TidBITS#674/01-Apr-03
=====================
News abounds in this issue, with Apple again rescheduling WWDC and
TidBITS Publisher Adam Engst receiving a fellowship at Cornell
University. New products include heat-resistant Handeze gloves, a
clever anti-flaming plug-in for iChat, a Keynote-compatible Canon
PowerShot camera, the iPodPowerMate, and a kid-sized Segway. Adam
also looks at a new add-on product for the Xserve, Tonya breaks
some welcome news about Word 5.1, and we interview someone whose
voice will be familiar to all Macintosh owners.
Topics:
MailBITS/01-Apr-03
Filters for the Xserve
Microsoft Word 5.1 for Mac OS X
Catching Up with the Voice of Macintosh: Fred
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* READERS LIKE YOU! You can help support TidBITS via our voluntary <- NEW!
contribution program. Special thanks this week to Charlie Fay,
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* Cornell University Computing and Information Science <------------- NEW!
See our work at <http://www.cis.cornell.edu/infoscience/>.
Cornell University Library Rare & Manuscript Collections
Visit our online exhibits at <http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/>.
* VisiCalc for Mac OS X: The first, the best, & now for Mac OS X! <-- NEW!
You used it on your Apple ][. You used it on your IBM PC. But
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* Polly Want a Cracker? No beep utility has ever matched up to <---- NEW!
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---------------------------------------------------------------
MailBITS/01-Apr-03
------------------
**Apple Reschedules WWDC Yet Again** -- In a move that will no
doubt cause even more consternation, Apple today announced that it
has again rescheduled the upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference,
this time to coincide with the new Create conference that replaced
Macworld Expo from 14-Jul-03 through 18-Jul-03. Ron Okamoto,
Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, said,
"Between our discussions with the MacHack organizing committee
and the just-announced availability of room at the Create
conference in New York City, this move became the obvious best
choice for both Apple and the Macintosh developer community."
As before, the Apple Developer Connection will offer help for
those who have already rejiggered their airplane and hotel
reservations to match Apple's previous choice for the WWDC
venue - San Francisco in June.
<http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/>
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/>
Overall, the move makes a lot of sense, since even Macworld Expo
has been incapable of filling the cavernous halls of New York
City's Javits Convention Center, and it's unlikely that Create
will draw nearly as many attendees. That means there's plenty of
unused room, and Apple was probably able to negotiate a good deal
on the space. Though New York isn't cheap, combining two
conferences into one may save significant amounts of money for
companies that would have to attend both WWDC and Create. And,
of course, now Create will get a Steve Jobs keynote and the
accompanying product introductions that ensure that Macworld
Expos are never dull. [ACE]
**New Handeze Gloves for Aluminum PowerBook G4s** -- I've long
recommended Handeze gloves for reducing repetitive stress injuries
in the hands and wrists (see "Handeze Gloves" in TidBITS-199_).
The fingerless gloves, made of a special kind of Lycra, keep my
hands warm and nimble, and the slight pressure seems to improve
circulation. RH Sales, the makers of Handeze, have produced a
next-generation version designed specifically for newer and hotter
laptops, like the aluminum PowerBook G4s introduced at Macworld
this year. The $25 Asbesteze gloves use a combination of Lycra and
heat-resistant fibers to keep palms and wrists from becoming too
hot (which can exacerbate inflammation) when resting on the
aluminum PowerBooks. Macworld magazine recently reported that the
PowerBooks could reach 102 degrees F (39 degrees C); a test probe
inside the Asbesteze gloves showed a comfortable 91 degrees F (33
degrees C), which is the normal temperature of human skin. RH
Sales told us that they're researching a follow-up product to
protect laps from overheating from the backside of the PowerBook,
a product they jokingly called "Asbestass." Given the painful
(and embarrassing) groin injuries sustained last year by a Swedish
scientist from his laptop, it might be a hot seller. [GF]
<http://www.handeze.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=02372>
<http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/AbantyFarzana.shtml>
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2503291.stm>
**iPodPowerMate Unveiled** -- Extending its successful line of
well-designed computing accessories, Griffin Technologies today
announced the iPodPowerMate, a hardware multimedia controller
specially created for the iPod (see "Unleashing the Power of the
PowerMate" in TidBITS-653_). It shares the same smooth chrome
finish as the company's original PowerMate, but in a smaller size
that's more appropriate to accentuate the iPod. Now you can have
two round controllers to control your music. "We love Apple's
fantastic design for the iPod, but didn't think the scroll wheel
was dynamic enough," said Griffin's Andrew Green. "If your iPod
is going to pump out some rockin' music, you need a big shiny
knob to do it right!"
