Today's News On One Page

November 2nd, 1999

[4:40 PM] Apple Stock Watch: Markets Rally then Fade, Apple Closes Up 2 5/8 To Another All-Time High
by Wes George

The Nasdaq composite index busted through the 3000 level for the first time in history this morning on a wave of buying in the technology sectors, especially chip equipment and semiconductor stocks. But it didn't stick, and the Nasdaq closed up only 13.95, (0.47%) to end at 2981.60 on volume of 1.2 billion shares traded. Today was the third record high session for the Nasdaq in a row.

The Dow moved ahead by about 100 points earlier in the day, but gave it all back by the end of the session to close down 66.67 points, (0.63%) at 10581.84 on a volume of 890 million shares.

The abrupt topping off of the Dow and subsequent decline may be in part due to J P Morgan's prediction, released midday, that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates 3 more times through June 2000.

The S&P 500 closed down 6.38 points, (0.47%) to close at 1347.74.

The bond market continued its rally today as the 30-year US Treasury bond close up 17/32, while the yield fell to 6.136% from 6.17% Monday.

Apple rebound strongly after yesterday's sell off to a new intraday high of 81.11/16 then drew back, closing at 80 1/4 up 2 5/8 or 3.38% on less than average volume. This represents another all-time closing high for the company in the last 3 trading sessions.

There was no single news item to explain Apple's strong performance today. Apple's price to book value has grown substantially in the last few days due to their position in Akamai and Arm Holdings. Apple also recently announced that they expect a 71% quarter over quarter growth in unit sales this Christmas season. Other investors could be optimistic that Apple's planned acquisition of Raycer Graphics, a graphics chip designer, may bode favorably for the future of Apple's professional line of computers.

In Apple related stocks, Akamai (AKAM) on its third day of trading is up yet again by 18 7/16 to close at 192 3/4. Yesterday Akamai was up 23 points after gaining 458% on Friday, which was AKAM's first day on the Nasdaq. Arm Holdings (ARMHY) also extended its uptrend by 2 9/16 to 94 1/8.

Apple's Power PC partners were mixed, Motorola was up slightly while IBM closed down 1 7/8 to 94 7/8. Adobe, Macromedia and Symantec all closed lower.

Apple's PC rivals had a mixed day too. Compaq and Hewlett Packard slid lower, while Gateway, Dell, Intel and Microsoft all closed up.

Oracle (ORCL) advanced 1 13/16 to close at 53. Oracle announced it is teaming with Ford Motors (F) to build a multi-billion dollar Internet venture.

For full quotes on all the companies mentioned in this article, we have assembled this set of quotes at Yahoo! for your reference. We also have many of these same quotes reported live (20 minute delay) on our home page. For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our Apple Stock Watch Special Report.

Apple

[2:45 PM] MAC-O-RAMA Goes Mad(den) With New Contest

MAC-O-RAMA has again teamed up with ASPYR Media to bring us another excellent contest. This time the prize is the award winning football game, Madden 2000, along with a special grand prize. According to MAC-O-RAMA:

Let the Games Begin: MAC-O-RAMA's Madden 2000 Contest is looking to score.

Fall is in the air and you know what that means...football! So, get ready for MAC-O-RAMA's full-contact, bone-crushing, Madden 2000 Contest! From November 2nd-5th, MAC-O-RAMA will be teaming up with ASPYR Media and various other awesome Mac sites to pit Macintosh gamers against each other in a last minute offensive to try to find the most footballs.

The ten MVP's that find the most footballs will win copies of the new MADDEN 2000, t-shirts and more. One lucky Grand Prize winner will be awarded a Superbowl Party for 10!

The two-minute warning has sounded! Starting Tuesday, November 2nd, it's time to hit the turf and find those footballs. Do you have what it takes? Below are the participating sites:

For full contest rules, please visit the MAC-O-RAMA web site.

MAC-O-RAMA

[2:45 PM] FontReserve 2.5 Ships Bundled With ACTION WYSIWYG

DiamondSoft has announced that Font Reserve 2.5 is shipping, and the package includes Action WYSIWYG from Power On Software. The combination of these two products brings a formidable package for managing fonts to the Mac OS. According to DiamondSoft:

Font Reserve 2.5 now ships with Action WYSIWYG from Power On Software, Inc., a new application font menu manager announced and shipped recently by Power On Software. Action WYSIWYG allows users to organize their application font menus by grouping fonts together by family, display the fonts in their actual typefaces in the font menus, display an icon showing whether the font is a PostScript, TrueType or Bitmap font, and display their fonts in a unique multicolumn format. This special version of Action WYSIWYG has been customized for Font Reserve.

