The Cole Papers, Macworld, February 2001

February 2001

Awaiting transfer: Left, the commands window panes for Transporter from Aladdin Systems; below, the steps panes.

Browsing content: ACDSee's browser product, right, exports in HTML and can handle 40 different media formats.

Half better than nothing: The Half Keyboard from Matias Corp. is just the left-hand side of a standard-sized keyboard; to access the keys that are on the right-hand side, you hold down the space key.

Apple talks about the future of Mac, while developers stew

SAN FRANCISCO -- It was keynote business as usual for Steve Jobs, even if it wasn't for Apple, at the 2001 version of Macworld Expo held here Jan. 9-12. Crowds were estimated to be near a record 80,000 for the event.

There was certainly a full house for the keynote of Apple's iCEO. His presentations are the stuff of which legends are made, and it would be repetitive to utter the phrase "the atmosphere is more like a rock concert with techie overtones than a mere demo." By now, the computer industry has analyzed this latest burst from Jobs' famous reality-distortion field, and pulled it back into the real world, where computers have to be used to get work done.

After plenty of expenditures on new hardware and software during Y2K, be it for the millennium bug or other reasons, there has been a pullback of sorts throughout the industry. It is always the mission of Jobs -- and Macworld Expo -- to hype the Macintosh, and the hype has been very well done. More surprisingly, the inflated expectations generated have usually been fulfilled in the reign of the iCEO.

For those producing publications with Macintoshes, Jobs did have some important announcements, although they didn't exactly jive with what was said at Macworld San Francisco last year. Yes, the much worked-on and talked-about Mac OS X (see The Cole Papers, February 2000 and December 2000) now has a certain date when it will be shipping, and that date is March 24.

For the most reasonable sum of $129, a G3 or G4 computer can have all the joy of the Aqua interface, true multitasking and so much more, provided that the application you are running has been Carbonized (i.e. rewritten) to take advantage of all the new power of X. And it so happens that 100 Carbonized Macintosh applications (Job's count) were announced at the Expo. Clearly, developers are excited about the possibilities of a truly modern, Unix-based operating system for the Macintosh at last.

Jobs, casually bejeaned and with a retro Miami Vice-style three-day growth of stubble, did make a point of addressing the complaints of long-time Macintosh users about adjusting to the new OS. Contrary to what was in the public beta of OS X, the Apple menu has been moved back to its usual place on the left side of the menu bar, and not in the center. "But we've got something that's even more fun," Jobs raved, and showed that since the Finder is nothing more than an application, old-time Mac users can, at their discretion, set up OS X to operate just like the Finder in OS 9 does. So the Finder does live on as an application, which, from Jobs' demo, looked and performed just like the Finder Mac users have grown to love over all these years.

Jobs made a big point of the 75,000 feedback submissions that the public beta brought forth, and the 100,000 plus copies sold.

More importantly, Jobs announced that OS X would not be bundled with new Macintoshes until July (which gives some time to get the kinks out of the 1.0 release) and that the new, speedier G4s (up to 733 MHz) would have another Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot for a total of four, rather than three. Graphics professionals had been decrying the lack of expansion slots since the demise of the old Macintosh 9600 model, which had a generous six slots for expansion.

For money-conscious managers, Jobs announced a price cut on the popular Apple Studio Display flat-panel monitor, from $999 to $799.

The future of Apple
All these announcements did not alter the thrust of the sales pitch for the 2001 Expo ... that the Macintosh, although a latecomer, was going to strive to be the digital hub for the connected 21st-century citizen. To that end, the new Macs will have the ability to make not only CDs, but DVDs as well.

As we enter the 21st century, the new Macs have progressed far beyond desktop publishing, Jobs opined, but the question being asked in the real world was -- combined with OS X, would a digital hub and a new OS be enough to keep the Macintosh viable?

To answer this vital question, I sought out the chief executive of a cross-platform company that started out totally Macintosh. The software the company makes performs an application that is a vital function for media companies. The chief executive wanted the Macintosh to succeed, but in the real world, said it certainly wasn't a sure thing.

The doubts included:

Multithreading in OS X is making problems for Carbonizing applications, and a lot of code, at least in the company's main application, is having to be modified and/or rewritten for proper Carbonization to occur.

Stability in the final release of OS X is still an issue, although most reports are of a stable overall platform.

The traditional ease-of-use is working against the Mac because it isn't the dominant platform.

With nearly automatic built-in costs for maintenance and training using Windows or UNIX, in the real world, trainers and systems personnel would rather recommend a system that virtually mandates continuing income for trainers and troubleshooters. Why recommend an easy-to-use system with low maintenance that offers less income for trainers and consultants.

Software stuff
With that bracing dose of real-world experience, I hit the show floor sans the floating-on-air effect that seeing a masterful demo incorporating Dylan Thomas, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in various ways might engender in a less casehardened Macworld Expo veteran (this being the author's 17th consecutive visit.)

