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November's Top-Ranked CEOs - Steve Jobs Agaon
iTunes Not Ready To Sing 'O Canada'
iTunes Music Store Nowhere In Sight
Mini-Tutorial: Reverting To An Earlier Version Of Mac OS X
Ohio Legislation Would Send Spammers To Jail
How and Why I Use an eMac, iBook, and Power Mac G3
MacLink Plus 15: Still Capable after All These Years, But...
ThinkFree Office: Slow, Unpolished, Yet Useful
Merrill Lynch Looks To 'Killer' Apple Home Media Server
New Apple Macintosh-Based Consulting Group in Pittsburgh
Lycos Antispam Screensaver Draws Fire
New Netscape Browser Includes IE Engine
eWeek: The Year in Review: Apple Thrives in Surprising Ways
Voice Speech Recognition Is No Substitute For Mouse And Keyboard
Digital Video Expo West to Debut New Special Events and Panels
Don't Let Data Loss Ruin Your Holidays: Critical Digital Photo Housekeeping Pointers from Ontrack Data Recovery
Gene & Grayson Steinberg meet "The Cult of Mac" author Leander Kahney, Craig Crossman and enter the "David Biedny Zone" this week on The Mac Night Owl LIVE
Mac Night Owl: The Case For a Flash iPod
ExtremeTech: Radeon X850 Platinum Edition Review[/url]



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November's Top-Ranked CEOs - Steve Jobs Agaon

Forbes' David M. Ewalt reports:

"There's an old proverb (you might remember it from a James Bond novel) that goes along the lines of "once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

"If that's true, what's 17 times? Because that's how many consecutive months Apple Computer Chief Executive Steve Jobs has dominated our CEO Approval Tracker ratings.

"The beloved 'iCEO' is riding high with a whopping 93% approval rating, only a point away from the Approval Tracker's all-time high...."

For more information, visit:
http://www.forbes.com/home/management/2004/12/01/cx_de_1201topceos.html






iTunes Not Ready To Sing 'O Canada'

CNET News.com's Ina Fried reports:

"Apple Computer has missed its self-imposed deadline for launching a Canadian version of its online music store.

"The company had promised a November launch of iTunes in the country. But as of Wednesday morning, the service has yet to go live for Canadian customers.....

"In recent weeks, Apple reiterated its intentions for a November launch. Apple acknowledged the delay in a statement."

For the full report, visit here:
http://news.com.com/iTunes+not+ready+to+sing+O+Canada/2100-1027_3-5472885.html






iTunes Music Store Nowhere In Sight

The Vancouver Sun's Peter Wilson says:

"When it comes to the world's most popular legal music downloading service, Canadians were still waiting last night for the other song to drop.

"Although Apple Computer Inc. had originally promised to launch its iTunes online music store in the first week of November -- and said again late last week it would launch by the end of the month -- both of those dates have come and gone."

For the full report, visit here.







Mini-Tutorial: Reverting To An Earlier Version Of Mac OS X

On MacFixIt:

"When problems materialize in conjunction with an incremental update to Mac OS X, and all known workarounds have failed, or a critical issue appears that must be resolved immediately, it may be necessary to perform a reversion process and backpedal to the prior incremental version.

"The process is somewhat time-consuming and will require you to restore some previous settings, but relatively straightforward. Also, note that you will need to be using either Mac OS X 10.2.x or Mac OS X 10.3.x to perform this process."

You can check it out at:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20041201071052204

Note that various updates, back through Mac OS X Combo Update 10.2.5, are available from Apple's Support Download page:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/






Ohio Legislation Would Send Spammers To Jail

Reuters reports:

"Ohio legislators on Tuesday sent an antispam bill to Gov. Bob Taft, with the aim of joining other states that have laws that put spammers behind bars.....

"If signed into law, it would outlaw Internet ads that are deceptive or misleading and ban people from setting up false accounts to send spam, the junk e-mail that clogs consumers' online mailboxes and taxes the resources of Internet service providers.....

