EvangeList Digest Monday, March 16 1998 Volume 01 : Number 1125
In this issue:
?? - Need Audio Mixing, Cataloging, Playback Software For Mac Tidbit - Isn't It Ironic? Tidbit - JNTO is all Mac, Except . . . PR - NetGridz - Newly Updated Version Of Gridz Offering Net Play Tidbit - Ross's Rant #25 ?? - Apple Wizards Needs Your Letters Tidbit - Design Utility for Screen-displayed Designs Tidbit - Big Prizes! Cocoa Contest & Tutorial ?? - MPEG I-frames On a Mac ?? - Keep a Mac at Work PR - Conix 3D Explorer Tidbit - Browser Wars Survey Results
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:10:50 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: ?? - Need Audio Mixing, Cataloging, Playback Software For Mac
This request is from:
Mark A. Collins, <themacman@earthlink.net>
I have a friend who is wanting to start his own mobile DJ service. What he needs is:
Some software that will allow mixing and equalyzing of audio that is being played from a hard drive. Most software I see mixes only the incoming sound signal from a port, not the sound going out.
He would like to have a dual Jaz drive with a library of Jaz disks which hold his music collection. However, I need a piece of software that will do playlist, full control and info display(at least as good as AppleCD Player) of the song being controlled, etc. from hard disk, instead of CD (Format of the sound files in question is adaptable...). I need to be able to find a song on one of the Jaz disks, load it into the empty drive of the dual Jaz drive, and have it cued up and ready to play next.
He knows of a PC solution, but he *definitely* wants a Mac solution. He wants to run it off of a G3 PowerBook. However, the only solution he knows of is PC based...
Can you help?
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:11:04 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: Tidbit - Isn't It Ironic?
This tidbit is from:
Ralph Martin, <ssm1@earthlink.net>
Just a bit of irony that I must pass on to fellow evangelist. Upon moving to Seattle, Wa. recently I submitted an Adobe Acrobat resume to an architectural firm (Bohlin Cywinski Jackson). Their most recent most published work of architecture is the Bill Gates residence. When I inquired with them as to which platform does the firm use, Windows or Macintosh, their reply to me was "Macintosh, of course !"
Isn't it ironic?
Think Different Ralph Martin Architect Seattle, Wa.
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:11:17 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: Tidbit - JNTO is all Mac, Except . . .
Keyword: Advocacy, Macintosh in Action
This tidbit is from:
Larry Cafiero, <larkyo@ns.cnet-sc.ne.jp>
I am a journalist - keep those eggs and rotten tomatoes! I'm a freelancer - - working in Tokyo. During a visit to the Japan National Tourist Organization's office to get some help on a travel article, I noticed that the room was full of Macs - 6100s, 9600s, and a wide assortment of PowerBooks (remember, space here is at a premium, even for government offices).
Needless to say, I was in heaven. I took a close look to make sure that I wasn't seeing things, and slapped myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Finally I asked JNTO's Overseas Promotions Manager, Shigehisa Yamashita, if the office used a Macintosh as their primary platform.
"We're an all-Macintosh office," Yamashita proudly proclaimed. But looking around the room, he added, " but there is one Dell somewhere around here."
Yamashita and I did take a look around the vast offices in the Yurakucho section of Tokyo, but not a Dell could be found anywhere. Yamashita added that it was not used often, if at all, and could very well be in storage.
So keep this in mind when making your travel plans, especially now that the yen's hovering at a good exchange rate!
Kicking butt in the Land of the Rising Sun, Larry Cafiero <larkyo@po.cnet-sc.ne.jp>
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:10:59 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: PR - NetGridz - Newly Updated Version Of Gridz Offering Net Play
Keyword: Market by market, Games
This announcement is from:
Jenni Collins, <pmisales@aol.com>
Power Media, Inc., introduced NetGridz, the great, new upgrade to the popular Macintosh game - GRIDZ by Green Dragon Creations.
GRIDZ, voted the Best Arcade Game by the 1998 Macworld Game Hall of Fame, and described as an addictive and intoxicating blend of strategy and real time action by Macworld, now can boast net play!
The upgraded version has improved, more powerful, computer opponents, making the challenge of battling for net space even a greater challenge, and allows you to play over TCP/IP (over the internet) and Apple/Talk Ethernet with 2 to 8 players.
