Anti-Macintosh Propaganda

By: Jon
Gales [AIM: jonknee41]

UPDATED 12:18AM EST **ADDED EMAIL FORM**

Vnunet.com,
a UK Technology site has recently posted two anit-Macintosh articles. I neglected
to post the first one the day it came out, cut the author a break. I don’t give
second chances. His second installment is just as quirky as the first.

The first article
supposedly debunked the "myth" that Macs are safer than PC’s running
Windows. My analysis follows quotes from the articles. It would help to read
the articles first. The
second article is chock full of responses from "actual" Mac users
(due to the fact that Apple wouldn’t comment).

FIRST PROPAGANDA PIECE REBUTTAL:

"Mac users are no safer from the threat of viruses than Windows
users, according to experts who have just shattered a long standing myth."

With a thesis statement like this I had high hopes for the article. In fact,
I was hoping to learn a few things (and pass them along to you). Now you have
to realize that the rest of the article doesn’t do anything to support the
above quote.

"Antivirus firm Symantec said that over three quarters of Mac users are
under the illusion that they are not a target for virus writers and hackers."

Their "experts" are only interested in selling Symantec software
– their business. Objectivity is no where to be found. A more suitable
"Expert" might have been an independent security consultant that
has no vested interest in the purchasing of security software. This pretty
much makes the rest of the article fiction. Sorry but next time get an "expert"
that doesn’t profit off of scarring Mac users!

"Obviously there are more PC-only viruses out there, but there are still
over 7,000 macro viruses which can hit either Mac or PC platforms."

Mac’s don’t come with Office (needed to run the mentioned viruses). It
needs to be installed – and only after that can a user be dumb enough
to run a macro. Most PC viruses attack a default Windows install.

"Another big problem Mac users don’t think about is that they make perfect
incubators for Windows viruses," said Chapman. "

Yep… the other day I
got an email titled "Look at these file Jon Gales" and the attachment
was a .exe… The first thing I did was send it to all of my closest friends
that I knew were on Windows. I didn’t really do that (but you knew that) but
think about it – without the virus sending out itself automatically what’s
the danger? 99% of viruses are carried in email (and automatically send themselves
to people in your address book).

"At the time of going to press Apple was unavailable for comment."

Enough said.

SECOND PROPAGANDA PIECE REBUTTAL:

"Despite numerous requests for comment from Apple in both the US and
the UK, the company has not yet provided a spokesman to comment on the issue.
"

Still… I have no comment.
Enough said.

"Readers pointed out that there are plenty of Mac viruses out there,
not just the macro viruses affecting Microsoft Office installations, but AppleScript
and Macintosh file infectors. "

Sounds like some good ol’ PC users writing in. I’ve been a Mac user all
my life and have never had a bit of data lost. I don’t think I’m lucky, I
think I’m average. Try taking a survey among Windows users of at least 5 years
– you’d find someone that hasn’t had a virus to be VERY rare. Even
if there are a lot of Mac viruses they must not get passed around well…
All the ones in my inbox are .exe’s. A smart worm could scan only @mac.com
addresses but that wouldn’t do too much – Apple filters all e-mail.

"I’m a Mac user
since probably around 10 years ago and I’ve found OS/9 is crap. It lacks all
the generic features for a ‘secure’ operating system, as much as Windows, but
probably even worse."

Two things:
* OS 9 is a dead OS. Apple has even said so. We don’t comment on the security
of Windows 98 since it’s well just not being shipped.
* He’s not a Mac user – there is no chance. If you’ve read the Naked
Truth [review]
the comments about detecting PC users will come to mind. If he was really
a hardcore Mac user (you have to be to last 10 years) he wouldn’t trash his
OS. Also – it would never be compared in an inferior way to Windows.
It’s just not done by one of our own.

"On the one hand
this article should be commended. Mac users should not believe they are invulnerable
and should practise safe computing just like their Windows counterparts do.
[But] the Macintosh as a platform is safer, chiefly because it hasn’t been as
attractive a target as Windows machines."

Is the Mac OS safer because
it’s not used as much, or does it have better code? Is a Lexus safer because
their are fewer of them (and thus you are less likely, statistically, to get
into an accident with one) or because Lexus has put more effort into research
on safety? The Screensavers
ran a Capture
the Flag contest during one of their shows. They had both a Mac, and a
Windows machine on the network waiting to be hacked. The Mac needed no updates
while the Windows machine needed several security updates. At the end of the
show no one managed to "win" by placing their contact info in a
folder but someone did succeed in restarting the PC. Interesting if the Mac
is really that insecure.

