Apple has often been accused of lacking direction or being unable to explain how Macs are different from PCs - perhaps the most valuable thing Steve Jobs brought to Apple has been focus, particularly with the iMacs and iBooks. But although the success of those machines silenced naysayers temporarily, the criticism returned with Apple's recent financial difficulties. So it was incumbent on Jobs to re-establish control over Apple's direction with his keynote address at last week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, and for the most part, he didn't disappoint.

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

The PC Is Dead, Long Live the PC

Jobs begged to differ with quotes from PC maker executives about how the personal computer was dead. He then provided a timeline that labeled the years between 1986 and 1994 as the Productivity Age, when we were entranced by word processors and spreadsheets. From 1995 to 2000, he said, we were ensconced 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 as cell phones, PDAs, CD players, MP3 players, and digital cameras, along with consumer- level devices like DVD players. Sitting in the audience with my Palm V in my left pocket and my Samsung cell phone and Canon PowerShot S100 digital camera in my right pocket, I couldn't help but agree.

Apple's vision, then, is to make the Macintosh into the "digital hub" of our digital lifestyle, adding value and interconnecting all of these disparate devices. Because of the size and single-mindedness of these devices, Jobs argued that the personal computer offers compelling advantages as the glue tying everything together. In contrast with these tiny bits of consumer electronics, computers have large screens, connect to fast Internet connections, run complex applications, feature inexpensive mass 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 as desired, and then burn them to CD-R for playing in your car. Or you could send a slew of photographs from a digital camera to your hard disk, perform minimal image editing, post some to a Web site for public display, and burn the whole bunch to CD-R or DVD for archiving.

Jobs claimed that the success of Apple's simple video editing software iMovie provided the hint that putting the Macintosh at the center of the digital lifestyle was where Apple should go. The success of iMovie relies on 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), and an Internet service (iTools' HomePage, for posting movies on a streaming QuickTime server), along with Apple's marketing and advertising support to get the word out to people who might not have otherwise considered a Macintosh. With that lesson under its belt, Apple has moved to connect other gaps in the digital lifestyle with the combination of the new CD-RW-equipped Power Macs and new software: iTunes and iDVD.

iTunes

Apple's next push toward making the Macintosh into a digital hub focuses on audio with a new free program called iTunes. It's by no means revolutionary, combining MP3 encoding and playing along with the capability to work with portable MP3 players and burn audio CDs (though initially only with the CD-RW drives in the latest Power Mac G4s). Those functions are available today in other programs, but iTunes goes the farthest in integrating them in an extremely usable interface. (Jobs compared it with the MP3 software included by PC makers; needless to say, against those motley interfaces, iTunes fared extremely well.) This isn't the place for a full review, but it was common knowledge at the show that iTunes was written by Apple's Jeff Robbin, previously the developer of Casady & Greene's SoundJam (which remains available, though Casady & Greene president Terry Kunysz merely said that SoundJam offers flexibility not present in iTunes and that it remained to be seen how SoundJam would compete). Plus, a bit of investigation with ResEdit shows that iTunes is heavily based on SoundJam. The rewrite seems to have given Jeff a chance to rethink the decisions he made with SoundJam, and iTunes addresses some of the 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 Macs makes sense from Apple's standpoint, since it brings home the digital hub role Apple wants the Mac to play by connecting pre-recorded audio CDs with MP3 playback, portable MP3 players, and audio CD creation, all of which are becoming increasingly popular. iTunes does further complicate an already-tough market for MP3 software, much as Apple's anointing of Outlook Express made the email client business even harder for the many other developers of email programs. However, the situation with iTunes isn't quite as troubling as with email, since there wasn't as much variability in MP3 players, no one spends as much time in their MP3 player as in their email program, and few people would argue that listening to MP3s is more important than email. Plus, a case could be made for iTunes introducing people to digital music who would not otherwise have tried it, thus possibly increasing the market for products that go beyond iTunes, offer alternate interfaces, or provide ancillary services.