<http://griffintechnology.com/products/ipodpowermate/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06974>
The iPodPowerMate can rest on any flat surface, and connects
to the iPod via a FireWire cable. What separates it from the
PowerMate, though, is an ingenious mounting kit that lets you
attach the iPodPowerMate directly to the iPod's scroll wheel.
Another quirky addition is the use of its built-in LED, which
boasts five different colors: red, white, blue, green, and amber.
While the PowerMate can brighten or dim based on the Mac's volume
level, or even throb at a constant rate, the iPodPowerMate, thanks
to the FireWire interface, can dynamically pulse and cycle through
colors according to the beat of the music, much like an iTunes
visualizer. Power up your iPod, turn off the lights, and let
the party begin! [JLC]
**"Chili Pepper" iChat Plug-in Released** -- Shareware developer
Susan Valencia has released a plug-in for iChat that emulates
Eudora's popular MoodWatch feature to iChat users who have Eudora
installed (whether or not it's the default email client). With
ChiliChat 1.0 working inside iChat, you can gauge if your instant
messages will potentially be offensive by noting the number of
chili pepper icons that appear above the text input field as you
type (you can see a screenshot at the second link below). The
plug-in is a free 23K download and currently works only with
iChat. If ChiliChat garners enough interest, Valencia says she'll
consider making it available for other instant messaging software
on the Mac. [JLC]
<http://www.susanvalencia.com/chilichat/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/674/chilichat.jpg>
**Canon PowerShot Keynote S250** -- Be careful what you suggest!
After I wrote about how I transferred Keynote slides to my Canon
PowerShot S100 camera for display on a standard television in
"The PowerShot Presentation" in TidBITS-669_, I was amused to
learn that Canon plans to release a new member of the diminutive
PowerShot camera family that boasts direct integration with a
forthcoming release of Apple's Keynote presentation program.
Obviously, the camera doesn't need much in the way of changes
to be able to play slides on a TV or projector with RCA plugs,
and in fact, the main difference is that when the camera is in
presentation mode, switching from one picture to the next honors
transitions developed in Keynote. Also, the camera knows not to
power down automatically when it's in presentation mode, although
it does turn off its LCD display to save power. Keynote 1.1 and
iSync 1.1 will be required; Apple should be announcing them today.
[ACE]
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07095>
<http://powershot.com/powershot2/press_022703.html>
<http://www.apple.com/keynote/>
<http://www.apple.com/isync/>
**TidBITS Publisher Awarded Fellowship** -- Cornell University
today awarded TidBITS Publisher Adam C. Engst a fellowship in
the university's interdisciplinary Information Science program.
Engst's mission, along with continuing his long-standing work
on TidBITS and innovative experiments like PayBITS, will be to
explore past and future trends in electronic publishing, looking
at the many different ways individuals and organizations publish.
He will be giving guest lectures in a number of courses and will
be working with graduate and advanced undergraduate students
to create a variety of electronic publications throughout
the university. "There's no one 'right' way to publish
electronically," Engst said. "For some situations, a moderated
mailing list with Web archives or a shared wiki is what's needed.
For others an archived weblog is the perfect snapshot of a point
in time, something I'll be examining in association with Cornell's
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, which has amassed
numerous student scrapbooks from years past."
