More of my sites

WinInfo Daily News
SuperSite for Windows
Windows IT Pro Magazine
Connected Home
Thurrott Dot Com
Windows Weekly at TWIT

About this site

For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Saturday, June 12, 2004

blogs.sun.com

Tim Bray: "It's been running for some time, and it's stable enough now to talk about in public: blogs.sun.com is a space that anyone at Sun can use to write about whatever they want ... What Next? Beats me. We built it (thanks to Will and his heinous henchmen), now will they come? I should mention that the blogs over at Java.net aren't going away (some of them by non-Sun people), and then there’s the OpenOffice.org blogging cabal, and well, hey, we're a big company. This should be fun to watch."

[ Posted at 5:21 PM | Permalink ]

TiVo Hooks Up to Home Networks

NewsFactor: "TiVo is making an agressive move to take over more of the home-entertainment space by cutting its prices and adding Internet and network connectivity as standard features. TiVo is positioning its box to become the entertainment centerpiece of the networked home. In a bid to win market share from other digital-video recorders, the New York-based company has cut the cost of service and subscriptions, and is offering online and network connectivity as standard features. TiVo will offer as a standard feature a system that connects its Series2 digital video recorder (DVR) to the home computer network and to the Internet. The feature, known as "Home Media Option," has been available for some time. In the past, users who paid a one-time connection fee of US$99 and plugged a network card into their TiVo Series2 DVR were able to schedule their recordings remotely via the Internet and view content recorded on one box from another box on the same home network. TiVo now is making the necessary software available for all its Series2 boxes without charge."

This is a development to watch, given Microsoft's success with Windows XP Media Center Edition (which has no monthly fees at all and is inherently compatible with other PCs and home networks) and the company's upcoming release of various Media Center Extenders (which look excellent). Also, Apple is expected to someday figure out that people want video and photo content, and not just music content, around the home: It's recent announcement about AirPort Express, I suspect, is just the first step.

[ Posted at 11:43 AM | Permalink ]

Friday, June 11, 2004

iSync: How to sync a Palm OS device over Bluetooth

Apple: "Learn how to set up and synchronize with a Palm OS device over Bluetooth. In order to use iSync with a Palm OS device over Bluetooth, you will need: iSync 1.0 or later, Mac OS X 10.2.5 or later, Palm HotSync 3.0 or later, a Macintosh with built-in Bluetooth or a USB Bluetooth adapter, and a Palm OS device with built-in Bluetooth or a Bluetooth card."

Ah, the wonders of Bluetooth. Of course, since I charge the Palm via a USB cable, it's sort of an intellectual excercise at this point, but what the heck.

[ Posted at 9:23 PM | Permalink ]

Some PowerBook/ThinkPad size comparisons

As a sidebar of sorts to my previous post, here are a few pictures of the IBM ThinkPad X40 compared to the 12-inch PowerBook.

The X40 is a bit less deep and less wide than the PowerBook.

With the Media Slice connected, the X40 is still less deep and less wide, but is now thicker.

With the extended battery,the X40 is still less wide, but is now about half and inch deeper than the PowerBook. You can also connect the extended battery and Media Slice at the same time (not pictured).

[ Posted at 5:33 PM | Permalink ]

A few thoughts on my 12-inch PowerBook

After a few days of using my new 1.33 GHz 12-inch PowerBook, I thought I'd provide a few preliminary thoughts on the experience.

Packaging and out of box experience: Excellent
Apple does an amazing job of rewarding the customer with a great out of box experience. The packaging is incredibly well done, and this is something PC users could take note of. I've never seen any PC--and I've got Windows-based PCs coming through here every month--that are packaged anything like this.

Fit and finish: Excellent
The PowerBook is clean and elegant looking, with excellent fit and finish. The aluminum-based shell appears to be of much higher quality than any PC notebook I've ever seen; most PC notebooks use obvious plastic parts, as do cheap American cars. The PowerBook says quality through and through. The keyboard, while similar to that on the iBook, is obviously held down much more firmly, and Apple has taken away any reason to get under the keyboard by placing the RAM and AirPort Extreme expansion areas on the bottom of the chassis, which was smart.

Expansion: So-so
The PB-12 comes with a full complement of ports, but they're all on the side of the unit, and there's no docking station or port replication options (on any PowerBook, for that matter). This is a huge mistake. Many PC notebooks include a dedicated, proprietary slot on the bottom of the unit that provides these capabilities, and it's sorely missed on the Apple. Indeed, even third party solutions like BookEndz are bogus, because they require a weird side-mounted dealie that must connect with every port on the unit. Apple really needs to fix this. I'd really like to dock this with a nice monitor and easily take the machine when I was on the road. This won't be possible.

On a more positive note, memory access was simple, and the machine is relatively well endowed otherwise, with built-in 802.11g wireless and Bluetooth.

Heat: Good
The PB-12 is cool to the touch when it's not running, which is kind of neat. But it runs fairly hot, especially to the left of the touchpad. I've read that this generation of PB-12 is far cooler than its 867 MHz and 1 GHz predecessors, and I believe it, but this machine runs much warmer than most PC laptops.

Battery life: Decent
Obviously, I haven't had a lot of time to test the battery yet, but I will do so more next week when I go to New York. However, I did calibrate the battery per Apple's instructions (I ran it with an iTunes Internet radio station playing and the visualizations set to run full screen). It looks like I'll be able to get 3 to 3.5 hours of battery life with the screen turned down a bit and the Energy Saver set to handle CPU power. With a DVD running, it should be a bit over 2 hours. Again, I'll test this more soon, but today's Centrino/Pentium-M-based PC laptops get oodles of battery life, often up to 6 hours per battery. There is definitely room for improvement here.

And stupidly, there's no extended battery option, because of the way the battery sits in the unit (and because the optical drive is non-removable; a good example of looks over functionality). And in the PB-12, unlike other PowerBooks, you can't remove the battery while the unit's sleeping, which is a shame; you must shut down, change the battery, and then restart instead.

Hardware compatibility: Excellent
The PB has handled everything I've thrown at it, including my USB printer, Palm OS-based PDAs, scanner, digital camera, keyboard, mouse, and external monitor. It won't work with the Dell DJ, of course, but I do have a few iPods.

Software compatibility: Good
While the Mac doesn't have the epic software library found on the PC side, there's enough there for me to get work done. I've installed Microsoft Office 2004, Mozilla Thunderbird (an email client), Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2.0, MSN, a few games, and a few other applications on the machine, but it already came with a decent software selection, including the excellent iLife 04. Safari appears to be compatible with most Web sites I visit, though there are glitches (in Blogger, for example, Windows IE users get more options when posting).

Performance: Decent
Overall, the PowerBook's performance is decent. On the business applications I'll use most often--Office, Safari, Thunderbird--the performance is excellent. In fact, I'm tempted to install Office v. X to see whether the Office speed improvements--which are considerable, by the way, are because of the PowerBook or the new Office version. Office v. X performed like crap on my 1 GHz iMac.

