MACWORLD AUGUST 1999 DREAM MACHINE • FLAT-PANEL DISPLAYS • SCSI CARDS • MAC OS X • FINAL CUT PRO • PHOTOSHOP 5.5 Read Me First Simon Jary, Editor-In-Chief

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MACWORLD AUGUST 1999 DREAM MACHINE • FLAT-PANEL DISPLAYS • SCSI CARDS • MAC OS X • FINAL CUT PRO • PHOTOSHOP 5.5 read me first Simon Jary, editor-in-chief

ast year’s dramatic decision by Apple There was a stand-off. Instead of admitting its previous perilous state and to flounce out of its only UK Mac show getting on with knocking the socks off the beige pretenders, Apple stamped L caused chaos and confusion among its foot until the organizers jumped. And instead of seizing the initiative and exhibitors and visitors alike.Whatever the creating the best Mac show ever, the organizers faffed around with dumb warped reasoning, the swift exit by the principal ideas until they came up with a stupid, Siamese-twin-type show of two halves SHUT YOUR EYES AND IMAGINE YOU’VE attraction devalued Apple Expo to the point of it that suited no one and confused the bejesus out of everyone. becoming more a mini-market for resellers than a grand exhibition of the Apple jumped ship.You could see its point, but nothing could obscure the 61 JUST BEEN GIVEN £7,500 TO BUY YOUR state of the Mac. Rather like the FA’s awful action of forcing Man United out fact that the company was missing one hell of an opportunity to market its of the FA Cup in favour of some fuzzy global event, taking the Apple out of renewed self and sell crateloads of iMacs to boot. Still, there was always next DREAM MAC. NOW OPEN THEM, TURN TO OUR Apple Expo diminished the show’s value. Next year, promised Apple, they’d year. And Expo ’99, remember, would be bigger and better than ever before. be back bigger and better than ever before. Apart from it won’t, because Apple has pulled the plug on the whole event EYE-POPPING MACWORLD ONLINE COMPETITION The real shame about the neutered Apple Expo ’98 was that Apple had so (see page 16). Not only will Apple miss the chance to speak directly to its UK much to say to its battered legion of devotees – and even more to show off to customers for the second year in succession, but no one else in the market will – AND MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE. entirely new markets of fledgling PC buyers. All the talk at Apple Expo ’97 was get the chance either. If the show was diminished in 1998, it has been utterly the recent return of founding father Steve Jobs. After years of massive losses destroyed in 1999. The warning signs that not all was well with Expo ’99 have and hopeless leadership, the company was still rocky, but fuelled by a sense of been apparent for months now. We’ve been waiting for a series of ads since new beginnings.We saw the premier Apple Power Macs based on the PowerPC May,and exhibitor news has been as thin on the ground as snow in the Sahara. G3, and the first fruits of Jobs’ cool ‘Think Different’ advertising campaign. Apple Expo ’99 was missing in action, presumed lost in Steve Jobs’ office. What could have been a gloomy gathering turned into a rather optimistic I can see the logic of Steve’s eventual decision. Realigning the European affair. This new Apple, with Steve back at the helm, would sail into uncharted shows around the big US events makes a lot of sense.That’s how Apple makes waters and discover profits beyond our dreams. Just six months later, the Mac its major announcements these days. Why reissue New York’s news in Paris in world went all translucent and Bondi Blue. The iMac template for all that September and then again in London in late November? would follow was joyously received. Caught on waves of profit and genuine But a perfect plan from 2000 onwards and the first appearance of Steve popular excitement, it revitalized Mac communities across the globe. Jobs at a UK Expo doesn’t alter the fact that British users have been hard done Apple Expo ’98 should have been the best UK Mac show ever. It could have by since they last met Apple back in 1997. How much harm has been done in reignited the whole Mac market this side of the Atlantic. But, because the terms of market share and industry perception can’t be quantified. But the end show’s initial organization was carried out during the down period in Apple’s result of Apple’s absence is a sorry continuation of the disappointment,dejection fortunes, the event organizers had refashioned it as the rather long-winded and distrust Mac customers justifiably felt towards the company pre-Steve. Total Design Technology Show.This new expo would welcome Windows PCs to Because of that, they’ll be expecting something pretty damn amazing in nine August 1999 WALKER JAMES BY MIKE LAYE/ILLUSTRATION PHOTOGRAPHY COVER the creative fold, and Apple wasn’t best pleased by the competition. months time. Apple simply cannot afford to let us down again. MW contents

67 72 79 85 57 42 116 competition WIN WIN Your dream Mac Over £2,000 worth of prizes

61 Flat hunting regulars 8 How to contact Macworld Macworld has it covered media Flat-panel technology is improving, Who’s who,and who’s won what 42 Macromedia Flash 4 50 ReMix DVD-RAM/CD-RW 79 create motion and prices are falling.Maybe it’s 43 MetaCreations Canoma 1.0 PowerMac G3 450MHz time to have a word with the gaffer. Grahic effect 96-97 Macworld subscriptions 44 ProFormance III 52 Sibelius 1.2 David Fanning weighs up your Adobe After Effects examined. Unbelievable value! Get a free copy of Art Dabbler small- and large-flat-screen options. 45 Apple Final Cut Pro 53 USB: iMouse 85 create web or Soap when you subscribe!

reviews 46 Avid Cinema for Mac InterView 67 Millennium Macs Site for sore eyes By the time the new millennium Making an impact with JavaScript. 138-139 Reader offers MPlayer 3 iDock features has dawned,the Mac OS will have 47 Railroad Tycoon II 54 CatBase undergone radical changes.Stephan 89 create graphics 140 Career Moves 48 Route 66 Britain 99 55-56 PREVIEW: Somogy explores the implications. Layer player Job vacancies.Get the right job here. 61 BlendingPhotoshop layers Adobe Acrobat 4.0 Adobe Photoshop 5.5 72 Down to the wire 115 Buyers’Guide USB-only Macs needn’t sound the secrets This month’s cover CD opinions 93 secrets Mac system advice;Vision thing;Macworld 11 37 first contact death knell of SCSI.Kristina De Nike in-depth stories incisiveness exclusive tests MP3 calls the tune and Jonathan Seff untangle this Colour revolution Reseller Guide;Star Ratings;plus a full year’s index 39 prochak connectivity quandary. Getting the most from your colour 16-17 Business Macs return? 22 Software pirates beware Brain plougher printer. 135 Apple Reseller Guide UK Apple Expo 99 axed 24-25 Mac voice-recognition 40 desktop critic news Macintosh user-groups 94 q&a A complete listing of Apple accredited dealers for 18-19 Adobe plugs PDF gap 26 3-million MB storage! the whole of the UK.Plus,NEW! AppleCentre Focus. 116 vision thing Untangling the Web Mac-Windows virus peril Using Mac OS 8.5 for Web impact. Mac OS X Finder 20 Macworld Expo in colour 31-34 Product news 194 worlock 141 Macworld Shopping Monitor wizard Consumer advice and mail-order ads

4 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 5 Contacts

who... @ Editor-in-Chief Simon Jary [email protected] Macworld Executive Editor/Reviews David Fanning [email protected] Staff Writer Louise Banbury [email protected] The ultimate reference guide and news Production Editor Sean Ashcroft [email protected] source for the Macintosh market. Sub Editor Woody Phillips [email protected] Art Director Mandie Johnson [email protected] Subscribe Art Editor James Walker [email protected] Designer David Grant [email protected] Managing Editor/Online Gillian Robertson [email protected] Editorial Assistant Selena Laye [email protected] CD Editor Vic Lennard US Editor Andrew Gore Contributing editors Peter Worlock, David Pogue, Deke McClelland, Lon Poole, Michael Prochak, Ian Winter, Simon Eccles, Joseph Schorr, Franklin Tessler, Bruce Fraser, Christopher Breen, David Biedny, Matthew Bath

Group Ad Manager Anne Ridyard [email protected] Advertising Manager Mustafa Mustafa [email protected] Display Sales Executive Dean Payn [email protected] Classified Sales Executives James Poulson, Sarah Maher Production Manager Sharon Bird [email protected] Deputy Production Manager Richard Bailey [email protected] Production Assistant Sam French [email protected] Marketing/Circulation M’ger Sarah Bagnall [email protected] Find out how you can get either Marketing Executive Jo Brown [email protected] MetaCreations Art Dabbler or Publisher Guy Eaton [email protected] Soap FREE when you subscribe to Macworld – see pages 96-97. What a lot of winners! To celebrate Macworld’s 10th anniversary,we ran a massive competition with over 10 giveaways and over 50 prizes. See if you’re one of the winners… Macworld and IMC offered 10 top Umax Astra 1220U USB-based scanners.The winners are:Mr M Graham of ? Subscribe East Sussex;Mrs G Richmond,Co Durham;Mr J Willscroft,Bucks;Mr T Pease,E Sussex;Mr R Musk,Bucks;Miss V W Wren,E Sussex;Mr I Bunt, Edinburgh;Mr P Brett,Manchester;Mr K Whitehead,Reading;and Miss G Mitten,Milton Keynes.Five readers won two high-res images from Macworld and Photodisc:Mr P Reed,Berks;Mr A Redinger,London;Mr S Bailey,London;Mr C Lindsay,Co Armagh;Ms L Grace,Herts.We had five sets of handwriting fonts from The Type Marketing Company,now belonging to:Mr B Stay,Herts;Mr J Clark,Cleveland;Mr I Threapleton,W Yorkshire; Macworld (UK) is an independent journal not affiliated with Mr N Methven,Aberdeen;and Mr M Bradbury,Leics. Aladdin Knowledge Systems helped us give away five MacHASP USB software-protection Apple Computer Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, and Macintosh are registered trademarks, kits,to:Ms A Randall,Oxon;Miss N Murray,London;Mr P Thackray,W Yorks;Mrs K Fox-Boudewijn,Berks;and Miss R A Bassill,London.Shaye and of Apple Computer Inc. Macworld proudly present two Citizen PN60 pocket printers,to:Mr T Harmer,Southern Ireland;and Mr S Sood,Hants.Together with Neato,we

All contents © IDG 1999, gave away a Zip drive and Neato Zip drive label kit to:Mr D Gill,London.The following readers won Zip-disk label kits:Mr T Bamborough,Co except articles adapted from Macworld US, Durham;Mr M Schofield,Brighton;Mr S Carrol,Brighton;Mr Y Chen,London;Mr J E Attew,Surrey;Mr D J Toach,Leicester;Mr D J O’Brien,Scotland; or from MacWEEK © Mac Publishing LLC. Mr T Chokeumlerd,London;Mr J Ronay,London;Mr I G Bogoria,Edinburgh;Mr W Hannah,Somerset;Mr S Leaning,Lincs;Mr M Dunaway,Cheltenham; Macworld is a publication of IDG Communications, Mr C Goodwin,Leics;Mr W Matos,Hants;Mr W Parkin,Gwent;Mr S Reed,Middx;Mr I Morratt,Essex;Mr R Brown,Bristol;and Mrs J Hollands,Hants. 99 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8UT. Voiceworks joined in with its voice-recognition software,VoicepowerPro.A copy each to:Mr A Pagan,Edinburgh;and Mr C Cunliffe,Devon. Telephone: (0171) 831 9252 Editorial fax: (0171) 405 5308 Sales fax: (0171) 405 0262 Marrutt and Macworld gave five great software training CDs to Mr R Castledine of Essex.Time’s up for these lucky readers,who won selected ISSN 0957-2341 Apple-branded watches from AppleWatch:Mr M Rees,Basingstoke;Mr A Button,Derbyshire;Mr D A Hardy,Birmingham;Mr J Rae Brown,

Colour Origination: Lumis Colour London;Mr J Peters,Herts;Mr P Casells,Chichester;Mr D Lennox ,Ayrshire;Mr A Gilmore,Roath;Mr N J Gill,Derbyshire;Mr D Blaikie,W Sussex; Printed by Polestar Watmoughs Ltd Mr A Whitehurst,Macclesfield;Mr R Plenzik,Kent;Mr J Mason,Herts; and Ms K Booth,Dorset. Macworld is printed on paper produced in sustainable forests.

Macworld editorial domestic Internet access courtesy of those nice people at World Leaders in IT Publishing Direct Connection (0800 072 0000, www.dircon.net) Macworld is a publication of International Data Group,the world’s largest publisher of computer-related information,and the leading global provider of information MACWORLD SUBSCRIPTIONS: 01858 435 304 services on information technology.International Data Group publishes over 275 computer publications in more than 75 countries.Ninety million people read one or more International Data Group publications each month.International Data Group’s publications include:Argentina’sBuyer’s Guide,Computerworld,PC World; A subscription to Macworld includes 12 issues, Australia’sComputerworld,IT Casebook,Macworld,Network World,PC World,Publish,Reseller News,Webmaster;Austria’sComputerwelt Oesterreich, 12 CDs and a FREE copy of either Art Dabbler or Soap Networks,PC Tip;Bangladesh’sPC World;Belarus’sPC World;Belgium’sData News;Brazil’s Annuário de Informática, Computerworld,Connections,Macworld,PC Player,PC World,Publish,Reseller News,Supergamepower;Bulgaria’sComputerworld,Network World,PC & Macworld; (see pages 96-97). Canada’sCIO,Client/Server World,ComputerWorld,InfoWorld,NetworkWorld,WebWorld;Chile’sComputerworld,PC World;Columbia’s Computerworld,PC World;Costa Rica’sPC World;Czech and Slovak Republic’sComputerworld,Macworld,PC World; UK Europe ROW Denmark’sCommunications World,Computerworld,Macworld,PC World,Techworld;Dominican Republic’sPC World;Ecuador’s PC World;Egypt’sComputerworld,PC World;El Salvador’sPC World;Finland’sMikro PC,Tietoverkko,Tietoviikko;France’s Distributique,Hebdo,InfoPC,Le Monde Infomatique,Macworld, Reseaux & Telecoms,WebMaster;Germany’sComputer Partner,Computerwoche/ Extra/Focus, Global Online,Macwelt,PC Welt;Greece’s Amiga Computing,GamePro,Multimedia World; Guatemala’sPC World;Honduras’sPC World; £44.66 £88.97 £113.98 Hong Kong’sComputerworld,PC World,Publish;Hungary’sABCD CD-ROM,Computerworld SZT,Internetto Online,PC World,PC-X Magazin; Iceland’sTolvuheimur PC World Island;India’sInformation Communications World,Computerworld,PC World,Publish;Indonesia’sInfoKomputer To subscribe, please use one of the following methods: PC World,Komputek Computerworld,Publish;Ireland’sComputerscope,PC Live!;Israel’s Macworld,People & Computers/Computerworld;Italy’s By post: Computerworld,Macworld,Networking,PC World;Japan’sDTP World,Macworld,Nikkei Personal Computing,OS/2 World,SunWorld,Windows NT World,Windows World;Kenya’sPC World;Korea’sHi-Tech Information,Macworld,PC World;Macedonia’sPC World;Malaysia’sComputerworld,PC Macworld Subscriptions, FREEPOST (WC4336), Leicester, World,Publish;Malta’sPC World;Mexico’sComputerworld,PC World;Myanmar’sPC World;The Netherlands’Computer! 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Totaal,LAN Internetworking,LAN World Buyers Guide,Macworld;New Zealand’sAbsolute Beginners Guide and Plain & Simple Series,Computer Buyer, Computer Industry Directory,Computerworld,MTB,Networked World,PC World;Nicaragua’sPC World;Norway’sComputerworld,CW Rapport, By fax: 01858 434 958 Datamagasinet,Financial Rapport,Kursguide,Macworld,Multimedia World,PC World,PC World Ekspress.PC World Nettverk,PC World ProduktGuide;Pakistan’s By phone: 01858 435 304 Computerworld,PC World;Panama’sPC World;People’s Republic of China’sComputer Users,Computerworld,Computer and By email: [email protected] Communication,Electronic Design,Electronics Today/Weekly,Game Software,InfoWorld,PC World,Popular Computer Week,Software Weekly,Software World,Telecom World/Weekly;Peru’sComputerworld,PC World Professional,PC World SoHo;Philippines’Click!,Computerworld,PC World,Publish;Poland’s Computerworld/Special Report,Cyber,Macworld,Networld,PC World Komputer;Portugal’sCerebro/PC World,Computerworld/Correio Informático,Dealer World, If you have a query about a current subscription please call Mac*In/PC*In Portugal,Multimedia World;Puerto Rico’s PC World;Romania’s Computerworld,PC World,Telecom;Russia’s Computerworld,Mir PK,Publish,Seti;Singapore’sComputerworld,PC World,Publish;Slovenia’sMonitor;South Africa’sComputing, 01858 435 303 Network World,Software World;Spain’sCommunicaciones World,Computerworld,Dealer World,Macworld,PC World;Sweden’sCAP&Design,Computer, Corporate Computing,InternetWorld,it.branschen,Macworld,MaxiData,MikroDatorn,Nätverk & Kommunikation,PC World,PCaktiv,Windows World; Switzerland’sComputerworld,Macworld,PCtip;Taiwan’sComputerworld,Macworld,NEW ViSiON/Publish,PC World,Windows World; 8 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Thailand’sPublish,Thai Computerworld;Turkey’sComputerworld,Macworld,Network World,PC World;Ukraine’s Computerworld,Multimedia World, PC World; United Kingdom’sDigit,Macworld,PC Advisor,PC Home,;United States’ Cable in the Classroom,CIO Magazine, Computerworld,DOS World,Federal Computer Week,GamePro,InfoWorld,I-Way,Macworld,Netscape World,Network World,PC Games,PC World,Publish,Video Event, WebMaster;Uruguay’s InfoWorld;Venezuela’s Computerworld,PC World;Vietnam’s PC World. Macworld A 30-day trial of Macromedia Flash 4, top demos like MetaCreations Canoma 1.0, and all the latest shareware, games and updaters await you on this month’s CD.Vic Lennard leads the way…

Install Me Before you start working your way through the software on our CD, go to the System Utilities folder and make sure you install the following: QuickTime 3.0.2 Acrobat Reader 4 Also included Many of the demos need this installed. It gives Install this version to be able to read many of the on-screen manuals. A number of useful utilities such as Apple Game Sprockets 1.1.4, you new versions of QuickTime and the MPEG, StuffIt Expander and DropStuff InternetConfig 2.0 and Apple Appearance plus essential items such VR, Musical Instruments and PowerPlug add-ons. Versions 4.5 & 5.1.2 are included. as Apple Disk Copy and Drive Setup.

reviews See page 42 Macromedia Flash 4

Easily design and reliably deliver high-impact, low-bandwidth Web sites to all browsers. Flash lets you produce sites with vector and bitmap graphics, motion, MP3 audio, form input and interactivity. Use natural, vector-based drawing tools for sketching or precision drawing. Erase, brush and lasso the bézier curves of art imported from your favourite illustration program. Create translucent graphics, overlay transparent vector objects on bitmaps, and vary the levels of opacity, transparent colours, gradients and other attributes at any time. Morph any graphic across any number of frames.Shape Morphing automatically animates the change from one shape to the other.You no longer have to draw each incremental change in its own keyframe. Break up bitmaps and use as editable fills. Use the new lasso tool and intelligent wand to create masks with bitmaps by selecting areas of similar colour in bitmap fills. Flash 4 includes support for TrueType and PostScript fonts, and comprehensive sprite animation. Put it through its paces for the next 30 days!

MetaCreations Canoma Canoma allows Web content developers and graphic artists to quickly and easily create photo-realistic 3D models from 2D photos or scanned images.Use in Web sites, electronic catalogues, 3D modelling and animation packages or combine with MetaStream 3D streaming technology – a complete solution for creating 3D models and distributing them via the Web. Create models, preview and texture them, and export in a variety of formats. If you have QuickTime 3 installed, you can output movie files with this trial version. This version of Canoma is fully functional, but only loads the tutorial pictures included with the download. Documentation on the tutorials is also included and accessible from the Canoma Help menu.You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to view this documentation. reviews There is no time limit on the trial version. A minimum of 48MB See page 43 free RAM is recommended.

Macworld AUGUST 1999 11 Also on the CD

APPLE (in the System Utilities NETWORK folder) including: The Unmounter Serious Software ARA 3.0.2 Client Updater ARA 3.0.2 Server Updater SOUND & MUSIC ASIP 6.2 Update 10 applications including: Disk Copy 6.3.3 FretPet 2.0.2 PiXELS:3D Studio 2.1.4 iMac Firmware Update 1.2 Logseq Sound Sculptor II 2.4.1 PiXELS:3D is an integrated suite of professional tools for creating COMMS & INTERNET and animating 3D characters and visual effects. PiXELS:3D gives you 30 applications including: ANTI VIRUS DNS Expert Four items for your data’s full control of every step in the production process. Build and edit Email Merge 1.7.6 continuing protection. organic models in real-time, create and apply textures/materials, MIDIPLUG for XG and position objects and lights within a scene. Create realistic Shockwave UTILITIES Ten categories comprising movements for all objects and produce broadcast-quality renderings FONTS over 60 useful tools for your of your animations. Font File Helper Mac including: PiXELS:3D Studio 2.1.4 is a demo on start-up, but brings up a FontBuddy 1.2.1 AppWatcher 1.0 BeHierarchic4.0 registration dialogue box with your Machine ID code. Log on to CD/DVD Library 3.0 www.pixels.net, fill out the registration (including your ID code) CopyPaste 4.3.2 and a serial number will be sent to you by email.While you’re there, Desktopper 1.3 Drag’nBack 2.9.5 download the PDF manual as well. iRemember 1.0.3 PrinterSwitch 1.3.4 PrintRGB Ultimatte KnockOut 1.1 demo Startup Doubler 2.0 GRAPHICS TextSpresso™ 1.1.1 14 items including: Most masking programs help you find an object’s edges, useful epsConverter 1.4.1 when dealing with simple edge transitions.The limitations are EPS•Factory 1.0.1 well known – hair detail is always one of the ‘finishing touches’ Fractal Viewer Rainbow Painter 1.0.0 that requires hours of work and the result is always a compromise. Ultimatte KnockOut recognizes that there really are no edges – INFO only transitions. Even the sharpest edge has a transition where at Six items including: 1984 OLM Issue 2.2 UPDATERS least one pixel is a mixture of the colour of the foreground subject About This Particular Mac 5.06 This month’s dedicated and the colour behind it. Ultimatte KnockOut reproduces the soft Apple Wizards – June 1999 updaters folder includes over transitions of foreground edges while removing any trace of the My Mac Magazine #50 100Mb of patches to bring plus 10 items for developers many popular applications visible background in that transition. bang up-to-date, including: The demo is fully functional and places a ‘spoiler’ on the images MATHS & SCIENCE AudioVision 4.1v9 in the form of a ‘red rain’.Full instructions are included in the Help Eight utilities including: BBEdit 5.1 Update Common Conversions Crescendo 1.3.6 folder. The training files referred to in the manual are included in Periodic Table 1.2 Font Reserve 2.0.3 the Sample Projects/Images folders.There are several Photoshop Poly 1.02 MagicScan 4.2 files with subjects such as glass and translucent materials in Norton AntiVirus (06/99) NUM 4.04 the Examples folder. Ultimatte KnockOut is NOT compatible with ReCycle! 1.7 Mac OS 8.5.x, but works with OS 8.6. SAM (06/99) Ultimatte KnockOut v1.1 Virex (06/99) CatBase 4.1.8 demo reviews See page 54 CatBase is a database publishing application that makes it easy to publish data in print, as files and on the Internet. It automatically Other demos include: formats the text (and, with certain publishing destinations, pictures) according to specifications set up in CatBase. Data can be ACTION GoMac 2.0.2 exported from another system and then imported into CatBase. BladePro 2.14 Data can be published in various ways, including print, as ColorSafe™ 1.6.1 delimited (plain text) files, HTML documents and on a Web server. ImageVice™ 2.0.5 Faxes, emails and letters can be sent, and labels produced directly Inklination FineArt 3D from the database if it contains contact details.The demo version JT | Type Sampler is fully functional, but limited to 50 records per table. PhotoGraphics™ 1.0.1

Don’t miss… Shareware Many programs on this CD are shareware, which means that Netscape Communicator 4.61 – the latest upgrade if you keep them and use them for more than the allowed Cool Extras! Mac Cycle-Logical demo – learn bike-riding the Mac way time (usually up to 30 days) then you must pay for them. G3 icon – Macworld’s very own G3 MiniTower icon Treat shareware as budget-priced commercial programs – Snapz Pro 2 – Ambrosia Software’s superb screenshot software support shareware authors so that they continue to provide Mac ISP – Abel Internet’s free Internet access offer high-quality programs for the Mac.

12 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Tanaka & Traitors Gate

Tanaka is a 3D race game where you guide your vehicle through the streets of the City of Tanaka in the year 2525. Some races are run against the clock, while others are Duels or Total Carnage where you must defeat the other pilots or destroy them to emerge victorious. This demo contains three levels but has all networking features disabled.

Major Anderson, head of the European desk of ORPHIA, has defected, taking with him classified Pentagon files.These files contain detailed blueprints on how to rescue a number of priceless treasures in the event of war. Anderson is likely to try to steal the British Crown Jewels, protected by a multi-million pound security system at the Tower of London. PIAD, a Pentagon security department, has launched a covert operation, code-named Traitors Gate – that’s where you come in…

Games World

Enjoy card and board games? Head straight for the two Hoyle demos. Each gives you access to three games, including Backgammon in Board Games and Cribbage in Card Games. This month’s Top 12 shareware games includes Lost Souls, a snazzy strategy game, plus the latest versions of Cricket, PacMac Deluxe and TheZone. Native Assault 1.2.1 is really an updater – drag it into the folder of last month’s Native Assault 0.9 to play.

Native Assault 1.2.1 Lost Souls

Cricket 4.0

Macworld CD catalogue FAULTY COVER CD-ROM? Courtesy of Mark Pirri’s superb DiskTracker program, If your cover CD doesn’t seem to work as it should Macworld brings you a searchable catalogue of all our please check you have read all the instructions on the CDs from 1997 and ’99 – almost 116,000 files! This will cover disc pages carefully first. If it still doesn’t work then please email Gillian Robertson at [email protected] grow month by month to allow you to find any file you If your cover disc is broken and you want a replacement CD, please want, without wearing out your CD-ROM drive.The call Emiliegh Borrett on 0171 831 9252 or send an email to: latest version of DiskTracker (1.1.4) is also included – [email protected] don’t forget to register if you find our library useful.