"The worst violators could face a minimum of six months in jail, as well as fines of $25,000 per violation, or $2 to $8 per violating e-mail. Their computer equipment could be confiscated, and Internet providers could sue for damages."

For the full report, visit here.






How and Why I Use an eMac, iBook, and Power Mac G3

Low End Mac's Evan Kleiman says:

"I'm a big fan of 'what I use' articles on the Net. It's nice to hear people talk about computers and what not, but I often wonder what computers they use. If you're anything like me, you wonder this, too.

".....My main computer is an eMac 1.25. For the money, it's the best Mac anyone can get right now...

"I didn't think I'd be able to use a laptop full time, so I made the decision to get two computers. The iBook is clearly not much of a powerhouse with an 800 MHz G3 and 128 MB of RAM, especially compared to the eMac. But for my purposes and use, it is the perfect companion computer....

"On my desk at home I have a B&W G3/400 that has served me faithfully for several years now without much of a problem.....

"My sister uses a lime iMac 266 that I upgraded to after using an SE/30 (back when I first started writing for LEM almost five years ago). Yes, the SE/30 is still kicking."

You can check it out at:
http://lowendmac.com/evan/04/1201.html







MacLink Plus 15: Still Capable after All These Years, But...

Low End Mac's Alan Zisman says:

"DataViz and its MacLink Plus product have a long history on the Mac platform. I still can find a copy of a version of it dating back to the late 1980s, designed for System 6 Macs.

"Like later versions of the product, it included a set of file format translators, allowing users to convert between a multitude of word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphics formats. This older version also had some uniquely useful functionality that got dropped from later versions of the product....

"For the better part of the 1990s, most Mac owners had some of MacLink Plus whether they knew it or not. A subset of the product's file translators were licensed by Apple and included in some (but not all) Mac OS versions as well as with most of the versions of ClarisWorks/AppleWorks. In fact, the latest editions of AppleWorks 6.x include a variety of MacLink Plus translators customized to allow AppleWorks to read and save in Microsoft Office file formats (among others)....

"In all, MacLink Plus 15 boasts of the ability to read and translate files created by various versions of 17 PC (DOS or Windows) and 15 Mac word processing programs, 9 PC and 7 Mac spreadsheets, 10 PC and 7 Mac graphics formats, and 7 PC and 6 Mac database formats. As well, the program can deal with files encoded or compressed with a range of popular formats.....

"In the program's heyday, 15 years ago (more or less), PC and Mac users used a wide variety of programs. I remember a review in PC Magazine (around 1988 or so) of over 100 different word processors....."

You can check it out at:
http://lowendmac.com/mac2win/04/1201.html






ThinkFree Office: Slow, Unpolished, Yet Useful

Low End Mac's Jason Walsh says:

"Lauded by some, despised by others, ThinkFree Office has clearly made an impression among Mac users -- but what exactly does free mean? And do you get what you pay for?.....

"The dominant word processors on the Mac are Microsoft Word -- powerful, but expensive and often counterintuitive -- and AppleWorks -- bundled free with many Macs, but showing its age. It is always nice to look at the alternatives

"And so we come to ThinkFree Office. ThinkFree has come in for serious criticism from readers of the Low End Designer.....

"Think free? Think again. Think $50. ThinkFree Office 2.2 isn't free in sense of no-cost, nor free as in open-source. Rather, the developers mean that if you use their product, you'll be free of the Redmond tyranny.

"It's reasonably zippy for a Java application, but only if you have a blazingly fast Mac. If you have anything less than a G4, forget about it. Not exactly praise from Low End Mac's perspective, I think you'll agree."

For the full report, visit here.
http://lowendmac.com/designer/15.html







Merrill Lynch Looks To 'Killer' Apple Home Media Server

The Register's Tony Smith reports:

"Apple's next "killer" product could be a home entertainment system, investment house Merrill Lynch has claimed.

