As I await the new Star Wars movie with a kid's gleam in my eye, it's comforting to see our favorite computer company firmly on the side of the Force! Apple's new marketing deal with Lucas Film is not only going to be a lot of fun, but should turn out to be a huge coup for Apple. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to be bigger than Star Wars this year, and I can only hope Apple continues this type of savvy marketing that emphasizes Apple's leading edge technology and "attitude."
The Software Upgrade Merry-go-round
Enough is enough. As the market matures and profit margins shrink, some software companies are counting on their upgrades to carry them through. Don't misunderstand me. I don't begrudge any software company the ability to make a profit from upgrades, but some of these companies are abusing the privilege, producing must-have "latest" versions which are usually quite expensive and offer no more than a cosmetic overhaul and an additional button on a floating toolbar. I say, if these companies are going to charge for updated versions of their software, they should at least ensure that the new version offers positive benefits to the end user. A proper upgrade should be more than just a simple "bug fix," it should also install easily, be more stable, and improve compatibility with other applications, all without making the output from earlier versions incompatible or harder to use. As I see it, an upgrade that doesn't do all these things makes me wonder if I just shouldn't wait for the next complete release.
The Right to Privacy
The latest buzz on the web concerns the trend for embedding a user's information into software—such as a word processing document—without his knowing it. For those of us that aren't "hiding" anything, this may not seem like such a big deal, but I would have to say it is. Any software that takes my personal information or computer's usage and then embeds that information into documents WITHOUT my consent is simply going too far. These companies DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to any information concerning me, my software, my computer or whatever I may choose to do with it UNLESS I have specifically authorized them to have access to it. Just as they have their software agreement that I must abide by, there should be a reciprocol agreement that the software companies must agree to before they access my personal information. While I may have nothing to hide, I reserve the right to how my personal information is used.
I'm Looking forward to...
Mac OS 8.6 which is entering into the final stages of testing and evaluation. Those who have been involved with this testing have been raving about the improved stability and other improvements that Mac users have long been clamoring for. C'mon Apple, I'm ready to be impressed!
And, of course, QuickTime 4.0 and it's promise of streaming technology!
Here is a list of some of the domain names which Apple has recently registered:
APPLEENEWS.COM
DARWINSOURCECODE.COM
DARWINCODE.COM
MACINTOSHSOFTWARE.COM
DARWINSOURCE.COM
APPLEDARWIN.NET
APPLE-DARWIN.COM
APPLE-DARWIN.ORG
APPLEDARWIN.COM
APPLEDARWIN.ORG
APPLE-DARWIN.NET
MACH-OS.NET
MACHOS.NET
QT-TV.NET
MACH-OS.COM
DARWINSOURCE.ORG
QTTV.NET
BUYAAPL.NET
BUYAAPL.COM
BUYAPLE.COM
BUYAPLE.NET
APPLE-ENEWS.COM
•Tim Robertson• <publisher@mymac.com>
•Russ Walkowich• <editor@mymac.com>
 
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