Experience the colorful, 3-D expanse of cyberspace; intelligently command your army of toolbots - hackers - builders - strikers; attempt the destruction of your opponents; conquer territory; generate energy; build more and more robots - crush your opponents - with the plus of network play!!!
Now you can experience the fast-paced, head-to-head conflict, awesome visual and sonic cues, strategic excitement, and addictively challenging action over the net.
MSRP $34.95
COMPANY INFORMATION The company information number for Power Media, Inc., is 1-503-684-8232: the eMail address is <info@powermedia.com> <http://www.powermedia.com>.
A recent issue of Ansett New Zealand's inflight magazine "Southern Skies" contained "The Perfect Network." This article featured contributions from 11 New Zealand opinion leaders on the their idea of a perfect network. The contributers included representatives from Fujitsu, Microsoft, Compaq, Apple, Lotus and PC Direct. No suprises with their opinions. The remaining five represented a bank(Windows NT), a health authority (?), a travel agency (Macintosh), a refuse collection company (Wintel), and a real estate group (?). Given the usual platforms utilised in the travel industry, the travel agency's Macintosh choice was a suprise.
Zac de Silva is the Financial Controller for The Flight Centre. This company has grown from zero to 55 booking locations around New Zealand in two years. Each office has datalinks with the airlines. Here's what de Silva had to say about networking for The Flight Centre:
"On extensive evaluation of several technologies, Apple Macintosh came out the winner on all counts, except airline industry standards. Most of the airline industry use Wintel boxes. That gave us a little concern, but over the two years that we have used this technology, we can say with certainty we would never have achieved what we did without the use of Macintosh technology... In New Zealand we have close to 350 Macintosh workstations and servers communicating with the airline reservation system's IBM mainframe, and have yet to complain about more than a couple of minutes of down time... Each of our ticket centres is run as an independent profit centre and has to justify its purchase of technology... We have just one full time person supporting the whole lot of the Macintoshes."
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:11:02 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: ?? - Apple Wizards Needs Your Letters
This request is from:
Craig Cox, <cox@HiWAAY.net>
Email is truly a wonderful thing, but sometimes it just doesn't fit the bill. In some instances, the person you may want to reach doesn't have access to email. Sometimes, a secretary is actually the one that receives and filters email sent to the address you've been given for a busy executive. Sometimes, you just don't have time to write a well-thought-out letter addressing something that you just read. Sometimes, more weight is given to a hard copy letter because the recipient assumes that it took more of your time.
Sometimes, it just comes down to having to send a regular old paper letter.
How many times have you wished that you had a well-prepared letter at your finger tips, ready for you to propel towards that deserving creep who's trying to run Macs out of your school, company, or the like. Perhaps you'd give anything to be able to intelligently articulate the reasons why your friend or family member should buy a Mac and not a Windows machine. You can probably think of a dozen other reasons for which you wish you could have a letter appear out of nowhere.
Well, buddy, do we have a deal for you. In a continuing effort to give something back to the Macintosh/Apple community, Apple Wizards is pleased to announce the impending creation of "Down to the Letter." We're writing well-thought-out, articulate letters that you can download, print, and send to that well-deserving individual. Our goal is to establish a library of letters for you to download, print, and mail to someone that needs a thoughtful word or two concerning computing choice.
But, we need your help. We're soliciting your letters for incorporation into that warehouse of correspondence. The Evangelistas are notorious for their articulate writings. Please join us in making this a valuable resource for the Macintosh/Apple family.
Send your letters to <dttl@applewizards.net>. We'll remove all personal information (such as your address, etc.) and put it on the website for others to use. Just think of it this way: your letter may help others avoid a Wintel migration. And, if you need help in the future, we'll be there for you. Hey, you can still copy and paste these pearls of wisdom into your email. But, sometimes it just comes "Down to the Letter."
Please visit our "beta" website at <http://applewizards.net/dttl/> and send submissions to <dttl@applewizards.net>. Thank you to all those that have made the Mac great, and cheers to those that will help us make it greater.
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:10:53 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: Tidbit - Design Utility for Screen-displayed Designs
This tidbit is from:
Asoka G. Moragoda, <asokagm@serendib.ccom.lk>
Any creator of computer-displayed design, knows how difficult it is to create good aesthetics on the various monitors the viewers would use. Screen-resolution differences are one of the biggest hurdles. I've seen a few solutions to this problem being posted on Mac mailing lists, but I think this one just about answers most of the problems regarding lesser-resolution guides.
