The pick of the Apple
The G4 Cube, new colors were only part of the story at summer Macworld Expo
NEW YORK Macworld Expo 2000 provided ample spotlight for Apple Computer Corp.'s eye-catching product innovations. But the euphoria over the 8-inch-square G4 Cube supercomputer and new iMac colors obscured dozens of items being rolled out by the 400-plus exhibitors inside the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Microsoft, trying to play nice with the Mac faithful, introduced its Office 2001 for Macintosh, trotting out more Mac lingo than Apple CEO Steve Jobs did in his keynote. The new suite is "more elegant" and "more Maclike" than any software package ever produced by Microsoft, the Windows giant proclaimed.
Said an amazed Mr. Jobs: "Who would have thunk it a few years ago: the latest version of Office available on Mac." Power On Software took a Best in Show award for its Rewind system utility that lets Mac users recover from file overwrites, software conflicts, unknown viruses and other disasters by simply hitting a desktop "Rewind" button.
The strange, yet attractive Harman/Kar-don Soundsticks made their debut, providing Mac users with a high-powered, three-piece speaker system resplendent in clear Lu-cite, of course. ATI's introduction of the Ra-deon graphics card fizzled in controversy when the company offended Mr. Jobs, who apparently yanked the board from the new Power Mac G4s and G4 Cube. Meanwhile, 3dfx made its first move into the Mac market with the Voodoo5 5500 a pricey $330 graphics accelerator card (available soon) that employs two of the company's VSA100 graphics processors. Also making a bow was the Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet G55 multi-function printer, which combines flatbed scanning capabilities with the same print engine found in the popular DeskJet 970. Advanced networking cable FireWire, also known as IEEE 1384, was everywhere including promising connections with new DVD-RAM drives.
Although the much-anticipated release of a public beta version of Apple's OS X was again delayed (this time from "sometime this summer" to September), the company kept coming with other software developments, including enhancements to its own Web (iTools) and iMovie products.
Here's a look at some of the high points.
OFFICE 2001
From the round-hockey-puck-looking CD-ROM packaging to its vibrant new logo, the design of Office 2001 is an elaborate attempt to gain approval from Mac addicts.
The mere sight of Microsoft on stage with Mr. Jobs at Macworld 2000 was enough to provoke hisses from some Apple users. But, prodded by the savior himself, the audience gradually warmed to a presentation of the new Office 2001 interface and revamped, Mac-centric Web site called Mac-Topia www.microsoft.com/mac . The product, in fact, won Best of Show in awards from Macweek.com.
Whether Mac people like it or not, business in the modern world necessitates inter-operability with Windows document programs. And Office 2001 goes a long way toward making file-sharing between operating systems less of a culture clash.
For example, a Save As dialog box now provides an option to attach Windows file extensions. This allows Windows users to open files created on Macs with less conversion hassle.
In another venue, the suite now allows PowerPoint presentations to be built using QuickTime Transitions or converted from QuickTime movies.
The new interface and menu style is simplified and even incorporate Kaleidoscope. Most of the options appear as icons spread across a Mac-like toolbar, complete with a little Lisa-looking cartoon computer with arms and legs the Mac version of the oft-maligned Clippy Office Assistant. "We know that Mac customers value thoughtful design, and so we hope they will appreciate Office 2001's stylish and efficient interface," says Kevin Browne, Microsoft's general manager of the Macintosh business unit.
Microsoft says the suite Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, an integrated contact manager/e-mail client will ship in October.
REWIND
This system utility, another Mac-week.com Best in Show winner, seems to provide Mac users with the same sort of fail-safe operations as Adap-tec's PC-only GoBack. It is designed for those "uh-oh" moments when it appears your machine has crashed and you want to quickly return to a stable condition.
The program, designed by Power On Software www.poweronsoftware.com/rewind/rewind.html , even lets Mac users recover from glitchy operating system upgrade attempts, allowing a return to the previous version with a simple click.
Corrupted files and those altered by viruses are detected by Rewind, which prevents booting, finds the trouble and corrects it.