14 Macworld AUGUST 1999 news Macs black in business

mid calls for Apple to expand its at attracting new users in markets previously the PowerPC G3 processor, further focusing on Macworld, Could Apple be range of Mac systems, rumours were thought lost, some analysts are speculating that price/performance by using inexpensive Ultra ATA July 1999). flying before New York’s Macworld Jobs is preparing to split the professional part IDE hard disks, and midrange RAGE Pro Turbo Palm and on the verge of a Expo that the company is on the of the line-up equation into two new segments. graphics controller with 6MB of video memory. Mac would brink of a new subdivision of product Now, there is an opportunity to subdivide the FireWire and 100BaseT ethernet will remain. communicate re-entry into Alines. While the unveiling of the consumer professional section into two segments: creative Rumours have been circulating for several via 4Mbps portable – a sort of iMac laptop – had an Expo – Web, graphic design, DTP, multimedia) – and months now of “more restrained” enclosure IrDA infra-red the fiercely launch expected for some time (see News, July business – Internet, accounting, Office suites. designs, using mid-tone colours, blacks, and ports, already 1999), few had envisaged cheaper Power Macs The creative Power Macs would likely use greys – although still standing apart from the standard on competitive and PowerBooks aimed more at business users PowerPC G4 processors (from 500MHz up, with dull beige of most business PCs. PowerBooks. than at design pros. Links with Palm-based 2MB of cache at the high end), faster graphics The business PowerBook would continue The handheld computers further stretch the line-up. cards, bundles of RAM, 32x CD drives, fast and Apple’s slimming course, being thinner and immensely enterprise It was a year ago at 1998’s Macworld Expo that large SCSI hard drives, FireWire, and a wide lighter than the creative portable – likely to popular Palm PDA is increasingly being Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the company’s range of display options. Apple Store bundles require bulkier components. targeted at the business world. At the JavaOne market? simplified product line-up. Gone was the with Apple’s forthcoming wide-screen Cinema Apple may be working on utilizing Light conference, 3Com introduced Sun’s Java confusion of 1997’s 15 flavours of Mac. In came Display flat-panel are also likely. Emitting Plastics (LEPs) as a possible display programming platform on the Palm V, the Macworld a four-way split of a desktop and portable model The creative PowerBook would also run medium for both versions. The technology best-selling handheld device (see Reviews, each for the consumer and professional markets. fast G4 chips, and most likely include a high- (see page 64) is lighter, thinner, and uses less June 1999). Handhelds featured heavily at investigates… Today, we have the blue Power Mac G3 and resolution display of at least 14 inches – possibly power than current LCDs, but is likely to be June’s PC Expo – traditionally the reserve slim G3 PowerBook on the creative professional larger – and extras like multi-monitor support further off in the usable technology future. Other of desktop PCs and laptops. side; the iMac and funky portable for consumers. from its on-board 16MB RAGE 128 graphics chip. possible technical breakthroughs include the use Apple is expected to ship its own Following the phenomenal success of the iMac The business Macs would likely stick with of polymer batteries – which again are lighter Palm-based devices, which would come than current Lithium Ion batteries. in a variety of colours. Palm already The business subdivision is made more likely makes an IBM-branded organizer. by Apple’s increasingly strong partnership with For Apple, it is a return to a market 3Com’s Palm Computing. Business Power Macs it pioneered – and then abandoned in Apple Expo cancelled, bigger show in March 2000 and PowerBooks would be intrinsically 1997 with the cancellation of its fabled linked to Palm handhelds (see Newton PDA. MW Steve Jobs to open first Apple-attended UK show for three years n a sensational move, the UK’s Mac OS X – widely expected to show will be bigger and better, Apple sues – iMac cloned only-Mac show, Apple Expo be the big news in San Francisco the organizers were not entirely I ’99, has been dropped in next year. thrilled at the news, as 70 per as new Windows PC favour of a much-larger show in “All the product and strategy cent of space had already been Point yourself at March 2000. Industry pundits announcements will be brought sold for the November dates. court to prohibit the companies believe charismatic Apple CEO to London as a complete from selling the computers.The www.macworld.co.uk Steve Jobs will be there in person roadshow,” says Denton. Users forced to wait lawsuit also seeks unspecified to deliver the opening day’s Apple will now have six key In addition, this is the second actual and punitive damages. for Macworld all-important keynote speech. events a year – two big expos in time that Apple has caused chaos pple has filed a lawsuit “There’s a universe of original iMac. In its protest against the Apple Expo ’99 was due to the US, two in Europe, one in for Expo organizers, exhibitors, A against a company called designs that Future Power and “cheap imitation”, Apple argues Expo, New York run November 25-27 at London’s Tokyo, and the California-based and show-goers. Last year’s expo Future Power, alleging the PC Daewoo could have created for that the E-Power “threatens Olympia exhibition hall, but Worldwide Developers will be remembered for Apple’s maker illegally copied the thier computers, but instead they imminent and irreparable harm.” hile the August issue Apple has decided to postpone Conference. last-minute pull-out due to a spat industrial design of its popular chose to copy Apple’s designs,” According to the legal of Macworld went to it so that it runs shortly after The decision to move the event with then organizer Emap iMac for a Windows computer. said Steve Jobs, Apple CEO. document,“Apple bet its future W press before the great January’s Macworld Expo in San from its traditional Olympia base Trenton (see November 1998). At PC Expo in New York, “We’ve invested a lot of on the success or failure of the gathering at Macworld Expo, Francisco – the premier show of to Wembley Exhibition and However, despite being Future Power displayed its E- money and effort to create and iMac” and had to overcome New York, its news team never the Mac calendar. Conference Centre was driven by “messed around” for the second base. I’m sure there will be Power All-in-One Windows PC market our award-winning significant design challenges. sleeps in its bid to bring you the This, according to Bob Denton, a matter of space, claims Denton. time, exhibitors have generally disappointment from some (top right), which is bubble- designs.We intend to vigorously “In order to fit all of the news first. Apple Expo’s Operations Wembley can seat 2,600 people reacted well to the news. quarters, but ultimately this will shaped just like the iMac (above) protect them under the law.” necessary components into So running up to, during and Manager, is part of Apple’s “global for the keynote address, the Gavin Drake, Quark’s European soon be forgotten if the show and also comes in five “fun” Future Power’s Michelle Van the iMac’s chassis, many of the after the Expo held from July 21 strategy” for delivering its kind of space needed for programme manager said:“If delivers all it promises to next flavours: ruby, topaz, sapphire, Jura defended the E-Power’s technical components had to be to 23, 1999, point your Web message. Apple’s presidential-style keynote anything, the switch of dates and year.” emerald and amethyst. design: “The most natural redesigned and miniaturized. In browser at www.macworld.co.uk In the same way that Apple delivery, and an opportunity venue for Apple Expo illustrates Those exhibitors who have The E-Power will have a design to ensure the smallest all, Apple expended more than for all the latest launches, Expo in Paris comes two months not possible in Olympia. the increasing importance that paid their 20 per cent deposit 400MHz Intel Celeron chip, 6.4GB footprint is a convex-shaped 100 man-years on the design keynote speeches, gossip and after Macworld Expo in New York, Also, major players like Apple is placing on it. All the for stands at the original show hard drive, 64MB RAM and 40x unit.” Future Power is a joint- and engineering of the iMac.” happenings from New York City. Apple wants Apple Expo UK to Macromedia and Adobe usually information we have so far will be given the option to pull CD. Due to ship in September, it venture company backed by the Apple has sold 1.15 million Of course, we’ll cover all the follow Macworld San Francisco. stage large conferences, and suggests the new timing will out and receive a refund, or to sells for the equivalent of £499, Korean Daewoo Group. iMacs (designed by Brit Jonathan key points in our September This could mean a high-profile Wembley is better equipped for produce a higher profile event, go ahead with next year’s show while the iMac sells for £749. Apple’s complaint offers some Ive) since its debut in July 1998. issue (out August 12, 1999), UK launch for Apple’s next- that, Denton told Macworld. which is obviously of benefit to held from March 30 to April 1, In its lawsuit, Apple asks the insights into the genesis of the – Cheri Paquet MW but see the hot news first generation operating system, He added that while the new Quark’s professional customer 2000. – Louise Banbury MW at Macworld Online. MW

16 Macworld AUGUST 1999 For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk),updated five times a week For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk) updated five times a week Macworld AUGUST 1999 17 news Adobe plugs PDF gap Windows-only virus warning for Mac,too MACWORLD nti-virus researchers warn that connected to an infected Windows PC two Power Mac G3s and a PC running PC-emulation programs and over a file-sharing network, he said, or the Windows 95. Champion said the computers EXCLUSIVE SNEAK multiplatform networks can malicious email file must have been opened are connected on an AppleTalk network, leave some Macs as vulnerable through a PC-emulation program. and many of the file names have Windows PEEK:Missing to the Worm.ExploreZip virus In addition, he said, the names of the file-name extensions to accommodate PC Aas Windows computers. Only a small vulnerable Mac files must bear Windows- customers. The worm virus apparently came Web Capture percentage of Macintosh users are compatible file-name extensions, such as into the office through email on the PC, he vulnerable to the virus, but for them the .doc, .ppt, .hsm, .xls and others. said, and proceeded to destroy files across feature to danger of file destruction is a real threat, “Generally, Macintosh users are the network by reducing their file sizes according to Carey Nachenberg, chief absolutely safe because this is a Windows to 1K each – wiping them clean of data. researcher at Symantec’s AntiVirus 32-bit virus,” Nachenberg said, meaning it “I’ve got dozens and dozens of 1K files,” appear in Research Center. requires a Windows 32-bit OS – such as Champion said. “Fortunately, I’ve got them Nachenberg said Macs must meet a Windows 95/98/NT – to operate. “But, backed up, so it’s not a tragedy.” Acrobat 4.0 narrow set of criteria to be vulnerable to some Mac users are at risk,” he added. Several anti-virus developers have posted the computer virus, which has spread across One Macintosh user who fell victim to software updates to catch the virus before it the world in a matter of days through email the worm virus is Scott Champion, whose does any damage, including Symantec. and traffic (see below). A Macintosh must be advertising firm runs a mixed network of Network Associates. – John Batteiger Here we see the same page from www.macworld.co.uk – first in Internet Explorer and then the PDF version in Acrobat. The fast-spreading to be a reply from someone to virus, because it copies itself The latest twist will force W32/ExplorerZip.worm, which whom they sent mail. to a computer’s hard drive information technology teams o the Macintosh is No.1 with sites, such as Apple.com, will take up propagates via email and When a user clicks on the and moves from machine and users to be clever as well. creative professionals, is it? a lot of disk space and CPU time. destroys files on a PC’s hard attached file, the worm to machine in a network. They will have to be aware of Publishing and design pros get Acrobat preserves the basic components drive, has infected tens of deposits the file explore.exe A virus simply attaches autofile backups, Orbuch said, the best features first on the of Web pages – including standard Web thousands of users of Microsoft and modifies the Windows itself to specific files. because if systems are infected, Mac, right? Wrong – in the case elements, such as pop-up menus – but not Outlook and Exchange registry file.The worm’s The destructive worm is also that could result in files being Sof Adobe’s Acrobat 4.0 (see Reviews, page advanced features, such as cascading style software worldwide. payload then searches the infiltrating systems via shared overwritten as empty. 48), where many of the whizzy features sheets, Java applets, and GIF animations. Unlike the Melissa virus (see user’s local hard drive for a files on a network.The worm “I have no idea what these in the PC version are absent on the Mac. Acrobat creates bookmarks that can Macworld, May 1999), which variety of file types and is “much more pernicious than people are thinking, said David The spanner in the PDF (Portable reflect all parts of a page, including text emailed itself to recipients via attempts to erase the contents what was originally thought,” Chess, an IBM researcher. Document Format) works was Microsoft’s headings, graphics, notes, and so on. a user’s address book, this of the file, leaving a zero-byte said Trend Micro’s Susan “It's the same mind-set OLE technology – which the Mac doesn’t Using them makes finding and reusing worm automatically replies to file that cannot be undeleted Orbuch, and “much more that makes people break have, after its fruitless foray with the now- a document’s contents even easier than legitimate inbound email. Users with typical undelete utilities. complex and sophisticated” car windows; it's the same discontinued development of OpenDoc. standard Web browsing. are infected when they open W32/ExplorerZip.worm is than its famous recent mindless destructiveness.” MW The most highly anticipated capability Because of the on-screen nature of Web- email attachments that appear categorized as a worm, not a predecessor, Melissa. – Ann Harrison Rio grand! that didn’t make it into the Mac version is page design, it’s hard to guess how large acintosh users looking to jump on the MP3 bandwagon Web Capture, which can download Web to tell Acrobat to make its converted pages. Mgot a boost when RioPort,a wholly owned subsidiary pages and convert them on-the-fly into But guessing is pretty easy, with a fully of Diamond Multimedia Systems,announced the Rio PMP 500, illustrated, hyperlinked PDF files. customizable page-layout Conversion the first digital-audio player to support the Mac.The £199 Adobe promised that most of the Settings dialogue box. If you’re wrong 500MHz G3 bugging Apple player,expected to ship in August,will let users play MP3 audio currently PC-only Acrobat 4.0 features about the length, Acrobat breaks text at files downloaded from the Web.It will also include software will eventually make it to the Mac as free logical points to create new pages. It scales pple is waiting on IBM to squash a bug in the could wow the crowds at May’s Worldwide that converts audio CD titles into the MP3 format. plug-ins. However, optimism hasn’t been down the page if the width is wrong, but 500MHz version of its PowerPC G3 processor, Developers Conference. Apple, however, refused The Rio 500 will be bundled with a version of SoundJam MP, high. Some users even considered a switch expect clipping of frames and images. A sources told Macworld.The timing bug is the speedster as it is determined to push Motorola’s which lets users encode and play back MP3 titles in addition to to Windows just to play with the neat Converting one level – that is, the home throwing up “obscure data errors”, and Apple is loath AltiVec-boosted G3 processors. downloading files to the player.The USB-based player offers feature. But prepare for a surprise, because page – of Macworld Online took just to touch the chip until it’s fixed. In the meantime, Sonnet, now ranked by IBM as the second 64MB storage – twice the capacity of the PC-only Rio 300, Macworld has been playing with an alpha 20 seconds and created a 136K PDF file. Apple has bumped its G3 Power Macs by 50MHz, biggest customer for G3 chips after Apple, could and enough to store up to two hours of music. version of Acrobat’s Web Capture for the A two-level conversion (952K) took two- offering the blue-&-whites at 350, 400 and 450MHz. also be first on the scene when the time is right MP3 has become a popular music format for the Web, Mac. And it’s a winner. and-a-half minutes. At a three-level depth, Apple claims the new high-end Power Mac for multiprocessing to make a return to the Mac. thanks to its compact file sizes and near-CD-quality audio. With the Web Capture plug-in, Acrobat the HTML-to-PDF conversion took ten (reviewed, page 50) offers a 23 per cent speed boost Sonnet employs many of the DayStar engineering An MP3 song typically consumes about one-tenth the file space can convert Web pages – or whole sites – to minutes, with an extra five to fix links over the 400MHz version.Technical specs remain the team that produced the only multiprocessing of the equivalent audio CD title.MP3 has raised concerns PDF on the fly. This means that you could and save the 3.6MB file. (Tests undertaken same as the earlier Power Macs, with the exception (MP) systems, for DayStar itself and Apple. in the recording industry because it makes it easy to pirate convert your favourite sites – or sections on a beige 300MHz Power Mac G3.) of a faster, 32x CD drive.The 450MHz G3 chip runs Farnsworth told Macworld that Sonnet will be copyrighted music.However,some musicians have embraced of them – to PDF and browse them at your Adobe still expects to have almost all the 1MB of backside cache at at 2:1 ratio (225MHz). it ready for the return of MP as soon as Apple gets the format,because they can offer samples of their recordings leisure while on a plane or anywhere away absent features available for the Mac this includes 128MB of RAM, and a 9GB Ultra-2 SCSI drive. Mac OS X up and running on its forthcoming directly to potential fans,bypassing conventional distribution from a phone line. And, better yet, all that year – possibly earlier for Web Capture, According to Robert Farnsworth, president PowerPC G4-driven Power Macs. channels.Some record companies have encrypted their music browsing won’t cost you a penny – after as the alpha we tested was pretty stable. of chip-upgrade-card maker Sonnet Technologies, The G4 chips will be able to support up to 2MB releases to prevent unauthorized copying,but RioPort says the initial download and conversion. And how could we have lived with we should see 500MHz G3 chips in Power Macs of cache. Even when these systems are shipping the Rio 500 will play encrypted files.– Stephen Beale You can set the number of levels of a Windows having sole rights over the best and upgrades by the beginning of the fourth quarter (probably in early 2000), Farnsworth said that MP www.RioPort.com See First Contact,page 37 Web site to capture – with Acrobat warning way yet to capture Web text, images, links, of this year. IBM recently cranked a single G3 to won’t really take off until the software is there to

that more than two layers of really large and frames? – Simon Jary MW WORM BY ANDY BAKER;CHIPPYWALKER BUG BY JAMES 600MHz and offered it to Apple so the Mac maker support it. – Simon Jary MW

18 Macworld AUGUST 1999 For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk) updated five times a week Macworld AUGUST 1999 19 news NY PC blues, reds, greens, yellows… Colour-riot alert at Macworld Expo!

verything is translucent, and everything connects E to a Universal Serial Bus port – that’s the first impression (Above) Several companies used a anyone gets walking into a Mac generic software driver called “MacHack” show this summer. The blaze of to let video cameras work with the iMac, computing colour – started by including this as-yet-unnamed model Apple when it unveiled its iMac at an Apple distributor’s booth. last year – was first evident at (Left) CompuCable’s iDock comes in two Taiwan’s Computex Taipei, versions: The one on top combines which, according to show a USB hub with a USB-serial/parallel organizers, is one of the world’s converter, and the newer version below three largest computer trade sports an internal USB floppy drive. shows – next to only Las Vegas’ (Below) The new Radius Artica Display Comdex and CeBIT in Hanover, melds SGI's award-winning flat-panel Germany. At the show, it was technology with Apple-style plastics. clear the whole computing world is following Apple’s multi-hue-driven lead. Aladdin In New York, Macworld Expo brought along Systems new vendors and reprised some popular events. released This summer’s show signed up about 50 first-time ShrinkWrap exhibitors. In addition, more than 20 companies 3.5, an made their first appearance at an East Coast improved Expo, including Astarte, Boca Research, InfoWave, version of Hash and Koyosha Graphics. SGI showed off its the utility that allows you to create disk images SW1600 (see page 61), and Miro went one better straight to your desktop. with its own version – the new Radius Artica The show marked the comeback of a special- Display (bottom right). interest area focused on science and technology, Entrega Technologies proudly showed off including an education arena. In addition, the its USB-to-SCSI Converter, which the company NY Expo included the Consumer Showcase that claims is the only such device that supports first appeared at January’s show in San Francisco. Iomega Zip drives as well as other products. Entrega also previewed a docking station, Show winners boasting a USB hub with SCSI and 8DIN The event also featured three areas of creative Apple serial and USB interfaces. competition. At the National Macintosh Gaming David Murray, Entrega’s vice president of Championship, attendees tried their hands product marketing, was an early USB-technology at games such as Quake II and Myth II – developer and evangelist at Compaq. He helped competing for more than $25,000 in prizes. define USB’s feature set and initial architecture. Elsewhere on the show floor, representatives “Intel bought into USB very, very quickly,” of the International Academy of Digital Arts & recalls Murray. But he adds: “The momentum Sciences accepted entries for the Webby Awards, behind USB today has more to do with Apple which recognize outstanding Web sites. Academy (Top) Colourful iMac keyboards from and the iMac than with anything else”. members – including David Bowie and Gillian Alps offer iMac users more finger space. Extensis used the Expo to show off PhotoFrame Anderson – will judge the awards, which will (Centre) Alps’ curvy USB game 2.0, an upgrade to its set of tools for designing be presented in March 2000. And, the Digital controller is currently available only a variety of image frame and border effects in Art Gallery showcased 30 winners of the second in Japan. Adobe Photoshop. PhotoFrame 2.0 offers over annual Macworld Expo Digital Art contest. (Bottom) Artec 1236U USB scanners 1,000 image frames, with more available for According to show director Nicole Derany, match all the iMac’s colours. download from the new, companion Web site. Expo attendees were a mix of professionals The new interface offered by PhotoFrame 2.0 and consumers. Looking ahead to January 2000, adds dockable palettes, maximizing usable screen Derany announced a scheduling tweak to the area. Combinations of settings can be saved and next San Francisco show, shifting it from January accessed from the Photoshop menu bar – so users 3-7 to January 4-8 and adding a Saturday to the can apply frames without launching the filter. millennium’s first major Mac event. MW

20 Macworld AUGUST 1999 For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk),updated five times a week news Licence to kill

third of software in Britain is illegal. Program pirates Now angry publishers have declared war on the world’s program pirates, targeted by threatening to hit offenders until the problem is wiped out. So aggressive software Aare the software companies, that direct attacks by one industry watchdog have brought censor from hardmen business and regulatory organizations. On top of this, an imminent new law in the US allows software companies to get really nasty. A survey of over 200 companies, by the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) and KPMG, claims that 29 per cent of all software in Kai GOO-n for good use in the UK is illegal. The Business Software Following the shock departure of Alliance (BSA) alleges software “thievery” cost legendary chief technologist Kai $11 billion in 1998. The BSA has launched a Krause (see News, June 1999), campaign, called Crackdown 99, targeting small approach to MetaCreations (www.metacreations and medium-sized businesses, asking them to get people’s .com) has off-loaded its three Kai- audit their computer systems to check for illegal attention.” branded consumer and business software. Its strongarm tactics and threats have The BSA was applications to ScanSoft attracted the attention of the Advertising founded in 1988 by (www.scansoft.com), a provider of Standards Authority (ASA) and the Birmingham Microsoft. Other members include Adobe, digital imaging and OCR software. Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Autodesk, Corel, Lotus, Novell, and Symantec. Included in the deal are “liquid- If targeted businesses don’t respond to its The BSA is determined that software piracy photo” imager Kai’s SuperGOO, letters, the BSA threatens to place them on its won’t be taken lightly. In 1996, BSA Europe photo-editor Kai’s Photo Soap 2, and public Software Watch Database of suspected offered cash rewards to anyone who turned in Kai’s Power Show, which allows users pirate companies. The BSA misleadingly implies a software pirate. So-called “rat on your boss” to create whizzy multimedia photo that recipients are legally obliged to answer its schemes have also been enacted by the BSA shows and business presentations. questions, according to the two groups. Following across the world. The BSA claims to have The innovative products are aimed the complaints, the BSA toned down the language extracted more than $40 million from software at the growing number of digital- of the letters, but Crackdown campaign affairs pirates in the last six years. camera users – a market expected manager, Mike Newton, is unapologetic for the In the US, a new law – the Uniform Computer to grow at a rate of 38 per cent, BSA’s tactics: “We’ve tried friendly exchanges in Information Transactions Act (UCITA) – will reaching 19.5 million and 6.8 million the past couple of years and we got 2 to 3 per enable software companies to remotely disable units respectively by 2003, according cent response rates,” he said. The new, aggressive programs and disclaim warranties. It, too, has to the InfoTrends Research Group. campaign has achieved a 40 per cent response been attacked by technology consumer groups rate, he claimed. – such as the Society of Information Managers “We’re not a bunch of softies who will just roll (SIM). UCITA condones the building into over,” he growled. programs of software “time bombs” and back Karine Elsen, director of marketing for the BSA, doors – holes in a system’s security deliberately agreed: “Sometimes it takes a bit of an aggressive left in place by designers. MW Be happy with 4.5 t PC Expo in New York, Be Inc. the BeOS to use as its next- A announced a new version of generation Mac operating system, Software developers are also its digital-media BeOS operating before choosing Steve Jobs’ showing new support for Be. system that runs on both PowerPC NeXTStep OS instead. Be was MetaCreations has announced and Intel chips. founded in 1990 by former Apple a BeOS version of Bryce 4, and Version 4.5 has an improved head of product development, BeatWare is shipping its e-Picture installation process and user Jean-Louis Gassée. Web-graphics program for the interface, as well as additions The BeOS is gaining popularity platform. to the Media Kit that manages with PC makers who see it as Cutting-edge 3D software multiple streams of audio and an alternative to Microsoft’s all- developer, Nichimen Graphics video. It ships with a Web browser, pervasive Windows. Along with will port its Nendo software (see email client, media player,TV the new release, the company ‘Grosso’,left, courtesy of artist John viewer, 3D audio mixer, utilities, announced OEM agreements with Feather) to the BeOS. translators and an integrated computer manufacturers iDot and The UK Be market has recently development environment. AST, who are now producing low- been boosted by the appointment Apple once considered buying cost machines running the BeOS. of Principal as its distributor. MW

22 Macworld AUGUST 1999 For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk),updated five times a week news As Mac plays catch-up with Windows, The rise and fall of voice recognition

experts warn n almost every future we’ve imagined, the lack of voice-recognition software on the The technology’s ready,‘but not the people’ computers listen. Not just to the grumbles, Macintosh has forced them either to use seriously “it’s not for curses, and pleas most of us barrage them outdated software or to switch to Windows. he quality of speech-recognition software is now high enough to increase with now, but also to dictation and The Mac OS does offer built-in, limited voice- T personal productivity considerably, but only people motivated enough to everyone” commands (“Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”). recognition through the PlainTalk extension. train should use it, an analyst advised attendees at the Tech Talks conference. IThe future arrived in 1996, when Articulate (To make PlainTalk work, owners of iMacs “If, a chief information officer wanted to roll out the technology to 50 people, Systems released PowerSecretary, the first fully and the new G3 Power Macs should upgrade we wouldn’t advise it. Many people don’t take to it,” said Jackie Fenn, vice fledged voice-recognition program for the Mac. to Mac OS 8.6.) MacSpeech’s ListenDo! program president and research director for GartnerGroup’s Advanced Technologies. But by late 1998, it was gone. Dragon Systems enhances PlainTalk, allowing you to control all “We see a high drop-out rate among people buying the software,” Fenn said. – a major investor in Articulate, and the menu items via voice commands. But all that is “Up to 50 per cent do not continue using it.” distributor of PowerSecretary – killed the nothing compared to the Windows alternatives. “It is not for everybody,” agreed Janet Baker, CEO of Dragon Systems. program. As a result, there has never been a Users are finding it quicker than typing words themselves. Most people Mac program capable of the latest advance in Cheap talk costs who aren’t specifically hired for their typing qualifications manage to type voice recognition: continuous-speech dictation Over the past couple of years, the power 30 to 40 words per minute.“You can achieve four to five times that rate, even (where you don’t have to talk … like … this). of voice-recognition software for Windows with error corrections, dictating to a PC,” Baker said. Now the possibility of relief is in sight. has skyrocketed while prices have plummeted. The early adopters among professionals are those who are used to dictating, Two companies – an upstart, MacSpeech To put it in perspective, the original such as doctors and lawyers, she noted.“It is a change of behaviour, creating (www.macspeech.com), and Dragon Systems itself PowerSecretary in the US cost about $3,000; documents by speaking – even though we communicate the whole time using (www.dragonsys.com) – have promised to close Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Windows is the voice,” Baker said. the huge gap in voice-recognition capabilities available in several flavours, at prices from $200. Others wondered why, given their benefits, more people aren’t using speech- between the Mac and PC by the end of this It’s the best-selling voice-recognition product in recognition products.The accuracy of speech recognition is about 97 per cent, and a well trained year (see News, July 1999). MacSpeech says the US, according to market researcher PC Data. system reaches 100 per cent, according to Paul Celen, general manager at Philips Speech Processing. that it will release MacDictate for less than Many people believe that using voice- “I wouldn’t expect speech in an OS before 2005 – it represents a fundamental shift,” said Fenn. $250. Dragon Systems has not yet announced recognition software will be the primary way The shift will be very like what happened when the graphical user interface and the mouse arrived. the name or pricing of its product. people will interact with their computers in the It took a long time before developers of user interfaces took advantage of the new technology, and For Macintosh users who can’t use the future – the public nature of cubicles be damned. a long time before all the interface elements were good enough. keyboard for one reason or another, often because At least now the Mac won’t be left out of the Speech provides the same challenge, said Doug Henrich, general manager for speech products of disabilities or computer-related injuries, game. – Scholle Sawyer at Microsoft. – Dorte Toft MW Apple ‘fixes UK education prices’claim Adobe rolls out ePaper “Pundits said television was the end some case studies of Adobe customers using Xemplar-only policy threatens Mac future in schools and colleges of radio and movies,” he said, “but both PDF for document exchange. For example, of these media are flourishing today at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. used PDF pple Xemplar has been slammed for whom he has built up a strong relationship, mail order, Apple resellers, directly through a much better level than in the ‘50s.” during the approval process for Viagra. effective “price-fixing” by the IT director and who is able to offer him price-matching Xemplar, or through an Xemplar agent.” Pfizer put 2 million PDF pages on a server Aof a major Mac-using UK university. on peripherals and deals for students. According to Evans, the benefit of buying Enter PDF, Acrobat and shipped it to the US Federal Drug In an open letter to Apple, Michael Priddy, In his letter, entitled “101 Ways to shoot direct from Apple is that equipment is built Adobe’s mission is to help organizations Administration to get the drug to market technical manager at the Institute of Art and yourself in the foot, or how to alienate to order, to a specific configuration, and with dobe co-chairman and bridge the gap between the paper and faster, Pfizer officials said. Design, University of Central England, also customers and lose sales”, Priddy explains Xemplar offering discounts not previously co-founder Charles Geschke digital worlds, Geschke said. The first step To emphasize PDF’s ability to maintain accused Xemplar of restricting his choice of that university financial regulations oblige him available to these educational establishments. made a case for his company’s was the introduction of PDF in 1992. the information integrity, Geschke dealer, and forcing his department to consider to provide exact quotes from three or more However, Evans admitted that the tendering vision of information sharing in Its appearance, Geschke noted, came as highlighted the work of a law firm that abandoning Macs as the preferred platform. suppliers.“Educational suppliers would have regulations present headaches.“Tenders cause the final keynote at New York’s businesses struggled with a number of uses PDF to share evidence. It incorporates Until its re-launch in May 1999, Xemplar to pass the quote on to the local Xemplar a real problem, because you have to get three APC Expo. “ePaper,” Adobe’s name for its thorny challenges: how to improve scanned images of evidence as well as text supplied kit to UK schools while higher and agent, and hence I would get only one quote different quotes.This is a real challenge for us, electronic-document products, is the key collaboration and shorten time to market, that can be quickly searched for key words further education establishments were served and price. If I was to go to non-educational and we are looking at how we can tackle it. to the paperless office, Geschke said. ePaper how to leverage corporate knowledge that and statements in its PDF file database. by the normal Apple dealer channels. suppliers I would not get quotes because “Xemplar was formed to put in place a is based on Adobe Acrobat products and already exists, and how to move toward Geschke concluded with a video The “new Apple Xemplar” has extended they know they would not get the order when structure and way of doing business that it the Portable Document Format (PDF), new methods of electronic business. demonstrating the often comical lengths its service, so that higher education, further competing against Xemplar prices,” he writes. wants to replicate all over Europe, and it wants which is widely adopted by businesses Capturing, sharing and reusing to which businesses go in order to share education and other educational institutions “I can only get one price? I smell the faint to get it right.We will do our best, but we for sharing documents over the Internet. information in PDF helps companies documents, such as sending double have to order directly through it, or through stench of price-fixing here!” he protests. won’t make everybody happy, because some During his presentation, The Future of achieve these goals, he said. overnight shipments and cutting an approved Xemplar agent allocated Nick Evans, marketing manager of Apple people want to continue doing it the old way.” Workplace Information, Geschke compared Geschke said that more than 100 million and pasting photocopies and faxes so according to region, in order to get the Xemplar, hotly denies the accusation:“His Priddy declined to make detailed the Internet to early TV, noting that other Adobe Acrobat readers for viewing PDF files documents were legible. The solution educational discounts set by Apple. main contention is that we are restricting comments, but said he is waiting for the issue media must adapt with the addition of new have been distributed over the Internet and to those scenarios, according to Geschke: According to Priddy’s letter, (www.protova his choice and also that we are price-fixing. to be resolved. He has received comments on technologies. And with the Internet doing through partnerships to date. ePaper with PDF. – Christa Degnan .com/thinktank/appleletter.htm) this new agency We are doing nothing of the kind.” his open letter, both positive and negative, to paper what TV did to other broadcast PDF “will be the electronic form Coming soon: The free Macworld Digital model restricts choice of dealer. Until now, “We are adding to his choice, because now and plans to post these on his Web site. outlets, business communications and of paper for the 21st century,” he said. Publishing Special Report, focusing on PDF,

Priddy has used a large UK Apple dealer with he can buy from wherever he likes – through – Louise Banbury MW BY KARLI HENSHALL ILLO VOICE WALKER BY JAMES ILLO EPAPER presentations must adapt as well. To back up his claims, Geschke shared Adobe InDesign and colour management. MW

