TidBITS#623/01-Apr-02
=====================
The top news this week is the proposed settlement in the Microsoft
antitrust case - will it meet your needs? Adam also looks at a new
service from Internet payment service Kagi that's aimed at helping
fans support their favorite artists. John Moltz joins us with some
opinions on iPod-enabled piracy, Tonya previews a new utility from
Microsoft, and we examine Apple's new support options. In the
news, we pass on video evidence of Apple's next iDevice (think
TiVo), and tell you of a new email filtering service from the
SpamCop folks.
Topics:
MailBITS/01-Apr-02
Microsoft Settlement Vows Bug-Free Software
Apple Offers Savvy Support Options
iPod: Pirates' Delight?
Microsoft AutoGadget Formats the Finder
Mac Mania Geek Cruise Meets the Love Boat?
Kagi Helps Fans Support Artists
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-623.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2002/TidBITS#623_01-Apr-02.etx>
Copyright 2002 TidBITS Electronic Publishing. All rights reserved.
Information: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Comments: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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MailBITS/01-Apr-02
------------------
**Video Details of Apple iTiVo Revealed** -- Based on unconfirmed
but reliable reports from within Apple, the company is planning to
release its own digital video recorder (DVR) device, based on
technology licensed from TiVo, Inc. (see "TiVo: Freedom Through
Time-Shifting" in TidBITS-594_). Tentatively dubbed "iTiVo," the
device adds television viewing to Apple's digital hub concept by
enabling owners to record television programs to the iTiVo's
massive 160 GB hard disk, play the programming back at the their
leisure, and transfer shows to a FireWire-connected Mac as
QuickTime movies - ideal for PowerBook and iBook owners wanting to
watch TV on the go. Although early reports suggest that Apple
ported the TiVo's Linux-based software to run under Mac OS X,
leaked video footage of the device in use suggests that Apple has
changed little with the existing TiVo software (much the way
Handspring and Sony use slightly modified versions of the Palm
OS). Technical specifications remain sketchy, but - at least based
on the video linked below - the iTiVo appears to support memory
and hard disk upgrades, AirPort access (for setting recording
options from your Mac instead of relying on the included remote
control), and Apple's innovative industrial design. [JLC]
<http://www.tivo.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06543>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/623/itivo.html>
**GramCop Filters Poorly Written Email** -- Tired of reading email
that's rife with spelling and grammatical mistakes? Concerned that
the rise of quick email and instant messaging has caused writing
skills to deteriorate to the point of incomprehensibility? Thanks
to a new service from the people who brought you SpamCop, you can
restrict incoming mail to those messages that the senders care
enough about to have checked spelling and basic grammar. Luckily,
tools exist to ease the burden on those whose spelling and grammar
skills aren't sufficient to get past GramCop's weighted checks.
Many email programs, including Eudora, Microsoft Outlook Express
and Entourage, and Apple's Mail under Mac OS X, include spell-
checking capabilities, and third-party solutions such as Casady &
Greene's Spell Catcher and Grammarian exist for those who prefer
other email programs. Although grammar checking tools have long
been derided for their inaccuracy, GramCop supplements the
automatic tools with moonlighting 7th grade English teachers
whose efforts should help improve GramCop's accuracy (and also
help support our nation's educators).
<http://www.spamcop.net/>
<http://www.gramcop.net/>
<http://www.casadyg.com/products/>
GramCop costs $30 per year for individuals; discount pricing is
available, as are site licenses if you want GramCop to filter
poorly composed email for an entire domain. A separate $10 per
year service includes detailed explanations of the spelling and
grammatical errors in the bounces that are returned to the
original senders; GramCop expects this to be popular with people
for whom English is a secondary language and who wish to improve
their writing skills. [ACE]
Microsoft Settlement Vows Bug-Free Software
-------------------------------------------
by Matt Neuburg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In a surprise joint press conference Saturday morning in Redmond,
Washington, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill
Gates, along with the legal representatives of nine U.S. states,
announced agreement upon a new set of proposed remedies, in
exchange for which the states would drop all pending antitrust
proceedings against Microsoft. By terms of the agreement,
Microsoft would henceforth cease to charge customers for software
upgrades that failed to fix existing bugs or that introduced new
ones. Mark Breckler, Deputy Attorney General for the State of
California, expressed it jokingly this way: "From now on, the
software works or it's FREEEEEEE!!!!"
