The following pages contain a semi-weekly column to help you with various subjects that I am interested in at the moment. There will be articles written on occasion as well as an archive of past articles. You will also find other articles submitted by others and the latest upgrades available for the current MacOS, which is 8.5. If there is ever anything you would like me to research, I'll add it to my list of projects and write my findings here (when I can find the time).
Apple eNews
December 3, 1998
In This Issue
* The Best-Selling Desktop Computer
* Have You Marked Your Calendar Yet?
* Sherlock Does Lunch
* Serve Up Your Internet Apps in Style
* Save Money on Mac Software/Hardware
* If You Build It ...
* AppleMasters Share Their Insights at CAUSE98 * I Hear You Knocking
* What's Black and White and ...
* Apple in Education
* Apple in the News
* Quick Takes
* The Best-Selling Desktop Computer *
No surprise here. It's iMac.
In October--for the third consecutive month--iMac stood head and shoulders above the competition as the best-selling desktop computer in PC superstores, according to ZD Market Intelligence.
And no need to scratch your head for the reasons.
It's easy. The easiest, in fact.
iMac is the easiest computer to set up.
So easy that a 7-year-old can have iMac up and running in less than 5 minutes. See for yourself in the Simplicity Shootout:
http://www.apple.com/imac/theater/simple.html
iMac is the easiest Internet computer of all time.
So easy that most customers, even if they've never used a computer before, can be cruising the web or sending e-mail 15 minutes (or less) after taking iMac out of the box.
And iMac is the easiest computer to own.
For as little as $29.99* a month--about what you probably spend each month for a few pizzas or a couple of movies--you can own and enjoy an iMac. That's very easy on the old budget.
iMac--why not give someone a best-seller this holiday season? It makes a great gift for your parents, your kids, or yourself.
For more information about iMac:
and
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/1998/dec/01bestsell.html
To learn how you can get an iMac for as little as $29.99* a month, visit:
* Based on the Estimated Retail Price of $1,299, tax and shipping not included. 67 monthly payments of $29.74. 14.89% Annual Percentage Rate, subject to increase or decrease. No payments due for the first 120 days subject to interest of $35.44 and loan origination fee of $54.13 charged on day 91. No prepayment penalty. On approved credit. Internet access requires an account with an Internet service provider (ISP), fees for which are not included.
* Have You Marked Your Calendar Yet? *
It's coming soon.
On the heels of the new year.
And it's going to be one of the best ever.
It's the 1999 Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
At this year's expo, you can hear Steve Jobs deliver a state-of-the-Mac address, outlining the many accomplishments of the Mac platform in 1998 (including, iMac, PowerBook G3, and Mac OS 8.5) and describing some of the things you can look forward to from Apple in this last year of the 20th century.
Steve will address show attendees on Tuesday, January 5, 1999, at the Moscone Center, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Hope to see you there.
For more information on this year's Macworld Expo, including a list of exhibitors whose new Macintosh products you're likely to see on the exhibition floor; descriptions of the conferences and workshops you can attend; and for travel and reservation information, visit:
http://www.macworldexpo.com/mwsf99/index.html
* Sherlock Does Lunch *
Guests are coming and you want to make something decidedly seasonal, something a bit more exotic than cookies decorated with candy canes or snowpersons. (It's okay to be PC when you're not computing.)
Where are you going to find some interesting holiday recipes with which to whet the appetites of your wassailing friends and family?
The Internet is likely to offer a veritable cornucopia of holiday recipes, and what better way to find those web sites? Sherlock, of course.
Just select Sherlock from the Apple menu, then:
Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, and Yahoo).
holiday recipes).
Sherlock will provide you with a list of dozens of helpful web sites with recipes for just about any meal or occasion--whether you're celebrating Chanukah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa.
Bon appetit.
More information on Sherlock is available at:
http://www.apple.com/sherlock/
Learn more about the other features of Mac OS 8.5:
http://www.apple.com/macos/upgrade/
It's used on some of the most popular--and ambitious--web sites you're likely to visit on the Internet. Sites like S&P Personal Wealth, the Wedding Network, the Disney Store Online, Music Boulevard, and the Apple Store.
It's WebObjects 4, a new version of the #1 application server on the market. WebObjects 4 provides a scalable tool you can use to build flexible, Java-based network applications, one that can make each customer who visits your site feel like one in a million instead of just one of millions.
