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MacWorld Report July 2002

©2002 Mugsy Lunsford, MacGeek of DogTown		 More Drivel

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MacWorld

DogTales
It's come and gone again. The MacWorld Expo has drawn the crowds to New York City for a peek at the new, the familiar, and the obscure. For once, I won't apologize for the length of this report, but will continue to leave this up all year, since some of you were enthusiastic enough to request it.

This year, I brought a camera and took pictures. My regrets to those who must make do with dialup accounts, but I did squeeze the life out of these for downloadability. Photography isn't among my many talents, so there has been no Duncanization, you'll just have to accept these snapshots as they are.

Please take your time reading. Consider this page a reference.

If you'd like more info, please feel free to ask. I appreciate your comments.
Quick Links:
Apple Booth
Hardware
Software
Wetware		 As this was my first trip to NYC since 9/11/01, I wasn't sure how being in the city would feel. Though my extra-MacWorld wanderings were as random and intriguing as always, ultimately I stayed away from Ground Zero. Dealing with the constant disorientation whenever emerging from the subway in lower Manhattan caused enough emotional turmoil, as I'd reflexively scan for the towers to find my bearings.

 While some sights seemed comfortingly familiar, others were heartbreakingly changed.

Quick Links:
Apple Booth
Hardware
Software
Wetware		 The Apple Booth:

Large, packed with enthusiastic Apple reps, featuring a presentation stage in the center, the Apple booth was nevertheless somewhat disappointing for those who were seeking speed-bumped Tibooks, G5s or the much-rumoured handheld device.
New hardware was limited to the addition of a 17 inch screen to the existing iMac line, with a few improvements; the iMac lineup now looks like this:

17" screen 800mhz with SuperDrive, 256mb RAM 80gig drive, pro speakers, nVidia GeForce 4mx graphics - $1999

15" screens on the rest of the line -
800mhz with SuperDrive, 256mb RAM 60gig drive, pro speakers, nVidia GeForce 2mx graphics - $1799
700mhz with Combo drive, 256mb RAM 40gig drive, pro speakers, nVidia GeForce 2mx graphics - $1599
700mhz with CD/RW drive, 128mb RAM 40gig drive, nVidia GeForce 2mx graphics - $1399

All models come with Mac OSX and Mac OS9 installed, 10/100base-T ethernet ready, a 56k internal modem and a rather extensive software set.

The CRT model iMacs are still available at the Apple Store and some resellers. They are priced from $799 to $1024 depending upon how much RAM is installed. Each is a 600mhz, G3 processor with 40gb hard drive, CD-rom drive, 10/100base-T ready, 56k modem and a similar software suite to their sleeker descendants. With the price of RAM being what it is, anyone needing an inexpensive student machine might save money by purchasing RAM elsewhere. These models will quietly vanish as the stock dries up.

Apple announced a significant change in their free email and webspace mac.com. iTools is being rebranded as .mac and now including an annual $99 fee. The new expanded service features include Virex antivirus software, a backup application and larger webspace, with other features promised after Jaguar ships in August. Considering the myriad of problems with mac.com email thus far, it is understandable that the immediate reaction most loudly voiced at the expo was negative.

I know what you're thinking. "hey Mugsy, you're posting this on a .mac server!"
Yes, I'm using the service now, as I have done for quite some time, and will take the $49 "upgrade offer" for one year to try it out. However, like many professionals, I already own an antivirus package, have a backup strategy in place, don't care to publish a calendar or let others know when I'm online, and find iDisk painfully slow and the interface of iChat annoying. Therefore, the expanded features don't really benefit me at all. Unless Apple can provide some compelling reason to use their service, offer a reduced rate for those who only want to keep existing websites and email addresses, and more importantly, overcome the growing pains so clearly evident in their email service to date, I won't be resubscribing. You network and list admins out there know what I'm talking about.

For the average consumer or those new to computing, perhaps .mac will be an inexpensive solution for web space, or as an alternative to purchasing standalone antivirus and backup software. It is also encouraging to see the addition of direct access to support, but the effectiveness of this implementation remains to be seen, and for many disgruntled ex-mac.com users, it may be too little, much too late.

OTOH, Jaguar is just.