On more demanding applications, like PhotoShop Elements 2.0, however, the PB-12 reveals some deficiencies, even with 768 MB of RAM. Here's how I tested PS Elements: Using the product's automation capabilities, I convert a folder full of 3.2 mega pixel photos to 500 pixel wide JPEGs (Maximum quality setting), rename them, and place them in a different folder. This is an activity I perform fairly regularly for my many Web sites, so it's a real-world task I'm familiar with. On the PB-12, each image loads, resizes, and then disappears, slowly, in real-time. On desktop and Pentium-M-based laptops, this task happens much, much more quickly, almost blindingly fast. However, on the slow ULV Pentium-M-based IBM ThinkPad X40, it's also quite slow (the unit has integrated graphics with shared graphics memory, by the way, and just 512 MB of RAM), but still a bit faster than on the PB-12, which is disconcerting. On the other hand, the PB-12 is faster, overall, than the X40.

For gaming, the results are also decent, given its relatively rinky-dink video card. It handles the older Quake III Arena with aplomb, even at the internal screen's maximum resolution of 1024 x 768. Running the built-in demo, I was able to achieve 3.53 FPS, which doesn't sound like much, but it feels much better in real life. Unreal Tournament 2004, however, is another story. This is a much newer title, but it's notable because it runs really well on both my son's aging 1.8 GHz Pentium 4 at low resolution (and looks great too), and on my monster 2.66 GHz Pentium 4 with all the effects cranked up as high as they can go. On the PB-12, this game is basically unplayable, even at 640 x 480. So it's not a game machine, which I figured ahead of time.

In short, for the applications I'll need to run, the performance is excellent to acceptable, depending on the app. Overall, it's decent. I don't have the iMac here to test any more, but I suspect it's as good, or a bit better performer overall. I tend to expect more from desktop machines, of course, and am willing to accept performance tradeoffs for portability. Speaking of which...

Portability: Very good
The PB-12 is tiny, though not quite as tiny as the IBM ThinkPad X40, though you could make a valid argument that the X40 requires a media slice in order to work with optical disks. Point taken, but this is another area in which PC makers offer so much more choice than Apple does: If you're on a plane and don't need the optical drive, that's some optional weight and power loss you can discard; on the Apple, it's just there whether you need it. Also, the IBM offers other portability niceties, like an extended battery option that makes the machine a coast-to-coast performer. Good stuff.

Anyway, the PB's small size and weight are undeniable. Only its battery life and lack of portability options keeps it from getting an "excellent" grade.

Conclusions
Overall, I'm quite happy with the little bugger. It's a bit smaller and a heck of a lot more professional looking than the iBook it's replacing. The performance is much better than that of the iBook, though it still lags the PC notebooks I'm used to. I'll see how it holds up on the road, but I fully expect it to become the same type of reliable road companion that its predecessor was. So far, so good.

[ Posted at 5:11 PM | Permalink ]

Musicmatch Jukebox Now Tenth Most Popular Internet Application

Musicmatch: "Musicmatch, Inc., a leader in personalized music software and services, today announced that its Musicmatch Jukebox software is one of the top ten most used online applications in February 2004. The new usage numbers come from Nielsen//NetRatings, which released data on customer usage of both digital music software and all online applications overall. February 2004 Nielson//NetRatings data confirms Musicmatch continues to be the most popular music-focused media player among PC users, with nearly nine times more users than Apple iTunes. With a 32 percent increase in market share over the past six months, Musicmatch has achieved its all time market share high."

Interesting, but it hides a few facts. How many of these users are buying music or paying for Musicmatch's subscription service? Arguably, Apple, with paid music downloads, and RealNetworks, with paid subscribers, are doing "better" than Musicmatch where it really counts.

[ Posted at 11:44 AM | Permalink ]

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Express Air

MacOPINION: "I popped over to Apple's website and saw the AirPort Express info. My first reaction was that this was a cool device. Not just cool... Apple cool. Really slick. My second reaction was a more rational one as I tried to wrap my head around the new gadget. What exactly is AirPort Express? Is it wireless speakers for iTunes? Is it a miniature wireless router? Is it a wireless printer connection? It took me a few minutes reading the site to come up with the answers to those questions, but those answers only generated more questions. In the end, I'm left impressed with Apple's marketing and engineering, but frustrated because Apple seems to have left me out of their equation. You see, no matter how I've crunched the data, I can't figure out what I'd do with the thing. I really want to like it, but I don't need it ... While it sounded radical at first hearing, AirPort Express is nothing more than a wireless router with a headphone jack and print server. Okay, it's a little more sophisticated than that, but not much. When you think of it that way, it's not especially remarkable. With wireless routers selling for less than $50 these days, the $129 AirPort Express is expensive if you can't use most of its features."

So I did pre-order one of these things, and I can tell you exactly how I will use it, but this guy has a point: The AirPort Express device is a bit of a hard sell to the Joe Normal crowd. (It also begs the question: Why is the AirPort Extreme base station still $250? That's over twice the cost of other base station/routers) It's a white gadget ... it looks like a PowerBook power supply ... it has wireless ... something ... and it has some ports on it. A humor site recently captured the Zeitgeist of this confusion perfectly: Apple Introduces Expensive White Box with Holes, Plug, and Logo. And if that doesn't make you laugh, you're already dead.

[ Posted at 2:00 PM | Permalink ]

Linux: Not for Everyone

Enterprise Linux IT: "While Linux vendors sing the praises of their products for across-the-board enterprise I.T. operations, a wholesale switch from Windows to Linux may not be the best move for most businesses. 'If you are taking about basic infrastructure, such as file and print services, network routing or securityRelevant Products/Services from Microsoft, those are encapsulated operations that can move from one platform to another,' IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky told NewsFactor. However, the transition to Linux from tried-and-true Windows or Unix must provide clear benefits to the organization, Kusnetzky says, and not just a 5 percent reduction in cost. Businesses also must consider the expense of new hardware and software, as well training the staff to use a new operating system."

This is exactly the discussion I had with Microsoft senior VP Bob Muglia regarding Linux recently (see full interview transcript). Linux is great at what I call "infrastructure services" (i.e. DHCP, DNS, print serving, etc.) but isn't an obvious sell for more complex tasks, such as the desktop. This isn't because Linux won't work well on the desktop, it's because most companies already have huge investments in Windows systems, applications, and services, and their desktop support staff are oriented to and well-trained in those areas. You can't switch for the sake of switching, even if it will ultimately save you a bit of money (and, arguably, it won't). In many cases, switching is simply impossible.

[ Posted at 1:52 PM | Permalink ]

Installing Qute as a new theme for Firefox 0.9

MozTips Reloaded: " Well, I just noticed that a pre-release version of Firefox 0.9 has been made available. It has some cool new features (including extensive data migration from Internet Explorer). I read that Arvid Axelsson has made his Qute theme available as a separate, standalone download, in the form of a '.jar' file."

On a side note, Arvid's site, largely about graphics and icon creation, is very interesting as well.