Now, there were a few real
(or at least pretty good fakes) Mac users that wrote into the author after the
first article was published but overall the BS monitor was off the chart. I
hunted down the author’s email address (James_middleton@vnu.co.uk)
off of their site. Using my custom software that I wrote a while back
I have made a form that will allow you to email James right now. You will also
recieve an email when James opens your message! Tell James what’s up!

Your Email Addy:
Subject
Message:

What’s Real really doing?

What’s Real really doing?
By: Jon Gales

If you are an OS X user
there is a 97% chance that you’ve asked yourself… "Where’s Real for OS
X?". I’ve been asking this since last year and have yet to find an answer.
After searching Real’s notorius hellish* site for several
minutes I found:

"RealNetworks
is fully committed to the Macintosh and we’re actively working on bringing
our latest technologies to the Macintosh platform." [real.com]

Big talk but no results.
I don’t buy it. A company that has ignored the fastest growing alternitive operating
system in the world for 14 months is crazy and is not to be trusted. If you
buy a Mac today you get OS X. Isn’t it fair to have a player for the default
OS? I believe so, that’s why I am asking for your help. I’ve already written
letters but my meager offereings don’t do anything.

I’ve written a form (below)
that sends what you type to Real as an email. Maybe if 3,000+ people send there
wishes for an OS X version of RealPlayer they may wake up and smell the roses.
If you would like to share you comments with me, or want them posted on MacMerc.com
please email or AIM[jonknee41] me. Thanks
for your participation!

Also, if you get a reply
send it to me – I am going to be making a page containing official Real
communications. Most Mac users want to be informed on the progress of Real so
with your help we’ll be the place!

The form also uses an amazing
bit of technology that I myself created (just a few months ago). You will recieve
an email as soon as Real opens your letter (as long as they use an HTML capable
mail reader)! I’m not kidding! Obviously if you put a fake email address you
won’t get anything . If you have the "Let MacMerc publish" button
checked your email will be saved in our system for review and possible addition
to the site (sans the name and email address). If you don’t want us to save
anything just uncheck the box!

We have posted some of the initial letters sent to Real! Thanks for your support and please continue to write Real!

TALK TO REAL FORM:

Name:
Email:
Comment:
Let MacMerc publish?

 

 

*By hellish I mean hard to navigate. All the pressure is to get you to buy.
I’d pay but there is no version available for my computer. Too bad.

What’s Real really doing? Part 2– Real Letters

By: Jon Gales

Here are some of the better
responses MacMerc fans wrote to Real
regarding the lack of an OS X player. If you haven’t yet written
one please do! We still need more! It doesn’t take long at all. Just tell them
you want Real for OS X or at least an explanation.

READER LETTERS:

"RealNetworks folks,
How much longer do MacOSX users have to wait for a version of RealPlayer that’s
built for our operating system. MacOSX was released more than a year ago, and
we still don’t even see a beta version available. As an owner of RealPlayer
8 Plus, I’m ready to see not only a version built for OSX (that contains all
the Windows features) but one that is also stable. I think you owe your customers
a response! "

–

"Dear Real,
I have been a PAYING Customer of your macintosh products since you first entered
the Mac market. As one of the few companies/ products successfully competing
against MIcrosoft, it makes no sense for you to ignore a natural, affluent constituency…"

–

"Dear Real:
I am a Mac user and regular web surfer. I consider the RealPlayer to be a cornerstone
of the internet experience, and have been frustrated in my move to OS X by the
lack of a compatible player. Running the Player in classic is not an adequate
option, as any user of Mac OS X will try not to run classic if at all possible,
and to launch classic (nearly a minute) in order to play a short video clip
seems ridiculous. As a result I have stopped viewing RealPlayer clips, and there
is a hole in my net experience.. Where are you, Real? Bring the Player to X!
"

–

"I hope you’ll
release a public statement soon about the availability of RealPlayer for Mac
OS X. Many large advertising companies, such as my employer, utilitize growing
numbers of Mac OS X systems. Before the end of the year, every Mac in our company
will be running Mac OS X due to the need for better integration and interoperability
with our network/server infrastructure. If RealPlayer isn’t available for Mac
OS X, our company will likely pressure vendors to employ Windows Media format
or Quicktime content on their websites, rather than RealNetworks content Thank
you. "