Apple has also left the older Mac market to other developers. iTunes requires at least Mac OS 9.0.4, with Mac OS 9.1 recommended, and instead of saying which Macintosh models do or do not work, Apple merely says that iTunes "works with all Apple systems released in August 1998 or later" - though our limited tests on older machines running appropriate system software have been successful. iTunes is a 2.8 MB download - if you're into MP3s, 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 creating graphical, hierarchical interfaces to movies and still images written to DVDs; those discs can then be played in consumer DVD players that support DVD-Video, which is reportedly most recent ones. iDVD is free, but it comes only with appropriately equipped Power Mac G4s. (Jobs also quickly introduced the $1,000 DVD Studio Pro, which complements iDVD much as the professional-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 require significant design skill or are computationally difficult and builds them into a truly simple interface. You use drag & drop to add QuickTime movies to 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 can be as simple as choosing different themes, but it's also easy to add your own images and choose specific fonts and colors instead. Then, once you've set up the entire disc, iDVD does the compression and encoding necessary to convert 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 only twice as long as the video being recorded instead of 25 times as long (so a 1 hour movie takes only 2 hours to encode, rather than 25 hours); though I haven't been able to verify the truth of that breakthrough claim. Jobs's other claim, that the hardware and software necessary to create DVDs that would 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 is brilliant 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 part because it's a recognition of reality on Apple's part. Apple has been known for pushing the boundaries to provide new capabilities, as they did with iMovie, but I think the company has often looked too far out, rather than concentrating on the present. The fact is that vast numbers of people are living the so-called "digital lifestyle" right now, and by concentrating on that market, Apple could improve our lives in very real ways.

Over the years, I've written plenty in TidBITS about integrating Macs into everyday life, concentrating in large part on the "kitchen Mac" PowerBook Tonya and I have set up; it handles our calendar, lets us access the Web for activities like ordering groceries, and plays MP3s from a server in the basement 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 some time, but it's good to have them here at last. I look forward to seeing how Apple tackles the problems presented by some of the other common digital devices that litter our lives, such as digital cameras, cell phones, and PDAs.

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

Some of Apple's past and present moves in this digital lifestyle direction may feel gimmicky to those who can't imagine using them. We've been somewhat dismissive of iMovie in the past, and I'm sure many people have utterly no interest in burning DVDs with iDVD. But as Shawn King of The Mac Show reminded me while we were chatting at the Expo, sales and use aren't necessarily related. Apple is interested in selling products, and although they would like to see us using those products all the time, that's not necessary. So if iMovie helps convince someone to buy an iMac, Apple doesn'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 crowd if there ever was one), only about 10 or 15 had ever made a movie with iMovie, and only a handful had made more than two or three. Similarly, I'm sure that many people who get the top-of-the-line Power Mac G4 with the DVD-R drive will happily burn only a few DVDs for friends and relatives to watch; even if it doesn't happen on a daily basis, iDVD will still have been a success in helping drive a sale for Apple. In short, it's important to remember that just because people may not make movies at the rate they send email, there's no reason to assume that video products aren't successful or important to Apple or to those who do use them.

Let me leave you with one final thought. Jobs may be right about moving from the Productivity Age to the Internet Age and on into the Digital Lifestyle Age. But even though productivity applications and Internet clients have improved and become faster and easier to use, we're all still faced with a finite amount of time, and we haven't stopped using word processors or browsing the Web. Participating in the digital lifestyle doesn't necessarily come for free, as you've undoubtedly discovered while spending hours ripping audio CDs to MP3 files, shopping for a cellular phone, editing video tracks, or trying to manage a collection of thousands of digital photographs. The time necessary to participate in these digital activities has to come from somewhere, and I'd hate to see analog activities like cooking, exercising, or simply enjoying human companionship be pushed to the wayside. Or perhaps Apple will help us figure out how to integrate 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 of his Macworld Expo keynote address came at the end when he unveiled the PowerBook G4 Titanium, a svelte portable that promises to blaze through your 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, and the question before the keynote became: would it be a jaw-dropping reinvention or just a speed-bump upgrade with improved specs? Make room on the floor for your jaw.