[ Posted at 1:47 PM | Permalink ]

Nintendo's next-gen console plans

A couple of interesting articles about Nintendo's plans for a next-generation video game console to rival the PS3 and Xbox Next:

Wired: "Nintendo's president said Wednesday that the Japanese video-game company will debut a new console next year that will take a different tack than its competitors, hinting that the company will try to attract more-casual gamers. The new console, code-named Revolution, will be shown as a prototype next year and in final form at the annual E3 game conference in 2006, said Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's president ... Iwata said the current model of the video-game business -- trying to attract gamers with hardware that features ever-more-dazzling graphics -- is dying. With game sales steadily declining in Japan and growth slowing in the American market, he said it's going to take more than dazzle to sell new machines ... He wouldn't give the specifications of the new machines for fear of competition."

CNN.com: "Iwata reiterated his view that Nintendo should not follow the strategy of Sony, which is working on a more powerful chip to drive its next-generation home game machine ... 'What we need is not a next-generation machine but a next-generation way of playing games,' Iwata told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. 'We need to propose a new idea so that the game industry can overcome its current crisis.' Global sales of the Nintendo Game Cube at 15 million lag Sony's PlayStation 2, which dominates the home console market with more than 71 million sold worldwide. U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. had sold nearly 14 million of its Xbox worldwide as of the end of last year."

[ Posted at 11:33 AM | Permalink ]

Apple’s QuickTime 6 Downloads Top 250 Million

Apple.com: "Apple today announced that more than 250 million copies of QuickTime 6 have been downloaded in less than two years since its release. QuickTime is Apple’s industry-leading, standards-based software for developing, producing and delivering high-quality audio and video over IP, wireless and broadband networks ... As the platform of choice for content creators worldwide, QuickTime delivers the full media experience for thousands of unique software titles and enhanced music CDs and over 225 digital camera models from over 50 camera manufacturers. QuickTime was chosen by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as the base file format for MPEG-4 and is at the core of the 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards."

[ Posted at 11:24 AM | Permalink ]

First Avalon 3D demo... and a reflection on my PC/Mac history

Halfbrite: "Having my roots in the Amiga platform it should be no surprise that my first Avalon 3D demo would be inspired by the famous [Amiga Boing] demo by RJ Mical. Over the extended weekend I found some time to scrub the code a bit and post the binary (runs on Longhorn build 4074) and source. There are a few things I really like about this demo (aside from the excuse to link the Amiga History Guide)."

I'm linking to this because of the Amiga references, not because of Longhorn: As an Amiga user from way back (1990 through 1994, I believe), I watched the rise of Windows, frustrated, from the sidelines, and sure that the computing platform I had chosen was superior and would ultimately prevail. That isn't what happened, of course, and I watched, frustrated again, in the mid-1990's, as many Amigans flocked to OS/2, only to adopt yet another dying (but technologically superior) platform that would wither in the face of Windows. Of course, by that time, things had changed: I was on the Windows 95 beta, and knew that that release of Windows would finally be one that was worth getting excited about. The rest is history.

But since we're talking history, consider the following: A few days after Christmas 1987, my house burned down, taking my Commodore 64C with it. So I needed a new computer. Throughout 1998, I researched various Apple, Mac, and Commodore systems and finally settled on a ... Apple IIGS. Yes, seriously. I purchased the machine at an Apple dealer, now long gone, right here in Dedham, for a whopping $3000. It had two floppy drives (one 3.5 and one 5.25) and 768 KB of RAM. Over the year or two that I owned the machine, I spent at least another $3000 on add-ons, like a Vulcan hard drive (that also replaced the power supply) and a cool RAM disk thing that would let the system boot instantaneously. Oddly, my choices at the time, for the same $3000, boiled down to the IIGS I bought or a Mac Plus; I chose the IIGS, literally, because it had color. I skipped out on the Amiga because the small Commodore dealer in Norwood didn't offer financing.

Now imagine whether things might have turned out differently had I chosen the Mac Plus at the time. Because of the weaknesses of the IIGS, much of the money I spent improving the box was done to make it more like the Amiga, which was a waste of both money and time. Would I have stuck with the Mac? Would I still be a Mac guy today? Would I have scoffed at, rather than embraced, Windows when Windows 95 shipped? It's hard to say. It really is.

Since then, I've watched the Mac community in a semi-fascinated fashion. There is something incredible about Apple and its products, and while I've read every book ever written about Microsoft, I've done the same with books about Apple as well. I've criticized Apple here when I think it's necessary, but then I also feel that the Mac community is far too lenient on its mothership. Far too lenient. But, hey, I behave in the same fashion toward Redmond, though the Apple-loving folks who read this blog for some reason don't seem to notice that. In the end, I'm just trying to right the ship, and set the record straight. Apple isn't perfect, though you'd think it was if you only read the "I love Mac"-type sites. I'm just seeking a balance.

In any event, it's unlikely that I'll ever switch completely to the Mac at this point, and I'm just trying to be realistic about that. But I did have a dream when I first started blogging on this site, and that dream is still alive. Someday, perhaps soon, I'll write about it. You might be surprised.

[ Posted at 9:41 AM | Permalink ]

Beatles for sale?

Reuters: "Representatives of the Beatles are in discussions with various online music services about licensing their songs for distribution on the Internet, people familiar with the discussions said Tuesday. The Beatles have been one of the biggest holdouts in releasing their catalog for sale online, and the lack of such mega-hits as 'Let it Be' and 'Yesterday' has been cited as a major weakness for fledgling, Web-based music stores. Negotiators for the Beatles have talked with several companies, with a particular emphasis on Microsoft Corp.'s MSN, which is expected to open an Internet music store late this summer, people familiar with the talks told Reuters. 'MSN is working very closely with the music industry to build a top-quality music service for consumers, which includes providing a wide selection of music, but has nothing specific to announce at this time,' said a Microsoft spokesman."

The Beatles, of course, are involved in a Johnny-come-lately lawsuit against Apple Computer regarding the Apple name; 20 years ago, the group's music company, Apple Music, obtained a legal settlement from Apple Computer in which the latter company promised not to pursue music technology. Today, of course, Apple Computer owns the most successful online music store, iTunes. And presumably, all this talk about MSN Music is designed as a slap in the face to Apple Computer. And a childish one at that.

Here's my take on this: The Beatles, or whatever management group is responsible for this long-lost group's holdings, were slow to embrace modern music technology, and frankly, Apple correctly branded its innovative and trendsetting music store as iTunes, and not as the Apple Music Store as one might have expected. You can't deny the successes Apple's had with iTunes, and I don't think The Beatles would be making a good business decision if they chose to go only with MSN. Suck it up, guys: Your music should be available on all music services. This is a classic case of biting one's nose to spite the face. Silly.

[ Posted at 9:33 AM | Permalink ]

Xandros gives away desktop Linux

ZDNet: "Xandros, a start-up focused on desktop Linux, has begun offering a stripped-down but free version of its product. The New York City-based company on Wednesday released the Open Circulation Edition. This desktop version of the Linux operating system resembles the company's regular products but it is free, is restricted to personal use and lacks some features. The free version, for example, doesn't have e-mail support, an instruction manual, the fastest CD-writing speeds or the CodeWeavers software for running Windows programs on a Linux machine, Xandros said. It also comes with a version of Opera's Web browser that's advertising supported."