Daniel Schaerer's "Small Screen 1.3" is classified as "KindWare", a gift to the whole of "MacKind", "to enjoy, share and be kind to one other." - the developer's kind motive for creating it.
*Small Screen 1.3 has a small RAM footprint - just 68K. It's a stand-alone app, which doesn't clutter your extensions or control panels folders.
*Small Screen 1.3 displays one or more outlines of screen resolutions lesser than that to which your monitor is set. Each outline can be toggled on or off individually. Sizes range from 512x342 to 1152x870
*Small Screen 1.3 outlines may be displayed in a choice of eight different colors.
*Small Screen 1.3 outlines could be kept behind other windows, or be in the foreground always.
*Outlines for the HD and Trash icons could be toggled on or off - nifty, if you're designing for Macs!
Disclaimer: Not really necessary since this is not a commercial app, but I've found it so useful in web-designing, this information simply had to be shared with the rest of the Mac community. The program is Freeware, and available on any InfoMac mirror at: <.../dev/small-screen-13.hqx>
Try one of these: <ftp://ftp.euro.net/d3/info-mac/dev/small-screen-13.hqx> <ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/dev/small-screen-13.hqx> <ftp://mirrors.aol.com/mir03/INFOMAC/info-mac/dev/small-screen-13.hqx> <ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/mac/info-mac/dev/small-screen-13.hqx>
Daniel Schaerer could be contacted at: <schaerer@ifi.unizh.ch> (Daniel Schaerer)
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:11:15 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: Tidbit - Big Prizes! Cocoa Contest & Tutorial
This tidbit is from:
Thom Downing, <tdowning@indiana.edu>
WonderLab, Apple Computing and Wisdom Tools are sponsoring a big deal international "Worlds Of Science" Cocoa contest! You could do this during spring break and win big prizes...including computers, digital cameras and t-shirts. If that wasn't enough, everyone who enters could also become famous in cyberspace, because the best entries from the contest will become part of the WonderLab website <http://www.wonderlab.org)...however> you've got to get busy because the contest ends on March 31st.
"What's Cocoa?", you may ask. Good question! Cocoa is Apple Computing's free programming tool that allows you to create simulations, games and interactive "worlds" on your computer and then put 'em up on the WWW.
Entering the contest is as easy as designing a "World of Science" that shows a scientific principle or phenomenon.The entry must be accompanied by a two to three paragraph description explaining how the Cocoa World works, what it means to the designer and what age level the world is designed for. The contest is open to everyone,and there are three age categories: Adults, ages 12-18 and ages 5-11. Entries can be the work of a single individual or a team of people working together.
As was mentioned before, there are great prizes for each age group including full and kid-sized computers, digital cameras and t-shirts. If that wasn't enough, everyone who enters could also become famous in cyberspace,because the best entries from the contest will become part of the WonderLab website. Remember the contest ends on March 31st.
To find about more about the contest you can go to the WonderLab website <http://www.wonderlab.org> or send email to <tdowning@indiana.edu>. To get a free copy of Cocoa, find on-line tutorials, get contest ideas and look at samples, go to Apple's Cocoa website <http://cocoa.apple.com/>.
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:10:55 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: ?? - MPEG I-frames On a Mac
This request is from:
Jon Herron <jherron@madrigal.com>
Does anyone out there know if there is a Photoshop plug-in or something equally straightforward that can take a bitmapped image and convert it to an MPEG I-frame?
For example, I'd like to be able to do a screen shot, open it in Photoshop or a dedicated program, and save it as an MPEG frame. Does anything do this? It seems like a perfect (albeit narrowly focused) idea for a little drag-and-drop utility.
This is also a great opportunity for me to show my PeeCee-centric engineering friends that the Mac is the place to be. They haven't been able to come up with anything, and came to me out of desperation, despite my known Mac-loving proclivities. ;-) Thanks for any assistance you can render.
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:11:21 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: ?? - Keep a Mac at Work
This request is from:
Kimberly Andrew, <kimac@community.net>
My husband needs help in order to keep his Mac at work. His state agency is currently being forced to follow the mandates of Sacramento, and all the Macs are being yanked off of desks and replaced with Windoze machines. (Hubby was told that someone has written a policy that says all computers in California state agencies must be "intel" - no matter what the cost to upkeep or convert).
