“I’m going to Graceland, Graceland
Memphis Tennessee, I’m going to Graceland.”
Paul Simon.
“The curse of human nature is imagination.
When a long-anticipated moment comes,
we always find it pitched a note too low.”
Gertrude Atherton
I’ve been to Graceland ladies and gentlemen. I’ve finally been to an actual Apple Retail store. For those of you who’ve not made it to Apple’s equivalent of Graceland, this story is for you.
Ever since the first Apple Retail stores originally opened like all Mac users who’ve been to Best Buy or CompUSA (prior to Apple installing their own sales people) I’ve been waiting to visit one myself. With the recent openings of the Apple Super stores in New York and LA along with my recent story on why I want to work at an Apple Retail store had definitely reawakened my desire to walk in to a bona fide Apple Retail store.
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Though I’ve worked the last five years for a top PC manufacturer, I also have a ton of retail experience. I have something on the order of a decade and then some. Retail is hard. You have to be nice to people that sometimes treat you like dirt. While others expect you to wait on them hand and foot while 30 other customers around them also need your assistance. While others play dumb, every time they come in, just so they don’t have to do the simplest of things themselves.
You have to smile even when you’re not all that happy. You’re on your feet for hours and hours at a time. You have to hear the same questions from your customers over and over and over. You do the same tasks, over and over and over. You have to be nice to bigots and friendly people alike. You have to put up with borderline abuse at times and all in the name of a sale.
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Enterprise Computing: To go where no Mac has gone before!
Business analysts and pundits have been saying for years that Apple needs to push into corporate and enterprise computing market if they ever expect to regain market share. Now that Apple has announced Xserve, Apple’s powerful rack mounted server, web sites like eWeek, Business Week, and much of the Mac web has made a big deal about how Xserve signals Apple’s return to Corporate and Enterprise computing. If you read many of those stories you’ll see a theme that repeats throughout many of them. Xserve, though a very serious server configuration and quite powerful, will most likely not gain Apple much market share in the enterprise market.
Well, DUH! I could have told you that. What those stories fail to recognize is that the Xserve is only a small part of the story.
What’s really going to gain Apple market share in the corporate and enterprise markets? Pssssst, lean in close. I’m going to whisper this next part. It’s not the hardware it’s the ssssooofffftware. And if you are one of those analysts that sentence also includes a “dummy!” on the end.
For years, Mac users have been second-class citizens when it comes to corporate networks, or worse, we’ve been locked out entirely. Forbidden from even being considered for use on the network. Supposedly, Macs couldn’t connect, didn’t run the corporate approved software, weren’t secure, addax, yaddah, yaddah, IT techs would drone on and on, like a broken record.
It’s frustrating because with only a few add-ons or a few services turned on; Macs are truly useful on virtually any network. Just look at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories where thousands of Macs have peacefully coexisted on a huge enterprise network. It’s a complete myth that Macs can’t be used on a network.
While I was working at a PC manufacturer in their IT department, I never could resist hooking up my PowerBook to the network, running OS 8.6Ð9.x. That was ok for surfing the intranet and the Internet but I couldn’t connect to shares or other PCs, it was a Windows enterprise with no Mac services available. Yes, software like Thursby’s DAVE would have made it more useful but in my mind, that was never a very elegant solution. Besides, out in the corporate world, additional cost would only count more against Macs.
Naturally, when OS X came out, I instantly loaded it onto my PowerBook and took it to work. Because I regularly connected to Unix boxes on site, I naturally tried telnetting from my Mac and by Jove! It worked! But as far as getting the “corporate” work done, well I was still stuck with my PC. I didn’t give up though I just bided my time.
Though Apple never said anything official, they did hint that companies had been expressing interest in OS X as a corporate computing platform. Finally the corporate world would have an alternative to Windows. Apple never let on more than that. If pressed, Steve Jobs would say that Apple would continue to focus on creating great consumer products. That if they focused on creating great computers, that the users would create a demand for Apple in the corporate market. Which is exactly how the Apple ][ made it’s way into the business world. First purchased for home use pretty soon people realized how they could be used at work. First they were bought with petty cash or out of personal funds and brought to work to run VisiCalc. Even IBM’s “PC” first made inroads into the corporate world, much in this same way.
I just waited. I waited for Apple to keep on making great computers and to perfect OS X. They knew what and where they had to make Mac work.
When OS X 10.1 came out with SMB connectivity built in, I was thrilled. My PowerBook was the first without a floppy drive. I of course had to buy one, not so much for my use but for sharing data with PCs. Obviously though, a floppy simply cannot take care of everything. As part of what I did, I would occasionally have to work with large files, way too large to fit onto a floppy disk. When 10.1 came out, well, it was a godsend because I could hook my PowerBook up to the network, type in a path and connect to my team’s file share, to my own PC and even my team mates’ PCs. It ROCKED!
During that time I tried over and over again to write a column about the possibility of switching over to a Mac entirely to do my corporate computing. It never happened, I couldn’t complete that column ’cause the Mac OS wasn’t complete. Don’t get me wrong. The Mac has always been a viable platform for getting work done. More than viable, Macs have always had a much better total cost of ownership and their ease of use makes the return on investment better than PCs. What the Mac and OS X wasn’t ready for was interoperability on a Windows enterprise. 10.1 brought us so much closer that I was chomping at the bit for it.
Recently, when Steve Jobs showed off Jaguar to Developers at WWDC we saw what Apple had hinted at but had never confirmed. They are indeed going back after the corporate market. Jaguar is so packed full of enterprise networking capabilities it isn’t even funny. When Jaguar comes out you’ll be able to load it on any supported Mac and put it on an enterprise network, no fuss, no muss, just equal footing for your Mac, finally.
