MacWorld9709September1997

Mac Superguide p.108 275MHz Killer Mac p. 117 S@EaakaeT 6) itr ‘8 SER R 1) PE Ott MHE ESSEN WAL MACINTOSH NR ESOUREE Map rea Cwornkeeconn WHAT'S NEW prcexze INSIDER'S GUID Eleacevor WORTH THE WAIT TOP-TIER PERFORMANCE, FREE RAI AVAILABLE NOW WITH POWERTOW Power Computing Announces Free 128MB and 64MB RAM Upgrades Our new systems have been getting a lot of positive attention. Great reviews. Awards, Big Ratings. These things go on year-round. But, this summer, we're giving you a special incentive to get your attention. Here it is: Buy a PowerTower™ Pro and we'll upgrade it to 128MB RAM, or buy a PowerCenter™ Pro 210 and we'll upgrade it to 64MB RAM, Free! PowerTower Pro Systems Get a $500 Price Break We've taken $500 off the new PowerTower Pro 250 MHz — the fastest single processor system on any planet. And that includes the PC planet as well! The PowerTower Pro 250 runs a PowerPC™ 604e processor, with 1MB Level-2 Cache, a your choice of a 4GB 5400 RPM hard drive or a 2GB 7200 RPM AV-capable hard drive, Dual Internal Fast SCSI and an 8MB 128-bit IX Micro Twin Turbo Graphics Accelerator. And Power Computing is still the only company on earth shipping these systems. PowerCenter Pro Redefines Speed for the Midrange The new PowerCenter Pro is the only system available with a 60 MHz bus. Since the system bus is the primary gateway between the CPU and the rest of the system, higher bus speeds poEde, % UA, © 1997 Power Computing Corporation, Al rights reserved June 1997. The Mac OS and the Hac OS logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, In, and are used under icense fom Apple Computer, In. The MacOS logo PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines, Corp., and is used under license. Al other brand and/or product names are the property of ther respective holders. Power Computing is at responsi i UPGRADES, AND NEW LOW PRICES: ER PRO AND POWERCENTER PRO 210! mean greater bandwidth for data transfer. Greater bandwidth means proportionally higher total system speeds, and we all know what that means — more Power! Couple that with a 180 MHz or 210 MHz PowerPC 604e processor and you get the fastest mid-range system you can buy. The Critics Rave: These New Systems Are an Unprecedented Value! Our new systems are hot (and the competition is toast)! The PowerCenter Pro and PowerTower Pro are both winners of MacWEEK’s coveted 5-diamond award. The PowerCenter Pro won Macworld Editor's Choice for Best Business Office Mac and Desktop Publishing System. The PowerTower Pro is Macworld’s Editor’s Choice for 3D Graphics, Image Editing and Publishing. More RAM means over-the-top performance. And with free lifetime tech support, the 30-day money-back love- me-or-I'm-history guarantee, and loads of free software, these systems are an incredible deal. There’s No Deal Like This in Memory This special offer is the perfect opportunity to get the muscle you need for true power performance. Call today. FREE RAM Goes Here! registered in the United Stats and other countries. The Power Computing logo isa registred trademark of Power Computing Corporation. PowerTower, PowerCenter, and PowerBase are trademarks of Power Computing Corporation. forerrrs in photography or typography. Shipping wil not be refunded, Prices and specications are vali inthe U.S. onl and ae subject to change without natice. Prices do not include applicable taxes. *2000KB capacity. MARKETING BREAKTHROUGH #9: MARKETING BREAKTHROUGH #10: $500 PRICE DROP Display sold separately 250 MHz PowerPC 604e Processor Upgrade RAM from 32MB to 128MB Fr Macromedia Director™ 5.0 * Your Choice: 4GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive or 2GB 7200 RPM AV-capable Hard Drive * 16x CD-ROM Drive * 1MB Level-2 Cache * IX Micro Twin Turbo 128-bit Graphics Accelerator w/ 8MB VRAM * 6 PCI Expansion Slots 36-month business * $2,500 Bundled Software Including Bee SAS eS Macromedia Director 5.0 ew 10W * Extended Keyboard & Mouse * Tower Enclosure POWERTOWER PRO 225 CORE 225 MHz PowerPC 604e Processor Upgrade RAM from 16MB to 128MB Free! Macromedia Director 5.0 + 2GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive + 16x CD-ROM Drive + 1MB Level 2-Cache + 2MB 64-bit Graphics Accelerator Card * 6 PCI Expansion Slots 40006 * $2,500 Bundled Software Including Macromedia rtitti Director 5.0 + Extended Keyboard & Mouse LABS * Tower Enclosure 36-month business lease $110 per month “pute” POWERBASE 240 STARTER Zio MHz PowerPC 604e Processor 240 MHz PowerPC 603e Processor Upgrade RAM from 16MB to 16MB RAM (1608 max) On-board 3D Graphics Acceleration 2GB IDE Hard Drive* 12x CD-ROM Drive 256K Level 2-Cache 2MB Video DRAM (4MB max) 3 PCI Expansion Slots ee! Exclusive 60 MHz Bus 2GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive 16x CD-ROM Drive 1MB Level-2 Cache 2MB Video DRAM (48 max) On-board 3D Graphics $1,000 Bundled Acceleration 40004 Software including 40004 * 3 PCI Expansion Slots Weekend Warrior™ by . Sf w $1,000 Bundled Software Pitt ty Bungie Software rit tt} Extended Keyboard & Mouse LABS) + Low-profile Enclosure 36-month 36-month business lease