EvangeList Digest Friday, July 31 1998 Volume 01 : Number 1244
In this issue:
PR - MacSurfshop Newest Design Tidbit - Stolen Computer Database Followup - Sleep Secure Tonight ;-) - Heard On the Radio Job - Macintosh Opening At Fortune 100 Company (Rockville, MD) ?? - Theatre Sound Cues $$ - For Mac Golfers Tidbit - NoWonder! MacList PR - Debt Wizard V2.4 Tidbit - Connection Or Coincidence Tidbit - MacShareware -- MacCentral Tidbit - The Joys Of Cable Modems Tidbit - Some Of The Best Mac Advocates Started With Windows
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The MacSurfshop would like to announce the release of their newest design, "GET A MAC!...cuz PCs jus' plain suk!".
If you're hyped about the release of the new iMac, you don't want to miss snaggin' this baby. It's gotta lotta color and is printed on 100% cotton white Tshirt. Available in Large, XL and XXL for only $15.95.
Plus this design also has a friend, the "GET A MAC" baseball Cap. Available for $19.95
Or, heck, jus' get both the Tshirt and the Cap for only $29.95 and save yourself some moolah.
The Stolen Computer Database is a free service provided by the American Computer Exchange. It is our hope that this database will make it more difficult for anyone to profit from the sale of stolen computers. For this system to work efficiently, we will need your help. Please let your local newspapers, business journals, and computer publications know about this service. In addition, tell your local law enforcement agencies about the database. They may be able to use the information in the database to locate victims to return recovered stolen property.
If your computer is stolen, you may enter it into the database. You MUST have the serial number. This is the only valid means of distinguishing one computer from another. __________________________ Digital Guy Sez:
While not a mac specific item, I have often gotten notes from people who, sadly, have been the victims of theft. I've personally known people who've had hardware stolen. Hopefully this will aid some of you!
What do you get when you divide by zero? Here's what I got.
Macintosh "Calculator" DA = "infinity". // Interesting. Newton 2100 "iCalc" program = "Error: Overflow/Infinite Result". // This was displayed in an alert. Newton 2100 built in "Calculator" = zero. // BAD NEWTON! Windows 95 built in "Calculator" = "Cannot divide by zero". // Wow! Windows 98 built in "Calculator" = "Error: Positive Infinity.". // Windows 95 did it better. [sounds like a perfect summation for W98 - -dg]
This sounds like, on the ships' system, there are different fields that allow data entry. Each field should have a filter to disallow values that will generate exceptions. When a field is used as the denominator in a formula then zero should, probably be disallowed or, at least, require the user to override.
As much as I dislike Windows, it's not the fault of the OS, or even the processor, it's a programmer that let this one slip.
Keelhauling would be too good for the guy that did this. __________________________ Digital Guy Sez:
I agree it was a programming problem...but why did the OS sink over what has to be one of the most common programming mistakes on the planet?
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Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 08:07:02 -0800 From: John Halbig <john@garage.com> Subject: ;-) - Heard On the Radio
I really wasn't paying attention to my radio playing in the background but the DJ's remark caught my attention (I may not have this verbatim but close)...
"What's all this talk about computers crashing in the year 2000. My state of the art (sic) PC has been crashing regularly since 1996!"
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Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 08:07:01 -0800 From: John Halbig <john@garage.com> Subject: Job - Macintosh Opening At Fortune 100 Company (Rockville, MD)
I have an immediate need for someone to support Macintosh customers by providing them with a single contact person to report problems or to make inquiries. Position is at least 1 year long. Sucessful candidate will work in a team in a great environment. Salary is $31,200 with excellent benefits(medical, dental, 401K, vacation, holiday, free covered parking, metro accessible from the Rockville stop).
Must have at least an associate's degree(field unspecified), prior client service experience, motivation, and exceptional client service skills.
If interested, please fax resume to Terri Browder, Staffing and Account Manager, 301-340-4680 or email it to me as a word 97 attachment to <terri.browder@geis.ge.com>
I was asked to help with a local semi-professional theatre company who are producing Amadeus in November. The play is notable for having 127 sound cues which they were anticipating having to record on twin CDs. I suggested "Why not do it straight off a computer hard disk?" The House Manager was sceptical, he'd tried it on his PC and found it just too messey but I stuck up for the Mac with a casual "Nothing to it" hoping like hell there would be.
As it turns out, it couldn't be simpler. Sounds pluck off audio CDs with Audiodeck, are converted from QTmovies to System sounds with ConvertMachine and are lined up in a folder with identifying names to keep them in order. Playback is virtually instantaneous (important for sound cues) even with 2 minute sound clips. It looks as if Audiodeck will also run as a CD player for background noises. Sounds can also be created/clipped/combined/etc with SoundEdit. Great!
