Apple has often been accused of lacking direction or being unable toexplain how Macs are different from PCs - perhaps the most valuable thingSteve Jobs brought to Apple has been focus, particularly with the iMacs andiBooks. But although the success of those machines silenced naysayerstemporarily, the criticism returned with Apple's recent financialdifficulties. So it was incumbent on Jobs to re-establish control overApple's direction with his keynote address at last week's Macworld Expo inSan Francisco, and for the most part, he didn't disappoint.

He started out with details about the forthcoming Mac OS X 1.0, segued intothe specifications of the latest generation of Power Mac G4s, and finishedoff with the drool-inducing PowerBook G4 Titanium. You'll read all aboutthose announcements below and in next week's issue, but Jobs paused in themiddle to explain Apple's vision for the future, saying "I'd like to tellyou where we're going..."

The PC Is Dead, Long Live the PC

Jobs begged to differ with quotes from PC maker executives about how thepersonal computer was dead. He then provided a timeline that labeled theyears between 1986 and 1994 as the Productivity Age, when we were entrancedby word processors and spreadsheets. From 1995 to 2000, he said, we wereensconced in the Internet Age, where the browser and email ruled. But now,Jobs feels that we're entering what he calls the Digital Lifestyle Age,which is marked by the electronic devices we carry around with us such ascell phones, PDAs, CD players, MP3 players, and digital cameras, along withconsumer- level devices like DVD players. Sitting in the audience with myPalm V in my left pocket and my Samsung cell phone and Canon PowerShot S100digital camera in my right pocket, I couldn't help but agree.

Apple's vision, then, is to make the Macintosh into the "digital hub" ofour digital lifestyle, adding value and interconnecting all of thesedisparate devices. Because of the size and single-mindedness of thesedevices, Jobs argued that the personal computer offers compellingadvantages as the glue tying everything together. In contrast with thesetiny bits of consumer electronics, computers have large screens, connect tofast Internet connections, run complex applications, feature inexpensivemass storage devices, and write to cheap and standardized removable media.By inserting a computer into that web of devices, you can, for instance,move audio tracks from a music CD to your hard disk, arrange them asdesired, and then burn them to CD-R for playing in your car. Or you couldsend a slew of photographs from a digital camera to your hard disk, performminimal image editing, post some to a Web site for public display, and burnthe whole bunch to CD-R or DVD for archiving.

Jobs claimed that the success of Apple's simple video editing softwareiMovie provided the hint that putting the Macintosh at the center of thedigital lifestyle was where Apple should go. The success of iMovie relieson a popular piece of consumer electronics (a digital video camcorder)working with Apple's combination of hardware (the Mac, with FireWire),operating system (Mac OS 9, with QuickTime), an application (iMovie), andan Internet service (iTools' HomePage, for posting movies on a streamingQuickTime server), along with Apple's marketing and advertising support toget the word out to people who might not have otherwise considered aMacintosh. With that lesson under its belt, Apple has moved to connectother gaps in the digital lifestyle with the combination of the newCD-RW-equipped Power Macs and new software: iTunes and iDVD.

iTunes

Apple's next push toward making the Macintosh into a digital hub focuses onaudio with a new free program called iTunes. It's by no meansrevolutionary, combining MP3 encoding and playing along with the capabilityto work with portable MP3 players and burn audio CDs (though initially onlywith the CD-RW drives in the latest Power Mac G4s). Those functions areavailable today in other programs, but iTunes goes the farthest inintegrating them in an extremely usable interface. (Jobs compared it withthe MP3 software included by PC makers; needless to say, against thosemotley interfaces, iTunes fared extremely well.) This isn't the place for afull review, but it was common knowledge at the show that iTunes waswritten by Apple's Jeff Robbin, previously the developer of Casady &Greene's SoundJam (which remains available, though Casady & Greenepresident Terry Kunysz merely said that SoundJam offers flexibility notpresent in iTunes and that it remained to be seen how SoundJam wouldcompete). Plus, a bit of investigation with ResEdit shows that iTunes isheavily based on SoundJam. The rewrite seems to have given Jeff a chance torethink the decisions he made with SoundJam, and iTunes addresses some ofthe criticisms we've leveled at SoundJam over the years.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/
http://www.apple.com/itunes/theater/

Nevertheless, releasing iTunes for free and bundling it with all new Macsmakes sense from Apple's standpoint, since it brings home the digital hubrole Apple wants the Mac to play by connecting pre-recorded audio CDs withMP3 playback, portable MP3 players, and audio CD creation, all of which arebecoming increasingly popular. iTunes does further complicate analready-tough market for MP3 software, much as Apple's anointing of OutlookExpress made the email client business even harder for the many otherdevelopers of email programs. However, the situation with iTunes isn'tquite as troubling as with email, since there wasn't as much variability inMP3 players, no one spends as much time in their MP3 player as in theiremail program, and few people would argue that listening to MP3s is moreimportant than email. Plus, a case could be made for iTunes introducingpeople to digital music who would not otherwise have tried it, thuspossibly increasing the market for products that go beyond iTunes, offeralternate interfaces, or provide ancillary services.