business lease $88 per month $55 per month Price After $100 Rebate (expires 7/31/97) Extended Keyboard & Mouse Low-profile Enclosure LABS, ORDER DIRECT: 800-410-7693 OR ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.POWERCC.COM Major Accounts, Education and Government customers call 800-952-9246 Ask about leasing and purchase order payment plans. KY) PowerComputing 2400 South Interstate 35, Round Rock, TX 78681 « Tel: 512-388-6868 * Fax: 512-388-6799 Circle 151 on reader service card SEPTEMBER Worth the Wait: Mac 0S 8 N Take an in-depth tour of Mac OS 8: Maeworld’s guide to the new features, the hottest secrets, and the best add-ons. 120 Mac OS 8 Arrives BY FRANKLIN N. TESSLER We take a close look at the new operating system while pointing out the best new features (and how to use them), 127 Mac OS 8 Secrets By JoserpH scHoORR Undocu- mented tricks and techniques speed you on your way through Mac OS 8. 130 Best Utilities BY ROBERT C. ECKHARDT Get more out of Mac OS 8 with these essential add-on utilities. 117 136 2 September 1997 MACWORLD The latest thing in panoramic QTVR cameras in News, page 34. Features 275MHz Mac Powerhouse By TOVA FLIEGeL Macworld Lab tests this revolutionary new em and proves this to be the fastest Mac ever—by a wide margin. Top Pocket Organizers By DAVID poGue Macworld profiles four palmtops to pick the best personal organizer. 1°99 7 GWOr 32 36 38 44 News Technology Preview Hands-on CHRP Prototype ems show the promise of faster, open-architec- ture machines. PDF's Little Rival Jstream’s Java-based alternative to nall, Web-friendly Apple Charges for Tech Support Users feel the pinch of corporate belt-tightening as Apple ditches fre upport. Is the Licensing Fight Over? Clone makers and Apple make nice over recent licensing dis- agreements. Looking ahead in News—the CHRP advan- tage, page 32. 17 25 234 12 155 158 160 Four simple ways to improve Web type, in ‘Media, page 155. Opinion Letters State of the Mac BY ADRIAN MELLO The Desktop Critic BY DAVID POGUE zodiacal Mac. The How to Contact Macworld Media Improving Your Web Typography sy sim Helo Using better- looking typography for a better- looking Web site. Publishing Workshop BY DAVID BLATNER The and outs of leading and kerning. Graphics Workshop BY CATHY Apes Creating high-resolution color line art with reasonable file ON THE COVER Photograph by FPG 97 108 145 149 Buyers’ Tools Star Ratings Macworld’s ratings for hundreds of hardware and software prod- ucts at a glance. Expanded Mac Superguide Detailed specs for every Mac sy tem on the market, lab tested and Star Rated. Sharp's rotating-lens digital camera in News, page 33. Self- portraits, anyone? Secrets Whistle While You Work BY JOSEPH scHORR The AppleCD Audio Player is better than you think. Quick Tips BY LON POOLE and shortcuts. Tips, tricks, 56 58 60 64 65 66 68 70 73 74 76 78 80 80 82 82 84 84 86 87 88 90 90 92 92 Reviews ek */8.2 Director 6 Multimedia Studio Multimedia authoring suite ##*/6.8 Virtual PC 1.0 Windows-emulation utility 4/66 StarMax 5000/300 Home-office system ok 78,2 Flash 2.0; 4 #*/7.4 ObjectDancer 1.1; 6.0 WebAnimator 1.1; *#/6.9 WebPainter 1.0 Web animators compared ke */7.2 Color PageWiz; **&**/7.9 PaperPort Strobe Color page scanners compared de KIKI. Painter 5 Natural-media paint program ek **/7.6 ActivStats 1.0; **4/6.8 FloStat 2.0; tek #/7.4 Prism 2.0 Statistical software programs compared ‘*/2.2 Screen To Screen 1.02 Screen-sharing utility kk #*/7.7 NetObjects Fusion 2.0 Web authoring package 4% /8.1 MiniCAD 7 CAD program kk #K/7.0 Overture 2.01 Music notation program ##/6.9 KeyQuencer 2.1 ‘Macro utility 4% */6.2 Scorpio 1.1 Low-end word processor 4k #/5.4 Vertigo 3D Dizzy QuickDraw 3D plug-in for Photoshop **#*/7.7 Roaster Release 3 Java programming environment ew */8.8 CyberGauge 2.0 Network traffic monitor 44% 478.6 LinkUPPP 1.1 PPP client software 4% /7.4 MacSpartan Plus 1.1 Molecular modeling software ***/6.9 MacA&D 6.0 CASE programming tool 4% #/8.1, ADB I/O Mac-to-appliance interface ek 478.4 PowerKey Pro 600 Programmable power strip ek 4/7.4 CameraMan 3.0 Screen-activity capture utility ek #-k/8.2 Gene Inspector 1.0 DNA sequencing and analysis program **/7.0 Obsidian Puzzle game *#*-*/7.0 Duke Nukem 3D Action game *k*/7.3 The Louvre Museum Art showcase CD-ROM www.macworld.com September 1997 3 — en '’ — well-configuredjconsumer, and small- eae, businessysystems with an outstanding software bundle Only 5-Year warranty Only $1,249 Only Motorola. When it comes to Mac OS-compatible systems, who gives you the “best bang for the buck,” according to Byte Magazine?* Only Motorola. Packed with performance, features and aggressive pricing, StarMax™ computers add up to more Mac OS computing for the money, And we back our StarMax line of computers with the only five-year limited warranty in the business. StarMax StarMax 3000/180 StarMax 3000/240. StarMax 4000/200 ___ StarMax 5000/300_ $1,249" $2,299" $2,899" $3,399" * Mac® OS 7.6 Mac OS 7.6 * Mac OS 7.6 * Mac OS 7.6 + 180 MHz PowerPC? 