24 Macworld AUGUST 1999 For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk),updated five times a week For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk) updated five times a week Macworld AUGUST 1999 25 news Aliens made my Mac

ou can walk into your local computer 3-million dealer and buy an EIDE hard drive with up to 28GB of storage. That megabyte may seem large, but rive makers are working hard to make it look puny storage planned Y– with 200GB-plus drives on the way, and a whopping three terabytes (3 million megabytes) in the distance. And after that it’s a case for – and then it Mulder and Scully. Seagate Technology has announced a goes all X-Files breakthrough in packing data: It jammed 105,000 concentric tracks of data onto one inch of a hard drive platter. That’s about eight times the density of today’s hard drives. To picture just how tiny

those tracks are, imagine trying to write 420 rows LEE HASLER of text on the edge of a standard sheet of paper. But don’t expect to see hard drives based structure the size of a sugar cube. In a recent on this technology soon. Seagate’s storage feat test, IBM crammed the equivalent of about remains in the lab for now, and a spokesperson 10,000 pages of text into a cube, and forecasts says it will be two to four years before such much larger capacities. products are ready for Mac or PC. Further out, IBM’s Atomic Force Seagate uses Optically Assisted Microscopy uses technology similar to an Winchester (OAW) technology, which combines electron microscope. Theoretically, it could read conventional magnetic read/write heads and and write data at densities of up to 300 Gbits Apple updates a low-intensity laser beam. The beam travels per inch. If this technology ever comes to market, pple has released a couple through optical fibre to the read/write head, it could result in hard drives packing more A of software updates aimed where it’s reflected onto the disk surface by than 100 times the capacity of today’s crop. at users of its latest Mac a tiny micromachined mirror. But for “astronomical” amounts of storage, systems. And instead of the conventional all-metal disk you supposedly can’t beat Alkane/Silver ATI Video Software Update platter used in current hard drives, Seagate’s Dielectric Metal-Insulator Junctions. 1.0 (available at http://asu.info technology uses plastic platters coated with an American Computer claims to be working .apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n extremely thin layer of transition-metal alloy. on this technology, said to be obtained by the 11475) provides improved 2D OAW technology allows disk platters to hold up government from the alleged crash of an alien and 3D acceleration for Macs to 36GB, and since drives usually have two to six spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. with the ATI RAGE 128 graphic platters, capacities of up to 216GB are possible. According to the company, Lt Col Phillip J. accelerator card or on-board But you won’t necessarily find drives that large Corso (now deceased) of the Pentagon Milintel ATI RAGE Pro graphic available from the start. Seagate spokesperson Corp. claimed the technology was derived from accelerator chip. Tyson Heyn says what ships will depend recovered alien craft. Indirectly, Jerry Hartsell, Fixes include: on what applications require at the time. former chairman of IBM, indicated that IBM had A freeze when using CPUs participated in the original study of this with processor speeds of Outer limits technology in 1950-59. 400MHz plus, and high screen With this demonstration, Seagate has broken At present, it is used in 90GB form as a hard- resolution (1,280-x-1,024 into the low end of the super-paramagnetic limit, drive caching product for Raid servers of 500GB pixels) after heavily using a point beyond which magnetic instability and up. The company is “awaiting a smaller off-screen graphics memory. theoretically makes it impossible to store data lithograph device” so it can build it as a hard- A crash when millions of on a hard drive in the conventional manner. drive replacement to fit into a 3.5-inch bay. It colours are used. Researchers had pegged the limit of storage will require a lithium-ion battery to keep it non- It also corrects an instance densities somewhere between 20 and 40 Gbits volatile as it requires a small charge to stay hot – with certain third-party per square inch. Seagate’s current OAW the company claims it consumes no power, and applications where scrolling technology stores data at 25 Gbits per inch. can get about 20 years use from a clock battery. could result in a crash. (There is, by the way, a theoretical limit to what No word yet on the theoretical capacity Another update (for Mac OS OAW can do: 250 per inch.) of this storage, nor on when it will make a 8.6 users owning the latest Meanwhile, other major developers of hard- close encounter at a computer dealer near you. Power Macs, PowerBooks, and drive technologies aren’t exactly planning to eat Right now, IBM is offering two new hard drives iMacs) bumps the ROM to Seagate’s dust. IBM is pushing the limits of its featuring expanded storage capacity and faster version 1.6, addressing several current Giant Magnetoresistive Head processing speeds. IBM’s Deskstar hard drives problems linked to the USB technology, used in many of its high-capacity (with up to 37GB capacities, at maximum port. Mac OS ROM Update 1.0 hard drives. (It has demonstrated densities 7,200rpm speeds) will facilitate editing video (http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdate approaching OAW’s in the lab, as has Fujitsu.) and audio content, downloading data from the s.nsf/artnum/n11476) fixes various And Big Blue is working on some truly exotic Internet and improve the performance of game potential crashes. MW storage technologies. Holographic storage applications, said IBM. MW uses a laser beam to store data in a crystal-lattice – Stan Miastkowski

26 Macworld AUGUST 1999 For the information as it happens visit Macworld Online Daily News (www.macworld.co.uk),updated five times a week product news

Pele scores on speakers Pele Enterprises is offering Apolla speakers to UK Mac owners for $80 Fujifilm,Toshiba in (£50), including shipping fee. The speakers come in blueberry, digital camera trio grape, bondi blue, lime, strawberry and onsumers can expect a flurry tangerine, and of digital camera releases ship with a UK C – with Fujifilm poised to ship power adaptor.They have 8W of two new models and Toshiba set to power and can reproduce the launch its own top-end offering. complete audible range.The speakers Fujifilm’s top-end MX-2900 is due can be ordered from the company’s in August, and its mid-level MX-1500 PELEZone on-line store, and shipped is shipping in the autumn. Pricing to the customer’s address via FedEx. on both is yet to be announced. Pele Enterprizes, www.pelezone.com The palm-sized MX-1500 has a 1.5-megapixel CCD at a resolution PCI card double of 1,280-x-1,024 pixels, three JPEG Megawolf has announced the compression modes, seven modes availability of Romulus/4 and of white-balance, a fixed lens and Remus/2 PCI cards.The cards add a light aluminium-alloy body. It two or four additional serial ports to comes in silver, gold, or metallic blue. PCI-based Power Macs, without losing The MX-2900 boasts a 2.3 million-pixel access to the internal modem and CCD, resolution of 1,800-x-1,200 pixels and printer ports. Custom UARTs ensure a 3x optical zoom lens. In the frame minimal loading on the Mac, while Designed with traditional camera users in The Toshiba PDR-M4 includes an 8MB SmartMedia card. supporting serial-data rates of up mind, it has the look and feel of a 35mm SLR to 921,600 baud per port.The camera, and is the company’s first consumer resolution. With Multi-shot mode, 16 frames Romulus/4 card costs £249 digital camera with more than two million pixels. can be shot in four seconds and saved as a and the Remus/2 card is £159. Its modes include TIFF, uncompressed, Light compressed single-frame. The Burst-shot option Alta Technology, 0171 622 6606 Metering, Slow Synchro and three JPEG allows up to four full-sized images to be taken compression settings. in one second. Acer branches out Toshiba’s top-of-the range digital camera, Other features include a self-timer, selective Cranfield has launched the Acer ISDN the PDR-M4, offers a maximum resolution of focus, soft or hard focus; colour or black-&-white T40 for small businesses and home- 1,600-x-1,200 pixels. A lower resolution of images and backlight and bulb-flash functions. based professionals.The £212 800-x-600 pixels can also be selected. To make An 8MB removable SmartMedia card is T40 allows more memory available on the SmartMedia, included, as well as Mac, serial and USB users to run images can be re-sized. cables and Image Expert software. two comm- The camera’s QuickShot feature ensures a Toshiba, 01276 622 22 unication maximum of one second between shots at top Fujifilm, 0171 465 5745 functions simultaneously. A fax, for example, can be sent while receiving a telephone call.The T40 Kit and kaboodle has three independent analogue CD-RW is ports that convert data to digital pricorn is now shipping hard-disk format. booster A upgrade kits for PowerBooks in Cranfield, 0870 0111 201 a Cie has added to its capacities of 14GB. The EZ-GIG kits LCD-RW range, with its include a PC card, software and BBEdit souped-up CD-RW Booster (below). The CD hard disk of between 2.1GB Bare Bones Software has updated its rewritable drive combines multi-read 20x CD-ROM and 14GB. AS 2.1GB HTML and text-editing tool – BBEdit – capability and 8x CD writing and rewritable upgrade kit starts at £298. to version 5.1.The new release has capabilities. In CD-R mode, it takes The drive costs £209. The support for Perl, the programming nine minutes to write a complete drives replace the existing language widely used for text 650MB CD, compared to 18 minutes PowerBook drive and users can manipulation and CGI (Common when using a 4x device, the continue working with data and Gateway Interface) processing on company said. The £349 La Cie applications intact. The old disk Web sites.The update is available free CD-RW Booster ships with Toast 3.8 and can then be used as an external of charge to registered users of DirectCD. La Cie is also shipping the DiscTidy data-backup device. version 5.0 or 5.0.x. Owners of version (above),a £19 CD-storage system that holds up to 60 2.1GB to 14GB drives are available 2.5 and later can upgrade directly CDs. A 20-CD version is also available, for £13. for the 3400 and G3 series. The 5300, 190, 1400 from Bare Bones for $39 La Cie, 0171 872 8000 and 2400 series only take 4GB and 5GB upgrades. Bare Bones Software, Apricorn, 0800 731 5327 www.barebones.com

All prices exclude VAT Macworld AUGUST 1999 31 product product news news

Oil on troubled waters Handy bass for speakers CDs and books Macromedia’s 3D graphics and multimedia Yamaha has announced its package, Extreme3D, Entrega’s old Macs YST-MS50 USB multimedia-speaker Forward Granada was behind many range.The speaker system is a three- Granada Learning is offering three eye-catching graphics piece set-up, delivering 80W and CD titles, previously available only – like these two from incorporating Yamaha’s Advanced for PCs. Maths Explorer and Maths Aberdeen-based Active Servo technology for Explorer Shape and Space (£59 each) illustrator Garry Clarke USB-upgrade move generating are aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils, – but competition from powerful bass while About Shape and Space (£36) its rival titles proved everaging the success of the iMac, which an internal PCI-to-USB card with external USB response.The introduces basic maths to Key too fierce. uses only USB (universal serial bus) ports connectors and will sell for £32, the system also Stage 1 pupils. Multi-user discs are L for expansion, Entrega Technologies two-port model is priced at £24. includes available, costing from £8 and £15, has announced USB upgrade kits Entrega has also two-way and student versions cost £20. for older Mac systems. Entrega announced a new £50 USB- satellite Granada Learning, 0161 827 2927 offers both two- and four-port to-serial converter. speakers for enhanced high- USB kits, along with software The Entrega S8 USB-to- frequency response and top-end Image library stocked drivers for PCI-based Apple Serial Converter is clarity.The YST-MS50D offers data- PhotoDisc has released four new PowerPC systems and useful for the iMac and transfer rates of up to 12Mbps, and CDs containing images related to Mac OS 8.1 or later. new Power Mac G3, which you can use the Mac to tune the business, health and medicine. Both the new don’t have serial ports. speakers to match the acoustics Anatomy of Medicine (Signature Power Mac G3 and The converter means of the listening environment. Series 36 – image featured below), iMac systems include owners can connect non-USB Yamaha, 01908 366 700 Fitness and Macromedia: no USB ports leaving users serial devices and that any Well-Being of older Macs out in the investment made in older First class email (Volume cold to many of the newest peripherals is not wasted. The S8 is CE Software has released QuickMail Series 67), USB peripherals including cameras, smaller than a pager and provides one Office 2.0, an update to its Internet Banking Extreme measures scanners, and modems, said David Murray, serial port. As the converter is bus- email system for mid-sized firms. and Finance vice president of product marketing at powered, there is no need for an additional It offers advanced contact- (Volume acromedia has no plans to resurrect its much competition that there was no way to make Entrega. power supply. management features and includes Series 68) Extreme3D graphics and multimedia it a financially healthy part of the business.” The four-port USB kit includes the drivers and Entrega, 0118 965 7751 updated client software and a new and M software, but the company promises On another issue, the company said it will version of the QuickMail Pro Server Meetings that 3D features will be integrated into other retain its proprietary Lingo programming for Macintosh. QuickMail Office 2.0 and Groups Macromedia products. language – used in Macromedia Director, for costs £90 for a five-user upgrade, (Volume Company officials offered a few clues about its example – but will move toward wider use of NEC casts light projectors £160 for a 10-user upgrade, and Series 69) plans during a question-&-answer session at the JavaScript in its software. £400 for a 25-user upgrade. The Signature Series discs are priced end of its three-day European UCON ’99 user “JavaScript is a language we are starting to EC has unveiled two lightweight use a 150W new Computers Unlimited, at £199, while the Volume Series conference. CEO Rob Burgess would not say use more, and we are moving in the direction of MultiSync projectors, the MT830+ short-arc, 0181 358 5857 titles cost £229. Most of Photodisc’s whether 3D capabilities would be added to future getting a common scripting interface across all N and the MT1030+. high- images can also be purchased and versions of Macromedia Shockwave or Director, products,” said Kevin Lynch, Macromedia senior The two projectors, aimed at the sales and pressure I can see a Rainbow downloaded from its Web site. but he did say the company is “looking at vice president of Web publishing. marketing, design and education sectors, have lamp, with Rainbow Painter 1.0, a new shareware Photodisc, 0845 302 1212 solutions and options for bringing 3D to the Web, David Mendels, another senior vice president built-in heat dissipaters and a 360-degree a life of program for painting and photo and I’m certain you will see 3D features in the of Web publishing, told UCON attendees that remote control facility. Both projectors 2,000 retouching, is available for download Kids number cruncher not-too-distant future from Macromedia”. Macromedia is “actively looking” at ways to make incorporate NEC’s Accublend Intelligent Pixel hours. They from Addiction Interactive.The $12 Sherston Software’s latest £50 title, As for Extreme3D – the three-year-old 3D it easier to distribute its Shockwave player with Blending technology, and use digital keystone- also feature a digital application is for PowerPCs and Number Works for children aged software that quietly slipped from Macromedia products. “You will hear more about that correction, so the user can correct keystone zoom of up to 400 per cent and a remote control comes with image-editing and 8-9 years, features number activities product lists late last year – Burgess said: “There distribution in the relatively near future,” distortion without the loss of image detail, with a laser pointer and 360-degree infrared picture-effects tools. It supports up to focusing on skills required by the will not be any future development. There is so – Wendy Mattson The MT830+ has a brightness level of 1,250 system. eight image layers with alpha National Numeracy Framework. ANSI lumens and a resolution of 800-x-600, and The MT830 is priced at £3,300, and the channels and a mask layer. There are three levels of difficulty, the MT1030+ has 1,100 ANSI lumens and a MT1030+ costs £4,300. Addiction Interactive, and activities can be accessed either resolution of 1,024-x-768 pixels. The projectors NEC, 0181 752 3333 http://www.addiction.se through a menu or through an Ray Dream Studio’s new dimension adventure game. USB Mac modem boost Sherston, 01666 843 200 etaCreations has announced Ray Dream PMC has launched the Pace V90 M Studio 5.5, the latest version of its 3D design Kodak ships £20k digital camera Advantage, a USB modem for Macs. Web accounting move and animation tool for Web designers, game The £79 modem Access Accounting has launched developers and multimedia producers. The Web odak has launched the DCS 660. a high-end including autofocus, automatic exposure, metering supports data, fax, AccessweB.The £450 CD allows image on the right – by illustrator Charles Barrett FireWire digital camera. Offering six- modes, flash and self-timing, and features a built-in voice and companies to create their own ([email protected]) – is typical of Ray Dream K megapixel resolution in a compact Nikon F5 histogram so that photographers can review speakerphone working Web site within 24 hours. Studio’s capabilities. SLR body, the DCS 660 comes with a price tag of exposure accuracy in real-time. functions. The CD allows users to import items The £349 title has an updated Adaptive Renderer £19,995. It weighs 1.86 kilograms and is designed to Other notable features include calibrated-colour It also like company logos then – its hybrid scanline/raytrace renderer – and built-in handle like the traditional F5. Nikon users can use response and white balance, 36-bit colour – for supports dual- automatically creates a file that Kai’s Power Tools 3 filters, such as KPT Texture their existing lenses and accessories. capturing colour and detail in shadows and highligh standard UK Calling can be submitted to AccessweB Explorer and Interform. New add-ons include the It has all the features of the professional DCS 560, – dual PC card/removable media for flexible storage, Line Identification (CLI), by email or floppy disk. Motion Blur effects-tool, four plug-ins for creating as well as additional features, such as a burst-rate of and voice annotation for documenting specific meaning caller-numbers can Access Acounting, 01206 322 575 earth, air, fire and water environments. one image per second and an ISO of 80-200. The shots. be identified before answering. Computers Unlimited, 0181 358 5857 DCS 660 has many standard photographic functions, Kodak, 0870 606 1423 PMC, 0990 561001

32 Macworld AUGUST 1999 All prices exclude VAT All prices exclude VAT Macworld AUGUST 1999 33 product news

pricing update

Helios Ethershare JPY has announced a specially priced bundle of Helios’ EtherShare range for the recently launched Mac OS X server. Aimed at the pre-press market the bundle is priced at £6,995, a Sim-pull saving of £2,495 on the list price.The Mac fans can range includes a 20-user EtherShare be a chip off licence for file and print servers. JPY the new block claims the bundle will offer Unix- with SimCity. level performance and reliability with a ‘Mac-like’ interface. JPY 0181 390 8487

ScanMaker X6 and 2000 Microtek has reduced the price of two of its ScanMaker products. Mac-built SimCity The 600-x-1,200 dpi resolution ScanMaker X6 USB is now £119, lectronic Arts’ best-selling PC game – Sim negotiate and barter with neighbouring cities to reduced from £129, and the high- City 3000 – has finally arrived on the Mac strengthen their metropolis. SimCity players can end ScanMaker 2000 has been E platform. The city-building simulation download free add-ons and get support from reduced to game, created by the company’s Maxis studio, Maxis’ special Web site, (www.simcity.com). A recent £4,100, from began shipping for the PC in January. It was the addition to the site is the SimCity Exchange, a £4,499. top-selling PC game in the US in February and trading post where players can upload their Microtek is March and also reached the top sales position favourite metropolis and see how it ranks in also shipping in many European countries. categories like pollution, traffic and crime. Free the ScanMaker SimCity players can build cities with add-ons include landmark buildings and extra 4 and 5 flatbed landscapes such as San Francisco’s and Berlin’s terrain maps, in which players can build cities. scanners with free and landmark buildings like the Empire State or The Mac version runs on systems with at least SnapTrans templates.The Big Ben. They can also create their own unique a 180MHz PowerPC processor and 32MB of RAM. templates are five film holders buildings using the Building Architect Tool. The Costing £39, it will be available in the UK in early designed to slide into the scanner to metropolis then comes to life with people and autumn. accommodate a variety of film sizes, traffic and, as an added challenge, players can Electronic Arts, 01753 549 442 positives or negatives, colour or black-&-white.The ScanMaker 4 costs £499, and the ScanMaker 5 is £1,599. Microtek, 01908 317 797 netOctopus 3.0 Agfa ePhoto CL50 spreads tentacles Agfa’s ePhoto CL50 digital camera has been reduced from £549 to £351. etopia has updated its netOctopus Intranet The CL50 is Agfa’s first ePhoto N systems-management software to version 3.0. camera to offer sound capture and Part of Netopia’s Timbuktu family, netOctopus 3.0 burst mode facility. It offers an helps administrators manage, update, configure and optical resolution of 1.3 million pixels support a network of Macs. and has four resolution settings, four It provides complete inventories, detailing the flash modes, a 3x optical zoom and a hardware and software configurations of each 2x digital zoom in both capture and Sizzling read machine on the Intranet, without interrupting playback mode. workflow. This information is then automatically Agfa, 0181 231 4906 eac has announced the CD-R58S 8x write 24x monitored and reported, allowing the network T read CD-recorder (above), priced at £299. administrator to troubleshoot, install, monitor and Textease Multimedia Designed to be simple enough for beginners to upgrade software on any machine, as well as correct Softease’s DTP package for children, install and configure, the drive ships with user and prevent system problems. Enhancements in the Textease Multimedia, is now bundled manual, SCSI cable, CD-burning software and new release include year-2000 audit aids, HTML with free clip-art to help students CD-R media. It has a 4MB data buffer – to export and the ability to gather data on USB devices. create designs for Web sites, posters provide the interface with a continuous flow of AppleScripts can now be executed on remote and letters. Each picture has been data – and a controller chip backs up the Macs, and the software has improved Intranet asset- categorized into topics including processor by controlling the data-transfer flow. management features.netOctopus 3.0 costs £467 for animals, clothes and music.Textease The blue-&-white drive is compatible with a 10-user starter pack, with volume-licence pricing costs £85 for a single user. most formats. Its top data-transfer rate is available. Softease, 01335 343 421 3.6MBps read and 1.2MBps write. Principal, 01756 704 000 Teac, 01923 225 235

34 Macworld AUGUST 1999 All prices exclude VAT first contact

David Fanning Burgeoning compressed audio-file format is set to alter Christmas wish-lists worldwide. MP3 calls the tune

ix months ago in this column, I predicted that, although the hardware doesn’t. One thing that helped with the advent of MP3, there’d be a revolution Diamond win its case was the availability of legitimate in computer music. By now, you’ve probably heard MP3 music on the Internet. So long as there are legitimate of MP3 in one form or another. It has been hyped uses for MP3, we can enjoy all manner of hardware without as both the saviour – and killer – of the music fear of breaking the law. Sindustry. Whichever it is for you, MP3 is here to stay. Of course, the law still plays a big part in the For those yet to come into contact with MP3, let me development of MP3-related products. But it is legal to recap. MP3 is a file format for audio – part of the Moving make the equivalent of backup copies of CDs and records. Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) specifications. MP3 is short To this end, there are many CD-sampling applications that for MPEG1 layer 3, and it produces files so small that you will take your music CDs and create MP3 files from them. can send or download them via the Internet. It is this aspect So for the price of a 4GB drive (around £150) you can of MP3 that’s panicking the music industry – because music create a “backup” of around 70 hours of music. This should piracy is rife on the ‘Net. be more than enough to get all your favourite music in one One thing to have happened over the past six months, place. No more changing disks and no more splintered is that MP3 has achieved a degree of respectability. This plastic CD cases. is because many artists have embraced the format, making The ideal place for this, no-nonsense music is the car songs available both for free and commercial download. – something a number of companies are rapidly realizing. Stars like David Bowie, for example, have shown support One of the first of these is made by Empeg (www.empeg.com), for the format – offering members of davidbowie.net free a Somerset-based company that’s working on a 28GB car samples of his work. audio-system that runs on Linux – and an RDS stereo-tuner, Another Web site devoted entirely to MP3 is www.MP3.com. for when you get bored with your own music. Prices start Here you’ll find hours of music, and all for free. You may at around £650 for the 2GB version. This month, I tested scoff at the obscurity of the bands listed in its archives, the first of the Mac-compatible Walkman-style players but you may know them soon. Sites such as this are perfect (see Reviews, page 46). The Pontis MPlayer 3 is a poor springboards for budding musicians, independent as they first product, but I’m sure that there are at least a dozen are of the record-industry monoliths. This represents the worthier MP3 players in the pipeline from various greatest way of marketing your band since independent manufacturers. record labels started. I’m sure the A&R scouts from Sony, I predict that, by Christmas, companies like Samsung will Warner and the rest must be keeping an eye on what is be up-to-speed with the technology and that the marketing happening on this site. They’d be fools not to. muscle of such companies will come into play. See what’s The MP3 site itself has links to all the MP3-associated in store, on the Samsung Yepp Web site (www.yepp.co.kr). software and – more recently – hardware. Hardware Most portable MP3 players use a Flash card to record the development is important for the format, because people music. This is small and neat, but even an hour of music are unlikely to listen only to music on their computers. is proving expensive to store. Fortunately, as quickly as It’s no big deal plugging your computer into your stereo problems arise, answers appear. IBM has just announced – but you may also wish to take music on the road with a tiny hard disk that holds 340MB. Diamond has already you. As you may expect, this area of the market is announced that this drive will be used in the next expanding rapidly. The first MP3 players around were generation of MP3 players. PC-only devices, connecting via the parallel port. The first Music companies are still distrustful of MP3, but the device of this kind – the Rio, from Diamond – was stalled movers and shakers are jumping on the bandwagon. by legal moves from the record companies, who claimed I said MP3 would take off in a big way – and now it’s the Rio was encouraging music piracy. While this accusation an unstoppable force. Keep an eye on it, and you’ll see a is questionable, the format itself does encourage piracy, whole industry spring up within the next six months. MW

Macworld AUGUST 1999 37 Michael Prochak Letting Bill Gates program your head is a reason for cerebration, not celebration. Brain plougher

hey used to say that you are what you eat, but that picks up electrical impulses from the body’s nerves. with all the craziness these days about GM foods, They have already been tested on two severely disabled I’m not sure what that is anymore. There’s volunteers, who were then able to control the cursor on definitely a degree of sick fascination in watching their computer screens merely by thinking about moving humanity and technology coalesce. I must admit, parts of their bodies. IT do love it when life starts to imitate art. Although not Before they’re inserted into the brain, the implants are always reassuring, it sure is fun to watch. In the mid-70s, laced with neurotrophic chemicals extracted from the Colin Wilson wrote an intriguingly obscure novel, The patient’s knees. Once the cones have been in the brain for Philosopher's Stone. Part of the premise of the book is that several months, the chemicals encourage nerve cells to grow time is an illusion and that the mind is capable of seeing and attach themselves to the electrodes inside the cones – through it. As one of the book’s characters puts it: “Time is until the implants become “hot-wired” to the brain. The a confidence trick. It’s like a crooked guardian who keeps cones are connected to a transmitter/receiver placed just dipping his hands into your bank account. You think you’ve inside the skull and then to an amplifier in a cap worn by still got a fortune left, and then realise that you’re on the the patient, which sends signals to the computer. Signals edge of bankruptcy.” from the cones are then translated into cursor commands While extending the boundaries of consciousness, the and can even use the computer’s sound functionality protagonists of the story discover that, by inserting a tiny to “speak” voice phrases. According to the scientists particle of a special alloy into the frontal cortex of the brain, responsible for this research – from Emory University in you can trigger an evolutionary leap that unlocks a range of Atlanta – commands currently available are quite simple, faculties that allow you to control the world around you but will become much more advanced very quickly. and alter your perceptions of reality. When the book was All this sort of stuff conjures up interesting visions of a first published, it wasn’t the slant on the philosophical that possible future where teaching and educational institutions seemed like fiction, it was the technology of inserting are an anachronism: people can simply buy “job” chips, or something into the brain to control objects outside the body. pay to download skills as and when the need them. The Around 1984, William Gibson did something similar with convergence of technology and humanity would be nearly his book, Neuromancer. In it, he invented the now popular complete and, at best, you could end up with a kind of notion of cyberspace and speculated on a world where benign Utopia, where everyone is free to pursue knowledge humanity and technology converged and people could and consciousness as they please. literally “jack” into a consensual matrix of shared At worst, you could end up with a Matrix-style world, consciousness with the aid of computer networks either dominated by machines, or in which all knowledge hard-wired to their brains. and skills are controlled and regulated by an elite few. And in the film The Matrix, Keanu Reeves learns kung What would happen to originality, creativity and poetic fu by plugging directly into a computer system and licence is anyone’s guess. But you can bet it would get ugly. downloading the information and skills directly to his brain. I mean, think about it. Would you want someone like Although we can’t improve our consciousness by inserting Bill Gates producing knowledge or job chips that you could an alloy into our frontal lobes, or plug our Macs directly hard-wire into your brain? Think about the prolonged and into our brains just yet, we are getting frighteningly closer painful bug-fixes, not to mention the late delivery. And to being able to control our computers with our minds. when it comes right down to it, I’m not sure I’d even want A number of some American scientists have already a “MindMac”. Waking up every morning with that stupid developed a bionic brain implant that can operate a smiling face floating round your brain would make you computer purely by the power of thought. Like Wilson’s more twisted and deranged then an extended ether-binge. fiction, the implants are tiny cones the size of the tip of Once that happens, you don’t really care about what you a ballpoint, but are made of glass containing an electrode eat anyway. And who you are becomes anyone’s guess. MW

Macworld AUGUST 1999 39 Macintosh user-groups Desktop critic still have a role to play.