This might be my first serious excuse to try BitTorrent, which is required for the Xandros Open Circulation Edition, unless you don't mind paying $10 for the HTTP download. Interesting move.

[ Posted at 8:52 AM | Permalink ]

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Firefox 0.9 Tour

Neil's world: "Since the release candidate of Firefox 0.9 is out, I’ll go through what is new in this version. There’s actually quite a bit that has changed, mainly because of the new theme ... Jesse Ruderman has this full list of new features including those on the technical side. One feature that I was expecting that isn’t here is Help - the only items on the Help menu are ‘About’ and ‘Release Notes’."

[ Posted at 3:36 PM | Permalink ]

Apple releases iTunes 4.6

I haven't seen this advertised anywhere, but Apple must have recently (today?) released iTunes 4.6, which ads support for the AirPort Express device. Mac OS X users can grab it from Software Updates, but it's also available for manual download, Mac and Windows, on the Apple Web site.

[ Posted at 2:44 PM | Permalink ]

Apple Can't Say Power Mac G5 Is Fastest -UK Ad Body

WSJ (paid subscription required): "Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) has been asked not to advertise its Power Mac G5 as "the world's fastest personal computer" in the U.K. The Advertising Standards Authority, an industry watchdog, said that after taking expert advice it believed the Power Mac G5 wasn't the fastest machine for applications. In addition, the body said test data provided by Apple to back up the U.S. company's claims 'seemed to be configured in a way that might have given the Power Mac G5 an unfair advantage.' The body has requested Apple not to repeat the claim."

[ Posted at 2:42 PM | Permalink ]

Lindows To Offer Fedora, Mandrake With Its Own

Linuxshootout.com: "Lindows, Inc. is offering a package containing the latest versions of three popular Linux operating systems: Linspire, Fedora and Mandrake. For the first time, Linspire, Fedora and Mandrake are being offered together in one package. This Desktop Linux Comparison Kit is so named because it includes three popular Linux operating systems, which would otherwise need to be ordered separately. The selection of the three products was based on their product completeness and commercial familiarity. Linspire was selected for its ease of use and extensive feature set; Mandrake has a well established following by technical professionals; and Fedora is especially tuned to interoperate with Red Hat's Linux server software. Each of the products can be installed on a modern desktop or laptop computer."

[ Posted at 2:39 PM | Permalink ]

Firefox 0.9 [RC1] unveiled, new release candidate for Mozilla 1.7

Linux Today: "The Mozilla Organisation has unveiled the first version of the next release of Firefox, its standalone, cross-platform Web browser. Information on the new features in Firefox 0.9 RC1 is thin on the ground with no release notes yet published, save for the new theme for Windows and Linux users. Also available is the the latest version of the integrated browser, email and chat software Mozilla 1.7 RC3. Details are similar to RC2 although all platform version now contain the Talkback crach reporting software. Both applications can be downloaded from www.mozilla.org."

[ Posted at 2:37 PM | Permalink ]

Counting Linux Desktops

Amy Wohl: "Since I spoke at the Linux Desktop Summit in San Diego on April 22nd, I have been tossing around the question of how to get a better count on Linux desktops ... The problem is simple to describe. The research firms who offer the operating systems statistics computer industry companies base their development and marketing plans on are seriously undercounting Linux desktops. Not because of any bias on their part, but because the technique that serves them very well in the Windows or Macintosh desktop market doesn't work at all in the Linux desktop market."

How 'bout some permalinks there, Amy?

[ Posted at 12:02 PM | Permalink ]

Apple's mini-store strategy falling into place

ifoAppleStore.com: "The pieces of Apple's mini-store strategy are beginning to fall into place, now that construction has begun on at least three of the stores: Stanford Shopping Center, Santa Rosa Plaza and Bridgewater (NJ). All three will be just 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, and feature an interior and exterior design derived from existing store elements. The mini-stores stores will stock accessories, iPods, laptops and selected desktops, but will focus on those grab-and-go types of products that don't require lots of space. Some designs even show open stacks of merchandise, something the full-sized stores avoid."

[ Posted at 12:01 PM | Permalink ]

Apple CEO Jobs misses '3Ghz G5 within a year' prediction by wide margin

MacDailyNews: "On June 23, 2003, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Power Mac G5 line saying, 'Within 12 months, we will be at 3GHz,' Jobs said. 'Believe me, this architecture has legs.' (source) Well, 12 months will have elapsed on June 23, 2004, two weeks from today, and Apple has just announced their new Power Mac G5 line with the top of the line Dual 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 'expected to be available in July,' according to Apple's press release. This will make Apple's fastest available Power Mac G5 a Dual 2.0 GHz on June 23, 2004. Or exactly where they were 12 months ago when the top-of-the-line Power Mac was, you guessed it, a dual 2Ghz G5 machine ... No matter how way you cut it, Apple (with help from IBM) have missed another yet prediction, echoing the PR disaster of Job's artificial '100 million songs sold in the first year' publicly stated goal. The best way to look at it? Apple will have a very fast, very nice Dual 2.5GHz G5 machine a month later (if it ships) than Jobs stated the company would be selling a 3Ghz G5 Power Mac. The worst way to see it? Apple is shipping basically the same top-of-the-line computer (granted, for $500 less, with a faster optical drive and a better graphics card) as it shipped a year ago ... Steve Jobs needs a wakeup call on this idiotic prediction business he's manufactured ... I see Jobs opening the company up to unnecessary criticism. My advice? Mr. Jobs should keep his mouth shut regarding predictions that state hard numbers that can be missed and easily refuted."

Sure. Apple should keep making bogus, but vague, claims that are not so easily refuted. :)

[ Posted at 11:38 AM | Permalink ]

Apple gets closer to Windows

Associated Press: "Apple Computer Inc. broadened its support of Windows-based computers Monday, introducing a new wireless access device designed to work with computers running either Mac OS X or Microsoft Corp.'s operating system. Airport Express, which will be available in July and retail for $129 (U.S.), takes a single broadband Internet connection and shares it among wireless-enabled computers and other devices within the range of its signal ... Apple has increasingly boosted support for Windows-based computers. Last year, it launched iTunes for Windows. In 2001, it began selling iPod music players for Windows."

Interesting that others are seeing a trend in Apple's increased support for Windows-based PCs as well.

[ Posted at 11:36 AM | Permalink ]

Confirmed: Apple will not meet the 3GHz promise 'anytime soon'

MacCentral: "When Apple CEO took the stage at last year's Worldwide Developer's Conference, he wowed the attendees with the new Power Mac G5 dual 2GHz design and technology. Jobs further excited the crowd when he said that Apple would release a 3GHz model within a year -- with two weeks to go before that deadline, Boger said Apple will not meet the 3GHz promise. 'It's actually quite simple,' said Tom Boger, Apple's Director of Power Mac Product Marketing. 'When we made that prediction, we just didn't realize the challenges moving to 90 nanometer would present. It turned out to be a much bigger challenge than anyone expected. All-in-all, no we are not getting to 3GHz anytime soon, but what we are announcing today is a very significant upgrade in performance and its something that are customers will be very happy with.'