603¢ 40 MHz PowerPC 603e + 200 MHz PowerPC 604e + 300 MHz PowerPC 603e K 12 Cache * 512K L2 Cache 256K 1.2 Cache IMB Video EDO DRAM * 4MB Video SGRAM * 4MB Video SGRAM * 16MB Memory * 32MB Memory © 32MB Memory + 32MB Memory * 1.2GB Hard Drive * 2.5GB Hard Drive © 4.3GB Hard Drive #4.3GB Hard Drive * 8x CD-ROM # 8x CD-ROM * 16x CD-ROM * 16x CD-ROM * Motorola 28.8 * Motorola 28.8 © 10BaseT Ethernet * 10/100 BaseT Ethernet Data/Fax Modem Data/Fax Modem * L00MB Zip Drive = 100MB Zip Drive * $1,000 Home Office Software $1,000 Home Office Software # $850 Business Software © IMS Twin Turbo Graphics Card ear Limited Warranty . Limited Warranty © S-Year Limited Warranty # 5-Year Limited Warranty . ‘| It's enough to make the editors of MacUser rate StarMax systems highest over other Mac OS- BELL compatibles tested for performance and value! Call us or visit our website to see for yourself what makes StarMax the only choice. @) MOTOROLA Computer Group ye an 1997 SSR. Ato 80 and 34240 "Arosa 19" Mol served Sauhter a tale pare haere seed oploratiad ee toallh reel weoieie ECT ee eel —— What you never thought possible: Circle 207 on reader service card Ub OCh EMSC ENRS wre AnthroCarts! AnthroCarts are so flexible.You have dozens of shapes and sizes to choose, plus over 50 accessories to configure your cart exactly the way you want. And they have a Lifetime Warranty! Made of steel and high density particle board, these AnthroCarts are as tough as nails. See them all in our catalog, then call us direct to order. We'll ship to you the very next business day! Call for your free catalog: 800-325-3841 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST, M-F Anthro Corporation” Technology Furniture“ 10450 SW Manhasset Dr. Tualatin, OR 97062 Fax: 800-325-0045 yemy in Japan call: kyo)-3947-2735 ANTHRO Wiivtantirocom Since 1984, Prices from $299. For a lower cost line for the home, ask for our Compacta catalog. GSA contract. Available for OEM applications. Anthro, AnthroCart and Technology Furniture are registered trademarks of Anthro. , QRAMEALE RES, sip hee! Macworld PRESIDENT AND C&O Colin Crawford CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER FINANCIAL ANALYST VICE PRESIOENT, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES Shelly C EMPLOYEE RELATIONS MANAGER Mai NETWORK MANAGER MANAGER OF TECHNICAL StRVIEKS Theodore Kim Is TecHMcIAN Dave Jo PROGRAMMER/ANALYST Frederic Desbois INFORMATION SvSTEMS COORDINATOR Ginger von Wening. ACCOUNTING/OPERATIONS: Pat Murphy ACCOUNTING/FACILITIES MANAGER Michelle Reyes ‘Macworld Wap on of International Data Group, the works agest pub ‘mation serves on information technology, International Data Group pobthes ‘ver 275 computer publications in ovet 7 counties. Sty millon people read ‘ane oF more Ininstonal Data Group pubeaions exch month, Intemational Data Group's puibeations include: ARGENTINA: Buyer's Guide, Computerworld Agentina, PC Werld Argentina; AUSTRALIA: Austalan Macwold, Astral PC ‘World, Austra Resets Neves, Computerworld, IT Casebook, Network World Publuh, Webmasler, AUSTRIA: Computerwet Osterrch, Networks Aust, PC Tip Austia: OANCLADESH: PC World Bangladesh; BELARUS: PC World Belarus BELGIUM: Data News; RABI: Annuino. de Informatica, Computerworld, Connections, Macworld, PC Player, PC World, Publsh, Reseler News, Supergimepower: BULGARIA: Compterwonid Bulgaria, Network Weld Bulga PC & MacWorld Gulgait; CANADA: CIO Canada, Client/Server Worl ComputerWorld Canals, inloWeorld Canada, NetworkWorld Can WebWorld; CHK: Computerworld Chie, PC World Chie. COLOME CComputerwotd Colombia, PC World Colombia; COSTA RICA: PC Weld Cento ‘Ameria: THE C2ECH AND SLOVAK REFURLICS: Computerword Ceechosovahia, Macworld Czech Republic, PC Weld Czechoslovakia; DENMARK: Communica tions World Danmark, Computerworld Danmark, Macword Danmark, PC Word (Ounmark, Techworld Denmark DOMNICAN REPUBLIC: PC Weld Republea ‘Dominican: ECUADOR: PC World Ecuador, EGYPT: Computerwortd Mie East, PC World Middle Eat: EL SALVADOR: PC World Centro Ammer, INLAND! ‘MikroPC, Tetovekko, Tetovikk, FRANCE, Dstabutique, Hebdo, Ino PC, Le ‘Monde informatae, Macworid, Re‘eaux & Telecoms, WebMaster France: ‘GERMANY: Computer Parnes, Computerwoche, Computerwoche Extra, Computeroche FOCUS, Global Onine. Macwelt, PC Welt GREECE: Amiga ‘Computing, GamePro Greece, Multimedia Word, GUATEMALA: PC Wotd Cento America; NONOURAS: PC Ward Cero Ameria; HONG KONG: Computerworld Hong Kong, PC World Hong Kong, Publish in AS; HUNGARY: ABCD CD-ROM Computerworld Szamitastechnika,Intenelto online Magazine, PC World Hungary, PCX Magazin Hungary; ICELAND: Tolheimur PC Word sland NDIA Information Communications Word, inlormation Systems Computerword, PC Word Ind, Publish in Asia; INDONESIA: InfoKomputer PC Wd, Komputek Computerworld, Publish n Asa; IRELAND: ComputrScope, PC Livel ISRAEL: ‘Macworld tral, People & Computer! Computenvord: ALY: Computerword Tela, Macvori tala, Networking tal, PC Weld taka 1APANE OTP Wel, Macworld Japan, Nie Personal Computing, 8/2 Wold Japan, SunWerd Japan. Widows NT World, Windows Worl Japan; KENYA; PC Wodd East ‘Alcan, KOREA: HiTech Information, Macworld Korea, PC Word. Kote, IMACKOONIA: PC World Macedonia, MALAYSIA: Computerworld