DAVID POGUE is the author of iMac for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1998) and the Great Macintosh Easter Egg Hunt (Berkely Books 1998). He also wrote Macs for Dummies, fifth edition, updated for Mac OS 8, The Weird Wide Web (IDG Books Worldwide, 1997) and The Microsloth Joke Book (Berkeley, 1997). Use us – or lose us

ow, why am I still a Macintosh guy, despite all the financial problems as a delayed reaction to Apple’s dark hard times? Because I got my start in a Macintosh days of 1995 to 1997. user group. In 1985, right out of college, I was the “User groups are a trailing indicator of Apple’s health,” N office manager for the New York Mac User Group he says. “As Apple’s ocean rises, it will lift all the boats.” (NYMUG), and the counter-culture spirit of the time still LAMG’s declining revenue was compounded by what he shapes my attitude. Deep down somewhere, I’m still calls “end-stage user-group disease,” in which jaded veteran cheering, as the sledgehammer in the “1984” ad smashes group leaders fall into endless cycles of bickering but take Big Brother’s face. no action. But something is going on. One by one, the big user The bigger story, though, is once again the Internet. groups are dying. The biggest user group on earth, the BMUG’s motto was, “We’re in the business of giving away Boston Computer Society, shut down a couple of years information” – but that’s not much of a business when the ago. In January, the Los Angeles Macintosh Internet offers 200 quadrillion times as much. Group (LAMG) filed for bankruptcy, $250,000 In the old days, you’d go to a user-group in debt. NYMUG was also bankrupt meeting to buy a shareware disk, hear when, two years ago, it was taken over industry gossip, and see software- by a Manhattan consulting firm company demos. But the Net offers and remade as a for-profit entity. infinitely better access to shareware, Even BMUG – the hippest, most news, and rumors. And famous MUG of all; the one downloading trial software is with the 400-page newsletter often more pleasant than sitting – recently fired its staff and through live software demos, closed its Berkeley, especially those that involve California, office. excruciating PowerPoint It’s not just user groups; presentations by wooden the EvangeList has closed vendor reps. shop, too. This 40,000- But user groups aren’t dead, member email list was nor are they irrelevant. Smaller started by Guy Kawasaki groups, in US cities such as San three years ago. Its purpose Diego, Kansas City, and Detroit, was to spread good Mac news, are thriving; their social nature to combat the mainstream-media still draws enthusiastic crowds. Apple bashing. Even among the megagroups, What’s happening here? Why survival is still possible; the are all these useful, grassroots successful ones decentralize, responding institutions dropping like gnats after to the Internet as just another competitive a blast of Raid? Kawasaki says he shut pressure. down his because it had “served its purpose” in BMUG, for example, lives on through smaller, countering Apple bashing. But that explanation holds more spontaneous meetings – in fact, Raines Cohen, about as much water as a thimble. The media still teems cofounder of BMUG, says there are more meetings per week with anti-Apple bigots. The battle is far from over. now than before the group’s official closing. He calls it the The actual reason for the EvangeList’s demise is more “open sourcing” of the group; now members don’t have to mundane. In 1998, both Kawasaki and the EvangeList’s wait for permission – or a schedule slot – to undertake a editor, John Halbig, left Apple to join a start-up company. new project. In other words, BMUG plans to survive the They agreed with Apple to continue the list for one year Internet age by both embracing the Web – moving BMUG’s after leaving – and now the year is up. More important, newsletter and BBS operations there – and exploiting its Halbig says, is that dozens of Web sites and mailing lists, greatest weakness: the lack of live social contact. such as MacMarines (www.macmarines.com), now fulfill LAMG, meanwhile, is returning to its roots as an all- precisely the same mission as the EvangeList – and with volunteer operation. In both cases, these big groups are far more editorial freedom. MacMarines can call a dog a starting to resemble smaller, all-volunteer Macintosh user dog, without worrying about ruffling some Apple partner’s groups, which don’t face the same problems of political feathers. infighting, high rent and staff costs. But what about the user groups? Why are they collapsing “It’s noticeable that small and medium user groups have all at once? Former LAMG president (and Macworld always been the most effective,” says Cohen. “It’s the spirit

PETER HOEY contributing editor) Tom Negrino sees user groups’ current that’s important.” MW

40 Macworld AUGUST 1998 reviews

MACWORLD RATING /9.0-10.0 = OUTSTANDING /7.0-8.9 = VERY GOOD /5.0-6.9 = GOOD /3.0-4.9 = FLAWED /0-2.9 = UNACCEPTABLE MACWORLD POLICY At Macworld, we don’t think our readers should have to worry about whether ratings are based on a real product or a prototype.Therefore, we simply don’t rate products unless they are real, shipping versions – the products we rate and review are the same products you end up buying. MACWORLD JACKPOT The Macworld Jackpot gives you the opportunity to win some of the products we review. Simply dial reviews the number indicated on participating reviews. Calls cost 60 pence per minute.Winners are selected by computer the day after the closing date.

Web authoring tool Real motion 2D to 3D modeller Flash 4’s Create Motion Tween command allows for more realistic animated movement. Flash 4 Canoma 1.0 Publisher: Macromedia Publisher: MetaCreations www.macromedia.com www.metacreations.com Distributor: Computers Unlimited (0181 358 5857) Distributor: Computers Unlimited (0181 358 5857) Pros: Improved working environment; Pros: It does something no other application MP3 support and QuickTime 4 does – turning 2D into 3D. Cons: Not for the complete beginner. Cons: No QuickTime VR; needs more ‘primitive’ Price: £199; upgrade £69 shapes. Star Rating: /8.8 Price: £399 Star Rating: /8.5 acromedia’s Flash Web-graphics and animation tool is a widely etaCreations has earned a M adopted standard for vector reputation for unusual and technology on the Internet. It is ideal text fields, allowing you to create front-end scripts. Flash 4 has an improved library M exciting software. Programs like for creating resolution-independent, fast- interfaces for Web based applications on utility. You can sort elements by date, name, Bryce and Poser have amazing capabilities, loading, interactive elements. Version 4 is your site. kind and number of times used. You can but it can be difficult to see who needs the latest update with even more features Some of the best improvements in also group assets together in folders, and them – Canoma is a perfect addition to Behind the scene and improvements for vector drawing Flash 4 are, again, the result of Macromedia see a preview of the chosen element. the MetaCreations software stable, being Canoma allows you turn turn 2D photos techniques and incredible compression. taking note of user’s upgrade suggestions – The time-consuming tasks of exporting, both amazing and incredibly niche. (left) into 3D models (above).You can then Having listened to the needs of its users, including more control over your working testing and previewing finished projects It is hard to explain exactly what move around the model, viewing it from Macromedia has made Flash easier to environment. Inspector palettes are tabbed has been made simpler by a new Publish Canoma does, because it sounds impossible: any angle. use by improving the interface. Producing and can be dragged around to form a command. You can specify which it takes a single 2D photograph and makes great-looking buttons, moving logos and customized work area. The addition of a combination of elements to publish, and it into a 3D model, which can then be cartoons is simpler and faster, and with scene inspector for managing and editing it’s now easier, using the Publish settings “explored”. You can take a picture of a the addition of MP3 compression for multiple movie scenes, shift-selection for selector, to pick the correct output format. building or a kitchen or just about anything, sound elements, Flash 4 continues selecting multiple objects, plus the ability Other additions include QuickTime and then fly around the resulting model. for a complex scene. You can then use an audience. At £400, it’s not an impulse to support the very latest technology. In to edit your artwork in place, will increase import and export features and titling and This is achieved by getting the user to the controls to spin, zoom and negotiate buy – you really have to need it to pay addition the Flash player, required to view productivity. You can undock the timeline animation effects. You can import custom place wireframe boxes over the elements the terrain. that kind of money. I don’t think this is Flash content on Web sites, reaches over and take advantage of additional multiple colour sets to ensure colour consistency, of the picture – letting the application For a pre-set tour of the scene you can an unfair price, it’s just that it puts a fun 100 million Web users worldwide. monitor support. And, when drawing and updated tutorials help you get the know which objects are 3D and which are add keyframes and even save the resulting and powerful application strictly in the rounded rectangles, you can now use most out of the new features. flat. This can be applied to quite complex animation as a QuickTime movie. Also, professional domain. Bryce found a MP3 compression support the directional arrows to adjust the pictures, building boxes upon boxes, until common file formats for 3D models are following, and I’m sure Canoma will too. Flash 4’s support for MP3 audio corner radius and create curvy buttons. Macworld’s buying advice every element of the picture is wireframed. supported, but not QuickTime VR. This Architects are the prime target, I would compression is a major addition. You can Animation is a key element of Web There are many improvements to Flash Obviously, seeing behind objects requires is a shame, as it is an ideal application for imagine, as well as people who are use MP3 streaming audio in your Flash files sites, from rollover navigation buttons in this upgrade, and current users will be information not available from a single QuickTime VR. The supported output files currently using QuickTimeVR professionally. while maintaining excellent compression to complete cartoons. It is vital to be able delighted at the attention to detail and photograph, but there are ways around this. are MetaStream (.mts), WaveFront (.obj), Using this software lets you create QTVR rates for fast download. Using the timeline, to create them easily and quickly. Flash 4 the integration of other Web standards The simplest, but least accurate, is to mirror Poser Prop (.pp2) TruSpace (.scn), style animation without hours of messing it’s straightforward to visually synchronize now has a Create Motion Tween command, like MP3 and QuickTime. Macromedia has the front of a box to the back. This works AutoDesk (.dxf) and VRML2 (.wrl). around with turntables and rostrum frames of animations and streaming audio. allowing animations to run more smoothly. excelled itself. Flash 4 really is an unique in some situations, such as buildings with This is the first version of Canoma and, cameras. My example took less than Another important requirement on Web Simply select a graphic from the library, tool for creating stunning Web sites. uniform windows. Anything beyond this while it is stable and well designed, there ten minutes to model and render. sites today is the ability to capture data and or other source, create a keyframe in the Gillian Robertson is less convincing. The other way of doing is plenty of scope for improvement. The provide instant feedback to the user. Flash timeline by positioning it on your project this is to get a picture of the other side “primitives” – basic shapes to fit over Macworld’s buying advice 4 now lets you add this level of interactivity area, then select Create Motion Tween of the scene. Although this isn’t always objects – are helpful and include shapes If you need this kind of software you by using edit text fields in Flash projects to from the Insert menu and manipulate the Win possible, it improves the quality greatly. such as arch, roof and table. have little else to choose from. It does collect and send information directly to a animation artwork to the desired effect. ...Three copies of You can combine a number of pictures I found that there were other shapes the job well, though I can think of some Web server and database. Any text added Your animations will have a more realistic Flash 4 with Macworld in the model, which allows you to add that would have been helpful, like improvements that the second version to a password field will be automatically movement. Jackpot. Ring 0900 elements that weren’t in the original a car for example. But these are just should have. Like Bryce, after the obvious converted into an indistinguishable font for A built-in library is essential for keeping 1010 250 before picture. minor improvements; for the most applications of Canoma I expect people security. You can also maintain your design track of the different elements used in your 31 August. Calls cost When the scene is finished you render part the software is excellent. will keep finding new ways to use the integrity by specifying custom fonts in the sites, like GIFs, sound, animation files and 60 pence per minute. the model, which takes minutes, even One problem Canoma faces is finding technology. David Fanning

42 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 43 reviews reviews

Graphics card for the people is also much smaller than its predecessor QuickDraw, QuickDraw 3D and QuickTime. Digital-editing newcomer and has a lower chip count, which helps Standard 2D QuickDraw showed a slight to keep costs down. improvement, with the Norton System info The graphics processor now sports a turning in a graphics score of 340 versus cooling fan, a result of its increased speed the ProFormance II Lightning’s 302 and power, but probably the most striking – a respectable, if slight 13 per cent difference is the addition of a small piggy- improvement. back digital interface that can drive flat- More impressive was the QuickTime panel displays with a digital input – notably acceleration. Playing a 43MB QuickTime ProFormance III the 1600 SW from Silicon Graphics (see movie was noticeably smoother. In fact, Final Cut Pro Manufacturer: Formac (0181 533 4040) Test centre, page 61). setting up a dual-monitor system with Publisher: Apple (0800 783 4846) Pros: Fastest Formac card yet; real speed The new 16MB VRAM supplied doesn’t a ProFormance III and a ProFormance II Pros: Elegant interface; broad capabilities. increases over previous models; excellent value. really increase the highest resolutions, Lightning, we could see the frame stepping Cons: Stiff hardware requirements; limited third- Cons: No OpenGL drivers yet; individual models although some weird possible resolutions introduced as the movie was dragged across party hardware support; poor titling features. not upgradeable. are listed – an unusable 1 ,920-x-1,080 to the monitor with the slower card. Price: $999; UK price to be announced. Price: ProFormance III/16, £199; III/32, £TBA; at 51Hz, for example. The usable ceiling is Star Rating: /8.2 SGI Option, £69; VESA Option, £69 still a massive 1,600-x-1,024 at 90Hz, with Motion blur Star Rating: /8.8 the extra memory acting as a texture buffer. Even more impressive was the QuickDraw he saga of Apple’s Final Cut Pro Installation is simply a matter of 3D acceleration. Using the same dual- reads like that of a Hollywood epic raphics cards – especially 24- dropping the card into its PCI slot – ease, monitor setup, the Apple Gerbils app T – years in the making, an all-star cast, bit ones – used to be the stuff of of course, varying depending on which (with all effects) on recorded a frame bounced from one studio to another, then G dreams, attainable only by power model of Mac you have – putting the GA rate of between 45 and 60 fps with the finally released to rave reviews – more or users with extremely deep pockets. Luckily control panel into its folder, and restarting. Lightning. With the ProFormance III the less. with the proliferation of cheap graphics The Control panel itself lets you access frame rate counter was a blur, but seemed Final Cut Pro 1.0 is a video-production chipsets, high-end graphics power that all the functions of the Monitors control to vary between a truly startling 130 and titan that combines the video-capture and would have been unthinkable only three panel, such as setting start-up monitors 160 fps. The time taken to play a 200-frame -editing features of Adobe Premiere and Cut it up years ago is now within everyone’s reach. and menubar placement in multi-monitor fully shaded preview animation in Digital Origin’s EditDV with many of Adobe FInal Cut Pro’s well-designed interface The new ProFormance III card from setups. A new Monitors tab also attempts LightWave 3D was more than halved: one After Effects’ animation and compositing combines video editing with motion- Formac is a case in point. Only eight to set up your configuration to the optimum minute 24 seconds for the Lightning against tools, all within a beautiful, efficient graphics effects. Point-&-click editing months after releasing the highly resolution/scan frequency setting, although 54 seconds for the ProFormance III. Clearly interface. But one price of Final Cut Pro’s makes version 1 easy to use. acclaimed ProFormance II Lightning, this can also be overridden. the new Permedia 3 chip needs its cooling versatility is its stiff hardware requirements. the German company has brought A few more features of varying fan. Moreover, Final Cut Pro’s new-kid-on-the- out a new card based on the Permedia 3 usefulness are included such as Gamma As a comparison we tried the same block status means that it lacks the broad chip, replacing the Number Nine Imagine control – very useful – others features preview animation with the Mac OpenGL hardware support the competition offers. 128/III chip in the previous card. include a screen saver, Hardware Pan and version of LightWave and there was no And despite its sophistication, the program Zoom and font caching, which speeds up difference between the two cards – not handles some tasks awkwardly. All change text scrolling. Also worth noting, enabling surprising, since the OpenGL drivers aren’t The card tested sports 16MB SGRAM the font cache doesn’t interfere with ready yet. The big picture Manipulating media against 8MB VRAM in the ProFormance system-wide anti-aliased text in System What was surprising is that the Apple’s hardware specs call for a Final Cut Pro can import QuickTime plug-ins. And the program’s titling features II, a 270MHz RAMDAC chip as opposed 8.5/8.6 as previously. unaccelerated OpenGL version was more 266MHz, or faster, Power Mac G3 with movies as well as all QuickTime-supported are surprisingly weak, lacking a Premiere to 220MHz in the Lightning – the Three main types or less the same speed as the ProFormance at least 128MB of RAM – Apple doesn’t image and audio formats. You can also -style WYSIWYG titling window; you RAMDAC is the part of the card of acceleration III accelerated QuickDraw 3D. This clearly warrant that Final Cut Pro will run on import Photoshop images that retain their can’t even mix fonts and type sizes that handles digital-to-analogue are employed: makes a case for getting the OpenGL Macs containing G3 upgrade cards. I layers. Unlike Premiere and After Effects, within a title or use Type 1 PostScript fonts. conversions. Versions of the drivers out of the door as quickly as used a shiny new 400MHz G3 for my however, Final Cut Pro can’t import Adobe Where Final Cut Pro pulls away from the card with 32MB SGRAM possible. At the present moment there testing. Illustrator or EPS files – a potentially pack is in compositing and motion graphics. will be available later in are a few licensing matters to be sorted Final Cut Pro makes a great first serious drawback if your work involves Click on an option in Final Cut’s Canvas the year, but as there out, but Formac in Germany assured us impression. It sports an elegant 3D look, animating vector-based art. window, and you can animate and layer are no slots, a 16MB that the drivers should be ready by mid and windows snap to each other as you Final Cut’s video-capture features clips and still images much as in After can’t be directly July at the latest. move them; when you drag and resize work particularly well with FireWire-based Effects. You won’t find all of After Effects’ upgraded them, Final Cut Pro redraws their DV devices. You can control such a device keyframe controls, but Final Cut Pro comes to a 32MB. Macworld’s buying advice contents on the fly. directly from Final Cut’s Log and Capture close enough for many jobs. The program Physically Finally, the digital interface for flat-panel Many of Final Cut Pro’s windows window, setting in- and out-points for also offers basic keying features. And the monitors was tested with the amazing will feel familiar to video veterans. A Bin various scenes and then batch-capturing advanced users will love FXBuilder, card Silicon Graphics 1600 SW LCD. It worked window holds media that you import or the scenes. a built-in scripting language that lets without a hitch, driving the display at capture, while a Timeline window displays Alas, at the time of writing, Final you create custom filters. a rock-solid 1,600-x-1,024, wide-screen the sequence of edits and transitions. Cut supports a relatively small number When you’re rendering effects, you can resolution. It is also likely to work with For complex productions, a Browser of DV camcorders and decks. As for non- choose from a variety of resolution settings the new Apple Cinema Display, which is window helps you manage media and a DV capture hardware, Apple has currently and apply motion blur for added realism. expected to be functionally the same as the Find command lets you search on numerous certified only Pinnacle Systems’ Targa Final Cut Pro’s rendering performance SGI model. A VESA option is also available criteria. And a Final Cut Pro project can 1000- and 2000-series cards. Visit Final seems a bit slow at times, and no third- www.apple.com /finalcutpro Faster than for other brands of flat-panel displays. One contain multiple timelines – something Cut Pro’s Web site ( ) party rendering-acceleration cards are lightning thing to note is that even though there are you won’t find in Premiere. to verify compatibility with your gear. available yet. The two outputs on the card, they can’t be used Final Cut Pro’s Canvas window Packing a full arsenal of video ProFormance for mirroring since the 50Hz frequency of displays edited material and lets you set transitions and filters, Final Cut Pro Macworld’s buying advice III can run the LCD screen is unwatchable on a CRT. in- and out-points. It also lets you edit is unique in supporting QuickTime 4’s If you’re already using Premiere and QuickDraw However, it must be said that using clips: drag a clip to the Canvas window, built-in filters. Its audio filters are ideal After Effects, there’s little reason to switch. 3D at 160 fps. a dual-monitor setup of a Formac 19/500 and Final Cut Pro superimposes a set for sweetening and equalizing soundtracks, But Final Cut’s extensive capabilities and CRT and SGI 1600 flat panel is about of editing options on the window. Point but it doesn’t have the equivalents to refined interface make it a first-rate as good as it gets, and at £199 for the to the desired option, release the mouse Premiere 5’s reverb and multi-tap delay. foundation for a professional video-editing 16MB option the value is pretty amazing. button, and the program makes the edit Nor can Final Cut use Premiere-format system. Version 1.0 is a stunning effort, and Tim Danaher for you. This approach is slick and easy audio-filter plug-ins; indeed, it can’t use we expect even better from the sequels. to learn. any Premiere- or Photoshop-format Jim Heid

44 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 45 reviews reviews

Video digitizing and editing After you digitize your clips, you can Train-spotting strategy game trains scurry about, complete with trailing change their duration and sequence, create smoke. superimposed titles, and add sound effects The play area too benefits from lavish and music tracks (see “Avid editing”). Avid attention to detail – you get to build in Cinema provides all the common video scaled maps of most major countries with effects – such as dissolves, wipes, and town names, and developments realistically spins – but it doesn’t give you precise handled. Even the choo-choos are well control over their duration. Indeed, the lack designed, with mini-carriages that rumble of precise editing control is Avid Cinema’s along after the main engine. Get further chief shortcoming. into the game, and the entire map is a hive Avid Cinema for Mac Railroad Tycoon II Virgin country Manufacturer: Avid Technology When you’ve finished your video, you Publisher: Poptop software, of development, transport and competition. Spanning the centuries Railroad Tycoon lets you start www.poptop.com (01753 655 999) can view a full-screen version of it. You can a network from scratch and then build it into your own, www.avidcinema.com Avid editing also compress it in a variety of formats; an DIstributor: Softline (0181 401 1234) Bransonesque empire. Macworld’s buying advice Pros: High-quality video captures; extremely Avid Cinema makes it easy to add effects and music. advanced mode lets you specify QuickTime Pros: Long lifespan, gorgeous graphics, This isn’t just an overgrown train set, easy-to-use editing software; excellent manual. compression settings. What you can’t do steaming game play. lets you build and maintain a complex there’s a virtual world in there. Stock- Cons: Can’t output video to tape; imprecise the Mac’s built-in audio circuitry to record is output your final product to videotape Cons: Fat controller comments. railroad that spans both continents and market gambling, mergers, computer editing controls. sound. – the USB box is input-only. To record a Price: £34 centuries. and human competitors (you can play Price: £199 With the USB box, an iMac can digitize completed project to tape, you’ll need to Star Rating: /8.5 Starting off with the first railroads over a LAN or over the Internet, but only Star Rating: /9.0 30 fps video at a movie size of 320-x-240 move it to a first-generation Power Mac in the UK and US, you lay track, build Mac to Mac). Real-estate purchase and pixels. That isn’t full-screen video, but it’s G3 with an Apple video input/output card. y name’s Matthew Bath, and I’m stations, go loco buying trains, woo development all add pressure to your ith its funky G3 processor and ideal for movies that will be stored on CD- a trainspotter. But with Railroad passengers, lug goods and play the stock business and the small fact you need to generous hard drive, an iMac ROM, compressed for the Web, or played Macworld’s buying advice M Tycoon II steaming away on my market – in fact, everything but toot your deliver a dividend to your shareholders. W would seem to be a natural from the Mac’s hard disk. Avid Cinema for Macintosh with USB’s Mac, the lure of a large, fur-lined anorak, train whistle. As time chugs by, new trains Add in a steamy mix of 18 scenarios platform for hobbyist video-editing. But If yours is an older iMac, you’ll need inability to record projects to tape is a Thermos, cucumber sandwiches that to buy and industries to supply spring up, that take you through the development because the iMac lacks expansion slots, it to update its firmware before installing show-stopping limitation for moviemakers mummy made, chunky specs and crumpled matching historic developments and events. of the railroad, a cracking map editor and can’t accept the video-input cards that let the Avid Cinema software. The Avid Cinema who want to commit their efforts to video notebook has to take second place to the Graphically, Railroad Tycoon II is on the ability to download thousands of maps you connect a camcorder or VCR to the CD-ROM includes Apple’s updater software cassette. But if you’re content to king of all nerd-’em-ups. track for best- looking strategy game of from the Internet, and you have a game computer to digitize videotaped footage. and instructions; the process takes about view your movies on screen or you plan to Railroad Tycoon II could well be a 1999. Fantastically detailed graphics let that could well last longer than a Virgin True to its wordy name, Avid Technology’s a minute. deliver them via CD-ROM or the Web, Avid sleeper hit of the year. It offers game play you zoom down from country to station Trains London-to-Manchester journey. Avid Cinema for Macintosh with USB Version 1.3 retains Avid Cinema’s Cinema is a winner. There’s no easier way akin to SimCity 2000 and Civilization II, but level, and, even from afar you can see your Matthew Bath stashes video-digitizing circuitry in a simplicity while broadening your output to edit video with a Mac, and there’s no small box that connects to the USB port options. The Storyboard screen helps you other way to digitize video with an iMac. on an iMac or a blue-&-white G3. The box plan the shots and editing sequence for Jim Heid and its simple editing software make dozens of movie types, such as birthday Knock-‘em-dead driving game controllable car on the road, slaughter an excellent entry-level video-editing parties and real-estate tours. On-screen innocents, pick up bonuses, and bash your system – provided you don’t need to output tips give shooting and editing advice and Win opponents into submission. your finished product to videotape. the excellent manual elaborates on many ... A copy of Avid Carmageddon 2 isn’t without charm, The paperback-size USB box sports one of them. If you prefer to wing it, you can Cinema for Mac with however. There’s a degree of grisly good fun composite-video connector and one S-Video skip this screen and proceed directly to Macworld Jackpot. Ring in the proceedings. For example, I couldn’t connector. To digitize video, simply plug digitizing, which is just a matter of pressing 0900 1010 251 before help but be amused by the Drunken your video device into the box and plug your VCR’s Play button while clicking on August 31. Calls cost Pedestrian bonus, which causes your foot- the box into your Mac. Avid Cinema uses Avid Cinema’s Record button. 60 pence per minute. bound victims to stagger and weave; the Carmageddon 2: Groovin’ Pedestrians bonus, which results in passersby who perform a version of the hully-gully; and the Peds With Stupid Heads Carpocalypse Now Blaze of glory Music on the move Mac to the MPlayer. This is done via a serial Publisher: SCI bonus, which operates as advertised. Such If you can’t lose the police, smash into them. cable, which not only precludes it from use Distributor: Softline (0181 401 1234) bonuses abound – each goofier than the with any currently shipping Mac, but it also Pros: High-speed carnage, lots of blood. game Doom seems to be taking the brunt next. Also, Carmageddon 2 was built in 3D takes forever to download – around twice Cons: A tad repetitive. of this criticism, these individuals would from the ground up – supporting both 3Dfx the time it takes to listen to the music. A Price: £34 consider Doom small spuds indeed, were Glide and RAVE – and although it still full 15 minutes of music takes 30 minutes Star Rating: /8.6 they to catch a glimpse of Carmageddon looks cartoonish, its graphics are far to download to the player. To me, this just and its sequel, Carmageddon 2: superior to the original’s. about makes it unusable. n the wake of recent tragedies involving Carpocalypse Now. Unlike Doom, On a more positive note the sound is undersupervized minors and overly where your arguably noble objective Macworld’s buying advice MPlayer 3 excellent – it is not CD quality, but it is I powerful weaponry, politicians and is to hunt down the spawn of Satan, the If you’re offended by the game’s concept Manufacturer: Pontis Size matters close enough for me to barely notice. You parents have taken aim at video games Carmageddons ask that you participate – or just want a game that offers more www.mplayer3.com/ MPlayer 3’s small Flash card stores only 15 minutes of can also set the sampling rate for your and computer games that glorify violence. in a series of automobile races with than the opportunity to repeatedly biff Pros: Small and light. music; making it impractical. music. You need to use 128bit for best Although id software’s long-in-the-tooth the express goal of careening into your pedestrians and automobiles – skip Cons: Tiny capacity; too slow to load music. quality, but lower rates are acceptable and opponents and mowing down as many Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now. If you Price: $195 cameras. It isn’t exactly the same, meaning give you more audio capacity. innocent pedestrians as possible. have the cash spare, possess a compatible Star Rating: /3.4 that the flash-card market, which already If you find this kind of gratuitous sense of humour, and don’t mind the has two competing formats, now has Macworld’s buying advice bloodshed despicable, please feel free repetition, give the game a shot. ince I first came across the MP3 another. The largest capacity card holds just There is a lot of room for improvement to avoid these games. Although I’m not Christopher Breen format I have been predicting the 16MB, enough for about 15 minutes’ music. here, and that improvement can be made terribly offended by this sort of cartoon S downfall of the major record labels. This isn’t much, but there’s room for two by Pontis, or the others in the MP3 player violence – I have a fairly firm grasp on Having portable MP3 playing hardware is cards to be loaded. Even so this gives a market. The minimum capacity for a useful what’s real and what isn’t – I am bothered Win part of the scenario, so I had great hopes maximum of 30 minutes of music, which is, player is about one hour – less is a waste of by a game that is so repetitive that even the ... Five copies of for the Pontis MPlayer 3. It didn’t match my as far as I’m concerned, useless. If you did time, especially if it takes so long to load cheap tricks of fast action and violence can’t Carmageddon II with expectations. There are serious flaws that want to increase its capacity, an additional music files. In the future, we should see keep me engaged. And that, ultimately, is Macworld Jackpot. Ring stop it from being a practical proposition. 16MB card will set you back an extra £30. players that use USB, which will be much the problem with Carmageddon 2. It’s just 0900 1010 252 before The music is held on a card much like The troubles don’t end here: before you faster for transferring music. Until then, Blood and guts the same old thing over and over again – August 31. Calls cost the kind of Flash card used in digital can listen, you must download it from your save your money. David Fanning A passer-by bites the dust, covering your car in blood. start the race, try to keep your barely 60 pence per minute.

Macworld AUGUST 1999 47

46 Macworld AUGUST 1999 reviews

See the best of Britain and pick the best route, and even the order in which to visit them. At the same time it will measure the mileage, fuel consumption and expenses allowance for the trip. There are some situations where Route 66 really looses the plot. For example one route I looked at directed me down a flight of stairs just off the Strand. Fortunately I know London well and this little faux pas wouldn’t really have me driving down stairs Route 66 Britain 99 like a scene from the Italian Job. However Distributor: Softline (0181 401 1234) I would consider it a bug because Route 66 Pros: Easy to make maps, find directions Going back to your routes can tell the difference between a real road and claim mileage expenses. Route 66 gets you anywhere in the UK – from anywhere. and a pedestrian zone. Cons: Can be a little slow; sometimes has quirky routes. better detail, right down to streets and Macworld’s buying advice Price: £25.50 back alleys. However, there are limitations There are other niggles, such as the lack of Star Rating: /7.8 on how you find the place you want. motorcycle settings, it includes only car and For example, you have the option to show truck preferences. But the package is good efore I get into this review I railway stations and parks but not smaller enough to let you forget these flaws. It does just want to say that despite this airports. There are other omissions. For the job better than I could in almost every B application’s flaws, everybody instance, stadiums are a perfect example case, and there are no maps to fold, no needs it. Everybody who travels, who gives of a place that many people tend to go to books to loose the page in. It really is directions, everyone who ever had a house every week, but none are listed as places indispensable. David Fanning party needs this program. It will replace of interest, not even Wembley. I know not every road map you ever had. It can direct every B&B or sports centre can be listed, you from any street in the country to any but Wembley Stadium should be there. Win other street in the country, mapping every Route 66 performs much better when ... One of five copies junction and listing every road on the way. you get to long distance travelling. City- of Route 66 with If you are familiar with the original to-city directions are excellent, and the Macworld Jackpot. Ring version of Route 66 you will know how pushpin feature lets you input regular 0900 1010 253 before easy it is to find your way from town- destinations. This would enable a travelling August 30. Calls cost to-town. The new version gives you even sales person to mark out groups of clients, 60 pence per minute.