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1152>
The idea for the settlement, it was explained, had come from
Gates himself, who had arrived at it while reading an old Dilbert
cartoon where the punch line was, "What our customers want is
software without bugs, for free." Gates explained that, after
initially wondering why this was funny, he had started thinking
more about it. "We can't necessarily provide software without
bugs, and if we do, it clearly can't be provided for free; but
if we don't, surely we shouldn't be penalizing customers for our
mistakes." Gates described this way of looking at software pricing
as coming to him like a bolt from the blue. "I simply had never
thought of it this way before. The moment I got it, I said,
'Gee, no wonder everyone's mad at us!'"
Some details of the settlement remain to be arranged. In reality,
Breckler said that Microsoft's software would probably never be
completely free; a more likely approach would be that, for every
bug in the software, the customer would simply receive a partial
refund, or a credit against the purchase of the next version.
Plus, the size of this credit might be pro-rated against the
customer's needs. For example, a German customer would be credited
$.01 every time a bug prevented him from typing an u-umlaut in
Microsoft Word, whereas an American customer who never used German
words and never encountered this bug would not get credit for it.
As Gates put it, "Customers who buy our software and encounter
bugs are like pioneers; instead of penalizing them for being
early adopters, we should be paying them for finding and suffering
through the bugs. This plan gives us a way to do that via secure
.NET services, including a new MyBugs bug reporting service."
Gates expressed a hope that other software companies would follow
Microsoft's lead with this pricing model, and warned that failure
to do so might cause customers to prefer Microsoft's software to
other brands. The settlement plan must now go before U.S. District
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly; a preliminary hearing has been
scheduled for next week.
Privacy advocates and representatives of companies aligned against
Microsoft immediately warned of Microsoft's requirement that users
must have a Passport account to use the MyBugs .NET service. Gates
dismissed the concerns, saying that Microsoft had already
announced it would lead the industry to a whole new level of
trustworthiness in computing.
Apple Offers Savvy Support Options
----------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
You've undoubtedly been in this situation before. Something
goes wrong with your Mac, you work through the standard
troubleshooting, search the Internet for additional information,
try a few additional wacky ideas, and finally call Apple's
technical support. Then you end up talking to some poor tech
support person who probably has only a few months of experience,
is desperately trying to search the support database, and who is
probably earning only $12 per hour. "Yes," you reply wearily after
waiting on hold for 25 minutes, "I've tried restarting the Mac and
rebuilding the Desktop. I'm trying to find out if you've seen any
Mac OS X crashes related to interactions with some Apple-supplied
USB devices that work fine in Mac OS 9."
At long last, Apple has moved to address this annoying and
expensive situation with the Virtual Genius Bar, staffed by
Apple's most experienced Mac support engineers, and accessible
only to those users who really do know what they're talking
about. Access to the Virtual Genius Bar will be protected by
a combination of an online "Genius Test" of Macintosh knowledge
and a situation-specific "Just Checking" quiz that requires users
to acknowledge that they've worked through basic troubleshooting.
Apple stores the Genius Test results with your Apple ID; questions
will be added to the Genius Test every so often to make sure
those who have passed the test stay up-to-date on their knowledge.
It's also not just a pass-fail test - you'll actually get a
Genius rating.
Calling the tech support engineers at the Virtual Genius Bar
requires connecting to Apple's support Web site with your Apple
ID, making sure your Genius Test rating is up-to-date, and
completing a Just Checking quiz for the appropriate topic area.
You then receive an incident-specific password code that, when
entered after calling Apple's standard support phone number
(800/275-2273), routes your call to the Virtual Genius Bar queue.