Malaysia, PC World Malaysia, Publih In Asi, MALTA: PC Word Malta, MEXICO: Computers Meco, PC World Meio; MYANMAR: PC World Myanmar, NETHERLANDS: Compute! Tota, LAN Intemetworking Magazine, LAN Word Buyers Gul, Net, Macrrld Netherlands, WebWereld, NEW ZEALAND Absolte Bexiners Guide and Pan & Simple Sens. Compute Buyer, Commute Industy rectory, Computerworld New Zealnd, MTB, Network Word, PC World Neve Zend: WCARAGUA: PC World Cento America, NORWAY: Computerworkt Norge, CW Rapport, Datamagasine, Financ Rapport, Kusguie Norge, "Macworld Nong Muliediawor Norway, PC Word kapress Norge, PC Word Nettwerk, PC. Word Norge, PC World ProduktGuide Norge, PAKISTAN [Computerworld Pakistan; PANAMA: PC World Panama; PROPLES REPUBLIC OF {huNA: Chona Computer Users, China Computerworld, Chia InfoWorld, China Telecom Weald Weekly, Computer & Commueaton, Eecwonie Design Chia Elections Today, lectromes Weekly, Game Software, PC World China, Popul Weekly, Stare Word, Telecom Word, and onine uterwold Dally, PERU: Computerworié Peru, PC. World ‘Wild Salo Peru; PHILIPPINES: Clkl, Computerworld Philipines, Phipines, Publah in Asa; POLAND: Computerword Poland, Computerworld Special Report Poland, Cyber, Macworld Poland, etwarld Poland, PC World Komputer; PORTUGAL! Corebra/PC. WoIld, Computerworid/Coneio Informatio, Dealer World Portugal, Mae*In/PC*In Postal, Multedha Word, PUERTO RICO, PC Wold Puerto Rico, ROMANIA ‘Computerworld Romania, PC Worl! Romania, Telecom Romania, RUSSIA CComputerwodd Russa, MP, Publsh, Sei, SINGAPORE: Computerworld Singapore, PC Word Singapore, Publish in AM: SLOVEMA: Monitor, SOUTH. ARICA: Comping, SA, Network World SA, Software Weld SA; SPAIN ‘Communiicones Word Epana, ConputerwoddEspafa, Dealer Wend Espana Macworld Espana, PC World Espana, $0 Lanka: oink PC Wold: SWEDEN CAPADegn, Computer Sweden, Corporate Computing Sweden, Inernetword Sweden, ibronichen, Macworld Sweden, MaxOata Sweder, MikroDatorn, Ntverk & Kommunikation, PC Word Sweden, PCaktw, Windows World Sweden SWITZERLAND; Computerworld Schwea, Macworld Sehwee, PCP: TAIWAN: Computerweld Taian, Macworld Taiwan, NEW VISON/Publsh, PC Wiorld Tavwan, Windows Word. Tava, THAILAND: Publish in Asia, Tha Computerworld, TURKEY: Computerod Turkiye, Macworld Tukive, Network World Turkiye, PC: Weld Turkiye; UKRAINE: Computeronid Kiev, Multimeda Wild Ukraine, AC World Ukraine: UNITED KINGDOM: Acom User UK. Amiga ‘Acton UK, Amiga Computing UK, Ape Tak UK, Computing Mscword, Parents and Computes UK, PC Advisor, PC Home, PSX Pro, The WES: UNTIED STATES: Cable 1 the Classroom, C1O Magazine, Computerword, DOS World, Federal Computer Week. GamePro Magazine, InfoWWoi, (Way, Macworld. Network ‘Weald, PC Games, PC Weld, Publah, Video Event, THE WEB Magazine, and ‘Webiaster: online Websines JavaWorld, NetscapeWorld, and SunWorid Online; URUGUAY: infoWorld Uruguay: VENEZUELA: Computerworld Venezuela, PC ‘Wald Venezuela; and VIETNAM: PC World Vietnam IF YOUR MEMORY FAILS WHO CARES WHAT’S ON YOUR POWERBOOK? I | Your screenplay. Your stock portfolio. Images from and test each module specifically for the model in which it will your trip to the Himalayas. There’s a be used. Together, these grueling procedures lot of valuable stuff on your have helped us become a select Authorized PowerBook. So why not use the finest Apple RAM Developer. To find the specific components to preserve it? Kingston” memory. Kingston memory for your PowerBook, just At Kingston, we test every cell on every chip on every module. call (800) 259-8965. And before you put anything else ° ° (On a 16 megabyte module, that’s 128 million cells.) Since every on _your PowerBook, be sure to cingston ; RK KC PowerBook has its own unique memory requirements, we design put in some Kingston memory TECHINOLOGY Circle 201 on reader service card See Us At The Macworld Expo Booth# 5643 When you're on the road, space and weight are critical for an easy trip. So is having a secure system. You could use floppies to back up your data — lots of them — but suddenly you're no longer mobile (not to mention that they aren't very reliable). Or, you could use VST's Zip100 drive. Each Zip disk offers 100MB of removable storage, and holds the equivalent of 70 floppy diskettes. Zip also offers speed suitable for multimedia presenta- CniNae y MacConnectiont 800-998-0040 tions, the ability to hot-swap devices, and can be used as a boot device as well. The decision is ultimately yours — piece of mind and greatly increased storage with the VST Zip100, or using several hundred floppies (and perhaps hiring a sherpa to carry them). If only all decisions in life were this easy! VST Zip100 -- In a word, amazing. Meal 1-800-222-2808 1-800-248-0800 1-800-255-6227 VSTUSMe p by and check us out @ the Bayeide Expo Center, Booth #1338 * Zip Drive for PowerBooks 125 Nagog Park * Acton, * Shipping Quarter 3, 1997 Massachusetts 01720 (508) 263-9700 © Fax (508) 263-9876 © http://www.vsttech.com lero the lnegs oe. ane Zpae racemic raga Coreraon A ther radars ae property of dice rept Circle 73 on reader service card & September 1997 MACWORLD Macworle EDITORIN CHIEF Adrian Mello