News Common PC Mac Amiga CUCUG
The March 21 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. The Linux SIGpresentation, beginning at 6 pm, will be on Linux desktop applications: spreadsheets,wordprocessing programs, etc. The Macintosh SIG is tentatively scheduled toexamine how simple it is to use the developer tools. For the WinSIG, EdSerbe will be doing another of his hardware/software demos. Ed recentlyacquired a 64Meg GeForce3 Titanium graphics accelerator and will be showingoff the card, along with some rendering demos and MS Flight Simulator 2002Professional.
We welcome any kind of input or feedback from members. Have an article orreview you'd like to submit? Send it in. Have a comment? Email any officeryou like. Involvement is the driving force of any user group. Welcome tothe group.
Hot on the heels of our coverage of Java in Mac OS X, Apple has releasedthe Java 1.3.1 Update 1, a 21.1 MB download available via Mac OS X'sSoftware Update. Apple recommends that everyone download and install theupdate because it enhances overall stability and compatibility, plusimproves text handling, mouse behavior (particularly when dragging incomplex applications), multi-page printing, and more. Numerous bugs havealso been fixed. Full (and more technical) release notes are available fordevelopers. [ACE]
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06730
http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/java/ReleaseNotes/java131update1/NewFeatures/
Connectix has released Virtual PC 5.0.2, a free update to the company's PCemulation software for both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X (see "Virtual PC AddsFeatures, Mac OS X Compatibility" in TidBITS-610_). Chief among theimprovements are a wide variety of performance enhancements aimed ataddressing complaints about glacial performance under Mac OS X. Other areasreceiving attention include PPTP virtual private networks when using SharedNetworking, better diagnostics, printing to Canon printers, better serialport emulation, enhanced scripting support, and crashes when plugging orunplugging USB devices. Be sure to read the release notes and the VitalInformation for Updates 5.0.2 document for details. The update is a 10.5 MBdownload. [ACE]
http://www.connectix.com/products/vpc5m.html
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06668
http://www.connectix.com/downloadcenter/updates/updaters_domestic/vpcm502_readme.txt
http://www.connectix.com/downloadcenter/updates/updaters_domestic/vpcm502_vital_information.txt
http://www.connectix.com/support/vpcm_online.html
02-Feb-2002, Snoqualmie, WA - Amiga Inc, an emerging leader in mediadelivery, today announced the pre-installation, for the Swedish market, ofAmiga on the Nokia Mediaterminal. The Nokia Mediaterminal, an innovative"infotainment' device for the home, recently launched in Sweden, combinesdigital video broadcast (DVB), gaming, streaming and downloadable digitalmedia, full Internet access, and personal video recorder (PVR) technology.A Linux-based version of the AmigaDE has been incorporated into the NokiaMediaterminal.
"Today's announcement is yet another significant step forward in our visionof enabling Amiga users to access their favorite applications from anydevice and on any platform,' said Bill McEwen, President/CEO, Amiga Inc."The deployment of the Amiga on the Nokia Media terminal will giveconsumers an array of gaming and entertainment content from a centraldevice attached to their televisions.'
By using AmigaDE on the Nokia Mediaterminal, consumers will be able todownload, store and have access to the latest gaming applications, MP3,MPEG4, Universal Chat, and streaming video, turning the family TV into amultifunctional entertainment center.
http://billtechtv.members.easyspace.com/
http://www.stricq.com/pictures/BillTechTV.mpg
Amiga Games and Productivity Applications Will Target Windows CE .NETMicrosoft.com
San Francisco, CA - March 12, 2002 - Amiga, Inc. announced the release anddistribution of Amiga applications targeted at the Microsoft Windows CE.NET operating system. The applications will run on any of the range ofWindows CE .NET-based devices including handhelds, smart phones, web pads,and set-top boxes.
Amiga has a rich history of gaming and multimedia and has been deliveringrich, compelling applications since 1985. The new breed of Amigaapplications have been written to run on the entire range of WindowsPowered products including PDA's, Cell Phones, and Set Top Boxes. Amigaprovides a middleware portability layer, which allows Amiga applications tobe written once and run across a range of Windows Powered devices withoutchange. More than 100 applications will be made available initially andmany more are being created by Amiga developers worldwide.
"We are pleased to be able to deliver content that is optimized to run onthe Windows CE .NET Platform", said Bill McEwen President/CEO of Amiga Inc."Amiga developers are world renowned for their abilities to create amazingmultimedia content with a small footprint. This gives us the ability todeliver a robust and exciting experience for even the smallest devices."
"As the number and variety of small- footprint and mobile Windows Powereddevices continues to grow, ISVs want to ensure that their applications areable to run on as many of these different devices as possible," said KeithWhite, senior director of marketing for the Embedded and AppliancePlatforms Group at Microsoft Corp. "Amiga Anywhere enables applicationdevelopers to easily take advantage of the rich application and multimediasupport in Windows CE .NET to write gaming applications that will run on abroad range of smart Windows Powered devices."
Amiga for Windows Powered Products is expected to ship in April this year.More information can be found on the Amiga Anywhere web site athttp://www.amiga-anywhere.com/.
Microsoft on Wednesday asked a federal judge to dismiss the stringentantitrust sanctions that some state attorneys general want to impose on it,saying the states are trying to "displace" the Justice Department's decisionto settle the case.
Trying to bolster its legal argument before the start of remedy proceedingsagainst the company, Microsoft told the judge that the nine states stillpursuing the case are overstepping their authority by proposing sanctionsthat go beyond the Justice Department's settlement deal.
"Under well-settled legal and constitutional principles, the non-settlingstates are limited to seeking redress for state-specific injuries caused byMicrosoft's conduct," Microsoft said in its brief. "They cannot displace theUnited States in its role of establishing national competition policy."
The legal maneuvering comes about two weeks before U.S. District JudgeColleen Kollar-Kotelly is scheduled to convene hearings on what sanctionsare needed to remedy Microsoft's antitrust violations.
Microsoft reached a deal with the Justice Department in November to settlethe long-running case by, among other things, agreeing to give computermakers more freedom to feature rivals' software on the machines they sell.
Nine of the 18 states in the lawsuit agreed to sign on to the deal, but nineothers are pressing ahead and asking Kollar-Kotelly to impose strictersanctions.
The dissenting states, which include California, Massachusetts and Iowa, saytheir remedies would close a series of loopholes in the Justice Departmentsettlement. It also would force Microsoft to sell a cheaper, stripped-downversion of its monopoly Windows operating system and disclose the innerworkings of Windows.
Microsoft has criticized the states' proposal as radical and harmful toconsumers.
In a landmark ruling on the case in June, a federal appeals court dismissedparts of the government's case but upheld a lower court's conclusion thatMicrosoft had used illegal tactics to maintain the Windows monopoly.
Kollar-Kotelly has scheduled hearings next week to determine whether theJustice Department settlement is in the public interest; the following weekshe will start separate remedy proceedings.
The dissenting states "seek to establish themselves as national antitrustpolicymakers," Microsoft said in its brief. Their proposal "effectivelywould dictate how Microsoft conducts its business in all 50 states. Thisthey cannot do."
[Editor's Note: One must question the intent of those of a certainpolitical persuasion that demand the deregulation of "United" States andthe return of power to the individual states, only to then remonstrate thatthose well-springs of creativity have no jurisdiction to control corporatebehavior of a national scope. Is it a longing for the return of the companytown or laissez faire Enron-ism or a combination of both?]
The world's Big Nine electronics companies have swallowed corporate prideand agreed on a single standard and name - Blu-Ray - for the nextgeneration video and computer optical disc. Although good for the consumer,they are putting the future of their fledgling recordable DVD systems injeopardy.
Blu-Ray is backed by Hitachi, LG, Matsushita (Panasonic), Pioneer, Philips,Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Thomson. Only Toshiba, the main inventor of DVD,and JVC, which has a vested interest in VHS, are missing.
The new format will use a blue laser for recording and playback. Asingle-sided 12 centimetre Blu-Ray disc stores 27GB of computer data,records 13 hours of broadcast TV or holds 2 hours of High Definition video.
Prototypes already exist, and have been demonstrated by Philips, Sony andPanasonic. Licensing for manufacture begins within a couple of months andthe first Blu-Ray recorders could go on sale next year.