Ok, that was succinct, possibly correct at least in local street parlance, but lacking in detail.
How about - faster, more capable Sherlock, tight synchronization with other devices, search is embedded in Finder windows, icons have more meaning... other words come to mind, such as "sleek" and "polished". Though some have complained that the luxuriously redesigned spinning beachball should never appear, my in-booth experience with Apple's OS X 10.2 left an impression of quick response and a more finished GUI. I'm looking forward to a more thorough test drive opportunity, in hopes that I can finally recommend upgrading to my clients running production workstations. For your own personal one-on-one before paying your $129-no-discounts, visit the nearest Apple Store.

Hmmm... fairly lean info from Apple, perhaps things will get more interesting after the speed-bumped G4's running Jaguar start hitting the streets....

Hardware:

Harman Kardon's partnering with Apple has resulted in crystalline orbs of sound pulsing with a blue glow in the past, but the latest trio of speakers have ... some sort of shape..well...... Say hi to the Creature, brainchild of Kurt Soland, seen below grinning over a blue example of his design, which is also available in white and silver. http://www.harman-multimedia.com/
Quick Links:
Apple Booth
Hardware
Software
Wetware		 Kurt SolandWhen asked his source of inspiration for the intriguing shape of these self-powered, shielded speakers, Kurt replied: "They just kind of grew out of the desk."

He went on to say that it was a delightful surprise that the Creatures were functioning as 3D Rorschach tests for attendees, who had seen everything from shiny octopi in the 24 watt, 9 inch wide subwoofer, to tiny Darth Vader masks in the touch controlled interface of the 8 watt, 3 inch desktop speakers.

They still remind me of those little guys from PacMan.
Many of us experience entirely too much discomfort while spending interminable hours in front of these magic boxes, so I'm always on the lookout for anything that will improve the ergonomics of computing.

Contour Design was once again showing a variety of solutions, including the RollerMouse Station and the ShuttlePro Multimedia Controller. The ShuttlePro has been handed off to another division now, but still offers the digitial media producer the same smooth programmable control. http://www.contouravs.com/cav_shuttlepro_info.html
The RollerMouse Station keeps both hands in the keyboard rest position, allowing mouse movements to be handled by the thumb. They also carry mice, tower-mounted media trays, and forearm support for the prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome. http://www.contourdesign.com/

A slightly different approach to keyboard comfort comes from Comfort Labs. The gliding wrist support of Comfort Point was pretty slick; both wrists rest on soft platforms that move effortlessly over the surface provided. The supports allow enough room to grab a mouse, hold a stylus and will overlap a graphics tablet by about 5 inches. An inexpensive option for those seeking wrist relief. http://www.comfortlab.com/

I'm still getting inquiries about the P5 Glove from Essential Reality. Although they weren't at the show, they were discussed among attendees, and the news is that they should be shipping this fall. http://www.essentialreality.com/products.html
Speaking of input devices, Matias Corporation has compressed an entire keyboard into half the space, enabling one-handed typing. There are command keys to access other functions on the Halfkeyboard, so that with a minimum of practice, touch typists will be up to speed in no time. The smaller size allows this keyboard to be used in places a full sized keyboard wouldn't fit, and there is even a wearable model. If you use a graphics pad or pen, or would like to use a keyboard with your PDA, this may be just the thing for you.
http://www.halfkeyboard.com
Yeah, I know, it's not exactly hardware, but Crumpler's laptop cases and camera bags designed in Australia to be tough and flexible enough to please bicycle messengers with their ease of access and durability are just so cool... nice logo too.
http://www.crumplerusa.com

If you're going to be hauling your laptop around on a bicycle, here's a security measure you might consider - PC PhoneHome.
Anytime your machine is connected to the internet, it sends a simple email giving its location, to any email address you specify. Install once, and your machine is protected for life. http://www.pcphonehome.com/

There are many options for internet and network security, or solutions for personal data protection, but encryption won't keep someone from walking off with the whole machine. Noble Security Systems offers some physical barriers to theft, and back up their product with a nice insurance policy.Their main website is http://www.golocks.com, but Meyer Sasson called from the New York office to clarify that http://www.locksolve.com/ is the division handling sales, service and insurance claims for the east coast.
Griffin Technology. I decided the best expression of my sincere appreciation of their continuous stream of useful goodies was to just walk up and genuflect before their booth. Apparently that worked, because I got a sneak peek at two upcoming gadgets not quite shipping yet: an FM transmitter (SRP $30 USD) that snaps onto the top of an iPod so you can play your mp3s through your stereo system, and a small amplifier/transmitter that was powering the wireless speakers at the booth. Folks wandering up to twirl the shiny PowerMate volume controller were drowning out the FileMaker demos across the aisle, but hey, it was the Violent Femmes. http://www.griffintechnology.com/
PowerBook, iBook and TiBook owners may find useful products at RadTech, although their website seems to be under construction at the moment. http://www.radtech.us/ Cushions to protect the screen from the keyboard, hinge adjustment kits, and chassis widgets for reducing play in the lid that can lead to inadvertent openings are among the offerings from inventor John Grzeskowiak.