Apple has also left the older Mac market to other developers. iTunesrequires at least Mac OS 9.0.4, with Mac OS 9.1 recommended, and instead ofsaying which Macintosh models do or do not work, Apple merely says thatiTunes "works with all Apple systems released in August 1998 or later" -though our limited tests on older machines running appropriate systemsoftware have been successful. iTunes is a 2.8 MB download - if you're intoMP3s, it's worth a look.

iDVD

While iTunes is entering an already crowded market, iDVD stands alone.Working in conjunction with the so-called "SuperDrive" DVD-R drive in the$3,500 733 MHz Power Mac G4, iDVD provides a simple interface for creatinggraphical, hierarchical interfaces to movies and still images written toDVDs; those discs can then be played in consumer DVD players that supportDVD-Video, which is reportedly most recent ones. iDVD is free, but it comesonly with appropriately equipped Power Mac G4s. (Jobs also quicklyintroduced the $1,000 DVD Studio Pro, which complements iDVD much as theprofessional-level Final Cut Pro complements iMovie.)

http://www.apple.com/idvd/
http://www.apple.com/dvdstudiopro/

What's impressive about iDVD is that it takes a set of tasks that requiresignificant design skill or are computationally difficult and builds theminto a truly simple interface. You use drag & drop to add QuickTime moviesto your DVD, picking an individual frame for each to act as the thumbnail.Similarly, you can drag folders of images into iDVD to create slide shows.Modifying the background image and choosing different fonts and colors canbe as simple as choosing different themes, but it's also easy to add yourown images and choose specific fonts and colors instead. Then, once you'veset up the entire disc, iDVD does the compression and encoding necessary toconvert the files to the format necessary for DVD-Video drives.

http://www.apple.com/idvd/theater/

Apple claimed a software breakthrough in making that process take onlytwice as long as the video being recorded instead of 25 times as long (so a1 hour movie takes only 2 hours to encode, rather than 25 hours); though Ihaven't been able to verify the truth of that breakthrough claim. Jobs'sother claim, that the hardware and software necessary to create DVDs thatwould play in consumer DVD players cost about $5,000, is on target.Needless to say, going from a peripheral and program combination that costs$5,000 to building the same capability into the fastest Macintosh available(the 733 MHz Power Mac G4) and selling the entire package for $3,500 isbrilliant work. Plus, Apple is also selling DVD-R blanks for $10 each,significantly less than the $30 to $40 the discs currently cost.

Thinking Digital

So what do I think of Apple's new vision? It's compelling, in large partbecause it's a recognition of reality on Apple's part. Apple has been knownfor pushing the boundaries to provide new capabilities, as they did withiMovie, but I think the company has often looked too far out, rather thanconcentrating on the present. The fact is that vast numbers of people areliving the so-called "digital lifestyle" right now, and by concentrating onthat market, Apple could improve our lives in very real ways.

Over the years, I've written plenty in TidBITS about integrating Macs intoeveryday life, concentrating in large part on the "kitchen Mac" PowerBookTonya and I have set up; it handles our calendar, lets us access the Webfor activities like ordering groceries, and plays MP3s from a server in thebasement over an AirPort-enabled wireless network. And since May of 2000,I've been writing columns for Macworld.com about living the wired life.Apple may be a little late to the party many of us been having for sometime, but it's good to have them here at last. I look forward to seeing howApple tackles the problems presented by some of the other common digitaldevices that litter our lives, such as digital cameras, cell phones, andPDAs.

http://www.macworld.com/columns/wiredlife/

Some of Apple's past and present moves in this digital lifestyle directionmay feel gimmicky to those who can't imagine using them. We've beensomewhat dismissive of iMovie in the past, and I'm sure many people haveutterly no interest in burning DVDs with iDVD. But as Shawn King of The MacShow reminded me while we were chatting at the Expo, sales and use aren'tnecessarily related. Apple is interested in selling products, and althoughthey would like to see us using those products all the time, that's notnecessary. So if iMovie helps convince someone to buy an iMac, Appledoesn't really care if that person makes only a couple of movies with it.Indeed, out of 160 people at this year's Netters Dinner (a geek-laden crowdif there ever was one), only about 10 or 15 had ever made a movie withiMovie, and only a handful had made more than two or three. Similarly, I'msure that many people who get the top-of-the-line Power Mac G4 with theDVD-R drive will happily burn only a few DVDs for friends and relatives towatch; even if it doesn't happen on a daily basis, iDVD will still havebeen a success in helping drive a sale for Apple. In short, it's importantto remember that just because people may not make movies at the rate theysend email, there's no reason to assume that video products aren'tsuccessful or important to Apple or to those who do use them.

Let me leave you with one final thought. Jobs may be right about movingfrom the Productivity Age to the Internet Age and on into the DigitalLifestyle Age. But even though productivity applications and Internetclients have improved and become faster and easier to use, we're all stillfaced with a finite amount of time, and we haven't stopped using wordprocessors or browsing the Web. Participating in the digital lifestyledoesn't necessarily come for free, as you've undoubtedly discovered whilespending hours ripping audio CDs to MP3 files, shopping for a cellularphone, editing video tracks, or trying to manage a collection of thousandsof digital photographs. The time necessary to participate in these digitalactivities has to come from somewhere, and I'd hate to see analogactivities like cooking, exercising, or simply enjoying human companionshipbe pushed to the wayside. Or perhaps Apple will help us figure out how tointegrate our Macs into those activities as well.