What are the 10 key advantages WebObjects 4 offers?
http://www.apple.com/webobjects/splashpage.html
* Save Money on Mac Software/Hardware *
If you'll be purchasing an iMac, Macintosh PowerBook G3, or Power Macintosh G3 computer this holiday season, remember to take advantage of the Super Savings Book. Available online and from all Authorized Apple Resellers, the Super Savings Book contains coupons you can redeem for cash rebates and premiums when you purchase such hot Macintosh products as:
In all, there more than 60 coupons in the Super Savings Book that offer a total redemption value of over $2,000.
You can take a look at the coupons online at:
http://www.apple.com/promo/coupons/
Or you can pick up a Super Savings Book of coupons at any Authorized Apple Reseller. Find one at:
* If You Build It ... *
You'll have to take care of it.
That's the premise of the much-anticipated Yoot Tower, a new simulation game from SEGA and Yoot Seito, the ingenious developer of Sim Tower, a best-selling Macintosh game.
Yoot Tower allows you to construct your very own towering downtown edifice. Fill it with tenants, and you have a tidy little profit center--if, that is, you manage your property correctly. But what if the elevators break down? Or the paint starts to peel? Or the tenant in 9B throws another wild party? It's your tower: Will it thrive or topple?
You'll find more information about Yoot Tower at:
By the way, while it's available for Macintosh today, those using other desktop computers will have to wait until the elevator reaches their floor.
Rolling Stone magazine calls him the "industry's leading evangelist for the marriage of music and technology." He's David Mash, he's been using the Macintosh for both music technology and education since 1985, and he's coming to Seattle as a featured participant in the Apple Hospitality Event at CAUSE98, one of the most important events of the year for technology consumers in higher education.
David is one of three AppleMasters who will be on hand Tuesday, December 8, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., to speak with you about how they use Apple products and technology to teach and delight. Joining David will be Jim Ludtke, the well-known video animator; Harry Marks, Emmy-award-winning broadcast and video designer; and Peter Bergman, educator and designer of the highly amusing faux-game "Pyst."
For information about how you can participate in the Apple Hospitality Event at CAUSE98, visit:
http://www.apple.com/education/hed/resources/cause98/
And if you'd like to learn more about the AppleMasters who will be in attendance, take a look at the following web pages:
David Mash:
http://applemasters.apple.com/masters/davidmash/intro/intro.html
Jim Ludtke:
http://applemasters.apple.com/masters/jludtke/intro/intro.html
Harry Marks:
http://applemasters.apple.com/masters/harrymarks/intro/intro.html
Peter Bergman:
http://applemasters.apple.com/masters/pbergman/apple/apple1.html
* I Hear You Knocking *
The next time you create a QuickTime VR panorama, why not add sound to your movie? You can do so with SoundsaVR, an application developed by the Squamish Media Group.
SoundsaVR allows you to "import sampled music, voice-overs, sound effects, MIDI tracks, or any audio file format supported by QuickTime 3" (such as WAV, AIFF, MIDI, or AU) "and place them into existing panoramas to add a new dimension to QuickTime VR."
The first application of its kind to take advantage of the "wired sprite technology" Apple developed for QuickTime 3, SoundsaVR can be used to develop guided real estate tours, enhanced (music) CD tracks, web sites, architectural walk-throughs, games, and product advertising.
To see some examples of how SoundsaVR has already been used and to get more information about the application, visit:
http://www.smgVR.com/ssVRmain.html
* What's Black and White and ... *
You know the rest. It's the newspaper. And this one--read all over the beautiful state of Maine--is produced with the help of a collection of brand new Macintosh computers.
While they're still in the process of incorporating the over 200 Mac systems that will help editors write copy, graphic artists design pages, photographers sharpen images, and reporters maintain links with their city desk, the Portland Press Herald does not at all miss the ironmongery they used of old.
Read more about power publishing at the Portland Press Herald:
http://www.apple.com/publishing/printing/powerpub/
* Apple in Education *
How do you determine if the implementation of technology in your school actually benefits students and helps teachers and administrators improve the overall quality of PreK-12 education?
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) endeavors to develop standards so that teachers, technology planners, and others involved in developing and employing curricula can seamlessly incorporate technology into their daily instructional models.