Think about that for a minute, total equality for Macs and let it sink in. doesn’t that feel good?
OS X 10.1 already has SMB connectivity. SMB or Serve Message Block is the basis for Windows networking. When I’d type in the path to a share on my PowerBook I’d get a log in dialog box asking for my Enterprise Account name along with my password. Tadahh! I’d be connected. It mounted on my desktop just like it was any other Mac share.
TCP/IP printing from OS X is already just as easy. Easier than the PCs I used at my work. I never had to type in a network path of a printer. I’d just type in the name of the printer and bam! I could print to it. These two features alone made using a Mac on a Windows enterprise network almost possible. But there was still some interoperability that was lacking.
Jaguar is going to expand these existing features. First, SMB connectivity will be expanded to full SMB/CIFS browsing and sharing. That means that not only will you be able to connect to network servers and PC shares but also be able to connect to folders you share on your Mac. You’ll be able to browse the network just like a Windows box does and connect easy as pie. Later I’ll talk about how much easier this will be with another feature of Jaguar.
Maybe you don’t want to bring a Mac into work; all you want to do is have the ability to telecommute from time to time without buying or begging a Wintel box from work. The problem is your IT guys tell you that you can’t ’cause Macs won’t work with Exchange server and beyond that, there is no secure way to connect to the network.
HA! Your IT guys won’t be able to use that excuse any longer! Yep, Jaguar will add not just functionality with Exchange servers but will also support VPN, AKA Virtual Private Networks. No additional software needed! Right out of the box, Jaguar gives you full and equal access to your corporate network from home! Sweet! No more droning excuses from IT that Macs can’t connect securely from outside the firewall! YES!
Soon, if you’d like to be able to telecommute, if you are home with a sick child, or if you just want to check your e-mail before heading into work, it’s all good to go from your new iMac with Jaguar! Apple has got you covered!
Before getting laid off from my job in the IT world, I noticed a huge influx of instant messaging being used in the business world. Instant messaging had gone from the sole domain of AOL junkies to being a powerful communication tool. Suppose you’re on the phone with a client, you need to double-check the specs on a new product. No worries just fire up your instant messenger and chat to one of the engineers and they’ll give you the scoop. You don’t have to put your client on hold, you don’t have to “get back to them” you don’t have to wait for someone to check their e-mail and best of all, you don’t have to go wandering around your offices trying to track someone down. You just quick ask them a question via your instant messenger.
Apple has that covered. AOL has let Apple build a 100% AIM compatible instant messaging program called iChat. Apple is the very first to do so with AOL’s blessing. And what’s best of all, Apple’s version will build you a buddy list based on other users on your local area network! It’s all done for you. Leave it to Apple.
These additions are just a few of the features that Jaguar will add to the Mac OS. They’re the most important for giving the Mac equal footing on an enterprise network but it only gets better. What makes all of the above all that more powerful is one more feature that Apple is introducing with Jaguar. It’s called Rendezvous.
Remember how I wrote earlier Apple was going to make connecting on a network easier? Rendezvous is the technology that will do that for you. Rendezvous goes out on an IP network and will automatically discover other network aware devices. Everything from your neighbor’s shared folder of MS Word and Excel documents to network printers and file servers. You won’t have to type in a path or nothing! You’re Mac will track them down for you and you’ll be able to connect to them any time you’re ready. Heck, Rendezvous will even make it possible for you to print to your neighbor’s shared ink jet printer!
iChat’s ability to seek out a local buddy list uses this Rendezvous technology. It’s going to make networking a Mac so easy it isn’t even funny! In fact, it’ll make PC users jealous!
Yes, Xserve has been getting a lot of press lately for finally giving Apple credibility in the corporate enterprise market but it’s Jaguar that’s going to go make the difference. All we’ll have to do is show off our Mac’s usability, bring our PowerBooks into work, dynamically discovering shares, servers, and printers on the network, building local area buddy lists via iChat or finally just connecting from home via VPNs and to collect our e-mail from Exchange servers, we’ll see many a PC user peering over their cubicle walls and thinking to themselves, “Why doesn’t my Windows computer do that?”
Jaguar promises to finally give Mac users equality in the corporate world. It will also shut the mouths of all those IT Techs and all their excuses as to why we can’t use a Mac on “their” network. If enough of us insist on using Macs, well, Apple’s Xserve is right there when a corporation will finally decide to support Macs on their network. Just remember that it’s the Software, not the hardware that’s going to make it all possible.
How Steve Jobs got Microsoft to pay for Jaguar’s Development.
Mac OS X has already become a hit with many consumers. Now, with Jaguar, Apple is about to make their systems as easy to adopt in the corporate world as they have been for consumers to do at home.
Jaguar, Apple’s next major update to OS X, is going to be packed so full of juicy networking compatibility for the corporate market, it isn’t even funny. By adding VPN connections, Exchange Server compatibility for e-mail services, the ability to hook up to any IP network and dynamically seek out available shares, servers and printers without typing in long and involved paths, the ability to share files from a Mac to Window’s users, to visually browse a windows network; suddenly there’s virtually nothing standing in the way of using a Mac on an enterprise network. Except for IT, that is.
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Due to the high-tech slowdown, I’m out of a job. I’ve been busting my butt daily to try to find one yet I keep dreaming of the perfect job. Continue reading »
“Welcome Bob. Please, have a seat. My name is Athena and I run the IT department around here. I’d be your boss if you were hired on for this position. Let me first tell you about us and ensure that you’d like to work for us before we go much further.” She leaned against the corner of her desk.
Recently, I wrote an article on how Apple is following Pixar’s roadmap for success called “Geri’s Game.” It was a look at how I believe Steve Jobs is applying what he’s learned at Pixar to Apple’s business strategy. Now I’d like to take a look at some of the new features of OS X 10.2 Jaguar that Apple recently showed off at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference, WWDC. ‘Cause I think those features might be revealing how Apple is also going to steal a page from Microsoft’s playbook and use it to continue Apple’s success.