[ Posted at 11:33 AM | Permalink ]

The new PowerMac G5: Where's the promised 3 GHz model?

It's unclear to me how many free passes the hyperbolic Steve Jobs gets, but clearly he's reaching the end of his allotment: Last year, he promised a 3 GHz G5 by June 30, but this week, Apple upgraded the G5 line to 1.8 GHz and 2 GHz dual processor models, with a third model, sporting a liquid-cooled 2.5 GHz processor due "in July" (if we can believe that claim). So 3 GHz isn't happening anytime soon.

One obvious question: People are going to act like the liquid cooling is a neat feature, but why do I suspect that these chips run so hot they basically NEED to be liquid cooled? As Apple writes, "The 2.5GHz model packs so much power into tight quarters that Apple designed a liquid cooling system."

More to the point, when I complain about Apple, this is pretty much the type of thing I'm talking about. There is a line between "promotion" and "bald-faced lying," and Apple just crosses it a little too often for my tastes. For example, when the company writes, "now the Power Mac G5 offers dual processor models across the board at 1.8GHz, 2GHz and 2.5GHz, for a substantial speed boost at the top of the line," that's an exageration, because the 2.5 GHz model is not available now at all, and given Apple's history, might not meet its expected July release date as well. making that "substantial speed boost at the top of the line" a little less compelling ... now.

And when Jobs boasts about 3 GHz processors and 100 million iTunes downloads, well, that's just irresponsible. I suspect shareholders are happy enough about the company's other successes that they're willing to overlook a few indiscretions. But that won't always be the case and arguably should never be the case anyway.

OK, I'm done ranting for now.

[ Posted at 10:16 AM | Permalink ]

Van Halen fans: Download the new songs

The Cavern Club is offering decent-quality MP3 downloads of the three new Van Halen songs, which will be featured on their upcoming greatest hits package, The Best of Both Worlds, due in July. The songs are It's About Time, Up For Breakfast, and Learning To See. I'll be seeing the reunited Van Halen live at least twice this summer, in Worchester, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut.

[ Posted at 9:16 AM | Permalink ]

12-inch PowerBook 1.33 GHz

So I finally purchased the PowerBook last night, at the Apple Store in Chestnut Hill. Overall, it was a middling affair: The Chestnut Hill store is kind of crummy, and the people there were alternatively irritating (trying to get me to purchase every add-on on the planet) and idiotic (warning me not to touch the PowerBook's box or open it at one point). Guys, I'm spending $2000 here. Maybe you could treat me slightly better than crap. Also, they didn't have the extra battery in stock (despite promising me that they did when I had called before going to the store); I'll just grab one the next time I'm out and near a CompUSA or Apple Store. Overall, the store experience was lousy, but the Chestnut Hill store is a lot closer than the nice Apple Store at the Cambridgeside Mall. Ah well.

As for the PowerBook itself, Apple packs the machine in its standard ultra-clean and organized box, complete with the lofty "Designed by Apple in California" claim on the top sheet as you open it up. Ahem. Anyway, so far so good: I took the machine out of the store, opened it up on a bench and used the store's wireless to complete the registration process and make sure there were no dead pixels or other issues. The machine seemed fine.

Once I got it home, I installed the extra 512 MB of RAM I had purchased earlier at Crucial.com and got to work. After installing 150+ MB of product updates and rebooting twice, and hanging once, requiring a third reboot, all was well with the PowerBook's world. So far, I've only installed Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, and some .Mac-related downloads on it, but I'll get to everything else today when possible. In the meantime, it's interesting (for me, anyway) to compare the size of this thing to my previous Mac portable, an aging 500 MHz iBook. As you can see from the pictures below, even though they seem to be about the same size, when you place them together, it's clear that the PB-12 is considerably smaller. Nice!

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase, though I'll want to do some performance comparisons to see where this machine falls within the range of portables I've got here for review currently. My guess is that it will be faster (in some cases, much faster) than the IBM ThinkPad X40, which uses a lowly 1 GHz ULV Pentium-M, and much, much slower than the 1.6 GHz Dell D800 and 1.8 GHz ThinkPad T42. This isn't a slam, by the way: Only the X40 is comparable, size-wise, to the PowerBook, and it's not exactly a stunning performer. The other machines are much larger and arguably in a totally different class. I'll test it with PhotoShop Elements 2.0, Word 2004, and, possibly, a few games. Should be interesting, but I can already tell this machine is a lot snappier than the iBook. Of course, it should be with a clock speed almost three times that of the iBook. I'm hoping its also a bit snappier than the 1 GHz iMac it's replacing.

[ Posted at 9:00 AM | Permalink ]

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Microsoft Pressures Pirates

Motley Fool: "Since OSX, Apple users have had a taste of mainstream-OS agony, enduring pay-to-play service packs like "Jaguar" and "Panther." Late last month, they were treated to a critical security flaw, along with the griping that comes from security professionals when the folks at headquarters don't treat it as seriously as they should. The most severe of the threats was patched only this morning, with little fanfare."

[ Posted at 2:01 PM | Permalink ]

There Is No Safari For Windows, Not Even in iTunes

MovableBlog: "An otherwise excellent article on the future of web standards, which is taken from an article originally posted on the author's weblog on May 19th, contains the following: 'Literally millions of people use a big chunk of Safari on Windows. It's the browser built into iTunes. It works today.' That is incorrect: iTunes does not use Safari to render HTML, [and] iTunes does not even use HTML, but it does use XML. Sources: Mihai Parparita in the comments: 'iTunes doesn't use the Safari/KHTML rendering engine. The store server spits out XML in a custom format (which bears little resemblance to XHTML)'. Mihai also points to a weblog article on the XML format iTunes uses."

Ah well. We can still dream, can't we?

[ Posted at 1:57 PM | Permalink ]

New Digital Music Player Has 24 Hour Battery

Applelinks: "Well, even an iPod user has to be impressed: Creative has been, well, creative, and come out with the Zen Touch, a 20 GB digital music player that boasts an astonishing 24 hours of playback time ... The device uses USB 2.0 to transfer songs, and supports the WMA (surprise), and MP3 formats. Optional attachments also allow it to receive and record FM radio, and do voice recording. It's retailing for $269.99 from Amazon.com, and is due to ship later this month. Well, credit where credit is due: whereas most pretenders to iPod's throne have similar or only slighly better features (if that), here's one that claims to triple the battery life of Apple's product. Hopefully this will spur Apple to come up wth something equally remarkable."

Heck, the Dell DJ offers 20 hours of battery life today, so this isn't a huge jump, unless of course you've only been paying attention to the iPod (ahem). In fact, looking closely at the Creative Zen Touch, it's pretty clearly based on the same underlying device as the DJ; even some of the buttons on the side and ports on the top are identical. It's questionable touch pad control slider is, however, unique.