Bad news
This could be very bad news for the three rival and incompatible recordableDVD systems, DVD-RAM (Panasonic), DVD-RW (Pioneer) and DVD+RW (Philips),which are just going on sale.
All use a red laser, with 650 nm wavelength, and can only store 4.7 GB on asingle sided DVD. TV recording time is only one hour in best quality mode,and two, three or four hours with compromised pictures. Data capacity isinadequate for non-stop backup of a PC hard drive. The data transfer rate,around 10 Mbps, is not fast enough for high quality video.
A blue laser, with a 405 nm wavelength, can focus light more tightly into asmaller spot and so cram more data on a 12 centimetre disc. The datastreams at 36 Mbps, which is fast enough for HDTV. As with recordable DVD,the recording is made in a phase change coating. Blu-Ray uses a very thinlayer, 0.1 millimetres thick, to stop any tilt of the disc opticallydistorting the laser beam.
Everything is different
The 27 GB capacity will increase later to 50GB, thanks to dual layer discs,proposed by Panasonic.
The Blu-Ray group is still discussing whether the disc can be naked or mustbe housed in a protective cartridge.
Existing CD and DVD players and recorders will not be able to use Blu-Raydiscs. New Blu-Ray players will need infra-red, red and blue lasers if theyare also to play all kinds of CD and DVD recordings.
Speaking from the press launch in Tokyo, Chris Buma of Philips, says:"Except for the size of the disc, everything is different".
Walmart.com is taking a stab at attracting more technology-savvy customersby selling PCs that don't come with an operating system already pre-loaded.
In an unusual move for a general retailer, the Microtel computers are beingoffered without operating systems as part of a test to gauge the responseamong tech-oriented customers who may want to load their own operatingsystems, Walmart.com spokeswoman Cynthia Lin said.
But at least one analyst said that Wal-Mart Stores and its Internet unit arelikely to find out that they should have stayed focused on serving theircore customers, who are typically less tech-savvy and likely expectcomputers to come with the operating systems included.
"The techie types interested in tinkering with their computers are far morelikely to buy computer parts from the 500 million far more geeky stores onthe Web," said Steve Baker, a research analyst with NPD Techworld, a firmthat tracks consumer behavior.
Like most general retailers online, Walmart.com usually sells computers withoperating systems, most often Microsoft Windows, Lin said. But computersales are down, and Web stores are searching for ways to spur demand. Forinstance, Amazon.com, which launched its online computer store last year,has begun selling used computers alongside newer models.
Walmart.com says it is trying to cater to a rise in customer requests forcomputers with different operating systems.
"We decided to sell the computers without an operating system so thosecustomers who didn't want Windows could load the OS of their choice," saidLin, adding that another attractive element in not offering an operationsystem is that eliminating Windows considerably drops the cost of PCs.
For example, on PCs that sell for $599 or less, Windows becomes one of themost expensive components in the mix. Linux, of course, can be obtained forfree.
The risk for Walmart.com is that some customers shopping for a deal mayunwittingly buy the computer and discover later that they have to buy aversion of Microsoft Windows, which could cost hundreds of dollars.
"This might prove to be a pain for some people," Baker said.
With February 28 deadline come and gone, all four million or so Excite@Homecable-modem Internet access customers have been forcibly pushed off theExcite servers. Hopefully you've all also made the transition to your newservers provided by your cable companies.
In the last issue of SFNL, I asked @Home subscribers to tell me about theirpersonal experiences in the migration process away from the @Home serversto servers of their cable company, such at AT&T Broadband, Comcast, Cox,Insight Communications, Adelphia, Mediacom, Charter, and others. (If yourcable company isn't covered, it means I either didn't get enough responsesto include it.) So, based on the many emails you sent, here's the SFNLReport Card on the transition process from @Home to the various cablecompanies.
INSIGHTBB: A+
I didn't get a single, even partially negative email about people'stransitions to InsightBB cable from @Home. Most of the emails raved abouthow great InsightBB is, and only one email mentioned a slight hiccup thatwas quickly resolved. All in all, these folks had the best time, and mayeven be much better off with their new back end.
ADELPHIA AND MEDIACOM: A
The sample size of people who wrote about Adelphia and Mediacom was thetiniest of the bunch. But all the messages were positive. Words like"flawless" and "painless" were used by customers of these two companies todescribe the changeover. If the sample sizes were larger, I might have beentempted to give these two companies A+ too.
COX: B+
Most people did pretty well with the Cox conversion, which began overnightthe night of January 23. The people who had the hardest time may have beenthe early adopters. Cox had problems with its servers for about five daysat the end of January. During that period there was a lot of frustration.Compounding the problem was that Cox's tech support was completelyoverwhelmed with phone calls. Many people were unable to get through forseveral days. For those who hung back a week or two, many describe thetransition as being easy. Cox sent a disc in the mail that provided awizard-like setup experience. I know of more than one person for whom thewizard didn't work, but it did the trick for most. More experienced userscomplained that all it did was brand IE and OE with Cox logos, and that itwas easier just to make the configuration changes themselves.
Cox performance has also been pretty good. One Orange County, CA, readerwrote that his average performance with Cox after the transition is: Speed3172kbps downstream and 273kbps up (DSLReports). Not too shabby for roughly$40 a month. Other performance testers may show slower performance though.Another reader, though, said his performance dropped from an average1.5Mbps to about 490kbps, a marked difference.
Despite the fact that most people had only minor problems with thetransition, a small contingent of Cox folks had serious, bigtime,show-stopper annoyances. Rhode Island was one area hard hit, but it wasn'talone. One guy wrote in excruciating detail about a two-hour fieldtechnician visit to his home, after which he still didn't have a workingconnection.
CHARTER PIPELINE: B
Compared to most past @Home customers, Charter subscribers are happy. Butterse communication and difficult setup issues haunted less experiencedusers, who often were frustrated. One major plus: No one is complainingabout a reduction of performance.
AT&T BROADBAND: C
The most honest thing I can say about the experiences of people who haveconverted to AT&T Broadband from Excite@Home is that there isn't a solidtrend. I have mail raving about everything from an easy transition to muchfaster performance, as well as very disappointed messages about having aterrible transition and much slower performance. The reality may simply bethis: AT&T's cable- modem Internet access service has been purchasedwilly-nilly from a variety of sources over the last several years. Regionaldifferences may account for the differences. AT&T had to make room on avariety of servers to absorb its @Home customers. In some areas, that mayhave caused a problem while in others it was no big deal.
Although lack of VPN support and the loss of a static IP address are issuesfor ATTBI customers, I was surprised that not many people complained aboutit. The bigger problem for many was that they were cut off from all servicefor anywhere from a day to a week before the transition took place. Thatreally wasn't AT&T's fault, in my opinion. It was Excite's stupidity to dothat to their outgoing customers as a way of thumbing their nose to theAT&T board. Whether Excite had an honest beef or not, taking it out on thecustomers was mean spirited.
All in all, many AT&T customers seem more or less happy. Their biggestconcern may well be the prospect of being taken over by Comcast.
COMCAST: F
This is where the big problems were. Email was especially hard hit, and Ieven emails from just the last couple of days with people complaining thatthey're still getting error messages when they attempt to send/receive (andother issues). Also, apparently only one of the seven Excite@Home emailaddresses people had is protected by Comcast. The rest were turned off bydefault. Finally, many people report that it was Comcast transition and"registration" software that caused the problems on their PCs. Folks whofound a way to bypass the Comcast software say their email transitions wentsmoothly.
The lack of newsgroup service really rankles experienced users. Onesuggested that it might still be possible to sign-up for newsgroup accessat this link.
https://secure.giganews.com/cc/signup.cgi
He's not sure because the process requires email correspondence, and hisComcast email is still problematic. I can't test the above link because I'mnot on Comcast. So my apologies if it's bad or is a dead end. But I thoughtit might be worth including just in case.
Blocked VPN service is another issue that troubles new Comcast users. Thecompany began its prohibition of VPN in 2000, although apparently it isstill technically possible to run VPN, it just against the Comcast useragreement.