In addition to the inclusion of Action WYSIWYG, Font Reserve 2.5 also ships with a new Adobe Illustrator Plug-in and an updated version of the Font Reserve XTension for QuarkXPress. These plug-ins now both support the new Font Sense technology announced by DiamondSoft at Seybold Seminars in San Francisco in September 1999.

FONT RESERVE

Font Reserve was developed to solve font management and usability problems that have been frustrating graphic designers and production people since the Macintosh was introduced. Font Reserve is the world's first and only font manager to physically manage fonts for you, and to manage font data via a true relational database with an intuitive Finder-like Browser interface.

NEW IN VERSION 2.5: SELECTED FEATURES

Enhanced for Mac OS 9 - Font Reserve 2.5 is fully compatible with the just released Mac OS 9 from Apple and takes advantage of the new features and technologies within Mac OS 9. For example, Font Reserve 2.5 supports Mac OS 9's Multiple Users, allowing each user who logs on to the Mac to have their own private Font Reserve database with their own fonts and their own configuration. Font Reserve 2.5 also takes advantage of Mac OS 9's ability to activate up to 512 font suitcases, allowing you to activate a large number of fonts in Font Reserve much faster then previously.

Faster font activation - Font Reserve 2.5 employs a new method for resolving font ID and name conflicts when activating fonts, resulting in significantly faster font activation.

Improved Specimen Book Features - Font Reserve's specimen book feature, which allows users to print out samples of all or some of their fonts, has been significantly improved. Printing of specimen books is now more then twice as fast and supports more devices more reliably then previously. Font Reserve 2.5 now also ships with twenty different specimen templates to select from, twice as many as previously shipped, giving users more options in customizing their specimen books.

Enhanced AppleScript support -- Font Reserve 2.5 builds on the AppleScript support from its previous version by adding additional functionality including "whose-clause resolution" which allows users to search for fonts by any attribute within the Font Reserve database, enhanced error reporting, and the addition of many new sample AppleScripts.

Font Reserve 2.5 is available in electronic format for US$89.95, and on CD for US$119.95. Previous owners of Font Reserve can upgrade for US$39.95. You can find more information at the Font Reserve web site.

Font Reserve

[2:45 PM] The March Of FireWire Continues Apace With New CDRW Drives

EZQuest has announced that they are adding two new Firewire CDRW drives to their lineup. The Boa Firewire 4x4x24 and 6x4x24 CDRW drives mark continued expansion into the growing Firewire market. These drives also offer Mac users blistering speeds for a reasonable cost. According to EZQuest:

The Boa FireWire 4x4x24 CDRW will write to CDR disks at 4x speed, rewrite to CDRW disks at 4x and read at 24x with a maximum transfer rate of 3,600 Kbytes/sec and a 2mb buffer. The Boa FireWire 6x4x24 CDRW will allow the same performance along with a faster CDR write speed of 6X.

Boa Firewire 4x4x24 and 6x4x24 drives are compatible with the imac DV line, blue and white G3s as well as G4 Macintosh computers, according to Ebrahim Zmehrir, president of EZQuest. "These new Firewire drives are a perfect compliment to the outstanding line of new Macintosh systems" Zmehrir says.

The Boa Firewire 4x4x24 is available for US$369, while the 6x4x24 version is available for US$409. You can find more information at the EZQuest web site.

EZQuest

[2:30 PM] New Tool For Understanding Math, Physics, & Engineering Hits Market

Calerga has partnered with K-Team to distribute Calerga's SysQuake software. The SysQuake line helps simplify the understanding of math, physics, and engineering by presenting those subjects in new perspectives. According to Calerga:

Calerga and K-Team announce today that K-Team will distribute the family of SysQuake software, including SysQuake and SysQuake Signer for Macintosh and Windows computers.

