TidBITS#823/01-Apr-06
=====================
Apple began shipping the Intel-based iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac
mini computers months earlier than expected, and now they've done
the same with the high-end Xserve - boasting processors from Intel
rival AMD; Geoff Duncan has the specs and analysis. Also in this
special issue, Jeff Carlson notes new marketing campaigns by FedEx
and UPS, Glenn Fleishman reports on the miniPLUS super-accessory
for the Mac mini along with a way to run Classic on Intel chips,
Adam unearths details on the little-known AJRP, and Joe Kissell
announces "Take Control of Your Daily Life." Lastly, this issue
marks the start of a new delivery option as well as the premiere
of the TidBITS Video Podcast, and we regretfully announce that
Joe is moving on from TidBITS.
Topics:
MailBITS/01-Apr-06
Apple Converts Xserves from PowerPC to AMD
FrankenClassic Lives!
FedEx, UPS Add Vehicle Jingles
Retro Fashion for the Mac mini
Take Control of Your Daily Life
Uncovering the AJRP
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-823.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2006/TidBITS#823_01-Apr-06.etx>
Copyright 2006 TidBITS: Reuse governed by Creative Commons license
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In fact, they'll be at your house in about 30 minutes,
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Sorry, we just had to say it, after the way we've been
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---------------------------------------------------------------
MailBITS/01-Apr-06
------------------
**TidBITS Predelivery Service** -- Why are you receiving TidBITS
today? Well, we know that our readers want the most timely
Macintosh information, and now we've come up with the best method
to deliver it to you. Starting with this issue, you'll receive
TidBITS in its entirety a day _before_ we're finished writing
and editing it. We can't explain all the technology to you -
it's a mixture of Web Crossing, FileMaker Pro, and a dash of
HyperCard, all running on a Mac SE/30 with a blown analog board
(and no security problems, thanks to System 7!) that we control
via Timbuktu Pro - but we have to launch our patent lawsuits
against Research in Motion, Microsoft, and the people who wrote
"Back to the Future" before we can go into details. No matter
what, rest assured that you'll get the same high quality content
before we're even done with it. [ACE]
**Joe Kissell Leaving TidBITS** -- Senior Editor Joe Kissell,
after a record-setting tenure, announced that he will be leaving
TidBITS, reportedly to spend more time with his family. In a press
conference today, Kissell, accompanied by his tearful wife Morgen
Jahnke, broke the news to his loyal fans, saying only that the
timing was in now way related to last week's departure of Apple
executives Avie Tevanian and Jon Rubinstein. When asked about the
leaked copy of an ebook he allegedly wrote titled "Take Control of
Apple Computer, Inc.," Kissell vigorously denied any such plans,
adding, "I make it a policy not to comment on upcoming products
or services." Additional details about this unexpected departure
may be forthcoming on Kissell's appearance on a special edition
of Chuck Joiner's MacVoices podcast later this evening, but
he did note that his work on Take Control ebooks would be
continuing. [ACE]
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=3821>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/oct/14cook.html>
<http://www.macvoices.com/>
**Announcing the TidBITS Video Podcast** -- One aspect of being
an all-digital publication is that we can take advantage of new
technologies that are out of the reach of paper publishers.
TidBITS is, after all, just lots of digital bits, which can be
arranged in a multitude of media. Now, after a fair bit of trial
and error, we're happy to announce our new TidBITS Video Podcast.
Publishing a video podcast is not an easy endeavor, due to the
many choices that the producer faces: How much live video footage
do you use, versus animation or photo slideshows? What type of
setting do you use as a backdrop? Do you need extra lighting?
And what about audio? What equipment should you use to capture
good sound? Do you use background music, and if so, where does
it come from (and is it properly licensed)? And finally, how
can we create a podcast that captures the ethos and spirit of
TidBITS? Fortunately, the TidBITS staff is a talented group of
folks, so we were able to tap into my knowledge of video editing,
Geoff's experience as a professional musician, and the editorial
expertise of the rest of the staff to create a podcast that we're
sure will entertain and inform. The TidBITS Video Podcast is free,
of course, and available at the URL below; we're in the process
of setting up a subscription via iTunes, Safari, or other RSS-
capable applications. [JLC]
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/823/TbVideoPodcast2.mov>
Apple Converts Xserves from PowerPC to AMD
------------------------------------------
by Geoff Duncan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
When Apple announced in June 2005 it was planning to
transition its Macintosh computer line to Intel-based
processors, the entire Apple community was aghast: a move
away from PowerPC would be a historic turning point for the
company and its flagship computers. But a tiny portion of
the Macintosh community was aghast for different reasons.