exECUTIVE EDITORS nan, Carol Person DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL OPERATIONS Jane Lagas SthOR EOITOR/FEATURES Howard Baldwin SENIOR ASSOCIATE EOITOR/NEWS Stephen Beale SENIOR ASSOCIATE CorTOR/REVIEWS Anita Epler stnion ASSOCIATE EDITORS Cathy E, Abes, Blizabeth Dou ASSOCIATE EDITORS ASSISTANT KOITORS Allyson Bates, Keith A. Mitchell OFFICE MANAGER Deborah Weinberger ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Andrea Dudrow ASSISTANT TO THE EOITOR IN CHILE Patricia Carberry-Harris contemurne sorrors Mel Beckman, Robert C. Kekhardt, Erfert Fenton, Jim Heid, Steven Levy Deke McClelland, ‘Tom Negrino, David Py Steve Roth, Joseph Schorr, Charl INTERNATIONAL EOrFORS| Marth Martin Jorgensen, Denmark Jean-Philippe Dubrun, France; Andreas Borchert, Enrico Lott, Italy; Shohei Nishi Gert Jan Oeld Torn Helge Be Lennart Hakansson, Swede Bahattin Apak, Lauren L, Black Matt Clark, Mark Hurlow, Jeff Saciloto Paul Brown SENIOR TECHNICAL ANALYSTS COPY EDIT AND EDITORIAL PRODUCTION MANAGING EOITOR Ruth Henrich SeMOR Cory FOITOR Paul-Michael King ‘seNIOR PRODUCTION EoITOR Lisa Brazieal cory eorroRs Gail E, Nelson, Elissa Rabellino PmopuctioN eo1roR Jackie Goodman, ART AND DESIGN DESIGN piRECTOR ART OIRECTOR esicnen ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR. Syleia Chevrier ASSOCIATE OESIGHER Martha Kate SENIOR DESIGN ASSOCIATE Belinda Chlouber DESIGN ASSOCIATE ONLINE Paul Devine Jeff Julian Elizabeth Jensen CIRCULATION MANAGER [NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER Ed Ramirez ‘ONLINE ACCOUNTS MANAGER Nicholas Harvey MEDIA COORDINATOR Jarmila Johnson DESIGN pinEcTOR.ONLINE Ame Hurty ‘WEB ADMINISTRATOR Chip Carman ONLINE RooUCER/EoITOR Karen Liberatore CONTENT ENGINEER Caius van Nouhuys NUNE cowrewr pRopucer Matt MeAlister ONLINE PRODUCTION EDITOR Roxanne Gentile ASSISTANT CONTENT ENGINEER Jessica Graves New OmniPage Pro 7.0 gives you the recognition you deserve. How to Improve Your OCR Accurmey af OVE YOur OCR, OmniPage Pro . 7 + gives you almost twice the Save Big $$$ OCR accuracy with the same = e neat Pen 2 ease-of-use as OmniPage OmniPage é Limited Edition. Limited Edition or OmniPage Lite the OCR that came with your > uparede poogram inhi = eile OmniPage Pro scanner, They give : emeeny ota keeps text in its orig: you basic OCR. - a “in : > inal format and layout, : including graph sed OCR Accuracy eect fa beet me OmniPage Pro : : = ee" even outputs to a OCR user ective 3 ‘ HTML. Sax Kciese bisinstin bon ipchiicnaal cial The Company: many fatbod grayscale soanners available for under $500. Alec il Cacre Corporation, with US. Weadquarters (such as the small-footprint sheet-fed scanners) and multifunction gf Awareness: in Los Gatos, Calif. and European headquar F occomputer users ters, Cacre GmbH, in Munich Germany Inoreased OCR Accunicy: OCR developers have developed high Mt te time and wecney la lender i OCR technology and aso stage to the mainstream adoption of OCR. Pricing and AvailabititygYi@es document management products, Caere has and Mac) and WordScan Plus 4.0 (Windows) upgrade packages arg fecently expanded its product line of OCR resellers for an estimated street price of $129. The Company Cacr@ OmniPage Limited Edition OmniPage Pro Upgrade now to faster, It integrates seamlessly with your favorite [Key Feature OmniPage pnitaye more accurate OCR. applications like Word, ClarisWorks and _ | » Comparison Pro tation , . Caere’s fastest and most more. It even guides you through the OCR | [aeeurate OCR engine Sure, the OmniPage Limited Edition ” | process using its AutoOCR Toolbar. All ‘AutoOCR Toolbar™ for e one-button OCR processing OCR that came with your scanner is good. with the simple push of a button In fact, that’s why scanner makers like HP, Apple Guide gives you Microtek and Agfa chose itabove all others. __ What's more, you get the advantages | [RUSSRSnIISaetNeBelp Bt : A Sed fracas yraphics in Bukifyollswane ereater-accursey, fall: of the world’s most popular OCR software emt LAKES c without learning an entirely new {OCH from within your throttle speed and a con of +4 Se ack : rite applications : amo : program. So make sure you're = new time-saving features, Jpg srade 5 2 - Retains original layout Fiesa Osciate VALCREA 4, totheBestooR gctting all the OCR power and sik oo ObsniPae Pe i, accuracy you deserve. Call now to y ry ’ Dass Pra é i == upgrade, or visit a local reseller. OmniPage Pro employs ‘ CALL TODAY TO ORDER! anew, more powerfulOCR BRE , 800. 