SysQuake is a groundbreaking application for understanding and designing complex systems by the use of interactive graphics. Interactivity lets the user manipulate graphics, observe how phenomena are related, and change parameters to improve the design of a technical device. Understanding how initial conditions affect a simulation or how the parameters of a feedback controller determine the behavior of a dynamic system is made much easier than with the static graphics created by existing software.

SysQuake's powerful, yet easy-to-program computer language opens it to any kind of application; SysQuake handles the user interface itself, letting the developer concentrate on the specifics of his or her problem. It is shipped with sample applications in the fields of automatic control, analog and digital filters, model identification, physics, and finance. SysQuake is not only useful for research and development--its ability to help really understand the system beyond the graphics makes it the ideal tool for teaching.

SysQuake 1.0 is now shipping for Macintosh and Windows computers. You can find more information, including pricing, at the Calerga web site.

Calerga - K-Team

[2:30 PM] Is It November Already? The New Issue Of MyMac Must Be Ready!

My Mac magazine has released their November issue. My Mac is a monthly electronic magazine devoted to bring different views, product updates, and other news to the Mac community. According to My Mac:

This month includes:

  • Susan Howeter raves tangerine and graphite this month in "Out of the AppleCart."
  • In the "Nemo Memo," John Nemerovski reveals Mac web site ratings and revisits his $3,000 iMac."
  • Mick O'Neil's "The Mac Factor" divulges the secrets of Apples future product developments. The future awaits us...
  • Read how Beth Locke transformed herself from newbie to Apple guru (or is it geek?) in this month's "Babes in Boyland."
  • Tim Robertson, our editor-in-chief and founding father, takes us to new levels of burning CDs in "The Beginners Guide: Making CDs, Part III."
  • Tim then takes us through the marvels of Apple's new G4 and PowerBook computers in "My Turn."
  • Webheads will enjoy Adam Karneboge's review and comparison of Mizer 1.7 against VSE Web Site Turbo 3.0.1. Read and learn!
  • Mike Wallinga examines QuickMail Pro 2.0 and lets us know the good, and the bad, of a truly great program.
  • John Nemerovski is his usual profilic reader-self. His informative, detailed, and humorous reviews can be found in this month's "Book Bytes" and "Book Bytes Bonus."
  • Read why "The Game Guys," Mike Wallinga and Adam Karneboge, highly recommend Freeverse Software's Deathground.
  • Don't forget to read this month's "The Best of As The Apple Turns." You'll never see, or read, a better Mac-soap opera.
  • Like to be the handyperson in your household? Learn how to expand that expertise to your Mac after using the links in David Price's "KnowledgeSpiderWeb."
  • In FileMaker 101, Part 20, Fenton lays out his theory of screen design and tells where to find those nice buttons.
  • Look deep into Bob McCormick's Quartz Crystal Ball in "MacAmalgamation."
  • Gone with the Wind Meets Apple Macintosh in Ralph Luciani's "Me and My Mac."
  • What to be thankful for this year? How about Barbara Bell's Helpful Hints in November's "Starting Line."
  • What's better? Mac, Linux, or NT? Okay, okay, we all know Mac is the best, but where do the other two stand? Find out in Mike Wallinga's "Wall Writings."
  • While you're at My Mac, don't forget to check out Krishna Sadasivam's newest cartoon!

You can find more information and see the full issue at the My Mac Magazine web site.

My Mac Magazine

[2:00 PM] VersionMaster Latest Updates: Imagexpo, FontReserve, And OtherMenu

Imagexpo has been updated to version 2.5, FontReserve has also been moved to a 2.5 designation, and OtherMenu gets new life breathed into it with version 2.0.3. These are the most recent updates listed at The Mac Observer's VersionMaster. You can find all the most recent Mac software updates with this service.

The Mac Observer's VersionMaster

[Column] Wasting Time With The Idiots - Hey, Are You Crying or Is That Just Something in Your i?

[Column] On The Flip Side - Response To Someone Predicting Apple's Death

[8:00 AM] Apple Fights Back Against Dell's Education Claims

Apple Computer issued a press release refuting Dell Computer's recent claims that they had overtaken the #1 spot in education sales. Apple's counter claims center around Dell not counting Apple's direct sales to the education market. Those direct sales constitute a major portion of Apple's education sales. According to Apple:

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) today confirmed that it holds the number one position in sales to the US Education market as shown by recent data from leading Education market research firms, including Quality Education Data (QED) and International Data Corp. (IDC). Apple further stated that Dell's recent claims of being the Education sales leader rely upon vendor and channel surveys which do not fully account for Apple's large direct sales to the US Education market.