They were thinking: "Intel processors? What about AMD?!"
Well, today at a press event in Mountain View, they got
their answer.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08125>
Apple Computer has announced a significant revision to its Xserve
line of high-end rackmount server and data-processing computers.
Like previous Xserves, the new units feature mammoth memory and
storage capacities, multiple high-speed networking interfaces,
and lightning-quick internal architecture. These are machines
made for high-end scientific computation, video rendering,
or mammoth Internet server applications. And, like Apple's recent
iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro offerings, the new Xserves no
longer feature PowerPC processors. The difference is that rather
than being built around Intel Core Solo or Core Duo processors,
the new Xserves feature up to two dual-core AMD Opteron processors
running at speeds up to 2.8 GHz. And Apple says they'll be
available at the end of the month at startlingly low prices.
<http://www.apple.com/xserve/>
<http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_8825,00.html>
**Spec It Out** -- The technical specifications for the new Xserve
AMDs make for heady reading - and the units will be available
in three primary configurations which can be further customized -
so just bear with me a bit.
At the core, the Xserve AMD units will feature either one or two
dual-core AMD Opteron processors; depending on the configuration
and clock speed, the Opteron CPUs can be model 275, 280, or 285
SEs, and each core will have 1 MB of processor cache. The servers
ship with a minimum of 1 GB of 400 MHz (128bit+ECC) memory, with
support for up to 16 GB of onboard RAM. Storage options come via
four independent Serial ATA drive bays with removable Apple Drive
Modules and offer up to 2 terabytes of storage; the system also
sports a slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, with an optional DVD-R
SuperDrive available. For expansion, the system offers two low-
profile 64-bit PCI-X expansion slots (one at 100 MHz, one at
133 MHz), two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400 port, two
USB 2.0 ports, and one DB-9 (RS-232) serial port. Like previous
Xserve models, the Xserve AMDs sport two independent gigabit
Ethernet interfaces; additional gigabit Ethernet can be added
via PCI-X expansion cards.
Xserve AMD users can connect to an Xserve RAID drive using an
optional PCI-X Fibre Channel card, enabling 2 GB/second access
to as much as 7 terabytes of additional storage. Additional PCI-X
expansion cards (available separately) enable access to hardware
RAID arrays, SCSI devices, and VGA monitors. As rackmount server
units, Xserve AMDs don't ship with any built-in video output.
However, in a move new to Apple's Xserve line, the Xserve AMDs
feature dual redundant hot-swappable power supplies.
<http://www.apple.com/xserve/raid/>
Three basic Xserve AMD configurations will be available: a single
processor Xserve AMD with a dual-core 2.2 GHz Opteron processor,
1 GB of RAM, and one 400 GB Apple Drive module; a high-speed
Xserve AMD with two 2.8 GHz dual-core Opteron processors; and
a slightly stripped-down cluster node Xserve AMD with two 2.8 GHz
dual-core AMD processors, but only 512 MB of RAM, 240 GB of
storage, and a 10-client edition of Mac OS X Tiger Server.
Other Xserve AMD units will ship with unlimited versions of
Tiger Server.
And here's the kicker: where pricing for Apple's previous PowerPC-
based G5 systems started at $3,000, the base configuration of the
Xserve AMD starts at just $1,800, with the two-processor dual-core
Opteron configuration starting at $2,600. Of course, by the time
one adds additional memory, storage capacity, and hosting costs
into the equations, the Xserve AMDs are still costly systems, but,
in the world of rack-mount servers, Apple has suddenly become very
competitive.
**Not Fade Away... Yet** -- Unlike Apple's iMac and Mac mini
transitions, Apple has no immediate plans to do away with the
PowerPC-based editions of its Xserves: both Xserve editions
will remain for sale from Apple for the immediate future. Apple
spokesperson Said Al Atztru noted that many existing Xserve users
have built significant applications and supercomputing clusters
using Apple's Xserves, and the company has no intention of leaving
them twisting in the wind. "We understand that converting those
applications to a new architecture is going to take a significant
amount of time and resources, and, as we always have been with our
Xserve customers, we'll be there to assist those users through
that transition as smoothly as possible."