Still, I give Applelinks credit for not completely trashing the Zen Touch, as any other Apple enthusiast would (and will) do.

[ Posted at 11:00 AM | Permalink ]

CEOs Deliver Updates, Barbs at Tech Meeting

WSJ (paid subscription required): "[Apple CEO Steve] Jobs said the AirPort Express was born of consumer interest in playing digital music in the home, away from the PC. 'We wanted to address that living-room situation,' said Mr. Jobs. Apple recently renewed deals with major record labels to continue selling songs for 99 cents each, Mr. Jobs said. Some labels have recently discussed raising the price of legal downloads. But he resisted suggestions that Apple allow iPod users to play songs recorded in other digital-music formats, such as those from Microsoft. 'We feel we can innovate much more if we control the technology,' he said. [Microsoft Chairman Bill] Gates, meanwhile, said Microsoft's forthcoming music-download service would challenge Apple by permitting the music to be played on a variety of players. Mr. Gates said Microsoft's partners will create devices better than the iPod. 'Imagine it's possible to do better' than Apple, he said."

[ Posted at 10:58 AM | Permalink ]

Jobs Says Apple Won't Raise iTunes Prices

WSJ (paid subscription required): "Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the company won't raise prices on iTunes songs and showed off a new product designed to let users easily beam digital music from a central computer to stereos in other rooms.
Mr. Jobs, in a session at the D conference, said Apple plans to sell the new AirPort Express mobile base station, priced at $129 for Macs and Windows computers, starting next month. It comes with a USB port to add networked printers, as well as ethernet and audio outputs. Software called AirTunes will help users configure the system and switch music from one room to another. From a central computer, the music can only be beamed to one computer at a time, Mr. Jobs said. On other topics, Mr. Jobs said that while the Mac doesn't face the same security problems as Windows-based computers, which face an onslaught of virus and other threats, the company has no plans to market the Mac as a safer computer for users. That would be like waving a 'red flag' in front of malicious code writers, he said. On music prices, he said that Apple won't raise prices, adding, 'we don't think the consumer wants to pay more than 99 cents.'"

[ Posted at 10:56 AM | Permalink ]

Apple Quietly Patches OS X

Wired: "on Monday, Apple quietly fixed several major outstanding security vulnerabilities in Mac OS X. Security Update 2004-06-07, released noiselessly on Monday morning, closes major gaps in the way OS X handles browser helper applications. The fix is the first acknowledgment from Apple of the vulnerabilities, although they have been discussed publicly since late May. The update changes the way OS X launches helper applications when a user clicks certain Internet links, such as those that mount disk images on the desktop ... Apple on May 21 released a security update that fixed the HelpViewer vulnerability. The update was trumpeted by a press release, but it gave few details of what was fixed and how. The Mac community quickly discovered Apple had not addressed the way OS X handles the other protocols, and patched systems were just as vulnerable as before. 'Mac OS X systems (are) wide open for attacks,' said Secunia CEO Niels Rasmussen at the time. 'Mac users are as vulnerable now as before the patch was released.' Apple also came under stinging criticism for keeping mum about security issues. 'These are serious vulnerabilities which could be exploited for serious harm,' wrote a Philadelphia Web developer. 'The problem is that Apple has been revealed as a company that treats security vulnerabilities as marketing problems, rather than as technical problems.' Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's CTO, said his company had not had a chance to test Apple's latest fix, but from a description said it sounded like a step in the right direction ... Kristensen praised Apple for addressing the holes fairly quickly, but he criticized the company's stated policy of keeping mum about security holes until patches have been issued. 'Apple should change this policy,' he said. 'These issues were being discussed in public. Apple should have commented on what users could do, instead of deafening silence.'"

Apple's security record is spotty at best, and the company is certainly not taking the proactive steps that Microsoft is to deal with these issues. A lot of people like to point out the low number of Mac OS X attacks, but I'd point out the low number of Mac OS X users (and systems to attack) as the obvious primary cause of that. If and when OS X becomes more popular, it will also become a more popular platform to attack. And it's prety clear that Apple needs to change its technicla and PR strategies and for dealing with this kind of problem.

[ Posted at 8:58 AM | Permalink ]

Apple's AirPort Express hints of wider PC strategy

In another example of Apple's deemphasis of the Mac, this week's announcement of the AirPort Express (it won't ship until "July", Apple says), is very specific about its cross-platform capabilities. In fact, the word "PC" appears as often in the press release as the word "Mac".

"Apple Unveils AirPort Express for Mac & PC Users - AirPort Express, the world’s first 802.11g mobile base station that can be plugged directly into the wall for wireless Internet connections and USB printing, or thrown into a laptop bag to bring wireless freedom to hotel rooms with broadband connections. Airport Express also features analog and digital audio outputs that can be connected to a stereo and AirTunes music networking software which works seamlessly with iTunes, giving users a simple and inexpensive way to wirelessly stream iTunes music on their Mac or PC to any room in the house. AirPort Express features a single piece ultra-compact design weighing just 6.7 ounces, and will be available to Mac and PC users starting in July for just $129."

Even the Steve Jobs quote is devoid of Mac references, using generic terms like "notebook" and "desktop" instead. Indeed, what's really missing is the talk about how it works on both platforms but will be a better experience on the Mac. This is a big (but somewhat obvious) change for the company. And again, I think it speaks volumes about where the company is heading.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I ordered one of these things the second it was announced. This is exactly the kind of device I need on the road, since I often need to connect two or more computers to a single broadband connection in a hotel room. Good stuff.

[ Posted at 8:51 AM | Permalink ]

Fedora Widens Its Scope

eWeak: "Red Hat Inc.'s Fedora Core 2 is a good general-purpose Linux distribution that ships with a broad selection of open-source software that can capably serve in roles ranging from desktop to server ... Fedora's all about shipping the latest and greatest, which can mean compatibility issues when moving from version to version. The biggest change in Core 2 is the move to the 2.6 Linux kernel—Version 2.6.5—which brings with it application and driver compatibility issues. The Cisco Systems Inc. client for our VPN, for instance, will not yet compile under 2.6, and Fedora Core 2 users can't yet use Nvidia Corp.'s official Nvidia video driver without tweaking and recompiling their kernels (although the Nvidia driver that ships with Fedora does work) ... Fedora Core 2 ships with the latest versions of the KDE and GNOME desktop environments, both of which include usability improvements, such as handy facilities for managing passwords for network shares and, in KDE, Web passwords. Fedora Core 2 also ships with the desktop environment Xfce-4, which is based on the same GTK2 tool kit as GNOME but is lighter-weight and makes a good fit for older hardware."