Mercury Rising

The PowerBook G4 is certainly faster and more powerful than its predecessors. The first Apple portable to feature the PowerPC G4 processor, the laptop is available in two standard configurations (both can be customized at the Apple Store): a 400 MHz model with 128 MB of RAM and a 10 GB 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 100 MHz system bus, 1 MB of L2 cache, an ATI Rage Mobility 128 graphics processor, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, a DVD-ROM drive capable of playing DVD video and CD audio, a 56K internal modem, an infrared port, room for an optional AirPort card, and a lithium- ion battery that can provide up to five 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 Apple dropped one FireWire port), one PC Card/CardBus slot, a stereo minijack, a VGA video output port, and an S-video output port. In short, almost everything 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, the strong but lightweight metal used in surgical implants and aircraft engines. As such, the PowerBook is bright and shiny, almost making the brushed-metal QuickTime interface look attractive. (I said "almost.") The titanium shell also accounts for the PowerBook G4's light weight: a mere 5.3 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 a laptop will appreciate the lightened load. But here's the best part: the PowerBook G4 Titanium is _one_inch_ thick, and that's with the lid closed. Apple has been making PowerBooks thinner and lighter since introducing the PowerBook G3 Series, but the G4 makes everything else seem positively bulky.

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 the top edge of the screen, so the PowerBook G4 is likely to be more comfortable to use on an airplane. Oh, and Apple even changed the logo on the case so it is right-side up when other people see you using such a nifty device - or when it gets a cameo on television.

How did Apple's engineers achieve this flattening feat? In addition to ever-shrinking components, they made some design decisions that capitalize on space savings. The DVD drive, for example, is a slot-loading device built into the front-right side of the unit and there are no expansion bays. The battery is slim and square, and fits into a compartment in the bottom. The keyboard is also thinner, though it uses the same layout of existing PowerBooks (including the annoyingly placed Fn key), with the addition of an Eject function on the F12 key. And the lid latch is a small magnetic clasp at the front (unfortunately, the G4 doesn't have the elegant latch-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's added width. The default resolution is 1,152 by 768 pixels, though the screen can also display more common resolutions (such as 1,024 by 768 pixels) at a 4:3 aspect ratio. The included 8 MB of video memory displays millions of colors on external displays, plus supports mirrored and extended desktops on multiple monitors. Apple predictably touts the capability to use the larger screen to better edit video using iMovie or Final Cut Pro, but I'll be happy to make more room for the increasing number 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: its temperature. 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 the heat 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 MHz configuration for $3,500. Although not cheap, these prices are in line with new PowerBook models of the past. For many people at the Expo, the temptation to buy a PowerBook G4 drove conversations and comparisons. Some even gave in to their burning desires and placed orders at the Apple Store using the AirPort-equipped PowerBook G4 models on display.

However, therein lies the biggest potential problem of the PowerBook G4 Titanium: can Apple keep up with demand? Jobs announced that the new machines would start to be available in limited quantities at the end of January. Given the company's history of announcing products before manufacturing is fully ramped up - especially with a complex and detailed product like a one-inch thick portable - it will be interesting to see how well Apple can keep up. Still, it's a flame worth tending: my order is already placed.