–

"Hi, I’m a Macintosh
Technician in Manhattan and deal with several large-sized clients along with
single end-users thrown in every once in a while. Almost every week I upgrade
an OS or two to Mac OS X and am asked "Oh… a don’t forget Real Player…
I like that…’" after which I need to tell the client that there is no
Real Player (or Real Plus) for Mac OS X yet. With the release of another major
update of MAc OS X coming soon and the availability of products from Microsoft
and Adobe (among others) I am seeing a large amount of business devoted to OS
X. If you could release Real software for OS X soon I know of a lot of clients
that would install it the same day. Please release Real software for Mac OS
X. "

–

"Just the other
day I realized that it had been a year since I started using Mac OS X. I also
realized that it had been a year since I last used RealPlayer to play any online
video or audio content. This is really a shame. I know that I have missed out
on some valuable online content because you have yet to bring RealPlayer to
Mac OS X. Then I read that you have been promising to do this for over a year.
I find it hard to believe that it is really taking you this long to bring RealPlayer
to Mac OS X."

 

Of course – the
usual one liners were sent as well but that will always happen. Everything helps
our cause. For those that couldn’t care less about Real, competetion makes products
better! We don’t want to have QuickTime the only game in town! Pass this
around to friends. Get as many people to send letters as you can If you get
official replies from real please send
them to me. I’ll post all that I can. Any communication from Real directed towards
me about this article and email form will be posted as well. Thanks! – Jon

What’s Realô really doing ó Part 3– Realô Replies

By: Jon Gales

A MacMerc reader sent me
a reply he got from Real concerning
the lack
of RealPlayer for OS X. It’s the first reply I’ve gotten. If you have any
replies please send them in so I can post them! If you click on the [comment]
links throughout the email you will get my take. Feel free to send in any rebuttals
you have.

LETTER FROM REAL:

Hello
**NAME OF SENDER**. Actually you are about the 50th person who has stated
this question to us today via the sales email alias. If you could please sent
this response back to all of the other people that have emailed this same
response. Real appreciates all of your input and understands your dying need
to have RealOnePlayer compatible with OSX. I personally am glad that so many
of you are enthusiastic about getting it.
I work in server sales and will pass on your messages. The thing is this.
Real is in deed working on a version compatible with OSX due to be out by
no later than the end of this year [comment]. Unfortunately
Mac versions although very important just make up such a small amount of the
computer universe that they are often the last to be focused on.[comment]
Real makes their technology compatible with over 10 different Operating Systems
and the other platforms are in much higher demand [comment]
unfortunately so we have to get to them first. The OSX version will be out
towards the end of the year. Unfortunately that is all the give me as far
as a date goes.
I will definitely forward all of this response to our product development
department in hopes that this will spur them on to expedite this process [comment].
Thanks again for your input and please  inform the others that emailed
me as well. Thanks. -Chris

–

My Take:

1) "To
be out by no later than the end of this year"

This is what I was going for. We have at least a target. A development time
of 20 months is a little lengthy but I’ll take it. At least we got a time frame
(something that wasn’t posted on their site). [top]

–

2) "Mac
versions although very important just make up such a small amount of the computer
universe that they are often the last to be focused on"

Wow. That makes me very angry. Here’s an analagy: I tend to focus my eyes on
Lexus vehicles rather than on Ford’s. Lexus has a very small market share but
they sure get respect. Imagine if no tires were being made for all of the new
model Lexus’! The stores just say "Sorry Mr. Gales there just isn’t enough
market share to fund making a tire just for your type of car. We’ll have one
out by the end of the year.". You can read the Naked
Truth to continue this analogy but I don’t think you need to. Any rabid
Mac fan will be angered by the above kill statement. Good thing I’m not militant.
[top]

–

3) "Real
makes their technology compatible with over 10 different Operating Systems and
the other platforms are in much higher demand"

Name them. Go ahead, try
it. This is what I came up with:

1. Windows XP
2. Windows 2000
3. Windows ME
4. Windows 98
5. Windows 95
6. Windows 3.1
7. DOS
8. Linux
9. Unix (non OS X )
10. BeOS

On Real.com you can download
their player for 8 OS’s, not 10:

1. Windows 98
2. Windows ME
3. Windows 2000
4. Windows NT 4.0
5. Windows XP
6. Mac OS 8.1
7. Mac OS 8.5 or higher
8. UNIX

