Microsoft & Bloatware Revisited December 12th, 2000 One of people’s chief complaints about Microsoft software is usually about how big, gigantic and swelled up they think it is. Mac users in particular like to say how Microsoft delivers "bloatware," a commonly used expression to describe Microsoft products as too big – thus using too much…
News
Apple Leads Charge For Internet Streaming Standards
Apple has joined forces with a cast of high profile computer related companies to form the Internet Streaming Media Alliance. The new non-profit organization aims to establish a set of standards for developing and delivering streaming content over the Internet. Also joining Apple are Cisco Systems, Kasenna, Royal Phillips Electronics, and Sun Microsystems; the usual…
QuickTime 5 Public Preview 2 Available
The eagerly-anticipated Public Preview version of QuickTime 5 took the multimedia industry by storm. Now hereis QuickTime 5 Preview 2, incorporating a number of enhancements suggested by thousands of users and a version for Windows. Preview 2 also includes support for media skins (as announced at QuickTime Live!), plus extensive AppleScript support for Mac users.…
Oingo Makes Ads Smarter
Oingo Inc., the leader in meaning-based technology, has launched AdSense, a new application that delivers highly targeted advertisements online by analyzing the meanings of a useris search terms. AdSense accurately matches banner ads against the meanings of search words, effectively quadrupling current market click-through rates. “The effectiveness of online advertising has been a point of…
Make Web Pages Dance With Updated Animation Tool
Recosoft Corporation announces that is has started shipping WebShocker v2.2; a major upgrade to the most popular integrated Web Animation Production Tool for the Macintosh WebShocker v2.2 contains the following new features and enhancements: Fully Compatible with Mac OS X Public Beta (when run under Classic mode) Fully Mac OS 9 Multiple Users compatible Incorporation…
Queasy Markets Brace for an Economic Slowdown, AAPL Bounces
Every day more tech firms warn that theyill miss earnings due to unexpected slow downs in demand. The latest is Micron Electronics, (MUEI) which complained lousy holiday sales will push its forecast of $0.11 per share down to between $0.01 and $0.04 per share. How many ways are there to say new 52-week low? Micron…
A Hard Landing For Earnings Growth? AAPL Hits New Low
Gatewayis stock price was slashed by 10.50 or -35% to 19 dollars in a scene eerily reminiscent of the "speed bump" warning delivered September 28 by Appleis Steve Jobs and Fred Anderson, which precipitated AAPLis fall from grace on Wall Street. Gateway warned it expects 4th quarter operating income of $0.37 per share, way below…
The Mac Observer: On The Flip Side - The Computer, Perfect Hiding Place?
The Computer, Perfect Hiding Place? November 28th, 2000 Ah, technology! What a wonderful world filled with silicon, plastics, semiconductors, chips, circuits and metal. It makes communications easy with e-mail traveling across the world faster than you can drop a letter at the post office. The same applies for information that you can find in less…
Tech Stocks Continue Free Fall and Gateway Goes Splat!
The GNP grew at a modest 2.4% annual rate in the third quarter, slightly lower than the 2.7% rate forecast by economists and much slower than the 5.6% annual rate reported for the second quarter. The Commerce Departmentis price index for personal consumption rose only slightly indicating that inflation remains in check. PC stocks continued…
MP3 Streaming Application Updated
A new version of iStream has just been released. Our new release fixes some major bugs and should get rid of some nasty problems we have been having with different MacOS Localizations. Version 1.4.2 fixes the registration bug and enhances the playlist function. A Brief Description of iStream Finally, you can stream your MP3s to…
The Mac Observer: The Apple Trader - Demand A Recount Of Those PC Crashes, Apple Is The People's Choice!