"Dell didn't incorporate Apple's direct sales into their Education market share calculations," said Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO. "If they had done so, they would have been reminded that Apple remains the Education market share leader."

QED's Technology Purchasing Forecast, 1999-2000, shows that K-12 classrooms across the US have more Apple hardware products than any other manufacturer and the majority of those classrooms intend to repurchase Apple products.

IDC's Q2CY '99 Education Market Report states that Apple leads in overall US Education sales with 22.2% market share -- higher than Compaq's 19.1%, Gateway's 17.2%, and Dell's fourth place showing at 15.8%, further substantiating Apple's leading position in the US Education market.

The Mac Observer Spin: One can say just about anything one wants to when it comes to interpreting data. However, we are inclined to believe Apple's claims on this issue. Surely the Wintel onslaught has gained considerable strength in the education market during the last 10 years, but Apple is still the darling of most educators' eyes. Perception is reality to many people, despite the philosophical debates that such a statement may evoke. It is important for Apple to maintain its perceived lead in the education market lest the lack of such a lead steer people towards the Dark Side.

This is likely not the last stone cast in this particular war. In any event, it's great to see Apple come back swinging, and armed with stats to back it up.

Apple

[8:00 AM] Phil Schiller In Da' House For QuickTime Live!

Apple has announced that Phil Schiller, Apple's worldwide marketing bigwig, will be giving the Keynote speech for QuickTime Live! QuickTime Live! is the conference Apple is holding next week to promote the use of QuickTime streaming. The event will be accessible over the web, through QuickTime Streaming. According to Apple:

Phil Schiller, Apples vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the November 9, 1999 kickoff keynote at Apples first ever QuickTime(TM) Live! conference.

QuickTime Live!, which takes place November 8-11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will also feature keynotes by Dirck Halstead, editor of The Digital Journalist and a former photojournalist for Time and Life magazines, and Michael Backes, the Titanic special effects guru and AppleMaster, on November 10 and 11, respectively.

"With more than 17 million downloads in six short months, we've seen phenomenal industry and consumer adoption of QuickTime 4," said Phil Schiller, Apples vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "QuickTime Live! will give developers the tools they need to continue creating the worlds highest quality streaming audio and video."

The kickoff keynote will be webcast live via QuickTime 4. Viewers simply need to download a copy of QuickTime 4 from www.apple.com/quicktime and then go to www.apple.com/quicktime/showcase/live to view.

The four-day QuickTime Live! conference will also offer full-day workshops, breakout sessions and a product and technology showcase featuring the latest developments in QuickTime. Macintosh(TM) and Windows application developers will get hands-on experience with QuickTime APIs; digital media producers will learn inside tips and techniques for creating QuickTime content on the Internet, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM; and Internet entrepreneurs will learn how to enhance eCommerce opportunities associated with webcasting and Internet video on demand.

Cost & Registration

Developers and content providers can register today at http://www.apple.com/quicktimelive . A platinum pass, which includes access to the workshops and conferences, is US $1,390. Conference-only passes are US $995; workshop-only passes are US $395.

It's not too late to attend this exciting event. Full registration is priced at US$1,390 while conference-only passes are priced at US$995. Workshop-only passes can be bought for US$395. You can find more information on the conference and registration at Apple's web site.

Apple

[8:00 AM] Umax Releases Mac-Only SCSI & USB Scanner

Umax Technologies, the former clone maker, has announced a new scanner that departs from typical scanner fair. The MX3, as it is called, is not only a Mac-only scanner, it also a scanner that be connected via USB or SCSI. This feature makes it very attractive for both the new generation of PowerMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks, and iMacs, as well as the legacy Macs that predate USB. According to Umax:

Businesses, households and students have been buying Apple's iMac and G3/4 computers in record numbers, and today UMAX Technologies, Inc. announced a dedicated scanning solution designed exclusively for the Mac.

The new UMAX Astra MX3 scanner represents three significant breakthroughs for Mac users -- it is the first UMAX scanner designed strictly for the Mac, the only Mac-specific scanner designed to connect through either SCSI or USB port, and the only Mac-only scanner now on the market to feature three-button scan and print convenience.