For those who'd like to own a Tivo, but hate the idea of paying a regular fee, El Gato Software may have just the ticket in their EyeTV, a software/hardware combination in its first release. Using MPEG1, EyeTV can record an hour of video to 650mb of space on your hard drive, and allow such luxuries as pausing live or recorded broadcasts, skipping commercials, and instant replay. The software interface includes easy burns to video CD format. Internet access is required for programming and scheduling the recording of your favorite shows. http://www.elgato.com/eyeTV/index.html While you're on their site, download the free OSX SCSI CD-RW Helper and iPhoto Toast Export Plugin. Read a review here: http://www.macintoshdigitalhub.com/reviews/eyetv/index.html

For a lower cost method of getting video into your mac, take a look at InterView from XLR8. Capture video from any VCR, DVD player, or other device with S-Video or Composite Video signal through your USB port. InterView comes with an impressive array of software, including a QT Pro license, WebCleaner, ImageCaster, Theater and Strata VideoShop 4.5 http://www.strata.com for editing. Supports NTSC at 29.97 fps and PAL at 24 fps. http://xlr8.com
Quick Links:
Apple Booth
Hardware
Software
Wetware		 Now that you've recorded, or captured and edited some video, why not play it back on any TV screen? iTViewMac from Focus Enhancements lets you do exactly that, on any G3, G4, eMac or iMac with a vga port, although new iMacs will need an adaptor available at Apple. Use any size tv monitor with S-Video, RCA or SCART input, any flavour of NTSC or PAL, in resolutions from 640x480 VGA to 1024x768 XGA. http://www.focusinfo.com/products/itview_mac/itview_mac.htm

While you're at it, why not spread that brilliant documentary throughout the globe? Telmak can supply you with Telecast, a plug and play live web cast in a flight case, with a dedicated cpu per stream of name-your-encoding-flavoured video from whatever source, on wheels, with tech support. Expose the world to your genius. If a flight case is too large for your needs, take a look at Netman.
 http://www.telemak.com/products/netman.html

 Ok, suppose the subject of your next documentary happens to live in a hostile, remote environment that will require physical stamina, and you're gonna need some storage for that precious data. How about recording without a computer, directly onto a 20 gig firewire drive that weighs 1lb when attached to your belt, even with a rechargeable battery? Pyro DV Drive, from ADS Technologies. http://www.adstech.com/

Suppose you've been holding out for that G5 with DDR ram for your next machine, but really need to sqeeze just a bit more speed and useability out of that early AGP G4 tower.. well, ATI has what you've been waiting for. Announced mid-Expo, the 9000 Pro for Mac replaces the 8500, offering 64mb DDR RAM on a dual monitor AGP card. The 9700 leaps ahead with 128mb DDR RAM, a long list of features including 8 parallel rendering pipelines and onboard FPU for color precision. Both cards are OSX compatible, with ADC and DVI ports, so now there is no excuse not to set two Cinema Displays side by side. Available this fall. http://www.ati.com/

Another path chosen by those seeking to keep an older system viable, or an increase in speed and functionality on any machine, is to add hard drives. Whether you are adding faster drives or just more of them, ACard has a solution. Hardware RAID support at the flip of a switch, SCSI to ATA bridges, a variety of PCI cards to support the newest fast ATA drives, and the best part is that no special drivers are needed. Find these at Microland Electronics http://www.microlandusa.com or check http://www.acard.com for a local distributor.