Currently, my hubby is able to keep his Mac because he put up a fight and he is doing a tremendous amount of graphic work. They recently upgraded his system, and in the process, lost the drivers for his external cdrom drive. Asking the computer services folks to find the software in their vault of horded stuff is pointless. Besides, it only gives them a reason to take his Mac away. (after all it is now non-functioning). He has a Quadra 950, is running OS 7.6, and his cd was made by "PLI". If anyone knows where we might find a copy of the software needed to make this drive workable, please email us right away.
Thanks for the help. __________________________ Digital Guy Sez:
Sheesh...what bonehead came up with THAT policy? I sure would love to see a copy, especially as a resident (and taxpayer!) of the state of California. Who's decided to waste MY money?
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:10:57 -0000 From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com> Subject: PR - Conix 3D Explorer
This announcement is from:
Janet Stauffer, <janet@conix3d.com>
Conix Enterpises, Inc. adds 3D functionality to another Apple application. Mathematica, a product of Wolfram Research, is the number one mathematical tool on the Macintosh platform. Conix 3D Explorer gives Mathematica users enhanced 3D abilities with their stunning graphics, ease of use and OpenGL capabilities. Conix has been providing OpenGL to the Macintosh community for nearly two years. They bring their considerable knowledge of 3D graphics to this plugin for Mathematica.
3D Explorer - the interactive graphics solution for Mathematica. With a single command 3D Explorer brings your Mathematica graphics to life in an interactive OpenGL window, providing advanced rendering capabilities previously reserved for high-end rendering systems. 3D Explorer's options take your Mathematica graphics to a new level with smooth shading, texture mapping, anti-aliasing, transparency, fog, accumulation effects, and more.
While supporting all standard Mathematica graphics, Conix 3D Explorer also provides a new graphics type, GLGraphics, with extended graphics primitives and directives. 3D Explorer offers continuous surfaces, display lists, inline transformations, and per-element control over all graphics options. Standard Mathematica graphics are easily converted to GLGraphics and enhanced - allowing you to build directly on your existing Mathematica graphics skills. With 3D Explorer's advanced animation features, you can create stunning interactive animations with very large polygon counts on computers with even limited memory.
3D Explorer provides a full suite of functions from simple, easy to use routines, to a full OpenGL programming environment. The low-level interface provides direct access to 100% of the OpenGL API, allowing GLGraphics primitives to be extended to include any OpenGL capability, from blending effects to pixel-level operations. Because OpenGL commands can be executed directly in a Mathematica expression, textbook OpenGL programming examples can be used within Mathematica. This makes 3D Explorer a powerful OpenGL code development tool and teaching aid, allowing you to quickly perform rendering experiments in the flexible Mathematica environment.
3D Explorer comes with full online documentation, including user's guide, reference manual, programming examples, and demos. Email support is available from <tech@conix3d.com>.
For more information, please see <http://www.conix3d.com>
3D Explorer is currently available for Windows95/NT and PowerMac platforms with X windows platforms available soon. Site licensing and Academic site licensing are available.
Guy, I found this interesting article About the Browser Wars at <http://www.isp-resource.com/war/index.shtml> and thought the evangelista's might enjoy !! Below is an excerpt...
"If this survey seems to have more Macintosh entries than most are used to, don't be surprised. Over 60% of the entries were Macintoshes. And of those, over 90% followed the instructions precisely. Comparatively, among the PC users, less than half filled out critical portions of the tests. Most PC based entries were of the 'bragging' nature where respondants wrote that their systems were quad 500 Mhz processor Alpha systems with 500mhz bus speeds, 20 Gig hard drive arrays, and Gigs of RAM. While impressive, these users failed to mention what the results of their speed tests were. Perhaps these monster machines were so fast that they warped the space-time continuum and consequently every time the user performed a test, they were hurled back in time to the point just before they started the test. At any rate, no information = no entry in the results." __________________________ Digital Guy Sez:
Now, THAT'S how you win friends and influence people...you lead by example. You become such decent law-abiding netizens that the next time some journalist with a looming deadline tries to cast EvangeListas in the role of lynch mob people realize what BS it really is. Good work! :-)
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End of EvangeList Digest V1 #1125 *********************************