Of course, I found several items of interest, both hardware- and software-wise in a show that was arranged a little more openly, yet still seemed crowded with Macintosh enthusiasts, despite one very rainy day and no announcement that really stole the thunder from Jobs and his Mac-centric digital vision.

MacSpeech: If a modern operating system is a Mac-necessity, then a Mac-dream is a really great speech recognition program that could let users run their Macs like Captain Picard runs the starship Enterprise. Well, it just may be here now, particularly with the powerful new G4s. MacSpeech of Bedford, N.H., has released iListen (a strong competitor for IBM's ViaVoice), which has the attraction that one can dictate into any word processor, not the one that works with ViaVoice (you have to use a voice command in ViaVoice to move text into your favorite word processor).

For Macworld Expo, the company announced 21 new ScriptPaks, which enable the user to use voice commands to put an application through its usual paces without any input device but the voice. It's quite a sight to see Quark XPress, with all keyboard commands, being run by voice control. The program is $99, the Quark ScriptPak (the most expensive) checks in at $40.

Chuck Rogers, MacSpeech evangelist, was pleased with the progress the Mac-only company has shown to date, and shrugged off comparisons of iListen to the late Power Secretary, which he said was much better, "because of much more powerful computers."

MacSpeech will sell you a noise-canceling microphone, which is necessary ... Apple's old PlainTalk mikes just don't do a good enough job. Finally, there might be an all-Mac competitor to ViaVoice.

So what about iListen and OS X? OS X and speech recognition? Some significant problems and issues remain, Rogers said. However, work is proceeding with a beta tester under the Classic (non-Carbon) environment.

Cumulus 5.0: So Macs are now able to talk the talk, although not in OS X ... but can Macs walk the walk? Helping Macs be proficient in a multiformat environment is the task of Cumulus 5.0, digital asset management software from Canto Software Inc. of San Francisco. Its latest module release, PowerPoint AssetStore, is not available on the Mac platform. What is most interesting about this product is it can catalog not only the presentation, but also the actual slides in it, and will allow, through an add-on, assets to be placed from a Cumulus database directly into a PowerPoint presentation. Support for the Mac platform might be added later, according to Chief Executive Jennifer Neumann, depending upon demand.

Neumann would prefer that the company's core technology be referred to as metadata asset management, reflecting Cumulus' ability to break up something like a PowerPoint presentation or an XPress document into its component parts and put it all in its database.

ACDSee 1.5: ACD Systems International Inc. of Saanichton, British Columbia, Canada, with its ACDSee 1.5 for the Macintosh, demonstrated another more simplified approach to multiformatted content. Using the built-in QuickTime technology in the Mac OS, this software enables users to see, sort and show more than 40 image, video and audio formats, with extremely easy-to-use features. If you can use a Macintosh, there's virtually no need for a manual with this program.

ACDSee 1.5 isn't full of a plethora of bells and whistles, but it does the job extremely well, and is not much of a memory hog, requiring only 8 megabytes of memory on OS 8.6 or better to run. And it's only $39.95.

StickyBrain: And now for something completely different from Chronos of Park City, Utah ... StickyBrain. Hailed as the ultimate information storehouse, this innovative piece of software gives those sticky notes built into the Mac OS, a brain. Now it's possible to create stickies on the fly with a hot key, have unlimited styles and undos, and most importantly, a find function that lets you track down the information in those notes.

Add to this a sticky word processor with built in spell checking and search and replace. Move over Word ... now a sticky note becomes a word processor with reminders and task lists as well. It runs on everything from OS 8.1 to OS X. At last, a way to organize the information on all those random notes.

Transporter: Aladdin Systems of Watsonville, Calif., has resuscitated an old newsroom method of communication in its newly announced software, Transporter. The illustration on the software box shows an old newsroom device now 20 years gone ... the plastic container sent by compressed air through a system of tubes to communicate information between the back shop and the editorial department -- the pneumatic tube.

With this software version of the concept, users can set up and automate file management, communications and other Internet-related tasks. With 26 different steps to combine together in a variety of ways, users can create drop boxes that can do whatever instructions are contained within them, be it file compression, e-mail transfers or custom alert dialogs. Everything old becomes new again in a digital version, or so it seems.

ConceptDraw: I couldn't conclude this brief software review without mentioning the people who traveled the farthest to their first Macworld Expo. It demonstrates just how much the world, like the Macintosh, has changed in the 17 years since the Mac was introduced. Computer Systems Odessa Corp., of Odessa, Ukraine, came halfway around the world to promote the company's product, ConceptDraw 1.6. It's easy to use and makes great flow charts, business diagrams, organizational schemes, plans ... anything that would look good in a flow chart-like format.