Perhaps because of the ongoing email problems, I actually received moremessages from pre-existing Comcast customers, those who didn't go throughthe transition from @Home. One wrote: "My experience with Comcast hasalways been that when it's good, it's good, but when it's bad, it's reallybad." The tech supports scripts (the things tech support is required to sayto each customer), he added, are really annoying.
Reports about Comcast performance are all over the place. But the worstreports, which came from more than one SFNL reader, were that throughputmeasures in the 320kbps upstream, 90kbps downstream range. That's very poorperformance for cable-modem service. To be sure, that experience isn'tuniversal, but it's bad enough that I would recommend looking for analternative broadband source.
More than any other company, the emails from Comcast customers are the mostfrustrated and tell the biggest horror stories. Profanity is more common inthese messages than literally any email I've ever gotten for Scot'sNewsletter, Broadband Report, or Windows Insider. Let me tell you, that's awhole lot of email. Even the people who report that there transition went-- and there are a few of them -- mention things like having to spend 1.5hours on the phone to tech support just to get there email running. Morethan any other service reported on, Comcast customers also report that theystill have outstanding issues. Given that Comcast was among the first toswitch over, that's especially telling.
All in all, it wasn't hard to award Comcast a failing mark. I think manyComcast customers might say that Comcast did better than an F. But thepreponderance of negative experiences forces me to tell it like it is.
I want to warmly thank all the many SFNL readers who contributed to thisreport. About 200 readers in all. Especially Cox customers, who came out indroves. I didn't have time to respond to all your messages. So pleaseaccept this thanks as my response.
President Jim Lewis came over and helped me install Win XP Pro on myPII-400MHz/128M box which is over 3 1/2 years old. This was admittedly alittle risky given the age of the system and the fact that it is barelybetter than the minimum recommendation of 300MHz/128M. Because the machineI wanted to upgrade was so old, I really did my homework before theinstall. I checked the Microsoft web site for compatibility issues(http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/checkcompat.asp)and downloaded the latest version of the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor, a 30+megabyte program that runs on your current configuration and provides tonsof information about any hardware and software issues you might have beforeyou attempt the upgrade.
The Upgrade Advisor did indeed find a few potential problems which I neededto address. It listed the hardware and software compatibility problems Iwould probably have. There was a high-speed serial card (is that thingstill in there?) that it said XP could not support without new drivers. Italso told me that my serial-based digital camera and HP3300C scanner wouldnot be 100% supported. The good news was that I didn't need the high-speedserial card (it was used for an old ISDN modem), HP recently posted thefull XP-compatible software suite and XP drivers for my scanner and I coulddeal with the camera by simply buying an inexpensive ($23) SmartMedia cardreader for the camera.
Knowing all that we put the disk in the CD, booted off of it and answered afew questions. We did a "clean" install, which means that we completelywiped the main drive and formatted it using NTFS, the preferred file systemfor XP. I'm glad Jim was there to deal with the disk format questions. Herecommended NTFS so off we went. About 40-50 minutes later (hey, this isonly a 400MHz machine) we booted into XP. XP found everything...the ATI 8Mvideo card, Samsung monitor, ISA(!) sound card, SCSI adapter, SCSI Zipdrive, HP CD-RW, 3-Com NIC, and installed proper drivers for all of it. Iwas shocked.
The next step was to go to the Windows Update web site and download all thelatest "hot fixes". This is one part that would be a bit of a challenge ifI did not have my lightning-fast, cable-modem broadband connection. In justa few minutes, we downloaded all 20.5 megabytes of updates. One rebootlater and we were done (save for reinstalling all of my applicationsoftware).
The "new" machine runs like a dream. I swear it's about twice as fast nowas when it had Windows 98 on it but maybe that's just the better memorymanagement showing itself. Network file transfers alone are five times asfast now. I am really looking forward to the reliability. This machine withWin 98 got to the point where it needed a reboot once every few days. Frommy other experiences with XP, I'm pretty sure that this machine will nowrun for months between reboots. I use it to perform a wide variety ofautomated tasks like backing up my home network, monitoring the web serversI am responsible for, serving files and other network chores. So, it has tobe up 24/7.
I'm really happy I upgraded the machine. Even though it was an oldercomputer, with a little research I was able to make the process go prettysmoothly. XP makes this old computer seem like a whole new machine!
On Sunday 03 March 2002 14:10, Asha DeVelder regaled all and sundry with:
> Skal,>> Thanks for the suggestions for cleaning up my c: partition. After> checking at winfiles, I decided to go with Window Washer (as opposed to> Evidence Eliminator) mostly for the price (no way I could afford $150 but I> might be able to scrape up $30).> I installed an ran it. Before running it I had 79megs free on my> c: drive. After running it I have 280 megs free!! The system seems a bit> peppier as well.> Good little program it seems!>> Yay! and Thanks again!And if you think Window Washer rocks, you ought to see Evidence Eliminatordo its magic. But, by no real stretch of imagination is EE worth $150. Iguess they have to pay for the spam they generate by the truckload.
WinblowZ is a garbage generator. It is just amazing what crap files itcreates in the course of its average day. It is a good thing to blow it outwith a good cleaner proggy once in a while.
Now, go run the Norton Registry Cleaner, and for REAL fun, download the evalversion of KCMS Registry Compressor and run it. ZOOM!!! Also, defrag.
> (Am sending this through the list in case anyone else running winblows has> this problem and wonders how well the program works)Yeah, it really is just that good.
Thanks to David Byrne for this tip: For at least the first 8 months of2001, open-source poster child Linux was far less secure than Windows,according to the reputable NTBugTraq, which is hosted by SecurityFocus, theleading provider of security information about the Internet. (The company's2001 statistics are available only through August 2001 for the time being.)According to NTBugTraq, Windows 2000 Server had less than half as manysecurity vulnerabilities as Linux during the reported period. When youbreak the numbers down by Linux distribution, Win2K had fewervulnerabilities than RedHat Linux 7.0 or MandrakeSoft Mandrake Linux 7.2,and it tied with UNIX-leader Sun Microsystems Solaris 8.0 and 7.0. A lookat the previous 5 years--for which the data is more complete--also showsthat each year, Win2K and Windows NT had far fewer security vulnerabilitiesthan Linux, despite the fact that Windows is deployed on a far wider basisthan any version of Linux. So once again, folks, you have to askyourselves: Is Windows really less secure than Linux? Or is this one ofthose incredible perception issues? For more information and the completestats, visit the SecurityFocus Web site. I'll check back on this story tosee how all of 2001 shapes up.
http://securityfocus.com/vulns/stats.shtml
SAN FRANCISCO--Intel plans to come out with a new version of the Pentium 4next year and to push a slate of initiatives to make computers and phonessleeker and smaller.
The next version of the Pentium 4, code-named Prescott, will enhance desktopperformance through hyper-threading, among other changes, Intel's LouisBurns, vice president of the Desktop Platforms Group, said at the four-dayIntel Developer Forum here. Burns also demonstrated a 4GHz Pentium 4, whichshould come out sometime next year.
Prescott was among a number of announcements Wednesday. Santa Clara,Calif.-based Intel also discussed improved power-management technologiesthat will come with Pentium 4 notebooks, expected to debut March 4, as wellas integrated processors for next-generation cell phones.
Hyper-threading allows a single processor to handle two differentapplications or application threads at the same time. The technology debutedcommercially earlier this week in Prestonia, a new Intel server chip.Circuitry for hyper-threading is included in current Pentium 4 chips, but itis not activated, because few current desktop applications can takeadvantage of it, according to Intel sources.
Prescott's debut in 2003 will be complemented in the second half of thatyear by the emergence of 3GIO, a component connection standard. 3GIO willlikely affect consumers in two ways. First, it will speed up how theprocessor communicates with graphics processors, network cards, printers andother peripherals, thereby increasing performance.
Second, 3GIO will free engineers from design constraints by eliminatingmotherboard channels and other electrical design conventions, leading to awider variety of computer styles. In 2003 or 2004, for instance, DellComputer plans to come out with desktop PCs based on what it calls an"Evo-Revo" design that will let consumers plug in or remove MP3 players orportable hard drives like they would Lego pieces.
"We want to get to some modular form" for computer peripherals, said BrianZucker, technology evangelist for Dell's small-business and consumerproducts division. "If we can keep the costs low and have a high-speedserial link, why not?"