<http://www.cis.cornell.edu/infoscience/>
<http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/>
The move is widely seen as yet another salvo in the rivalry
between Cornell and Harvard University. Harvard recently gave
software developer Dave Winer a fellowship at the Berkman Center
for the Internet and Society to, as CNET's Paul Festa wrote in
an interview with Winer, "instruct Harvard students and faculty
in the art of posting daily dispatches to the Web." Cornell's
Charlie Fay, associate provost for Research Administration, said
"This is how universities interact. First we beat Harvard in the
ECAC hockey championships in overtime, and now, with Adam Engst,
we've found someone who has been pushing the boundaries of
electronic publishing longer than anyone else - nearly 14 years.
Plus, he's a Cornell alum and did his early work as a student
at Cornell in the late 1980s." Engst's undergraduate degree was
in Hypertextual Fiction, which he developed while in Cornell's
College Scholar program and while majoring in Classics. [GD]
<http://news.com.com/2008-1082-985714.html>
<http://www.ecachockey.org/Page_for_Men/championship/
Cornell_Wins_ECAC_Championship_with_3-2_Overtime_Victory_over_Harvard>
**Segway for Kids Introduced** -- Although introduced with much
fanfare, the Segway Human Transporter (HT) has enjoyed only
minimal success in the marketplace. Part of the problem, some
analysts believe, is the device's lack of easy classification: is
it something to ride to work or for fun on the weekends, or is it
better suited for postal carriers and other vertical markets? Many
people seem to want one, but not many can tell you what they want
one for. Now, however, inventor Dean Kamen is about to quell such
questioning. A spokesperson for Segway explained, "We discovered
that adults who have settled into traditional means of
transportation haven't entirely grasped the concept of a personal
transporter. But those same people's kids are crazy about it, and
better yet, parents love anything that lets them avoid schlepping
their kids around all the time."
<http://www.segway.com/>
<http://www.segway.com/aboutus/press_releases/pr_040103.html>
Today the company announced the Segway Kids Interactive
Transporter (KIT), more commonly referred to as the "Segwee."
Proportioned to fit smaller humans (but adjustable to account
for fast growth), the Segwee sports two oversized nubby wheels
and the same gyroscope-directed motion system. In a surprise move,
the Segwee actually travels faster than its adult counterpart.
"Not only do kids have less fear of falling," said the Segway
spokesperson, "we discovered in our testing that they possess much
more control at higher speeds." She went on to explain that the
Segwee could potentially improve a child's balance, coordination,
and response rates, though she quickly admitted that she had no
hard data to support those claims. Thanks to lower component costs
and manufacturing economies, the Segwee will be priced much lower
than the Segway HT: $2,000 versus $5,000. When the Segwee becomes
available in early 2004, Segway expects it to outperform the
slow-selling Segway HT thanks to its lower cost and the increasing
number of children whose bus routes are being cut in an era of
sharply reduced school budgets. [JLC]
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html>
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00007EPJ6/tidbitselectro00>
Filters for the Xserve
----------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
If you've ever been in a serious data center like the one where
our servers reside at digital.forest, you know that all data
centers share two features:
* They're loud. Running several hundred computers in a single room
puts out plenty of noise, but more of the auditory attack comes
from the massive air conditioning units necessary to keep all
those computers sufficiently cool. It's not as bad as standing
near a jet engine, but there's a reason the network administrators
generally work in other rooms.
* They're clean. Data centers may not be as spotless as the clean
rooms used by hard drive manufacturers, but dust buildup can cause
hardware failures so there's plenty of incentive to keep things
clean. Those air conditioning units do double duty - they filter
out crud in the air while dropping the temperature.
The noise of data centers is one reason Apple didn't worry too
much about the noise emitted by the powerful fans in the rack-
mounted Xserve server - the Xserve simply adds to the din. Even
though the latest revision of the Xserve is reportedly a bit
quieter, it's still louder than you probably want for your office,
and those using the new Xserves for audio and video processing
will probably still want to keep them in (properly ventilated!)
soundproofed cabinets.
