features."I guess the fundamental point is that a very large number of existing Speed Doubler customers have contacted us with impassioned pleas to bring the product back, but not necessarily as Speed Doubler," Mike Dilley, Product Marketing Manager for Connectix told MacNN. # - Discuss
| Friday, May 5, 2000 |
Lasers Shine New Light On Gravity Waves
Lasers Shine New Light On Gravity Waves When Galileo trained his hand-made telescope on the night sky in 1604, he was the first to see lunar craters, Jupiter�s moons and the phases of Venus, all with equipment more primitive than modern binoculars....Two research teams are working on the problem, one at Stanford University, the other at Adelaide University in South Australia, funded by large ARC grants.... # - Discuss
More than 300 U.N. personnel believed held by Sierra Leone r
Earlier Friday, U.N. officials said a four-member Russian helicopter crew and two passengers, all United Nations personnel, had been released by the rebels in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. # - DiscussApple PDA to be announced at WWDC, delivered at New York?
If the bundle of Apple documents that recently showed up at our doorstep proves genuine, then we may all be hearing about Apple's hand-held plans earlier than expected. An announcement at WWDC in ten days will include most of the technical details of the machine, including its unique tie-ins with OS X, the anonymously mailed bundle suggests -- and the actual product is said to be scheduled for delivery at New York along with changes to Apple's other Consumer product lines and the release of OS X Consumer.Independent confirmation of the authenticity of the documents is still forthcoming, so for the time being this should be considered speculation and taken with a healthy helping of salt. # - Discuss
Powerbook G4 update
Although a far cry from the final word, recent reports on Apple's next Powerbook have been filling in the gaps about the machine's enclosure, timetable, and specifications. Among the more interesting tidbits is a report that suggests Apple is using a new and very advanced enclosure process for the PBG4, in which epoxy and interlocking components will do almost all of the machine's structural and assembly/dissassembly work.This would greatly reduce the use of metals, bolts and screws in the machine while freeing up more room inside the enclosure -- all resulting in a thinner, lighter Powerbook.
This is a test
Our mission is to attain the combined commitment of Kern County families, communities, schools, businesses, and public & private entities to help build and sustain healthy families and enrich the lives of children. To accomplish this mission we have adopted the following as fundamental principles to guide us in our work # - Discuss (1 response)
