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MNJ Archive, Nov. 26-30
-- Apple has bumped its Airport software to version 2.0v1.1. Improvements in the new version are not available from Apple just yet...[posted at 3:02 p.m. PDT] -- I spent some time today playing around with the new multiple protocal chat client, Proteus 1.02, and it looks like a good start. It has crashed on me a few times and I am not sure how much I would rely on it right now, but it has a great user interface and highly customizable user preferences designed in a panel much like the System Preferences application. Nice touch...[posted at 2:42 p.m. PDT]
Noted from Versiontracker.com...
- Watson 1.01 - Much like Sherlock, a set of tools to gather information off the Net without using a Web browser
It looks like I contributed some small part to the next upgrade of OS X. According to an e-mail I received this morning from Bare Bones Software's Rich Siegel, Apple confirmed to him that a bug I thought was related to BBEdit was indeed a problem with Mac OS X. Apple has fixed the display bug and the fix should be included in the next release of OS X. No solid word on when that update will be released, but Siegel says he has a feeling it could be soon...
-- UPDATE: I was able to download the update to Apple DVD Player 3.0.1 by following the link on VersionTracker.com. It still isn't showing up in my Software Update panel...[posted at 3:03 p.m. PDT] -- MacFixIt is also reporting that DVD Player 3.0.1 is available for download through the Software Update panel in System Preferences, but so far I am not seeing it...[posted at 2:54 p.m. PDT] -- Apple has updated the OS X version of AppleWorks to AppleWorks X 6.2.2, and according to the update page: "This free update of AppleWorks adds frequently requested features, including the ability to read and write Microsoft Word and Excel files, enhanced formatting tools, faster downloading of Internet templates, improved networking compatibility and more."...[posted at 2:40 p.m. PDT] -- Rumors are not something I like to dwell on, but a couple may be of interest to OS X users who are trying to get real work done with their Macs in this new age. The first and most prevalent is pondering about the status of Eudora for OS X. The current beta version, 5.1b16, hasn't been updated in nearly six months, and so far every time that someone contacts Qualcomm about the status of the program, they get no confirmation that a new beta is in the works. The current OS X beta of Eudora is functional, but slow and buggy, and the delay in releasing a new beta version is bad news for longtime Eudora users who want to keep using the program under OS X. For those users, like me, it is hard to face the prospects of leaving Eudora behind. I have already made the leap and jumped off the Eudora bandwagon. I have no inside info, but the mumblings from Qualcomm don't make me confident at all that Eudora will ever be updated for OS X. And now that so many e-mail users are either settling for the more limited capabilities of Mail or opting to pay up to $500 for Microsoft Office v. X and its included native version of Entourage, there is not a lot of motivation for an upgrade to Eudora. Maybe Qualcomm has seen the writing on the wall and decided to leave the Mac behind... The other big rumor is about the status of a native OS X version of Palm Desktop. The latest comments from Palm led everyone to believe that there would be a native version of Palm Desktop available by the end of 2001, but now it appears that it will be sometime in the first quarter of 2002 before the organizer application and native Palm hotsynching make the leap to OS X. Again, there is no definite word on this, but apparently folks at Microsoft and individual users who keep inquiring about an OS X version of Palm Desktop are being told that hotsyching and Palm Desktop are being pushed back. Fortunately, there are viable solutions for getting around the limitations of Eudora 5.1b16 and the missing OS X version of Palm Desktop. I have made the switch back to PowerMail from CTM Development ($49, or $29 for a upgrade) for my heavy-duty e-mail use, which I will write about very soon in Mac Net Journal. And if you want a native organizer application with hotsynch capabilities (although still only available through Classic), then you can still use Palm Desktop under Classic or opt to try another organizer program like Personal Organizer 4.0 from Chronos ($60, or $39 for upgrade)...[posted at 1:05 p.m. PDT] -- PCMCIA/ATA PowerBook driver for OS X - Developers wanted [Insanely Great Mac]...[posted at 12:17 p.m. PDT] -- Derrick Story ponders what he calls the "New Mac User" in an article that asks for feedback on the O'Reilly Network Web site. Story and his colleagues keep seeing more and more Macs at geeky computer conferences, and he wonders if there is bound to be a growing split between traditional Mac users and those who have been drawn to OS X by its Unix underpinnings. Do you see a split developing? If so, offer Derrick some feedback and he promises to write a follow up story. For my part, I do see a split. Most of my friends are still Windows users, but of those who use Macs, none other than my wife and I have made the switch to OS X...[posted at 12:11 p.m. PDT]
Noted from Versiontracker.com...