The one’s in bold have no
chance of being in higher demand than OS X. Already OS X has a larger user base
than all GUI based Linux distributions so cancel out Unix. How many people do
you know run OS 8? I don’t know anyone. But, it runs RealPlayer. Nice. This
"fact" in the letter was complete BS, plain and simple. [top]

–

4) "I
will definitely forward all of this response to our product development department
in hopes that this will spur them on to expedite this process"

Good. I thank you for your
support in this effort. Hopefully we can all have a smug grin on our face when
RealX comes out a few months early. I congratulate you all. We did something
that one person couldn’t – get a reply out of the monster. Give yourself
a pat on the back! [top]

 

If you get any replies from
Real please forward them to jon@macmerc.com.
Thanks! – Jon

Why Microsoft is winning the game…and Apple is losing

By: Jon Gales

PC
World recently published a stunning article
fittingly titled, "MSN Launches AOL Defection Tool". A quick
read will result in a moderate "Anti-Microsoft" vibe but after an
analysis it’s actually quite chilling but in an odd way appealing. If you haven’t
yet read the article here is the notable quote:

"Microsoft
will cancel your AOL account and for 30 days will refer to your new address
any e-mail sent to your AOL address."

The implications
of this are amazing. Microsoft
has already spent $50,000,000 on marketing MSN
(Microsoft’s ISP) to current AOL users. They have even created a browser (based
off of IE) to mimic AOL’s unique "all in one" look and feel. At a
time when AOL Time Warner is strapped
for cash, Microsoft’s spending millions upon millions on stealing their user
base couldn’t have been more perfectly executed. AOL is in a downward spiral
– Microsoft is helping to flush the toilet.

The death of AOL has been in Microsoft’s eyes for years. Ever since AOL controlled
a near monopoly in the ISP market. What they are doing about it (helping users
in every way they can switch to MSN from AOL) is the "perfect" solution
to gain lots of users quickly. What makes MSN so appealing is that it ties in
with everything you use. The reason for this is that MS makes everything you
use. Remind you of another company?

Why doesn’t Apple do this?
Obviously I don’t mean literally – Apple doesn’t own an ISP. I mean, why
doesn’t Apple "baby" users from Windows? Why can’t Apple make a Windows
program to save off email, bookmarks, and other easy to retrieve but annoying
to do so data onto an iDisk or something similar for retreival on a Mac? Why
can’t Apple make deals with large software vendors to allow PC users that have
bought software (and have registered) get a Mac version for free?

I know Apple won’t launch a US$50 million advertising campaign (too costly for a few converts) but one that is aimed at Windows users might help. The current campaigns
make NO sense to the average Windows user. I still have to explain some of them
to the Mac faithful!

Microsoft is doing what it needs to do to stay in the black – well
into the black. Apple can start making ground on the "other" 95% of
computer users. We have the best OS on the market, the coolest computers, and
the most loyal following. Should we mimic the beast and have them get a taste
of their medicine? In my opinion, YES!

Jon Gales is a staff writer for MacMerc. He can be reached for comment at
jon@macmerc.com or on AIM (jonknee41).

QuarkXPress- No Wow! to be had

By: Rick Yaeger

Looking across the spines of the books on the shelf in the Mac section at my local bookstore I see numerous volumes on various graphics applications. There’s Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand and Procreate Painter among others. Thanks mainly to Peachpit Press, I also see one particular word that seems be a favorite in the titles of these books ó “Wow!” ….Photoshop has a Wow! Book, Illustrator has a Wow! Book, Painter has a Wow! Book…there seems to be a lot of reason to be Wow’d these days.

We all want to be Wow’d and it just stands to reason that we might also like to Wow others ó if we didn’t, Peachpit wouldn’t keep making these books. Recently I have started offering my own graphics techniques here at MacMerc in our Graphics Tip of the Week section. I had hoped to offer a tutorial every week that would Wow our readers to some degree. Rather than limit myself to one application, I decided to just take the ideas as they came regardless of which application they utilized ó let the creative spirit flow. It soon became apparent that certain applications, like Photoshop and Illustrator, lent themselves to Wowing people, while others did not. QuarkXPress is without the ability to Wow ó it may try but it doesn’t have it in it.

“So what!?” you say “QuarkXPress is just a layout program. It’s not supposed to be exciting. It is there to do the job of laying out and it does it just fine.” Quite true. Perhaps QuarkXPress is secure enough that it feels no reason to draw attention to itself with all the flashiness that Illustrator or Photoshop use. It’s just not that needy.