Before I go back with the good news, I was curious to find if there was any software produced to make this task even simpler, used by professional companies. I had a look at <http://www.macsoftware.apple.com/> but nothing came up.
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Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 08:07:04 -0800 From: John Halbig <john@garage.com> Subject: $$ - For Mac Golfers
This special offer is from:
cam, <cam@ilhawaii.net>
The launch of www.PersonalCaddy.com to introduce the Personal Caddy golf pull cart accessory has been so successful, the price went up!
The website includes Mac golfing software downloads, worldwide golf course reviews, a monthly free giveaway, links, books, and info on the Personal Caddy.
As an exclusive offer to EvangeListers we are offering the Personal Caddy at the introductory price and free FedEx shipping - a $16.90 USD saving. This special deal is not offered anywhere else. It is only valid until the end of August.
No mention of this deal is made on the website, so to qualify for this special deal you must write "EvangeList" in the comments field on the secure online order form. You will only be charged $49.95.
No Wonder!, the ultimate technical support site is proud to announce the MacList. The NoWonder! MacList was formed on July 19, 1998. It is designed to give the users of No Wonder! extra information to help them become more productive. Through news, reviews, troubleshooting sections, how-tos, and additional features we hope to expand the knowledge and skills of the Mac community.
The No Wonder! MacList is a combination of a weekly E-Mail newsletter and a monthly E-Zine. We will be sending out our first Newsletter on Monday, July 27. You can go to <http://www.nowonder.com/maclist/> for more information and to sign up. If you have any questions, e-mail <maclist@nowonder.com>.
Tyson Evans NoWonder! MacList Director <maclist@nowonder.com>
SQUEEM Software, maker of the leading debt consolidation software for Macintosh, Debt Wizard, released a major upgrade of the software with the same name. Debt Wizard v2.4 is available for immediate download at <http://www.squeem.com/download.html>.
Debt Wizard v2.4 incorporates new unprecedented features such as accounting for debts with split interest rates, varying interest rates, printing calendars with pay reminders, an export ability, an active toolbar, and many new graphing/plotting capabilities. These capabilities compliment an already robust feature set fashioning the most complete, flexible, and powerful consolidation tool of any platform. More information is available online at:
<http://www.squeem.com/dw.html>.
Debt Wizard has already been rated by VersionTracker, "Best of Class" for financial tools. SQUEEM Software is dedicated to serving the Macintosh community (exclusively) by providing quality software at an unequaled value. Debt Wizard is currently the company's flagship product. Shane S. Smith Programmer Squeem Software
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Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 08:06:24 -0800 From: John Halbig <john@garage.com> Subject: Tidbit - Connection Or Coincidence
This tidbit is from:
Jeff Adams, <herur@earthlink.net>
My manager recently loaned me Harry Beckwith's _Selling the Invisible_, a book focusing on the services industry. Now I love to read, and I love my job, too, but I've never been able to read sales/marketing/motivational material. It just bores me to tears. Beckwith's book is alright, though. I'm going to recommend it to you for that AND for another reason. I'm just finishing the first section of the book, and I've included a short exerpt. I don't think it needs any explaining.
"America's great service successes are not the companies that did what others did, but a little better. They are the companies that decided to do things a whole lot differently....
"Yet despite these great success stories, if you sit in almost any planning session in any business, you quickly recognize that unless some company renegade argues against it, the purpose of that meeting is simple: 'Let's look at what we did last year and do at least 15 percent better'....
"It has happened in entire industries that failed to innovate....
"The erosion in each of these industries started in those planning sessions at which everyone looked around and said, How can we do it 15 percent better?
"Don't just think better. Think different."
So which came first: the chicken or the egg? (The book was published in 1997.)
MacCentral Online and MacShareware.com are proud to announce today a new Web site for Mac users everywhere:
<http://MacShareware.com>
Combining MacCentral's sweeping coverage of all things Mac with MacShareware.com's wide range of shareware and commercial game demo software hosted on high speed servers provided by iServer, this new effort seeks to provide the user with an even more exciting and
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Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 08:06:25 -0800 From: John Halbig <john@garage.com> Subject: Tidbit - The Joys Of Cable Modems
Keyword: Advocacy, Why Macs Are Better
This tidbit is from:
Brian Maranta, <bmaranta@home.com>
Well, after deciding that dialing into the internet via telephone is for the birds, I took the plunge and contacted my local cable company to hook me up with a Cable modem and permanent internet connection. The interactions with the ladies running sales were pretty typical:
"What type of computer do you have?" "Power Macintosh 8500." "And do you have an Ethernet card?" "No, I have Ethernet built right into my motherboard." "So you don't have an Ethernet card?" "No, I don't need one." "But you have to have an Ethernet card for this to work." "Trust me, no I don't. (long pause) OK, OK; if it makes it easier, just put down that I *do* have an Ethernet card..."