Microsoft is the undisputed master of gaining market share. Even if Bill Gates doesn’t know what market share is, they sure know how to gain it. I’m wondering if Apple might be using Microsoft’s own strategy against them? If you step back and look at some of the features of Jaguar, it seems to be pointing towards that very thing.
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Robin Williams, the author of The Little Mac Book and multiple other books about Macs and desktop publishing is known for saying, “You’re attitude is your life.” I would tend to agree with her. How you approach life in attitude does truly effect how your life is lived. It might also explain why Macs are easier to use.
His name was Johnny. He was Windows geek. He was helping me by setting up dual monitors on my Windows NT 4.0 workstation. Talk about attitude. Though his name was Johnny, he was not nearly as friendly as his name would seem. How does that happen? People with friendly names turn out to be extremely hostile?
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Start saving your nickels and dimes, ’cause this column is going to cost you.
Have you been to MacFixIt lately? Well, if you want to figure out what’s conflicting with that QuickTime extension on your Mom’s iMac, you’re going to have to pay.
Want the inside scoop from MacOS Rumors? Well if you “donate” to them, they’ll put you on their Sponsor’s e-mail list! Wow, donate? You mean rumors are now Tax Deductible?
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Recently on the MyMac.com e-mail list Ralph J. Luciani one our terrific writers gave us a great heads up on a whole special report that BusinessWeek.com had posted. Not one to pass up a chance to read about Apple, especially from the business press I anxiously clicked the link Ralph had supplied.
After reading all of the articles, I came away really irked by the whole thing. There were a some glaring mistakes made by a couple of the writers and it made me realize that Apple may never get a fair shake from the business press.
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Prologue: Continue reading »
I’m not an unintelligent person, at work I have root access to the UNIX machines, I’ve outfitted my desktop Mac with RAM and Video upgrades. I even installed a SCSI card and drive and was able to make it work in OS X. Some of you may know that I’m an accomplished public speaker and can speak in front a live audience, without notes even! I’ve written and been published here at MyMac.com. I can discuss the philosophical possibilities of quantum physics, find extension conflicts in Classic Mac OS as well as hack OS X at the root level. But if you ask me to begin a home improvement project you had best not even be in the same county ’cause the odds are, it’s going to blow!
How Apple is following Pixar’s blueprint of success
Some of us may still be wondering when Apple will break out of its niche market and gain a bit more market share. It isn’t that Apple has to turn the tables on Microsoft’s 95% of the computer market. I’d just like it if I could pull out my PowerBook and not have two thirds of the people at the table point, laugh and ask, “Do they still make Macs?” I’d like it if Apple could send out the press release that Citigroup or maybe General Motors is replacing all of their corporate computers with Macs. Something that would make the PC world sit-up and take notice that the Macintosh is a serious business platform.
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This man’s wish for a MacWorld San Francisco Announcement
Not long ago Steve Jobs was interviewed and he said that he was in no rush to enter the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) market. He had noticed two things about it. First thing was, like the PC market, it was becoming a commodity market. The second thing he noticed was that hardly anyone was still bringing PDAs to meetings. After reading that I too noticed that nobody was bringing their PDAs to meetings. Most of the folks I know that have one never seem to use them. Graffiti is no match for good old pen and paper, besides a Palm screen seems too small to take real notes to me.
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Good day Gentlemen,
I am writing to express my extraordinary dissatisfaction upon learning that one of my Macintosh computers will not be fully supported by OS X. I own a PowerBook G3, Bronze Keyboard. I purchased this computer in 1999 for the singular purpose of being able to make the transition to OS X. When this product was introduced, it was with the understanding that it would be a supported product for running Mac OS X. Now I have learned that video development in OSX for this PowerBook and many other supported Macintosh computers is no longer being planned. (Please see Apple Care Knowledge Base article, 106154.)
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MoniSwitch2USB
Company: Dr. Bott LLC
Estimated Price: $139
http://www.drbott.com
If you’ve been using Macintoshes for any length of time, there’s a good chance you own more than one Mac. You may also have a set up a simple AppleTalk network in your home or maybe you recently moved up to Ethernet. The only problem with this is the network is most likely contained on a single desk. That single desk also has two (or more) of everything, two mice, two keyboards, too little room, and too much clutter!
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Pervasive Computing
Imagine, if you will, giving up your Mac. Imagine having no smiling face at Continue reading »
boot up to greet you as you sit down to start your project or write an email.
Imagine no “Sosumi” sound or error beep when you click outside the dialogue
box. No drag and drop. No “Think Different.” Imagine your Mac being replaced
by the new catch phrase in the high-tech industry, “Pervasive Computing.”
Look into My Quartz Crystal Ball
There is something that I’ve been wondering about MacOS X (read 10). It has to do with Apple’s decision to base OS X’s screen imaging on something called Quartz. What is Quartz, you might ask? Well, it’s based on Adobe’s PDF format. It offers superior graphics and text handling. But it is this fa*ct that it is based on Adobe’s PDF format that I find most interesting. Working with Adobe with the implementation of Quartz Apple has made sure that they will not be working in obscurity.
Quartz will in all inevitability become something quite leading edge and since it is built into the OS, you will find that there will be better integration with other products and services not only from Adobe, but also from other companies that adopt and use the technology. By working with Adobe Apple has, in essence, assured that it won’t be left behind with this screen drawing and imaging technology.
That is important in and of itself. Apple has learned the importance of mass adoption of any technology it uses. Why are Macs using PCI Slots and PC 100 RAM these days? Why are they using TCP/IP? Because they are industry standards.