Demand A Recount Of Those PC Crashes, Apple Is The People’s Choice! November 22nd, 2000 Last week news broke that Apple is going to open a 6,500 sq. ft. retail outlet in Palo Alto California, probably as a prototype for a chain of Apple Stores across the country. Everyone views this as a good thing,…
In The Pre-Holiday Drift on Wall Street Apple's Stock Can't Find Traction
Nevertheless, it was a busy day for the tech stocks. Lucent (LU) said it will subtract $125 million off its previously reported earnings due to an accounting error. The bad news sent the network equipment makeris stock to levels not seen since January of 1998. Meanwhile, Nortel (NT), Lucentis Canadian competitor, promised it will —unlike…
Our corporate masters are here
Do you read science fiction? Good for you. Do you read William Gibson? If you donit youire missing out. William Gibson is one of the most influental writers of the past couple of decades, and for good reason. At least a couple of Gibsonis books (notably Count Zero) feature the phenomenon of corporate piracy. Competion…
It Is That Time Of Year Again: Holiday Lights Updated
Holiday Lights is a shareware program that strings rows of Christmas tree bulbs around the edges of the useris screen, with festive music playing in the background. The colorful lights flash on the desktop while the user works, and the program also includes a screen saver with gently falling snow and other seasonal choices. Holiday…
The Mac Observer: On The Flip Side - Choices VS. Standards: What Do We Want?
Choices VS. Standards: What Do We Want? November 14th, 2000 If there is a meaningful issue in computing, it is the concept of standards. Many people consider them sacred, many do not care about their implementation. For new users, it is probably better to learn how to do things uniformly in all areas of the…
Mega Minesweeper Updated
Carrot Software is pleased to announce the latest release of Mega Minesweeper for the Mac OS. MMS is a modern version of minesweeper that supports extreme fields sizes, plug-in based themes and sounds, the ability to save games, and much more. Version 1.6.1 is a minor update that fixes several bugs and adds some new…
The Wait Is Over, Netscape 6.0 Available
Netscape has finally released the new version of their suite of Internet products, Netscape 6.0. Based around the Netscape Navigator browser, Netscape 6.0 promises to offer a lean, powerful browser that maintains compliance with JavaScript and HTML standards. Netscape also hopes that Navigator 6.0 will put Netscape back on the browser map, a market the…
The Election Standoff and HP's Poor Q4 Results Sink Tech Stocks
Biotech stocks ($BTK) were off as a group about 8% due to a Barronis article suggesting the sector is in a value "bubble" much like the Internet stocks experienced earlier in the year. It certainly is the only technology sector still left well in the black for the year and may soon become the last…
November 9th, 2000
Best [1:00 PM] TheMacMind – Mac OS X For Idiots: Cocoa, Carbon, and Darwin We have been talking about OS X now for a couple months, and have been talking about “native” OS X apps, and Carbonized apps, and all kinds of other stuff. Forgive us if we got ahead of ourselves, but this article…
Apple Stock Watch - Tech Stock Rally Sends Apple's Stock Higher by 8.8%
The Nasdaq resumed the tech stock rally that began on Halloween helped by news that technology-driven productivity in the US economy remained strong in the third quarter. Apple’s stock was the best performer in the computer hardware sector as it continues to rally for the fourth consecutive day. The overall tone of the stock markets…
Computing With Bifocals - Date & Time & Other Helpful Hints
Date & Time & Other Helpful Hints November 1st, 2000 In response to a reader request I am going to address some more fairly basic things about making your Mac work for you. Date and Time The end of daylight savings time means changing the time on your Mac unless you have automatically set it…
Treats for Everyone As Investors Say Good Night to October
Investor optimism was palpable as October, the most dread month of the year for the stock markets, came to an end and the historically best time of the year to own stocks began. The word from the floor of the NYSE is that fund managers are rolling up their sleeves and putting money back to…
Volatile Week Ends on a High Note, But Apple's Stock Languishes
The much weaker than expected gross domestic product in the third quarter means the stock markets wonit have to worry about the Feds raising interest rates again in November. Meanwhile, as the great earnings and growth at JDS Uniphase (JDSU) sink into investorsi collective consciousness, the recent panic selling in the optical networking stocks seems…
Al Gore: I never said I invented the Internet
Or so we were told he claimed. Now he is in a cover story interview on Rolling Stone magazine (I thought this mag was about rock and roll?), and he says he never said so. Here is a quote from the interview: Did you imagine back then that thereid one day be a consumer use…