<http://www.apple.com/xserve/>
However, thanks to a small startup company called MacHEPA, Xserves
can do more than just serve files and Web pages. Pop one or more
of MacHEPA's patent-pending HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air)
filters into an Xserve's unused drive bay and the Xserve will
filter dust out of the air that's drawn through the computer in
the front-to-back cooling approach that's necessary for rack
enclosure. (MacHEPA is also working on a version for the drive
bays in the Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Door), also commonly
called the "Windtunnel" for its excessively loud fans.)
<http://www.machepa.com/>
<http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/Developer_Notes/Servers/
Xserve/1Introduction/Features_of_the_Enclosure.html#TPXREF104>
The MacHEPA filters cost $50 each, with replacement filter
cartridges an extra $25. A filter cartridge should last at least
a year, although the actual lifespan depends on how dirty the
environment is. If you're cutting sheetrock and spewing vast
amounts of dust into the air, you'll need to replace your filters
more often. The truly cool bit? MacHEPA has managed to tie into
Apple's internal monitoring software so you'll see blinking lights
on the outside of the Xserve when the filter needs changing, and
warnings also appear in the Blowers tab in Apple's Server Monitor
remote management application.
<http://www.apple.com/xserve/management.html>
Although a MacHEPA filter probably won't make much of a difference
in a data center crowded with servers from other manufacturers,
companies that standardize on the Xserve may be able to reduce
their total cost of ownership significantly by installing MacHEPA
filters instead of using expensive air conditioning equipment to
filter the air. What about cooling? The Xserve's powerful fans can
keep the Xserve within its 95-degree F (35-degree C) operating
limit in normal circumstances (and in extreme situations, the
Xserve's internal temperature monitoring will shut the machine
down before any damage occurs). Put it all together, and you end
up with a data center that doesn't need nearly as much, if any
air conditioning. This, of course, depends on the local climate -
I wouldn't try this in muggy Florida or the hotter parts of
Australia, but realistically, those areas will have a certain
level of air conditioning in place to keep the humans comfortable.
An added benefit of the MacHEPA filter is better conformance with
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) guidelines for
workplace safety relating to indoor air quality and occupational
asthma.
<http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/indoorairquality/>
<http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/occupationalasthma/>
Chuck Goolsbee, vice president of Technical Operations for
digital.forest, said that digital.forest is considering creating
an Xserve-only data center for Xserves outfitted with MacHEPA
filters. Since the cost of maintaining that particular data center
will be lower than normal, digital.forest plans to pass on the
savings in the form of lower hosting fees for customers who use
an Xserve/MacHEPA combination.
<http://www.forest.net/>
And besides, wouldn't it be cool to use the Server Monitor remote
management application to see just how dirty your server is from
thousands of miles away? MacHEPA is just another reason our next
server will be an Xserve.
Microsoft Word 5.1 for Mac OS X
-------------------------------
by Tonya Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I haven't written much for TidBITS lately, in part because
I've been busy helping some old friends at Microsoft's Macintosh
Business Unit (MacBU) with an upcoming release of Microsoft Word
5.1 for OS X, a carbonized version of Word 5.1a that preserves
most of the features and all the look and feel of the highly
popular Word 5.1. A few external beta testers - all former
employees of the Macintosh Word Support Group - have been working
day and night to identify new bugs generated as part of the
carbonization process, and to focus programming efforts on
the most pesky of Word 5.1's old problems.
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/word51X/>
The design goal for Word 5.1 for Mac OS X was to create a clean,
carbonized version that would run natively under Mac OS X with
as few changes from the original version as possible. After much
gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair, Microsoft decided to remove
linking features from the new version, citing little hope of
clearing up existing bugs. That means no more publish and
subscribe, and no more OLE (Object Linking and Embedding).
Equation Editor and Microsoft Graph have been incorporated into
the main software program as mini-modules, so they no longer rely
on OLE to function, though Microsoft Graph has not been updated
and remains somewhat dysfunctional. Although Word 5.1 for Mac OS X
mimics the interface and appearance of its classic ancestor by
default, it does offer a new option in the Preferences dialog for
turning on an Aqua-style interface.
Following internal debate over the extent to which this release
should track the original, Microsoft also corrected a few design
errors left over from Word 5.1. For instance, tables can now print
over a page break, you can delete a footnote by deleting its
number in the footnote region, and rotated text is more likely to
print smoothly. The ReadMe file included with the software offers
a complete list of changes.