Portable document formating The most visible effect of the new PostScript 3 engine is the new Prepress Options dialogue box, which lets you implement colour trapping when producing film. You can also preserve the original CMYK values in a PDF file, bypassing any modifications made by colour-management software installed in your system. Experienced users will see a revised Adobe Acrobat 4.0 interface that alters most menus and Publisher: Adobe (0181 606 4001) keyboard shortcuts, part of Adobe’s long- www.adobe.co.uk standing effort to impose a similar look- Pros: Some enhanced features, including the ability and-feel in each of its programs. Expect Minor improvement to simulate fonts and filter annotations by type to lose time getting used to this, Acrobat 4.0 features few must-have improvements. or creator. Fortunately, Acrobat’s revised interface Cons: Windows version offers key capabilities not on doesn’t usually get in the way. Our biggest One of the most powerful features of the Mac; numbering feature prevents printing. problem was figuring out how to create Acrobat technology is its ability to simulate Price: £159, Upgrade £59. thumbnail previews of images, which in the appearance of fonts that are not Star Rating: /7.8 Acrobat 3 was an option in the main menu. installed in your system. If the PDF In version 4.0, you access the feature document includes Gill Sans but that font fter slogging away for several through an easily overlooked palette menu is not on your Mac, Acrobat can still display years, Adobe Acrobat is now the in the Thumbnails pane or by control- a reasonably good approximation. A undisputed standard for electronic clicking on the same pane. Control-clicking Acrobat Distiller 4.0 also makes it easier document production, whether on the Web, is an action few Macintosh users have to create PDF files for specific purposes by via CD-ROM, or in print publishing. Version adopted, unlike savvy Windows users. adding canned settings optimized for screen 4.0’s new interface masks a variety of Some features have been renamed but display, printer output, and prepress output. moderate improvements. Few have a are otherwise the same: Notes are now You simply pick the setting from a pop-up “Wow!” factor, but some will make your Annotations, and the Scan OCR function, menu, and the program generates a PDF life a little easier. for converting scanned documents to file with the appropriate options. You can The biggest change is under the skin: editable text files, is now Paper Capture. also create your own settings and associate Acrobat 4.0 uses a new version of the Acrobat Exchange, the core application in them with a folder so any documents Portable Document Format (PDF) that’s the package, is now simply Acrobat. dropped in automatically convert to based on the PostScript 3 language. This Beyond these changes, Acrobat 4.0 feels PDF files. That’s handy. will have little effect on most users, but it like a minor upgrade. There are many nice When editing text, you can now change should be a boon in prepress operations as touches, but you won’t find any “must- the font and type size, although you’re still PostScript 3 output devices come to be used have” additions, but several moderate limited to working on one line of text at a more widely. enhancements stand out. continues page 50

48 Macworld AUGUST 1999 reviews

time. You can also edit embedded bitmap print the entire document. Acrobat’s Fit Text Macworld’s buying advice and EPS files by double-clicking on them; To Selection option, a good idea introduced Acrobat’s price – £159 for a new copy Acrobat launches an apt program, such as in Acrobat 3.0, still works awkwardly. This and £59 for an upgrade – means its easy Photoshop or Illustrator. feature squeezes or stretches revised text for most users to upgrade, even given its Despite the improvements, there are to fill the space of the original text. But moderate enhancements. If you’re a Web, some flaws. For example, the ability to you must select this option before entering CD-ROM, or print publisher using Acrobat renumber pages would seem handy when text – you can’t use it once you’ve started files, there’s no compelling reason not to you’re merging several PDF documents. typing, even if replacing an entire line. upgrade. Unfortunately, these page numbers display Acrobat 4.0’s biggest flaw is what’s And if you’re happy with Acrobat only within the Thumbnails view, not on the lacking: the Windows version includes 3.0, there’s little reason to jump quickly actual pages. several useful features that aren’t currently to version 4.0, at least not until the Mac You can also use non-Arabic numerals available for the Mac, including the ability version adds what Windows users are – such as i, ii, and iii – to number pages in to import Web pages. Adobe says it plans getting. the table of contents or in other front or to offer these features to Macintosh users Take your time, since the gratification in back material. However, you can’t print as free plug-ins, most likely beginning with making the switch is not tremendous. pages numbered in this manner unless you the Web-capture utility. Galen Gruman

Affordable archiving format, but it has failed to capture peoples imagination. I suspect this is about to change because, as an archiving format, it is unbeatable. Cartridges can hold 5.2GB of data, and at just £25, they’re a bargain. The ReMix drive offers extra flexibility for the DVD-RAM drive by adding a quad speed CD-RW – meaning you can retain compatibility with older archives. ReMix DVD-RAM/ Even if used for reading data the ReMix offers an unprecedented range of CD-RW compatible media. DVD-RAM is supported, Your flexable friend Manufacturer: Mac & More plus other flavours of DVD – though to The ReMix features a CD-RW as well as a DVD-RAM. (01442 870 300) watch DVD-Video you do need an MPEG2 Pros: Infinite capacity; tons of flexibility. card – and all CD types are supported as Macworld’s buying advice Cons: Could conflict with your colour scheme. well. I hope to seethe DVD-RAM format become Price: £599. This all adds up to a perfect machine more popular, because it is well suited to Star Rating: /8.5 for a busy studio or pre-press environment, increasingly larger file sizes. If you only where compatibility with a wide selection need the DVD-RAM part it is also available he ReMix range has always joined of formats means less headaches all around. as a single drive. Buying the whole ReMix complimentary technologies in one Also the archives produced whether CD-RW package gives you compatibility with all T box, and this model continues this. or DVD-RAM are flexible enough for you to major archiving options well into the DVD-RAM is a cheap and fast optical change things without wasting a disk. future. David Fanning

Speed-bumped G3 was a new, faster, bigger and better one just we must be grown up about this and take around the corner. Now all that guesswork it on the chin, because what are the is a thing of the past, there is always a alternatives. A few years ago there were bigger, faster, better machine just around people actually suggesting that technology the corner. The 450MHz G3 offers a was developing too fast, and measures to relatively modest improvement in speed. stop this and the associated depreciation The 12.5 per cent increase in processor of computer values. No, we should just be speed is somewhat diluted when factored thankful that we are getting something PowerMac G3 450MHz in with the other speed critical parts of the extra for no extra money. Manufacturer: Apple (0800 783 4846) computer. When we test a Mac we test disk www.apple.com/uk speed and the video card to give an overall Macworld’s buying advice Pros: Faster for the same money. score. The score is divided three ways, Don’t let processor envy upset you, just Cons: Only slightly faster. processor, disk and video. The 450MHz G3 buy the fastest machine you can afford Price: £1,699 only affects the processor speed so only one when you need a machine. It is a good idea Star Rating: /8.7 third of the score changes, making for an to buy just after a speed bump as you may almost unnoticeable overall improvement. get an extra few months as the fastest pple has released a 450MHz version I understand that the 450MHz G3 is a machine in town. If you can’t afford to be of the G3: a speed bump for no depressing thing for people who have just so cutting edge don’t worry, you most likely A extra money. Once, buying a Mac bought the 400MHz version. It’s never good wouldn’t notice the 50MHz difference. was risky, because you never new if there to see a new model for the same price. But David Fanning Speed bumps Best results in test. Longer bars and higher scores are better. Overall Performance Processor Mix Disk Mix Graphics Mix Power Macintosh G3 450MHz 2,153 1,466 1,340 3,588 Power Macintosh G3 400MHz 1,933 1,408 1,310 3,019

50 Macworld AUGUST 1999 reviews reviews

Music composing for all Colourful-USB mouse slip the Unitrap shell over the top, and snap it into place. The style of plastic used to make the mouse, matches the iMac and the blue-&-white G3’s style, preventing the UniTrap looking too alien to the new Macs – as some third-party iMac extras do. A selection of coloured buttons are also included to match your flavoured iMac. You can click on different coloured button Sibelius 1.2 UniTrap Mouse every day, if you’re so inclined. Snap-on Publisher: Sibelius Software (01223 302 765) Manufacturer: Contour Design strawberry-, blueberry-, tangerine-, lime- Pros: Very fast; flexi-time intelligent-MIDI input; Pros: Cheap alternative to buying a new USB mouse. or grape-coloured buttons come with the Colour co-ordinated scanning; excellent print quality. Matches well in plastic texture and colours to new basic cover – letting you swap them around UniTrap’s mouse comes in five colours to match Cons: Chord symbols. iMacs and G3s. to your hearts content. your iMac. Price: £599 Cons: Slighty heavier than other USB Once fitted over the original round Star Rating: /9.3 alternative mice. mouse, the light add-on cover is smooth Macworld’s buying advice Price: £11 to touch and comfortable to use. The If you’re looking for an improvement to or the past few years, music-notation Star Rating: /6.9 larger button section increases control the original mouse without shelling out software has been judged by the and, although the original round mouse too much cash, UniTrap will suit admirably, F Sibelius standard, accepted as the he ergonomic Unitrap mouse is completely covered up, this does not especially if you prefer something a most advanced and comprehensive system cover disguises the shape of your increase the width of the mouse. The bit more fun. For additional ergonomic available. Glowing reviews from composers, T ‘hamburger-like’ mouse so that it mouse and cover are a little heavier to handling and comfort, it is perfect, and claims that it “may soon transform the very resembles a traditional mouse. All you move, although those of us with larger looks strangely snail-like parked next to nature of composition” had Macintosh users do is carefully snap off the two blue plastic hands will find it much more comfortable your keyboard. shrugging their shoulders and changing pieces on the side of the blue/white mouse, to manipulate than the small round mouse. Gillian Robertson the subject, as it was originally only Know the score available only on the Acorn platform. A Sibelius looks great on screen, but it comes into its own when a score is printed.The need of many composers to see their work on paper is satisified with gorgeous-looking notes. Windows version followed and now it has iMac video-capture package content, they will also want to host their and begin. Digitizing video onto your iMac finally arrived for the Mac, updated from rethink themselves when you add a note, A complaint about previous versions own Web sites. The lack of PCI expansion will allow you to modify filters, and then scratch, and not a moment too soon. filling blank sections with the correct rests, of Sibelius was that it was too clumsy slots has, so far, prevented the use of video- distribute them on CD, the Web or via The manual is clear, concise and witty. not moving notes to places where they are when it came to adding chords. Unlike capture cards for getting video information email. You can do this with VideoShop, the It caters for people who have used other not wanted. Instruments are automatically scorewriters such as Encore, it does not onto the iMac. XLR8’s InterView video- free software provided. QuickTime can also scorewriters before, but also for complete transposed in the score, but play back guess at them, which can be scary. But capture package for iMacs and USB Power be used to edit, adjust and convert movie beginners – without a hint of patronization. remains in concert pitch. even so putting them in seems a little Mac G3s plugs this gap. Interview will files for publishing on the Web. You simply Input is either by MIDI or directly on bit fiddly. allow you to capture in real-time – select the required sound and video settings to the page. A few MIDI glitches made me Know the score There appears to be no real book- 320-x-240-pixel movies or 640-x-240-pixel and then, in VideoShop, open the Digitizing start with writing the tune note by note. It Sibelius was created for the composer who chord symbols, such as triangles and InterView movies. window, start your video tape and view was easy, if different from my previous works with a written score as the primary crossed circles, but with the range of styles Manufacturer: Interex (01923 266 400) The InterView package is easy to set the preview. When ready, press record and software. But within a few minutes, I was composition tool, not as an add-on to a and fonts available, I expect this could be Pros: Affordable and easy-to-use, full software, up – the manual takes you through the when finished, the captured clips are stored on my way. sequencing program. easily customized – and this is a very small VideoShop version 4 included free. (£89 to upgrade software installation. Once you’ve got in QuickTime format ready for viewing or There are no scroll bars – slow and However, this software also incorporates whinge in the light of all the other benefits. to latest version 4.5) the system and software drivers set up editing in VideoShop. The tutorial and tedious in other programs. A mini screen a totally new feature called Flexi-time. This Cons: Not for professional video editors. all you do is plug in the InterView devices manual will show you how to get the in the corner – called the navigator – “intelligent real time MIDI input system”, Macworld’s buying advice Price: £99 and run the set-up checker – InterReView. most from all the features in VideoShop allows you to move to any point that allows you to record to a click that There are many other useful features: Star Rating: /8.7 The hardware device comprises of in the score instantly. You feel like you moves with you, so that a slight rubato alphabetic input of notes, undo and a small black box with a USB connector Macworld’s buying advice are shuffling real pages on your desk. will not result in a miasma of tied redo as far back as you want, saving files hose of us new to the Internet and on one end and a composite and S-Video As a cheap and simple-to-use add-on for Moving staves, or any other change, demisemiquavers across the page. This directly as a Web page for publishing on impressed by the wide range of data – higher quality picture – input ports a USB Mac, InterView is great for getting reformats the score in less than a second. does away with the restriction of quantizing the Internet, writing in several different T delivery formats available, such as at the other. Once you’ve installed all the your home-movies or corporate video Changing pitch and note values is simple everything and is a marvellous development voices on the same stave – they’ve thought audio, video, image and text, will not only software, you simply plug it in to any video digitized into an online format. and, once you understand the order, even for players who might sway a little in the of everything. want to see other people’s multimedia source, such as a digital camera or VCR, Gillian Robertson simpler using the on-screen keypad. wind of creativity. I have to mention the sexiest part Copying, repeating and other highly Playback also has the human of this delicious program and that is boring processes are painless. You’re musician in mind, giving you a range of its relationship to paper. The makers iMac swivel-stand and hub but they can’t be used for networking. encouraged to learn the keyboard expressiveness from Meccanico – literally of Sibelius understand the not-so-hidden The odd one is the parallel port – a port commands and put the mouse on playing what’s written – to the slightly paper fetishism of some composers, and usually only found in PC peripherals. This the floor so that you won’t be tempted to hysterical sounding Molto espress which, offer you a range of paper textures and means that you should, potentially, be able use it. This is really great advice, because I suspect, should be treated with great colours on the screen, inviting you to to use old PC printers, but that may not constructing a score of whatever size is a care. It can swing, jive and probably touch and feel. be as easy as it sounds. Finding the correct long business, so anything that saves time boogie as well. Naturally, the printed score is drivers may well be troublesome. is a plus. A range of plug-ins is also available gorgeous, and when you have it in your Aesthetics is another issue.If you have including PhotoScore Lite that can scan hand it satisfies the need to see your the older Bondi Blue iMac you’re in luck. Bar talk in printed music and read it intelligently. work beautifully expressed in the mystical iDock But if you have the newer fruity flavours, The program is full of well-thought out It can then be manipulated like any other language of notation. Dorota Kotz Manufacturer: New Motion (IMC, 01344 871 329) it may clash. The manufacturer of the iDock elements. For example, when you assign document – transposed, aand parts Pros: Handy for people with older peripherals. as I would like. On the back of the stand has solved this problem by making a clear a stave to a particular instrument this gets extracted. Cons: It’s the wrong colour for new iMacs.z there is a host of sockets for almost version, available later this year. automatically routed to its GM (General Currently, this feature is available as Win Price: £129 everything you could want. There is MIDI) number and plays back the right a download from the Sibelius Website, ... One of two copies Star Rating: /7.1 a USB hub with one upstream and three Macworld’s buying advice sound without having to set it up. www.sibelius.com, but the full version will of Sibelius with downstream ports, two Geoport serial If you need a hub or a serial port, and If you score a note too high or too low be on sale soon. This represents a massive Macworld Jackpot. Ring he iDock is a weird beast, combining ports and, strangely, a parallel port. The also want to swivel your iMac, this is for for that instrument it will show up in red advance in the technology, and only a 0900 1010 254 before all kinds of iMac connectivity in a hub makes perfect sense, though more you. If you need more than one of the instead of blue or black, saving you that respectful silence will do as musicians begin August 31. Calls cost T swivel stand for your iMac. It allows ports would be nice. The serial ports are iDock’s features it could be a good deal. embarrassing moment in rehearsal! Bars to realise what this will mean for them. 60 pence per minute. a degree of swivel, though not as much handy for people using older peripherals, David Fanning

52 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 53 reviews

Publishing database facilities for print and Web. columns, text inset, frame style, alignment CatBase revolves around the relational – the list is almost endless. set-up between its three main tables: The next step is to decide what each preview Companies, Products and Product Details. output paragraph consists of. Some of these When adding information for each will be Style Sheets – such as a company company, a further table comes into play name and address; simple punctuation (Contacts) and likewise for Products – such as a line feed or tab; a formula or (Categories). Data can be imported in the calculation; fixed text or a picture. The Image-manipulation market leader standard three formats of tab-delimited, last item tends to cause many problems CatBase comma separated or fixed length, so with data output as, in QuarkXPress, it Publisher: CatBase Software (0700 228 2273) supporting a variety of existing sources. requires an XTension called Xtags (£175, www.catbase.com While you could start from scratch, Digital Toolbox, 0181 961 6622) whose Pros: Complete catalogue-publishing package; designing a database from the fields command-set is rather difficult to use. hides the complexities of relational databasing upwards, it is simpler to zap all records In keeping with the general ethos of the from the user; comprehensive set of export from an existing file and to rename program, CatBase hides such complexities, functions; excellent documentation. standard fields as required. In this allowing you to set frame details and then Photoshop 5.5 Cons: Some anomalies with standard respect, a project can be up and running call in an existing picture. The final result Mac keyboard commands. very quickly. is an export file that flows seamlessly into Publisher: Adobe (0181 606 4001) Price: Single-User, £695; Multi-User (two a DTP or Web program, requiring minimal www.adobe.co.uk workstations), £1,795; LE (1,000 records per Exporting information further tweaking. Pros: Excellent Save for Web feature; professional table maximum), £395. Getting data into a database is the easy CatBase offers integration with a standard masking tools; integrated with latest Star Rating: /9.1 part; creating an output template so that number of existing products, each of version of ImageReady for Web processing. minimal work is required once imported which can be purchased as an optional Cons: ImageReady integration slightly cobbled- he Mac platform is reasonably into the publishing program is a totally extra. The 4DWrite word processing together; you pay for ImageReady even if you don’t well catered for in the database different problem. In this department, plug-in (£95; ACI, 01625 536 178) can need the Web functionality. T department – from the evergreen CatBase excels and provides full create emails, faxes and mail-merged Price: £425; (upgrades – £75 from v.5; £119 from v.4). FileMaker Pro through to the heavyweight QuarkXPress, PageMaker and Multi-Ad documents; the FaxExpress plug-in (£50; 4th Dimension. Sometimes, a particular Creator2 support for print, HTML for Web Glenwarne, 01628 667 702) can send faxes lthough Photoshop has long been aspect of business requires a dedicated and RTF (Rich Text Format) for any other directly from the database. There is also the image-manipulation package solution. This may be as simple as a applications. built-in support for Indextension (£99; A of choice for print designers, it’s CD-cataloguing program: it would not be Database output often consists of CatBase, 0700 228 2273), an indexing less obviously a choice for Web designers. Save for Web difficult for a novice to use FileMaker Pro a repetitive set of data. For example, XTension for QuarkXPress, and OCR While Macromedia Fireworks has steamed Web designers will find the new Save For Web feature in Photoshop 5.5 extremely powerful.The 4-Up window to design a database for such a task. But a catalogue may have a company’s name (Optical Character Recognition) that comes ahead in the past couple of years with fully displays four versions of a graphic, along with estimated download times at different modem speeds. take a more complex scenario, and the and details followed by a list of its available bundled with Xerox TextBridge 8 (£69; featured image-creation and Web- desire to ‘hide’ the nuts and bolts of products. CatBase uses Style Sheets to Digital Toolbox, 0181 961 6622). optimization facilities, Photoshop’s claim What that basically means is that Photoshop produced results comparable to those of databasing from the user, and a far higher define all aspects of how information will More exciting is the fact that CatBase to the soul of the Web community has 5.5 has been integrated with the latest high-end proprietary pre-press systems. level of expertise is required. CatBase has export. For QuarkXPress, this includes font can be run as a completely self-contained rested on a handful of export plug-ins. version of Adobe’s Web-based graphics Where the Extract feature provides been developed in 4D to provide a complete size, style and colour, tracking, baseline Web server. This adds significantly to the But Photoshop has over 80 per cent of creation and export tool, ImageReady 2.0. professional quality masking, the new databasing solution for publishing shift, scaling, indents, leading, drop caps value of the package. the digital image-manipulation market Eraser tools work as a quick-and-dirty catalogues, directories, or any other projects – in essence, every paragraph function that worldwide, and Adobe isn’t going to Grafted on alternative. The Erase Background tool that handle the relational side of companies would usually be set manually. Text box Macworld’s buying advice cede market share without a fight. Actually, perhaps ‘integrated’ is putting it effectively works as a colour-specific eraser: and their products. It also provides export creation – anchored and unanchored – with CatBase Software has gone to great lengths The new ‘Web radical’ Photoshop 5.5, too charitably: ImageReady isn’t integrated set the Sample drop-down to Once, and to ensure that the user interface is as due for release in August this year, aims with Photoshop so much as grafted onto it. it erases the first colour you click on, or set straightforward as possible. Each window to provide mixed-media and Web designers At the bottom of the toolbar, you get a it to Continuous and it erases not only the is of a uniform nature with standard icons, with “the first integrated toolset for toggle switch between ImageReady and first colour you click on, but also any others and small, floating palettes are used for designing and printing images for the Web”. Photoshop; clicking the relevant icon opens over which you linger too long. This last menus. Neat and easy to work with, though your current file in the other application. is slightly counter-intuitive – it’s difficult full support for the return key to close It’s all part of Adobe’s plan to make it so to tell when you’ve sampled another colour windows would have been nice – and easy to switch between Adobe software to erase by accident. The new Magic Eraser ⌘-w turns the Web Server off. that we’ll never want to use anything else. removes entire swathes of adjoining/non- There are two schools of thought The bad news, though, is ImageReady adjoining colour in a single click, like a regarding databasing and catalogues. The 2.0 will not be made available as a separate combined Magic-Wand-and-Delete facility. first is that, once data has been exported, software in its own right. If you have any further changes are made to the DTP ImageReady 1.0, you’ll be able to buy Fractional improvement document with a substantial update Photoshop 5.5, including ImageReady 2.0, The Type tool dialogue box now has a requiring a further export. CatBase is of for the same price as an existing Photoshop Fractional Widths checkbox, which makes this variety. The second is that the database 5.0x user upgrading to 5.5 (£75). A good a fractionally better job of Photoshop’s should remain permanently linked to the deal for ImageReady users. But the flip side sometimes bizarre kerning and tracking. DTP document so changes to data cause of the coin is that if you’re an upgrading There’s also an underline and some faux an immediate update to the document. Photoshop user, you pay for ImageReady bold and italic effects. Most useful of all Such software is inevitably far more whether you want it or not – a needless is the drop-down menu specifying degrees expensive – and given the export expense for non-Web designers. of anti-aliasing – lifted straight from functionality of CatBase, little alteration To sugar the pill, Adobe has added some ImageReady – which can be used to great should be required once data has been impressive new features to Photoshop’s core effect to improve the legibility of on-screen exported. functionality. Probably the most significant text, particularly on smaller font sizes. See the full 50MB demo on our cover of these is the new Extract feature, which Other new features include Contact CD, along with third-party XPress XTension offers excellent masking capabilities. Extract Sheet, which prints thumbnails of all the demos and full documentation. If you’re uses a marker-pen tool to roughly mark the graphics in a specified folder: anyone with involved in the publishing of databased edge of the object you want to mask, and a digital camera will find this handy. The information, spend some time with this Sliced veg then define the area to protect. Tests of the Web Photo Gallery creates thumbnails of Deceptive looks demo – and be prepared to contact CatBase ImageReady’s Slice tools allow everything to be done Extract feature on pictures of hair – the graphics in any folder you point it at, plus Behind the standardized dialogues and floating palettes for menus hides a powerhouse database for publishers. for a full version. Vic Lennard directly on the image, without a dialogue box in sight. average Photoshop user’s nightmare – continues page 56

54 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 55 preview

all the HTML to place them on a Web page where they’re linked to full-size versions of themselves. A new Color Fill layer effect offers the ability to change the colour of a layer’s contents without losing the original colour – useful for quick rollover creation. Finally, the new Art History brush creates some interesting painterly effects – perhaps as a sign that with the integration of ImageReady, Adobe is moving towards the inclusion of drawing/painting tools in Photoshop? Let’s hope so: if Adobe is serious about Photoshop’s chances in the Web-design area, it needs tools for creating graphics as well as manipulating them. Web designers will find the new Save For Web feature in Photoshop 5.5 extremely powerful. The 4-Up window displays four versions of a graphic optimised using different tolerances on-screen, along with estimated download times at different modem speeds. Or you can do the whole optimization process the other way around by specifying a file size and letting Bad hair day Photoshop choose the best possible settings. Photoshop 5.5’s new Eraser tools provide a high standard of image masking even for difficult images like hair. Using the Color Table’s Lock feature, you can protect certain colours so they ‘button shiny’, ‘water glass’ – besides the package before risking it with its giant- don’t get lost during dithering. There’s facility to define your own styles. And there killer. There are features like layer effects also a very handy Preview feature that are some easy-to-use controls for creating that appear within the layer, drag-&-drop can handle a preview for Windows gamma rollovers and GIF animations that can work colour from swatches, and the ability to and browser dither; plus an ICC profile with separate layers or layer effects to edit text directly within the image without compensation feature that previews images create rollover states or animation frames. recourse to a dialogue box. In fact, there with embedded ICC profiles. A Web Snap ImageReady 2.0’s slicing tools are out of seems to have been a concerted effort to feature can be set to a percentage figure: this world. Draw one slice and ImageReady get rid of as many dialogue boxes as the higher the percentage, the more colours will chop up the rest of the image to fit it. possible: more operations are done via are forced to snap to a Web-safe palette. Each slice can be given a name, a URL to floating palettes, such as the Layer Options Optimization settings can be saved and link to, a rollover state and an ALT string, palette that becomes a Layer Effects editing applied wholesale to other images, and The HTML for all of these is generated palette when a layer effect is selected. an optimized Web image can be previewed automatically along with the HTML to Features like these will presumably appear in a specified Web browser – or several reassemble the image. Slices of the same either in the shipped release of Photoshop – with just one click. image can be previewed as a composite 5.5 in August, or in Photoshop 6.0. The bundling of ImageReady and image, and saved as JPEG, GIF or PNG-8 or Photoshop has been underpinned with 24 files – and everything is done live on the Macworld’s buying advice some significant work on ImageReady 2.0. image without a dialogue box in sight. With the new masking features in Its creation and export tools are, thankfully, When exporting, ImageReady 2.0 can Photoshop 5.5, Adobe has clearly done its vastly improved over those of version 1.0, tag its own images on exporting HTML – best to include features that appeal to its which means that until it’s absorbed into which means that if you change an image’s core customers, and hence persuade them Photoshop properly, ImageReady can give attributes, you can use the Update HTML to upgrade even though they may not need Macromedia Fireworks 2.0 a brief-but- feature to get ImageReady to root around the Web functionality. But the main focus glorious run for its money. There’s a larger your HTML file and update the image tag of Photoshop 5.5 is Web tools, and if selection of tools in ImageReady 2.0 than accordingly. The Save Optimized As feature you’ve no use for those then the price in 1.0 – including an airbrush, a clone tool, even gives you the option to define how of the upgrade may not be justifiable. and a new shape tool that draws rectangles the HTML looks – the cases, indents and If, on the other hand, you are a Web or rounded-corner rectangles and fills line endings, plus the origin of image maps, designer, Photoshop 5.5 could be all them in one operation. ImageReady also empty cells and spacers. The Saving Files your Christmases rolled into one. has Photoshop’s Dodge and Smudge tools, Options dialogue box allows you to choose Karen Charlesworth and a Levels control; but there are no how all your image filenames are linked channels, which means no alpha masking and where the files are stored. You can’t facilities. You can have multiple, separate fault Adobe on user research – those two Win swatches, rather than having them all features alone are probably top of every ... One of five copies appear in one enormous swatch as in Web designer’s wish list. of Photoshop 5.5 with Photoshop 5.5. ImageReady 2.0’s interface is a step Macworld Jackpot. Ring Bad-taste bevelled button designers will ahead of Photoshop 5.5 – as if Adobe 0900 1010 255 before revel in the Styles palette, which contains has rolled out a set of experimental 31August. Calls cost 18 pre-defined styles – ‘floating plastic’, improvements on the non-mainstream 60 pence per minute