"In a report issued to investors earlier this week, the company announces its belief that it's just too early in the game to forecast a winner on the digital living room fight. However, one thing of which ML is certain, it's not going to a PC."

For the full report, visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/01/apple_digital_appliance/






New Apple Macintosh-Based Consulting Group in Pittsburgh

"Certified Apple consultants C. Scott Gilbert and Dave Sevick today announced the formation of the Expert Macintosh Consulting Group, a new consulting firm specializing in Apple technology. Serving the Western Pennsylvania area, this new venture combines the expertise of seasoned Apple consultants, each with more than 15 years of Apple technology experience, and each with Apple certification as an Apple Help Desk Specialist or Apple Technical Coordinator.

"We're skilled in the very latest Apple technology," said Dave Sevick. "Our goal is to help Macintosh users make the most of their investment in Apple technology, particularly where that technology interacts with Microsoft Windows products and the World Wide Web."

The group's services include audio / video recording, preparation and delivery; relational database construction and management; the creation of motion graphics for web sites and video; complete network design and installation services; custom-built web-based applications and web sites; and management of wireless technologies ranging from cell phones to wireless networks.

"We genuinely care about our clients," adds Scott Gilbert. "At all times we want our clients to feel confident that their projects with us are being managed wisely and with care. Our clients have access to an array of project management tools to help them monitor their projects in real time, all provided free of charge."

The Expert Macintosh Consulting Group serves small to medium-sized businesses and educational institutions, and offers special pricing packages and priority support packages; all backed by a 24-hour Help Desk with sophisticated call notification and tracking.

For more information please visit the Expert Macintosh Consulting Group web site at:
http://expertmacintoshconsulting.com

An Expert Macintosh Consulting Group introductory white paper is available at:
http://expertmacintoshconsulting.com/pdf/EMC_Who_We_Are.pdf






Lycos Antispam Screensaver Draws Fire
 
IDG News Service's Scarlet Pruitt reports:

"A screensaver developed by Lycos Europe that gives spammers a dose of their own medicine is attracting plenty of attention, but not all of it good.

"The company officially launched the "Make Love, Not Spam" screensaver Wednesday but a beta version had already been widely distributed. Offering to 'spam the spammers,' the screensaver works by repeatedly requesting information from Web sites advertised in spam, thereby reducing the performance of those sites."

For the full report, visit here:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,118768,00.asp







New Netscape Browser Includes IE Engine

digitmag's Joris Evers reports:

"AOL has released a preview version of a new Netscape Web browser that is based on the open-source Firefox browser, but also supports Microsoft's IE browser engine.

"IE is part of Windows and is used by the great majority of Web users. Many Web sites have been designed specifically to work with the Microsoft browser and may not work correctly in browsers using other engines, including the Gecko engine in Firefox.

"While current Firefox users may switch to IE when they have a problem with a Web site, AOL's Netscape unit found a different solution. If a Web site does not display well in the standard Firefox-based configuration in Netscape, it takes two clicks to display the page using the IE engine....."

For the full report, visit here.
http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4591







eWeek: The Year in Review: Apple Thrives in Surprising Ways

"If you had told someone five years ago that Apple would someday have a rapidly growing business in the server market, a huge share of the Unix desktop market, and commanding mindshare in the digital music business-so much so that Hewlett-Packard licensed its hardware-that someone would have probably asked what kind of irrational exuberance you had been smoking.

Yet somehow, Apple turned into one of the biggest success stories in the computer industry. The company more than doubled its server sales this year, and introduced 64-bit servers. Apple can now claim an installed base over 12 million Unix-based Mac OS X desktops. And the iPod has helped move Apple into the consumer electronics and music distribution markets in ways that no amount of irrational exuberance could have predicted back when the company was killing the Newton."