But this is the graphics industry after all. An industry whose very nature is to be flashy and call attention to something in some way and that is exactly why Freehand and Canvas, among others, have been equipped with the ability to Wow. They also do the job of laying out and no Mac forum is complete without a thread consisting of various diehard users of various diehard applications extolling the virtues of their app of choice over the shortcomings of the industry standard, QuarkXPress.

With Quark, the Wow does not come standard. Many Wow-inspiring features that come standard in most competing applications, are either unavailable for QuarkXPress users or can only be utilized with the help of third party XTensions that, while they are quite well made and useful, really should not come as an extra cost to consumers who have already paid for Quark’s hefty $800 price tag.

Another issue that is often brought up is that QuarkXPress is not conducive to creative expression, that its interface is clunky, non-intuitive and “old” ñ it sucks the Wow right out of you. Many have pointed to InDesign and its familiar, standard Adobe interface as the “Quark killer” and have predicted a coup d’Ètat that will unseat XPress on the throne of industry standards and replace it with the day’s favorite.

Quark has long been criticized for being slow to release updates and lackluster when it does. For instance, it wasn’t until the late 90′s that Quark introduced the ability to enter type on a curve in version 4.0 and now, years after that addition to the program, many users have returned to Illustrator to achieve that same affect the same way they did in version 3. One has to wonder if the sparse new features of QuarkXPress 5.0 will soon lose what little novelty they have and be similarly ignored.

Users have felt disregarded when they contacted Quark with feature requests and betrayed when Quark not only disregarded their ideas but took the page layout application in directions few had need for. A prime example of this is QuarkXPress 5′s ability to translate documents built for print into HTML ó basically allowing a Wowless print piece to become a Wowless web site. The addition of this feature has caused more than a few diehard QuarkXPress users to shake their head in confusion. “Why do I want this and why should I have to pay for it?”

Ultimately, Quark’s own lack of customer appreciation and customer service and its failure to innovate, much less keep up, may have put the company and its flagship product in the “catch-up” position against Adobe’s upstart, InDesign. We may be shocked to find that Adobe InDesign isn’t as much the “QuarkXPress killer” it was touted as being, since it may be revealed in the last few pages of this murder mystery that Quark itself is holding the smoking gun over the bleeding XPress and muttering in disbelief, “I didn’t see THAT coming…wow!”

Are You Wow’d by QuarkXPress? …vote here

And don’t forget to speak out in the Forums

The Rebuttal ñ eMac, iMac, No Dvorak

The Rebuttal
– eMac, iMac, No Dvorak
By: Jon Gales

I’ve been following John Dvorak for several years. If you haven’t
heard of him, Mr. Dvorak is a PC Magazine
contributing editor and a vocal anti-Macintosh pundit. I’ve heard him complain
about an array of Apple products (most notably the iBook which he dubbed a Hello
Kitty purse). He recently let loose an article that articulates his ignorance,
"E-Mac,
i-Mac, No Mac". Now, I could pick on the mistakes in his title…
It’s supposed to be eMac and iMac (no dashes) but I won’t even touch on that
.

Bias is to be expected –
especially in the sensitive topic of computing platforms. I’m biased towards
the Macintosh but Dvorak has gone overboard:

Isn’t it about
time the Macintosh was simply discontinued—put down like an old dog?

**BIAS ALERT** There aren’t
many responses (ones that exclude the words I’m not allowed to use on this
site) that would make a whole lot of sense. I’ll just let you laugh at this
one.

The company also rolled out some blade computers for Mac-heads who like running
massive Web sites with Mac technology. The obvious next iteration of the Mac
will be the current Luxo-looking i-Mac with a bigger screen and probably new
colors. After that, what is Apple going to do?

Nope… Not blade computers! They all have CPU’s
and cooling units and are all fully functional computers. They take up 1U
and have G4 chips. Do yourself a favor, visit Apple.com.
Also what did they do when they had the CRT? The made a better iMac. That’s
what Apple does… They keep improving!

The Lisa was designed with ideas lifted from the Xerox Star. The Mac
was an improvement, but apparently there hasn’t been a new idea since.

How about the iMac
which has been one of the best selling computer lines of all time – millions
upon millions of happy customers. How about dumping the floppy when most PC’s
still have one but no one uses it. How about adding FireWire
to every computer they make. How about Final
Cut Pro (most people don’t know that almost every movie trailer is edited
down with FCP). How about iDVD.
How about adding support for 802.11b
in all their machines before most people knew what it was. How about QuickTime
Streaming Server (it’s free unlike something from Real and it’s used throughout
the industry by media giants like CNN).
How about Remote
Desktop. How about OS
X.

