Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Friday, September 20, 2002

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Why Windows Has The Edge Over The Mac: "The iMac does its job well. But it is no more intuitive than Windows XP." (Microsoft bCentral via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu]

It is not too suprising the a Microsoft site publishes this kind of pieces. However, Apple shouldn't take the criticism lightly. There are all kinds of things which should be improved to make Mac OS X a really compelling alternative to Windows. Reliability, stability, and ease of use. Most of all: software, software, software.

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If You Don't Have .Mac You Don't Have A Mac: "Nobody will want a Mac without .Mac." (MacDailyNews via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu]

I wouldn't go that far in praising .Mac services. Macs are great tools even without the .Mac services, and in some environments, for example in certain business settings, the .Mac dependency could even be a handicap. But personally I expect a lot from future .Mac services. Wait and see.

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Apple and IBM Working Together on 64bit CPU's [Slashdot]

This rumor has been circulating for some time, so perhaps there is some truth in the matter. In any case, both IBM and Apple need a Power chip for desktop systems. Perhaps this chip can even surpass the Intel and AMD processors.

Mail filtering cures spam -- Comment()
I'm starting to like the luxury of a functioning spam filter. Since starting to use the Mail program in Mac OS X 10.2, I have received little spam e-mail to my inbox.

It took one week to train the filter. Then I switched on the automatic mode. Now I have used the filter in automatic mode for three weeks. During that time the number of spam messages getting through to my inbox has been cut by 90%.

I have also learned to check the spam messages folder two or three times a week for misclassified e-mail message. During the three weeks the Mail program made half a dozen misclassifications. Also, each day about 1-5 spam messages get through to my inbox. This is little compared to the average 20 spam e-mails I receive daily.

Of course, the spammers will get even more clever. On the other hand, that is the reason for the adaptive filter: it will also develop.

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NetNewsWire Pro Features: "... the current plan for the for-pay version of NetNewsWire. ... it should give you a general idea of what to expect." [ranchero.com] [Mac Net Journal]

So the Pro version will be a blogger application. It remains to be seen how good the application will be, because there is already a bunch of other alternatives available for Mac OS X.

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Rendezvous spreads: "Apple's network discovery protocol for services like filesharing and printing continues to gain adherents. Their version of a zero-configuration protocol now has several more major adherents in addition to the original three (Epson, Lexmark, and HP): Xerox, Philips, Canon, Sybase, and... World Book? Ah, the product marks the first cool application-based benefit: sharing notes and research." [80211b News] [Mac Net Journal]

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Just A Thought - .Mac? .Maybe: "Apple is bound to make some stumbles but at least they are stumbling in the right direction, the service and its potential is plainly visible for all to see." (The Mac Observer via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu]

I signed with .Mac in August, and have been relatively happy, especially when the first year was extended to the end of September, 2003. The Backup software (when it works...) and Virus protection are ok, but I haven't tried out the www homepage features. I did try publishing a web calendar with iCal, and that also works ok.