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07542>
When queried about the decision to use AMD processors in the
company's high-end servers rather than Intel-based chips, Al
Atztru was surprisingly forthcoming. "Apple announced it was
transitioning the Macintosh line to Intel-based chips, and we're
doing just that. We don't have any plans to put AMD processors
in our consumer or professional Macintosh systems. That said -
and I know it sounds pedantic - the Xserve is a special case
product for specific purposes. It's never said 'Macintosh' on
the box. No one - or, at least, we hope no one - is going to buy
an Xserve as a means to get their grandmother on the Internet.
That's not what they're for. So, we don't see any contradiction
in making Xserves with AMD processors and saying we're
transitioning the Macintosh to Intel processors."
Al Atztru continued, "From a technical perspective, AMD makes
compelling processors for the server market. While I wouldn't
rule out future Intel-based Xserve systems, since Intel's Core
Solo and Core Duo processors have wonderful performance-to-watt
ratios, those advances haven't yet fully translated to Intel's
line of processors for server systems. Going with AMD's processors
lets us achieve approximately 50 percent greater performance
than Intel's Xeon processors while consuming about one-third
the power."
Time will tell. Apple Xserve AMDs are scheduled to be available
by the end of April; the company will start taking pre-orders
later this week.
FrankenClassic Lives!
---------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Those who forget the past are condemned to emulate it. Apple's
announcement last year that the company would cease selling
PowerPC-equipped Macintoshes also meant the end of Mac OS 9's
lingering remnant, the Classic compatibility environment.
The Classic environment requires a PowerPC processor in order
to run Mac OS 9 in a little prison in which programs can behave
within certain parameters. We know plenty of people who need
dual-boot Macintoshes - those that can run either Mac OS 9 or
Mac OS X from a cold start - and those that have legacy programs
that have never been revised but operate perfectly well within
Classic mode.
It rubbed many people the wrong way that Apple couldn't simply
wire Classic to work under PowerPC emulation. After all, Mac OS X
for Intel incorporates on-the-fly Rosetta emulation for Mac OS X
programs that aren't recompiled in universal (PowerPC/Intel)
binaries or Intel-only binaries.
It comes as a great relief that one company has decided to take
a stand. The oddly named Stoic Form, based in Dublin, Ireland,
told TidBITS in a briefing late this week that it had created
Stoic Form Classic, an independently developed version of Classic
that runs within Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). They recommend
a PC system with an Intel Core Duo processor - if it weren't
ironic enough that Mac users who need to maintain Classic
applications will have to switch to Windows to do so. Stoic
said they licensed virtualization code from Lismore Systems,
whose emulation software resembles Microsoft Virtual PC for
Mac OS X.
<http://www.lismoresystems.com/en/>
Stoic Form said that they were also able to license the Transitive
technology that powers Apple's on-the-fly code translation in
Rosetta. Rosetta turns PowerPC code into Intel instructions for
most software that hasn't been rewritten as a universal binary
(PowerPC plus Intel code in one package). The company said that
you must own and install a copy of Mac OS 9; they don't want
to get close to violating Apple's intellectual property rights.
Although Windows XP SP2 is required now, Stoic claimed a version
that runs within Mac OS X on Intel-based Macs was in the works,
but refused to speculate about a release date.
To run Classic in Windows XP SP2, you download a 25 MB file from
Stoic Form's Web site - they're currently in a closed beta, soon
to go public - and install it. For those familiar with Virtual PC
and other emulators, the experience is the same. When launched,
Stoic Form Classic offers a blinking disk icon. Insert a Mac OS 9
installation CD, and all will go as one expects. In fact, as
Virtual PC for Mac and Windows have shown, having a software
emulator that pretends to be extremely standard hardware can
make installation even simpler than it is on a random PC.
Classic mode was never speedy even on the fastest G5s. That's why
Stoic Form's emulator will be a great relief: it runs Mac OS 9
programs as fast as a moderately speedy G4 processor. In fact,
most Mac OS 9 programs should run faster than on almost all Macs
that can still boot Mac OS 9 natively.