Grande Vitesse Systems has been known for their high performance servers, workstations and custom solutions for well over a decade. Their dual processor G4 rackmount box configures very competitively against Apple's Xserve, something to consider if you're setting up a CG animation render farm or a digital video editing suite. They were showing a traffic-stopping triple flat screen LCD display, with minimal footprint and a space to tuck your keyboard away beneath. http://www.gvsnet.com/site/

Software:


Best in Show is quite a prestigious award, and this year's winner certainly deserves it. @Last Software's SketchUp is a powerful architectural 3D design application with a streamlined, intuitive interface allowing visualizations to be drawn with the speed of a pencil sketch on a napkin during lunch. Download a fully functional demo and you'll be comfortably doodling away within minutes, add in dimensions if you know them, or just eyeball proportions. As your design progresses, SketchUp provides several hand-drawn rendering options, or export the file to any number of 3D programs for further modelling, texturing, or a more photorealistic rendering. http://www.sketchup.com/
Quick Links:
Apple Booth
Hardware
Software
Wetware		 Asiva's image enhancement software was originally created for use in the video and film industry, to give video producers a low cost tool with which they could push the quality of video images into the range of telecine-transferred film. Asiva Photo gives you the power of pixel-accurate retouching and editing, without the heavy RAM overhead of Photoshop. All changes are displayed in real time, but not applyed until you render. Sequences of changes can be saved out separately and emailed to that critical client for approval without the need for generating huge files. Asiva Video, Broadcast and High Def versions are expected this fall. http://www.asiva.com/

With Macromedia and Adobe notably absent from MacWorld this year, some rising stars were that much more visible. Include MindAvenue's Axel in that constellation - a cross-platform combination 3D modeling, animation, texturing, lighting, interactive web content authoring package with a well thought-out, intuitive interface. AXELCore is the low-cost entry level for designing interactive 3D content, AXELedge brings it to a higher level with character animation, custom scripting and IK capabilities. Downloadable demo available on their site: http://www.mindavenue.com
One of my favourite sections at MacWorld is what my friend Paul Allman http://www.allmanic.com refers to as "the cheap seats" - the section on the farthest side from the Apple Booth, where small developers have one tiny cabinet upon which to make their bid for discovery by the milling throngs of Mac-fans.
That's where I stumbled across Interactive Solutions booth, where 11 year old Stephen LaCommare was demoing MovieWorks Deluxe with obvious enthusiasm. He quickly built a slide show from a folder of photos, added a soundtrack and played it back for us. A simple branching presentation became interactive, with linear animation. He felt quite at home going through the steps, although he confessed to only using it for a week. When asked how he would compare it to other presentation or authoring packages, he considered for only a moment before replying "We have to use PowerPoint at school, and this is much better." http://www.movieworks.com/
While most 3D software allows one to render out files for viewing, some compromise is often required when the goal is to allow others to see your work, especially in progress. Kaydara, makers of MotionBuilder, offer their FBX for Quicktime Viewer as a free download. http://www.kaydara.com/products/fbx/index.php?filename=fbxqt Bring your 3D models into QuickTime for instant viewing, keeping model, character and motion data intact. They support high-end 3D applications now, and plan to support more consumer-level apps in the next release.
Speaking of QuickTime, what if you could play QT movie files on your Palm Pilot? Kinoma has made it possible to squeeze even widescreen-formatted mpeg-4 files down to manageable sizes and play them full frame on any of 40 models of handhelds. The demo was running movie trailers on a Clie, amazingly well. Download the trial of Kinoma Producer, or just pay the $29.99. The player is a free download. http://www.kinoma.com/
A completely different approach to interactive video authoring comes from Eline Technologies, whose VideoClix allows you to create dynamic hotspots linking all sorts of objects within and on top of existing QT or QTVR files. Using an intuitive click and drag interface you can: link to databases or shopping carts trigger actions, make moving images continuously clickable within your video, publish on the web or produce cdrom titles - without scripting. Download a demo or look through the gallery. http://www.elinetech.com/

 The more I see from Stone Design, the more I like those guys. http://www.stone.com/ Their OSX-native software modules work together or singly, to build web sites, edit photos, create PDFs, handle product licensing and manage client billing. They offer 30 day trials on any or all of them, download or buy a CD and purchase licenses as you need them.

