:: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 ::

A response to Mr. Dvorak

Alright, I couldn't help it; I was shaking when I read it ::"I'm not writing this column as a Mac basher to get attention, although plenty of people will accuse me of doing that."

Well, it's a shame you wrote that sentence, John, and a cop-out that you did. Because of the rest of your column is very much at odds with that statement. ... Normally, I just shake my head at Mr. Dvorak, giggle a bit and move on when he lights into my platform of choice. Read more ...

Back to normal laid-back mode ::It's been a big week for the Mac world. First on my list to of things to tell you about, if you didn't know already, is that the OmniGroup has released version 4.1 of their OS X-only Web browser, OmniWeb. I've always liked this browser, even though until now it lacked much of the functionality I needed for day-to-day work. Though not perfect, I seem to have missed some builds along the way, because it's darn near (perfect). Internet Explorer may have added OS X font-smoothing in its latest release, but I believe that OmniWeb's still looks better. And many of the security and java functions it had lacked are now online. I can use my bank site in it finally, for one. If you're an OS X user, I highly recommend checking it out and giving it a download.

We shall prevaaaaaaaail ... :: If you've been seeing the Apple "Switch" ads, you must check out the latest animated efforts in Flash by Macboy.com. The mock ads feature Bill Gates and Big Brother from the 1984 Mac commercial.

I'm real. Really. I am. :: Speaking of the Switch spots, one of the stars, Aaron Adams, has dedicated his iTools Web page to telling us a little bit more about himself, why he switched and why he did the ad. Quoth Aaron himself:

"I would like to point out that Apple did not ask me to write this story or post this page. Lots of people have asked me how I came to be in the commercial. Some people think I'm an actor, and some people think I got a giant lump of money from Apple for saying the right things. Well, I'm not an actor, and everything I said in that commercial and on this page is absolutely true. I couldn't be happier with the Apple products I've purchased and the way I've been treated through this whole experience. I am being compensated for the use of my likeness in their advertising, but I was never remunerated for my endorsement."

And finally ... It's not exactly an Apple victory, but it will do. Wal-Mart is apparently shipping some low-end Microtel PCs with the Lindows OS pre-loaded. The significance is that these machines do not come with Windows. While the Lindows OS is not completely ready for prime time, this is an interesting development in the desktop OS wars, to say the least.
:: Steve 9:34 PM [+] ::

Walking on Sunshine...

Alright, I don't normally do personal stuff on this blog :-) :: But it can't be helped today. I wanted to give a special "hi" today to one of the most amazing humans I've come across so far, a lovely and talented woman named Becky. OK, so she's got me all twisted in knots and it's really cheesy to post it here, in front of the 100-200 visitors I get here daily, but hey? It's my Web site! I'll use it how I please! Anyway, she's inspired me to make a new desktop picture, which you can download over on the Desktops Page.

That said, of course there's some Mac stuff to discuss this week, too...

IE 5.2 :: Micro$oftie updated its OS X Web browser, Internet Explorer, to Version 5.2 yesterday. You can get the download here. So far, it seems the only palpable change is that it allows the program to tap into the Quartz font-smoothing engine. I've updated, and it seems to be fine, even if the installation process is a bit weak. First of all, the update isn't available through Software Update (could this be the first sign of a rift between M$ and the Mother Ship? Hmmm....), and it requires you to quit all running programs and processes, which isn't necessary in OS X, and is actually pretty inconvenient for many power users such as myself, who leave tons of background processes going and have to actually go through and restart them -- or just restart the computer! Plus, in a twist of M$ playfulness, it resets your homepage to MSN. Geez, you guys over the Mac BU have been hanging out with your regular Windows buddies too much, I fear.

Do your part and vote! :: David Coursey over at the Anchor Desk at ZDNet is up to his usual tricks. Earlier this year, he tried the Mac OS on for size for a couple of months and didn't come back, if you remember. Now he's trying the same "experiment" with Linux. We can only hope he still stays in the fold. So far, it looks good. Quoth the Dave:

"I must say that, so far, if all I wanted was a Unix (or Unix-ish) OS I could actually use, I'd choose Mac OS X. With Mac G4 machines now down to $1,100, that option buys you not just a Unix-based OS but a mature commercial OS that's easy to use, something I don't think Linux--at least the version I am using--really is. Not that it's bad, it's just really geeky. People who have a hard time with MS Windows would eventually find that making Linux do what they want is somewhere between extremely frustrating and impossible."

He's got a poll at the end of the article for you to vote for your favorite OS, so get over there and show your Mac pride, fool! The results as of 9:51 a.m. Tuesday:

Windows XP 1082 (38%)
Mac OS X 769 (27%)
Some flavor of Linux 1011 (35%)

:: Steve 6:52 AM [+] ::

Apple's gloves are coming off!

:: Apple finally gets to the point: Why PC users should switch :: About time, guys. The big boys in Cupertino hinted at it last fall when they welcomed Windows users to the fold, but it was not enough and not pushed as an advertising campaign. Instead, we got the cheesy "iMac looking cute" in the window ads. While these ads were cute, and indeed so is the new iMac, they didn't do what IMHO Apple should be doing: cramming it down Windows users' mouths just how easy to use, pleasant to look at and how powerful the new Macs with OS X are.