Read more at:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1733022,00.asp






Voice Speech Recognition Is No Substitute For Mouse And Keyboard

mikesejournal.com says:

"I've had lots of e-mail from readers since I wrote about the very proficient SR technology built into my new Tablet PC....

"While the technology has dramatically improved since the last time I experimented with it, I just don't see it replacing a mouse and keyboard. You need to master all the voice commands, be prepared for background noise to sometimes drown out you words and be patient with the inevitable lag between your voice command and the opening and closing and execution of files and programs. A keyboard and a mouse or stylus is just a lot quicker."

You can check it out at:
http://mikesejournal.com/archives/003087.php






Digital Video Expo West to Debut New Special Events and Panels

CMP Media's Digital Video Group has announced that it will debut a full schedule of industry-focused special events and panels at its 8th annual Digital Video Expo West conference and exhibition. Running at the Los Angeles Convention Center from December 5 - 10, Digital Video Expo has become one of the West Coast's most important conferences and exhibitions to provide information on cutting-edge tools, techniques and technologies to the professional digital video community.

"Digital Video Expo events have always featured first-class conferences and an exhibit hall populated by the industry's true innovators," said Colin Zink, Show Director "And now we've expanded our program to include a full program of free events and panels designed to bring the industry together, and educate them at the same time."

Free to all Digital Video Expo West attendees, the special events schedule includes:

• Welcome Reception (Wednesday, December 8th at 5 pm in the exhibit hall) -- An opportunity for industry pros to mingle and network.
• Keynote by Walter Murch (Thursday, December 9th from 6:00 - 7:00 pm) -- An educational and entertainment evening with this Academy Award winning editor.
• Adobe Master Classes (Wednesday, December 8th - Friday, December 10th) -- Training on Adobe's suite of pro video, graphics and audio applications
• Canon Learning Sessions (Wednesday, December 8th and Thursday, December 9th) -- Techniques, tips and tricks for the Canon XL2 camera.
• Sony Hands-On Classroom (Wednesday December 8th - Friday, December 10th) -- In-depth education on Vegas 5, DVD Architect 2, Acid Pro 5 and Sound Forge.
• Xtreme Video & Photo Track (Thursday December 9th and Friday, December 10th) -- Covering Action Sports Photography, Lighting for Extreme Still Photography, and Shooting Extreme Action Sports.
• Independent Digital Filmmaking (Wednesday, December 8th) -- Filmmakers discuss the importance of craft, story, as well as resources and technology.
• Digital Video In and Out Of the Classroom (Thursday, December 9th) -- Getting the most out of inexpensive tools to make in-school and after-school projects with students.
• Case Study: The Making of Invisible Mountains (Friday, December 10th) -- Writer/Director Richard Hoffman discusses the making of his digital film.
• Motion Graphics Los Angeles (MGLA) State of our Industry 2004 (Wednesday, December 8th) -- An industry-wide panel discussing the pivotal issues facing the broadcast design industry today.
• Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group (LAFCPUG) Meeting (Thursday, December 9th) -- Featuring Walter Murch, and Apple Computer's Pro Apps Team.

For additional information on Digital Video Expo West, including registration details, visit:
http://www.dvexpo.com/west






Don't Let Data Loss Ruin Your Holidays: Critical Digital Photo Housekeeping Pointers from Ontrack Data Recovery

This holiday season, chances are you'll be snapping up holiday memories using a digital camera instead of a traditional camera. According to the Photo Marketing Association(a), digital cameras outsold traditional cameras for the first time ever in 2003 and digital camera penetration is expected to top 42 percent of households by the end of 2004. With digital cameras predicted to be among the hottest-selling products again this holiday season, more folks will be pointing, clicking and downloading to computers and digital printers than ever before.