[ Posted at 8:46 AM | Permalink ]

More on the new Firefox theme

Stephen Horlander (posting on Mozillazine): "We started working on this 'port' of icons from the Pinstripe theme a few months or so ago. Between work and real-life that amounts to around less than two weeks of actual focused work, at least on my part. Not really a lot of time to review, contemplate, and tweak anything that is close to polished. Certainly nothing I would consider 'final'. If I gave themes version numbers, this would be a 0.1 release at best. To be very clear: it is not finished. Not even close I would say. It had to go in now, so what we had finished we used. We would have liked to have time to finish but that wasn't an option. I am not going to touch on why Qute had to be replaced, I don't know any of the details. To be quite honest, I think Qute is a very nice theme in most respects. As everyone knows appearance is a highly subjective matter. What one person thinks is beautiful might induce vomiting in another. So feel free to dislike the new theme, I don't care, it is your right. Now if someone has some constructive comments about the new icons, please email Kevin or I(stephen@noved.org) so they can be considered and addressed properly."

djst's nest: "Why are we replacing an almost-perfect Windows XP theme with a nowhere near finished one barely at version 0.1? Why is waiting for Winstripe to mature not an option?"

Chris' corner: "[The] theme already picks up whatever colors the OS is using, which makes things like the scrollbars, drop down menus, and so on look already very professional [in Windows XP only]. No obvious bugs. I like the large amount of padding between buttons. Qute’s main fault in my eyes is that the buttons didn’t have enough padding between them. Negatives: It is my personal view that the main browser buttons (Back/Forward, Reload, Stop, Home) are WAY too simple. In fact, in the case of the refresh button, looks extremely cheap. The lighting is all wrong, some buttons should not have drop shadows, and the lack of 3D makes them look much worse on Windows XP. Basically, every button should be thrown out and completely redone, but it is a decent start considering this theme is far from being finished. The throbber, while better then the old Qute one, is way underwealming. What ever happened to those imaginative throbbers from the Netscape days (stars rotating around the big 'N' a good example)."

[ Posted at 8:40 AM | Permalink ]

Firefox 0.9 and Themes: Another reason for Apple to Take a Safari to Windows

Inside Firefox: "So Firefox 0.9 is almost ready to go. I expect an RC in the next day or so. We now have a new theme on the Aviary branch (and on the trunk too in a day or so) thanks to the hard work of Stephen Horlander and Kevin Gerich. The transition from the Qute theme has caused quite a stir, and pleas for constructive responses have been widely ignored ..."

As, arguably, have pleas for an explanation about why on earth the Firefox developers would choose to replace the professional-looking Qute theme with the epic crap that is "WinStripe." Bad news, kids: Qute looks better in XP than does WinStripe.

"All I can say to those upset with how this was negotiated is that in a perfect world, things might have been done better, this isn't that world, it is a more complex and interesting dynamic than has been made public, there is no use in crying over spilled milk, so get over it."

Maybe it's time for a leadership change at the Mozilla Foundation. Because, clearly, the way "this was negotiated" is just a symptom of a wider problem.

"Those of you who have attacked Kevin and Stephen should be ashamed of yourselves. Calm down, take a chill pill, or you'll severely limit the likelihood that anyone that matters will listen to you. Say what you will about me, but be constructive about the new theme or kerz and other MozillaZine moderators will lock your accounts. I have disabled comments since I'm not interested in hearing people bellyache any more. We (myself, VDT, marketing, etc) are frankly sick of it."

How's this for constructive? The new theme stinks.

"Good software development is not done by committee, it requires strong leadership and tough decisions."

Agreed. Please step down. And please take with you anyone else that thought this was a good idea.

"Time will tell whether or not this was a good one. I think it was, and expect to be vindicated by the release, and the continual improvement and commitment to excellence that the theme's authors have promised."

Sure, but it can only be improved. In fact, if it's improved dramatically, it could look at lot like Qute. It's not like Mozilla Foundation doesn't have enough real work to do.

This is the second major event in the short history of the Mozilla Foundation that has made me want to walk away from these jerks forever (the first was their childish reaction to the Firebird database project). Again, if I could please beg Apple: Port Safari to Windows, and I guarantee you will surpass the Mozilla userbase within 6 months. It's a market that's just sitting there waiting for you.

[ Posted at 8:33 AM | Permalink ]

Monday, June 07, 2004

Linux vs. Apple: An Uncomfortable Battle

TechNewsWorld: "The Linux threat to Microsoft has, despite all of the hype, failed to make much of a dent in Microsoft's financial performance. But while we were watching for that impact, Sun was all but gutted. Think back that, with all of the rhetoric surrounding the death of Microsoft, even Sun was focusing on Microsoft and actually helping create a future in which Sun would not exist. The company even went so far as to fund OpenOffice, which further supported the belief that Linux is the future and that proprietary companies like Sun are the extinct past. The reason Linux took Sun out so easily is that it attacked Sun where it was the most vulnerable: in the hardware. Linux has the advantage that Microsoft enjoys in that it uses low-cost commodity hardware. Both Red Hat and Novell are sending messages that they are designing new user interfaces based on the Mac OS. While their stated target is Microsoft, the collateral damage from the developments, much like it was with Sun, will probably be Apple. Apple has been subsidizing its relatively expensive hardware with software, so the cost disadvantage that Sun enjoyed would seem to be dramatically less for Apple. But that might not be the case. While much is said about the success of the Mac OS X , the speculation remains that the majority of Apple's installed base has stayed with its older hardware and has not migrated to the new operating system."

It's not speculation. If you believe Apple's own numbers, only 10 million of the Mac's installed base of 25 million users has switched to Mac OS X.

"Apple could abandon the hardware and shift to software-only strategy but, unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't have deep penetration into the corporate market. And consumers are far less loyal. While this trend could protect the hardware margins, without branded PC hardware partners Apple would still fail."

[ Posted at 6:36 PM | Permalink ]

My next Mac

Well, I finally made my decision on my next Mac purchase. Thanks again to everyone who wrote in. Here's what happened.

This past weekend, I noticed a MacInTouch post about Amazon.com offering the 1.5 GHz version of the 15" PowerBook for $2300, or $200 off the normal asking price. This seemed like a good deal, because the 15" PowerBook I was considering, when configured the way I'd prefer, cost roughly the same amount, but this unit featured more RAM and a faster processor.

Still, $2300 is a lot of money, especially when you consider that it doesn't include an extra battery ($129) and Apple Care ($349). And, as I've previously stressed over, the 15" PowerBook isn't particular small (though it's pretty light for that class of machine), and I was hoping to use this machine not just around the house but on the many business trips I take.

So back I went to the 12" PowerBook. No widescreen, to be sure, but it's small and light and I've grown to like the form factor (my three year old iBook is very similarly shaped). Plus, at "just" $1799 for the SuperDrive model, I could afford to get the extra battery (and an extra 512 MB of RAM from Crucial.com) immediately.

And that, ultimately, made up my mind: I chose portability over performance and the coolness factor of a widescreen display. Since this won't be my primary computer, I felt this was the right choice. Today, I ordered the RAM online, and I'll be heading to the Apple Store in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts this week to pick up the machine and battery.