736- 5735 i copies and degraded faxes, & === — ral exes A Mi www.caere.com & =o MacOS att see, Circle 69 on reader service card PC Applications AGWOFid DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALES runushen ‘Mate Sweeney (415/978-3271) NATIONAL SALES OIRECTOR Steve Plevin (415/978-3138) saves ouranrinen aoministaaton Eva Bosch (415/974-7310) sauss/maneetinc cooroiNaton Glenn Munlawin (415/974-7350) WESTERN ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kael Etken (415/978-3155) ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ine Wong (415/978-3192) NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER Liz, Pabén (415/978-3257) SALES ASSOCIATE Jessica Ross (415/267-1799) Aouinesteanive assistant Tobin Duisenberg (415/975-2619) NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER Sara Culley (310/545-0646) saues ASSOCIATE | | Margaret Level Green (415/267-4577) tasrenn aoverrsne ointcron Cynthia Ramsey (201/243-1197) wavionat accounts manAces Paul Bonarrigo (08/370-0832) waTionas accounts MANAGER Lisa Ladle-WNallace (800/779-5622) | ACCOUNT ExtcuTvE Kathy Poppenhagen (847/398-8141) CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING SALES Jancwronso swore ano scrony Niki Sern (415/978-3105), Carol Johnstone (415/978-3152), | Shannon Smith (415/974-7414) ‘Nancy Galanty (415/978-3124) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT RESEARCH OrangePC | Linda Lawrence Phillip Hibbert in Your Apple Sometimes, to keep from going bananas, you must run a PC application on your Mac. The OrangePC® is an expansion card which allows you to run both Mac and PC programs simultaneously. It magically transforms your Apple into a dual computer platform = which | can support 4 Windows®NT, NeXT® OPENSTEP*, Windows"95. Windows® 3.1 or DOS. It makes thousands of PC applications compatible with your Macintosh system. If you have a PCI based Performa (7" expansion slot), a full-sized PCI Power Macintosh compatible (12" slot) or a NuBus based Quadra, there’s an OrangePC solution that’s right for you. Whether you are budget sensitive, or performance hungry, you may select © Orange Micro, Inc., 1997 10 September 1997 MACWORLD a processor from the low-cost Intel®486 up to our exclusive Intel MMX Pentium® 200MHz. And, the OrangePC is affordable, with prices starting at $499, The technical stuff: OrangePC models come in 7" or 12° PCI, and NuBus B curd wypes: up 10 5x86 133MH: or up to MMX Pentium 200MHz; RAM from 8 10 256MB on board; ‘up 10 256K pipeline burst L2 cache; parallel port (for those delightful PC dongles): 2 high speed serial ports; 16 bit Sound Blaster* compatible In/Out; game port; one or two MB of video DRAM. Call us today, and put an OrangePC in your Apple. @ Orange Micro ne. “17 Years of Innovation and Excellence” 1400 N. Lakeview Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 (714) 779-2772 www.orangemicro.com See us at Macworld Expo Booth #5239 Circle 33 on reader service card \NWTERNET RESEARCH ANALYST Scott Petersen TRADE SHOWS AND EVENTS | Semon TRADE sHowrevents MANAGER Anna Noetzel TRADE SHOW/EVENTS COORDINATOR Marjorie Maggenti CIRCULATION Vick PRESIDENT/OIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Angelina Beitia SINGLE-COPY SALES DIRECTOR George Clark SUBSCRIPTION OIRECTOR Lori Hitchcock | ermcuration manacen Barbara Besser [NEWSSTAND SALES MANAGER Martin Garchar DIRECT-MARKETING MANAGER Kelvin Gee uewsstaND COORDINATOR Dalia Schwartz Tom Porcella supscmirrion inquinies | PRODUCTION — hestaesatepctan ames axe Anne Foley PRODUCTION MANAGER thia Neustadt ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER David W. MeAferty o1P coonomaton Clayton Haberman, BILLING INFORMATION MANAGER So Fong Yip | ewune assistant Lily Cheung | Compatible Adobe PageMaker 6.5, PUT IT IN PRINT, PUT IT ONLINE, PUT IT ALL TOGETHER pt active to make your ideas stand out. alett If you're not already using Adobe" PageMaker* 6.5 you should really take a look at it. Because only PageMaker 6.5 has direct-to- HTML and PDF export built right in—to take : aN ‘ VICE your documents out to the Web and everywhere else. With PROVIDER Photoshop*style layers, optional text and graphics frames, and automatic reformatting. With a broader range of color libraries and powerful color management tools. And with the same intuitive drag-and-drop interface and common keyboard commands you're already using with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator” Whether you're on Macintosh; Windows” 95, or even Windows NT,” PageMaker 6.5 can help your ideas stand out—in print and beyond. ‘TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF. OUR FREE CD “Tr’s TIME TO TRY ADOBE PAGEMAKER” HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED ‘TO GET STARTED. For your own copy, just call 800 422-3623. You'll like what you see. http://www.adobe.com ee | AI Adobe See Us At The Macworld Expo Booth#5434 Circle 251 on reader service card September 1997 Crack the Internet online world has to offer, because the Internet isn't a tough nut to crack if you have the right tool. ‘There are bushels of files on the ‘net. But nearly all have a “shell” that must be removed before you can use them. Stufilt Deluxe"4.0 is the Mac standard for both Stuffing and unStufling files, which also saves time and money. Stuffit handles most formats, even those for Windows and Unix, including sit, zip, hqx, and uu. So enjoy the riches the Aladdin Systems Circle 22 on reader service card See us at Macworld Expo Booth #1324 CATALOG 1.800. Glo 68s. 2446 FAX: (503)242-1362. www io-designs.com MACWORLD HOW TO CONTACT MACWORLD Subscription Questions Phone ‘Mainland USA 800/288-6848 Al other locations 303/604-1465 Fax 303/604-7644 US. Mail Subscription Services PO. Box 