ToC

PowerBook G4 Titanium Burns Bright

Despite Steve Jobs's talk of ripping CDs and burning DVDs, the real heat ofhis Macworld Expo keynote address came at the end when he unveiled thePowerBook G4 Titanium, a svelte portable that promises to blaze throughyour data, roast your lap, and burn a hole in your pocket.

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/

The buzz before the Expo suggested Apple had a new laptop in the works, andthe question before the keynote became: would it be a jaw-droppingreinvention or just a speed-bump upgrade with improved specs? Make room onthe floor for your jaw.

Mercury Rising

The PowerBook G4 is certainly faster and more powerful than itspredecessors. The first Apple portable to feature the PowerPC G4 processor,the laptop is available in two standard configurations (both can becustomized at the Apple Store): a 400 MHz model with 128 MB of RAM and a 10GB hard disk, or a 500 MHz model with 256 MB of RAM and a 20 GB hard disk(a 30 GB hard disk is also available). Both configurations feature a 100MHz system bus, 1 MB of L2 cache, an ATI Rage Mobility 128 graphicsprocessor, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, a DVD-ROM drive capable of playing DVDvideo and CD audio, a 56K internal modem, an infrared port, room for anoptional AirPort card, and a lithium- ion battery that can provide up tofive hours of battery life.

The PowerBook sports two USB ports and one FireWire port for expansion(apparently there was room enough for only three ports, which is why Appledropped one FireWire port), one PC Card/CardBus slot, a stereo minijack, aVGA video output port, and an S-video output port. In short, almosteverything a mobile Mac user would want from a modern laptop.

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html

Thin Different

It isn't necessarily hardware specs that will drive PowerBook G4 sales,however. The new machine is constructed of commercially pure titanium, thestrong but lightweight metal used in surgical implants and aircraftengines. As such, the PowerBook is bright and shiny, almost making thebrushed-metal QuickTime interface look attractive. (I said "almost.") Thetitanium shell also accounts for the PowerBook G4's light weight: a mere5.3 pounds, compared to 6.1 pounds for the current PowerBook G3 (FireWire)model. The difference may not look like much, but anyone who travels with alaptop will appreciate the lightened load. But here's the best part: thePowerBook G4 Titanium is _one_inch_ thick, and that's with the lid closed.Apple has been making PowerBooks thinner and lighter since introducing thePowerBook G3 Series, but the G4 makes everything else seem positivelybulky.

Overall, the case is a bit shallower (9.5 inches) and wider (13.5 inches)than existing designs. The good news is that the thinner body lowers thetop edge of the screen, so the PowerBook G4 is likely to be morecomfortable to use on an airplane. Oh, and Apple even changed the logo onthe case so it is right-side up when other people see you using such anifty device - or when it gets a cameo on television.

How did Apple's engineers achieve this flattening feat? In addition toever-shrinking components, they made some design decisions that capitalizeon space savings. The DVD drive, for example, is a slot-loading devicebuilt into the front-right side of the unit and there are no expansionbays. The battery is slim and square, and fits into a compartment in thebottom. The keyboard is also thinner, though it uses the same layout ofexisting PowerBooks (including the annoyingly placed Fn key), with theaddition of an Eject function on the F12 key. And the lid latch is a smallmagnetic clasp at the front (unfortunately, the G4 doesn't have the elegantlatch-less closing mechanism of the iBook).

The Widening Inferno

Impressed yet? How about the last big departure from the PowerBook lineage(and I mean _big_): the PowerBook G4's screen measures 15.2 inches in a"wide-screen" format (a 3:2 aspect ratio), which accounts for the machine'sadded width. The default resolution is 1,152 by 768 pixels, though thescreen can also display more common resolutions (such as 1,024 by 768pixels) at a 4:3 aspect ratio. The included 8 MB of video memory displaysmillions of colors on external displays, plus supports mirrored andextended desktops on multiple monitors. Apple predictably touts thecapability to use the larger screen to better edit video using iMovie orFinal Cut Pro, but I'll be happy to make more room for the increasingnumber of palettes in programs like Microsoft Word 2001 and Adobe GoLive 5.

Burn Rate

All this power does herald another hot aspect of the PowerBook G4: itstemperature. Models on the Expo floor were definitely toasty on the bottom,even after accounting for them having been on lighted display tables.Considering that the titanium case must act as a heat sink, a lot of theheat generated by the G4 processor is bound to end up in your lap.

Apple is selling the 400 MHz configuration for $2,600, and the 500 MHzconfiguration for $3,500. Although not cheap, these prices are in line withnew PowerBook models of the past. For many people at the Expo, thetemptation to buy a PowerBook G4 drove conversations and comparisons. Someeven gave in to their burning desires and placed orders at the Apple Storeusing the AirPort-equipped PowerBook G4 models on display.

However, therein lies the biggest potential problem of the PowerBook G4Titanium: can Apple keep up with demand? Jobs announced that the newmachines would start to be available in limited quantities at the end ofJanuary. Given the company's history of announcing products beforemanufacturing is fully ramped up - especially with a complex and detailedproduct like a one-inch thick portable - it will be interesting to see howwell Apple can keep up. Still, it's a flame worth tending: my order isalready placed.