As with Apple's existing AppleCare SupportLine, calls are free
for the first 90 days; afterwards they cost $50 per incident.
Apple, of course, prefers customers use electronic forms of
support, and to further that end, the Virtual Genius Bar has a
Web-based component as well. Anyone can read the Virtual Genius
Bar discussion forums, but only those who have passed the Genius
Test have posting privileges, which significantly increases the
likelihood that answers from other users will be helpful (and
Genius ratings will be shown with answers). Even better, the
Virtual Genius Bar support engineers will monitor and participate
in these discussion forums regularly. Other planned tweaks include
letting the Virtual Genius Bar support folks delete posts and
modify Genius ratings, add links to and from Knowledge Base
articles, and special filter options that will show only answers
from Apple engineers or users with sufficiently high Genius
ratings. Reportedly, Virtual Genius Bar support engineers will
also have the option of taking an incident to private email
if that would prove more efficient, although I'll believe that
when I see it.
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/vgb/>
<http://kbase.info.apple.com/>
Nevertheless, it's extremely heartening to see Apple acknowledging
the knowledge and experience of its user base. Along with the
obvious benefit to users frustrated by working with inexperienced
support engineers, Apple stands to benefit as well. Support calls
should be shorter, difficult questions should go directly to
qualified support engineers, and the searchable archive of
the discussions could become an excellent support tool in
its own right.
iPod: Pirates' Delight?
-----------------------
by John Moltz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
You may not know it, but there's a scandal brewing around
the iPod.
According to a recent article at Wired News, the iPod is being
used to steal software right from under the noses of computer
store employees. The iPod is perfect for stealing boatloads of
rich, delicious software thanks to its FireWire port, its
capability to act like an external hard drive, and its eminently
concealable (though highly stylish) form factor.
<http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50688,00.html>
Shocking, isn't it?
Well, it might be shocking, if there were anything more than
anecdotal evidence that people are actually using the iPod to
steal software. The Wired article mentions a grand total of one
incident carried out by a teenager at a CompUSA store in Texas. It
also might be shocking if this were the first time software had
been stolen off a computer. Or if the iPod were the only way to do
it.
Personally, I think it would be shocking if the thieves where
carrying out these acts in the nude. Or if, every time you read
about one of these thefts, your were somehow hit with 10,000
volts. That would really be shocking.
But as it is, software copying via iPod is shocking only if you're
incredibly naive. It's a universal constant that some teenagers,
like the one in the Wired article, will steal things. Likewise,
some adults steal things. Some hamsters even steal things. It's
just that they usually steal from other hamsters so you generally
never read about it. Unless they take hostages. That doesn't
happen very often, though, because in order to make a getaway,
they have to get the hostage hamsters to run in the same direction
with them in that little ball, which is hard to do and...
Wait a minute, where was I?
Right, stealing. Stealing software off computer hard drives is not
exactly a new phenomenon. Long before the iPod was even a Jonathan
Ive concept drawing, you could copy an entire application with
just one floppy disk. And I'm not talking TeachText here, I'm
talking PageMaker. What's more, it's a little known fact that the
entire operating system for the ENIAC was once stolen by writing
it down on a 3" by 5" note card. True story.
Anyway, as application sizes have grown, floppies have long since
fallen by the wayside as a realistic medium for stealing software.
Not to mention the fact that Macs have lacked floppy drives for
years. But media formats and data transfer rates have once again
caught up to the size of applications, so now there are other
options, ranging from digital cameras holding Compact Flash cards
to CD-RW to FireWire hard drives even larger than the 5 GB or 10
GB drive in the iPod. The only difference with the iPod is that
it is also an MP3 player, so thieves can more easily pretend to
be grooving to Pat Boone while they're surreptitiously snagging
software.
Which brings up a point about the incident at CompUSA. Not to
blame the victim here, but is it surprising this happened, given
that CompUSA hides the Macs in the back of the store, sandwiched
between the peripherals that time forgot? Not to mention the fact
that the staff goes out of their way to avoid talking to potential
customers about the Mac.