Advanced Micro Devices will vigorously compete with Intel. The Sunnyvale,Calif.-based company expects to come out with its next-generation desktopprocessor, code-named Clawhammer, by the fourth quarter of 2002. AMD hasbeen showing off samples of its forthcoming chip in a hotel two blocks awayfrom Intel's convention.
Among other features, Clawhammer will come with an integrated memorycontroller, which connects the processor to memory, and will be able to run64-bit applications, which will begin to trickle into the Intel-AMD world,said Fred Weber, AMD's chief technology officer. The integration of thememory controller alone should boost performance by up to 20 percent overexisting AMD chips, he said.
"Because of AMD's credibility, it won't take as long as in the past to getinto commercial markets," Weber said. "We enhanced the performance mostly inarchitecture rather than (boosting clock) frequency."
Portable plans
The Pentium 4 will also move to notebooks soon, said Anand Chandrasekher,vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobile Platforms Group, whoshowed off a Pentium 4 notebook decoding high-definition television streams.The Pentium 4 mobile chips will also feature an enhanced version ofSpeedStep, which saves energy by slowing down the processor when unpluggedand offers a deeper sleep mode.
A number of PC makers next week will announce new, high-end notebooks basedon the Pentium 4-M chips.
Among them will be Dell, which is expected to announce a Pentium 4-M machinein its Inspiron 8200 notebook line. Compaq Computer is also expected toannounce a new Presario with the chip. Meanwhile, sources anticipate thatToshiba will launch several new computers, including a Satellite notebook,with the new chip. Gateway and IBM are likely to launch their Pentium 4-Mnotebooks at a later date.
Most PC makers will introduce Pentium 4-M notebooks at the high end of theirlines. They will likely include several other high-end features with thenotebooks, which should carry a price tag of about $2,000.
Buyers should expect to see, for example, notebooks with 15-inch screens,hard drives up to 60GB, combination CD-RW/DVD drives and high-end graphicscards, a Compaq executive said.
As previously reported, the new Pentium 4-M chips will run at 1.6GHz and1.7GHz.
Intel, sources said, also plans to add 1.5GHz and possibly 1.4GHz Pentium4-M chips in late April. These chips will be priced lower than the new1.6GHz and 1.7GHz processors, allowing PC makers to offer Pentium 4-Mnotebooks closer to the $1,500 mark, sources said.
In the first half of 2003, the company will then follow up with Banias, alow-power notebook chip for ultrathin notebooks being designed in Israel,and a companion chipset called Odem.
On the wireless watch
Intel will also make a continued push into the cell phone arena with"wireless Internet on a chip" processors for cell phones. The chips willcombine a microprocessor, communications functions and memory controllers.Integrated processors generally reduce manufacturing costs. Intel said ithas developed an integrated chip for so-called 2.5G phones and acommunications chip for 3G phones in its labs.
Along with manufacturing components, Intel has formed a developer networkto recruit software publishers to its technology and away from TexasInstruments, its main competitor in this field.
"If the cell phone continues to be voice-only, Intel has no base in thecell phone market," said Tony Sica, vice president of Intel's WirelessCommunications and Computing Group. "If the industry is successful inproviding data services, we will win."
Some application developers showing off forthcoming wares this week includePicsel Technologies, which has created a browser that lets handheldsdisplay complete Web pages and video images. Manufacturers will releasephones containing the company's application in the fourth quarter, said AliAdnan, a customer representative for Picsel. Samsung and NEC are two of thelarger companies discussing deals with the company, he added.
News.com's John G. Spooner contributed to this report.
We expressed annoyance in this space awhile back space about Microsoft'santi-piracy "activation" scheme in Office XP and Windows XP. With thepassage of time, we have duly considered the real world results--and we areeven more annoyed.
After installing the Adaptec DuoConnect card reviewed in the accompanyingarticle, Windows XP demanded that I re-activate. According to the officialMicrosoft White Paper on activation, neither USB nor FireWire cards areamong the components that are part of the activation scheme. But this,after all, is a Microsoft program, so there always are "issues."
According to the technical representative on the other end of the 800-lineat activation central, Windows XP regularly decides that FireWire cards arenetwork cards, which WinXP activation does monitor. Hence my activationeXPerience.
But that's only the #2 annoyance. As part of another test, I had beenchecking out Adaptec's family of SCSI cards, the 19160, 29160, and 39160.These did not trigger Windows XP activation. No, no, no, nothing thatsimple. Instead Windows XP decided that it needed to re-install each of thehard drives connected to the SCSI cards. The drives had not changed, butrouting them through a different SCSI card sufficed to make Windows see newhardware. This, in turn, triggered an OFFICE XP re-activation.
On the plus side, the people on the 800 lines provided the necessary codesto re-activate without protest. But all things considered, I have betteruses for my time than having to dial an 800 number every time I testsomething on my PC.
You can reach Al Gordon at: al@TheNakedPC.com
In this article I'll save you time and angst if you need to completelyremove the core applications and tools that come on Microsoft Office 2000CD1 (the meat and potatoes of the Office 2000 install). FollowingMicrosoft's instructions doesn't completely remove CD1, and since it takesabout 45 minutes to work through the process, I hope to save you the time Ilost doing it twice.
I have frequently used Microsoft's Knowledge Base article Q219423 "OFF2000:How to Completely Remove Microsoft Office CD1." As many of you know, I havefound that a scorched earth policy is often the only way to resolve aproblem with Office (Windows, too, but that's a tip for another day). A fewdays ago while I was spell- checking, Word 2000 reported the message "Wordcannot find the spelling file MSSpell3.dll or mssp232.dll for English(U.S.)." I looked this problem up in the Knowledge Base and found therelevant article "WD2000: Error Message: Word Cannot Find the SpellingFile... [Q240408]." Unfortunately, the article's solution didn't work: Idid a maintenance mode setup and forced setup to "Update Now" Office'sProofing Tools, the message continued undeterred. Go figure.
I remembered this happening on another PC a while back, and that I had usedan erase-type freebie tool to scorch Office 2000, so I located theaforementioned Q219423 and started reading.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/505/tr.cgi?lee1
Microsoft's suggested fix, in a nutshell, is to run setup in maintenancemode, choose the "Remove Office" option, then manually delete a substantialnumber of folders and files and some Registry keys. Alternately, you canuse their "Office 2000 File and Registry Eraser Utility" (a.k.a. Eraser2000) to do the deletions for you.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/505/tr.cgi?lee2
I did the "Remove Office" process, ran Eraser 2000, re-installed Office,and the error persisted! My system hung on a mid-process reboot prompted bythe Eraser 2000 tool, so it's possible that caused a disruption in Eraser2000 finishing whatever it needed to do after the reboot. Also, Microsoft'ssteps leave behind a small number of files and folders that it says areinnocuous. Lastly, and I think this is the key (no pun intended), itappears that Eraser 2000 doesn't actually delete the main Office 2000registry key and its sub-keys that live atHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0 (dittoHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE...). At least it didn't get rid of them for me on itsfirst pass. So, here are my amended steps, that work.
1. Make sure you're willing to have your Registry be edited. Youmay wish to back it up first. The procedure for doing so isdocumented in the Q219423 article.
2. There are different steps for Windows 2000 versus Windows 98;what I'm describing here worked for me on a Win98SE PC.
3. To avoid having to tediously reset your Office settings,consider running the free Microsoft Office 2000 "Save My SettingsWizard" tool. For more information:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/505/tr.cgi?lee3
Once installed, the steps are: Start, Programs, Microsoft OfficeTools, Save My Settings Wizard.
4. Run Office setup in maintenance mode.
5. Choose the "Remove Office" option.
6. When it's finished, reboot.
7. After rebooting when the PC displays its desktop, close allsystem tray applications. This should help prevent shutdownproblems when Eraser 2000 mandates a reboot.
8. Run Eraser 2000.
9. Follow the Q219423 article's manual deletion steps for foldersand files (for Step 5 that includes over 170 files, I confess Ilooked up a few randomly and since none were found I skipped therest; your mileage may vary).
10. Follow the Q219423 article's manual deletion steps for theRegistry keys.
11. Manually delete the "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office"folder and any sub-folders below it.