That all ends now. The Mother Ship's going full hog with a series of ads featuring ex-Windows users and why they switched, and a whole part of the Apple site dedicated to preaching the tenets of Mac-Evangelism. Hallelujah! The campaign features eight different professionals and their reasons for switching, as well as gobs of pages that pull no punches when it comes to telling it like it is to the PC crowd. Example: On the page entitled "Top 10 Reasons to Switch," headings include "The Mac ... it just works" and "It doesn't crash." Right on.

The buzz has also been all over the Mac World today as folks on e-mail lists and discussion boards cheer Steve & Co. on as they finally shed their shy shells and don their boxing shorts and gloves.

• "OMG! What the...? Fsck! ... BTW, wouldn't it be cool if they hired the Dell `dude' and get him killed live on TV?"


• (Answer to above): "Drawn and Quartered would be nice, but sending him into a Mac-centric version of `The Running Man' would be better. `Dude, you're getting hunted...'"


• "This is a good campaign in my mind's eye, especially with all of this talk of a newly emerging creative class. I think most PC users on the fringe are likely to respond to these `real people' accounts in a positive way." (Posted at MacSlash)


There's even discussion of the "Blue Screen of Death" and several reprints from PC-convert columnists, such as ZDNet's David Coursey, who has been the talk of the Mac World since earlier this year, when he took several months to get to know a Mac and never looked back.

This is just the opening salvo. Begun the PC War has...

Perfect timing for a little update :: Almost silently and in the background, Apple released the OS X 10.1.5 update last week through software update, and even released a stand-alone 10.1 to 10.1.5 updater. There have been some small reports on MacFixIt, etc., about problems, but for the most part, this is the maturing of 10.1.* before the release of Jaguar later this summer.

You may have read my complaints about the lack of hardware video acceleration in OS X for older Macs, and it has even been the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed by folks who were angry because they bought the original iMacs thinking they would be fully "supported" in the new operating system. Well, I own a Bondi Rev. B iMac, one of the affected models, and while it's been upgraded out the wazoo (I like to call it "FrankenMac II"; yup, there was a "Frankenmac I") with a much faster processor and as much RAM as I could stuff in it, one of the main problems I've had in OS X has been window redraws and watching large-format QuickTime movies. The movies would stop and stutter and be unwatchable, while in OS 9, they played flawlessly.

That pic you above of Yoda (click it for a larger version), is actually from the Star Wars Episode II trailer I downloaded several months ago. I've always had to reboot into OS 9 if I ever wanted to watch it, but not anymore. Hardware graphics acceleration is finally available in OS X 10.1.5 for the older Rage Pro chipsets. It was actually announced quietly down at the bottom of the improvements list for the OS upgrade. Took awhile, but I'm glad it's here.

There also has been an overall increase in speed for the system for many users. If you get a chance, go to the United Mac forum and let us know how the upgrade is going for you.

There also has been a noticeable increase, at least on the e-mail lists I belong to, of new folks showing up and announcing themselves as first-time Mac users and looking for answers to specific questions. This all will happen in baby steps, of course, but not since the release of the original iMac has been such an exciting time to be a part of the Mac World.
:: Steve 10:35 AM [+] ::

Getting all "Darth" on you

See Episode II on a digital screen -- if you can :: I finally went and saw "Star Wars: Episode II" on a digital screen last weekend. It's not even the same movie. The level of detail that can be seen on the screen absolutely astounded me. It was as if I was there. Well, it was a bit safer than being there, what with all of the violence and all in the movie.

I was so inspired, that I fired up Photoshop and made you another desktop picture, a dark and moody one that superimposes the young Anakin Skywalker over a picture of his later persona, Darth Vader. You can download it on the Desktops page.

I highly suggest seeing the picture on a digital screen, if you can. There aren't too many of them, yet. There's a list at the Star Wars site.

Well enough should be left ... :: Here's a bit of news that makes my skin crawl. Scary thing is that this feeling is becoming just a bit too common for my taste as it seems just about every tech company is starting to make one bad decision after another. At just the time when we might finally be starting to gain some headway in opening up the world of high-speed Internet to the masses, Comcast has got to go and start to f---(mess) it up. The company is considering a graduated scale of bandwidth use so the 1 percent of their customers who use 30 percent of their capacity will have to pay more. This is bad timing and could kill the progress that has been made. We've spent years trying to get rid of AOL's pay by the hour marketing model, and now these guys want to take us back to the Dark Ages. Over my dead DSL modem, I say.

A better Office? :: Don't know yet, I haven't downloaded the update quite yet, but it seems the old Microsofty beast from Redmond has given us an update to its Office v.X package. Although I hate the fact that they're calling it a "Service Pack," makes it sound too much like a security patch to Windows. But it's supposed to fix tons of bugs, introduce some new bugs we haven't discovered yet, improve speed and offer OS X text anti-aliasing, finally. I'll report back after I try it and let you know. Although I may not be a good test case, because I've began running Jaguar (the developer preview of OS X 10.2) full time now to put it through its paces. My favorite part of Jaguar is the new little blue and gooey round doo-hickey they've created to replace the multicolored beachball that's gotten so much derision from OS X users over the past year as they waited for applications to load. I really love the new little blue thingy, but I never really get to see it because the system moves so much faster. It'll always be something, I guess.

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society." :: Lastly, I had the most distinct pleasure of watching Ken Burns' "Mark Twain" on DVD over the last two nights. If you haven't seen it, you simply must. What an amazing man and an amazing life. Not to mention, he actually said a couple of interesting things here and there. Just about anything you pick will still stand true today. Just do a search for "Mark Twain quotes" in Google. And remember, "Honesty was the best policy."

:: Steve 10:07 PM [+] ::