My next Mac: 12-inch PowerBook 1.33 GHz with Super Drive

[ Posted at 4:12 PM | Permalink ]

Introducing AirPort Express with AirTunes

Apple Computer: "Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go. Extend the range of your current wireless network. How many devices do you need to do all this? Just one. Presenting AirPort Express. Featuring AirTunes for playing your iTunes music wirelessly on your home stereo or powered speakers, AirPort Express brings not only the Internet but your music to wherever in your home you like to enjoy them most — whether you use a Mac or Windows PC. Unmatched in its ease of use, it delivers data rates up to 54 megabits per second, fits in the palm of your hand so you can take it wherever you go — and it costs just $129."

Looks interesting, and unlike Apple's base station products, it seems reasonably priced. Apple (unlike Microsoft, incidentally) already had a good PC-to-PC solution for streaming music (iTunes), but was lacking in a PC-to-device solution. This looks to be it.

[ Posted at 2:08 PM | Permalink ]

Science fun: Satellite images 'show Atlantis'

BBC: "A scientist says he may have found remains of the lost city of Atlantis. Satellite photos of southern Spain reveal features on the ground appearing to match descriptions made by Greek scholar Plato of the fabled utopia. Dr Rainer Kuehne thinks the 'island' of Atlantis simply referred to a region of the southern Spanish coast destroyed by a flood between 800 BC and 500 BC. The research has been reported as an ongoing project in the online edition of the journal Antiquity ... 'Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was surrounded by several circular structures - concentric rings - some consisting of Earth and the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described,' Dr Kuehne told BBC News Online. Dr Kuehne, of the University of Wuppertal in Germany, believes the rectangular features could be the remains of a 'silver' temple devoted to the sea god Poseidon and a 'golden' temple devoted to Cleito and Poseidon - all described in Plato's dialogue Critias."

[ Posted at 11:48 AM | Permalink ]

Duke Nukem: Forever

TVG.com: "In reply to a thread enquiring about the current state of Duke Nukem: Forever, George Broussard CEO 3D Realms, recently heaped further doubt over the future of the title, currently standing at seven years in development and counting. Broussard claimed 'IMO, it's more abusive to the community to continue to talk about and show the game when it's not real close to release. What's the point of leading people on? The best thing we can, and should do, is to shut up, finish the game and start showing it and talking about it when it's near enough release that people can actually see light at the end of the tunnel.' Once again this seems to suggest that the chances of seeing Duke’s long-overdue and comical return this year are extremely unlikely, whilst some have even claimed that it will be 2006 before we see the return of the wisecracking saviour of the planet Earth."

Well, give 3D Realms credit for using the right name for the game. It's disappointing, however, that they can't release a game so many people have been waiting, literally, years for. I used to play Duke Nukem 3D online in the old days when I was one of the few people on earth with a cable modem. Good stuff.

[ Posted at 11:38 AM | Permalink ]

Why It Makes Sense for Sun to Open-Source Java Libraries & Solaris Kernel

Linuxworld.com: " It makes a lot of sense for Sun to open source the Java Libraries and Solaris Kernel. It's sound business for Sun to (a) Open source license the Java J2SE,J2EE and J2ME framework libraries; and (b) Release a fork of the Solaris Kernel under the GPL license. It would benefit the entire Java based industry - including the free software, open source, and proprietary based vendors - to open license the core J2ME, J2SE, J2EE libraries and Java to bytecode compilers. Java's primary strength, the ability to write code which is constantly portable across many vendors platforms, would be greatly enhanced if all of the vendors were using the same core libraries ... Releasing a fork of the Solaris Unix Kernel makes even more sense when you consider Sun's move towards commodity based hardware, like AMD's opteron, and enterprise desktop systems. Sun is going to need drivers to interoperate with x86 hardware and common peripherals. In comparison to Linux, the range and quality of hardware drivers available to Solaris is pitiful. If Sun can manage to get out from under the SCO Group's claims over the old AT&T code base, by dealing direct with Novell who still appear to hold the rights and copyrights, then Sun would be free to release a fork of the Solaris kernel under the GPL license. Sun would be then free to take any source code from the Linux kernel and incorporate it into the GPL'ed Solaris kernel fork. Sun would then free to deploy that kernel in desktop and clustered systems markets, where Linux currently does have a lead over Sun."

It's unclear what Sun's really doing with Java and Solaris, because of conflicting public statements from various Sun executives. I think it's time for Sun to get it together and figure out whether it's going to embrace open source. My opinion? The company is toast if it does anything less.

[ Posted at 11:19 AM | Permalink ]

Apple Kills New Power Mac G5 Pics

IGM: "AppleInsider has removed Power Mac G5 pics posted last week in the wake of a 'cease and desist' from Apple Legal. Pictures from apparently authentic Apple Service Source manuals, which detailed the internal differences between the Rev. A and Rev. B Power Mac G5s, were sourced by AppleInsider. Apple's demand for their removal virtually confirms their authenticity. Apple generally prepares its technical support documentation well before releasing new products. New G5s are expected to be announced around the time of Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference, which commences with a keynote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs on June 28."

This kind of baloney underscores how important secrecy and surprise are to Apple, which relies on periodic PR drama to keep its salivating fans chanting and fist-pumping during Jobs keynote events. After all, how could Steve Jobs bask in the glow of a friendly crowd if they had all heard what was coming already? But Apple's attempts to control every little bit of information about forthcoming products stands in sharp contrast to the consumer friendly image it tries to portray publicly.

[ Posted at 11:07 AM | Permalink ]

Gaming gets a whirl on laptops

Kansas.com: "I staged a shootout between a couple of gamer laptops, a fully loaded one from Dell and a lighter model from eMachines. Other companies selling gaming laptops include Alienware, VoodooPC and Falcon Northwest. I put them to the test with 'Far Cry,' a stunningly beautiful first-person shooter game for the PC that takes a ton of graphics power to operate. I also used the graphics benchmark from 3Dmark to get a broader picture of how well they can run graphics ... I asked Apple if they would send along some games for review on a 17-inch PowerBook, but they declined to participate. Could it have something to do with the fact that there still aren't enough contemporary games available for the Mac?"

Far Cry is the most visually impresive and immersive gaming experience I've ever had, and is probably an excellent way to measure the graphics throughput of video cards and PCs in general. Trying to run this game on a laptop is an effort in futility, but it'd be interesting to see how this game stacked up on a G5, assuming of course that the game is ever ported to the Mac.

[ Posted at 11:03 AM | Permalink ]

Apple iTunes Europe launch set for June 15

Reuters: "Apple Computer will announce next week its long-awaited European version of the iTunes online music store, sources familiar with the matter say. The announcement will be made on June 15, said sources familiar with the necessary licensing negotiations between Apple and music labels. An Apple spokesman in Holland declined to comment on the specifics of the launch. However, Apple issued a statement on Monday that it would host a press conference in London on June 15. Apple billed the event, 'the biggest story in music is about to get even bigger'. Traditionally when Apple announces a new product or service, it is available straight away, adding to the speculation that the service will go live next week."

[ Posted at 10:30 AM | Permalink ]