56 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Flat hunting Flat-panel monitors look good – and save on energy and space. By David Fanning

ike something straight out of a science-fiction movie, flat-panel monitors are a slick addition to any desktop. When they first appeared, LCD screens were an Lexpensive fashion item. It was difficult to justify buying them, because quality did not match price. Over the past three years, flat- panel prices have become reasonable – if not yet cheap. Quality has also improved, but there’s still a way to go. Here, we take a look at the current crop of flat-panel monitors and check out the latest developments in this fledgling technology. The models we examined are LCD-based, using similar technology to laptop screens. The main difference is size: the PowerBook screen measures 14.1-inches diagonally, while those we looked at go up to 18.1 inches. All bar one use a traditional analogue interface, the exception using new digital interface technology. There are some flat-panels smaller than 14-inches available, which many Macintosh and, for many people, unjustifiably users will find too cramped for creative large outlay. But why would you want Editors’ Choice uses. Currently, 18 inches is the largest a flat-panel monitor anyway? LCD flat-screen available; but other options, For most people, there’s no technical such as plasma screens, offer viewing areas justification for choosing a flat-panel 15-inches: Apple Studio Display as large as 40 inches. Unfortunately, they monitor over a CRT – it’s just a matter Macworld Rating /9.2 are usually unsuitable for computer use of aesthetics. Sadly, IT managers are In the 15-inch value stakes,there’s one model that’s far and away because the smallest available pixel size on notoriously unimpressed by upgrades that the best on price and features:the Apple Studio Display.It offers a plasma screen is much larger than with are based on aesthetics. But with more and a colour co-ordinated solution with software controls and even a either CRT or LCD monitors. The way more companies looking to become feng video input. plasma – or “gas plasma”, to give it its full shui-compliant, maybe flat-panels will be name – works is similar to neon-lighting considered a welcome improvement on technology. Each pixel is a tiny fluorescent office aesthetics. light, illuminated by a small electrical Realistically, flat-panels are most useful charge. The results are impressive, but for impressing clients. A presentation on more suited to television – which has a one will always impress, and a flat display relatively low resolution – than to up-close in a reception area gives the impression of computer work. Even if this didn’t put you a high-flying, high-tech company. Graphics off gas plasma screens, the price tag professionals usually get the pick of the certainly will: a 40-inch screen will set crop when it comes to new and impressive you back more than £10,000. equipment. It’s something of a turnaround LCD flat-panels cost considerably for the sales department – and the more than their CRT (cathode ray tube) receptionist – to be the natural recipients equivalents. A 15-inch LCD screen now of the latest computing goodies. For costs between £700 and £1,000. Although creative teams, quality is an issue with flat- similar to last year’s prices, quality does panels. Their colour fidelity is OK for most appear to have improved. things, but they are difficult to calibrate The larger sizes – more than 15 inches – to a high degree of accuracy. One of the are still very pricey. The cheapest 18-inch reasons for this is rather silly: the suction screen is just under £2,000 – a considerable continues page 62

Macworld AUGUST 1999 61 colour fidelity. In this regard, the rest of us resolution, most flat-panels are level- have nothing to lose by turning to a flat- pegging, unlike CRT monitors. panel model. In some ways, a flat-panel Another CRT variable not present with monitor actually beats the accuracy of LCD’s is the way size is measured. If you CRT monitors. take a look at a 17-inch CRT screen, you’ll Trinitron monitors have terrific contrast see that the diagonal measurement of the and the colour is good too, but they suffer image displayed is more like 15 inches. This from poor convergence. If you’re looking at is because manufacturers have traditionally a Trinitron or a Diamondtron monitor, take quoted the size of the glass tube rather than a look at the straight black line in the the visible image. Although an accepted corner of the screen. You will almost practise, this is an inaccurate measurement. certainly see that the top and bottom of the Fortunately, things are starting to change, line are shadowed by a blue or green tinge. with more monitors now also citing visible This is a symptom of misconvergence; the image. cup of the hardware calibration tools cathode rays are slightly off target. This It’s a relief to find that, in the world of Editors’ Choice damage the fragile LCD screen. Hardly an doesn’t happen with LCD panels as they flat-panels, what you’re told is what you insurmountable problem, I admit, but it don’t use cathode rays. get. When you buy a 15.1-inch screen you has affected the ability of manufacturers Another problem with traditional get a 15.1-inch viewable image. This isn’t Large: SGI 1600 SW to achieve perfect colour. monitors is their pincushion alignment because LCD manufacturers are especially Another factor is that data is translated – so-called because it’s the shape of the altruistic, rather that there’s no way they Macworld Rating /9.0 too many times before hitting the screen. image on the screen. Lines are often not can cook the vital stats. The larger-screened flat-panels are more difficult to quantify A traditional monitor is analogue, and uses straight and this can distort the picture. You Another key measurement from the than their smaller counterparts, but the SGI 1600SW offers pulsing magnets to direct the cathode ray. can adjust the pincushion, trapezoid, flare world of traditional monitors is refresh displays take into account design, as well Take a view exceptional value, even when you include the price of the LCD monitors address each pixel and other things, but often it makes things rate. But, because of the way LCD screens as the more tangible factors. It’s likely that, The Viewsonic VG180’s big screen looks great – but you digital-video card that’s needed. individually, and these are turned on or worse. The LCD panels don’t have this display images – and a feature called “soft when used with a Mac, most of these get basic controls for your money. off digitally. This becomes complicated, problem, because all pixels are arranged in decay” – a high refresh rate is unnecessary. screens would be plugged into a because the obvious way to control a digital straight lines. You get a perfect picture and A CRT with a high refresh rate, though, Power Mac G3. Almost all of the screens monitor is with a digital signal. The signal a perfect aspect-ratio every time. appears flicker free, at least when compared on offer, while not exactly clashing with starts out being digital, but because monitor to one with a lower refresh rate. LCD the G3, only offer a neutral grey case. outputs are analogue, flat-panel monitors Space race technology doesn’t suffer from flicker, The obvious exception is the Apple Studio require hardware to convert an analogue Also, the thinness of flat-panels is really because the light that illuminates the image Display and the Silicon Graphics screens. signal to digital again. helpful when you’re working in a confined is constant, rather than eminating from a The models tested can be split broadly Only one of the monitors tested – the space. Take a look at your current monitor cathode ray that quickly scans the screen. into two categories: smaller 1,024-x-768- Silicon Graphics model – has a digital input. and imagine what it would be like to regain pixel models; and larger models, which This requires a digital output from your all that desk space. Their space-friendliness Piles of style include the 1,280-x-1,024 and the Mac, supplied by a digital-video card. The has made flat-panels popular on City We had to look beyond numbers to learn 1,600-x-1,024-pixel resolutions. only problem with this is that the screen trading desks. Being able to keep an eye the real character of the screens tested. Of the smaller monitors, only one can take only a digital input, and video on two or three screens at once is a boon Design is more important with these screens – the Samsung SyncMaster 320 – is under cards with a digital output are as rare as to stock-market traders with limited space than with most. Apart from their price 15 inches. Although it performed well, it rocking horse poo. Luckily, we managed but almost unlimited cash. Three years ago, making them status symbols, they need wasn’t the cheapest flat-panel we tested. to get one from Formac, which has beaten when large flat-panels came in at between to look the part. Scores awarded to these continues page 64 even Silicon Graphics in launching a £3,000-£6,000, City traders were actually Mac-compatible digital-video card. That’s among the few buying them. assuming the one I have isn’t the only one Falling prices have changed all this, Flat panels: big, flat, and wide in existence. (For an in-depth look at the as office designers realize that flat-screens Formac card, take a look at the review of allow more people to be squeezed into a it on page 44). given space. More bums on seats, more COMPANY PRODUCT STAR RATINGS PRICE SIZE RESOLUTION COMMENT DISTRIBUTOR CONTACT Nice price If you’re in the minority, and rely on revenue. Simple. When EasyJet opened its (INCHES) (PIXELS) The Belinea 10 15 10 may not be the best looking a colour-calibrated monitor, a flat-panel online booking office recently, it was kitted monitor – but at £749, only the LG 500LC, and Apple’s monitor will not be able to match your out entirely with LCD screens. LCD screens Apple Studio Display /9.2 £699 15 1,024-x-768 Great design,price and colour coordination Apple 0870 600 6010 Studio Display cost less. also generate less heat. If you take a busy Belinea 10 15 10 /8.2 £749 15 1,024-x-768 Cheap,but can’t beat Apple MaxData 01344 788 900 office like Macworld’s, which is crammed Eizo L630 /6.9 £959 15 1,224-x-768 Too pricey for a 15-inch screen PDS 01483 719 500 with 21-inch monitors, the amount of heat that is generated very quickly is amazing. Eizo L660 /7.8 £2,299 18 1,280-x-1,024 Looks good but basic design PDS 01483 719 500 This is all wasted power – worsened by the Hitachi CML 150X8 /7.2 £929 15 1,024-x-768 Good but pricey Hitachi 01628 643 307 need for year-round air conditioning. So, Iiyama Pro Lite /8.1 £785 15 1,024-x-768 Fully featured with USB hub and speakers Iiyama 01438 745 482 if you work for an environmentally aware Iiyama Pro Lite /8.1 £815 15 1,024-x-768 Also with USB hub and speakers Iiyama 01438 745 482 company, you can always try playing the energy-conservation card. LG 500 LC /8.3 £680 15.1 1,024-x-758 The cheapest but not the smallest LG 01753 500 400 Now down to the nitty gritty. In testing Mitsubishi LSA810W /8.2 £1,995 18.1 1,280-x-1,024 Good value,big screen Mitsubishi 0800 731 1222 the screens, we took a number of factors NEC MultiSync 1810 /8.0 £2,472 18 1,280-x-1,024 Great,large screen and price NEC 0181 752 3535 into account. Resolution on an LCD screen is pre-set. You can interpolate different NEC MultiSync 1500M /7.8 £824 15 1,024-x-768 Looks good but expensive NEC 0181 752 3535 resolutions on some models, but it’s rarely Samsung SyncMaster 320 TFT /7.4 £770 13.3 1,024-x-768 Smaller but not cheaper Samsung 0181 391 0168 a good idea. The smaller screens use a Samsung SyncMaster 700 TFT /8.0 £2,140 17 1,280-x-1,024 Good looking,good value Samsung 0181 391 0168 1,024-x-768-pixel resolution, and the larger models use 1,280-x-1,024 pixels. SGI 1600 SW /9.0 £1,810 17.3 1,600-x-1,024 Sex on a stick – high resolution,but low price SGI 01324 614 300 The Silicon Graphics monitor didn’t Sony CPD L150 /6.8 £999 15 1,024-x-768 Sleek design,big price Sony 0990 424 424 conform to either of these resolutions, ViewSonic VG 180 /76 £2,197 18 1,280-x-1,024 Attractive,but suffers from basic spec ViewSonic 0800 833 648 opting instead for a wide-screen aspect ViewSonic VP1509 /7.7 £859 15 1,024 x 768 Expensive for a basic design ViewSonic 0800 833 648 ratio. This means that, with regard to

62 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 63 That honour goes to the £680 LG 500LC, landscape display. In the past, this was a which was also significantly better. At £90 help, as monitors were extremely expensive. less than the Samsung, it offers great value. Now, the feature is less relevant, more of But in the 15-inch value stakes, there’s a novelty. ViewSonic and NEC also offer 18- one model that’s far and away the best on inch models, but the most striking of the price and features: the Apple Studio larger monitors was the Silicon Graphics Display. It offers a colour-co-ordinated 1600SW. solution with software controls and even a Once again, the first thing that makes video input. But the most amazing thing is an impression is its sleek design. But it’s not that it’s the second cheapest screen – at just just a matter of looks that sets this screen £699. There are a number of reasons why apart. Its interface is digital, which makes the Studio Display puts the other models for an image untainted by analogue at any in the shade. The most obvious thing is its stage. This does require a video card that design – another classic Jetson-esque piece can support a digital signal, so you should from Apple’s Industrial Design department. factor-in an extra £200 for the Formac card. Its colour scheme has been updated from The resolution is 1,600-x-1,024 pixels, bondi blue to blueberry blue, to match the which makes for a wide screen-aspect ratio. new G3. It still retains the excellent control This is ideal for 3D modelling, or video software, which gives the user a control editing or any software that uses floating panel to access all the adjustment controls palettes liberally. The image is as crisp and usually found on the front of the monitor. sharp as can be, and the whole package is With fewer buttons to interrupt its design, high-performance. Although it’s smaller this makes for cleaner lines. Its video input than the other large screens, the 1600SW’s is also a great bonus, as it allows you to 17.3-inch screen is put to good use. Ignore play video directly on the screen without the slight colour-co-ordination faux pas even the need for your Mac. Frankly, the and this is currently unbeatable in its class. Apple Studio Display would still get the It’s hardly a secret that Apple has a new Editors’ Choice if it cost an extra £200. flat-panel monitor up its sleeve, and that This isn’t to say that the other 15-inch it’s likely to ship soon. Dubbed the Cinema screens are without worth, for many have Display, it’s likely to share many of the excellent extra features, such as speakers characteristics of the SGI model, including or built-in USB hubs. However, if you were its digital interface. If the Studio Display to need these, you could always buy them is anything to go by, it will be unbeatable separately – and still save money. on price and features – and even colour There’s a marked price-hike between the co-ordination. We’ll have to wait and see. 15-inchers and the larger models. The most expensive 15-inch screen is the Sony LPD Macworld buying advice. L150, at £999. The cheapest larger screen In the smaller-screen bracket, the Apple is £800 extra. The increased acreage does Studio Display offers the best features for make a big difference for working with the best price. images – although even the 15-inch screens With the larger screens, the SGI 1600SW don’t feel cramped, because they are the is exceptional value, even with the price Play it again, Samsung equivalent of 17-inch CRTs. The 18-inch of the digital card that’s needed. As for the The 17-inch, £2,140 Samsung 700 TFT is a good-looking models are the equivalent of 19-inch CRT other models, some makers seem to still be monitor and thinner and better designed than most. screens. selling to city brokers with deep pockets. As you might expect, the more expensive If you’re prepared to wait to see what large screens are increasingly likely to boast Apple has to offer with the Cinema Display, additional features. For example, the Iiyama you may get a pleasant surprise. But there’s not only includes speakers and USB but also no guarantee, because of the lack of official pivots. This feature has been around for line on this product. My advice is look out quite a while. Years ago, Radius had a for it during July’s Macworld Expo in New 15-inch Pivot monitor. Like the Iiyama, the York. If it doesn’t appear then, buy the screen could be tilted to give a portrait or SGI 1600SW instead. MW

Plastic fantastic he future holds ever-more nifty solutions is the fact that the plastic used can be be low-cost, because of the single substrate T to avoid the lumbering hulks of CRT flexible.This means that a portable Mac used. LCD panels require two substrates monitors. One of the most exciting and high screen could have a roller-blind action to which must be aligned – a more expensive tech inventions in the imaging field is LEPs extend the display. On a larger scale, you process. (Light Emitting Polymers). could have moving adverts on pillar-box Similar to the electroluminescent display This is a simple sheet of plastic with style hoardings, or curving around buildings. are field-emission displays (FEDs) in which almost magical properties.When an electric There are other technologies that are in each pixel is a essentially a miniature CRT. signal is passed through the plastic it lights various stages of development, though which Colours are displayed sequentially – red up, with no LED or CRT gas plasma, the plastic ones actually make it to market is really green and blue – and the soft decay itself glows. It’s still two or three years away anybody’s guess. characteristics produce a flicker-free image. from the public domain, but concept Electroluminescent display technology is However, a single vacuum tube is needed for monochrome-screens have already been similar to LCD, except that, rather than a normal CRT screen; for a FED screen, you demonstrated. backlighting, each pixel actually glows. If such would need 400,000 vacuum tubes.This may One of the most intriguing features of LEPs a display was to be mass-produced it would prove their downfall in mass-production.

64 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Millennium Mac

The coming year will see big changes to the Mac OS. By Stephan Somogy

he year 2000 is coming fast. Depending on who you ask, background applications. These programs run invisibly on your Mac, the dawn of the next millennium will either mark a new altering its behaviour without making dangerous modifications to golden age – or the beginning of the end. It’s easy to the Mac OS itself. The downside to the move away from extensions dismiss all that talk as hype and hysteria. Except for one is that, if you use old software that needs extensions to function thing – when it comes to the Mac OS, it’s actually true. In properly, you may not be able to use that software with Mac OS X. theT next year, the Macintosh will undergo the most radical change in A different Finder For all the talk about OS X’s radical its history. The foundations of the Mac OS will be replaced by a changes, it’s still called “Mac” and it still has a Finder you use to view system that’s much more powerful, stable, and efficient than the one files and folders. However, this new Finder is being completely we use today. In July’s Macworld, we looked at the news coming out rewritten by Apple. At the Developers’ Conference, Steve Jobs and of Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Here, we’ve assembled software chief Avie Tevanian showed off a Finder interface that everything we know into one guide to the future of the Mac OS – looked a lot like the interface found in Mac OS X Server, Rhapsody, assuming, of course, that we all make it past the fateful stroke of and the Next OS (see the screen shot “Next Finder?” overleaf). midnight on December 31, 1999. This new File Viewer is a multi-columned window that lets you view several levels of a hard drive (or items across a network) In the year 2000 simultaneously. When you click on a folder in a column list, the Early next year, Macintosh users will sit down at their desks, press contents of that folder are automatically displayed in the next the power keys on their computers, and load an operating system column to the right. You can continue to move deeper and deeper that is reminiscent of the one we use today – but underneath it all into your folder hierarchy with this approach and can quickly move will be something unlike anything they have ever seen. This isn’t to back up to higher levels – via a horizontal scroll bar set just above the say that in the year 2000 all of us will be using Mac OS X – Apple is columns. You can also drag favourite items into a shelf at the top of also continuing to revise Mac OS 8, with a major update, code- the window for quick access. named Sonata, due to appear this autumn. But while Mac OS 8 will It sounds like an intriguing addition to the Finder – but there’s a be there for older Power Macs, eventually all new Macs will come catch. Jobs and Tevanian suggested that the new File Viewer wasn’t with OS X, and owners of G3-based Power Macs will be able to buy an addition to the traditional Finder interface but rather a an upgrade to OS X. replacement of it. They received a flurry of criticism from many Starting up The first thing you’ll likely notice when starting up members of the Mac programming community. Mac OS X is that the icons you usually see marching across the Why? Because the new File Viewer is a far cry from the interface bottom of your screen have disappeared. That’s because extensions, that we have become expert in over the past 15 years. This new those bits of software that load at start-up to customize your Mac, browser may have some appeal for novice users, because it’s will be obsolete under Mac OS X. Extensions latch on to parts of the probably easier to understand the geography of a hard drive when Mac OS directly, and so contribute a great deal to the OS’s instability. using the browser metaphor than when navigating the Mac’s classic For several years, Apple has encouraged software developers to list and icon views. But the browser becomes much more

LEE HASLER move to a different model for extending the Mac OS: faceless continues page 68

Macworld AUGUST 1999 67 Mac OS X, the system essentially erects walls between all the running programs. That way, if one program misbehaves, all the rest of your Mac OS 8: preparing for the new millennium programs – and your Mac itself – continue running with nary a hiccup. A side effect of this new memory protection is the disappearance of one of the most frustrating experiences we have to his much is true: Apple’s long-term future will be based too,but they’ll require a special system file called CarbonLib. go through: setting the memory size of your applications. In on Mac OS X. In the meantime, Mac OS 8 is firmly in Multiple users One of the other features Apple is Mac OS X, that problem disappears – OS X’s memory system gives T charge.And for older Macs incompatible with OS X, Mac promising for Sonata is support for multiple users on one applications as much memory as they need. OS 8 will likely be the only game in town.So it’s only right that, machine.If you’ve ever shared your Mac with other people – If you’ve ever tried to perform a lengthy download in the while Apple’s Mac OS X team cranks away on the Macintosh of most likely at home, in a college apartment, or in a small background while you’re busy working in some other application, 2000,a separate team of programmers is carefully crafting new business – you’ve probably dealt with the difficulties inherent you’ve seen the limitations of the Mac’s co-operative multi-tasking. releases for good old reliable Mac OS 8. when several people are constantly modifying each other’s Each open application can take up as much processor power as it Mac OS 8.6 Released in May, Mac OS 8.6 is a free update application preferences and stepping on each other’s personal wants, often shutting other applications out and slowing them down. that every Mac OS 8.5 user should install.You can download it files. In Mac OS X’s pre-emptive multi-tasking, the operating system itself for free from Apple’s Web site (www.apple.com/uk) or get it In Sonata,you’ll be able to set up a Mac to ask users to log determines how much processing time individual programs get. on CD for £14.Be warned:it’s a big download – nearly 40MB – in before they can access the system – an approach similar to This means not only that the application you’re working in should and even getting hold of the CD is a headache if you’re not using Apple’s At Ease software but one that is integrated feel more responsive in Mac OS X, but also that all the programs connected to the Internet. directly into the Mac OS (see top right). After logging in – Next Finder? running in the background should be working more efficiently as The key part of Mac OS 8.6 is something that no user will either via password or through a cool voice-identification Apple’s declared vision for the Mac OS X Finder features a File Viewer window that well. It should also mean that Mac OS X will be much more efficient really see – a new nanokernel,a low-level part of the operating system – each user will have his or her own protected file displays graphically where you are in the folder hierarchy, with room at the top of at processing audio and video and understanding spoken commands. system that operates like a traffic cop. The OS 8.6 nanokernel area, along with common areas where any user can share the window for the placement of favourite files or folders. Savvy networking When the original Mac OS was designed offers several benefits.For PowerBook users,it is much smarter files. Each user will also have their own set of preferences, back in 1984, the Internet wasn’t really on the minds of its designers. at understanding when the processor can rest and when it has start-up applications, and the like, making the Mac a much But the developers of Mac OS X have kept the Internet in their to work hard. The result is that PowerBooks are more energy friendlier place for people who must share computer space complicated when you have to move files between different branches thoughts. For starters, the Finder will no longer treat items on a efficient – they last longer on batteries and run cooler than with others.It’s essentially the same procedure Apple uses for of a folder hierarchy. network as second-class citizens, to be viewed through the Chooser they did under previous versions of the Mac OS. NetBoot,the system that lets Power Mac G3s or iMacs boot off Sources close to Apple indicate that the group of programmers or the Network Browser introduced in Mac OS 8.5. Items on the The nanokernel also brings multiprocessing back. A few of a Mac OS X server and log in using their personal files and working on the Mac OS X Finder are writing it to include both the network will be as much a part of your Mac OS X desktop as your years back,Macs and Mac clones with more than one processor preferences. From all appearances, Apple has taken NetBoot traditional Mac Finder and the NeXT-inspired File Viewer interface. If hard drives. You’ll be able to quickly browse through your local inside started appearing,and many of us thought this augured and implemented the same interface for a single Mac, one that’s true, then Apple will be able to add a useful new means of network and even access computers elsewhere on the Internet, all a future where all Macs doubled up on chips to get immense that uses its own hard drive – instead of a remote OS X server viewing files and folders to the tried-and-true system we use today. from within the Finder itself. speed boosts.This didn’t come to pass,not only because the G3 – as a repository for files. But if Jobs and Tevanian should remove all traces of the old Finder In a first for Apple, Mac OS X will include its own built-in email processor prefers to work alone but also because the Mac OS Security With the advent of multi-user access in the interface, Apple could be in danger of alienating a large portion of program, written in Java. Apple says the MailViewer program will was designed with a single processor in mind. Mac OS,Sonata will also add new security features to the mix. the Macintosh faithful. support both POP/SMTP and IMAP, but the company didn’t give any But Mac OS 8.6’s nanokernel is built to understand Macs It will let you encrypt documents from the Encrypt File Powerful graphics Macintosh users in the publishing business more details. with more than one processor, fixing several long-standing command in the File menu. Sonata will also reintroduce the depend on Adobe’s PostScript technology every day, when they print, Mac OS X is definitely focused on Internet networking, meaning bugs. For example, owners of multiprocessor machines can Keychain, perhaps the best part of Apple’s discontinued use fonts, and work in drawing programs. For them, Mac OS X’s new Apple has decided to abandon one of its own creations: AppleTalk. finally turn on virtual memory, which was previously PowerTalk software. With the Keychain, you’ll be able to save Sherlock, the new Sherlock will let you search for people’s graphics engine, called Quartz, should have a lot of appeal. Quartz is Mac OS X will exclusively use TCP/IP, or Internet-style networking, incompatible with multiprocessor Macs. Also, this newly your passwords for encrypted files, file servers, Internet FTP names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact based on Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) technology, to browse networks and share files. What ramifications this has for introduced nanokernel will certainly benefit users who buy sites, and more in one centralized location – and have one information.It will then return the listings in a results window which is itself based on PostScript. As a result, Quartz will allow AppleTalk-only devices such as printers remains unclear, although it’s new multiprocessor Macs,whenever they appear. master password that unlocks it, making it easy to collect all with appropriately named columns, such as Name, Phone, and applications running on Mac OS X to handle and display PostScript likely that an AppleTalk add-on will be available from a third party. Sonata: Bridge to OS X The next release of the Mac OS is your secret codes without having to remember a dozen E-mail Address.Likewise,searches for products in online stores and PDF information much more accurately than apps running on due this autumn and is code-named Sonata. It’s meant to different passwords for different occasions. will return results that can be sorted by name or price, letting the current Mac OS. Quartz also adds powerful compositing features, Not all programs are alike bridge the gap between Mac OS 8 and Mac OS X,but if you think Sherlock 2 Sonata will also offer a major update to users compare shops in a flash.Other Sherlock 2 improvements such as alpha channels, to the Mac OS, which should lead to faster An important goal for the first version of Mac OS X is for it to run it’ll be called Mac OS 9, you’re probably wrong.That’s because Sherlock – the all-purpose search utility introduced by Apple in include a separate window for advertisements, and separate and higher-quality image display. And Quartz’s use of PDF means existing Macintosh software well enough that the transition from another company,Microware Systems,already has an operating Mac OS 8.5.Sherlock 2 sports a silvery interface similar to that items in the Finder’s File menu for searching your hard drive that just about any Mac OS X–native application will be able to Mac OS 8 is smooth. However, old Mac applications won’t be capable system called OS-9, and it’s unlikely that Apple will want to found in the QuickTime 4.0 player (see bottom right).At the top and the Internet,making it easier for users who were confused export to PDF in a flash. of taking advantage of new Mac OS X features such as memory bother with the potential confusion (and lawsuits) caused by of the Sherlock window is a Favorites bar in which you can place by Sherlock’s array of different search facilities. Speedy and stable Mac OS X will incorporate two features protection and pre-emptive multi-tasking. Consequently, Apple’s calling Sonata Mac OS 9 or even Mac OS IX. buttons to control exactly what Sherlock searches – be it a local The immediate future Will Mac OS 8.6 and Sonata last whose absence has long been the target of those critics who call the come up with a multi-faceted strategy to help programmers create Since Sonata will be the version of the Mac OS that exists hard drive’s files, the text on local drives, or files on the Web. us through the next decade? No – that’s the job of Mac OS X.But Mac OS slow and unstable: memory protection and pre-emptive modern Mac OS X programs without forcing users to abandon older when Mac OS X arrives, it has to provide compatibility with as Search pre-sets let you can click on a button to search a given that older Power Macs likely won’t be able to run the new multi-tasking. Mac programs they’ve grown accustomed to. much of that new operating system as possible. As a result, different set of sources for different tasks,such as finding news operating system,these updates to Mac OS 8 add new features If you’ve ever had one of your programs crash and lock up your The result is an operating system that will run three completely Sonata will be able to run Carbon-based applications stories,sports scores,or general Web pages. to OS 8 while providing an important connection to Mac OS X. entire Mac, you know why there’s a need for memory protection. In continues page 70 automatically. Mac OS 8.1 through 8.6 will be able to do this, In addition to the search views available in today’s Jason Snell

A Mac OS timeline 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Apple Guide, Drag disk to the TrueType, Apple Menu Wastebasket; 32-bit addressing, Options, Choose Printer DA, HFS, RAM aliases, file sharing, drag-&-drop, New Folder, cache, first QuickTime, virtual QuickDraw Shut Down Japanese memory; INITs GX, stickies, Open Transport, Fonts folder, version of HyperCard, become AppleScript, ColorSync, QuickTime VR, first Please Welcome . . . The Macintosh MultiFinder 32-bit QuickDraw WorldScript Mac OS AppleShare extensions PowerTalk SimpleText Macintosh clones

Mac OS State of the Art 0.7 1.0 1.1 2.0.1 6.0.1 6.0.4 6.0.8 7.0 7.1 7.1.1 7.5 7.5.2

MHz-o-Meter 8 16 25 40 110 150

Chips 68000 68020 68030 68030 68040 68LC040 PowerPC 601 PowerPC 603, 604

68 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 69 different kinds of applications, all from within the same interface. the face, Mac OS X should be perfectly capable of running Unix (You’ll still be able to copy-&-paste, drag-&-drop, and use other programs via a Unix-style command-line interface. Power users and features that let various applications interact). Those three new Unix veterans alike will enjoy the fact that any software that runs on application types are called Classic, Carbon, and Cocoa. one of the flavours of BSD Unix should be portable to Mac OS X, Classic Formerly called the Blue Box, Classic is a system that lets although some compatibility issues between the Unix and Mac OS Mac OS X run old Mac applications without requiring them to be file systems may limit which Unix utilities will work on Mac disks. modified in any way. In Mac OS X Server and Rhapsody, the Blue Box was a separate environment – similar to an emulator – that the user Work in progress had to switch into and out of. But in Mac OS X, Classic applications No one has successfully managed to make Unix into a consumer- will appear on the same screen as all other Mac OS X applications, oriented operating system before, so Apple’s attempts to do so with co-existing with Carbon and Cocoa programs. However, there’s a big Mac OS X are quite remarkable. However, it’s unclear whether the drawback to Classic programs – one that will spur their authors to marriage of the Mac’s traditional user-friendliness with Unix’s gritty update them for Mac OS X: even though Classic programs will be command-line power will be immediately successful. In all running in OS X, they’ll still experience the same limitations they did likelihood, the first release of Mac OS X in early 2000 will be just the when running in the Mac OS 8.X environment. first step in the Mac OS’s transition to a modern operating system. Classic is designed to be a system that smooths the transition from Those concerns aside, the good news is that continuity is Mac OS 8 to OS X through backward-compatibility, much as the important at Apple these days. The company’s Mac OS strategy not Macintosh OS’s 680X0 emulator made it easier for Mac users to move only remained remarkably consistent over the past year but also to PowerPC-based Macs. It’ll be especially valuable for the users of emphasizes continuity between Mac OS 8 and Mac OS X through the programs that are no longer maintained but still used. Classic and Carbon environments. Carbon Probably the most important of the three different The software transition to Mac OS X will likely mirror the 680x0- software environments is Carbon, announced by Apple more than a to-PowerPC transition that began five years ago and still hasn’t quite year ago. Carbon represents an evolution – not a revolution – of the finished. Those programs that most benefit from Mac OS X’s new current way Mac OS applications are written. As the metaphor goes, capabilities will be the first to make the move. Mac OS X will also all life is based on Carbon – and Apple thinks all future Mac apps attract many developers of high-end scientific and engineering should be, too. With Carbon, Apple made a system for creating software from the Unix world. programs that was as similar to that of the old Mac OS as possible, Deeper and deeper When we peer past 2000, things get a bit discarding methods that were incompatible with an operating system fuzzier. Mac OS X is such a remarkable departure for Apple that it containing memory protection, pre-emptive multi-tasking, and other could potentially change everything we think we know about the important features Apple wanted to put into Mac OS X. Mac in the future. Mac OS X will certainly benefit greatly when the What this means is that programmers shouldn’t have to perform G4 processors arrive, but persistent rumours abound that Apple is a wholesale rewrite of their applications to gain the benefits of Mac also investigating Intel’s next-generation chips. Mac OS X isn’t nearly OS X. According to Apple, only about 10 to 20 per cent of a typical as tied to the PowerPC processor as the old Mac OS is. Could Mac OS current Mac OS program will need to be changed to become X run on an Intel processor? Certainly, if Apple wanted it to. The real compatible with Carbon. mystery is, will the company want it to? So when the authors of your favourite programs decide to update In the world of technology, experience has taught us that most them for Carbon, does that mean you’ll be stuck if you’re still using products touted as revolutionary rarely are. Up to now, Apple has Mac OS 8? Not necessarily. Carbon applications can remain largely been remarkably restrained when it comes to Mac OS X – probably compatible with Mac OS 8.1 through 8.6 with the help of a special because the company knows it must deliver this new Mac OS before system file called CarbonLib. When running on Mac OS 8.1 and later, patting itself on the back. But Mac OS X promises to provide some however, Carbon applications won’t be able to offer any of the far-reaching changes, not all of which may be for the better. performance and stability features of Mac OS X. While the power of Unix is undeniable, so too is its user-hostility. Cocoa Formerly referred to as the Yellow Box, the environment We have no doubt that Apple intends to cover up Mac OS X’s Unix called Cocoa provides an easy way for programmers to quickly create heritage, but we’ll have to wait and see whether the company can new applications. Cocoa’s technology comes from NeXT’s OpenStep manage the trick. Because while extremely technical computer users system, which was designed to aid the rapid development of will rejoice at the prospect of the Mac OS and Unix in the same box, corporate applications. Cocoa enables – but doesn’t require – most Macintosh users won’t stand for a Mac OS that displays a developers to use Sun’s Java language. Java is much applauded by command-line interface at the drop of a hat. programmers for the ease with which it lets them create complete, After January 1, 2000, will the Mac OS transform from the Mac OS X–native applications. patchwork 20th Century Mac OS 8 into the new millennium’s shiny Unix Let’s step out of the familiar Mac interface for a moment. new Mac OS X? Of course not. But for Macintosh users, the path Although Apple has said that it will hide Mac OS X’s Unix Apple is taking with Mac OS X suggests a great future lies ahead for underpinnings so that no regular user will ever need to look Unix in the Macintosh – even if there are a few bumps along that road. MW

A Mac OS timeline 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

QuickDraw 3D, multi-threaded HFS+, QuickTime 3 Pro, Network Pre-emptive multi- PowerPC-native tasking, memory Control Strip, Browser, Keychain, multi-user Finder, contextual protection, Cocoa, translucent Sherlock, mode, Sherlock 2, menus, File Viewer dragging, OpenDoc, Personal favorites Mac OS X Server, Please Welcome . . . Cyberdog Web Sharing Carbon

Mac OS State of the Art 7.5.5 8.0 8.5 Sonata Mac OS X

MHz-o-Meter 250 350 366 450 ?