54529, Boulder, CO 80328-4529 ‘America Online Keyword Macworld www |ttp://woewmacworld.com/ community/sub services html E-mail subhelp macworld@neodata.com ‘Macworld Club Questions Phone US. and Canada 800/895-9545 Reprints and Permissions ‘You must have permission before reproducing any material from ‘Macworld, Weite to Macworld, Reprints and Permissions, 501 Second St. San Francisco, CA 94107; include a phone number. To order reprints ‘of your company's editorial coverage in Macworld, call 800/217-7874 Back Issues of Macworld Back issues are 7 per issue for U.S, delivery ($12 overseas: prepayment in US. funds is required. Make checks or money orders payable to Macworld Magazine and mail along with a written request to Macworld Back Isues, €/0 Snyder Newell, RO. Box 7046, San Francisco, CA 95120-9727, Readers can obtain newsstand premiums by maling a check for $2.95 (shipping and handing) to Macworld Communications, News stand Promotion, 501 Second St, San Francisco, CA 94107. Important: Please state CD title and issue, and include shipping name and address. ‘Macworld in Microfilm ‘Macworld is avaible on microtien and microfiche from UMI, 300 N. Zeeb Rd, Ann Arbor, Mi 48106-1346; 313/761-4700, ‘Macworld Editorial (ur offices are located at 501 Second St, San Francisco, CA 94107; 415/243-0505, fax 415/442-0766. E-mail: macworld@mscworld. com, Readers can contact editors diectly via the Macworld forum on Ametica Online (keyword Macworld) oF Macworld Online's Web site (http://wwew.macworld com). LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Direct all comments, questions, and suggestions regarding any aspect of the magazine to letters@ ‘macworld.com. All mails ead by our editor, but due tothe high volume ‘of mail received, we can't respond personally to each letter. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. All letters published in Macworld oF Macworld Online become the property of Macworld ‘quick TIPS. Send your questions or tips on how to use Mac computes, peripherals, or software to the attention of Quick Tips. Lon Poole, or e-mail them to quicktips@macworld.com. Please include your name, address, and telephone number. BUGS AND TURKEYS Send descriptions of turkeys (laws in conception or design) and bugs (defects or flaws in execstion) with your telephone number, malig address, and T-shirt size to the magazine via letters@macworld.com. Due to the high volume of reported bugs and turkeys, we can't personally sole or advise on eeported conflicts. WRITING FOR MACWORLD If you're interested in writing for us, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a request for our writer’ guidelines, Do not send unsolicited manuscripts, FounoER “David Bunnell Iman 1943. 985 Andrew Flug SIDG ‘VBEPA. wbge Ag ROT: 2 i te BR aD ~The new Director” a ORE os ? [up ate from the Neb. .S Bea W at.can you do with MHz? Here are even more ways to do more. Send e-mail, surf the web* and play CD-ROMs with our best- selling PowerBook 1400. Or, if you want to do more without carrying more, the new PowerBook 2400c packs 180 MHz into just over four pounds Incite rubbernecking. Run your own in-flight movie. We didn’t build the world’s fastest laptop just to show off. But that’s not to say you can’t. Among its numerous talents, the PowerBook’ 3400 is the ideal laptop for presentations, Its awesome speed means faster, more beautiful graphics, and its 12.1-inch diagonal screen is the perfect canvas to display your genius for persuasion. But don't let the 3400’ blinding speed blind you to its other features, Like its hot-swappable expansion bay. It lets you add all manner of drives, whether floppy, magneto-optical, CD-ROM or a second hard drive. All without putting your computer to sleep. To keep you connected, there are also built-in Ethernet/33.6 Kbps modem capabilities. At the risk of sounding immodest, there's no end to what you can do with the new PowerBook 3400.'To learn more, visit wwwpowerbook. apple.com. Or call 800-538-9696 for deters the name of the Apple reseller nearest you. cow " ; Shutt fo POSITIVE NEI LIDEA’ Apce!a: Nriter Ml. — : ] = ste Ble ? | = it’s Not Just A | Dadi neat a y MaKe Laser Printer Any Maye: « In addition to high resolution, high m performance printing, proofing, and camera-ready output, XANTE’s award winning Accel-a-Writer” 8300 now allows you to print direct-to-film. With XANTE's new patent-pending Negative Enhanced Imaging Technology, or NEIT, you can now print clear, crisp negatives and positives on plain paper or film from the same device. Nothing like it has ever been available before — WHAT A NEIT IDEA! Negative & Positive Output with NEIT (Negative Enhanced Imaging Technology) Oversized 11" x 17" Printing 600 dpi upgradeable to 1200 dpi True Adobe PostScript Level 2 XANTE Accurate Calibration Technology (X-ACT) | H Halftone Calibration and Linearization Adobe PostScript And Much More! Call 800-926-8839 am Ext. 2138 ee See Dealers Call Ext. 2139 ¢ Fax 334-342-3345 www.xante.com issn & ition sane ‘suai olivetti From computer to Accel-a-Writer 8300 to film, XANTE's FilmStar offers you the fastest way to process high quality film from your desktop. » NN J iN y Ny vi In Output © 1997 XANTE CORPORATION. XANTE, Accal-a-Wite,FmStar and X-ACT are trademarks of registered No Camera. tages of XANTE CORPORATION. Adobe, PostScript and tha Pests logo ae radar of No Darkroom. : ‘Adobe Systems, Inc. which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Other brands and product names are i tradomarks oF registred trademarks o! thot respective holders. XANTE CORPORATION: 4621 Spring Hil No Hazardous Chemicals. 