Winds of Change

written by Charles DeVore

from Mouse Tracks September 2002

QuickBooks is coming back! Intuit will be re-entering the Macintosh small business accounting market with a new release of QuickBooks, version 5.0 for Mac OS X due in early 2003. A web site page allowing users to be notified when the update is released says "We'll tell you more this Fall." More information at: www.quickbooks.com/products/mac/ So this means we'll be able to pull a lot of users from the Virtual PC versions back to Mac versions of the software. However, you do need to take note of the fact that it will be an OS X only program.

Dot Mac
Apple has pulled the rug from under mac.com users by changing the name of the service and charging (I think) a high cost for a service that used to be free. That's right–iTools is no more, and your mac.com email address is forever up in smoke. Now back in the far reaches of my mind I have to wonder how many people will stay with the .mac system. Over the last year I have seen the .mac mail system go down for hours and even days with no warning. Most other paid online services offer dial-up phone numbers so that you can access the Internet, not so with Apple's. You need to have access to the Internet before you can use the service. So what does Apple say you get with your $100 a year? Other than industry-leading Virex virus protection, you'll get world-class email services, easy-to-use data backup software, 100MB of iDisk storage, and much more. I love the last part "and much more"; this tends to make one think there are lots of extras with your account while really not promising anything. So all in all, it's not such a great deal without dial-up access. Go buy Virex for around $42 and save yourself some money. Apple needs to rethink its pricing for this product or add dial-up to actually give it true value.

Security update
A recent security update Apple has issued is causing some people problems. On some machines various applications will unexpectedly slow down or quit. Classic bombs with nothing running and basically no explanation. Many applications may randomly start behaving very oddly (for instance entry boxes in dialogs become disabled). Some people have ended up restarting their computer several times a day, as compared to basically never before that. The solution for one user was to run Repair Privileges and then fskc-y from a single-user boot (which may repair 'minor' problems in the volume header).

OS 10.2
It appears that some programs that run hardware will need some updates before being OS 10.2 ready. Things you should watch out for are printer drivers and card drivers for non-Apple products. Please remember that with early adapting may come early grief. If you are not fully backed up and prepared for it, allow 30 to 60 days before installing the new updated System. This gives third party software and hardware makers time to get out patches that fix the bugs created by OS 10.2. Read the information on the Internet or ask your local user group if it's safe to update. Suggested reading sites are macintouch.com, macfixit.com, or for more news and information macsurfer.com will supply you with many sites that deal with the Mac.

At this time it does not appear that Apple will be offering owners of System 10.1.x a special upgrade price. So be prepared to pay $129 or check around for loss leaders from the mail order companies. These folks make money by counting on "well as long as I'm ordering one thing, I may as well buy something else."

Now that you have the warning, here's the good stuff. If you have an older G3 Macintosh and you are already running System 10.1xx, you're most likely going to like 10.2. No, not due to the eye candy Apple is throwing in to make sales, but due to the speed increase of the software. One of the reasons that I have never installed OS X on my B&W G3 350MHz is because OS X tended to be really slow on the older machines. Not so with the new version. At a recent meeting of several Macintosh consultants (yes, we do talk to each other) there was a demo of the new software on a G3 PowerBook. Several people asked if the PowerBook had been upgraded because of the speed at which things happened.

Apple Eye Candy
So here are the eye candy features Apple is pushing in 10.2. Mac OS X v10.2 features QuickTime 6, the next-generation multimedia standard with support for MPEG-4 video. Quartz Extreme, the hardware accelerated, fully composited graphics system, gives it souped-up 2D and 3D capabilities. It also adds a significantly enhanced Finder with spring-loaded folders, not to mention a host of features and capabilities that will impress hardcore Unix users. These include iChat for chatting with AOL and other internet users, added spam handling features in the mail program, the address book now uses vCard format (so that we can also have crap attached to everything we send out), Sherlock has lots of added features (many borrowed from Watson), new audio technologies enable your Mac to support high-resolution, multi-channel audio found in DVDs and 3D game audio, and Rendezvous is the new networking technology that uses the industry-standard IP networking protocol. It lets you automatically create a network of computers, printers and other peripheral devices–without having to manually configure drivers or settings. For example, when you add your computer to a network, Mac OS X automatically discovers the available Rendezvous-enabled printers from Epson, HP, and Lexmark. If you want to chat, Rendezvous finds which of your friends or colleagues on your local network are online, even if you don't know their IM monikers. Last but not least handwriting from your graphics tablet can be turned into typed print as you work.

Many of these features are the result of open source code. This is a good and positive thing about Apple opening up many of its programming features to be worked on by all programmers who see a need for change. This is one of the many good things that Apple's current OS X programming supports. So thanks for all the hard work, guys.

You may notice I left out a couple features Apple is beating their chest about. The reason I am not listing them as features is that you need a G4 Mac with a video card that supports the features. Many of the G3 and older G4s do not have those cards and therefore will not get the benefit of the add-on features.

Nikon 995
Just got a new camera to replace my Nikon 900 which is now owned by PMUG treasurer Dick Loucks. Boy was I in for a surprise when I opened the box. I have never seen so many buttons and menus on such a small device. Now I'm not afraid of computers or cameras but this is amazing. Hopefully you will start seeing pictures from the new camera very shortly. However, for those of you who are thinking about buying a new camera, this is one more thing to put on your list. How complicated is the device, and what is the learning curve to get comfortable? Luckily there are two settings on my Nikon 995; one is for automatic, the other for manual. Also, for you folks thinking about your current camera or getting one, the lens is the most important feature on the camera. Filters are cheap protection; make sure you protect the lens from damage by installing a clear or UV haze filter over it. I would also suggest an extended warranty to protect your investment.

Spammers
Do not reply to spam (junk email). The most important thing however, is to educate yourself about spam. The worst spam the Sheep has to deal with are those that Sheep users asked for, and, inevitably everyone else starts getting hit with, because suddenly the spammer is aware of our little site. Everyone should know how to recognize spam and the basic rules of dealing with it. Don't unsubscribe unless you know the site well and you recall asking for newsletters/updates. Spammers use this ploy of asking you to unsubscribe to let them know they have a valid account address. They then sell that account info to 50 other spammers. So doing nothing to let them know they are getting to you is a good thing.

Out of Business
One of the long time upgrade companies, XLR8, rumored to be in trouble has closed their doors and is out of the upgrade business. There's a note now on the bottom of their main web site front page that says: "XLR8, Inc. has closed its doors and is no longer in business. There is no technical or warranty support available. We apologize for any inconvenience." Not great news if you have one of these products and it dies or needs service.

Recovery Services
Hard drives have problems and need to be replaced? Do you want your data back? Be sure that whatever firm replaces your hard drive really does try to get your data back. Many companies are now telling clients they can't get the data, but refer them to other out-of-state recovery service companies. The thing is most of these companies charge $400 and up for the data recovery when simply installing the drive in another computer and using recovery tools you can buy off the shelf will do as good a job. Many business referrals mean that the referring company gets a payment for each customer sent to them. Is their service really needed or are you spending lots of money for little or no reason? Your best advice here is to have at least one more local company try to recover your data before shipping it off. Many times the second business will be able to recover all or most of the data and burn it onto CD ROM. I have nothing against the out-of-state recovery services–they do good work, it's just a little spendy for most folks. Please note that not all drives can be recovered using cheap, easy methods. Those that are in real need of recovery should be sent out for recovery–mechanical and controller cards head the top of this list.

You can reach me at charles@cdevsol.com.

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