Chips PowerPC 603, 604 PowerPC 750 (G3) PowerPC 7400 (G4)

70 Macworld AUGUST 1998 down to… Bring your old the devices and new Mac together with Macworld’s expert guide to the survival of SCSI. By Kristina De Nike and wire Jonathan Seff

ou don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. It may the sound trite but no one knows this better than owners of market. Apple’s latest computers. For 14 years, every Macintosh All of them The most common had a SCSI – short for small computer system interface, let you connect types are Fast Narrow and Ultra and pronounced “scuzzy” – connector on the back. Most your old SCSI Narrow. A Narrow card allows you to MacintoshY users take for granted this easy and familiar means of devices to your computer attach as many as seven devices together hooking up everything from scanners to hard drives to CD writers. through the USB port. But in a chain – as long as you keep your cable Or, at least, they did. Apple’s decision to replace SCSI with USB on there is a catch: if you use a USB lengths short. If the cables get too long, the iMacs and both USB and FireWire on the Power Mac G3s means that adaptor, your devices will slow to a signal begins to fade and you may end up with now you need to think about how to connect your old SCSI devices crawl. The maximum speed you’ll get is 1.5 unmountable drives and frequent crashes. You can to your speedy new Mac? MBps – the top speed of the USB port. This is pretty have 3.2 to 6.5 feet of total cable on your SCSI chain. You might think you should buy all-new USB, or even FireWire pathetic when you’re used to at least 5MBps – the speed SCSI ports This includes both the cables used to connect versions of your peripherals. But for once, money won’t necessarily on most older Macs can accommodate. external devices and the ribbons used to connect solve your computer problems: USB is much slower than SCSI, and The out-of-luck iMac Slow or not, an adaptor is the only internal devices. FireWire peripherals are still scarce. Actually, the answer may be as option for most iMac owners with SCSI devices, because these Wide SCSI Don’t be confused by the fact that simple as adding what Apple has taken out – a SCSI card. computers do not have expansion slots. The only exception is the Wide SCSI connectors are actually more svelte than the If you haven’t yet bought a new Power Mac G3, there’s an easy – original Bondi blue iMac, which contains one mezzanine slot hidden so-called Narrow ones. The name comes from the if not perfect – way to reclaim SCSI connectivity. When you buy your beneath the plastic case. Apple has removed the hidden mezzanine number of pins – 68 in all – that are crammed into that computer, you can ask to have a SCSI card (Adaptec’s PowerDomain slot from the newest iMacs. small space and the greater amount of data that passes 2930U) added for about an extra £50. Unfortunately, our tests through them. These cards are more expensive, but revealed a software issue that can make this card very slow (see the Choose the right type of SCSI they’re faster, supporting speeds between 40 and 80 speed chart “It’s no race”). Once you’ve decided that you want a SCSI card, you’re faced with a MBps. They can also handle a greater number of devices – You can get something faster built into your new Mac by choosing new question: what kind of SCSI? SCSI goes by many names: Ultra, 15 in all (only seven can be Narrow). The most common Apple’s £480 9GB SCSI hard-drive option. Along with the hard drive, Wide, Ultra2 Wide, Narrow, Fast, and LVD, just to name some you Wide SCSI devices are hard drives. However, anyone who wants you’ll get a SCSI Ultra2 Wide adaptor, the £54 Adaptec might have heard of. Yet there are only two basic types – Narrow and to use Wide devices or needs to connect more than seven devices PowerDomain 2940U2W. Wide – and each is tailored to a different need: compatibility or on the chain will need a Wide card. Common varieties of Wide SCSI What if you’ve already got a new G3 and your trusty old scanner power. People who connect an external hard-drive for extra storage are Ultra Wide and Ultra2 Wide. The latter is also known as low- is sitting forlornly by its side? Or what if you want a card that’s faster space, or who scan photos for a personal Web site, need an voltage differential (LVD for short). Ultra2 Wide cards offer top speed – or of a different SCSI type – than that which you can get from the inexpensive, compatible card – a Narrow one. Those of you who have for digital video or large graphics files and allow longer cable lengths Apple Store? We rounded up 16 SCSI cards to see which of them who have lots of devices or who use digital-video gear require power than Narrow or Ultra Wide SCSI. Now, only a few high-end offer the best speed and the fewest problems (see “The right card for and speed – a Wide card. Different varieties of Narrow and Wide hard drives use this technology. Also, if you put a non–Ultra2 you”). We also gathered tips to help you pick, instal, and SCSI offer various speed advantages and have individual quirks. Wide device on your SCSI chain, it will mirror the speed and troubleshoot the right SCSI card for your needs. Narrow SCSI These SCSI cards have 50 pins on their cable limits of Ultra Wide. connectors – 25 for transmitting data and 25 for grounding. The Mixing and matching So Whether to adapt? cards are inexpensive but slow – but at between 10 to 20 MBps, still what should you do if you have The first thing you might ask is why you’d want to bother opening up twice as fast as what came built into most old Macs.Prior to the new several types of SCSI devices? You your new G3 to fill one of its three precious PCI slots with a SCSI G3, Macs came with SCSI-1 – so sluggish by today’s standards that it can’t reliably hook up a Wide device card when you can buy a USB-to-SCSI adaptor instead. Indeed, by is no longer available on the market. Most scanners, removable to a Narrow card. However, you can

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK JOHANN PHOTOGRAPHY the time you read this, there should be several of these adaptors on drives (Zip and Jaz), tape drives, and CD-R drives use Narrow SCSI. continues page 74

72 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 73 hook up a Narrow device to a Wide card. Because Wide connectors Get grounded Static electricity can fry the electronics on your Get up-to-date Check the company’s Web site, as the software on it. Unfortunately, not all the cards we tested were able to do this. have more pins, you will need at least one new cable to connect your card, so when installing it, discharge any static electricity in your that ships with your card may very well be outdated. Updates can When new G3s look for the start-up disk, they don’t necessarily Narrow devices to the new, wider port. When you add Narrow body by touching metal (if you’ve got a metal casing around your solve speed issues and compatibility problems. We had to update the see the SCSI card – and hence the drive attached to it – unless the devices to your chain, it won’t automatically become slower, unless hard drive, try touching that). Also, keep yourself grounded by software on the card (also known as firmware) for all three Orange card has the right firmware. During testing, we were able to boot up you’re using Ultra2 Wide SCSI. But moving your Zip drive to a new winding a grounding strap around your wrist and attaching its end Micro cards, all four Adaptec cards, and the Initio Miles Bluenote. from only 12 of the 16 cards. The Adaptec SCSI Card 2906 is not a Wide card won’t make the drive faster, either. Devices have their own to metal. None of the cards we looked at came with a strap, but you boot-able card. The AdvanSys cards were also not bootable, but a built-in speed limitations. Moving Narrow devices to a Wide card can can buy one at most electronics stores. When you’re sure you’re not Tame your SCSI chain firmware update that will fix this problem should be available from cause problems. Wide chains are more prone to interference, so a lightning rod, pop the card into any available PCI slot. Installing a card is easy, but SCSI is a temperamental beast. Here’s the company’s Web site by the time you read this. you’ll need shorter, thicker cables with more shielding. Also, if you Don’t skip the software After the card is in, you’ll need to how to deal with some common problems. Mistaken identity Each SCSI device on the chain must have a add a Narrow device and you have low-quality cables or cheap install an extension in your System Folder; most of the cards we Missing formatters The Orange Micro cards don’t come with unique address so that your computer knows where to send the data. terminators, or an over-long chain that’s just a little too long, your tested came with software to set up – or format – a hard drive. Use formatters. Instead, you need to download CharisMac’s popular The address, or SCSI ID, is a number from 0 to 7 for Narrow cards new system may freeze at start-up or crash during file transfers. this every time you attach new hard drives to the SCSI port. Adaptec formatter, Anubis, which you’ll find on the Orange Micro Web site and from 0 to 15 for Wide cards. Customarily, both types of cards supplied software on floppies only, which is no good for computers (www.orangemicro.com/bin/anubis.bin). Adaptec also did not include any come pre-set to 7. If two different devices have the same number, Install your card correctly lacking floppy drives. Adaptec says it will soon ship software on CDs. formatters with the PowerDomain 2930U or SCSI Card 2906, but the your system may freeze at start-up or only one of the devices may Installing a SCSI card, and indeed any card, on a blue G3 is pretty You can download it at www.adaptec.com/support/files/drivers.html. You company says it will have added them by the time you read this. appear on the desktop. If you’re also going to add in old SCSI darn easy – but make sure to do it right. must get Orange Micro’s software from its Web site. Cards that won’t boot One handy thing about SCSI cards is internal drives, remember that you’ll need to pick IDs for them as that if you need to repair your main start-up drive, you can typically well. External devices come with dials to pick the ID. Internal devices use a hard drive hooked up through your card to start, or boot, your are trickier – you’ll have to muck with the jumpers, little plastic caps The right card for you computer – as long as that hard drive has system software installed that fit over pairs of pins. By default, internal drives are set to 0. Termination trouble As data travels down the SCSI chain, it ow that you know all there is to know gain maximum compatibility with older SCSI wallet.The Grappler SCSI 906F was the least- needs to know when it’s hit the end. Because of this, you must term- about SCSI, one question remains: devices. Unfortunately, this proves to be a expensive card in its category and the only It’s no race inate your SCSI chain at both ends. Other-wise, your machine may which card should you buy? To find disadvantage for the company’s Narrow one that was bootable. hang or might not even see the drives. If you’re connecting only N What makes one SCSI card faster than another? Usually the the answer, Macworld tested 16 SCSI cards. cards, at least for now. If speed and the ability to attach more external devices, the card itself terminates the end of the chain it’s answer is the SCSI category, rather than the card Seven of our cards were Narrow SCSI.We also The Narrow Adaptec cards check the devices are essential to you, then bump up on. All you need to do is terminate the other end by inserting a tested nine Wide cards. See “SCSI cards: the driver for each connected device; if the driver to an Ultra Wide card, such as the Initio Miles. manufacturer. In each category, these cards achieved almost termination plug into the free SCSI port of your last device. If you big picture” below for results.We also looked doesn’t clearly identify the speed of the This card is reasonably priced, is bootable, identical speeds, generally determined by the test drives to have internal and external devices, the card detects this and turns at the cards’ ability to boot and their device, the card drops to SCSI-1 speed – and includes RAID software. Understand, which we connected them. The use of generic device drivers termination off. You then need to terminate the last internal device compatibility with scanners. 5MBps. In our tests, Apple’s Drive Setup however, that by using Ultra Wide SCSI you’ll tripped up Adaptec’s Narrow cards. Our Editors’ Choice and the last external device. Mostly steady speeds Speed is installed a driver that incorrectly identified be restricted to using shorter, higher-quality winners offer a balance of price, compatibility, and speed. Old-device uncertainty Older SCSI devices, notably scanners, determined more by what category of SCSI the speed of our test hard-drive; performance cables. Our advice is to avoid Ultra2 Wide for relied on the way the Mac used to manage SCSI. We checked all these card you choose than by what company. dropped significantly. Adaptec does plans to now – very few devices can actually take Best results in red. Longer bars are better. Reference product in italics. cards with the Umax PowerLook III and had no problems. But if you Within each SCSI category, the cards include updated formatting software. advantage of its potential for blazing speed, MacBench 5.0 scores are relative to those of a first-generation Power Mac plan to connect an older scanner (made, say, three or more years performed similarly.The only exception and prices are too high. One last word of G3/300, which is assigned a score of 1,000 in each test. ago), make sure the card you want supports the “old” or “classic” was the slow Narrow cards from Adaptec. Macworld’s buying advice advice: most of the Fast Narrow and Ultra SCSI manager. Call the company to make sure your scanner is Adaptec’s cards are the only ones you can If all you’re looking for is an inexpensive Wide cards offer almost identical MACBENCH 5.0 supported, or else it may be useful only as a paperweight. get built into a new Mac when you buy one means of getting your old devices on the bus, performance, so cost played an important Disk online from the Apple Store. Adaptec has Fast Narrow SCSI will do the trick and Orange part in our evaluations.Think about what you Fast Narrow The final word been working closely with Apple and Micro’s Grappler SCSI 906F will get you up can’t live without, and double-check prices Adaptec SCSI Card 2906 683 You don’t have to shun the new Power Mac G3 just because you’ve carefully followed the company’s specs to and running with the least damage to your before you decide which card to buy. MW AdvanSys ABP3925 982 sunk a lot of cash into SCSI-based scanners and hard drives. And you Orange Micro Grappler SCSI 906F 985 certainly don’t need to buy USB versions of all your devices. With a modest budget, some common sense, and this guide in hand, you can SCSI cards: the big picture Ultra Narrow bring your old SCSI devices and new Mac together and have the best Adaptec PowerDomain 2930U 675 of both worlds. MW COMPANY PRODUCT STAR RATING PRICE BOOTABLE EXTERNAL COMMENTS CONTACT TELEPHONE AdvanSys ASB3940UA 1,092 Initio Miles Bluenote CONNECTOR 1,030 Narrow SCSI Wide SCSI Wide SCSI Orange Micro Grappler SCSI 930U 1,030 DB 25-pin Very High-Density Wide 68-pin FAST NARROW connector Wide connector connector Ultra Wide Adaptec SCSI Card 2906 /6.4 £32 no DB 25-pin Driver problems may affect performance. Computer 2000 01256 463 344 Adaptec PowerDomain 2940UW 1,120 AdvanSys ABP3925 /6.7 $69 no High-density 50Good performance. Advansys www.advansys.com AdvanSys ASB3940UW 1,123 Orange Micro Grappler SCSI 906F /7.6 £49 yes DB 25-pin Inexpensive basic card;fastest in class. AM Micro 01392 426 473 Atto ExpressPCI PSC 1,118 Formac PowerRAID I 1,153 ULTRA NARROW Initio Miles 1,227 Adaptec PowerDomain 2930U /6.3 £54 yes 50-pin Centronics Driver problems may affect performance. Computer 2000 01256 463 344 Orange Micro Grappler SCSI 940UW 1,118 AdvanSys ASB3940UA /6.8 £49 no High-density 50 Fastest in class;more expensive. Worldspan 0181 288 8555 Ultra2 Wide Initio Miles Bluenote /7.4 £69 yes High-density 50 Inexpensive;good performance. Channel Dynamics 0870 6070 540 Adaptec PowerDomain 2940U2W 1,381 Atto ExpressPCI UL2S Orange Micro Grappler SCSI 930U /7.4 £79 yes High-density 50Inexpensive;good performance. AM Micro 01392 426 473 1,369 Initio Miles U2W 1,374 ULTRA WIDE Adaptec PowerDomain 2940UW /7.2 £181 yes Wide 68-pin Pricey;variety of cables;good performance;RAID. Computer 2000 01256 463 344 Apple external bus 692 AdvanSys ASB3940UW /6.9 £99 no Wide 68-pin Good performance. Worldspan 0181 288 8555 Atto ExpressPCI PSC /6.9 £155 yes Wide 68-pin Good performance. Formac 0181 533 4040 Formac PowerRAID I /7.3 £59 yes Wide 68-pin Good price and performance;RAID;no cables. Formac 0181 533 4040 Behind our tests Narrow SCSI Narrow SCSI Initio Miles /7.7 £139 yes Wide 68-pin Fastest in class;good price;RAID. Channel Dynamics 0870 6070 540 We evaluated the SCSI cards in a Power Macintosh G3/350 running Mac OS High-Density 50-pin Centronics 8.5.1 with 64MB of RAM. We used a Narrow Seagate 4GB drive to test the Fast Orange Micro Grappler SCSI 940UW /7.6 £129 yes Wide 68-pin Good price and performance;RAID. AM Micro 01392 426 473 50 connector connector Narrow and Ultra Narrow cards, an Ultra Wide 6GB Seagate drive to test the ULTRA2 WIDE Ultra Wide cards, and an Ultra2 Wide 17GB Seagate drive to test the Ultra2 Adaptec PowerDomain 2940U2W /7.8 £206 Yes Wide 68-pin Fastest in class;internal connectors and cables. Computer 2000 01256 463 344 Wide cards. We also attached the Narrow Seagate drive to the external SCSI port of a first-generation Power Macintosh G3/300. – Macworld Lab testing Atto ExpressPCI UL2S /6.5 $399 yes High-density Wide Good performance;no cables included. Atto www.attotech.com supervised by Kristina De Nike Initio Miles U2W /7.6 £199 yes Wide 68-pin Good price and performance;RAID. Channel Dynamics 0870 6070 540

74 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 75 media

create motion Graphic effect

A guide to Adobe’s latest special-effects package. By Jim Heid

dobe After Effects is arguably the most popular motion- graphics program in the personal computer world. Broadcasters use After Effects Ato create commercials and other TV graphics and film producers use it to create special effects. Multimedia producers use it when creating CD-ROM game titles, spicing up QuickTime video with special effects such as lens flare. Now this favoured eye-candy store has been remodelled. After Effects 4.0 brings improvements in performance, tighter ties to Photoshop and other Adobe programs, more special effects, and interface enhancements both major and minor (see Reviews, April 1999). Here’s a guide to taking advantage of some of the best new features. Unless I note otherwise, everything here applies to both the £500 base-version and the £1,000 Production bundle.

Harness new, better effects This program is about effects, and version 4.0 ups the ante in several ways. and modify masks with more accuracy than Besides including numerous new effects, in earlier versions, and you can copy and it now provides more control over how paste masks from Photoshop and Illustrator. and where you can apply effects. Text paths With the new Text Path But browse the After Effects manual, effect, you can attach text to a mask or and you’ll find little information on the to a path that you’ve drawn or imported. specific settings of After Effects’ built-in Use keyframes to change the text’s margins effects. Adobe yanked the details from over time, and you can have text race along the manual and put them in After Effects’ the most complex of paths. You can also new online help system. animate the text’s spacing, colour, and Also, check out the Read Me file that other characteristics. See “Get your text After Effects installs on your hard drive. on the run” for a tour and some tips. It’s different from the one on the After Adjustment layers In previous After Effects CD-ROM, containing last-minute Effects versions, if you wanted to apply details and useful tips. Here’s a look the same set of effects or transformations at some of the most compelling new to numerous layers, you had to laboriously effects features. copy and paste them into each layer. More Masking Masks, which control No more. Now, simply choose New what’s visible or hidden in an image layer, Adjustment Layer from the Layer menu have always been essential to After Effects. and apply the effects to the adjustment Want to have an image visible within a layer. After Effects applies the modifications piece of text? Use masks. Need to put an to all the layers that appear below image on a TV set that was shut off when it in the Time Layout window. the footage was shot? Again, use masks. Motion sketching After Effects’ In After Effects 4.0, masking is greatly Motion Sketch is a huge time-saver – it improved. You can have up to 128 masks enables you to create a complex motion continues page 80

JOHN RITTER per layer instead of just one, you can scale

Macworld AUGUST 1999 79 media Get your text on the run

After Effects 4.0’s new path-text effect pairs up nicely with its improved masking features. In this example, the text Part III: Add the text “Get your kicks on Route 66” attaches itself to the shape of a US motorway sign and then takes a spin around the Now you’re ready to add the path text. sign’s contours.You can see a QuickTime movie of this affect at (www.macworld.com/1999/07/create/) 1 In the Effect menu, choose Path Text from the Text sub-menu.Type the text in the dialogue box that appears, and choose the desired font. Part I: Create the path in Photoshop First you need to create the original path in Photoshop. Here I used 2 There are a variety of ways to make text race along a path, but the easiest is to change the a simple road-sign outline that I imported from Adobe Illustrator. C text’s margins over time. In the Time Layout window, expand the Path Text effect and add some new keyframes for the Left 1 Create a selection whose shape matches that of the mask. Margin attribute, using the Effect For this example, I just selected the road-sign shape (A) with Controls window to change the the magic-wand tool. left-margin setting for each, as shown (F). 2 In the Paths palette, click on the Make Work Path button (B). E Animating the margin 3 In Photoshop’s Tools palette, activate the Direct Selection tool (C). with keyframes moves the 4 In the document window, option-click on the path you just F text along the path. Select the created. Pressing option tells Photoshop to select the entire path, path to which the text should not just the point you click on. be attached here (E). 5 Choose Copy from the Edit menu, and then switch to After Effects. Baseline shift (G) puts some space between the text and the stroked path. Check A B G Composite on Original (H) to display the path to which the text is attached. D Part II: Paste the path into After Effects Now you’re ready to paste the path into After Effects, creating a mask. In these 3 When you’re done, just render steps, you’ll paste the path into a new layer, stroke it, and apply an effect to it out the effect and watch the text – all capabilities new to After Effects 4.0. race along the path!

1 Open the composition that will hold the mask. 2 From the Layer menu, choose New Solid. 3 Choose Paste from the Edit menu. After Effects then pastes the mask into the solid. Get your kicks 4 In the Effect menu, choose Stroke from the Render sub-menu. H When you render out the effect as created here, 5 Specify the stroke settings in the Effect Controls window, your text will smoothly zip around the path. choosing the name of the mask to be stroked here (D).

path by simply drawing it in real time. plug-ins – but read the small print: you’ll previews is to hold down the shift key Use the Finder’s Get Info command to boost Motion Sketch used to be included only see that After Effects needs plug-ins written while clicking on the RAM preview button After Effects’ allocation. And turn off virtual with the high-end Production bundle specifically for Premiere 5 – of which there (or pressing its shortcut key, 0 on the memory – RAM preview works best with – now it’s included in the base version. are precious few. numeric keypad). Pressing shift tells After real RAM. (On Windows, these steps aren’t If you’re an After Effects veteran, Effects to load only every other frame into applicable. To make as much RAM as though, you may have trouble locating Work faster RAM. The resulting preview’s motion isn’t possible available to After Effects, simply Motion Sketch: it no longer appears in the Creating effects is a chore filled with as smooth, but the preview can be twice quit any other programs you’re running). Layer menu’s Keyframe Assistant sub-menu. enough calculations to choke Einstein. as long using the same amount of RAM. Render right Video producers Its new home is the Window menu’s Here are five steps you can take to lighten Audio can also affect the maximum commonly render multiple versions of Plug-in Palettes sub-menu. the load on your computer. duration of RAM previews. Normally, After a final project: a full-screen version for Audio additions Finally, audio is Preview smarter The new RAM Effects processes audio at full resolution: videotape output, a quarter-screen version no longer a second-class citizen in After preview feature displays speedy previews, 44kHz, 16-bit stereo. For RAM previews, for a CD-ROM, and an animated GIF for Effects. Version 4.0 includes several by loading content into memory and then that’s usually overkill. The solution: choose a Web site. But many After Effects users new effects for adjusting stereo-panning, playing it back in real time – complete Preferences from the File menu, and in the make the mistake of duplicating the tweaking bass and treble, and creating with audio. But how much gets loaded General Preferences dialogue box choose composition in the Render Queue window echo-like delay effects. into memory depends on the nature of a lower sample rate – such as 22kHz and then changing the settings for The Production bundle goes much your composition and on how much RAM or 11kHz – 8-bit audio, and mono, each duplicate. This makes After Effects further, providing an excellent reverb you’ve allocated to After Effects. if you don’t need to preview stereo. recalculate each and every effect, plug-in, a tone generator, and more. Best Two factors that influence the RAM At the opposite end of the quality dramatically increasing render times. of all, you can animate these effects over preview’s duration are your composition’s spectrum, say you do a RAM preview at Here’s the right way to do multiple time – simulate a room expanding from frame size and its render resolution. If full resolution and with all quality settings versions. In the Render Queue window, closet-size to concert hall-size. you’re working with a 640-x-480-pixel (motion blur, and so forth) turned on. If select the comp and choose Add Output After Effects now supports audio frame size, a full-resolution RAM preview you then use the Make Movie command to Module from the Composition menu. You’ll scrubbing – the ability to hear audio in will devour close to 1MB per frame. To render a final movie, After Effects will take see a second output module appear in the real time as you move the Time Layout get longer RAM preview times, lower the the RAM-based frames that it created for Render Queue window. Double-click on window’s current-time indicator. To scrub, comp’s resolution, using the Composition the preview and write them to disk. This the new module, and a dialogue box press ⌘ while dragging the current-time Settings dialogue box. Dropping to will dramatically speed up the final render. for changing its settings appears. This way, indicator. 320-x-240 pixels will enable you to preview As for memory, the more you allocate After Effects performs some of its hardest Adobe also touts After Effects 4.0’s four times as many frames. to After Effects, the better – not just for calculations just once and uses them ability to use Premiere-compatible audio Another way to get more out of RAM RAM previews but for all your tasks. for each version you create. And if you

80 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 81 media

Time-saving shortcuts

After Effects is replete with keyboard and mouse shortcuts, and version 4.0 introduces new interface-customizing opportunities. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the most useful ones.