Stoic Form wouldn't provide many details about the company, nor
why they'd be offering Stoic Form Classic for only $40 when it
ships in the second quarter of 2006. But we at TidBITS find it
somewhat suspicious that Stoic Form is an anagram of Microsoft,
and that the firm is based in Dublin, where Microsoft has
extensive operations for Europe. Lismore, the company they
licensed components from, was also originally based in Dublin,
too, before moving to Moscow - which might mean that some
employees have shifted from one firm to another.
Could Stoic Form Classic be Microsoft's own Switcher campaign?
An attempt to lure the millions of Mac owners still running
Mac OS 9 or needing Classic into buying fancy new Intel-based
systems running Windows XP - and later Vista? It seems overly
subtle for Microsoft, though, so perhaps we should merely be
satisfied with the irony of Classic gaining a new lease on life
thanks to Windows.
FedEx, UPS Add Vehicle Jingles
------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In a marketing move that hearkens back to summer days of
yesteryear, FedEx - currently Apple's primary overnight
delivery vendor - announced that starting today all of its
commercial vehicles will broadcast a distinctive musical
tune while making package deliveries. FedEx Vice President
of Marketing G. Hume Mann said, "We've had enormous success
with our highly visible purple, orange, and white color scheme,
and believe that the new distinctive musical tones will project
our brand into another dimension."
<http://www.fedex.com/us/traveltone/>
In the same way that children would hear the songs of ice-cream
trucks before arriving in their neighborhood, the FedEx tones
will enable customers to know when their packages are nearby.
The initiative also has a practical upshot in addition to the
powerful brand extension. Mann continued, "Our tracking servers
experience an unexpectedly high amount of traffic during the peak
hours between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM in each time zone as recipients
repeatedly enter their tracking numbers. If a truck is in the
neighborhood and some of our customers hear it, they'll go outside
to meet the vehicle. We project bandwidth savings of approximately
6 percent, and time savings of about 8 percent due to drivers not
having to climb stairs and navigate buildings. And, frankly, we're
happy to encourage many of our high-tech customers to get outside
and experience some sunshine."
The tones, a four-chord harmony developed in a partnership with
legendary composer John Williams (who scored music for the Star
Wars and Harry Potter movies, in addition to the iconic NBC
Nightly News theme), were designed specifically to sound unique
and inviting, even under frequent repetition. To help introduce
the song, FedEx has made an MP3 version available for download at
its Web site and has entered into an agreement with Apple to offer
it for free from the iTunes Music Store.
<http://imdb.com/name/nm0002354/>
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?
playlistId=74088&s=143441&i=74048>
Shortly after the FedEx announcement, United Parcel Service (UPS)
announced that it, too, has been testing a similar program for
several months and will be rolling it out over the next few weeks.
The UPS jingle is still a closely guarded secret, and is due to be
presented at a formal announcement on Wednesday, although rumors
are swirling that it sounds more "brown."
<http://www.ups.com/>
Retro Fashion for the Mac mini
------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Mac mini was recognized from its debut as one of the most
stylish Macintoshes ever introduced because of its sleek
simplicity and compact size. Call it the Cube perfected.
Apparently, even perfection can be improved. Many companies,
including LaCie and Other World Computing, have produced hard
drive and USB/FireWire hub combos that have the same footprint
as the Mac mini, and The Plasticsmith offers stands and skirts
for the product.
<http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10476>
<http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack/>
<http://www.plasticsmith.com/miniskirt>
But the latest Mac mini add-on takes the notion of a headless
computer and turns it, well, on its head. The miniPLUS from
MacStalgia adds a display via a small color LCD that's part
of a snap-on case for the top of a Mac mini (either PowerPC
or Intel Core models). It uses passive convection to avoid
an additional fan.
<http://www.macstalgia.com/>
The LCD is just 9 inches measured diagonally, which shouldn't be
a surprise: the miniPLUS resembles a Macintosh Plus in both its
external appearance, updated to the brushed aluminum look of
the Mac mini, and its capability to accept 1.44 MB floppy disks.
The 9-inch LCD offers extremely high resolution, providing a
crisp 24-bit color image at a maximum of 1280 by 960 pixels.
Yes, you heard correctly: because floppy drive mechanisms are
so remarkably cheap, the drive was thrown in as an extra bit of
nostalgia. It can read some of the oldest formats, so you can
finally recover data from your previously unusable floppies.