I'm surprised CompUSA doesn't have a problem with people first
stealing the iPod and then using it to steal a bunch of software.
If it weren't chained down, a thief could probably make off with
the entire Mac before someone in a red shirt finally came around
to ask if he wanted to look at Windows XP. And even then, a simple
question about Mac OS X would probably confuse the employee long
enough to make a leisurely getaway.
Maybe I'm being too hard on CompUSA.
No, I just read back through that, and it seems about right.
So does the iPod make it easier to steal software? Sure, if a
potential thief doesn't already own a digital camera or FireWire
hard drive, or can't afford a 10-pack of CD-R discs that are on
sale for $6.99 at CompUSA today. My recommendation is, before you
let anyone get into a lather about the iPod aiding and abetting
software theft, ask them one question: "If the iPod bothers you
so much, why aren't you also concerned about the startling
increase in hamster crime?" I find that usually shuts them up.
[John Moltz is the author of Crazy Apple Rumors Site and a
pamphlet entitled "Hamsters: Our Furry Friends." When he's not
writing, John enjoys long division and Hashido, the Japanese art
of fighting with chopsticks.]
<http://www.crazyapplerumors.com/>
Microsoft AutoGadget Formats the Finder
---------------------------------------
by Tonya Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit, clearly looking for a new
direction after last year's release of Office v.X, today announced
AutoGadget, a Mac OS X-only utility that brings a bevy of
Microsoft's automatic editing and formatting tools to the Finder.
In their press release, Microsoft said, "Experts in our usability
labs have found that Office users actually have a measurable
increase in certain stress hormones when Office's automatic
tools aren't available." AutoGadget comes on the heels of a
recent directive from Bill Gates that Microsoft should explore
ways to make the computing environment less stressful. Intriguing
features of AutoGadget include:
* Underlining of misspelled text in Finder windows - no more
embarrassing typos in file names.
* AutoFiltering options for quickly changing which files are
visible in a Finder folder. For instance, you might want to see
only files older than five days, or only files that contain
certain text strings. (The latter only operates if Sherlock's
content indexing enabled for the vollume.)
* Filename AutoCorrect that corrects common typos as you type and
automatically ensures that filenames don't contain characters
illegal in other operating systems.
* 17 different AutoFormat designs that let you set individual
Finder windows to different themes - our favorites include ledger,
cyberpunk, beach, universe, and - for very occasional use -
spinning pom-poms.
* The capability to convert any Finder folder into a floating
list, along the lines of Excel's List Manager. In essence, the
folder becomes a mini-database where you can easily add new, blank
files or folders, which could be a good way to map out a Web site
or set up a folder for a new project. Once the folder is a list,
you can add a bottom row and a left-most column whose contents are
calculated using Excel's arithmetic or time functions, potentially
helpful in time and project tracking.
Microsoft isn't known as a player in the Macintosh utility field,
and it's uncertain how the overall Mac community will receive
AutoGadget, especially given the level to which Office's automatic
tools have engendered love/hate reactions. Still, each AutoGadget
feature can be turned on or off independently of the others, so if
you generally like Office's helping hand, give AutoGadget a try.
AutoGadget 1.0 will ship with the next service release of Office
v.X (which is required for AutoGadget to work), and - in an effort
to acquaint all Office v.X users with Microsoft's new emphasis on
relaxation - is also available now as a free download from
Microsoft's Mactopia Web site.
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/>
Mac Mania Geek Cruise Meets the Love Boat?
------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It's looking as though this May's upcoming Mac Mania Geek Cruise
could be even more interesting than previously thought. Sure, Woz
will be there, talking about the history of the Apple II and
showing off the sheets of uncut $2 bills with which he loves to
tweak cashiers. And if folks like yours truly, Bob LeVitus, David
Pogue, Glenn Fleishman, Tom Negrino, Dori Smith, and Sal Soghoian
aren't enough, there's always John de Lancie - Star Trek's "Q."
How do you top that?