See the animation Customize window labels and columns You’ve opened a project created by a After Effects enables you to customize its Time colleague – or one that you created six Layout and Project windows to show as much months ago – and all of the settings in or as little information as you want to see. the Time Layout window are collapsed. How You can change the order of many columns do you quickly find out which layers have by dragging their headers. animation keyframes assigned to them? Easy: To hide a column, point to it and press in the Time Layout window, click on the layer control. From the pop-up menu, choose Hide and then press the U key. After Effects This.While the pop-up menu is visible, check expands the layer to show animation values. out its other Panels options. To collapse the layer, press U again. Here are You can now create a Comment column some other useful show/hide keyboard shortcuts for the Time Layout window: that enables you to annotate a tricky animation – handy for documenting a Anchor point: A Position: P cool effect so you can re-create it. Audio levels: L Rotation: R Opacity: T Scale: S

interrupt rendering to check your results, it excels at – and for which After Effects you’ll have partial versions of each setting. can be cumbersome. Say you’re creating When rendering, you’ll get faster results a music video, in which rapid-fire cuts must if you close all windows except for the be synchronized to a tune. Premiere’s time- Render Queue window. Or at the very least, based design makes this a cinch, so create close the Composition window, so After the cuts in Premiere and bring the project Effects doesn’t have to display a preview into After Effects to apply the visual icing. for each frame it’s rendering. After Effects imports transitions you create Use layout aids After Effects 4.0 in Premiere, but only as placeholders. introduces features that streamline layout. However, it doesn’t import transparency, When you see rulers in the Composition motion, and filter settings, so resist the window, you can create PageMaker-like urge to apply effects in Premiere. After alignment guides: click within a ruler and all, that’s what After Effects is for. then drag down – for a horizontal guide – After Effects 4.0 not only imports or to the right – for a vertical one. To align Photoshop images and retains layers elements quickly, use the Align & Distribute but also retains adjustment layers, transfer palette in the Window menu’s Plug-in modes, layer effects, and paths. Say Palettes sub-menu. This new palette works you’ve used the Outer Glow layer effect in similarly to the one in Adobe Illustrator. a Photoshop file. Bring that file into After Don’t neglect caps lock Normally, Effects, and you not only retain the glow After Effects updates the Composition but can also animate it so that its colour, window every time you tweak an effect blur, and intensity change over time. or other setting. If you’re going to make To retain effects, remember to import several tweaks, press the caps lock key first Photoshop images using the Photoshop – this defers updates and thus saves time. As Comp command in the Import sub- When you’re ready to see your handiwork, menu. If you import using the Footage File press caps lock again. This shortcut existed command, you’ll lose these goodies. Import in previous versions, but it’s important Illustrator images using the Illustrator As enough to warrant repeated mention. Comp command, and After Effects preserves Master the interface The preceding all of the image’s layers, enabling you tips will make After Effects run faster. to animate them independently. To make yourself run faster, master After Effects’ keyboard and mouse shortcuts. Want more? Many of them, such as context-sensitive A great way to learn more is by swapping menus that appear when you control-click ideas with other users. Two online on something, are new to After Effects 4.0 resources are good for this: Postforum (see “Time-saving shortcuts”). (www.postforum.com/) and Adobe’s own Benefit from family ties After user forum (www.adobe.com). After Effects Effects 4.0 improves on the tighter Adobe is also a common topic on several Usenet family integration that began with version newsgroups, including rec.video.production 3.0. This makes life even easier for you and comp.graphics.animation. And don’t forget when you use multiple apps to create your to play. Set aside some time to experiment final video product. Here are the highlights: with After Effects – that’s the best way to After Effects 4.0 can import Adobe realize the potential of the world’s most Premiere projects as compositions. This popular eye-candy store. MW enables you to use Premiere for the tasks Jim Heid lectures on digital-media.

82 Macworld AUGUST 1999 media

create web Changing sites

Make your Web site stand out with JavaScript. By Dori Smith

he Internet has become a competitive place these days. You have to vie with more people than ever for the attention of potential clients – and guess Twhat? Yours isn’t the only site that has animated images and plug-in detection. What can you do to make your site stand out? One way is to use effects that make your site dynamic. Rather than presenting static information, which is what you get with HTML alone, you can bring your Web pages to life by adding some JavaScript – an easy-to-learn scripting language. It’s not enough to use the same JavaScript effects already prevalent on the Internet. For instance, image rollovers – images that change when a user moves the cursor over a button or link – make a site interactive, but you see them everywhere. And that annoyance, the scrolling status bar (another JavaScript effect), is better off dying its long-deserved death. What really breathes new life into a Web site is some original use of JavaScript. This article demonstrates a new way images from your portfolio. With this you can use JavaScript to show off your script, and enough images in your work or products. You can add a slide portfolio, your page can look different show to your Web site even if you’ve never every time the surfer sees it. written a speck of JavaScript – just follow the step-by-step example in this article What is JavaScript, anyway? and use the actual scripts with minor A common – and confusing – misconception modifications (you can download about JavaScript is that it’s related to Java. them from Macworld Online at There is no connection between these two www.macworld.com/1999/07/ create/). programming languages. Netscape invented The example shows how to write a script JavaScript – originally called LiveScript – that shows off your entire portfolio on your as an add-on to Netscape Navigator 2. site (see “Create a JavaScript slide show”). Netscape changed the name of LiveScript With this script, you can let users view to JavaScript, probably hoping that some your images one at a time at their own of the hype about Sun’s Java programming pace. Once you set up the Web page with language would rub off. The change did the new script, all the user has to do to see indeed attract attention, but it also the slide show is simply to click on a button confused the relationship between Java on the page. and JavaScript. Here’s the true story: these I have also posted another step-by-step two languages have no relationship at all. example, on Macworld Online, of a second JavaScript is a scripting language that’s JavaScript technique that can set your Web much simpler to learn than Java. To put page apart. This technique lets you put JavaScript effects on your Web pages, you random images on a Web page. just add a little bit of code to your HTML Every time a Web surfer loads the page, inside a new tag: browser is displaying. Since the Web page starts off by displaying the first image, set thisImg to 1.

To make your slide show work, give your images consecutive names so that all the images have the same dimensions. http://developer.netscape.com/tech/javascript/ different images, one at a time. For a collection of browsers. than the number of slides available, the script resets it to 1. ZDNet’s DevHead JavaScript area instance, your page can have two images, Not every browser lets users view Now that the script has an image number that’s within the proper

show script” for an example). object displays multiple images – those Next, build into your script the function newSlide( ), which lets users click 4 What you need One of the advantages to using in the slide show. Instead of rolling over 3 on screen to see your slide-show images one by one. By using this function JavaScriptable browser manipulation works, let’s look at the in detail how to write this part of the code. 3.1 or later,Windows 4 or later starts off looking as it always has, with one a text editor. Any old text editor will do. the direction parameter to thisImg. In most cases this parameter tells the Learn moreWeb sites to the IMG tag. Giving a name to an image you can use Adobe GoLive 4, Macromedia if a user clicks on the Next button, or –1 if the user clicks on the Prev button. object – the part of a JavaScript that Dreamweaver 2, or SoftPress Freeway 2 However, if users click on a button so many times that they pass the 5 Web Sites reserves a spot on your Web page for if you like. beginning or end of the slide show, the script needs to adjust the current JavaScript developer central An image object can display many test your JavaScript code, you just need 1, the script resets it to the highest image number (imgCt). If thisImg is greater

www.devhead.com/filters/javascript/ homeOn.jpg and homeOff.jpg, that are JavaScript effects (see “What you need” range, it’s time to reset the image. In order to do so, set document.slider .src both associated with one image object for a list of JavaScriptable browsers). Be to the location of the new image. Linking the parts of the image name, as Books called home. Which of the images the sure to test your pages with a variety of I have done in my sample script, makes your script calculate the location JavaScript for the World Wide Web: Visual browser displays depends on whether the old and new browsers and with JavaScript on the fly. QuickStart guide, third edition (Peachpit Press, user’s cursor is on or off the home image turned on and off. That way, anyone can 1999), by Tom Negrino and Dori Smith object. These two images, combined with navigate your site, even if they can’t see To tell the newSlide( ) function that users want to move forward MW Designing with JavaScript (O’Reilly & a single image object, produce the rollover all your innovative techniques. 4 when they click on the next button, pass newSlide( ) a parameter of 1. Associates, 1997), by Nick Heinle effect. The JavaScript for creating a slide Dori Smith is co-author of JavaScript Bible, third edition (IDG Books, show also requires an image object – in JavaScript for the World Wide Similarly, pass the newSlide( ) function a parameter of -1 to tell the function 1998), by Danny Goodman. “The slide show script” it’s called slider. Web: Visual QuickStart Guide, 5 that the users want to view the previous image in the sequence when they Just as with the rollover effect, this image third edition (Peachpit Press, 1999). click on the preview button.

86 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 87 media

create graphics Layered together

Blending Photoshop layers can give your work character. By Brooke Wheeler

reating layered images in Adobe Photoshop can be risky. It’s all too easy to end up with art that looks like a disparate collection of flat parts. But you don’t Chave to settle for such a look if you use Photoshop’s layer-blending tools. They let you change the way pixels in different layers interact, so that in the resulting work the separate pieces don’t look separate – they look interwoven. When attributed with one of these blending effects, all of the opacity altering and grouping capabilities of that layer can be changed – as with any “normal” layer. This offers complete control of the mix of the independant parts and the harmonious whole. For years, artist Javier Roca has been tackling the challenge of creating compositions that have a multitude of separate components. To create the artwork shown here – The Spine – he started by gathering images from many sources, such as old books, stock-image collections, and libraries of 2D and 3D art that he created himself.

Natural depth Once he assembled the elements, he gave this piece that organic look by using Photoshop’s layer-blending modes: Multiply; Darken; and Lighten in conjunction with assorted filters. He also used duplicate layers and varied resolution to give the illusion of depth of field. The Spine is the fourth in a five-part series of images inspired by the medieval notion that alchemists could turn lead into gold – in short, the work deals with expectation, frustration, and futility. To view the entire series, see the online version of this story at www.macworld.com/1999/07/create/. To create The Spine, Roca used Adobe Illustrator 5, Photoshop 4 and MetaCreations Infini-D 4 on a Power Macintosh 8500/120 with an external 4GB hard drive and a 300dpi scanner. MW Brooke Wheeler is an associate editor at Macworld.

JAVIER ROCA JAVIER continues page 90

Macworld AUGUST 1999 89 Roca first gathered all his elements. He Roca’s next step was to create the 1 scanned the alphabet/number grid 2 background. Since his background and geometric figures from old books. He is made up of many images, he used filters created the 3D gyroscope, shiny metallic and layer-blending modes to get interesting spiral, and three vectors in Infini-D and interplay among the elements. exported them as PICTs. He used Illustrator He imported the sundial image into its to create a lettered sundial and then own layer in Photoshop, applied the Noise rasterized it. He culled a hand outline filter, and made a duplicate of that layer. He and a photo of an X-ray from CDs of applied the Radial Blur filter to one of the stock imagery. layers and then applied the Clouds filter to the whole image.Then he imported the X-ray image at low resolution and used the Multiply mode at various percentages in each layer.This created darker colours with the blended pixels.

Many times during the process, Roca 4 used the Adjust Hue/Saturation command in separate layers to get colours that worked together in the whole composition. He also used the Adjust Selective Colour Next, he imported the number/alphabet command to modify groups of colours. 3 grid into its own layer; cut out a circle for the sundial shape, using the circle selection tool and the delete key; and applied the Darken mode.The next images he imported were the geometric sketches (which were first scanned in and then turned into negatives with the Invert command). After importing the sketches, he used the Colorize command to give them a sepia tone and applied the Lighten mode to that layer.

90 Macworld AUGUST 1999 secrets Colour revolution How to get the most out of your colour printer. By Joseph Schoor

he colour-printing revolution is here. Print quality from consumer-level ink-jet printers has soared over the past couple of years, while prices have plummeted.T For less than £200, you can buy a colour printer that cranks out gorgeous full-colour glossy photographs. But even with high-quality, affordable colour printers from Epson, Hewlett- Packard, and Canon available, printing is often a disappointment for newcomers to the world of digital photography. Images look bright and crisp on screen, but when you try to print them on paper, the results look washed-out and crude. It’s easy to assume that your printer is simply not good enough to do the job. That’s because creating dazzling digital prints takes more than using the correct printer; it requires a little printing know-how.

Don’t skimp on paper quality In the world of colour ink-jets, the type of paper you use has a huge impact on print quality. Plain copy-paper may be inexpensive, but it doesn’t make for the best printed digital photos. Plain paper tends to be too absorbent for most ink-jets, causing blurred images and – a polyethylene material rather than Pick the optimal resolution damp printouts. paper – that lets you print photos that One of the most common printing mistakes Generally, there are three grades have more of the look-and-feel of results from using the wrong resolution. of paper available for most printers: traditional photographs. For best results, make sure the pictures you plain paper – the kind you use in most For the best results at the lowest print have a resolution of at least 300 dots photocopiers and laser printers; a cost, try using plain ink-jet paper to per inch (dpi). Lower-resolution images, "premium" ink-jet paper that has a whiter, create preliminary test prints. Then break such as those you may see on a Web smoother finish on one side; and a photo- out the good stuff – which can cost up page, may look fine on screen, because quality paper, with a glossy surface for to one pound per sheet – to print glossy most computer monitors display images printing photos. photos. To get great-looking photos, at a considerably lower resolution (usually Some companies, such as Epson, also you simply can’t skimp on the paper between 72 and 96 dpi). However, they offer an even more expensive glossy film – no matter the cost. continues page 94

The cost of colour

Colour printers are more affordable than ever, but the cost involves cent of the page.In reality,when printing full-blown colour photos most more than just the printer – there’s also the cost of ink and paper, which photo-ink cartridges have the capacity for only a fraction can really add up. Canon’s high-gloss photo film, for example, lets you of their official page yield. If you print full-page images using your print pictures with the look-and-feel of photographic glossies, but it printer’s highest resolution settings, you may find yourself replacing ink costs £16.50 for 20 sheets – or about 83p per sheet. cartridges after only 20 pages – or fewer. The small ink cartridges found in most ink-jet printers don’t last Just follow a few rules of conservation: always proof your long, either. A photo-ink cartridge for one Canon printer, for example, work on plain paper rather than on the high-priced film stock; and try costs £29.99, the company claims it can print as many as proofing your earlier versions by printing at a lower resolution 90 pages – but that’s assuming that the ink covers only about 15 per – printing at 720 dpi uses less ink than printing at 1,440dpi. GEORGINA WATSON

Macworld AUGUST 1999 93 secrets A &Tips speed up Web access • magnify your screen B

C How cool would it be to surf Speak volumes on the Web with OS 8.5 the Internet with your voice? Kham Vo found a way to do it with Apple’s speech-recognition Applying the same format to alternate rows of a Microsoft software, which works with most Power Excel 98 spreadsheet doesn’t require formatting each row Macs. The software is included with individually.Try using Excel 98’s conditional formats.With Mac OS 8.5 and later but isn’t installed this method, you can even sort the rows without affecting the by default, so you need to run the formatting. To apply this technique, select the first cell you want to Fine tunning Mac OS Install program and do a custom format (cell A1 in this example) and follow these steps. Within the Epson Stylus Photo Printer driver – as well as other printer drivers – are software controls that let installation of the Speech Recognition you tweak the printer’s output. For the best possible output, you may have to adjust these settings. (A) Check these module. The software is also available 1. Choose Conditional Formatting from the Format menu to display settings; the defaults may not be configured for optimal print quality. (B) If a print looks washed out, you could from Apple’s Software Updates site at the Conditional Formatting dialogue box (top). try varying these settings. (C) Play with these settings if you experience a colour shift in a printout. http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n1 1288. After installation, turn on the 2. Select Formula Is from the pop-up menu, and enter the formula out of focus printed on a high-resolution Use the right printer settings Speakable Items option in the Speech =MOD(ROW(A1),2)=1 in thebox to the right of the pop-up menu. printer. Even a 1,440dpi printer will do a Ink-jet printers generally aren’t equipped control panel and leave the Listening terrible job on 72dpi images. Don’t forget with many switches, levers, or buttons. option set to Listen Only 3. Click the Format button, and in the dialogue box that appears, click to take scaling into account, too. If you start Instead, most of the controls are found While Key(s) Are Pressed. the Patterns tab, pick a colour, and click OK. with a 300dpi image but scale it by 200 per in the printer’s software – the driver – that Now create some Internet location cent to make it fit nicely into a page, you’ll gets installed on your computer. The printer files. You can do this in Mac OS 8.5, 4. Go back to the Conditional Formatting dialogue box, click Add and reduce its effective resolution to 150 dpi driver provides the options you see when by typing a complete URL, such as repeat step 2 for Condition 2, this time around entering and the image quality will be lower in the you use the Print command from within http://www.macworld.co.uk, in Stickies the formula =MOD(ROW(A1),2)=0 in the box to the right of the second final printout. a software program (see “Fine tuning”). or the Note Pad; selecting the URL; and pop-up menu. On the other hand, there’s no benefit Understanding this software is vital dragging it to the desktop or a folder. Easy formatting to using pictures that have too high a if you want to get the most out of your The Finder recognizes that you’re 5. Repeat step 3, picking a different colour. Click OK in the Conditional With conditional formatting in Microsoft Excel 98, resolution. Saving a photo at 1,200dpi printer. For example, you usually have dragging a URL and makes it a location Formatting dialogue box. you avoid labor-intensive row-by-row formatting. when you have a 720dpi printer won’t to use the printer-driver software to set file. You can also drag bookmarks from make the finished picture look any better; the printer’s output quality – such as Netscape Navigator or Communicator 6. Now use Excel’s Format Painter tool to copy the format in cell A1 to You can have four colours by substituting a 4 for the 3 in the above it will just take longer to open and edit the normal, best, and photo quality – and tell and drag Favorites from Internet Explorer. the entire range you want formatted. The example here is two colours formulas. In this case, every fourth row is not coloured by the image. The image will also waste space by the printer what kind of paper you intend Now select the location files; hold (bottom), but you can extend this concept to three colours with: conditional formatting. You can choose to let these rows remain taking up more room on your hard disk. to feed through it. Changes in these settings down the escape key to get the attention =MOD(ROW(A1),3)=1 uncoloured or select the entire range and change its colour. Because affect how much ink the printer will spray of the speech-recognition software; and =MOD(ROW(A1),3)=2 conditional formatting overrides regular formatting, you’ll have a Tweak your pictures on the page. Using the wrong settings can say into your Mac microphone, “Make =MOD(ROW(A1),3)=0 four-colour scheme. Virtually every digital camera and scanner yield terrible results. The printer driver this speakable.” This puts aliases of the comes with an image-editing program, such also lets you calibrate your printer’s overall selected files into the Speakable Items as Adobe PhotoDeluxe, that lets you change colour balance, dialling up more cyan, for folder. Open this folder (found under the In Mac OS 8.5 and later, you could make 2+ magnification. If your friend needs Visit your local host the brightness, contrast, and colour balance example, or turning down the magenta. If Apple menu), and rename the new aliases this a folder-action script that automatically more magnification, he should try of your pictures. Consider such image- you’re ignoring this software – and simply to something easy to remember and say, analyzes and renames files as you add CloseView 7.2.1 – it works with Mac OS Although you can copy your IP editing a necessary step. Many ink-jet hitting Print without adjusting any settings such as Macworld home page. Or you them to a folder to which you’ve attached 7.6 and later but is not installed address from the Web Sharing printers tend to render images a bit darker – you may not be tapping into some of could just rename the original location the script. automatically. To get CloseView 7.2.1, control panel to your browser than they look on screen. Use your software your printer’s best features. files and drag them into the Speakable Alternatively, you could ask your PC run the Mac OS Install program and do a when you want to view your own Web site, to compensate for this by brightening Some of this takes trial-and-error Items folder. cohorts to install software that enables custom installation of the Mac OS module an easier way of going to your Web page, images slightly before you print them. Once experimentation, but with the right Now while surfing the Net, you can their computers to recognize a variety of – for detailed instructions, click the Help if you’re using Internet Explorer 4.X, is to you get to know your printer, you’ll be able combination of printer settings, paper type, visit any location that has a file in the Mac disks and Mac files – with or without button in the last step of the installation type “localhost” in the address bar. Alas, to make the right adjustments, so that the and image tweaks, you can truly do justice Speakable Items folder by pressing the suffixes. This PC software automatically program. In the dialogue box, where you this trick doesn’t work in Netscape printed image look more like the original. to your pictures and make your work look escape key and saying the file’s name supplies missing file-name suffixes based select Mac OS features to be installed, Navigator. as good on paper as it does on screen. MW into your Mac’s microphone. on each Mac file’s hidden codes for file expand the Universal Access item to see Alexander Savage Use optional photo-inks Joseph Schorr is a co-author of type and creator application. Such software and select CloseView. Some printers, such as the Epson Stylus Macworld Mac Secrets, fifth edition Automate DOS suffixes includes Software Architects’ £70 Here & Find the bottleneck Photo Printer, come ready to produce (IDG Books Worldwide, 1998). At work, I share files created on my Mac Now (Softline, 01372 726 333), Media4’s Banish modal Internet connections It’s not always the number photos out of the box, but others – some with PC users.When I forget to add a $70 MacDrive 98 (www.media4.com), Tired of staring at a modal of telephones or other devices Canon models, for example – require a three-letter DOS suffix to the name of and DataViz’s £52 MacOpener for dialogue box while your plugged into a phone line that special six- or seven-ink photo cartridge Macworld’s features editor David Fanning and a document, the PC users can’t read the Windows (Principal, 01756 704 444). Mac dials your ISP to make impedes modem speed (as reported in May that has to be swapped in for the standard contributing editor Lon Poole answer readers’ file. How can I automate the addition of DOS suffixes an automatic Internet connection? Next 1999’s Quick Tips), nor is your permanent cartridge. questions and select reader-submitted tips for this to my file names and make it easier on everyone? See the big picture time you want to browse the Web, connect phone wiring usually at fault. Chances Because printers equipped with such column. Send your question or tip (include your David Loury A friend who is legally blind needs instead by opening the Remote Access are, it’s just one device on the line that’s cartridges work with a broader palette address and phone number) to David Fanning, Q&A, his screen magnified. His old Mac control panel (Mac OS 8.5) or the PPP not within phone-company specs. You can of ink colours – usually a light cyan, light Macworld,99 Gray’s Inn Road,London WC1X 8UT.You You can use Sig Software’s had something called CloseView, but control panel (Mac OS 7.6 through 8.1) easily isolate it by connecting your phones magenta, and light yellow in addition to can also send mail electronically,marked Q&A in the $20 shareware NameCleaner it does not work with Mac OS 8 on the and clicking the Connect button. Now while and other devices one at a time and testing the standard CMYK – they can render the subject line, to [email protected] or to quickly add the correct Performa 6118 that I gave him.What can we do? it’s dialling, you can hide the control panel the modem speed. The connecting cord tones of a photograph with much greater via fax to 0171 405 5308. We pay £25 for each tip DOS suffixes to names of files Rick Larimore and do other tasks on your Mac as you like. between a suspect device and the wall accuracy. Check to see if a photo-ink published here. you’ve already saved on your Mac. A When it’s time to sign off the Internet, just can also be a troublemaker, so try cartridge is available for your printer. We cannot make personal replies, so please do more automatic approach would be to Setting a 17-inch or larger click Disconnect in the control panel. Again, a replacement cord before dispatching Swapping cartridges can be a hassle, not include a stamped-addressed envelope. write an AppleScript that re-names files multiscan monitor to 640-x-480- no modal dialogue box gets in your way. the device to the dump. but it is worth your while. based on their type and creator codes. pixel resolution provides 1.5+ to Jonathan Kurtzman Harron Appleman

94 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Macworld AUGUST 1999 95 Expert advice Andrew Gore’s Vision thing

When it comes to the Mac OS X Finder, Apple should give its customers a choice ’Face off

ews Item: When Mac OS X arrives the hierarchy of their hard drive while early next year, the venerable and using the Finder. N familiar Finder will be replaced with But more sophisticated users, who might a new file-management interface derived want to work with files in different branches from the NeXT OS’s file browser. of the hierarchy, would need to open (See “The Millennium Mac”, page 67.) multiple windows in order to perform tasks. When I first sat down to write this The clean, straight-line approach of the column, I fully expected to flame Apple scrolling viewer would quickly lose its for this decision. The Finder is the result clarity, as users struggled with multiple of over 15 years of careful evolution. Cycle views displaying directories that might after cycle of customer input and resulting overlap in some places but not in others. refinement have created a user experience that is inextricably linked with the Macintosh. Two ’faced But just as I began to write a carefully While a NeXT-style viewer would be simpler worded critique of the strategy, I asked and offer more flexibility, it could also myself: “What if I was faced with the task of confuse and complicate aspects of the user improving a user interface that was invented experience, compared to what the Finder before there was networking?” offers. My solution? Offer both. Just as the Finder today offers several ways to view files ’Faced with a dilemma – sorted lists, big icons, little icons, single- I use a Mac not because I feel a sense of clickable buttons – the new Finder could loyalty toward Apple or have some powerful offer both viewer windows and old-style religious fervour about the Macintosh. I use Finder windows. a Mac because I believe the Mac OS provides Users could choose either the new the best way for people to interact with their interface or the classic one, and might even computers. I started using a Mac back in mix both. A viewer window could be open 1984 because I recognized what a leap for viewing files on a remote server, while forward the Mac interface was, and I application icons are displayed in a Finder- continue to use it to this day for the very like window, allowing users to drag-&-drop same reason. And I like to think that if between the two. More than offering users someone other than Apple came along choice, the two views could work together with a better way for me to interact with in an interface that’s more powerful and a computer, that I would stop using a Mac more flexible than the sum of its parts. and start using this amazing new computer Apple has had a lot of success lately and its amazing new interface. in limiting user choice. Replacing standard A computer is just a tool – incredibly serial and ADB with USB proved to be adaptable and powerful, but a tool the only way to get USB accepted by the nonetheless. We must always be open to the mainstream. possibility that no matter how accustomed Some would argue that the only way we are to a particular tool, there might be a to get users to change is to remove all other superior tool for performing the same tasks. options. But I think you’re just as likely So I’m open to the idea that there might to alienate users as you are to enlighten be a better way to manipulate files and work them by forcing a new metaphor on them. with resources on a network than the Finder. Others would no doubt observe that mixing In May, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that a metaphors is never a good thing to do, better way is a side-scrolling File Viewer whether you’re a writer or an interface that allows users to follow a hierarchical designer. To them, I say: “Fine – then give path to whatever files they’re looking for. the people both and let the user decide The advantage to this approach is clear: which is better.” a single window can display all the folders I have no doubt that by changing the and files at each level, without interceding Finder, Apple is trying to develop a better windows obscuring the user’s view. I can see way for users to interact with their computer. this approach being especially helpful for new So why not provide both and let Macintosh users, who constantly misplace files behind users decide over time which view works best

VISION THING ILLUSTRATION: JOHN RITTER MAC OS X MAN BY JOHN CRAIG windows or lose track of where they are in for them? MW

116 Macworld AUGUST 1999 Peter Worlock Buying a new display should be straightforward. Irritatingly, it’s not. Monitor wizard

hen I occupied the lofty heights of the With credit card in hand I set upon the magazine ads and editor’s chair at Macworld almost everyone e-commerce Web sites voraciously, looking to buy a slice of voiced their belief that the editor should high-tech happiness. Boy, was it difficult; trying to get the get the best of everything – fastest Mac, right technical information proved to be all-but impossible. more memory, biggest monitor, all the Unlike gadgetry, monitors are easy to figure. You need to Wsoftware. And I would protest, “No, no – it’s just not true.” know about resolution, you need to know about frequency. And it wasn’t. The fastest Mac (and the speediest graphics- Critically, you need to know what frequency at what accelerator card and the best monitor) always went to the resolution. And this last point is something a lot of dealers art director, because she was the one massaging 60MB either don’t know, or don’t want you to know. Photoshop files into shape. Frequency matters because of flicker, which can give you But while as editor, I did enjoy a succession of very-nice- horrible headaches and ruin your eyesight. Since I don’t thank-you 19-inch monitors from the likes of Radius, have much eyesight left, I’m rather partial to the idea of Hitachi, Sony and others. And when I went freelance, I protecting what I’ve got. The concept of “flicker-free” could never afford anything similar (no, please – it’s OK, displays is hard to pin down, but generally, you want the really). Instead, I learned to live with high-quality but more frequency to be higher than 70Hz, and better than 80Hz modest imaging, via pair of 15-inch displays: a Sony on the if you can get it. Mac, and an NEC on the PC. Rather like pixels and image size in Photoshop, monitor The price of monitors has fallen even more dramatically frequency and resolution are directly linked: as you increase than that of computers in the last five years – can anyone screen resolution, you decrease available frequency. It is else remember when a 19-inch display would set you back perfectly useless to know that a monitor has a maximum £2,000 or more? But my 15-inch models were always good frequency of 120Hz and a maximum resolution of enough to make it hard to justify buying anything bigger. 1,600-x-1,200. The devil, as they say, is in the details. But what’s even more interesting about monitor evolution Since there was little point in buying a bigger monitor over the years, is the way our attitudes have changed. Once and keeping the same resolution (you just get fatter pixels) monitor size in inches, and monitor size in resolution, were I wanted one to handle 1,280-x-1,024 pixels at better than directly linked. We talked about VGA (640-x-480) and 75Hz, or 80Hz if I could get it. SVGA (800-x-600) as though a 15- or 17-inch monitor Magazine ads don’t tell you these things, so making could display nothing else. It was understood that if you direct comparisons was impossible and calling sales lines wanted 1,024-x-768 you needed a 19-inch model. was a joke. But the great disappointment was the Web: you It turned out to be untrue. Necessity being the mother can understand magazine ads lacking detail because space of invention, when I needed to do page layout in XPress on is at a premium, but there’s no excuse for omitting this my 15-inch Sony I cranked up the resolution to 1,024-x-768 information on a Web site. Dabs Direct used to include the – and it worked fine. Of course, the type is a little small, but necessary information in its ads and on the Web but to its it’s perfectly readable to me (after 20 years as a journalist, shame, it no longer does so. my eyesight is not what it was; I can barely recognise a In the end, I had to visit the Web sites of manufacturers, double-decker bus at a hundred yards – but I can read a pore over their spec sheets, draw up a shortlist, and column of 6pt type at arm’s length with no difficulty). comparison-shopped on price. There are plenty of suitable Nevertheless, when I found myself in the unusual position monitors out there – as well as some displays that fall recently of having a bit of spare cash, my buried yearnings surprisingly short. I bought an Iiyama S702GT that does for a bigger monitor returned with a vengeance. I quickly exactly what I want, excellent image, rock solid display, ruled out a 19-inch model, as I didn’t have quite that much plenty of change out of £300 – it’s wonderful. But it should money and settled on the idea of a 17-inch. have been easier. MW

194 Macworld AUGUST 1999