 

Dvorak’s fundamental beef
is that he wants Macintosh to die (no real motive except he’s a die hard PC
weenie). His weenie status is evident every time he talks about Apple. He always
screws up his facts. Whether it’s on Silicon Spin (a discontinued TV show) and
he gets the specs of the iPod wrong, or if it’s the capitalization in computer
models he is always wrong when it comes to Apple. As most loyal’s know Apple
has been getting death announcements (more than probably any other profitable
company) for many years but they have all been ungrounded. After Jobs got on
board (for the second time) Apple has taken a lot of ground. After the Switch
campaign started I’ve gotten even more confident that what John Dvorak spews
is just a desperation call. He can’t possibly stand being wrong.

**This
is an editorial piece. All comments should be sent directly to Jon**

 

Special Feature– Ela Schwartz on MacWorld NY

As expected, throngs of the Mac faithful descended upon the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City Wednesday morning to attend Macworld Expo 2002. However, to look at the banner ads festooned throughout the lobby, youíd think the show was more geared to the PC crowd. The ads, part of Appleís ìReal Peopleî advertising campaign that debuted in June, feature profiles of disgruntled PC users who have crossed party lines and found happiness with their new Macs.

Readers of this site have undoubtedly found out by now that relations between Apple and Microsoft have been less than peachy lately. Microsoft has been making headlines by their attempts to steal Appleís Macworld spotlight by announcing new products long before ship dates, although youíd never guess that anything was amiss judging from the amiable atmosphere at the Microsoft booth, where the company showed continuous video clips of such wholesome scenes as people dancing around the Apple logo to the tune of the Turtlesí ìHappy Together.î

Aside from trying to lure PC owners away from the dark side, Apple continues to nudge Mac users to upgrade to OS X. At the show, Apple introduced OS 10.2, code-named Jaguar.

Jaguar offers more than 150 new features and applications, including:

Enhanced Mail junk mail filter

iChat, an AIM-compatible instant messenger

A systemwide Address Book

Inkwell advanced handwriting recognition technology

QuickTime 6 with support for MPEG-4

Universal Access

An enhanced Finder

Sherlock 3, Appleís new Internet Services tool

Quartz Extreme, which accelerates graphics performance to deliver seamlessly blended 2D, 3D and QuickTime content onto the desktop

Increased compatibility with Windows networks with SMB browsing and sharing and built-in PPTP VPN compatibility.

Rendezvous, Appleís home networking technology that enables users to link computers and devices without any configuration via Ethernet, AirPort, FireWire, USB or Bluetooth.

Epson, HP and Lexmark are working to integrate Rendezvous into their products for automatic discovery and configuration of network printers.

Apple also introduced Mac OS X Server version 10.2 ìJaguarî Server, which includes more than 50 new features.

On the hardware side, the company unveiled a 17-inch flat-screen iMac and three new configurations of the iPod–5GB, 10GB and 20 GB–available for both Mac and Windows.

Over at Microsoft, the companyís Macintosh Business Unit served up a new Palm Handheld Synchronization add-in for Entourage (TM) X. Under the Get It Together promotion, consumers can get up to $100 off the purchase of Office v. X when purchased with any new Macintosh computer. Finally, Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client, allows remote connection and access to Microsoft WindowsÆ-based computers from virtually any network connection using a Macintosh computer.

Macworld Expo once again drove home Appleís dominance as the platform of choice for graphic artists, web designers and filmmakers. The Macworld Conference and Expo Digital Art Gallery displayed the works of winning contestants. Adjacent to the gallery, a consortium of Final Cut Pro user groups hosted a program of short films and works created in Final Cut Pro.

Attendees could take a break from salespeople bearing Frisbees, posters, raffle tickets and Silly Putty knockoffs to drink coffee and go online at the Internet CafÈ, get technical advice at the Apple Consultants Network counter, check out the latest game titles in the Gaming Area or meet fellow Macaholics in either the User Group Lounge or the Northeast Macintosh User Group Booth, hosted once again this year by the Long Island Macintosh User Group.

This yearís event will perhaps be defined as much by which companies chose not to attend as those that did. Conspicuous in their respective absences were Adobe and Macromedia.