12. Manually delete all files in your TEMP folder (typicallyC:\Windows\Temp), but not the folder itself.
13. Reboot.
14. Install Office 2000.
15. Run the "Save My Settings Wizard" to retrieve your previouslysaved settings.
Although I certainly hope you never have to resort to a scorched earthuninstall/reinstall of Office 2000, I know from plenty of client andpersonal experience that it's often the only fix.
You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: LeeHudspeth@TheNakedPC.com
In the first two installments of this article, we looked first at Apple'sproprietary programming environments for Mac OS X - Classic, Carbon, andCocoa - and then at its cross-platform Unix layer. In this third and finalsegment, we'll examine Java.
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1214
Cuppa Joe
Sun Microsystems developed Java - which is both a programming language andan operating environment - in an attempt to solve some of the basicproblems of computer programming. Their most important goal was toalleviate the challenges of writing code for different platforms. To reducethe need for porting software between these environments, Sun designed anabstract operating environment - essentially a virtual operating system -called the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) in which Java applications would run.By making the way programs communicate with the JVM identical, and hidingplatform-specific differences inside the JVM, Sun hoped Java programs wouldrun - without porting - on any platform with a JVM, eliminating the needfor multiple versions.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be that simple. Variations betweenJVMs on different platforms and the desire to provide native-lookinginterfaces mean that a truly cross-platform Java application is still adifficult task that requires some porting. That said, using Java as atarget platform can save time for cross-platform development, and as amodern programming language, Java includes a raft of improvements over theC and C++ languages Sun intended it to replace.
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/getStarted/intro/definition.html
Applets, Servlets, and Applications
Java initially proved popular for small programs, called applets, thatcould run inside Web browsers, because the interface to such programs wasminimal and did not need to be native to each platform. We've all run intoa Java applet at one time or another, often with mediocre results or even abrowser crash. That's evidence of how the quality of the JVM, as well asdifferences between virtual machines, play an important role; but there aremany Java applets that work fine, such as the Secret Lives of Numbersvisualization mentioned in Adam's "A Couple of Cool Concepts" article inTidBITS-617_. It doesn't look like a Macintosh program, short of a few ofthe controls, which makes it harder to use than would be ideal for Macusers, but it does provide a complex interactive experience no matter whatoperating system or Web browser is used.
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06720
Later, Java became heavily used for writing servlets, small back-end Webapplications that add customization and intelligence to Web sites withoutthe need for proprietary interfaces. Businesses that need to develop customWeb services but want to avoid being tied to a specific Web server findJava attractive. For example, a Java servlet initially written for theTomcat Java servlet environment can work with the built-in Tomcat Webserver, or in concert with the Apache Web server, or inside any of avariety of commercial servlet environments on various platforms (includingMac OS X). Recognizing this, and in an effort to boost the credibility ofMac OS X as a server platform, Apple now provides instructions forinstalling Tomcat under Mac OS X and includes it in Mac OS X Server.
http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/
http://developer.apple.com/internet/macosx/tomcat1.html
http://www.eweek.com/article/0,3658,s%253D708%2526a%253D20204,00.asp
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-01-2002/jw-0118-macworld.html
The popularity of Java for applets and servlets doesn't mean that it can'tbe used for full-fledged applications. Java programs are frequentlydistributed as single files, with .jar or .zip extensions, although thosethat are tweaked to improve the user experience in Mac OS X go further yet.For example, LimeWire is a client written in Java for the Gnutellamusic-sharing network. LimeWire uses a platform-specific installer andapplication shell that provides a nicer user experience thandouble-clicking a .jar file with a generic icon. When you get it running,LimeWire looks pretty much like a Mac OS X program, with an Aquaappearance. The lack of a real menu bar and the presence of underlinesunder menu item shortcut letters give its Java heritage away, but LimeWireis still easy to use. For a more-familiar application type that doesn't fitinto Java's traditional network utility category, check out jEdit, aJava-based programmer's text editor. It provides a real menu bar, though itstill underlines the keyboard shortcuts in menu items, doesn't use theproper font for the menus, and avoids Mac OS X's standard Open and Savedialogs. A different approach to the problem of cross-platform interfacedetails is to ignore it, as in the simulation creator Stagecast, whosewindows and menus are all drawn inside the program's single master window,and whose interface widgets are proprietary and unfamiliar.
http://www.limewire.com/
http://www.jedit.org/
http://www.stagecast.com/
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05437
One question that occasionally arises is whether people can run _any_ Javaapplication in Mac OS X, even if there isn't a download specifically forMac OS X. The answer is that you can always try - download it, look for afile with a .jar or .zip extension, and double-click it. The likelihood ofthe program working is higher than in Mac OS 9, so it's worth breaking outof the standard assumption that Macs don't do Java.
Going Mocha
As I noted at the beginning, Java is both a programming language and anoperating environment. Although I've been talking about Java applicationsthat exist entirely within the Java Virtual Machine, it's also possible forprogrammers to use just the Java language to create full-fledged Cocoaapplications for Mac OS X. In this scenario, deliciously known as CocoaJava, the programmer uses stock Cocoa interface widgets and communicateswith the Cocoa application by talking to the Cocoa programming interface,but uses Java for all or part of the code, because she either prefers it toObjective-C, or (more likely) knows Java better because it's more widelyused. The Java code runs in the Java Virtual Machine, as usual, but getsits interface from the built-in Cocoa framework, crossing the gulf betweenthe two worlds via a translation mechanism dubbed the Java Bridge. Theresult is an application that looks like any other Cocoa application,though the overhead of the JVM means it launches more slowly and uses morememory than a normal Cocoa application. For an example, take a look atTiran Behrouz's Calculator+; you'll find that there's nothing about theinterface to reveal that the programmer used Java instead of Objective-C.
Cream and Sugar
Because Java makes the underlying platform less important, it'sparticularly attractive to platform vendors looking to entice developersinto writing for operating systems other than Windows. This also means thatJava poses a threat to the domination of Microsoft Windows, because Javaprograms - unlike Win32 and Visual Basic programs - are portable to othersystems. As a result (and this is an intentionally massiveoversimplification of a complicated situation), Microsoft has withdrawn itssupport for Java, and now encourages developers to use a derivativelanguage named C# (pronounced "C sharp"). C# is nominally an open language,but it's designed around Microsoft's Windows operating system and .NETplatform.
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-11-2000/jw-1122-csharp1.html
Apple supported Java poorly in previous versions of the Mac OS with theMacintosh Runtime for Java (MRJ) but has greatly improved the Java VirtualMachine in Mac OS X to provide much more complete and current Java support.Despite the solid Java foundation in Mac OS X, Apple's initial focus hasbeen on supporting Classic and encouraging developers to use Carbon andCocoa. More recently, Apple has started paying a bit more attention to MacOS X's underlying Unix layer, and the new attention being paid to theTomcat Java servlet environment in Mac OS X would seem to indicate thatJava may be rising on Apple's list of priorities. In any case, more Javadevelopers are discovering Mac OS X and responding well to Apple's Javasupport.
An Embarrassment of Riches
It's ironic: Mac OS X includes the Classic environment for running existingMac OS 9 applications, Carbon for developers who are porting large codebases over to Mac OS X, and Cocoa for programmers starting from scratch.Then there are Mac OS X's full Unix underpinnings and robust Java VirtualMachine, which together bring a veritable host of Unix and Javaapplications into the fold. With Mac OS X, the Macintosh has jumped frombeing known as a closed and isolated architecture to supporting far moreprogramming environments than any other operating system. Who'd havethought?
Copying software onto and iPod is as easy as drag-and-drop.
Apple introduced the iPod, the company was aware that people might use itto rip off music from the Net or friends' machines. Each new iPod, in fact,is emblazoned with a sticker that warns, "Don't Steal Music."
But it is unlikely that Apple imagined people would walk into computerstores, plug their iPod into display computers and use it to copy softwareoff the hard drives.
This is exactly the scenario recently witnessed by Kevin Webb at a DallasCompUSA store.
Webb, a computer consultant from Dallas, was browsing his local CompUSA whenhe saw a young man walk toward him listening to an iPod. Webb recognizedthe iPod's distinctive ear buds.