ToC

New Power Mac G4s Debut with SuperDrive

Although the PowerBook G4 Titanium stole the show at this year's JanuaryMacworld Expo (see "PowerBook G4 Titanium Burns Bright" in TidBITS-563_),Apple also tantalized the crowds with improvements to the professionalPower Mac G4 line, adding faster processors and the capability to createcustom CDs and DVDs.

http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06269

The new machines feature PowerPC G4 chips running at speeds of 466, 533,667, and 733 MHz, but include only single processor configurations bydefault. A dual-processor build-to-order option is available for the 533MHz system for those who use one of the few pre-Mac OS X applications thatcan take advantage of multiple CPUs. Dual-processor options aren'tcurrently available for the faster processors due to their limitedavailability. The new machines also feature a 133 MHz system bus, a fasterPCI architecture, and, in a nod to the audio and video professionalsdesiring more expansion options, four open PCI slots. A fifth slot, a 4xAGP (Advanced Graphics Port) graphics slot, is occupied by either an ATIRAGE 128 graphics card with 16 MB of memory (the 466 MHz configuration) oran NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics card with 32 MB of memory. An optional ATIRADEON card with 32 MB of Double Data Rate memory is also available as abuild-to-order option. All units include gigabit Ethernet, USB and FireWireports, optional AirPort wireless networking, and a 10 watt digitalamplifier (which can be hooked up to Apple's $60 Pro Speakers).

http://www.apple.com/powermac/specs.html
http://www.apple.com/speakers/

Catching the Boat

As the current workhorse of the Macintosh line, the Power Mac G4 is thelikeliest candidate to act as the hub of Steve Jobs's "digital lifestyle"(see "Jobs Aims Apple for the Digital Lifestyle" in TidBITS-563_). Macscurrently connect to devices like Palm handhelds and portable MP3 players,but Apple is now improving its position in the digital music revolution byincluding CD-RW (rewritable compact disc) drives in every configurationexcept the high-end 733 MHz model. Jobs acknowledged that Apple "missed theboat" on CD-RW, which has been standard- issue technology in the Windowsworld for some time. (To be fair, Apple bet on video and that DVD standardswould coalesce sooner than they did, which gave CD-RW an opening itwouldn't otherwise have had.) Using the included iTunes, users can easilyburn their own MP3 tracks to audio CDs. Since the Power Macs run Mac OS 9.1with Disc Burner built in, users can also burn any data file to asingle-session CD simply by dragging and dropping it on the CD in theFinder, and then choosing Burn CD from the Special menu.

http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06268
http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11901

It's rare to hear Jobs admit that Apple isn't at the forefront ofinnovation, so it's no surprise that the company is adding a wrinkle toburning discs beyond even integrating it into the Finder. Thetop-of-the-line 733 MHz Power Mac G4 includes a SuperDrive: no, not the 1.4MB floppy drive of the same name which originally appeared on the Mac IIxback in 1988, but rather a Pioneer device that reads _and_ writes CDs andDVDs. More importantly, the SuperDrive can write data in the DVD-Videoformat, which means anyone can use Apple's bundled iDVD software to burndigital movies and still images onto the disc and play them in mostconsumer DVD players. With the SuperDrive, for example, graphics or videoprofessionals could easily create DVD-based demo reels and self-promotionmaterials. In the case of still images, iDVD automatically creates a slideshow, so friends and relatives can use their DVD remote control to scanthrough your photos. Apple will also begin selling "Apple authorized" blankDVD discs for approximately $10 each, well below the standard $30 to $40price for such discs.

http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=03902

Time to Burn

As with any new hardware announcement from Apple, the big question becomes:when can I get one? The 466 and 533 MHz models are available now for $1,700and $2,200; the 667 and 733 MHz models, which use a newer version of thePowerPC G4 chip, are expected to arrive in limited quantities starting inFebruary priced at $2,800 and $3,500. Availability is limited in part bythe CPUs, but the SuperDrives reportedly aren't available in significantquantities yet either. Compaq also has a machine that includes the Pioneermechanism; between Apple and Compaq, supply is likely to be tight for thenext six months. Similar mechanisms from other manufacturers will likelyappear soon as well, so those with earlier Power Mac G4s (other Macs wouldwork for most tasks, of course, but for DVD-Video, the MPEG encoding isdone in software and probably relies heavily on the PowerPC G4's VelocityEngine) should be able to hop on the bandwagon then.

The SuperDrive repositions Apple at the head of the computing pack, butit's going to be something of a tough sell at first when machines are inshort supply. Bundling the SuperDrive into Apple's $3,500 machine isremarkable considering that similar stand-alone DVD-writing drives bythemselves cost several thousand dollars. But the high end of the Power Macline excludes most consumer buyers, the audience Apple seems to betargeting with the SuperDrive. When Apple manages to shoehorn SuperDrivesinto the iMac line and its consumer price tag, DVD burning will truly havea chance at becoming part of the digital lifestyle.

ToC

Mac OS X Solidifies at Macworld Expo

The thrust of Steve Jobs's keynote at Macworld Expo last week in SanFrancisco may have been to position the Macintosh as the hub for today'sdigital lifestyle, but equally important in the speech were the detailsJobs provided about Mac OS X 1.0.

Jobs first gave a brief demo of a few of the already-known features of MacOS X, after which he showed the changes Apple has made since the publicbeta, based on feedback from the user community. He claimed, although Ican't quite believe this, that Apple estimated that only 10,000 peoplewould buy the Mac OS X Public Beta, and that they would receive only 3,000to 4,000 comments. Those estimates turned out to be wildly incorrect, withover 100,000 people buying the public beta and submitting over 75,000pieces of feedback.