With that in mind, there are several critical photo housekeeping pointers you'll need to consider since, unlike the foolproof methods for saving and protecting traditional film photographs (i.e. the trusty old shoebox), any kind of digital storage - be it hard disks, CD-ROM, DVD or tapes - can and will eventually fail. The following tips from Ontrack Data Recovery, the world's largest data recovery company, will help keep your memories safe and the holiday spirit alive:

1. Download as you go - Worse than losing or damaging your digital camera is also losing every last image you took on your family's trip home for the holidays. Periodically (once a month) download new photos to your computer;

2. Back up, back up, back up - Even if you have a monster hard drive, make secondary backups on DVD, CD-ROM or other medium for extra safety of precious images;

3. Divide and conquer - Keep secondary backup copies in a different location from your primary backup. Preferably, these backups should be located away from your computer to protect against fire/flood;

4. View it or lose it - Check your digital photos at least once a year to be sure they're still readable. Stay current with technology so if in a few years your old computer, camera or media become discontinued or obsolete, you can transfer your photos to newer media before it breaks down;

5. Be kind to media - Storage media is small and fragile, so keep it stored in closed (zippered) compartments that also protect it from bending, flexing or crushing (i.e. your back pants pocket is not a good place to hold extra storage!);

6. Lock and go - If your removable camera media has a "write protect switch," make certain to enable the switch on your media as soon as you remove it from your camera. If your camera allows you to write protect/lock individual photos, this too will provide further safety from accidental data loss;

And perhaps most importantly...

7. You can depend on data recovery - Have the name, Web site and telephone number of a reliable and respected data recovery company on hand. In the event of some form of data meltdown, experts from an experienced data recovery company will be the only thing standing between you and having to tell your children there aren't any memories of your 2004 holidays because your hard drive crashed!

"Digital cameras represent the next phase of tracking the memories of our personal lives," said Jim Reinert, senior director of Software and Services for Ontrack Data Recovery. "Losing your digital camera photos is tantamount to losing a photo album in a fire - the difference is with the advances made in data recovery, there is no need for your memories to be lost."

Ontrack has performed digital photo recoveries for everyone from new parents that lost precious photos of their child's first moments to Polish explorer Krystof Wielicki's shots from an expedition in the Himalayas. Ontrack has years of experience recovering digital photos in their labs using state-of-the-art technology or through providing easy-to-use recovery software options for do-it-yourselfers.

For more information, visit:
http://www.ontrack.com

(a) Photo Industry 2004 Review & Forecast Report






Mac Night Owl: They Do Not See or Hear

Is there anything you can do? Probably not.

Here's the URL for today's commentary:

http://www.macnightowl.com/index.htm#hear






Gene & Grayson Steinberg meet "The Cult of Mac" author Leander Kahney, Craig Crossman and enter the "David Biedny Zone" this week on The Mac Night Owl LIVE

December 2, 2004: This week, Gene and Grayson meet Leander Kahney, author of "The Cult of Mac." In addition, you'll hear from pioneer computer talk show host Craig Crossman, host of "Computer America", and you will enter the "David Biedny Zone" for the first of a provocative two-part interview.

You can tune into the broadcast Thursday night from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern, at http://www.macradio.com/thursday . An archive of the show will be available for listening at your convenience within eight hours of the original broadcast.







Mac Night Owl: The Case For a Flash iPod

Yes, I'm going out on the limb here, but I don't care . . .

Here's the URL for today's commentary:

http://www.macnightowl.com/index.htm#ipod






ExtremeTech: Radeon X850 Platinum Edition Review

"Well, we certainly saw this coming. For the last several years, every generation of graphics card has followed pretty much the same pattern. About six months after a new graphics chip architecture is released, we get the "kicker" version. This clocked-up variant takes advantage of better manufacturing processes and slight redesigns of the silicon to squeeze out a few more MHz, and hopefully, a decent bit of extra performance. It's just about time we saw these pumped-up variants based on the GeForce 6800 line and the Radeon X800 series."

Read more at:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,,1733821,00.asp


***



Charles W. Moore


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