News and commentary from the cross-platform scripting community.
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Mail Starting 8/30/97 | |
I am the computer coordinator at a Portland Oregon High School. Last year, we purchased over 100 Macs, mostly 5400's, and about 30 Wintel NT machines. We were looking at similar numbers this year. We are getting a lot of pressure from the community to get more Wintel boxes, however our experience has been that the Mac OS machines are much easier to support.
From: rmcp@pps.k12.or.us (Richard McPartland);
Sent at 8/30/97; 8:58:30 PM;
A Hold on Educational PurchasingThere are many arguments for purchasing Wintel machines. We are moving are main Server to NT. It would be much more difficult to convince others that we should buy anything from a closed Apple. I am not willing to reccomend the purchase of any more Apple products until the licensing issue is worked out. The existence of Clones, even if we only purchased one or two, helped in the issues of choice, and value.
Thank you,
Richard McPartland
Lincoln High School
Portland, OR 97205Sent to Apple some months ago as an end-user suggestion for Rhapsody:
From: philslade@worldnet.att.net (Philippe Dambournet);
Sent at 8/30/97; 11:27:59 AM;
Re "revolutionary" help featureA general History feature that could record user interactions, script them, and comment on them. This would facilitate tracking down errors, as well as retracing one's footsteps generally. Also a boon to trainers. Ideally, such a feature would allow the launching of a pseudo-session in which the system would retrace the user's steps somewhat a la Apple Guide. Ideally, comments could be attached to the steps, whether injunctive (do this, do that: your basic Apple Guide sequence) or corrective (this is what you did and where you went wrong). A commentable history system could be a very powerful tool. One could also dream of using it for a type of file access based on the history of the user's interactions (as in LifeStreams).
Dave,
From: rameshi@mozart.inet.co.th (Ramesh Indhewat);
Sent at 8/30/97; 11:06:22 PM;
MSIE 4.0 CacheYou asked about how to get rid of the files that IE4 caches. If you have not received an answer by now, here it is:
Go to the View menu and select Options. In the Options dialog, look in the General Tab and under the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete button. You can also control the cache lifetime by clicking the Settings button.
I've enjoyed your insightful discussions on Apple and MacOS. Here is something (very little) than I can do in return.
Ramesh Indhewat
Bangkok, ThailandI've been a Mac fanatic - there really isn't any other applicable term - since I bought a 128K in 1984. I never bought a Power Computing machine, but they sure pumped a lot of energy into the whole Macintosh mystic and I appreciated them for that.
From: john@digitalmx.com (John Springer);
Sent at 8/29/97; 9:41:23 PM;
Re:Inside Power ComputingBut a strange thing has happened in the last month. For the first time in 13 years, I'm losing interest. The licensing battle has changed my state of mind. It has taken away the aura of the Mac, and made Apple just another company. And frankly, I don't give a damn any more. I'm tired. They spent me.
I understand that Apple thinks it needs to stop the clones to keep alive, but if it has to do that, then it's already dead. It is basically saying it cannot compete in the market place - not even in a market it dominates.
Jobs had me going for a while; he appeared to be a brilliant tactician. And he rallyed the troops, including me. But now I just see betrayal and dishonesty. Brutal tactics. Coming from an Intel or Microsoft or Compaq? Of course; I'd expect that. But coming from Apple, it killed the magic.
About time I woke up. I suppose they don't need me any way.
I agree with much of what you said, and it sounds a lot like the rumors I've been hearing and reading online too.
From: david@sentience.com (David Shayer);
Sent at 8/29/97; 9:57:58 PM;
Re:Inside Power ComputingBut before you blame Steve Kahng for killing Power, think about what would have happened if Power had sued Apple. Lawsuits are very expensive in America. Apple has a *lot* more money than Power. Lawsuits take a long time in America. Apple will probably be around in 3 years when the verdict comes out. Will Power?
But even more important, once Power sues Apple, Apple has an airtight reason to stop certifying Power machines: they're in litigation. If Power ships uncertified machines, they're clearly violating the very license they're suing to uphold. Without anything to sell, Power would quickly go out of business.
In the end, the creditors who ended buying Power's assets at the bankruptcy sale might own the license, 3 years late.
In my experience running my small (4 person) software company, I've found that when you're up against someone much larger than yourself, who wants to play hardball, it doesn't matter that much what's written on the contract. You may win the battle but lose the war.
In the last day or two, three people I respect highly, Ric Ford, Dave Winer, and Dan Hughes, have all posted editorials to their respective web sites stating that they have halted all purchases of Apple equipment until the licensing issue is resolved. I, too, feel that a resolution to the current situation is imperative. Frankly, it'd be nice simply to know what's actually going on.
From: ben@starmax.net (Ben Kimball);
Sent at 8/30/97; 1:22:11 AM;
starmax.net editorialHowever, I respectfully disagree with my colleague's actions. I am not prepared to boycott Apple. Call me starry-eyed, blind, whatever: I still trust Apple. I trust the new board. I trust Steve Jobs. Most of all, I trust the employees of Apple we never hear from: the people building boxes, crafting software, designing products, crafting strategies. I still believe in the soul of Apple.
Since MacWorld Expo, I've purchased both an Apple LaserWriter 4/600 PS and a Newton MessagePad 2000. The LaserWriter, with its sleek design, small footprint, silent standby mode, and extremely reasonable price, is a joy to use. The MessagePad is simply astonishing in every way. Fast, powerful, flexible, with a huge, bright screen and battery life measured in months! This little black box is crammed with so many goodies (2 PC card slots, infrared, microphone, speaker, big 100 ppi, grayscale screen, serial port, even a spot for Ethernet!) that for the life of me I can't figure out where the designers put the motherboard. The OS is great: fast, no boot time, powerful but, after a day or two of familiarity, never in your way. My productivity and peace of mind soared after I began using my Newton. Newton, Inc. is even giving away their Mac-hosted development tools.
These two products, and a million other details, have convinced me to remain a staunch supporter of Apple. A world without cloners would be intolerable, and I feel strongly about the current problems. But given Apple's track record, the attitude of the Apple employees to whom I've spoken recently, and everything the company stands for, I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I shall continue to support Apple through these trying times. I am convinced my trust is not misplaced.
Ben Kimball
Webmaster, starmax.net
Webmaster, Austin Be User's Group
President, Fusion DevelopmentI can't blame Steve Kahng for deciding to protect what he built. The founder's vision is always different than those who follow.
From: phred@teleport.com (Fred Heutte);
Sent at 8/30/97; 4:28:11 AM;
Re:Inside Power ComputingThis makes me wonder *what* on earth has happened to Steve Jobs' vision as a founder. Killing a collaborative competitor -- the kind that helps widen the perception of the mere existence of an industry outside the Wintel and Sun orbits -- is hard to understand, since Apple and Power by no means have reciprocal clout.
The simple reality is, Power is or could have been the company Apple well *should* be.
We ordered an 8600/300 in mid July, under apple's early order programming, with shipment planned for the first week of August.
From: zellmer@virtualproperties.com (Jim Zellmer);
Sent at 8/30/97; 7:34:49 AM;
aaplNaturally, we don't have the system (as of 8/29/97).
Looks like the customers will lose all around.
Presently, we just have one application that requires a power mac, everything else is on NT or UNIX.
Perhaps that one might move to NT?