Whether you are a graphic designer, writer, 3D animator, musician or write code, you might find Official Software's website quite helpful. Offering copyright and trademark filling tools for step-by-step automation in protecting your work, be it a single item or a collection. Also on this site you'll find FAQs about these processes, and document management capability to track those copyrights and trademarks. http://www.officialsoftware.com/

Everybody gets spam, which also means that everyone gets too much spam. ISPs attempting to stem the tide can make mistakes, allowing offensive spam through and blocking valid mail, sometimes without your knowledge or consent. Matterform Media would like to put control of your antispam filters directly into your hands instead. Spamfire is a powerful, easy to configure and effective anti-spam email filter that will work with any email client, and grows more effective as it learns your email patterns. The configuration wizard is clear, the help files very easy to navigate, and the default settings waded through about 90 messages, accurately filtered out the incoming spam and then gracefully stepped aside to let me read my mail. They also make web development tools. http://www.matterform.com/

If you've ever heard the clicking of a hard drive about to die, you know that sudden chill up your spine, the sense of impending doom, the creeping onset of fear as you desperately try to remember the last time you backed up your system, quitting out of all open apps and rummaging for spare media with sweaty hands...... Prosoft Engineering can help, with Data Rescue, a utility that doesn't even try to repair, just recovers the data from your dead or dying drive. It saves your files to a safe location, restores icons, dates and folder hierarchy, so you can stop worrying about that, and get back to worrying about your deadline. http://www.prosofteng.com
I can't forget to mention of Drive Savers Data Recovery, the folks to call when your worst fears are realized, you don't have a backup, and you absolutely, positively, must have what is on that dead hard drive. http://www.drivesavers.com

Normally I leave gaming to the folks who have time to play, but my curiousity was aroused by the peculiar weirdness of Black & White. You get to be god and have full control over your kingdom, but first you must decide if you are good or evil. Lovely graphics, great sense of humour. http://blackandwhite.ea.com/

Wetware:

Just a few points of more human interest amidst the deluge:

The MacFreebie Awards folks were wandering around gathering up the swag. I ran into them near the Harmon Kardon booth snapping up little foam Creatures. A bit of silly fun, and an excuse to walk around wearing a macplus on your head. http://homepage.mac.com/macfreebies/

Helena (left) and Emily McHugh (right) formed Casauri as a collaboration borne out of Emily's class project at Columbia Business School. These creative and savvy sisters produce sleek, efficient and stylish laptop and PDA cases in a fashionable palette of colours and materials. Style and technology click! See them in the September issue of MacAddict Magazine on page 13. Available at only the hippest places (TekServe, Sam Flax, MoMa's Design Store) , or contact them directly for a catalog. http://www.casauri.com
Quick Links:
Apple Booth
Hardware
Software
Wetware
Walking the aisles at the Javitz Center can wear out your feet in a hurry, and since there are never enough places to sit, that gave me one more small incentive to go grab a seat for the Your Mac Life radio show. Like I needed an excuse to join in the fun and have a chance to win one of the many prizes donated by the many vendors at the Expo. Normally webcast on Wednesday evenings, Shawn King and the gang were heard several times during the Expo.

Shawn had a variety of guests, including the boys from ElGato showing their EyeTV and Kenny Kramer, the original neighbor upon whom Seinfeld's Kramer character was based. iBooks sprinkled among the attendees were a-clatter with folks logging onto the shows IRC channel to make wisecracks in realtime. Prizes were drawn every few minutes, mostly cool gadgets like Kensington's FlyFan portable USB fan or the similarly flexible and featherweight FlyLight, critical gear for any Mac-Road Warrior; dv editors in hostile environments, the laptop DJ.. well, whatever your "axe" happens to be.

Wednesday nights, starting at 8:30 pm east coast USA.http://www.yourmaclife.com
Most of my clients who have invested in Final Cut Pro complain about the daunting stack of manuals, and say that what they'd really appreciate would be a clear-cut book to get them started. Rick Young has provided exactly that in his "Easy Guide to Final Cut Pro", designed to introduce you to the interface and get you editing right away. This 150 page book, spiral bound to lie flat on the desk, comes with a CD full of digital video footage as well. Sample pages are viewable on the website. http://www.digitalproduction.net/what.htm

Want to read something else? Download books to your desktop or Palm device and read at your leisure with the free Palm Reader from Peanut Press. Aspiring novelists can even roll their own with Palm eBook Studio. http://www.peanutpress.com/free.cgi
I was quite disappointed that both Handspring and Palm were absent from the Expo, as I'm determined to upgrade my existing devices into some all-powerful, all-in-one, combination cell phone-PDA-mp3 player-alarm clock that fits in my pocket. Guess I'll have to keep waiting.
Meanwhile, the informal Who Has the Most Toys contest winner again this year was the delightful Kathleen Francis, whose willingness to dump her purse on the table at Kodama revealed her true über-geek-itude.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of those who weren't there, please email me directly with questions or comments.


Mugsy Lunsford
MacGeek of DogTown