ToC

New Power Mac G4s Debut with SuperDrive

Although the PowerBook G4 Titanium stole the show at this year's January Macworld Expo (see "PowerBook G4 Titanium Burns Bright" in TidBITS-563_), Apple also tantalized the crowds with improvements to the professional Power Mac G4 line, adding faster processors and the capability to create custom 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 by default. A dual-processor build-to-order option is available for the 533 MHz system for those who use one of the few pre-Mac OS X applications that can take advantage of multiple CPUs. Dual-processor options aren't currently available for the faster processors due to their limited availability. The new machines also feature a 133 MHz system bus, a faster PCI architecture, and, in a nod to the audio and video professionals desiring more expansion options, four open PCI slots. A fifth slot, a 4x AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) graphics slot, is occupied by either an ATI RAGE 128 graphics card with 16 MB of memory (the 466 MHz configuration) or an NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics card with 32 MB of memory. An optional ATI RADEON card with 32 MB of Double Data Rate memory is also available as a build-to-order option. All units include gigabit Ethernet, USB and FireWire ports, optional AirPort wireless networking, and a 10 watt digital amplifier (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 the likeliest candidate to act as the hub of Steve Jobs's "digital lifestyle" (see "Jobs Aims Apple for the Digital Lifestyle" in TidBITS-563_). Macs currently connect to devices like Palm handhelds and portable MP3 players, but Apple is now improving its position in the digital music revolution by including CD-RW (rewritable compact disc) drives in every configuration except the high-end 733 MHz model. Jobs acknowledged that Apple "missed the boat" on CD-RW, which has been standard- issue technology in the Windows world for some time. (To be fair, Apple bet on video and that DVD standards would coalesce sooner than they did, which gave CD-RW an opening it wouldn't otherwise have had.) Using the included iTunes, users can easily burn their own MP3 tracks to audio CDs. Since the Power Macs run Mac OS 9.1 with Disc Burner built in, users can also burn any data file to a single-session CD simply by dragging and dropping it on the CD in the Finder, 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 of innovation, so it's no surprise that the company is adding a wrinkle to burning discs beyond even integrating it into the Finder. The top-of-the-line 733 MHz Power Mac G4 includes a SuperDrive: no, not the 1.4 MB floppy drive of the same name which originally appeared on the Mac IIx back in 1988, but rather a Pioneer device that reads _and_ writes CDs and DVDs. More importantly, the SuperDrive can write data in the DVD-Video format, which means anyone can use Apple's bundled iDVD software to burn digital movies and still images onto the disc and play them in most consumer DVD players. With the SuperDrive, for example, graphics or video professionals could easily create DVD-based demo reels and self-promotion materials. In the case of still images, iDVD automatically creates a slide show, so friends and relatives can use their DVD remote control to scan through your photos. Apple will also begin selling "Apple authorized" blank DVD discs for approximately $10 each, well below the standard $30 to $40 price 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 $1,700 and $2,200; the 667 and 733 MHz models, which use a newer version of the PowerPC G4 chip, are expected to arrive in limited quantities starting in February priced at $2,800 and $3,500. Availability is limited in part by the CPUs, but the SuperDrives reportedly aren't available in significant quantities yet either. Compaq also has a machine that includes the Pioneer mechanism; between Apple and Compaq, supply is likely to be tight for the next six months. Similar mechanisms from other manufacturers will likely appear soon as well, so those with earlier Power Mac G4s (other Macs would work for most tasks, of course, but for DVD-Video, the MPEG encoding is done in software and probably relies heavily on the PowerPC G4's Velocity Engine) should be able to hop on the bandwagon then.

The SuperDrive repositions Apple at the head of the computing pack, but it's going to be something of a tough sell at first when machines are in short supply. Bundling the SuperDrive into Apple's $3,500 machine is remarkable considering that similar stand-alone DVD-writing drives by themselves cost several thousand dollars. But the high end of the Power Mac line excludes most consumer buyers, the audience Apple seems to be targeting with the SuperDrive. When Apple manages to shoehorn SuperDrives into the iMac line and its consumer price tag, DVD burning will truly have a 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 San Francisco may have been to position the Macintosh as the hub for today's digital lifestyle, but equally important in the speech were the details Jobs provided about Mac OS X 1.0.

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

Distinct Improvements

Sounding humble, Jobs then worked through some of the major changes. Mac OS X now has a left-hand functional Apple menu (rather than a useless badge in the center of the menu bar) containing commands like Sleep, Restart, Logout, and others that you might want to access at any time. In response to comments about the lack of functionality in the Dock, Apple added contextual hierarchical menus to icons in the Dock - click and hold for menus that let you navigate folder hierarchies from docked folders, access recently used documents from applications in the Dock, and so on. To address complaints about the size of the Font panel, Apple made it resizable in a variety of flexible ways. And finally, to reduce the wasteful use of screen real estate in Mac OS X, Apple reduced the size of the toolbar in Finder windows, made it highly customizable, and provided a control 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 familiar Mac 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 user feedback, I hesitate to draw any hard and fast conclusions. For instance, the application menu remained to the immediate right of the Apple menu, and since that's the name of the application, it will continually change the position of the File and Edit menus that follow on to the right, harming usability by eliminating static targets for common usages. And although word has it that AppleScript is in Mac OS X, it remains to be seen if users will be able to script networking, printing, and other functions which are currently 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 now have 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-loading Mac OS X on all Macs by default in July of 2001. Mac OS 9.x will continue to run on new hardware for some time, so it should be possible to revert a Mac OS X machine to Mac OS 9, perhaps even with a dual-boot approach such as is used in the Mac OS X Public Beta. That's important, because otherwise some existing users may delay hardware purchases until they're ready to deal with Mac OS X. That would likely be especially true of schools and businesses that don't want to support multiple operating systems or that won't have approved it for release to their users yet.