Priced at under $200, the UMAX Astra MX3 bows to style-conscious iMac users by providing a patented see-through user interface driver in a color selectable by the user, plus a blue translucent scanner lid designed to match the most widely used iMac. The dual USB/SCSI interface makes this scanner fully compatible with iMac, G3, G4 or legacy Mac computers. It operates using software compatible with Mac OS 8.0 or higher.

The UMAX Astra MX3 features three pushbuttons, of which two allow fast, easy scans or copies of any color or black and white image. The copy button sends scanner output directly to a printer, turning scanner and printer into a no-cost copy machine -- a great feature for consumers and SOHO users who are price or space conscious.

The third button can be easily defined by the user to send a text document to the user's word processing application through the integrated OCR software, or to send the output directly to e-mail as an image attachment. These push-button features apply the intelligence of the scanning system to simplify and automate the entire process for the user.

The Astra MX3 scans at 600 x 1200 dpi (dots per inch) optical resolution, allowing software interpolation up to 9600 dpi. It can scan photographs, artwork, graphics or any document up to standard letter size, utilizing a charge coupled device (CCD) that brings out the richness and preciseness of the original image. The scanner features true 36-bit color, providing rich, vibrant colors and detailed highlights and shadows.

The Astra MX3 will include out-of-the-box productivity solutions including Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition, Caere OmniPage LE OCR, and Presto! PageManager and Presto! PhotoAlbum LE.

With scanner shipments worldwide growing 42 percent in 1999 to reach 21 million units, according to recent studies by InfoTrends Research Group, Inc., the new Mac-centric, consumer-priced scanner meets a newly emerging space in the SOHO market for a versatile device that can scan almost any media type. Its new ease-of-use features will all enhance the productivity of users.

You can find more information on the MX3 at the Umax web site. The scanner is priced at US$179 and is available from online and physical Mac retailers.

The Mac Observer Spin: This is an exciting new product. Umax has been a long time supporter of the Mac with its peripheral line, but this marks the first time in a long while that a company has released a Mac-only version of a product like this. Umax has also done a very smart thing by equipping the scanner with USB and SCSI. Not only does this broaden the appeal of the scanner to those legacy users, it also makes it extremely attractive to homes and small offices that have a mixed environment of pre-USB Macs and the current models.

this should prove to be a very successful product for Umax.

Umax

[8:00 AM] The Bottom Line Has G4/ATI VR 128 Video Cards In Stock

In the midst of many shortages of PowerMac G4s and ATI VR 128 video cards, the good people at The Bottom Line let us know that they have plenty of stock on hand. Judging from letters we have received from Observers across the country, we gather this may be good news for some! The company has over 100 PowerMac G4s in several configurations and well over a hundred of the ATI VR 128 video cards. Grab 'em while their hot!

For those in Austin, Tx. the company maintains a recently opened retail store where you can actually go check out the merchandise.

The Mac Observer Spin: Pardon us if this seemed like a commercial (it's not), but we have been inundated by letters from Observers who have had difficulty finding G4s and the new ATI cards.

The Bottom Line

[8:00 AM] OmikronBasic Get Basic New Tool In Update

Berkhan-Software has announced the latest version of their programming language OmikronBasic. The new version, 6.5, includes a built-in debugger and other improvements. According to Berkhan-Software:

OmikronBasic was originally developed in the 80s to be used on ATARI computers. After that, it was mainly used by scientists and engineers to find solutions for complex and mathematically demanding problems. For example, this is how an extensive program to simulate climatic changes was created. One engineering office uses a program written in Omikron Basic to calculate ship constructions; an institute for differential geometry uses a program written in Omikron Basic to calculate solution curves and their graphical representation.

The most important new feature of this version is the integrated Source Code Debugger. The debugger may be used to run through your program in single steps while monitoring the content of variables and memory cells as well as being able to step into and step out of procedures and functions. There is also an animation mode, which may be used to run a program in something akin to slow-motion. The debugger is thus best suited to find errors and for didactic purposes to clarify, e.g., the working of algorithms step by step.

You can find more information on OmikronBasic at the company's web site. The update is free to registered owners of version 6.x. The full version is priced at US$143.

Berkhan Software