Working with Adobe makes definite sense. Will we see that Quartz incorporates not only Open GL but also QuickDraw technologies? I think we will. I was reading that Stone Design has a program called “Create” that they had written for Mac OS X Server. You may remember that Mac OS Server has Display PostScript (DPS). However, the consumer version of OS X and the next Server version will be using Quartz.
Stone Design has decided to completely rewrite “Create” for Mac OS X from scratch. And guess what? They said it was much easier than expected. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe it has to do with the incorporation of OpenGL and QuickDraw? Kind the best of both worlds? Could be. Now of course this is pure speculation on my part, and I’m sure that if anyone in the know reads this, they may clue me in, either to my proximity or complete missing of the mark.
Ok, so we know that Quartz is powerful, and easy to write code for, what else does it have? Well, how would you like to place a PDF file directly into your email? Got a series of photographs you’d like to include in your email to a friend? No problem, just place the PDF you made of the digital photos from your birthday party complete with captions in your email.
Even more importantly, as programs are written with Quartz in mind, you will see a definite blurring of the lines between Quartz and PDF. What if any document you created on your Mac could instantly be saved as a PDF? What if anything displayed on your screen could be captured as a PDF, and instantly accessible by anyone on the web? Remember that weird error message you got while trying to install a program? Well, through a simple keyboard shortcut you could capture it, place it into an email or on a web page for your favorite Mac Guru to review. He could analyze it and send you recommendations about it and how to solve the problem.
But Quartz gets better.
What does PDF stand for? Portable Document Format. What does Merriam Webster http://www.m-w.com define a document to be? One of the meanings I found was “a writing conveying information.” And what does that include? Well, brochures, reports, spreadsheets, a thesis, a short story, a book, novel, or even a textbook.
Textbook?
There have been 160,000 iBooks pre-ordered. A goodly number of them are for students. What if Apple were to purchase say… oh ,I don’t know, the rights to electronically publish every textbook made by say… MacMillan publishing? Who knows, maybe even the rights to several other publishers of textbooks.
What if Apple included either in let’s say, AppleWorks, the ability to call up these PDF-based books via a centralized Mac running OS X Server? A student could be sitting in class and download the chapters he needs to read before heading home. He could download a searchable, printable, and easily displayed copy of just what he needs. Nothing to carry home but his iBook. Not bad, eh?
With his AirPort card installed, he doesn’t even need to “get wired” to complete this transaction. He simply logs onto the school’s server with his unique school ID and downloads the information. When he registered for the class, the royalty for the textbook automatically gets registered in a database. And if Johnny forgets to download his homework before leaving school? No problem. He can log onto the school’s server and download in an instant from home. No fuss, no muss, and no more, “My dog ate my textbook” excuses.
Think about it. A textbook-less school. One that each and every single textbook is on a Mac Server running Mac OS X. Each child using their iBook for the purpose of accessing the information they need for each and every class.
No more books that have to be renewed every few years for the school. If a mistake is found in the textbook, MacMillan simply downloads the corrected version to the school at no extra charge. No reprints, no addendum, nothing to get lost or photocopied over and over again. Simply the most up to date information for that textbook. The amount of storage needed by the school would decrease dramatically! No more shelves, no more storage closets devoted to books that will be turned out in just a few years due to federal regulations.
Guess what else? It won’t be long before Amazon.com goes out of business. Why? Well guess who will get into the direct marketing of their products? You bet your boots every single publishing house in the business. Much cheaper to set up a bunch of servers containing not only the hottest best sellers for download over the internet, but also every single book they have ever published than it is to print them and distribute them. No more “out of print” books. They all exist and are available for purchase via the internet. Xanadu here we come!
And not only will your Mac display these natively on your screen but there will be options to print them to your full duplexing printer complete with binding for those of us that still prefer to sit on the beach and read our favorite prose completely unwired and undisturbed.
Heck, even your favorite monthly, My Mac, could be published in a magazine format ready for download each month for you to throw into your briefcase, portfolio, or to keep on your Mac for your reading pleasure.
This could be what the Mac is coming to. I’d sure love it. Wouldn’t you?
Look a little deeper into my quartz crystal ball and maybe you’ll see what I see.
Bob McCormick
mccnow@rocketmail.com
MacDrive 98 3.0
Company: Media4 Productions
Estimated Price: $65.00
http://www.media4.com
File and Disk Translation Utility for IBM Compatible PCs
Finally, somebody has made a utility that makes using your Mac-formatted disks on your PC as easy as using PC-formatted disks on your Mac. Media4 Productions has released MacDrive 98 3.0 and I’ve got nothing but raves for it.
You know you’ve done it. You work on a file at home on your Mac. You save it to a floppy and take it to work and try to load it on your PC. Only to remember you didn’t use a PC formatted disk. Absolutely maddening. Especially if this is a hot project.
Well fret no more! MacDrive 98 not only allows a PC to read your 1.44MB floppy, but will allow a PC to read and see your Mac formatted Zip, Jaz, EZFlyer, EZ-135, SyQuest, SyJet, CD-ROM, even hard drives! MacDrive 98 even in HFS+ format. This is one nifty utility.
One of the best things about MacDrive 98 is its “set it and forget it” nature. Once you have MacDrive 98 loaded, you’ll be able to begin using Mac-formatted disks right away. 99% of the time you won’t even have to worry about mapping file extensions for your cross platform programs. Word 97/98, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, PageMaker, PDF… even SimpleText–you name it. MacDrive 98 lets your open and work with these files from your Mac-formatted disks instantly and transparently.
Don’t worry, MacDrive 98 has the ability to manually set your file mapping extensions. And if you have no idea what you just read, don’t worry about that, either. Once loaded, you will most likely never have to worry about file mapping extensions again. MacDrive 98 just works!