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

With the release of Mac OS X, Apple is not so much walking a tightrope as playing a three-dimensional game of Twister while suspended above a pool of cohabiting alligators and piranhas. Snapping at Apple's heels are developers with programs that can't easily be carbonized or who require as-yet unavailable features in Mac OS X, and long-time Macintosh loyalists who fear losing significant investments in software, hardware, and knowledge. Standing by with safety nets to rescue Mac OS X 1.0 from these dangers are new users who face no transition troubles, Unix users excited about running Unix and mainstream productivity applications side-by-side, and developers creating new programs in Cocoa's fast development environment. Apple has worked miracles before, as with the transition from 68K to PowerPC, but it will be insanely difficult to meet the very real needs 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 has raised fears of crackers breaking into individual computers and wreaking havoc. For Windows users, those fears are real, since most of the automated attacks look specifically for security holes in Windows network services. Macs are significantly less vulnerable to such problems, especially if Personal Web Sharing and Personal File Sharing via TCP/IP are turned off or properly secured, but a number of companies are now producing personal firewall products for Mac users who want additional peace of mind or who want to know precisely what's happening. Intego's NetBarrier and Open Door Networks' DoorStop (now the foundation of Norton Personal Firewall) were first on the scene, and they've just been joined by IPNetSentry from Sustainable Softworks, the network wizards who brought us IPNetRouter.

IPNetSentry

The $35 IPNetSentry tries to differentiate itself from the others by using a "trigger" approach rather than a "firewall" approach. In short, rather than building a wall and punching holes in it for specific services by default, as with traditional firewalls, IPNetSentry watches for typical sorts of suspicious activity, and when it notices such activities, blocks the attack. Sustainable Softworks explains this approach by noting that firewalls make sense for installations with multiple users, where an administrator is better able than individual users to decide what the firewall should allow or block. But where there's a single machine, that approach is overkill and may cause more work than is necessary. Peter Sichel of Sustainable Softworks also passed on an interesting side effect of running IPNetSentry or IPNetRouter. Since those programs look at every packet coming in, they can (and do) throw away malformed packets, and it turns out that approach actually eliminates a few seemingly random crashes when 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 now at the heart of Norton Personal Firewall, Open Door created an application that works in conjunction with DoorStop or Norton Personal Firewall to watch your Internet connection, log all access attempts, and help you understand what's actually going on. My main worry is that Who's There and similar utilities may cause some people to obsess unreasonably about possible problems, much as fictional characters who suddenly find themselves with the ability to read the thoughts of others struggle to deal with the previously unknowable information. Put another way, would you really 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 sprout a moat, Intego has updated the $60 NetBarrier to version 2.0, adding the capability to control cookies, block banner ads, and filter spam on your POP server. NetBarrier 2.0 can also filter outgoing information to avoid sending identifying information about your computer and browser, plus filter personal information sent via forms. Intego is clearly trying to address a wide variety of security issues with NetBarrier, and although I haven't had a chance to evaluate the new version, I worry a little about letting a program filter mail before I even download it, since no spam filter 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, as previously announced, at the World of Amiga 2000 on December, 9th and 10th in 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 develop on-line games worldwide. Sony, Motorola and JVC have greatly invested in a new Sun Authorized Java Virtual Machine which is also being used in the new Amiga computer. Founder of the UK based Tao Group and ex-Amiga developer Mr. Charig just returned from Japan for the launch of DoCoMo`s new Java technology based i appli service. Interestingly, Tao demonstrated its technology running on the Dreamcast a year ago, as well, and recently it was announced that Sega is going to make games for new set-top boxes and mobile phones. BTW every C, C++, Java or Vitual Assembler written Amiga/Tao application can be executed code identical on top of other operation systems as well, including Linux. :)" edhak also points to this BBC article on the possibility of worldwide handheld wirelessly distributed games, and gloats "Wipeout on a mobile!"

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

PDA Projects Development Opportunities

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

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

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

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 with several announcements that were unexpected, and we delivered on each of those.

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

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

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

I look forward to visiting with all of you in St. Louis, and I look forward to 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 and performed the tradition introduction of officers. He lead a discussion of the new meeting room at the ITC in Savoy we were in this month. We walked through 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 coming back. It's always on his TIFF files. Jack Melby suggested ABetter ... However, Kevin Hopkins stated that he is intimately acquainted with this problem. When the Mac creates an icon for file it has to have access to the resource fork of the creating application. If this program is not available on a currently mounted disk (say, it's over on one of your storage ZIP disks), the Mac provides a generic icon. Norris's problem is that he doesn't have the program that created his TIFFs currently on his machine.