<http://www.geekcruises.com/home/mm_home.html>
I realize this will sound like the TV Guide synopsis of a late-
night made-for-television movie, but just imagine what would
happen if you mixed that combination of Macintosh luminaries, a
Hollywood actor, and the hundreds of other Mac enthusiasts with
numerous attendees and actors from the original series on the
First International Love Boat Fan Cruise. I believe the technical
term for such a situation is "hilarity ensues."
That's right. I was bouncing around on Google, trying to learn
more about cruises, given that most of my knowledge of them comes
from watching a few episodes of The Love Boat back in the late
1970s (keep in mind that I was 11 and we only got four TV
channels, so there wasn't a lot of choice). Suddenly I came across
a page for the First International Love Boat Fan Cruise, a 7-day
cruise with activities that, as with Mac Mania, take place during
the "at sea" days. That piqued my curiosity, as did the "Actual
date to be locked shortly" tagline at the top, and a quick email
to the organizer, Rick Portes, confirmed that he had indeed
switched from the Sea Princess cruise in the Caribbean to
an Alaska cruise aboard Holland America's ms Volendam at
the end of May.
<http://www.loveboatcruise.com/>
"I realize it's a bit of a change from the original Love Boat
approach of fun in the sun," he said in email. "But as Captain
Stubing would have said, it's always good to try something new."
Reactions of the Mac Mania speakers to the news that they'd be
sharing a cruise boat with hundreds of Love Boat fans were
universally positive. Bob LeVitus, speaking about himself in the
third person, said, "I think it's absolutely fabulous. I mean,
where else are you going to learn about Mac OS X from Bob 'Dr.
Mac' LeVitus, and then frag one of Hollywood's most respected
actors, Bernie (The Love Boat's 'Doc') Kopell, in a game of Quake
III Arena? And where else could you do it on a luxurious cruise
through the unspoiled Alaskan wilderness with thousands of gallons
of free booze?"
Dori Smith, author of a number of books on Java and JavaScript,
concurred. "Ever since Tom [Negrino] proposed to me on the very
first Geek Cruise two years ago, I've thought of all Geek Cruises
as Love Boats. Of course, I was teaching at the time, so I freaked
out and told him to go away and stop bothering me. He then moped
for the rest of the cruise, so I guess that didn't work out so
well. Now that we're going on an official Love Boat cruise, our
marriage is sure to be nothing but smooth sailing! (And no, I'm
not making this up, as you can see at the end of this Wall Street
Journal article.)"
<http://interactive.wsj.com/public/current/articles/SB992549028358994888.htm>
AppleScript guru Sal Soghoian focused on the technical
qualifications of the Love Boat fans. "It's not well known that
frequent Love Boat guest star Florence Henderson taught Bernie
Kopell how to write AppleScript," he said, "but I don't think
she'd mind me divulging that fact. I'm hoping she'll swing by
my AppleScript session and show off some of her 'Brady Bunch'
scripts - they're hilarious."
There may be other linkages between the two theme cruises given
actor John de Lancie's connections with the Love Boat series, and
there have already been rumblings on the Mac Mania speaker's list
about what will happen if a cross-platform romantic complications
crop up between a Titanium-toting Mac geek and a Love Boat fan
with a Sony Vaio due to an inability to chat via computer-to-
computer wireless network. The mind boggles.
<http://www.google.com/search?q=john%20de%20lancie%20love%20boat>
Kagi Helps Fans Support Artists
-------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
We've been writing a lot about issues surrounding copyright and
just how artists (of all sorts) can earn a living in this digital
world, where so many of the barriers to copying and sharing
content have fallen by the wayside. Being writers and musicians
(well, Geoff is, anyway) as well as the type of people who try to
explain complex situations, we've suffered conflicting thoughts.
We believe that content creators should have the right to benefit
financially from their work, but we believe equally strongly that
those rights are granted to content creators to serve the public
good. Any solution - however partial - to the legitimate concerns
surrounding rampant copying of digital content of all sorts must
take into account the needs of the content creators and the needs
of the public good.