Distinct Improvements

Sounding humble, Jobs then worked through some of the major changes. Mac OSX now has a left-hand functional Apple menu (rather than a useless badge inthe center of the menu bar) containing commands like Sleep, Restart,Logout, and others that you might want to access at any time. In responseto comments about the lack of functionality in the Dock, Apple addedcontextual hierarchical menus to icons in the Dock - click and hold formenus that let you navigate folder hierarchies from docked folders, accessrecently used documents from applications in the Dock, and so on. Toaddress complaints about the size of the Font panel, Apple made itresizable in a variety of flexible ways. And finally, to reduce thewasteful use of screen real estate in Mac OS X, Apple reduced the size ofthe toolbar in Finder windows, made it highly customizable, and provided acontrol for turning it off entirely. And, when the toolbar is turned off,Mac OS X switches from its all-in-one-window approach to a more familiarMac OS 9-like style of each folder appearing in its own window when opened.

Although all of these changes are excellent steps in the right direction,and I don't doubt that many more have been made as well thanks to userfeedback, I hesitate to draw any hard and fast conclusions. For instance,the application menu remained to the immediate right of the Apple menu, andsince that's the name of the application, it will continually change theposition of the File and Edit menus that follow on to the right, harmingusability by eliminating static targets for common usages. And althoughword has it that AppleScript is in Mac OS X, it remains to be seen if userswill be able to script networking, printing, and other functions which arecurrently scriptable in Mac OS 9.

Line in the Sand

Even if we don't know exactly what Mac OS X 1.0 will look like, we do nowhave a firm price and release date - you'll be able to buy Mac OS X 1.0 for$129 on 24-Mar-01. Jobs also announced that Apple would start pre-loadingMac OS X on all Macs by default in July of 2001. Mac OS 9.x will continueto run on new hardware for some time, so it should be possible to revert aMac OS X machine to Mac OS 9, perhaps even with a dual-boot approach suchas is used in the Mac OS X Public Beta. That's important, because otherwisesome existing users may delay hardware purchases until they're ready todeal with Mac OS X. That would likely be especially true of schools andbusinesses that don't want to support multiple operating systems or thatwon't have approved it for release to their users yet.

Jobs also reported on the number of developers committed to developing forMac OS X; the details are immaterial and unverifiable, but Apple believesthat developer support will follow a bell curve starting this March,peaking in July, and finishing off toward the end of the year. Although Iexpect Apple's expectations are accurate, some developers were disappointedthat Apple is implicitly shouldering them with responsibility for releasingsooner when Apple's developer materials for Mac OS X still have notableholes, such as driver support for a variety of peripherals.

With the release of Mac OS X, Apple is not so much walking a tightrope asplaying a three-dimensional game of Twister while suspended above a pool ofcohabiting alligators and piranhas. Snapping at Apple's heels aredevelopers with programs that can't easily be carbonized or who requireas-yet unavailable features in Mac OS X, and long-time Macintosh loyalistswho fear losing significant investments in software, hardware, andknowledge. Standing by with safety nets to rescue Mac OS X 1.0 from thesedangers are new users who face no transition troubles, Unix users excitedabout running Unix and mainstream productivity applications side-by-side,and developers creating new programs in Cocoa's fast developmentenvironment. Apple has worked miracles before, as with the transition from68K to PowerPC, but it will be insanely difficult to meet the very realneeds of all these groups by July, if not with the initial March release.

ToC

Macworld SF 2001 Trend: Personal Firewalls

The rise in permanent Internet connections via cable modems and DSL hasraised fears of crackers breaking into individual computers and wreakinghavoc. For Windows users, those fears are real, since most of the automatedattacks look specifically for security holes in Windows network services.Macs are significantly less vulnerable to such problems, especially ifPersonal Web Sharing and Personal File Sharing via TCP/IP are turned off orproperly secured, but a number of companies are now producing personalfirewall products for Mac users who want additional peace of mind or whowant to know precisely what's happening. Intego's NetBarrier and Open DoorNetworks' DoorStop (now the foundation of Norton Personal Firewall) werefirst on the scene, and they've just been joined by IPNetSentry fromSustainable Softworks, the network wizards who brought us IPNetRouter.

IPNetSentry

The $35 IPNetSentry tries to differentiate itself from the others by usinga "trigger" approach rather than a "firewall" approach. In short, ratherthan building a wall and punching holes in it for specific services bydefault, as with traditional firewalls, IPNetSentry watches for typicalsorts of suspicious activity, and when it notices such activities, blocksthe attack. Sustainable Softworks explains this approach by noting thatfirewalls make sense for installations with multiple users, where anadministrator is better able than individual users to decide what thefirewall should allow or block. But where there's a single machine, thatapproach is overkill and may cause more work than is necessary. PeterSichel of Sustainable Softworks also passed on an interesting side effectof running IPNetSentry or IPNetRouter. Since those programs look at everypacket coming in, they can (and do) throw away malformed packets, and itturns out that approach actually eliminates a few seemingly random crasheswhen something on the Mac fails to deal with a malformed packet correctly.