Another plus with MacDrive 98 is the ability to use a PC to copy Mac files from one Mac disk to another without any modifications made to the files. That is a treat. If you work in a cross-platform atmosphere, sometimes you need to copy a Mac disk for another Mac user. Problem is, there is no Macintosh close by. So rather than trucking over to the art department where most of the Macs are, you can copy the Mac disk on your PC even if no PC will ever read that data. Handy!
MacDrive has some nifty additions as well. Check out their “downloads” web page at http://www.media4.com/downloads.htm for up-to-date file mapping extensions and a terrific text converter utility that allows you to switch between Mac OS and Windows character sets. Stop by even if you don’t plan to purchase MacDrive 98! You can download and use the text converter for free.
MacDrive comes with a real honest to goodness “User Manual” printed on paper. Maybe our kids won’t like using paper printed manuals but I still do, and I wish more software came with printed, rather than “online,” documentation. Media4, thank you. This manual answered every question I had and was easy to read and use, even for a Windows or Mac novice.
I tested MacDrive 98 3.0 on a PC running NT 4.0. You can also use it on a Windows 95 or 98 machine (Windows 3.1 and 800k Mac disks not supported).
Overall, this is one terrific product. The best kind. It just works, and it works well!
Now if only Media4 would write a utility for the Mac that would let me access NTFS-formatted disks and drives. Now that would be killer!
Great Job, Media4! I Highly Recommend MacDrive 98 3.0 as probably the handiest utility for PC people who also use a Mac.
MacMice Rating: 4.5
Bob McCormick
bob@mymac.com
Websites mentioned:
http://www.media4.com
http://www.media4.com/downloads.htm
Welcome the iPony
Hello everybody. It’s nice seeing you again.
You may have read the My Mac staff’s discussion of Apple’s new iBook that was posted on our website late in July. Well, I thought I”d take my two cents’ worth and save it for this month”s column. In a column I wrote in June, “Hot Rods for the New Millennium” (My Mac #50 http://www.mymac.com/archives/jun_99/amalgamation.shtml), I compared how folks now talk about and work on their computers with the way our dads and uncles used to talk and work on their cars. There are some interesting comparisons that can be made with one particularly strong comparison springing to mind concerning the iBook.
I remember Lee Iacocca talking about the Mustang when it first came out. Originally, the Mustang was built on the Falcon chassis to keep costs down (and isn”t the iBook the first to use the Universal Motherboard Architecture?). The Mustang also debuted at a very reasonable price (only $2,368). Incredibly stylish for an American car, it competed very nicely with many of the European sports cars of the day on styling, if not on performance.
It was such an eye catcher that one cement truck driver in Seattle, having spotted it at a dealership, was so transfixed that he crashed his rig through the showroom window! Time and Newsweek magazines simultaneously featured it on their covers. Everyone was buzzing about it. The Mustang was hot!
When you looked at the base Mustang it was incredibly inexpensive. It had a generic straight six-cylinder engine, a three-speed manual transmission, and manual this and that and everything. It was a simple car, though very stylish. It was truly economical in its base form. Nothing too fancy and it even got respectable gas mileage.
However, what Iacocca and Ford found out was that people were ordering their Mustangs in droves with V8 engines, 4-speed transmissions–even automatics–along with tons of other options. $1,000 worth of options on average, in fact, and this is in 1964 dollars! Imagine increasing the price of a car by a nearly a full third with optional equipment. This is where Ford made a ton of money on the Mustang.
Lee Iacocca said something about the public in regards to these “options” people were ordering that stuck in my mind. I must paraphrase now, but it was something like, “The general public is so desperate for economy that they will pay anything to get it.”
After heaping on all these options, the Mustang certainly had more performance but not much economy. And those options were almost pure profit for Ford.
Due to the wild success of the Mustang, one bakery went so far as to put a sign in their window that read “Our hotcakes are selling like Mustangs.” It fed on its own success. And even people that were more affluent and could afford something more expensive bought one, though they did so with a very heavy hand on the options list. It was the best selling first year of any vehicle made (nearly a half-million), only to be eclipsed by another Iacocca product many years later when Chrysler introduced the minivan (and the fact that you can buy a “Town & Country” edition–with leather seats and all sorts of bells and whistles–seems to prove that Lee was indeed right about the buying public).
The Mustang was so wildly successful that it spun off not only the Mercury Cougar (just a bit of trivia: the Mustang was almost named Torino or Cougar before Ford finally settled on Mustang), but an entire new segment of the industry, the Pony Car. The rest of Detroit wasn”t far behind in introducing the Camaro, the Barracuda, and even the Javelin.
So why this history lesson on the Mustang?
Well, even my local TV and radio news has been broadcasting stories on the iBook. They were covering it like a national event. I was shocked that such a product announcement would be covered by the local news as part of their national news content. (I”m not sure if this is a commentary on the lack of the hard news gathering of local news stations, or how far reaching Steve”s Reality Distortion Field has grown, or both.)
The iBook may achieve the same “Gotta have it at any cost” of the Mustang or even its older brother, the iMac. The base iBook runs $1599, the AirPort card $99, the Base $299.
The iBook in its base form is quite a respectable machine. The USB is more than enough connectivity for the beginning computer user. Its portability is a major selling feature. The AirPort technology is the perfect mate to the iBook, providing just enough expandability that the iBook physically lacks in an area that is largely untapped–home networking.
Think that the public won”t pay more for an iMac “to go”? Just remember the Mustang.
Adding more RAM? No problem, just check off the box that says “V8″ on the order form. Wireless Internet? (Automatic transmission) Oh yeah, go ahead and add that, too. I’ll be glad to reach into my pocket again so that I can have the coolest gee-whiz techno-wizardry available on the block. (And remember, this isn”t just gee-whizardry. This is an incredibly useful advancement that once again puts Apple in front of the curve.)