Push a button next to the drive, and it moves out of the way
to disclose an 8-in-1 flash memory reader that handles Compact
Flash, SD, and other formats.
The MacStalgia folks didn't skimp on nice touches. For instance,
there's a large, original-Mac-style power switch conveniently
located in the back, and a set of SCSI, LocalTalk, serial, and
ADB connectors. Again, these parts are so cheap, it's trivial
to add them for the authentic touch. SCSI, serial, and ADB are
converted into USB 2.0 via included drivers for Mac OS X 10.2.9
and later, while LocalTalk is bridged into Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
MacStalgia has deep Apple roots, having been founded by reclusive
Mac hardware genius Burrell Smith, widely recognized as second
in cleverness at Apple only to Woz when it came to just creating
stuff previously thought physically impossible. Smith has been
a private citizen since departing monitor and storage company
Radius, which he co-founded nearly two decades ago.
<http://www.folklore.org/ProjectView.py?name=Macintosh&characters=
Burrell%20Smith>
MacStalgia's next plan, after gauging market interest for this
kind of combo retro/futuramo project, is to develop software that
apes Front Row. For a certain audience, that combination might
take the Mac mini beyond the switcher special to make it front
and center in a media cabinet.
Take Control of Your Daily Life
-------------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Having recently published my ninth Take Control ebook in two
and a half years, I finally had to admit that my productivity
is slipping. While that level of output may seem prolific to
some, my own standards are higher; in the 2004-2005 season of
my Interesting Thing of the Day site, for example, I published
an article of up to 1500 words every single day (while also
writing ebooks and magazine articles, of course); I also wrote
an entire novel during the month of November. Therefore,
publishing ebooks so infrequently must be a sign of growing
inefficiency. Clearly, I was spending too much time on mundane
tasks such as eating lunch and walking from my computer to the
coffee machine.
<http://itotd.com/>
<http://www.nanowrimo.org/>
With this realization also came a solution: I'd figure out how
to take control of every aspect of my day, and package that
knowledge in a new set of mini ebooks that could be released
daily. This series, Take Control of Your Daily Life, goes on sale
later today.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/>
Each weekday, you'll learn how to take control of some routine
task. The first week's titles include "Take Control of Personal
Hygiene," "Take Control of Your Laundry," "Take Control of Pet
Care," "Take Control of Vacuuming" (with a special appendix on
the Roomba and other robotic vacuum cleaners) and "Take Control
of Breakfast." Future titles will delve into such diverse areas
as coordinating after-school transportation, managing phone calls
with talkative relatives, and making the most effective use of
time with your spouse or significant other.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08169>
When I first suggested this series to editor-in-chief Tonya Engst,
her reaction can be best described as a mixture of amusement,
horror, and incredulity. She reminded me that, apart from our
standard editing and technical review steps (which together can
last several weeks or longer), each ebook requires a production
process that often takes more than a day. So it seemed
logistically inconceivable to release a new ebook every
single day.
After considerable discussion, brainstorming, and applications
of strong spirits, however, we were able to develop a system
that should be able to handle the process. First, each daily ebook
will be much shorter than usual - an average of 10 pages, which
is still more than twice as long as a feature-length magazine
article. Borrowing techniques from the Extreme Programming method,
the ebooks will be written, edited, and reviewed in parallel using
SubEthaEdit. And finally, the PDF production and release process
will be automated by custom software developed for us by a small
programming firm in India for a mere $99 and a green card.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_programming>
<http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/>
Since our traditional print publishing partner, Peachpit, doesn't
generally venture outside of the technical world, we went looking
for a publishing company with chops in the life-improvement space.
We're pleased to announce a new relationship with Rodale Books,
publishers of such masterpieces as "The South Beach Diet
Cookbook," "Bicycling Magazine's Guide to Bike Touring," and
"The Martha Rules" (in which we learned that, when given a choice
between black-and-white stripes and an orange jumpsuit in prison,
go with the stripes unless you're on the heavier side). Rodale has
now agreed to compile the first six months' worth of the series
into a paperback book titled "Take Control of Everything, Volume
1". At an estimated 1,000 pages, the illustrated book is expected
to hit the shelves in early September, for a retail price of $55.
