Today's News On One Page
October 18th, 1999
Icon Machine has been bumped to version 2.01, Yer has been released at version 1.0, and Authorware has been raised to version 5.1. These are the most recent updates listed at The Mac Observer's VersionMaster. You can find all the most recent updates with this service.
[4:40 PM] VersionMaster: Icon Machine, Yer, And Authorware Are Latest Updates
The Nasdaq continued the downtrend it started a week ago today closing at 2688.83 down 43. At one point the Nasdaq was down almost 100 points, but cut that loss by more than half in a late afternoon rally. The Dow fared better closing up 96.57 at 10116.28. The Dow's rally today, after the 630 plus point drop last week, was hindered by low volume. The Nasdaq suffered a decided loss as it closed at 2689.15, down 42.68. Many investors sat the day out waiting for tomorrow morning's release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September before jumping back in. The CPI represents the amount of inflation in the cost of consumer goods, a strong surge will be further incitement to the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. The various tech sectors were among the hardest hit in today's Nasdaq sell off. Apple closed down 1.84% to $73 1/4, a loss of 1 5/16, after being down $3 points. Among the Apple related stocks Adobe was one of the few bright spots as it closed higher by 1/4. Macromedia, and Symantec bother closed lower. Apple's PowerPC partners were mixed as Motorola closed higher and IBM ended the day on a negative note. On the PC front, Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Compaq, Gateway 2000, and Hewlett-Packard all closed lower. 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.
[4:00 PM] The Apple Stock Watch: The Stock Market Feels for a Bottom, AAPL retraces $1 5/16 closing at $73 1/4
by Wes George
[3:30 PM] Track Auctions At Popular Auction Sites With Auctioneer Pro
MBM Designs has released Auctioneer Pro for the Mac. Auctioneer Pro will surf the most popular auction sites and track items in which you are interested. According to MBM Designs:
The demo is free while the full version is priced at US$24.99. You can find more information on the product at the company's web site. |
[2:30 PM] California Quake Delays Release Of Y2K App Checker
Blueline Studios has announced that the recent quake in California has caused an unavoidable delay in the public beta release of Y@K App Checker. The project will hopefully be back on track shortly. According to Blueline Studio:
You can find more information on Y2K App Checker at the company's web site. |
[1:45 PM] Clock Your iMac's Or iBook's G3 Up A Notch
Danbo from The Mac Treasure Tracing Club, an Asian Mac web site, wrote to tell us that Mystic Room, another Asian Mac site, has figured out how to bump the clock speed of iMac DVs and iBooks. According to Mystic Room, the motherboard will support speeds as high as 1 GHz on the iMac DV, thought it is unlikely that any shipping iMacs come with G3s that could operate at those speeds. Heat factors will probably have a major impact on top speeds as well. The process involves making changes to components on your motherboard, so it is not for the faint of heart. Please note that this process would probably void your warranty with Apple and could seriously damage your iMac, perhaps making it unusable. For that reason, The Mac Observer recommends that you do not attempt this process, nor have we tested it in any fashion. However, we know that performance junkies and the curious will want to check it out just like we did! :-) The site is in frames, so we can't link directly to the pertinent page. These are instructions for finding the right page. Click on the English link at the bottom of the page. When the new frame comes up, click on the "Macintosh Tune Up" Link, and then the iMac DV link at the bottom of the list of Mac computers. That is the page with images and instructions for doing this. The site has tips for tweaking your G4 as well. Apple was unavailable for comment as of press time. The Mac Observer Spin: Being able to fiddle with your Mac at the hardware level is one thing that is less easy than it is on the PC front. Of course, that very aspect of the Mac is one of the things that makes it attractive to many Mac users. With the iMac DV making iMacs truly powerful machines for the first time, they are most likely becoming more attractive to those looking for high performance. The urge to tweak that performance in order to get the last ounce of processor juice will be great for many. |
[8:45 AM] Apple Comes Full Circle Announces They Will Honor All G4 Pre-orders Before 10/13!
In a fantastic change of corporate heart, Apple has announced its full policy regarding the G4 pricing/availability issue. Apple will now honor all orders taking before 10/13/1999, the day before they announced the new product line, including those from resellers. As of Friday, Apple had agreed to honor pre-orders from Apple Store customers only. Also in a surprising move, Apple made this announcement, which amounts to a full-blown apology, in a press release open to the public. According to Apple: Apple® today announced it will honor all orders for its Power Macintosh® G4 computers placed before Wednesday, October 13, at the originally quoted prices, including those placed with the Company's resellers which were accompanied by a purchase order, or a cash or credit card deposit. The Mac Observer Spin: This is such good news! Apple has stepped up to the plate under withering fire from the Mac press, the mainstream press, and, most importantly, their customers, and done the Right Thing. Even more importantly, Apple has done so publicly. This is a far cry from many similar actions in the past where Apple has never actually apologized for widespread customer snafus, and only dealt with those customers affected. While this may have been influenced by the mainstream press and even the financial press commenting and reporting on this issue, we prefer to look at this as more responsive Apple. In any event, Apple gets a big Mac Observer Salute for taking the high road on this contentious issue. |
[Column] The Apple Trader - Happy Black Monday! |
[Column] Monday's Mac Gadget - Protect Your Mac from Evil |
[Review] MacAlly's iHub, A Great Choice For USB Hubs by Michael Munger |
[8:00 AM] Win A Free Copy Of Tomb Raider 3!
MAC-O-RAMA and Aspyr Media have announced a contest to celebrate the release of Tomb Raider 3, the award winning adventure game featuring the buxom and tough female adventurer, Lara Croft. MAC-O-RAMA and Aspyr Media will be placing game pieces on popular Macintosh sites, giving readers a chance to win copies of Tomb Raider 3 and other prizes. According to MAC-O-RAMA:
For more information and full contest rules, you can visit the MAC-O-RAMA web site. In the meanwhile, visit those 5 sites, including The Mac Observer of course :-), and look for the game pieces! |
[8:00 AM] Sonnet Drops Prices On G3 Upgrade Cards
Sonnet Technologies has jumped on the G3 upgrade price slide by announcing price cuts across their G3 upgrade line. Joining some of the other upgrade manufacturers in dropping prices, Sonnet is making it easier to extend the life of current Macintosh computers. According to Sonnet:
You can find more information at the Sonnet Technologies web site. |
[8:00 AM] New QuickTime 4 Image Viewer Enters Public Beta
SearchWare Solutions has invited the public to test their upcoming QuickTime viewing application, Pix Lite. Pix Lite will support many of the same features as Apple's QuickTime, while improving flexibility and ease of use. According to SearchWare Solutions:
Those interested in testing Pix Lite can find more information at the SearchWare Solutions web site. This public beta is a free download. |
[8:00 AM] GIF Screenshot To Animation Utility Adds Japanese Version
Pedagoguery Software has updated Gif.gIf.giF to version 1.52. Gif.gIf.giF simplifies the creation of GIF animations for World Wide Web presentation. This version adds Japanese interface capabilities. According to Pedagoguery Software:
Gif.gIf.giF is available for US$28. You can find more information at the Pedagoguery Software web site. |
[8:00 AM] Data Hammer Updated To Include MacOS 9 Compatibility
Glucose Software has updated Data Hammer to version 2.2.6, giving the popular web search/news summary tool OS 9 compatibility. Version 2.2.6 also includes bug fixes and stability enhancements. Data Hammer allows quick summarization of World Wide Web news articles, and allows those summaries to be reported in an easy to read format. According to Glucose:
Data Hammer is available for US$24.95. You can find more information at the Glucose web site. |