And if John Q. Consumer truly needs more expandability in the future than the iBook offers, Apple will have that, too. They’re called the PowerBook G3 Series and the new Graphite and White G4 Towers!
This iBook is an introductory model. Just like the Mustang, it is simple, sporty for the price, and appeals to young buyers. You bring them into the fold and let them grow up with you. When they go to buy another car, er… I mean, computer, won’t they want one that uses all the software that they currently have? One that they know has served them well already? One they know and trust?
I don’t think the iBook is going to suffer from a consumer point of view at all. And I don’t think that the price will be a sticking point, either, since it’s still hundreds less than a number of other notebooks. I don’t think the lack of expandability is that big of a deal as many people have pointed out. Not for the first or beginning computer user, anyway.
I think Apple has another Mustang on their hands.
Now quick! Run over to you dealership, er… I mean the Apple Store and start checking out that factory order form, er… I mean WebObjects order page and check out the options. And welcome the iPony.
Bob McCormick
bob@mymac.com
PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard)
Company: Apple Computers, Inc.
Estimated Price: $3499 (highend)
http://www.apple.com
Living with Lombard:
The Great, the not so Great, and the Ugly.
(With apologies to the Spaghetti Westerns.)
I wanted to write up a review of Lombard. After living with Lombard for about a month now, I thought I’d go ahead and share my experiences with it. When I first decided to write a hardware review, I thought it would be this glowing, radiant love fest. But the longer I used my black beauty, the more I realized that it wasn’t going to be quite the love fest I thought it would be.
If you need a rundown of the specs, check out Apple’s web page on the matter. http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specifications.html
The Great:
Speed:
Plain and simple, this thing is fast. (Well most of the time, see The Ugly: later in this review.) Opening applications, opening files, transferring files, downloading, copying, sending emails, you name it–this Mac is fast. With 400MHz under the hood sporting a 1MB backside cache running at 2.5 to 1, it just rocks.
Sometimes the speed is actually a hindrance. If you accidentally double-click on the wrong file it might open before you have the presence of mind to hit Command-”.”(period). Or if you accidentally drop a file on the wrong folder/partition, you find you have copied or moved it before you can click ‘Cancel.’ And at times you are sitting mouth agape as tasks that used to take forever on your old system now complete in no time at all.
I’ve been caught off guard a couple of times. I just stare at my desktop realizing that my life is now simpler, and less complex than I thought it would be with this machine.
This speed allows you to think much less of the computer itself and concentrate on the task at hand. Overall this makes for a much more transparent symbiosis between man and machine. It does what you want it to do, without much thought. Some may think this would lead to a “disconnection” with our Macs. I would say that it leads to a much stronger connection with them.
LCD Screen:
Another thing that is wonderful to watch are the splash screens of applications as they truly “splash” open, or spin a QTVR so fast that you feel ill. I’m wondering, has anyone combined a QTVR with Video for a ride on a roller coaster? I’d love to see that.
What would make that possible is the incredibly rich screen of the Lombard. 14.1 inches of 1024×786 resolution, 3D accelerated 24 bit color is just wonderful. It is expansive and nearly as big as my 17″ monitor. I recently pulled up my PowerBook 150 for some quick thoughts in MS Word 5.1a. I was just shocked at how clunky, how out of date it felt in comparison. The itty bitty screen was just too hard to take at 640×480, yikes! I’m telling you, once you get your hands on a G3 series PowerBook and gaze upon its screen, you’ll be hard pressed to go back to anything less. Even a 15 inch monitor would seem smallish in comparison. This screen is lush, rich and expansive.
Video Output:
Monitor spanning capabilities will spoil you. I’ve got an indestructible 1705 monitor. It has served me well and with the Monitor spanning capabilities built right into Lombard I’m afraid that I want to lug my 1705 with me everywhere. Seriously, it brings about a whole new way of working with your PowerBook. What I have found most useful is to place my Monitor behind and above my PowerBook. With the simple “arrange” controls built into the Monitors and Sound control panel I find myself arranging the desktop in 1024×1536 set up. I suppose I could rearrange my monitor so that it would sit next to my PowerBook but that simply would take up too much real desktop area. By placing my PowerBook display below the level of my Monitor I can place tool windows on it and work with the main window of my application on the CRT very easily. This allows me to get a much less cluttered view of what I’m creating. I think that desktop publishers, video editors, and web surfers will find this quite helpful. And in the long run, more productive. I don’t have to hide my tool windows to get an unobstructed view of my work nor do I have to hide my web applications behind other open windows. I like this feature tremendously.
Keyboard:
Some have complained about the Lombard keyboard. That it is too mushy. Not me. I was definitely unaccustomed to it when I first started using it. However, I’m finding that I prefer it to all the other keyboards I also use. Certainly compared to a clunky, crunchy, PowerBook 150 this thing is a dream. My standard Apple keyboard, although much more ingrained in my hands’ “memory,” now feels somewhat stilted in comparison.
When I’m at my “day job” with an “ergonomic” keyboard, I find myself lusting for the ease and comfort that Lombard’s keyboard offers me. Just wishing that I could begin a particular big project on the smooth and forgiving keyboard of my PowerBook. Hmmm, just wish I had Virtual PC running NT on my Lombard, maybe I could start and finish those projects on my Lombard after all. (I do have a few complaints about the keyboard; look in “The Not so Great” and “The Ugly” section of this review.)
In fact, the Lombard’s keyboard has spoiled me enough that I won’t even consider buying an external keyboard to hook up until I can get some real time with a unit that I feel would be the equal or better of Lombard’s built in keyboard.