According to Kevin Burr, Adobeís vice president of corporate communications, “Adobe is not exhibiting at the Macworld New York show this year, but will continue to exhibit at Macworld San Francisco. Like many companies in today’s economy, we’ve re-focused our tradeshow resources on a few select shows that will give us the most significant return on investment. The West Coast show has traditionally been more successful for us, since we’re able to reach more Adobe Macintosh customers.”

Macromediaís PR department had their own official statement: “Macromedia is totally committed to the Mac community and has brought out a great new Macromedia MX family of tools, including Macromedia Flash MX, Dreamweaver MX, and Fireworks MX, which are all natively compatible with Mac OS X. While Macromedia as a company has found that seminars and other methods of communicating with our customers are more effective than trade shows, we are still one hundred percent committed to empowering Mac developers to create the most effective user experiences possible.”

Now for the companies that did attend and had something to announce.

FileMaker introduced FileMaker Pro 6. The database software can import large numbers of images from a folder into a database, and, on Mac OS X only, capture digital images and image-data directly from cameras. With integrated XML (Extensible Markup Language) import and export, FileMaker can integrate and exchange data with many applications, without complex, costly converting of data between proprietary formats.

Ezedia announced its new eZediaQTI 1.0, a cross-platform QuickTime authoring and animation environment that enables users to combine and enhance video, graphics, animation, sound VRs and text to develop websites, Internet banner ads, interactive videos and online presentations.

DiamondSoft Inc. announced an update to Font Reserve Single User. Version 3.1 provides plug-ins to automatically activate fonts for documents opened in Adobe InDesign 2.0 and Adobe Illustrator 10, both Mac OS X-native applications.

Nikon added three new cameras to its Coolpix line: the 5.0-megapixel Coolpix 5700 with an 8x optical zoom, the 4-megapixel, 4x optical zoom 4500, and the 2.0-megapixel Coolpix 2000 with a 3x optical zoom. The company also unveiled the D100 6.1-megapixel digital SLR camera.

For people who want their computers to organize their lives in a slightly scary, Big Brother-ish way, Creo Inc. offers Six Degrees software. According to the company, Six Degrees is ìan e-mail driven productivity tool that automatically links messages, files and people on the desktopÖ(and) helps you work more efficiently, stay on task, and complete projects faster. It tracks what you do and how you work, continually making connections between the messages you send, the files you create, and the people you work with.î The program enables users to save time, improve efficiency and reduce errors, but it sounds to me like anyone who canít stand Microsoftís Office Assistant may want to pass.

The award for cutest product had to go to Harman Multimediaís ìJBL Creature.î The self-powered satellite speakers and subwoofer resemble a cross between R2-D2 and a Hersheyís kiss. In terms of function, the speakers offer touch controls, remember your last volume setting, and utilize a straightforward interconnect technology with minimum desktop wiring.

Apple isnít just making its presence known in New York Cityís Hellís Kitchen district; on July 18th the company opened its latest Apple retail store in trendy but hard-hit downtown Soho. The store, designed by Peter Bohlin and Ronnette Riley under the direction of Steve Jobs, was heralded in todayís New York Times as featuring a ìBauhausî style, with ìminimalist forms and a neutral palette.î Long Islanders will have to wait till Saturday, when Apple opens its next store in the Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall.

–Ela Schwartz is a Long Island-based freelance writer and journalist who has covered business, technology, consumer products and home dÈcor for a range of publications and websites.

Five Things You’ll see In IE 6… That Aren’t New

Microsoft is a company known for “monkey see, monkey do” behavoir.
First is was the GUI, then it was the little things like the recylcling bin.
Now it’s things like Windows XP’s GUI which is suprisingly similar to OS X.
I’m going to predict 5 things you’ll see in IE 6 for the Mac that are already
done in competing browsers. Further more, I’m predicting that these features
will be touted as original, and as major innovations straight from Redmond.
Let’s get started.

1) Tabbed browsing windows – This one is almost too obvious
to use in this article. If you’ve used Mozilla lately, you’ll notice that it’s
got tabs. What do I mean? Well, one browser window with multiple web pages.
Here’s a screen shot of my Chimera setup(click to enlarge):

It’s the main reason why I love to use browsers based on Mozilla.
Chimera has book marks that load tabs… I have one for Mac news that loads
all my favorite Mac sites all at once. It’s genius. Adam Iser has been using
this same tab concept with Adium,
a great AIM client. It was why I switched, and is currently why I don’t use
iChat. I’m just an all around sucker for tabs.