Whether or not future volumes appear will depend on the sales
of the initial book.
<http://www.rodale.com/1,6597,2-104,00.html>
Online, however, Take Control of Your Daily Life ebooks will
sell for the reduced price of $2 each. We are also, for the first
time, offering ebook subscriptions, a much-requested feature.
A year-long subscription to this series (200 ebooks) costs only
$300, a 25 percent savings over the individual price. As usual,
free updates will be available to all purchasers so you'll be
able to stay up-to-date with the latest in toothbrush technology,
suggestions from readers about better laundry-folding techniques,
and how to avoid left-hand turns while doing errands.
<http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4776825453418327083&q=shirt+fold>
Uncovering the AJRP
-------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
While preparing for this past Macworld Expo in San Francisco,
a number of us journalists found our requests for media passes
denied by IDG World Expo, whose representative claimed that the
new policy was to allow only a single representative from each
media outlet access to the keynote. This pronouncement was met
with much irate spluttering, since many publications, including
TidBITS, send multiple representatives to Macworld Expo to cover
both the keynote and the rest of the show. IDG World Expo claimed
the policy was necessary because of restricted space in the
keynote hall. Luckily, it ended up not affecting us, since Tonya,
Jeff Carlson, and I were also giving presentations at the show,
and speakers were allowed into the keynote with no restrictions;
also, IDG World Expo was happy to give us press passes for the
rest of the show.
When the appointed time arrived on that Tuesday morning, we queued
up with the rest of the speakers and were led by an Apple person
into a specific portion of the spacious hall leading toward the
ballroom where the keynote would take place. As usual, the VIPs
are led into the hall first, while conference attendees who were
allowed into the keynote were collected off to one side - but we
saw no sign of our friends in the media. The previous year, we
had been corralled in the depths of Moscone Center with the rest
of the press, with some folks being led up to the main hall, and
others being forced to stay behind to watch the keynote on screens
in what was termed the "overflow room." So we didn't think much of
the lack of the press at the time, figuring that they were simply
behind us somewhere.
But then I caught sight of a friend at Apple who I'd met at
MacHack years before and waved to him. He saw me and waved back
across the crowd, a huge look of relief on his face. Just then,
our speaker group was led into the hall, where Steve Jobs
introduced iLife '06, the Intel-based iMac, and the MacBook Pro.
Afterwards, I ran into my friend again on the way out. He asked
how we'd gotten into the keynote, and with some irritation,
I related the whole story of having to use our speaker badges
instead of our press passes. "But it wasn't a big deal,"
I ended, "even though we had to sit pretty far back, and ended
up essentially watching the entire keynote on the big screen,
since the stage was so far away. In fact, it was probably better,"
I joked, "since we didn't take the full brunt of Jobs's Reality
Distortion Field. It was probably just like watching from the
press overflow room."
He glanced around to make sure no one was listening and muttered,
"I'm glad you weren't in there; I hear they've moved into phase
three of the AJRP."
"The what?" I asked.
"I can't talk about it here," he said, "but I'll forward you
something via email later on. Give me the fingerprint for your
public PGP key." We exchanged PGP fingerprints, and I went off
to cover the show, utterly mystified.
Needless to say, I soon forgot about my friend's odd behavior,
and since it's nearly impossible to keep up with email while at
the show, it wasn't until the plane ride home that I happened upon
his message. I decrypted it, and read the following short email
discussion, dated from a bit more than five years ago - names
had been removed.
Subject: AJRP phase 2
We have the go-ahead from SJ on AJRP phase 2. Phase 1 subjects are
showing no signs of rejecting the RDF implants. The next step is
to choose who will participate in phase 2. Recommend starting with
DRW, TYN, TSC, EMT, JSW, GB.
Subject: Re: AJRP phase 2
> Recommend starting with DRW, TYN, TSC, EMT, JSW, GB.
Let's swing for the fences with EMT, JSW, TYN.
Subject: Re: AJRP phase 2
>> Recommend starting with DRW, TYN, TSC, EMT, JSW, GB.
> Let's swing for the fences with EMT, JSW, TYN.
Agreed. Please coordinate with PR on their briefing times.