In demonstrations, the software did not appear to slow down system performance or unnecessarily burden the user with constant warnings and intrusions. If things are working right, Rewind leaves you alone.
HARMAN/KARDON SOUNDSTICKS
The two four-speaker desktop mini-towers look like octopus tentacles emerging from the desktop, suckers-up.
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But even if you hook this USB system to an iMac, iBook, PowerBook or Power Mac, the benefits in rich sound are more than apparent.
Harman/Kardon was one of the few vendors that avoided being caught by surprise by the new colors introduced by Apple at Macworld 2000 last week. Other manufacturers, loaded with bon-di blue accessories and keyboard cradles in hues being phased out by Apple, were left to wonder whether clear plastic is the only safe bet when building peripherals. Smaller, clear spherical satellite speakers designed by Apple and created by Harman/Kardon were being modeled with the G4 Cube. It appears someone got a tip-off. The SoundSticks drew crowds around demos and clearly impressed in game demos and MP3 play. Mac OS 9.0.4 or better will be needed to take advantage of this innovation. The $199 system is available through the online Apple Store www.apple.com/store
HEWLETT-PACKARD OFFICEJET G55 AND G85 MULTI-FUNCTION PRINTERS
Canon, Epson and Brother have already introduced Mac-based multi-function printers, but many consumers were awaiting HP's product before making the upgrade.
At $499, the G55 www.hp.com/all-in-one/products/gseries.html gives users printer, scanner and copier capabilities. The $799 G85 adds in stand-alone color fax functions, along with a 30-page automatic document feeder and optional two-sided printing.
Both models are USB-connected, but they can serve as network printers with the addition of an optional HP Jet-Direct 300X external print server. Scheduled to ship in November, both models include an integrated 36-bit, 600-dpi flatbed scanner and a printing engine based on HP's $399 DeskJet 970, offering output of 12 pages per minute in black and white and 10 ppm in color.
ATI AND 3DFX GRAPHICS CARDS
In one of the strangest occurrences at the Macworld show, ATI's public relations machine evidently angered Mr. Jobs by prematurely hinting in press releases that the company's new Rade-on card would be featured in three of the new Apple models.
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Apple insiders speculate that Mr. Jobs ordered the changes because he thought ATI jumped the gun with its own press release. The Radeon Mac Edition AGP card is expected to ship in September, while the Mac Edition PCI version will be available sometime in the fall, the company says.
Neither ATI nor Apple would comment on all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
Meanwhile, all the carping gave 3dfx www.3dfx.com center stage for its own introduction. In fact, the company's first entry in the Mac market the Voodoo5 5500 with dual VSA100 graphics processors, 2-D acceleration and 32-bit color took a Best in Show award. The card still doesn't provide DVD playback. But, with the Radeon's nowhere to be found, 3dfx found itself the unchallenged graphics card king of Macworld 2000.
iMOVIE 2
Mr. Jobs handily demonstrated the handy new video editing features of this latest version of iMovie by Apple. New controls allowed him to produce a slick home movie that included sound and image manipulation features previously available in only high-end software products. iMovie 2 will be preinstalled on all the new FireWire-enabled desktop Macintosh computers iMac DV models, Power Mac G4 Cube and Power Mac G4. A downloadable version will be available at the online Apple Store at the end of August for $49. iTOOLS FROM APPLE Available free to those running Mac OS 9, HomePage and iDisk help users easily publish their movies on the .
Internet for the rest of the world, or just family. Online storage with iDisk offers 20MB of storage space for free. Users can purchase up to 400MB of iDisk with an annual subscription.
PROCYBER 3-D GLASSES
Formac www.formac.com has developed powered eyeglasses that make a plausible attempt to bring 3-D effects to life when used in tandem with its ProFormance 3 accelerator board.
FIREWIRE INNOVATIONS
Orange Micro demonstrated a working prototype USB version 2.0 PCI interface card that deftly handles FireWire transfers of video and other data at 480 megabits per second, compared with the current standard USB rate of 12 Mbps.
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Staff writer Doug Bedell can be reached at dbedell@dallasnews.com
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