Posted by : Jeff Barbian; Dennis Sellers; Eric Foster-Johnson
Microsoft Splits From SIIA
Microsoft's contentious relationship with
the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) came to an end in March when
the company withdrew its membership from the prominent software industry trade
group.
Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Bob Herbold forfeited his seat as director
of the SIIA board after less than a year of membership. In his resignation
letter, Herbold wrote: "[The SIIA] is no longer playing an effective leadership
role on the issues where the software and information industries share a united
interest." Industry watchers have little doubt that Herbold's ostensible
discontent with the SIIA extends to the political arena and the association's
support for the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft. In February, the
SIIA stated its case to the Justice Department in a report titled "Addressing
the Microsoft Challenge," saying that Microsoft used its PC operating system
monopoly to broaden its market dominance.
Xbot on Deck
After months of speculation and closed-door demonstrations for software
developers, Bill Gates and several third-party developers have announced the
existence of Microsoft's Xbot gaming system. Gates said through a televised news
feed that Xbot, which is slated for release in the fall of 2000, will provide
"performance better than twice that of any previous platform."
Xbot's complete specifications will be revealed by the time you read this,
but the early buzz has the gaming system using 64MB of system and video RAM, an
8GB hard drive, and AMD's 650Mhz Athlon CPU. One PC technician questions whether
the Xbot has the wherewithal to compete with gaming mainstays Sony, Sega, and
Nintendo. "Do you really think for one minute that a watered-down PC will hold
its own in a five-year life cycle of gaming consoles?"
MSN Mobile 2 Debuts
Microsoft has updated its one-way wireless Web service that will allow
wireless appliance users to access Microsoft HotMail and calendar services, check
stock quotes at MoneyCentral, read headline news at MSNBC.com, get street
directions, and make travel reservations through the Microsoft Expedia Service.
The interactive service, called MSN Mobile 2.0, will be licensed to Nextel
Communications and AirTouch Cellular to distribute along with their hardware. MSN
Mobile 2.0 also provides access from handheld devices, including Web-enabled
mobile phones, Pocket PCs and Palm handheld computers.
"In the next few years, thanks to the growth of the wireless industry,
consumers will be able to connect to the Web in new ways," Gates said from CTIA
Wireless 2000 in New Orleans. "MSN Mobile plays a critical role in enabling the
everyday Web anytime, anywhere, and from any device."
Flying out the Windows
Officially launched on Feb. 17, Windows 2000 sales stood at 500,000 copies
after two weeks of retail availability, according to Microsoft marketing director
Keith White. White, who says the figure exceeded Microsoft's expectations, says
the lion's share of sales consisted of Windows 2000 Professional sales.
Macworld Tokyo a First for Apple
At the 10th annual Macworld Tokyo in Japan (Feb. 16-19), Apple did something
it's never done before: It made new product announcements outside the United
States. iCEO Steve Jobs announced a revision of the iBook, new PowerBooks, and a
speed bump to the Power Mac G4 line.
The 300MHz iBooks now come with 64MB of RAM and 6GB hard drives, with no
price increase: The cost is still $1,599. A new $1,799 iBook Special Edition will
sport a graphite and ice color scheme, a 366MHz G3 processor, 64MB of RAM, and a
6GB hard drive.
Apple's newest tweaks to its PowerBook line keep the same design, but are
faster, add an ATI Rage Mobility 128 graphics chip (the fastest such chip ever in
a laptop), DVD drives, two FireWire ports, and support for AirPort wireless
technology.
Prices range from $2,499 (for a 400 MHz version with 64MB of SDRAM and a 6GB
hard drive) to $3,499 (for a 500MHz version with 128MB SDRAM and a 12GB hard
drive).
Also during his Macworld Tokyo keynote, Jobs said that Apple is now offering
a 500MHz version of its G4 desktop. The Japanese show attracted an estimated
180,000 visitors over four days.
Mac OS X to Be a 'Global Operating System'
In his keynote at Macworld Tokyo, Jobs described the upcoming Mac OS X as a
"global" operating system. He said it would ship with the highest-quality
Japanese fonts available and the largest character set ever on personal
computers.
The fonts will be made up of 17,000 characters in each of six typefaces. The
six typefaces will be provided in OpenType format, compatible with Unicode, with
no device or resolution limitations for use on-screen and in high-quality output.