Mass:
Weight is a big factor in a PowerBook, and I notice with the introduction of the iBook that it is not only second in speed to Lombard, but also in weight and size. Weight by nearly a pound! and size by a nearly a 1/3rd of an inch. Not that Lombard is exactly a petite gymnast, but this thing is pretty darn portable. I simply slip it in a sharp leather portfolio I have. Since I’m already carrying a sports bag, I can place the power brick right in there. Not a bad deal for ease of travel. I’m well pleased. Naturally, when you need additional accessories a standard PowerBook carrying case comes in handy. This is when Lombard shows that it still could lighten its load. But considering the combination of weight and power, I dare you to find another computer from any manufacturer that offers all that Lombard does at this weight. Right now, I don’t think it can be done. (Only desktops come close to the performance, but certainly not the portability 5.9 pounds offers.)
DVD:
Never having had “DVD” player before I was pleased that the 400MHz unit comes with it standard. I have rented some DVDs. It is amazing the quality of the play. Both on the PowerBook’s screen as well as on my monitor. I haven’t bothered to hook it up to my television as the quality of DVD is lost on such low resolution (though it does come with an adapter to do so, I just wish it came with the appropriate audio adapters to connect to your television, but those are much more common and inexpensively obtained). It ran virtually flawlessly. Only once in awhile did I notice a stutter or a mechanical feel to the playback; even with other applications running this was rare (though I did notice it even when other applications weren’t running). I was most impressed overall.
Battery:
Oh yes, I’m a big fan of the battery. Does it last 5 hours? I don’t think so. Does it last longer than any other PowerBook battery that has come before it? It does. This is a great advancement. And with the very self explanatory Energy Saver control panel, it’s easy to customize your settings to get the best compromise of energy savings and performance that suits you. It is all just a matter of working with the control panel to suit your needs and your desires.
I have turned on virtually all of the energy saving options and have just gained about 40 minutes of estimated battery time according my control strip. Not bad. In fact, great. In all fairness, you could probably get the battery to come close to its advertised 5 hour rate. However, you would have to be a master of energy saving techniques that would, I believe, become a hindrance to your productivity. Why not work more efficiently than fuss with energy savings tricks that could distract from your work?
Connectivity:
Lombard is probably the last Mac to be made with SCSI standard. That combined with 10/100MB Ethernet and two USB ports, this is for me the best combination of legacy and future connectivity for computers. I only lament that it can’t have at least one ADB port for those of use who cannot replace all of our legacy hardware at once time. No worries. There are a plethora of adapters out on the market that can extend the life of your old hardware.
Access:
This is a truly nifty feature. Just pull back on a couple of built in tabs between the function keys and Ta-da! Instant access for RAM and hard drive upgrades. It is wonderful. Plus you have the ability to “lock” the keyboard in place to keep prying eyes from sneaking a peek inside. Apple outdid themselves with this.
The Not So Great:
The name:
First and foremost this is one great computer. Certainly a fine evolution of the WallStreet. Why did it get such a yawner of a name? Personally I call mine, Copperhead (in honor of the copper G3 under the hood). It certainly is lethal to all the Wintel laptops.
Keyboard Layout:
The keyboard layout is odd, inasmuch as the new “Function” shift key that has been added in the traditional location of the left control key, bumping it, the Option key, and the Command key to the right. I think that it could have been placed somewhere else. Above the other keys would have been nice, or even integrated with the function keys would have been better. Who knows. But that is about my only complaint about the keyboard layout other than the itty bitty arrow keys and the worthless Enter key (that should have been a Command key, without doubt) to the right of the Spacebar.
Speakers:
I’m sitting here listening to a CD. It’s not an unpleasant experience but it just isn’t up to par with the rest of Lombard. The speakers are tinny and not very responsive. Much of the rich sound of the Elliott Smith XO CD is just not coming through. If you use your PowerBook for any extended periods at a desk and want sound, consider external speakers. They will be a must with Lombard.
The Ugly:
CD Drive:
The CD function is loud, obnoxious and buzzy as a data CD spins up. I found this annoying as well as at odds with the overall smooth and refined nature of Lombard. It seemed just a bit out of place. Why would something so sophisticated have such a glaring rough edge? I have to say, “Apple, fix it!” This is not in keeping with the refined tool that is Lombard. It is kind of like buying a Ferarri and when you turn on the heater you have to turn up the stereo to drown it out.
The Pause. The Stall. Argh!!!
Speaking of the CD player, I’ve experienced the dreaded “pause” under 8.6 with Lombard. If you haven’t heard about it, it is quite annoying. So much so it made it into my “Ugly” section. What happens is this, you will be working along in or between applications and suddenly the system just stops. Mimicking a system freeze, so much so that at one time or another I’ve hit Ctrl/Cmnd/Power and rebooted. If you simply hold on, the system will come back to you. If you have not experienced this, words cannot describe how completely infuriating it is until you experience it. Apple’s cure is two fold. One of which is to disable the CD/DVD extension. HA! Oh yeah that makes sense. The other cure is to keep a data CD in the drive http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n31023. Like that doesn’t contradict the other TIL that tells you to remove CDs to prevent the computer from accessing the CD http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n30376 as it will periodically spin up to check data. DOH!
I’ve got a better idea:
I’ve got a much better solution. The only cure that seems to work for me is keeping an Audio CD in the drive. A data CD–unless you are constantly copying data–won’t work. It spins down sooner or later and will be accessed by the system again causing a significant delay. The best workaround I’ve discovered is keeping a music CD in the tray. I’ve done so this whole time and haven’t had a single pause. Obviously, the system recognizes that it doesn’t need to access the music CD. Maybe that is my cure until Apple updates the software. I’m telling you, that 10 second pause was truly annoying!!!! Apple, get on the ball and fix that problem.