The recommendations they develop can be found in the new National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students, which Apple, working together with the ISTE, has brought online, making it easier for educators across the country to access and utilize them:
Debbie runs a Windows 98 math application to complete her algebra lesson. And when she's finished, she writes her English assignment using AppleWorks.
How many computers does she use? Just one, but because it's a Mac, she can run all the Macintosh applications in the world. And by running either Virtual PC or Real PC--two Windows emulation applications for Macintosh--she can use virtually all of the Windows applications in the world, as well.
How much money do you think a school district could save if it only had to buy one computer platform to run the two most popular operating systems in the world? And the tens of thousands of applications available for both of them?
That's a question they must have asked at the Pattonville School District in St. Louis, Missouri, the "School system where 'iMacs cost a dime'":
http://www.maccentral.com/news/9811/24.school.shtml
* Apple in the News *
If you're thinking of getting someone on your "deserves the best" list a computer this holiday season, Dr. Mac says to "do the right thing and get 'em a Mac."
chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story.mpl/content/chronicle/tech/today/drmac.html
(Drop "http://www." into the long URL, above, to visit the site and read the article. BTW, the Houston Chronicle will ask you to register before granting access. Registering, which seems to be a growing trend for online newspapers, is free and just takes a few minutes.)
Why do iMac, Macintosh PowerBook G3 computers, and the Apple Studio Display show up on so many TV shows and appear in so many full-length motion pictures? Because "in Hollywood, Apple is the king of cool."
http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/st/ty0122_1.htm
"I'd swear on a stack of Bibles that [Mac OS 8.5] is four times faster," said Mark Miller, a senior systems engineer at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center Information Systems Department. "Anybody that has an iMac should get 8.5."
http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/1123/fcw-revMac-11-23-98.html
Macworld recently compared the 300-MHz and 333-MHz models of the Power Macintosh G3. Which one would be better for your needs? The envelope, please:
http://macworld.zdnet.com/1998/11/22/latest.cpu.html
James Lileks of the Star Tribune likes Mac OS 8.5. In "If Apple's new OS 8.5 fits, you must upgrade," he maintains that "it looks better, feels better, sounds better, acts better," and, he says, "speaking from experience, I can testify that it's much faster than 8.1."
http://webserv1.startribune.com/cgi-bin/stOnLine/article?thisStory=60694361
(When you visit the site of the Star Tribune, you can brush up on all of the events in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
* Quick Takes *
Who's behind "A Bug's Life"? As you'll discover in "It's a Small World," it's the same folks who brought you "Toy Story": Pixar Animation Studios. And they're not only animators extraordinaire; they're also Mac users.
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/features/bugslife/pixarstory.html
Why would a bunch of kids hang out at the Convenient Food Mart? They're not just doing face time and they're not power snacking, either. They're at the Food Mart to surf the web. And, if they keep their grades up, they can do their surfing for free.
http://www.eport.net/11199801.html
Do you use Adobe Photoshop to create graphics for print, multimedia, or web-based publications? Did you know that Extensis just upgraded PhotoTools, its package of special-effects tools for Photoshop? Bruce Fraser recently reviewed PhotoTools 3.0 for eMedia Weekly, and you can read his appraisal of the package at:
http://www.emediaweekly.com/1998/11/29/phototools.html
What gift options are available for the Mac owners in your life? Choices abound, as you can see in "Mac Gift-Giving Ideas":
http://machardware.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa113098.htm
In fact, you can surf over to "Download.com for the Mac" and do some shopping for your Mac sweetie online:
Look for the next issue of Apple eNews during the week of Dec. 14.
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Event dates are subject to change. Some products, programs, or promotions are not available outside the U.S. Visit your local Apple site or call your local authorized Apple reseller for more information. Prices are estimated retail prices and are listed in U.S. dollars. Product specifications are subject to change.
Copyright 1998 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple permits reproduction of the contents of Apple eNews for publicity and promotional purposes. Apple, AppleWorks, Mac, Macintosh, PowerBook, Power Macintosh, and QuickTime are registered trademarks, and Apple eNews, iMac, and Sherlock are trademarks, of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. WebObjects is a trademark of NeXT Software, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither a recommendation nor an endorsement.
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