- AppleWorks X 6.2.2 - Update to the AppleWorks application
An inch or so of wet snow greeted me this morning, and that combined with a couple of other projects kept me from doing my normal morning updates to MNJ...
-- WorkingMac adds an overview of Powerpoint X to its series of reviews of the components of Microsoft Office v. X...[posted at 5:41 p.m. PDT] -- Micromat has updated Drive 10, adding support for additional hardware, OS X 10.1 and new repair routines. Drive 10v1.0.3 is available as a free upgrade for licensed Drive 10 users...[posted at 5:28 p.m. PDT]
Noted from Versiontracker.com...
- Ugly Multiclip 1.0 - Shareware app that provides multiple clipboards
I took a few minutes to start organizing Mac Net Journal this morning. I am going to archive each week's entries, something I have been meaning to set up for some time now, in an effort to cut down the load time for looking at Mac Net Journal. This should make more sense than having an entire month's entries in one long page...
-- Bare Bones Software has updated its $20 shareware utility Super Get Info to version 1.0.5. Changes include command line access, the ability to set a new keyboard shortcut for the application and integration with both Drag Thing and BBEdit 6.5...[posted at 2:21 p.m. PDT] -- Since I am doing very little reporting on issues with Microsoft Office v. X (which may change if I decide to buy the office suite in the coming month or so), I would like to point out the reader reports and resources at Macintouch about issues with Office v. X...[posted at 9:27 a.m. PDT] -- There is apparently a new virus spreading through e-mail over the last few days since Thanksgiving. According to a report on CNET, " The virus uses a vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.01 and 5.5 to automatically execute itself on PCs that don't have a patched Web browser." The new variant of the BadTrans worm is detailed by Symantec, and from what I can tell, other than meaning you may see some odd attachments on your Mac, it poses no direct threat to users of Mac OS 9.x or OS X...[posted at 9:24 a.m. PDT] -- MacWindows offered an interesting note in yesterday's news that Word X cannot save files with long filenames. Although OS X supports filenames longer than 31 characters, Word X is limited to saving files with names of 31 characters or less...[posted at 9:17 a.m. PDT]
Noted from Versiontracker.com...
- SimpleImageX 3.3.1 - A basic image manipulation tool that works with most image formats
I'm back, after taking a few days off around the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. Sorry for the lack of updates. I was working with a dialup connection from my in-laws' home and didn't want to spend any more time on the Internet than necessary... Now, back to the news! And my fingers are crossed for some major software updates and new things to play with between now and Christmas! -- Rob
-- John Welch from Workingmac.com offers an overview of Word X as part of his package of reviews of the components of Microsoft Office v. X today. I haven't written about Office v. X much yet for a couple of reasons. First, I cannot afford to spring for the upgrade right yet. Second, I am opposed to blindly moving to any Microsoft product. For years I didn't have a copy of Word, and even now I have an old copy of Word 98 that I use under Classic when I absolutely have to. I always prefer to use another word processor - AppleWorks, Nisus Writer, TextEdit, etc. - before springing for Word. And this time is no different...[posted at 4:34 p.m. PDT] -- Sig Software updates Drop Drawers X to 1.5.8. The update fixes bugs in the OS X version...[posted at 1:19 p.m. PDT] -- Want a simple way to turn file sharing on or off for a specific folder under OS X 10.1.1? Check out Sharing is..., an AppleScript offered by Ethan Wilde...[posted at 9:08 a.m. PDT]
Noted from Versiontracker.com...
- PowerMail X 3.1b3 - Update to the commercial e-mail application
November 2001 archives - 1-4 | 5-11 | 12-18 | 19-25 | 26-30
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