The teenager stopped at a nearby display Macintosh, pulled the iPod fromhis pocket and plugged it into the machine with a FireWire cable.Intrigued, Webb peeped over the kid's shoulder to see him copyingMicrosoft's new Office for OS X suite, which retails for $500.
When the iPod is plugged into a Macintosh, its icon automatically pops upon the desktop. To copy software, all the kid had to do was drag and dropfiles onto the iPod's icon. Office for MacOS X is about 200 MB; it copiesto the iPod's hard drive in less than a minute.
"Watching him, it dawned on me that this was something that was very easyto do," Webb said. "In the Mac world it's pretty easy to plug in and copythings. It's a lot easier than stealing the box."
Webb watched the teenager copy a couple of other applications. He left thekid to find a CompUSA employee. "I went over and told a CompUSA guy, but helooked at me like I was clueless," Webb said.
Unsure whether the kid was a thief or an out-of-uniform employee, Webbwatched as he left the store. "I thought there's no point in getting anymore involved in this imbroglio," Webb said. "Besides, this is Texas. Younever know what he might have been carrying."
CompUSA representatives didn't respond to requests for comment. Neither didApple officials.
The iPod is perfect for virtual shoplifting. It is designed as a digitalmusic player, but its roomy 5-GB hard drive can be used as portable storagefor all kinds of files, even the Macintosh operating system. In fact, itcan operate as an external drive, booting up a machine and runningapplications.
The iPod's FireWire interface -- one of its most important but undersoldfeatures -- allows huge files to be copied in seconds. The iPod doesn'teven have to leave the user's pocket.
And while the iPod has a built-in anti-piracy mechanism that prevents musicfiles from being copied from one computer to another, it has no suchprotections for software.
Ironically, Microsoft has pioneered an easy-to-use installation scheme onthe Mac that makes its Mac software relatively easy to pilfer. The companyis known for its sometimes heavy-handed, anti-piracy mechanisms in suchproducts as Windows XP.
When installing Office, users simply drag and drop the Office folder totheir hard drive. Everything is included, including a self-repair mechanismthat replaces critical files in the system folder.
By contrast, a lot of software on the Windows platform relies on a bunch ofsystem files that are only installed during an installation process. Simplycopying an application from one machine to another will not work.
Plus, getting a copy of the software application is only half the battle:most software won't work without a registration number. Usable serialnumbers, however, are readily available on Usenet, IRC, Hotline andapplications like Hacks and Cracks.
"This is the first we have heard of this form of piracy," said Erik Ryan, aMicrosoft product manager. "And while this is a possibility, people shouldbe reminded that this is considered theft."
While the iPod may be ideal for a software-stealing spree, there are anumber of other devices on the market that could also be used by virtualshoplifters. As well as any external FireWire drive, there are now a numberof tiny key-chain drives that plug into computers' USB ports, likeM-Systems' DiskOnKey and Trek2000's ThumbDrive.
Most key-chain drives work with both Macs and PCs. Some are available withup to one gigabyte of storage space. However, USB ports are a lot slowerthan FireWire, requiring the virtual shoplifter to hang around while theill-gotten gains are transferring.
CompUSA and other computer stores could take a few simple steps to preventsoftware from being copied, said Mac expert Dave Horrigan, who writes asyndicated Macintosh column.
Any Mac can easily be configured to allow changes only by administrators,he said. Also, a system profile tool logs all peripheral equipment, but itmust be running to log an iPod. For Macs running OS X, a locked dummy filein an application's package will protect the entire file from being copiedwithout a password.
But Horrigan didn't think the iPod presents a serious piracy threat toMicrosoft, and doubted the company would take special measures to preventin-store copying.
"If Microsoft puts in protection it almost always screws up and causesproblems for them or their legit users," he said.
Dennis Lloyd, publisher of iPod fan site iPodlounge, also said this is thefirst time he'd heard of an iPod put to such use.
"I can see how easy it would be to do," he said. "It's a shame someone hasstooped this low to bring bad press to the insanely great iPod."
Greetings to the Global Amiga family,
Yes, I know that it has been more than a week, and yes the deal is stillon, and yes we are moving very quickly as I will outline to you all below.
I want to personally thank our friends and families for sticking with usand with our dreams as they are coming to reality.
As Amiga has matured over the last two years, and our plans only slightlychanged I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you for yourpatience and excitement as we move forward.
In 1999 Amiga, Inc. decided to take a very different road than the onespreviously charted for the community. It was met, by some, with disbelief,most with excitement as a path was being laid towards a future wheredigital content would be accessed by any digital device. Amiga selected anunknown partner in the Tao-Group of Reading England, and I can assure youthat this was the best decision we have made.
Tao and Amiga have never been closer as a true partnership is in place. Iwant to thank Francis Charig my dear friend, and the rest of the Tao teamas they been instrumental to the successes that will become publicknowledge soon.
However with all of the great plans that were in place and the productdevelopment that had started there was still the issue of having fundsnecessary to make it all happen, and the addition of Frank Wilde as ourChairman has been amazing help, and I can say we are moving forward in waysthat are going to bring Amiga to new levels, and I could not be more happywith the results that we are seeing.
Thank you to everyone of you who are keeping the faith and spreading thetruth about Amiga.
I have several announcements that are happening here, and you need to knowthat we are definitely going to have more Amiga enabled products ship in2002 than in any year previous.
* Our STB partner - Nokia, and their new Media Terminal. Yes, the sameNokia that you all know and love. Amiga will be pre-loaded on theseproducts and we will begin shipping on them before summer this year. Nowthe Nokia announcement will be coming on their site in the coming weeks,but we are going ahead and putting our release up(http://www.amiga.com/corporate/022202-nokia.shtml), and then we willfollow on with another joint announcement.
* I often get messages asking when we are going to let the rest of theworld know what is happening. Well for all of you who have asked - Amigawill be at the Embedded Systems Show in San Francisco, CA, March 12 throughthe 15th. We will be in booth #1602, located in the South Hall of MosconeCenter. We will be showing the new Amiga technology, and some exciting newfeatures never before seen in any other product. We will also be making atleast one announcement there at the show.
* We have two more new members added to the team and there are many morethat will be announced soon. The first two are part of our sales team. Bothare dynamic and excited to be part of the Amiga family. Liz Barnick andDavid Brott joined us in January, and are establishing themselves quicklywith regards to new business, and great ideas. I have included informationabout them both in a separate document that is attached to this update.
* AmigaOS 4.0 is moving ahead very nicely and I could not be more pleasedwith Hyperion and their ability to get things done. We will all be veryproud of their efforts, and I know that many of you will be rewarded withwhat they have already accomplished, and with the product that they arebuilding.
I can assure you that your patience will be met with great rewards, andthere are many others who are now learning what you have known. That Amigahas the most robust, talented, dedicated community of any computingplatform today or in the future.
Thank you again for your continued prayers and support. You are about to berewarded.
Amiga to Deploy AmigaDE on Nokia Infotainment Device for the Home LizBarnick Joins Amiga as Director, Business Development David Brott JoinsAmiga as Director, Business Development
With my best to everyone,
Bill McEwen and the rest of the Amiga Team
February 21, 2002 - Just prior to the main CUCUG meeting, Linux group didan overview of X-Windows in their SIG meeting.
President Jim Lewis began the main meeting with the traditionalintroduction of officers. He then asked everyone that hadn't to pleaserenew their membership for the new year. He made note of the Starship CUCUGII web forum ( http://www.cucug.org/starship/index.php ) established by Mike Latinovichfor members to use and stay in touch with one another throughout the monthbetween meetings. As WinSIG Chairman, Jim made apologies to the SIG membersfor the difficulties encountered while attempting to install Windows XP onthe club machine last month. Lastly, Jim talked about the negotiations herehad been involved in to procure a projector for our club meetings. Somethinghe was successful in doing.
The floor was then opened to PC news. It was reported that the folks fromLite-On have marketed a 40x CD recordable drive for $120. These units arehighly recommended. Someone asked if Lite-On is working on a recordable DVDdrive. Hopes are high.
The raising of the topic of DVDs sparked the relating of the news itemabout the Blu-Ray DVD replacement technology. (See the related article inthe Common Ground section of this newsletter.)
