From the Dark Side--At Intel, Innovation is Also an Oxymoron

Not only is Microsoft brain dead when it comes to innovation but Intel is too. Apple's vision for its computers that Steve Jobs articulated months ago is the "hub of your digital lifestyle". Intel's latest advertising campaign proclaims Intel's Pentium 4 to be at the "center of your digital world".

-- Weekend, October 20-21 --

[Update] PrintToPDF v2.3 is available for download. PrintToPDF is a $20 shareware utility for classic Mac OS that converts documents to PDF files without the expensive Adobe Acrobat/Distiller--we use it all the time. Changes in this update:

- In certain applications, it is now possible to save PDF document info. See the new Document Info section of the manual.

- I have worked around bugs in the way that MS Office applications deal with landscape orientation.

- Fixed a problem with bookmarks in FileMaker Pro multi-page records.

[Update] Hands-On Report--Power Mac G4 Firmware v4.2.8 Update and 10.1 Security Updates: We obtained the v4.2.8 firmware update for our Power Mac G4 533 DP via the Mac OS 9.2.1 Software Update control panel and installed it while running Mac OS 9.2.1 per the instructions. Installation requires shutting down, holding down the programmers switch while pressing the start button and releasing the programmers button when the tone sounds. We encountered no installation difficulties nor any problems with our G4 after the update.

We also updated the Power Mac G4 533 DP and a G4 Cube, PowerBook G4, iMac DV SE, iBook (Dual USB), iBook FW SE and iMac 350 SL with the two Mac OS X 10.1 security updates via the Software Update preference panel. All installations went smoothly and we have not encountered any problems after doing so. The updates changed the Mac OS X 10.1 build number to 5L14 from 5G64 (use Apple System Profiler to check). [Dana Baggett]

Build Number: From Bob Manka. "In addition to Apple System Profiler, I found that the OS X build number can be found under the Apple menu selecting About this Mac. OS X 10.1 shows up as the version number; clicking on this brings up the build number 5L14." [And if you click again, it shows the computer's serial number--Bill]

[Update] Hands-On Report--Opera 5.0 for X Beta 2: We downloaded and installed the latest beta of the Opera web browser. We have been using it all day on Saturday and are impressed. It is very fast and hasn't crashed once so far. If you don't mind the unobtrusive banner ad in the upper right corner of the free version of the web browser, you may wish to give it a try.