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November 1, 1997
News
New Macs are coming, new Macs are coming. The first set of new CPUs that Apple is to
introduce after the death of the clonemakers will be based on the speedy new PowerPC 750
chip, sometimes also known as the G3. [explain benefits of G3/750] Power Computing had
announced and demo’d such a system at the MacWorld Boston show in August, but it was
never produced. Apple apparently plans to introduce three new machines branded as Apple
Power Mac G3 systems. They will all include 32MB of RAM, 24x CD-ROM drives and large hard
drives. The lower-end, 233-MHz G3 Desktop, will have a 4GB hard drive; the 266-MHz G3
Desktop will have 4GB of disk capacity plus an internal Zip drive; and the 266-MHz G3
Minitower will include a 6GB hard drive, an internal Zip drive, and audio/visual features.
The machines will apparently sell for $2,050, $2,500 and $3,000 respectively.
In other Apple news, now Mac users may find themselves at the short end of a security
problem. Apparently version 1.5 of the Apple Mac Runtime for Java, or MRJ (which was only
available for download off the company’s web site—a previous version is included
with OS8) has a whole in it that could let hostile Java applets get access to the files on
your hard disk. The company was planning to offer a fix for the problem on their software
updates page, located off the main Apple home page, but I didn’t see anything as of
last night. If you have downloaded the new version, which is supposed to improve Java
performance on Macs, you’ll need to make sure and check back for that upgrade.
I’ve got a link to it as well.
Speaking of files at risk, Windows users of the @Home cable modem service got a rude
awakening this week when it was discovered and announced that there was a gaping security
hole in some of the company’s early cable modems. The basic problem is that these
early modems essentially put your home computer on a network, much like a company network,
and if you had inadvertently turned File Sharing on, your PC and many of its files were
fair game for anyone else on the network to see, copy and potentially do just about
anything they wanted to with them. Ouch.
Yet more potential browser problems for Microsoft. A nasty situation is developing for
folks who have intentionally or inadvertently installed Internet Explorer 3.0 on top of
version 4.0. The problem is version 3.0 doesn’t check for later versions and if its
installed, it can cause all kinds of nasty problems because of all the changes it makes to
your computer’s system files. While most people wouldn’t willingly install the
older version on top of their new browser, many applications still come bundled with IE
3.0, such as the new Quicken 98 app I installed last week, and the default setting for it
is to install IE 3.0 as part of the package, which is a big problem. In fact, the Quicken
installer even warns you if customize the install and deselect IE 3.0. The only solution
is to upgrade to, which generally means reinstall version 4.0.
Lots more interesting notebook options will be available shortly. HP is introducing its
Omnibook 3000 line of portables, all using the Tillamook 200 and 233 MHz MMX processors
and large 13.3" screens. The systems will also feature a hard drive as large as 4GB,
16MB of RAM, and an optional 20-speed CD-ROM drive. They’ll range in price from
$3,800 to $4,800. Other vendors planning to introduce new machines on Monday include Dell,
Toshiba and Compaq.
More Intel price cuts this week; the company chopped prices by about 13% to 24% on its
Pentium II processors and up to 40% on some of the older, non MMX Pentiums.
Here’s a cool one. Delorme’s portable TripMate GPS product and their Street
Atlas 5.0 mapping CD-ROM can now work in conjunction with the Palm Pilot. [explain
TripMate and GPS] You can download maps into the Pilot, attach the $150 TripMate (which is
frankly a bit bigger than the Pilot), and then track your location on the Pilot, wherever
you go. For more info, check out Delorme’s web site at www.delorme.com.
If you’re thinking about high-speed web access, you may be dreaming about cable
modems or xDSL technology [explain], but I can tell you from personal experience that
ISDN, at 128 Kbps, is here right now and works. A company called Teles, is clearly aware
of that fact and is now offering an ISDN Terminal adapter ISA card for under $100. The
iStar PnP Internal Terminal Adapter includes a feature that automatically configures most
of your ISDN settings for you. Check out www.teles.com,
or just go to This Week’s Links on my site, to get there. BTW, if you already have
ISDN, there’s a relatively new call-waiting like option that PacBell offers for ISDN
called ACO, or Additional Call Option, that really fills an important gap for me and lots
of small users. It lets you use both B Channels simultaneously for a MultiLink PPP
session, which basically means it can run at the full 128K potential rate of ISDN, but
still lets you receive incoming calls. Without ACO callers simply get a business signal.
Now, it costs $20 to re-provision your line and your terminal adapter has to support it,
but if it does, I would suggest you get it.
Looking to create a legible web site? Then you might want to check out Adobe’s new
$49 WebType package, a collection of 12 fonts and web-oriented clip art that are all
designed for onscreen legibility. You can find out more from Adobe’s site at www.adobe.com.
There’ll be yet another choice for free e-mail accounts on the Web, thanks to the
redesigned PathFinder site. Check it out at www.pathfinder.com
And speaking of free, which we all like, if you’ve wanted to try and sell something
via classifieds or on the web, you’ll want to check out OnSale.com, an online auction
house that during the month of November only, is letting individuals put items up for
auction for free. Find out more at www.onsale.com.
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