But even better was when the "software" guy came over to install and connect everything. (The hardware guy had been in earlier to drill a hole in my wall and drop off, connect and test the modem.) He walks in, sees the Mac and says:
"Oh, great! A Mac. This is gonna be easy!"
He then takes five minutes, most of which is taken up opening the Ethernet cable package and plugging the modem to the computer, brings up the TCP/IP control panel, fills in some numbers, does the same to my Eudora settings, checks to see if everything is working and bingo! I'm Hooked up! I say to him:
"That's it? I coulda done that myself!" "Yah, Probably." "Do you just do Macs, or do you do PCs also?" "I do both, about 90% PCs, but I love working on the Macs because they are so easy!"
The future of the internet, IMHO, is Ethernet Cable modems and/or ADSL. All those poor windoze users out there are gonna have a *real* fun time taking advantage of this, because configgerin' them Ethernet card thingies is a *real* pain in the butt. Apple (as well as us EvangeListas) should really be emphasizing the advantages of built-in Ethernet. The $1300 iMac is more (advanced) internet ready than a PC box twice as expensive!!
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Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 08:06:30 -0800 From: John Halbig <john@garage.com> Subject: Tidbit - Some Of The Best Mac Advocates Started With Windows
Keyword: Advocacy, Windows Daymares
This tidbit is from:
<gwagner@macconnect.com> (George Wagner)
Many may remember the success story I told about a colleague's father. For this chapter, you should know some of his background. He has been in the computer industry for 30 years. He was responsible for bringing computers into the company he worked for. He has programmed in various languages including COBOL, and has used punch cards. Given all of this, his move to the Mac was even more significant.
He recently received the following email from Symantec:
We've noted that your subscription to Norton Web Services expired on 03-JUL-98. It's not too late to resubscribe and, if you act now, you'll still be able to use your previous name and password.
<Marketing Info removed for brevity>
TELL US MORE
We want to know more about your experience with Norton Web Services -- especially if you've chosen to discontinue your subscription. Use the form below to send us comments on your experience with Norton Web Services, and to tell us why your no longer a subscriber. This mailbox is only for comments and questions. You will not receive a response - but your comments will be read.
1. How did you terminate your subscription? __ Manually canceled my subscription __ Allowed my subscription to run out
2. What are the reasons you decided not to remain a subscriber to Norton Web Services?
3. What could we have done to keep you as a Norton Web Services subscriber?
Additional Comments:
- ----------
This is the response he sent:
1. I allowed my subscription to run out.
2. I decided not to remain because I had so much trouble with Windows 95 that I returned my Dell in 30 days and bought a Mac 8600/300.
3. You did all the things you could to keep me as a subscriber. If I had kept a Windows machine there is no question I would be renewing a subscription.
Additional Comments:
I like Norton. You folks do a great job and unfortunately you are an essential ingredient to any Windows configuration. In over 30 years of systems and programming experience, I have never seen an op system that was as oversold and under coded as Windows 95. I've been through hundreds of conversions but never one so fraught with problems as when I went from 3.11 to 95 in January of this year. My wife said she has never seen me so agitated as I was on the final day (night) of that installation. The next day I pulled the plug and entered the world of the Macintosh for the first time. What a difference. Not just easier but incredibly more stable. Now the only time I crash is when I am running one of the very few applications I must on SoftWindows which I view as a pleasant reminder of just how correct I was to blow Microsoft off and lose a permanent association with sloppy code. Microsoft has been smart enough to follow the lead of their superior R & D department, Apple Computer; and lucky enough to have the good skills of Norton to cover for their sloppy, inept implementations.
You may quote me as recommending Norton for any Windows user. People would be fools not to purchase it right from the start. Even with my sorry story, it saved me hours of time. If Microsoft was truly interested in their customers they would buy Norton and integrate it into the op system rather than mess around with Explorer. But then for your sake I hope that doesn't happen.
Keep up the good work. I know you make a product for the Mac and also know that Mac is not perfect. But so far I have not seen a need for much protection and am unfamiliar with what you try to do for the Mac world and if you are as successful there as in the Windows environment. Yes, I would be glad to learn and happy to receive specific information from you. I have no hesitancy to buy good products.
- -----
This pretty much speaks for itself.
George L. Wagner Jr. Computers, Support, & Consulting <g.wagner@macconnect.com>
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End of EvangeList Digest V1 #1244 *********************************