The Trackpad Button:
The other completely frustrating situation with Lombard is the problem with the trackpad button. This is a you write for and suddenly the cursor will jump to another place in the review you are writing and boom! You’re seemingly fluid flow of thoughts jump right into the middle of another paragraph.
serious flaw in the current PowerBook. You can be working along and unwittingly put enough pressure on the wrist rest to accidentally click the button (Without actually touching the trackpad button). This rates right up there with the 8.6 “delay.” You could be writing, let’s say a review for the magazine
(See what I mean?)
Made worse with The Pause:
Or to compound the situation, you might click on an open window of another application and not only do you have the inconvenience of having to switch back to the application you were working in, but you may also incur the 10 second delay without realizing you have done so until the other window jumps to the front and you realize you have to click back. ARGH!
The Bronze keyboard never should have made it to market with this flaw. It should have been caught long before it came to market. This definitely is one for the Ugly category.
Heat:
Heat is that last of the uglies I have to review. Despite a new copper chip, the 400MHz unit is darned hot. “Dang hot, I think I’m going to do a little crotch pot cooking!” Seriously, my Copperhead has melted its rubber feet. Leaving nice little remnants on my desk. I’m sure glad this was an old desk and not some really nice mahogany desk. But there are bound to be a few execs that find that their Lombard has left little remnants behind. For the price of the thing, you think Apple could have put on feet that could stand the heat. (I couldn’t resist that little rhyme.)
Conclusion:
Overall Lombard is one of the finest computers available from Apple. I think it has a few growing pains to sort out. I broke my own rule of never being an early adopter and will remember that when it is time for my next computer.
But do I love it? I sure do. It is fast, beautiful and more than I’ll need for a long long time? Oh yeah. I think about if I had gotten a WallStreet, or a Blue and White but nothing can compare to this Lombard and its extensive list of features. Overall it is one sweet machine even it it isn’t all great.
Despite its flaws, what it does is incredible and will satisfy all but the most power hungry users. Without a doubt it is the fastest laptop available out there. Working at a major PC manufacturer I get to see some great equipment from the Wintel side of the curtain. But nothing compares to this Lombard.
If you aren’t in a hurry for a Lombard, I’d wait. Let it evolve a little and smooth out some of its rough edges. If you just have to have some portable raw power and none of the uglies listed above scare you, dive right in. I definitely give Lombard a strong recommendation.
MacMice Rating: 4.5
Bob McCormick
bob@mymac.com
Websites mentioned:
http://www.apple.com
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specifications.html
http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n31023
http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n30376
In case you haven’t heard, the iMac’s incredible success has not only lifted Apple to an increased level of name recognition, it’s charted a new course for products built in its innovative image. The iBook is the initial example, and all indications are that it will be an instant winner in its own right. Of immediate interest to industry insiders, though, is the fact that several other companies, Imation, for example, have now brought out peripherals designed in-line with the iMac’s inventive styling.
In a word, these new products have been selling well–immensely well. So well, in fact, that an iMac imposter using an Intel chip has already been made, although whether it or not it will be allowed to be brought to market is still a matter of intense legal investigation.
Up to now we’ve been discussing hardware products, which leaves another area for Apple to make an important statement: software. Enter Bob McCormick, an Oregon-based writer for My Mac Magazine, who has come up with a name for the most important software of all: Apple’s System Software. Bob had in mind something for the next version of the Mac OS, Mac OS 9. This new name would be instantly recognizable as Apple’s newest and greatest, and fits, we think, every aspect of Apple’s new identity, that of innovation, iMacs, and iBooks:
We think it’s ideal.
Apple, Rename OS 9!
Here is a modest proposal for Apple to consider.
Rename OS 9.
Why? Well there is the little matter of the other company that already holds the trademark on it. Ironically OS 9 the Real-Time Operating System for embedded designs from Microware is already in some Macs. They own this trademark and deserve to have their rights protected. Just like Apple is “protecting” its rights over the iMac design by filing lawsuits against eMachines and others.
I believe that Apple could avoid this trademark lawsuit and the bad press while still being able to pronounce their Operating system “oh-ess-nine.” How you say? Let me introduce “Mac OS iX.”
Huh?
Apple could in fact achieve three very strategic accomplishments by re-naming OS 9 as OS iX:
First-
and foremost avoid the trademark lawsuit and the bad press that would follow. (It is kind of ironic that they would infringe on someone else’s trademark when they are so enthusiastically filing lawsuits against others over iMac knock off designs.)
Second-
This would create an excellent tie in between iMacs as well as the iBook. Not to mention a great way to identify the Operating System upgrade path for all those iMac and iBook users. This would be a no brainer for those two million plus iMac users out there to see this upgrade path. This would also increase sales of Mac OS iX by a significant margin.
Third-
Create an excellent tie in for those of us with G3 computers as the precursor to OS X. We know it’s coming, we know that it will be here soon. And obviously iX (9) comes before X (10).
Renaming OS 9, OS iX accomplishes these three things quite easily. It’s a somewhat playful link between the current Mac OS 8.x and the much anticipated OS X. Certainly it is much more playful than Apple disregarding other’s legal rights and getting sued. Much more like the Apple we believe still exists. One that helps the little guy and doesn’t squash him. And certainly much less like Microsoft that has quite literally drained company’s resources to the brink of dissolution over trademark issues. Anyone remember the name SyNet Inc. and its web browser–Internet Explorer?
Come on Apple, rename OS 9, OS iX. You have a chance to play a little fairer as well as find a great way to tie in your new consumer market and your much anticipated OS X.
Write me and tell me what you think.
Bob McCormick
bob@mymac.com
Comments. Be heard!
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