http://www.sustworks.com/site/prod_ipns_overview.html

Who's There

Also new at the show was the $40 Who's There from Open Door Networks.Building on the expertise gained in writing the DoorStop product that's nowat the heart of Norton Personal Firewall, Open Door created an applicationthat works in conjunction with DoorStop or Norton Personal Firewall towatch your Internet connection, log all access attempts, and help youunderstand what's actually going on. My main worry is that Who's There andsimilar utilities may cause some people to obsess unreasonably aboutpossible problems, much as fictional characters who suddenly findthemselves with the ability to read the thoughts of others struggle to dealwith the previously unknowable information. Put another way, would youreally want to know every time someone had an idle thought about your car?

http://www2.opendoor.com/whosthere/
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf_mac/

NetBarrier 2.0

Even though its huge inflatable castle booth at Macworld Expo didn't sprouta moat, Intego has updated the $60 NetBarrier to version 2.0, adding thecapability to control cookies, block banner ads, and filter spam on yourPOP server. NetBarrier 2.0 can also filter outgoing information to avoidsending identifying information about your computer and browser, plusfilter personal information sent via forms. Intego is clearly trying toaddress a wide variety of security issues with NetBarrier, and although Ihaven't had a chance to evaluate the new version, I worry a little aboutletting a program filter mail before I even download it, since no spamfilter is 100 percent accurate.

http://www.intego.com/netbarrier/
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06064

ToC

The Amiga Section:

Has Amiga Inc. finally cleared a major hurdle?

In December 2000, Amiga's President Bill McEwen failed to appear, aspreviously announced, at the World of Amiga 2000 on December, 9th and 10thin Cologne, Germany. Word in Amiga circles was that Bill was meeting with"some very important Japanese" and was unable to attend.

Next, this item appeared.

DoCoMo, Sony To Create Mobile Phone Game System
from http://www.slashdot.com/
Posted by Timothy on Monday January 29, @10:28AM
from the repetitive-stress dept.

A developer writes: "Sony and DoCoMo announced they will jointly developon-line games worldwide. Sony, Motorola and JVC have greatly invested in anew Sun Authorized Java Virtual Machine which is also being used in thenew Amiga computer. Founder of the UK based Tao Group and ex-Amigadeveloper Mr. Charig just returned from Japan for the launch of DoCoMo`snew Java technology based i appli service. Interestingly, Tao demonstratedits technology running on the Dreamcast a year ago, as well, and recently itwas announced that Sega is going to make games for new set-top boxes andmobile phones. BTW every C, C++, Java or Vitual Assembler writtenAmiga/Tao application can be executed code identical on top of otheroperation systems as well, including Linux. :)" edhak also points to thisBBC article on the possibility of worldwide handheld wirelesslydistributed games, and gloats "Wipeout on a mobile!"

Then, on February 1, 2001 the following announcement was distributed overAmiga news services.

PDA Projects Development Opportunities

There is tremendous potential for distribution of your applications, gamesand other content for one of the world's largest manufacturers of PDAhardware. The projection is for more than 7 million units to be sold by theend of 2001 and there are already several million units on the market atthis time. There will be specific requirements as far as style, type ofapplications, distribution rights and certification of content.

This announcement and further information can be found athttp://www.amigadev.net .

On February 6, the latest Executive Update was released. Draw your ownconclusions.

ToC

Executive Update - St. Louis and Beyond

Greetings to the Amiga Family:

In Melbourne this last year, I was able to surprise many of you withseveral announcements that were unexpected, and we delivered on each ofthose.

Now we have a new show coming up in St. Louis. In a few weeks we will alllearn...

Where is the AmigaOne? Will Cringley finally eat his words about a newAmiga? What about AmigaDE on PDA's, Set Top Boxes, Internet Appliances, oreven desktops? Will Tom and Nicole stay together or is it over? Is therelife for the AmigaOS after 3.9?

Contrary to the rumors and what many people are saying about our demise, orthat we are going to have the same fate of the others before us, we have abig surprise for all of them.

I look forward to visiting with all of you in St. Louis, and I look forwardto taking over the Hotel, and the surrounding area with the Amiga Spirit,and Community.

I hope to see many of you there.

There is still time, and in 6 weeks, it will all be known.

Bill McEwen, and the rest of the Amiga Team

ToC

The CUCUG Section:

January General Meeting

Jan. 18, 2001 - President Jim Lewis began the meeting promptly on time andperformed the tradition introduction of officers. He lead a discussion ofthe new meeting room at the ITC in Savoy we were in this month. We walkedthrough the pros and cons.

We then drifted into a Question and Answer session.

Harold Ravlin asked if it was possible to export files from OS X using NFS.Jack Melby said he would speak to Harold later.

Norris Hansell stated he has a problem with generic icons that keep comingback. It's always on his TIFF files. Jack Melby suggested ABetter ...However, Kevin Hopkins stated that he is intimately acquainted with thisproblem. When the Mac creates an icon for file it has to have access to theresource fork of the creating application. If this program is not availableon a currently mounted disk (say, it's over on one of your storage ZIPdisks), the Mac provides a generic icon. Norris's problem is that hedoesn't have the program that created his TIFFs currently on his machine.

Edwin Hadley reported he was getting an indexing error when he tries toindex his drives. Jack said he is dealing with a corrupted file.

Richard Rollins had an "Illustrator" question. He wants to save a file witha graphic embedded in it. Norris Hansell and other members suggested he usea PDF or EPS export, being sure to send along the fonts he used, too. EdwinHadley said he should use "Collect for Export" in Illustrator before savinghis file.