There was some discussion of the GeForce 4 video card and a note thatAdaptec had released an XP driver.
Dan Jansen spoke about the supposed security review that Microsoft was saidto be going to conduct on its own and its developers products in a monthlong lock down. However, the story has been denied by Microsoft Europe.
Jack Melby brought out the latest stir making the rounds that Windows MediaPlayer logs everything a user plays with it. The "ET phone home" nature ofthis has fed the Microsoft paranoia in some quarters. Kevin Hisel says thisis a "non-issue."
Jim Lewis spoke about Microsoft's Passport initiative. He said it is"trying to make web use easy", but noted that the road to hell is pavedwith good intentions. He said Microsoft could do much to lessen resistanceto the concept if they would just install it without making it active bydefault. There are security holes through Universal Plug and Play. Hackerscan spoof the system by appearing as a device.
John Ross spoke about Windows Update and the MPS security web site. HF NetCheck and the Microsoft Knowledge Base were also discussed.
Mark Zinzow reported that Trillion has a new release and that AOL isbattling them over Instant Messaging.
Jim Huls showed everyone his new toy, a keychain-sized 64 MB USB drive fromM-Systems called "DiskOnKey" available for $49. This is on of three similardevices, all about the size of a BIC lighter. Richard Rollins brought in anarticle on these drives from the February 21, 2002 issue of the Wall StreetJournal, Section B-1.
BeOS is suing Microsoft for trying to run them out of business. This is acivil suit.
Jack Melby was then asked about Macintosh news. Jack reported that Applehas come out with its dual 1 Ghz G4 machines, released one week after ourlast meeting. He noted that OS X had been updated to 10.1.3.
For the Mac SIG, Jack announced that we would be having a drawing for afull blown copy of Adobe Premier 5.0 .
Jim Lewis gave kudos to Apple's design of the new iMac package. He said itwas very slick. Jeff Strong commented on how many iMacs have been sold.Richard Rollins said Apple is 8 weeks behind in meeting the demand for thenew iMac. Rich Hall talked about our own Emil Cobb being on the very firstnew iMac to be on display at the University's Micro Order Center when hewent over to take a look at it.
It was noted that Circuit City has stopped carrying Macintoshes again.
Harold Ravlin talked about Genentec software.
Next came the Linux news. John Ross spoke about the relationship betweenOracle and Sun. He noted that the Linux standard base 1.1 had just comeout. he felt this was important since developers will now have resourcesavailable in standard places. Dan Jansen talked about Linus Torvaldt beingtoo slow to update the kernel. He had been taking a lot of flak about it.After all, he is only one guy. So he is taking on some help and it is hopedthat updates will start occurring more quickly.
Jim Lewis asked if there is any movement in the Linux community to be"commoditive," to make the system so it can come out of the box and worklike Windows 3 did for the PC.
There was more talk about the desire to see Mac OS X for Intel hardware.Jack reasserted Apple's stance that it is a hardware company and as suchhas no interest in producing and OS X version for competing hardware.
Dan Jansen noted that Scott McNeilly of Sun was in a Linux penguin suit ata recent event.
Richard Rollins showed three Linux CDs, produced by John Ross. Rich wastaking orders for burning CD sets for those members that were interested.He also said to check out http://www.linuxiso.org .
Someone reported that British Telecomm is claiming to have the patent onthe hyperlink.
After months of cajoling, I finally gave in to Jack Melby and agreed to doa presentation on OS X from a new users prospective. Actually, what hadmore to do with it was that the club's machine was left in OS X after thesoftware updating session at the January meeting and I was forced to dealwith it when I took the machine home.
The first item on the agenda was to complete the upgrading of the Systemsoftware to OS 9.2.2 for Classic mode and OS X 1.2 for OS X operations.With the use of the Software Update panel in the System Preferences, thiswas easily accomplished.
Next was to figure out how to beat a hasty retreat back to the comfort ofOS 9 and/or how to get back into OS X if I felt adventurous. To get from OSX back to Classic you use the Startup Disk panel in System Preferences.It's so easy, it's self explanatory, once you need to do it. To get to OS Xfrom OS9, you use the Startup Disk Control Panel, selecting the OSX "systemdisk", and then restarting your machine. The restart brings you up in OS X.Simple as that.
One of the things Jack likes to say is that it is easier for a new user tostart out in OS X than it is for an experienced Mac user, familiar with theold OS, to make the transition. I've thought about this and the conclusionI've come to is that this is true to some extent, but that is because a newuser will accept the machine as he first finds it. The first thing anexperienced user wants to do is recreate his working environment. We haveways we like to approach a task and certain ways we like our tools laidout, so when presented with a new environment, the first thing we try to dois rearrange things back to the way we like them. And that's what I did.
My presentation this evening was based on an exchange of questions andanswers I had with Jack as I acclimatized myself to OS X.
The first thing I didn't like was the default setting of viewing windows asthough I was using a net browser. After navigating down into severalfolders and then clicking the last window off out of habit to go back upone directory only to have the entire window disappear, I had to ask "Howdo I get rid of this web browser style window navigation and open multiplewindows at the same time?" This accomplished by accessing the Finder menu:
Finder/Preferences/click on "Always open folders in new window."
I am constantly transferring files from one window to another. Now I can dothat again.
Second, after i got my windows back, I needed to know "How do you'snapshot' a window to keep the size and configuration I left it in. OS 9etc. does this automatically. OS X seems to forget and give you a defaultwindow that you have to do over every time. Jack kindly pointed me to theView menu. After selecting the window in question ....
View/Show View Options/ click "This Window Only" radio button (works inicon view and list view - not in column view).
The third thing was a seemingly simple thing. "How does the Trash work?"There is no Trash Can on the Desktop. It's on the Dock. If you tosssomething into it, is it GONE gone - no second chance like OS 9 and below?Jack explained, "It is retrievable until you choose "Empty Trash" from theFinder menu. Once you do that, you will be asked if you REALLY want toempty the trash. If you click "OK" or "Yes" or whatever--I can't remember,because I've turned that option off--*then* it's GONE gone! If you aren'tgetting the question asking if you REALLY want to empty the trash, you canenable it from Finder Preferences.
What was confusing me here was that I did know to double click the icon onthe Dock to access the Trash directory. Once I "got" that, things werefine. However, one thing OS X does not do (that previous OSes did) is thatit doesn't inform you of the total size of the items being deleted.Sometimes this can be very crucial information in preventing the deletion ofmaterial you may have inadvertently dropped in the Trash and really want toretain.
My fourth question grew out of my Amiga past. "How do you get to theCommand Line Interface (ie, shell)?" I really had no need for it atpresent, but I'd like to know how to get to the Unix underbelly eventually.Once again Jack stepped up to the plate. "Open the Terminal application,found in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. It's a goodidea to drag the Terminal to the dock so that it will be there when youwant it. (Tip--after you open the Terminal the first time, go toPreferences->Shell and click "Use this shell", making sure that the linereferred to reads "/bin/tcsh". I don't know why Apple doesn't enable thisby default, since tcsh is the shell most often used in OS X.)
Fifth, how can you find out what applications are running? The Dock? Yes,Jack answered. "There is a third-party freeware add-on called ASM thatrestores, more or less, the old Finder menu on the upper right corner ofthe screen." Jack took the opportunity at this point of the presentation torecommend the three third party programs he finds essential to his use ofOS X. They are:
ASM - Application switcher - $7 sharewareFruitMenu - Apple Menu returns to the left - $7 sharewareTinkerTool - move dock to bottom left / bottom right, system tweaking - freewareMy sixth question was spawned by the fact that I have a seven year olddaughter and occasionally she plays games on the Mac. These gamesinvariably required dumbing the machine down to 256 colors and setting theresolution to 640 x 480. The Control Strip is a very simple tool for theaccomplishing these setting changes. so, I asked, "Is there somethingcomparable to the Control Strip in OS X? Jack responded that "There isanother third-party add-on, but I don't remember what it's called orwhether or not it's free. He said he'd check into it.
