Changes
My Mac Magazine is going through a few changes this month. The first and biggest is our move back to our own domain on the Web! Starting with this issue of My Mac, we can be found at https://www.mymac.com. Everyone here at My Mac is pretty excited to have the magazine back “home,” and we plan on staying here for good!
With the move, our Web page has been redesigned. This has been in the planning stages for quite awhile, and Adam Karneboge has been working overtime to get it all done. Thanks, Adam, for the great work! He will remain our resident Jedi Web Master. Helping Adam get the Web page to look as good as it does is Mike Gorman, who did designed some great artwork for the site. Thanks Mike! And, lest I forget anyone, Dustin Roberts, our fill-in Web master for a month, also helped Adam and the team get everything running smoothly. Thanks to everyone involved in this endeavor.
The other change is with our Subscription. Rather than sending out large files to everyone who wants to read My Mac, as we have done since the first issue, subscribers will now get a notice when the issue is ready, and where to go to download it. With Netscape Navigator, you simply click on the URL link that will be sent, and the issue will download automatically! Otherwise, simply copy/paste the URL in your web/FTP client and the issue will be downloaded.
This will not affect America Online subscribers, however. Those of you on AOL will still get My Mac in your mail box. And, of course, all Deluxe subscribers will have the issue (and goodies!) sent to you as before.
Why this change? Two reasons, actually. The first, and most important, is that many of you asked for this. I myself subscribe to a few digital magazines, and I hate when I jump on the Mac to get my email quickly and have to sit there five times longer than expected while waiting for something to download.
And the other reason is time. What once only took me a few hours to do now requires well over a day. Yes, it takes over 24 hours to send out My Mac to all the subscribers. I use (or used) Claris Emailer to send out issues, and it could only hold 250 email addresses per mailing. Using Emailer was still faster than any other product I tried, but try sending out 250 1.5MB files 25 times in one day, for the Internet subscribers alone. Add to that the AOL subscribers, and Bulletin Boards, plus uploading to InfoMac and AOL conferences, and you’re talking a huge chunk of time. And then there are the Deluxe subscribers, who get FOUR mailings a month!
As you may know, my job now depends on the availability of my Macintosh. (I am a Computer/Macintosh consultant for new readers.) So I simply cannot afford to have my Mac tied up with another project for an entire day or longer. Time is money, and my house payments need to be made:-) Besides, I like to buy food sometimes, too! (Tim)
What?!?
It has been rumored (most notably on Ric Ford’s MacInTouch home page) that starting with system 7.6, Apple will remove the “Welcome To Macintosh” startup screen. To me, this is very disturbing. Since time immemorial, every Macintosh that has ever been sold has had that startup screen. It has become an icon to the computer industry. It is a ray of light in a PC dominated world. To remove the “Welcome To Macintosh” screen would be a shame. And I know many of you would agree. Thus, I ask that each and every one of you who are reading this write into Apple, or better yet Guy Kawasaki’s Evangelist newsletter, and DEMAND that system 7.6, and every Mac OS afterwards, keep the screen. (Tim)
This is from Jim Moravec our copy editor, after reading what I wrote above:
[Opinion: Apple must remove that message because many other large companies are investing huge amounts of money in perpetuating the Mac OS, and they aren’t making Macs – they’re making Mac OS compatibles, and they surely would like their own identities. Perhaps a better idea is to have ensure that Apple Macintosh users with Apple ROMs continue to see the ‘Welcome to Macintosh’…]
So, what do YOU think?
TechTool 1.1.2
The latest freeware TechTool is now available! The latest version is compatible with system 7.5.5. Download it today! (Tim)
America Online
Hey, got AOL? Thinking about getting it? Beginning in December, AOL will be only $19.95 for unlimited access. Yeah, unlimited access. Wonder if they’ve been reading My Mac? I suggested this a year ago! (Tim)
Speaking of AOL
AOL has finally released version 3.0 for the Mac. Of course, it’s for the Power Mac users. We subclass Mac users, ‘020, ‘030 and ‘040 processor types, will just have to be patient just a little while longer… again. (Russ)
AHHH!
No news here, but I have a question? Ever been in a hurry, and waiting for a load of laundry to finish drying? Happened to me yesterday morning. Seems I forgot to dry my last load the night before, and all my jeans were wet! So, I threw them in the dryer, waited an hour, and slapped them puppies on. I forgot what I was in a hurry to do, as it now looks like I will have a permanent little round mark right below my belly button.
My advice? Never put on jeans with metal buttons that have just come out of a dryer. Ouch! (Tim)
Apple’s Future Laptops/PDAs
The word is out that Apple has finally decided to clean up its act in regards to its laptops and PDAs and take on the world. Well, Apple has shown off its new PowerBook 1400 with new book cover panels and inserts and which can be configured with a CD-ROM drive (for more money, of course). Apple has also announced its new “eMate 300,” a notebook designed for the education market, K-12. Apple sees it as filling a niche between the regular desktop computer and its PowerBooks. They have also announced the pending arrival of the “MessagePad 2000,” the heir apparent to the MessagePad 130, which will perform at ten times the capability of the MessagePad 130 and be equipped with productivity and Internet applications. The look of the units, and of the new upcoming laptops, is said to be radically different then the standard issue Apple items. (Russ)
533-MHz???
The latest word now is that Power Computing will be the first to use the new X704 PowerPC chip. The X704, from Exponential Technology Inc. of San Jose, CA., is the next generation coming to a Mac near you.
It should be no surprise that it would be Power Computing that would be the first to sign up to use the new PC killer chip. At least, it’s no surprise to me. Power Computing really needs to get their computers in some stores, though. That is the only way they will ever grow beyond the niche market they find themselves in…(Tim)
Christmas Performa
Apple is looking to strike the opening blow for the Christmas sales crush by cutting prices on the Performa 6400 by up to 30%!! They have even included the Avid Video system in the price in an effort to steal the thunder from anyone on the PC side touting their products. So, all of you that have been saving for that rainy day or for some far distant Christmas, it may be coming sooner than you think. (Russ)
Get Well Wishes
Mac*Chat’s publisher/producer Tony Lindsey has taken a break from producing MacChat and is under a physician’s care. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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