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

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

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

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

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

Jeff Strong said he is looking for a CD-RW SCSI internal for under $200. He was 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 was IBM.

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The Presentation: Quentin Barnes discusses firewalls

This evening's program on personal Internet firewalls was delivered primarily by Quentin Barnes, with able assistance from Dale Rahn. As usual with 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 at http://www.cucug.org/sr/firewall.slides.010118.pdf ), Quentin began by defining a firewall: a piece of software or hardware that permits or denies network traffic to enter your system based on criteria you set up.

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

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

So, for those reasons, Quentin turned his attention to the hardware solutions to the problem. Listing hardware's advantages, he put foremost it's ability to provide a plethora of additional services - routing, Network Address Translation (NAT), web hosting, and mail serving to name just a few. A separate piece of hardware also remains removed for any software and configuration issues on you other computers. It also doesn't interfere with sharing resources on your LAN, like sharing files or printers. Finally, your computer isn't vulnerable "no matter how many security bugs Bill and Steve come up with." Quentin said its only downside is that it's another piece of hardware that takes up space and requires power.

Quentin then reviewed some of the commercially available hardware firewalls that are in the affordable range ($80 - $130). This opened up the discussion some of the things other members of the club have and are using. Quentin concluded that these solutions are good in that they are fairly simple 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 hardware firewall. These include an OS, and hardware platform (computer), and a little knowledge.

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

For hardware, he suggests a Pentium class computer with 16MB or more of memory, 300MB or more of hard disk space, a floppy drive (for installing the software) and two PCI Ethernet cards. Believe it or not, such a set up can be obtained for around $50 to $75. Quentin said he favorite source for all of this is EBay. He said he's had no problem with IBM boxes. For the Ethernet cards, he said you need two Ethernet connections. This is what provides the real separation between you and the Net. He recommended buying exclusively DEC or other well known chip set based PCI Ethernet cards. He also provided the caveat that when on EBay, be sure to check the sellers E-pack (identifies who they are and how reliable they've been on past sales) and watch the shipping costs.

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

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

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

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

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

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January Board Meeting

Jan. 23, 2000 - The January meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, January 23, 2001, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were: Jim Lewis, Rich Hall, Emil Cobb, Jim Huls, Richard Rollins, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, and Dave Witt.

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

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

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

Rich Hall: Treasurer Hall reported on our income and expenses. Jim Lewis raised 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 a pressing matter as long as Jack Melby prefers to use his own equipment for his demonstrations. His prep work and OS X subject matter has made his own machine 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 desire to see how a split SIG meeting went in the new facility before he would be convinced it was a good move.

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

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

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

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

Richard Rollins: Richard said he like the ITC building. He felt there may be conflicts, but nothing we can work out. He wanted to get an Ethernet connection working and he'd like to see Quentin do and actual hands-on installation 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 to have them. Or, at the very least, dedicate a meeting to the Palm.

While discussing some of his consulting work, Richard said he hates Windows 98, although he likes PC Anywhere. This sparked a discussion of "Thin Client" software, with Jim Lewis recommending Citrix Metaframe as a solid product.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin delivered the membership database update. He asked Rich Hall if the newly signed up members had received their cards. Rich said 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 for the Question and Answer segment of the meeting, finding it more conducive to discussion. He noted that it was easier to get the ITC in Savoy than it was 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 the lobby could be cold during the winter months. The point he liked most was no "kick out" time.

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The Back Page:

Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Illinois Technology Center (352-6644). The Center is located at 7101 Tomaras Ave in Savoy. 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 zero at the McDonalds on the corner of Kirby/Florida and Neil in Champaign, you only go 2.4 miles south. Windsor will be at the one mile mark. Curtis will be at the two mile mark. Go past the Paradise Inn/Best Western motel to the next street, Tomaras Ave. on the west (right) side. Tomaras is at the 2.4 mile mark. Turn west (right) on Tomaras Ave. The parking lot entrance is immediately on the south (left) side of Tomaras Ave. Enter the building by the front door under the three flags facing Rt 45. A map can be found on the CUCUG website at http://www.cucug.org/meeting.html . The Illinois 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 mid year.

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

For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact 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              406-948-1999      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/