Although I was a member of the old Macintosh Word Support Group,
I didn't do much beta testing. Instead, I've been revamping a
book I wrote back in 1993 - The Word Book for Macintosh Users -
this time for Microsoft Press. Microsoft has released the golden
master to manufacturing, so Word 5.1 for Mac OS X should be
available for online purchasing for $45 in early May. The only
included documentation is Balloon Help, but by late May, the new
edition of The Word Book should be on shelves, and the software
will be bundled with the book for the same price.
<http://www.tidbits.com/tonya/twb.html>
Word 5.1 for Mac OS X represents a credible job on MacBU's part to
bring Word 5.1 into this century, and I expect that many old-time
Word users will be happy to trade in the bells and whistles of
newer versions for the comfort of an older, more familiar, less-
Windows-influenced piece of software.
Catching Up with the Voice of Macintosh: Fred
---------------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Some voices are so unique that you can identify them immediately:
Sean Connery, James Earl Jones, and Bruno Kirby spring to mind.
Then there are voices that are equally unique, but not as well
known in popular circles. During a recent trip, I was working on
my PowerBook in the Memphis, Tennessee airport when I heard a
familiar man's voice, low and with an unmistakable cadence.
Mustering my courage and with my PowerBook in hand, I approached
the man - in his mid-50s, dressed in jeans and a black blazer -
and asked, "Excuse me, are you Fred?" A somewhat embarrassed grin
crossed his face, as he immediately ascertained why I had
recognized him. "Yes," he replied, "I'm _that_ Fred."
_That_ Fred is the man whose voice speaks to Macintosh users
everywhere. Many years ago, Fred Cooper was tapped to utter the
Mac's first words: after Steve Jobs pulled the original Macintosh
from within a canvas bag, the machine said, "Hello. I am
Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag." Here's a
transcript of my conversation with Fred; you can listen to the
original recording at the second link below.
<http://www.deanza.edu/35anniversary/historysec9.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/674/fred.mp3>
TidBITS: How did you first become involved with the Macintosh
team?
Fred: It was quite random, really. I answered my phone one day and
didn't understand the person on the other end. It turns out they
were in Bangladesh! I then got another call from some guy asking
about the call. That guy was Woz, Steve Wozniak. He said he liked
my voice and asked if I could help out some friends of his.
TidBITS: Which friends were those?
Fred: Members of the original Macintosh team. Steve Jobs wanted
the computer to speak at its introduction, but they couldn't get
the speech synthesizer working reliably. So I met with them at
Apple, and I recorded that line about getting out of the bag.
TidBITS: So they used your voice as the basis of the speech
synthesis?
Fred: No, that was my voice that everyone heard! I think they
degraded the recording a little, but it was actually just a tape
queued to play when Steve lifted the bag. Later on, they fixed the
problems with the speech synthesizer code, and used my voice as
the basis for the Fred voice on Macs today.
TidBITS: Is it strange to hear your own voice? I notice that you
use a TiBook.
Fred: I can't listen to my own voice. I prefer the Victoria voice.
I always think of my computer as a woman anyway. And, I met
Victoria once... a very nice, beautiful woman.
TidBITS: Did you ever expect that your voice would become so
popular? I've heard it in other things, such as Radiohead's song
"Fitter, Happier," and of course Stephen Hawking's computerized
voice.
<http://radiohead1.tripod.com/songs/album/fitterhappier.htm>
Fred: The Radiohead thing was just a fluke. I spent maybe half an
hour recording that, and at the time it made no sense. But when
the song was mixed, it really came together. As for Dr. Hawking,
I'm proud to have been the basis for his system. When I hear him
speak, I don't even hear myself any more, his ideas are so unique.
But my wife likes to think that I'm the one talking about time and
space occasionally.
TidBITS: I see that your plane is about to embark. Thanks for
taking some time to talk with TidBITS.
Fred: Thank you! Keep up the good work.
$$
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