President Lewis thanked Norris Hansell for coming to the meetings andsharing. Jim noted, "You've come a long way in three years."

Richard Rollins had a PC Anywhere question. He can't connect without an IPnumber and on a system with dynamically assigned IP numbers he's havingreal trouble. Several options were discussed.

Bill Zwicky said he is having a problem of Windows crashing when he has aZIP drive installed on boot up. Several things to look at were offered: abad drive, cabling problem, power supply, a corrupt driver, jumper setting- slave versus master. Jim Huls suggested going under System Informationand selecting System Restore.

Jeff Strong said he is looking for a CD-RW SCSI internal for under $200. Hewas pointed to pricewatch.com or buy.com with an eye toward a Yamaha, HP,or Plextor drive.

Someone noted that Microsoft stock was up 16% at today's closing, as wasIBM.

ToC

The Presentation: Quentin Barnes discusses firewalls

This evening's program on personal Internet firewalls was deliveredprimarily by Quentin Barnes, with able assistance from Dale Rahn. As usualwith any of Quentin's presentation, it was well prepared and thorough.

Working from a 13 page outline ( a PDF file of which can be found athttp://www.cucug.org/sr/firewall.slides.010118.pdf ), Quentin began bydefining a firewall: a piece of software or hardware that permits or deniesnetwork traffic to enter your system based on criteria you set up.

Quentin then explained why you might want a firewall: either for protectionor controlling outgoing traffic from your own system. They are a two-wayblock some connections. He said firewalls are a form of a lock. He comparedthem to a good strong door that makes a thief move on.

He then addressed the types of firewalls available. They basically come intwo two types - sotware or hardware. Although software solutions are easyto install, Quentin said he doesn't really like them for various reasons,listing that software is tied to your particularly OS and its version. Ifyou have more than one machine on your personal network, it has to beinstalled on each machine. Software ties up disk space, memory, and CPUresources on your computer. And finally, software firewalling relies onyour OS and your firewall software not having any security holesthemselves.

So, for those reasons, Quentin turned his attention to the hardwaresolutions to the problem. Listing hardware's advantages, he put foremostit's ability to provide a plethora of additional services - routing,Network Address Translation (NAT), web hosting, and mail serving to namejust a few. A separate piece of hardware also remains removed for anysoftware and configuration issues on you other computers. It also doesn'tinterfere with sharing resources on your LAN, like sharing files orprinters. Finally, your computer isn't vulnerable "no matter how manysecurity bugs Bill and Steve come up with." Quentin said its only downsideis that it's another piece of hardware that takes up space and requirespower.

Quentin then reviewed some of the commercially available hardware firewallsthat are in the affordable range ($80 - $130). This opened up thediscussion some of the things other members of the club have and are using.Quentin concluded that these solutions are good in that they are fairlysimple to install and come with customer support. He, on the other hand,prefers to "roll his own."

Quentin then discussed the elements needed to construct your own hardwarefirewall. These include an OS, and hardware platform (computer), and alittle knowledge.

For the operating system, Quentin said OpenBSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, and Linuxare the OS choices. His preference is OpenBSD since they are the mostsecurity conscious.

For hardware, he suggests a Pentium class computer with 16MB or more ofmemory, 300MB or more of hard disk space, a floppy drive (for installingthe software) and two PCI Ethernet cards. Believe it or not, such a set upcan be obtained for around $50 to $75. Quentin said he favorite source forall of this is EBay. He said he's had no problem with IBM boxes. For theEthernet cards, he said you need two Ethernet connections. This is whatprovides the real separation between you and the Net. He recommended buyingexclusively DEC or other well known chip set based PCI Ethernet cards. Healso provided the caveat that when on EBay, be sure to check the sellersE-pack (identifies who they are and how reliable they've been on pastsales) and watch the shipping costs.

The third element in knowledge. Quentin said Deja.com is a great source ofinformation. He also provided a long list of helpful web sites on the lastpage of his handout.

Quentin then went on to discuss some of the basic network services he hasavailable on the systems he had built. He also talked about some of thethings that have trouble with a firewall. Mostly the latter are things thatstream data like net telephony (Net-to-phone,), UDP (which is like postalmail - the packets gag at a firewall, Real Audio, Windows Media Player,Quicktime, ICQ, and net games all have trouble. One of the thing Quentinhas done to work around some of this is to route all of his Quicktime stuffto one machine. He noted that online software updates for Windows and Macwork fine, however.

As Quentin's presentation came to a close, Richard Rollins asked him whereone could obtain the single floppy necessary to install OpenBSD. Quentinpointed him to www.openbsd.org.

For most, the presentation ended too soon. I think many people wanted tosee the actual installation process. Perhaps Quentin can be prevailed uponto return and give us a real "hands on" look at setting up a personalfirewall.

Closing the evening, Jim Lewis asked everyone what they thought of the roomand, gauging the positive response, he said, "OK. We're here for the year."

ToC

January Board Meeting

Jan. 23, 2000 - The January meeting of the CUCUG executive board took placeon Tuesday, January 23, 2001, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyonewishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phonenumber are both in the book). Present at the meeting were: Jim Lewis, RichHall, Emil Cobb, Jim Huls, Richard Rollins, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, andDave Witt.