It's for Mac and Windows, it can export the charts as HTML for use on the Web and it's fairly straightforward. Here's a vote for a small company from a far-away place that was once the breadbasket of the now-defunct Soviet Union. They are eager and offer great, free technical support via e-mail. If your job depends on coming up with a smashing network diagram or workflow chart, this little $125-program could be the answer.

Hardware hall
On the hardware side, the trend seemed to be toward very small and portable hard drives with multigigabyte capacities, and either or both USB and FireWire connections. Also of note are new expansion possibilities for the G3/G4 and the iMacs, and an AlphaSmart update. And finally, a real keyboard for one-handed people.

Half Keyboard: How about that one-handed keyboard? The Half Keyboard, from the Matias Corp. of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, is simple in concept. Assume you had only one hand, your left. You would type on the Half Keyboard just the same as on a regular keyboard. To get the right-hand side, just hold down the space bar, and then it's like typing on the right side of the keyboard using the left hand. There is some relearning, but not too much to get passably proficient. Made first for the handheld PDAs like the Palm and Visor, the keyboard can now be used on a Macintosh. Strap one on your wrist and pretend you're Dick Tracy.

AlphaSmart: Although not introduced at Macworld, it's a pleasure to tout again the AlphaSmart 3000 from AlphaSmart Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. (see The Cole Papers, February 1997).

This is the ultimate portable keyboard, rugged and light (just two pounds), runs for more than 100 hours on four AA batteries, now has improved spell check and actual cut-and-paste, as well as a USB connection for both PC and Mac.

This reporter has used one of these devices since its introduction and while most of his notes at Macworld were taken on an AlphaSmart, four years later it still attracted attention. At $199, these devices can be lost many times and still cost less than an expensive laptop.

There's no modem, but otherwise it's a great device for writing notes and stories and then either printing them out or getting them into a desktop computer.

Small drives: Two companies, Iomega Corp. of Roy, Utah, and QPS Inc. of Anaheim, Calif., are just a small sample of the hot new hardware taking full advantage of the newer, speedier and easier FireWire and USB connectivity offered in the new Macs.

QPS introduced its Que D2 Dual drive, a slim package combining a 6-gigabyte hard drive that also has a removable media drive, both in one enclosure. Weighing less than two pounds, the device's SuperDisk will read 3.5-inch disks in both 120- and 240-megabyte sizes, as well as the traditional 1.4-megaybyte floppy and, on the PC side, the old 720-megaybyte format. If only the SuperDrive format was as widespread as the Zip 100, it would be not just great, but insanely great.

Of course, Iomega has the Zip, and it has been the basis of its profitability for years. But files, particularly multimedia content, are getting huge, so that's why the Peerless drive was announced at Macworld.

Although not shipping until midyear, it won Best of Show. Basically the size and shape of a small electric razor or hand-held computer, it comes in 5-, 10- and 20-gigabyte sizes and can be plugged and unplugged from a computer just like a razor is to a charging device.

All the electronics are in the base station, and the read-write heads are sealed into the removable device. Contamination risk from dust is lowered and costs are lowered with this arrangement. So get it now with the D2 Dual, or get it later with the Peerless system.

CompuCable: Finally, CompuCable Manufacturing Group of Costa Mesa, Calif., has come up with an expansion bay for G3/G4 Macs that incorporates a floppy disk drive, an expansion hard drive bay, a SmartCard reader, two USB ports, two serial ports and two ADB ports. The old and the new can coexist in this well-engineered device that sits on top of the G3 and G4, right between the built-in handles.

-- George Powell, powell@colepapers.net

ACD Systems International Inc.,
(250) 544-6700,
e-mail: info@acdsystems.com;
Aladdin Systems Inc.,
(831) 761-6200,
e-mail: info@aladdinsys.com;
AlphaSmart Inc.,
(408) 252-9400,
e-mail: info@alphasmart.com;
Apple Computer Inc.,
(408) 996-1010;
Canto Software Inc.,
(415) 703-9800, e-mail: info@canto.com;
Chronos,
(435) 615-7335,
e-mail: info@chronosnet.com;
CompuCable Manufacturing Group,
(800) 344-6921,
e-mail: info@compucable.com;
Computer Systems Odessa Corp.,
{011} (380) 482 266 576,
e-mail: info@conceptdraw.com;
Iomega Corp.,
(801) 332-1000;
MacSpeech Inc.,
(603) 626-5111,
e-mail: questions@macspeech.com;
Matias Corp.,
(905) 265-8844,
e-mail: info@halfkeyboard.com;
QPS Inc.,
(714) 692-5573,
e-mail: sales@qps-inc.com.

Apple talks about the future of Mac, while developers stew

From THE COLE PAPERS, February 2001, Copyright © 2001, All Rights Reserved.