My seventh question was necessitated by a difference in the way iTunesworks on OS X and on OS9. In the OS9 version of iTunes, the program onlyworks when you start it. The OS X version was automatically runningevery time a CD was inserted into the CD drive of the machine. This was amajor annoyance when trying to burn compilation CDs, having iTunes poppingup every time a new CD was placed in the drive. I could find no Preferencesetting that let me use iTunes ONLY ON DEMAND. So I asked Jack, "How do Ishut this auto-starting menace off?" Auto-start in OS9 was controlled byQuicktime Settings. Not so with OS X. Jack and I had quite an extendeddiscussion on this one. What I believe caused the problem was that when weupdated the OS X iTunes in our upgrading frenzy in January, weinadvertently made iTunes the default audio player for the machine. Littledid we know there would be no way to undo that without reinstalling iTunesall over again. However, Jack came up with a more elegant solution. Hefinally came back with the recommendation of "installing the freewareutility 'TinkerTool'. Once you've installed it, log out, and log back in,then you can turn off CD auto/play from its 'General' tab." We installedthis program during the presentation, did as instructed, and the auto-startproblem was solved.
My eighth question came from the way I try to segregate my personalinformation from the club's presentation machine. I use Eudora off a ZIPdisk for my mail needs. It allows me to move freely between home and workwith the same set up. In OS 9 and before, you could launch Eudora from theSettings file on the ZIP and the System knew enough to use THAT disk forall the mailboxes, etc. (This is a trick I learned from past CUCUGPresident Jim Huls.) In attempting the same now, OS X insists on puttingthe mailboxes in the Documents folder on the hard drive. I was able tospoof the program with the use of an Alias, but this is one of severalproblems that seem to grow out of the fact that OS X is at heart amulti-user operating system, whereas the former Mac OSes were really singleuser set-ups. My question was "Is this System brain deadism a knownproblem?" Jack responded, "This isn't system brain-deadism. It's just adifferent way of handling these issues without having your mailboxes end upinside the OS X System folder. Remember that one of the aims of thedesigners of OS X was to avoid as much as possible the alteration and/oraddition of large numbers of temporary files within the System folder; theother deciding factor was that since Unix is a multi-user platform, eachuser is given h/is/er own complete set of folders (Desktop, Documents,Pictures, etc.) that cannot be touched by another user who doesn't haveadministrative privileges. As for aliases, that's how I do it with mymailboxes, but I've been doing it that way since long before OS X. Ifyou're reasonably careful, you shouldn't have a problem. If you just can'ttolerate this way of doing it, there are several shareware (and maybe evenfreeware) programs that you can use to synchronize your folders so thatlosing things would be extremely unlikely." Be that as it may, I still viewthis as one of the rough edges in compatible performance between OS X andOS9.
While exploring this problem, I ran across another "quirk." I have a BBEdittext file on my ZIP disk explaining how to perform the Settings File trick.When I double click on the text file, BBEdit is launched as expected, butthe file itself does not open. I have to go to the File menu / Open to openand read the file. I showed how a BBEdit file opened from the hard driveopens as expected, while one from the ZIP does not. Annoying.
Ninth, was a question in the different way Sherlock operates in OS X.Sherlock shows that for the Macintosh HD it "Can't Index this volume. Addfolders and index them." I read the Help file on Indexing and Dragged andDropped all the folders on HD to the Sherlock window and Indexed them. Allbut the OS X System folder, which it said I couldn't do because "You don'thave write privileges." I thought I was Root on this machine? How can I NOThave write privileges? Jack answered, "You are not root, but actually a"super-user" instead. You can do most things as though you are root insuper-user mode, but this is not one of them. In any event, you should*never* monkey with the OS X System Folder, even if you *are* root! It's asure recipe for disaster! Furthermore, there is nothing in the SystemFolder that you would need to index by content." More to the point I wasreally concerned with was that "now every time I want to do a Find,Sherlock Indexes everything again. I see I can click that off in theSherlock Preference, but how do you schedule or force an Indexing? This isnot an improvement over the scheduling of the Indexing process in theprevious OS." Jack responded to this by directing me to"Sherlock->Find->Index now (with the drives and/or folders highlighted).The reason for the removal of the scheduling option is that Sherlock'sindexing in the background normally has no effect on the operation of othercurrently-running applications. The reason for the scheduling option in OS9.x and below was to make Sherlock do its indexing at a time when it wouldnot interfere with other applications. (Having said this, I must say that Iwould also like for the index scheduling to be put back in.)
While we were discussing the topic of Sherlock, Jack showed us how toaccess the Apple Knowledge Base at apple.com and also how to get to itdirectly in Sherlock by clicking on the Apple icon at the top of theSherlock window.
Question Ten: "Is there an address at Apple to report a bug or request anchange in something is OS X?" Jack answered, "In the right side of thedock, right next to the separator bar, there is an icon that looks like aspring with an @ sign on top. Clicking on that icon will take you directlyto the Apple bug-reporting/feature-request site."
Question Eleven: "What is it with the System Preferences/Network panedefaulting to "Show: Internal Modem" and "Configure: Using PPP" instead ofthe way I have it set up with Built-in Ethernet?" This one I figured outmyself. I needed to go to "Show: Active Network Ports: and turn off theInternal Modem. This, in my view, is another anomaly of an OS X as a workin progress. Previous systems remember the last thing you did with them andpresent it to you when you return to it, like where you last saved thatfile you put away. I still think this should have defaulted to the lastconfigured or actively used, but that's just quibbling. However, I did wantto show in my presentation how simple quirks in system behavior can causesome confusion.
In discussing this with Jack, however, he added a little trick I didn'tknow about. He pointed out that you can go to "Show: Active Network Ports:"and drag "Built-in Ethernet" up so that it's the first item in the list. Headded "Make sure that the location is 'Automatic'."
Twelfth on my question's list was, "When you open a folder in OS X, thewindow no longer informs me how many "Items" that folder contains. Anyutility or setting that restores this feature?" Jack directed my attentionto the View menu. He said, "From "View", select "Show Status Bar".Sometimes, it just knowing where to look.
The thirteenth item I wanted to show in the presentation was one that Ipicked up from a Mac mailing list I'm on. The question posed was "I missthe details of the System Profiler, namely how do I get a detailed list ofdevices connected to my machine?" The answer is that there is one there(actually two), even in the Terminal. Look in Hard Drive / Applications /Utilities for "Apple System Profiler" for the GUI version of the program.In the Terminal (also found in the Utilities folder) enter the one wordcommand AppleSystemProfiler.
The fourteenth and last item I was able to address in my presentation was"How do I get something like the Chooser for selecting machines on my homenetwork? Use the Go menu and select Connect to Server.
At this point I had intended to move on to some features missing in OS X,but time didn't permit exploring that area. A few incidental items broughtup during the various discussions were the recommendation of the X-Rayutility which is free. The mention of BatCHMod which can be found athttp://homepage.mac.com/arbsoft . Jack revealing the homepage set in hisbrowser is VersionTracker -http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/index.shtml . How to take ascreenshot: press Shift-Apple-3 to snapshot a graphic of the screen.
The SIG meeting concluded with our drawing for the copy of Adobe Premier5.0. Matt Skaj was the lucky winner.
The February meeting of the CUCUG executive board was supposed to takeplace on Tuesday, February 26, 2002, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house.However, due to Illini basketball championship prospects, a medicalsituation, and other sundry demands on members' time, attendance at themeeting was insufficient to conduct any business. As a result, there are nominutes to report. Our thanks to Jim Lewis, Emil Cobb, Jack Melby, andKevin Hisel for their dedication to duty and for at least showing up.
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at theIllinois Technology Center. 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 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): Surf our web site at http://www.cucug.org/ President/WinSIG: Jim Lewis 621-2343 lewisj@pdnt.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 621-2343 lewisj@pdnt.com Board Advisor: Richard Rollins 469-2616 Webmaster: Kevin Hisel 352-1002 khisel @ kevinhisel.com Mac SIG Co-Chair: John Melby 352-3638 jbmelby@johnmelby.com Mac SIG Co-Chair: Charles Melby-Thompson 352-3638 cmelby@princeton.edu Linux SIG Co-Chair: John Ross 469-0208hurricanejohnn@prairieinet.net Linux SIG Co-Chair: Kris Klindworth 239-0097 kris.klindworth@Carle.com
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