At first I could make relatively little of the terse messages,
but after some puzzling over the acronyms, I realized that at
least some of them were abbreviations for publications, with the
letters reversed. JSW was WSJ - the Wall Street Journal. TYN was
NYT - the New York Times. And as for EMT, TME didn't make a lot
of sense until I guessed at the missing vowel: Time Magazine.
And what the heck could an RDF implant be?
With some concentrated Web searching and use of the Internet
Archive, I was able to assemble a relatively complete collection
of stories filed about Apple by those three publications since
1999; I wanted to see if there had been any change after 2001 when
this AJRP had supposedly taken place. Indeed, although there were
stories about Apple from a number of writers in each publication
over that time period, those from Walter Mossberg at the Journal,
David Pogue at the Times, and Josh Quittner at Time were, frankly,
pretty positive. Take a look at some of these quotes:
First, Josh Quittner from his famous article about the iMac G4,
which Time Canada accidentally posted before the iMac was unveiled
at Macworld Expo in 2002: "With its overhaul of the popular iMac,
Apple has again created a masterpiece of design." The rest was
described as "feverishly positive" in a New York Times article
about the embargo flub.
<http://www.udel.edu/communication/COMM418/begleite/readings/timeapple.html>
Clearly David Pogue likes the latest iPod, calling it "the
smallest, simplest and best-looking pocket video player."
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/technology/circuits/19web-pogue.html>
But the Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg takes the cake,
saying, "I believe that, at the moment, Apple makes the best
computers, and the best operating system, for mainstream consumers
doing typical tasks - email, web surfing, office-productivity
functions such as word processing and presentations, photo
organizing and editing, playing and collecting music, and editing
home video."
<http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/report-200511.html>
I was starting to get a sense of what an RDF implant might be -
a device that somehow increased the already astonishing power
of Steve Jobs's famed Reality Distortion Field. For those who
haven't experienced the RDF, it's something else. Tonya and I
had our first experience with it close up during our senior year
at Cornell University in 1988-89, when Jobs came to cut the ribbon
on the first public room of NeXT cubes at Cornell. We were student
supervisors, and the computer room in Upson Hall was one of those
that our people operated, so we were in the front row when Jobs
came and gave a short speech before cutting the ribbon to open
the room. To this day, Tonya only mutters about how amazing his
shoes were. But I remember how thoroughly I was taken in by the
RDF, how utterly world-changing I thought the NeXT cubes were
going to be, with their optical drives and 400 dpi laser printers.
Of course, after he left, the RDF's effect slowly faded, and
within a week, we were cursing the drives (which sucked in dust
and failed regularly), rebooting version 0.8 of the operating
system constantly, and torturing Display PostScript as our feeble
attempt to get back the machines for significantly increasing
our workload.
But what could AJRP stand for? PRJA - assuming it was backwards
like the other acronyms - didn't make any more sense. I noticed
my friend was online in iChat shortly after, and when I opened
a chat with him, iChat showed that since we were both .Mac
members, the chat was encrypted. "What's AJRP expand to?" I asked.
His reply was terse, "Apple Journalist Reeducation Program."
Suddenly it all came clear. Phase 1 must have been the initial
testing of the RDF implant - perhaps a few people who came to
the Genius Bar at a particular Apple Store for advice on which Mac
to buy were taken in the back room for a "personal consultation"
and given the RDF implant before being sent out to evangelize
Apple. Phase 2 was more ambitious - those private briefings that
top-level journalists are given with company brass could have been
Apple's chance to get to Mossberg, Pogue, and Quittner and ensure
positive press from their influential publications. And phase 3 -
well, Apple hasn't been taking much flak of late, so there's no
telling how many journalists are now included in the AJRP but the
media room at Macworld Expo was crowded. Apple undoubtedly didn't
want to tip its hand; hence the one pass per media outlet policy,
ensuring that there could still be dissenting opinions. At least
for a while...
All we can recommend is that you pay close attention to what you
read about Apple these days, and consider whether the author might
have been co-opted by the AJRP. At big conferences like Macworld
Expo, the TidBITS team will be sticking together for mutual
protection, and we've created an automated system that will post
a pre-arranged message to ExtraBITS in the event that Apple does
manage to get to us. So keep an eye on our home page, and if you
see a headline announcing "Record iPod and iTunes Music Store
Sales!" you'll know we've succumbed. Wish us luck, and watch
our backs.
$$
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