Jim Lewis: Jim began by stating that he found the combined SIG meetingthis time very informative. He noted that there were lots of questions,mostly from the hard core members. He said the meeting room was wellreceived, so he was all for moving ahead and getting our deposit back fromthe Bresnan for our future meetings. At that point, Emil voiced the concernthat we should do a split SIG meeting at the new facility before we makethe jump. It was agreed that this would be prudent, so the Februarymeeting will again be at the Illinois Technology Center with an eye towardhow it serves a divided meeting.

There was a discussion about the error in the map we provided a link to atMapQuest. Kevin Hopkins noted that not only was the map to the meeting sitewrong, but the one to his house was wrong as well. Both erred by puttingthe location desired North of where it actually was.

There was a discussion about the T1 connection at ITC and what we need todo to get it working, as this one of the principle attraction for the newmeeting site. On a side note. our missing 100 foot phone cable we used forour Internet connection at the Bresnan has miraculously reappeared. RichRollins now has possession of it.

Rich Hall: Treasurer Hall reported on our income and expenses. Jim Lewisraised the issue of purchasing a new Mac for the club, saying "Get one."During the discussion, Kevin Hopkins pointed out that currently it isn't apressing matter as long as Jack Melby prefers to use his own equipment forhis demonstrations. His prep work and OS X subject matter has made his ownmachine the more logical choice so far.

Emil Cobb: Emil reported that 25 people attended the last meeting,especially some faces we hadn't seen in a while. He reiterated his desireto see how a split SIG meeting went in the new facility before he would beconvinced it was a good move.

Rich Hall: Rich said he liked the new meeting site, feeling it was morebusiness like. He also commented that he thought the email reminders of thenew meeting site had worked very well.

Jim Huls: Jim said the meeting was nice, although he wished it would havebeen more technical. Other Board members countered that they thought thetone had been quite geeky. So, the balance between newbie and hacker musthave been about right.

Jim said he would be willing to do a demo on Windows 2000 sometime aroundMarch.

Jim Lewis: Jim interjected that the February PC SIG would be a Questionand Answer Session and some Tricks and Tips. Kevin Hopkins conveyed JackMelby's plan to look further as OS X and Charlie's experiments withXWindows on the new OS.

Richard Rollins: Richard said he like the ITC building. He felt there maybe conflicts, but nothing we can work out. He wanted to get an Ethernetconnection working and he'd like to see Quentin do and actual hands-oninstallation of the BSD software he uses to set up his firewall.

Richard also proposed the creation of a Palm SIG (to meet on another night,so as not to detract from the main meeting) since so many members seem tohave them. Or, at the very least, dedicate a meeting to the Palm.

While discussing some of his consulting work, Richard said he hates Windows98, although he likes PC Anywhere. This sparked a discussion of "ThinClient" software, with Jim Lewis recommending Citrix Metaframe as a solidproduct.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin delivered the membership database update. He askedRich Hall if the newly signed up members had received their cards. Richsaid they had. Kevin then reported that current membership stands at 31.

Kevin Hisel: Kevin said he liked the ITC room. He loved the big table forthe Question and Answer segment of the meeting, finding it more conduciveto discussion. He noted that it was easier to get the ITC in Savoy than itwas to get to Urbana. He concluded that for the savings in rental fees,there's no choice but to go with the new site.

[Dave Witt]: Dave said the new meeting room was nice. Although, he felt thelobby could be cold during the winter months. The point he liked most wasno "kick out" time.

ToC

The Back Page:

Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at theIllinois Technology Center (352-6644). The Center is located at 7101 Tomaras Ave inSavoy. To get to the Illinois Technology Center from Champaign or Urbana,take Neil Street (Rt 45) south. Setting the trip meter in your car to zeroat the McDonalds on the corner of Kirby/Florida and Neil in Champaign, youonly go 2.4 miles south. Windsor will be at the one mile mark. Curtis willbe at the two mile mark. Go past the Paradise Inn/Best Western motel to thenext street, Tomaras Ave. on the west (right) side. Tomaras is at the 2.4mile mark. Turn west (right) on Tomaras Ave. The parking lot entrance isimmediately on the south (left) side of Tomaras Ave. Enter the building bythe front door under the three flags facing Rt 45. A map can be found onthe CUCUG website at http://www.cucug.org/meeting.html . TheIllinois Technology Center can be reached at 217-352-6644 of on the web at www.IL-Tech-Ctr.com .

Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at midyear.

Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by email. Allrecent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user groupexchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. Asa matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after threemonths of no contact.

For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, orcontact one of our officers (all at area code 217):

   President/WinSIG:   Jim Lewis                359-1342  jlewis@computers4life.com   Vice-President:     Emil Cobb                398-0149            e-cobb@uiuc.edu   Secretary/Editor:   Kevin Hopkins            356-5026               kh2@uiuc.edu   Treasurer:          Richard Hall             344-8687            rjhall1@uiuc.edu   Corporate Agent:    Jim Lewis                359-1342  jlewis@computers4life.com   Board Advisor:      Richard Rollins          469-2616            Webmaster:          Kevin Hisel              352-1002      khisel @ kevinhisel.com   Mac SIG Co-Chair:   John Melby               352-3638           jbmelby@home.com   Mac SIG Co-Chair:   Charles Melby-Thompson   352-3638         charlesm@cucug.org

Surf our web site at http://www.cucug.org/