2) favicon.ico support – Windows users have long had icons
they see in the link bar when they go to webpages. Webmasters load a specially
named icon (favicon.ico) onto the root level of the server, and it gets shown
on almost every browser except IE on the Mac. Look for this to change with 6.0.
You can see our icon and some others in the above screen shots.

3) Pop-up Blocking - It’s too good to pass up. Mozilla ships
with it… and I see no pop-ups. It’s great. Look for it to be touted as a fresh
idea. Also look for MS pop-ups to still work (from MSN and such). This will
probably be stuck under the preferences somewhere.

4) MetaData – I bet IE 6 will act more like Mozilla with MetaData.
If you aren’t in the know, it’s info about the page that can be handy to the
visitor. Stuff like RSS feeds, publish dates, author name, simple navigation
and a ton more can be done in a special toolbar that pops up. It’s nifty stuff
that you have to scour the source for in IE.

5) Search in browser – I love searching Google right from Mozilla
(in the link bar)… This will show up in IE 6, except it will be defaulted
to MSN and be hell to switch to Google. There will be a way, and that’s all
that matters.

I’d love to see nerdy stuff like what images were loaded from where, which
forms go to what pages, and allow javascript to do only certain things, but
I have a feeling for that I’ll have to stick with Mozilla. The good news is
that the most popular Mac browser will be better. If you can’t wait, most of
the new functionality can already be harnessed. Mozilla for OS X isn’t bad,
but it feels bad because of its cross platform interface. For now, I’ll stick
with Chimera
and it’s Cocoa widgets . If you have any comments or questions let
me know.

Year Of the Mac– 2003

By: Jon Gales

This is the first annual Year of the Mac article. It covers what will happen
to the MAc during the next year.

2002 was a great year for the Mac. The new iMac’s were a smashing success, Jaguar
was and still is hot, the Switch ads are working to bring people in and are
working to change our image. A few years ago I got teased every time I said
I used a Mac. Now, people ask if it’s one of those cool ones on TV. Or if I
can make DVD’s. Now it’s actually cool to have a Mac (from the perspective of
an average PC user). I know several people who converted this year, and are
loving it.2003 is going to be a huge year for the Mac. Here’s what I think will
happen:

1) The Switch campaign will last through 2003. I bet there will be a few more
celebrity ads but a lot more good ol’ normal people ads.

2) The iPod will own the music player industry. Now that there is a Windows
version, nothing is stopping it. Look for more imitations but no one will settle
for anything but the iPod. I have a feeling this will pad Apple’s financial’s
for at least 2 quarters.

3) OS X will make big strides. Believe it or not but there are a lot of people
still using OS 9. They will switch over due to software makers switching over.
It’s going to be another hot year for OS X books and training software.

4) We’re going to see another iApp in 2003. Don’t know what yet, but the digital
hub is not yet complete. Of course iChat, iCal, and iSync will receive much
needed updates.

5) MacOS X 10.3 (code named Panther) will tempt even more IT professionals who
want to be able to run their favorite Unix goodies and still be able to run
Office and other programs from the GUI side of computing. OS X is already making
many a geek converts, but 10.3 will convert them in droves. Apple needs to market
OS X more towards geeks, some of who think it’s a kids OS because of the simplistic
nature. I’d like to see a commercial on Tech
TV covering Terminal.app, and some of the nifty Utilities that ship with
X.

6) Apple’s flat panels will dip in price quite a bit. The big end of the year
rebates were a test. I’d expect to see the 17" down to the 600-700 range
and the Cinema displays follow suit proportionately. In a perfect world I’d
like to see Apple monitors be able to work with PC’s, but that’s not going to
happen. If Steve Jobs was more of a business man than a revolutionary we’d see
a lot more Apple Displays around.

7) Cocoa software is starting to mature and will only get better in 03. Programmers
are getting more advanced every day and some of the new software coming out
is just amazing. Photo To Movie for instance is revolutionary (and so freaking
cheap). Other examples of great Cocoa software are: NetNewsWire,
iPulse,
Chimera,
Adium and LaunchBar.
A lot of the great programming is coming from free or shareware programmers.
The big apps from Adobe and
Macromedia won’t be
written in Cocoa for a long time, but until then the small guys are more than
enough to keep us happy. Expect a huge year for cheap or free Cocoa software.
Don’t forget to be generous to the programmers… If they have a tip jar don’t
hold back. Brian’s Freeloader
Friday column will keep you abreast of what’s new.

Apple stock will be above $20 a share at this time next year.Not great, but
it will be up for the year.

That’s it. This looks to be one hell of a year for the Macintosh!

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