"You can't express these things on a personal computer today," Jobs said.
"These Kanji fonts are so beautiful and will be on every single copy of Mac OS
X."
The iCEO also said that Mac OS X will ship with a CD-ROM that has all the
localized versions of the operating system on it. This means that Mac OS X will
ship on the same day in Japan that it ships in the United States.
Apple Rolls Out New Servers
Apple has quietly unveiled two new Mac Server G4 systems and a new Macintosh
Server G4 with Mac OS X Server software.
The Macintosh Server G4 500 MHz is priced at $4,199, as is the Macintosh
Server G4 500 MHz with Mac OS X Server software. The Power Mac G4 is available in
more than 25,000 build-to-order (BTO) configurations. Specifics on configurations
are available at Apple.com.
FrameMaker for Linux Arrives
The long wished-for desktop publishing program Adobe FrameMaker is now
available for Linux. You can download the beta version of FrameMaker 5.5.6 from
Adobe. This
includes a free trial license that expires on Dec. 31, 2000. Presumably, you'll
be able to purchase the full product before that time.
FrameMaker really fills a gap in Linux software offerings because nothing so
far has provided the same level of features for desktop publishing and management
of large documents. FrameMaker is the technical-manual writing tool of choice
because it provides good support for creating large documents.
With the release of FrameMaker, Adobe becomes yet another software firm
endorsing Linux. Firms like Adobe don't do this out of the goodness of their
hearts; they hope to make a profit.
Adobe's move is part of a larger trend toward Linux. As estimated by International Data Corp., Linux surged from 16
percent of the server operating system market in 1998 to 25 percent in 1999, in
terms of units sold. This places Linux in second place behind Windows NT, which
IDC estimated to have a 38 percent market share in both 1998 and 1999. In dollar
amounts, though, Windows beats the pants off Linux, at $32 million versus the
Windows juggernaut of $1.7 billion. IDC estimated that about 1.3 million copies
of Linux server software were sold in 1999, compared to about 2.1 million copies
for Windows. Note that this IDC report tracks server sales, and that IDC does not
count the free downloads of Linux.
Furthermore, Bloor Research spent
a year comparing Linux to Windows NT, and found that Linux performed better in a
number of categories, including general up-time and availability. See the report online for more. As with
most comparisons, how an operating system works for you is more important than
how it works for others.
Word Processor Updates
You can find an updated version of Ted, a Rich Text Format editor online.
AbiWord, a word processor in development, is now at version 0.7.8. You can
also get this online.
Java update
The Java Developer Kit 1.2.2 is finally out with a full release from Sun
Microsystems, the makers of Java. The full JDK 1.2.2 download for Linux is
available from Sun. Notable
with this release is the fact that Sun now recognizes the volunteer efforts that
helped port Java to Linux. The so-called "Blackdown" team spent years porting the
development kit to Linux. This had been a hot issue because many contend that Sun
took advantage of the Blackdown team by profiting from their efforts and then
pretending the team didn't exist.
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DVD titling; and digital audio, Adobe Photoshop CS3 extended, Adobe illustrator CS3,Adobe indesign CS3,Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, Adobe Dreamweaver CS3,Adobe Contribute CS3,Adobe Fireworks CS3,Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3,Adobe Soundbooth CS3,Adobe Encore CS3,Adobe OnLocation,Adobe Bridge CS3,Adobe Version Cue CS3,Adobe Device Central CS3,Adobe Stock Photos, Intel Pentium 4 (1.4GHz processor for DV; 3.4GHz processor for HDV), Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon, (dual 2.8GHz processors for HD), or Intel Core, Duo (or compatible) processor; SSE2-enabled processor required for AMD systems Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (certified for 32-bit editions) 1GB of RAM for DV; 2GB of RAM for HDV and HD; more RAM recommended when running multiple components 10GB of available hard-disk space (additional free space required during installation) Dedicated 7,200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred Microsoft DirectX compatible sound card (multichannel ASIO-compatible sound card recommended),1,280x1,024 monitor resolution with 32-bit color adapter Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray Disc creation OHCI compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device QuickTime 7.1.2 software required to use QuickTime features Broadband Internet connection required for Adobe Stock Photos* and other services