Plus, any discussion must acknowledge that once the genie of
technology has escaped its bottle, it will never consent to return
to the bottle's confines. The world was never the same after the
introduction of the printing press, the power loom, the
automobile, the atomic bomb, and the birth control pill. The
combination of digital content, high-speed Internet access, and
peer-to-peer file sharing networks may herald an equally great
sea change that - like it or not - will force changes in our
social, business, and legal infrastructure.
Some may be good, others less so, but we have high hopes for a new
project from Internet payment service Kagi. Unlike the much larger
PayPal, Kagi has always moved carefully and stayed small,
privately held, and profitable, giving the company the latitude
to experiment. And what an experiment this one is!
**Direct Support** -- The major tension in the music world has
been that fans generally want to support their favorite artists,
but they have no desire to line the pockets of the recording
industry, especially knowing that artists never see the bulk of
the cost of an audio CD. And that even ignores the granularity
problem - you may be more than happy to pay $1 for a song you
like, but that doesn't mean you're willing to pay $15 for the CD
that contains it. Unfortunately, there's no way to send money
directly to artists, and certainly no way to pay the amount you
feel a song, or a full CD, is worth. All that has changed now.
Kagi is just starting a project called Tipping Worldwide
Entertainment Artists via Kagi (TWEAK), which enables exactly
this - you can give money to any artist as a voluntary donation
in appreciation of their work. The donation is explicitly not
structured as a payment for downloaded music or a license to
anything, since many artists undoubtedly have signed away such
rights in their recording contracts.
Artists don't even have to sign up with Kagi in advance. A fan can
go to the TWEAK Web site and make a donation to literally any
artist (the site lets you choose from a list of artists already
in the system and you can always enter new ones). Kagi will do
their best to find the artist and transfer the money. Kee Nethery,
founder and CEO of Kagi, said that he hopes to set up a Web site
where Internet users can help track down artists who prove
difficult to find. And in the event that an artist has died, Kagi
plans to distribute the funds to the artist's estate or heirs, as
appropriate. Again, because these payments are purely voluntary
donations and aren't tied to copyright, they can in fact be made
to artists whose works are long out of copyright. Of course, there
will be instances where Kagi simply cannot find an appropriate
recipient for the donated funds. Kee has said that after a year
of searching for the artist, the funds will go to an appropriate
non-profit artist support organization. A future version of the
site will identify which artists have been contacted, and for
those who can't be found, users will be presented with the choice
of non-profit organizations to receive their donation.
<http://music.kagi.com/?MP3>
You might wonder what's in it for Kagi, and it's quite simple.
They hold all payments for four months before sending the money on
to the artist, earning the interest on the accumulated funds (and
as with their existing payment service, artists can opt to receive
checks only every so often anyway, providing Kagi with additional
interest earnings). Obviously, the income Kagi stands to earn on
any individual payment is extremely small; they're betting on a
high volume of payments.
**Getting the Word Out** -- Obviously, if TWEAK has to rely purely
on word of mouth, the project likely won't be able to collect
significant sums for artists all that quickly. But some people
have already suggested that a TWEAK URL could be added to MP3
songs' filenames or to their ID3 tags, making it much easier for
people who were downloading music on the Internet to express their
appreciation to their favorite artists. Although TWEAK doesn't
currently support custom URLs for each artist, Kee said that
feature is in the plans to make donating money even easier.
Even better, developers of some of the peer-to-peer file sharing
network clients, such as LimeWire, Kazaa, Morpheus, and
eDonkey2000, have expressed interest in adding TWEAK support.
Instead of relying on clumsy URLs embedded in filenames or ID3
tags, the programs could read the artist name (usually embedded
in the filename) and provide, perhaps through a contextual menu
item, a direct link to a TWEAK URL. Future interfaces might even
suggest donations at appropriate points in the process of
searching for or downloading music.
Should TWEAK prove successful, I could see artists intentionally
distributing their work purely on the Internet and working hard
to develop the kind of followings that would provide a steady
income stream. And that's certainly the goal - a situation where
artists earn a living writing, composing, or performing for
the public good.
$$
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