3 Avon Mable, AL 36608, Post Ofice Box 16528, Mabie, AL 96616-0526 USA, Tel 224.042 4840, Circle 112 on reader service card _— Leliers If an Apple Tree Falls in the Forest. . R EGARDING THE JUNE 1997 STATE OF the Mac column on Apple’s future: If Apple were to make its hardware side even marginally profitable, there would be no reason to phase it out; why elimi- nate a good thing? Second, I believe that Apple defines the standard the clone mak- ers must live up to; that is, Apple really is good at hardware. I do agree that Apple has poor mar- keting; compared with the flood of bright advertisements for “Intel Inside,” Apple's ads are weak, ineffective, and sparse. Rather than resort to eliminating the hardware side, Apple needs to focus on effective advertising and marketing. For example, most Wintel supporters are convinced that the Pentium line is the ultimate processor, but I’ve seen articles in your publication and in others that show the Apple PowerPC to be faster than the Pentium or Pentium II. Apple is evidently reluctant to disseminate this fact. Since Apple’s software is superb, its machines are good, and the two plat- forms’ prices are now comparable, the only thing lacking is getting the word out. With better advertising, Apple could regain and hold a sizable market share, and could even push its way back to the forefront of the personal computer industry. Joun P. Goetz via Macworld Online Apple: Doing the Right Thing ‘THINK APPLE HAS BECOME TOO DI- vergent and made the decision to license its operating system too late, But Talso think that any organization that has been on a downward slide for too long requires drastic changes (“Amelio Carves a New Apple,” News, June 1997), While I’m sure this is not a happy time for those who will no longer be working at Apple, one undeniable fact must be acknowl- edged: the management and staff at Apple simply weren’t operating in a successful manner anymore. Business endeavors can be likened to war, and Apple hasn’t been winning. When an organization is not winning, changing personnel is often integral to changing plans. Apple has some unique strengths that have allowed it to achieve a significant level of success in the face of what are commonly acknowledged as industry standards. Reprioritizing its energies and efforts based on those strengths is Apple’s best course of action. I’m reminded of a quote that seems appropriate here: “The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing you've always done and expecting different results.” Apple's playing it smart. MatTHew Harpy Baltimore, Maryland Alistory Lesson about Clones ipsa MONTHS AGO I SENT YOU the following message: “I am happy to see Power Computing doing well, but hype, speed, and a sharp price come with an additional tag. Very often that tag does not show up until history is recorded. Apple, apart from some PowerBook hic- cups, can claim a very good track record of dependable machines. I’d rather have a machine with three stars that keep on shining than one with four that fade out ra moment’ use. It is your responsi- bility to give sufficient attention to dependability and consumer satisfaction.” ‘Today I read “Mac Clones: Probing the Risks” (June 1997). It was exactly what I was waiting for. Thank you! And I’m happy to report that I am positively impressed with the quality of the clones. JAAP FEENSTRA Rae-Edzo, Northwest Territories, Canada The Computer for a Few of Us F THE KIND OF ASTUTE SUMMATION of Apple’s pricing structure stated by David Jennings is widely expounded and accepted, there won’t be any Apples for any of us (Letters, June 97). It is almost axiomatic that the more Apple does right, the louder the criticisms against the com- pany. This continues to plague Apple no matter what it does. Apple’s 20th-anniversary Mac “spe- cial” is just that—a special for the people who are not in the “real world,” which is where Mr. Jennings has inadvertently placed himself. Hasn’t he seen the extra- ordinary bargains that Apple has recently announced? Even the high-end Power- Books are cheap compared with other continues www.macworld.com September 1997 17 a) [Bh Michael Leckman/ AJ. Diamond, Donald Schmit and Company 3D World for Presentations, Animations, QuickTime Movies +Designer for Interior Design, Architecture, Web Design, CAD, Includes: Lightworks renderer: Introductory Price: $349 $299 3D World and Designer are sold seperately for: $149 each To order any Microspot products: Other great Microspot Products. PhotoFix 3.0 Photo Editing $99 MacDraft 4.2 2D Drafting $249 MacPlot Large Format Color Plotting/Printing from: $399 MICROSPOT “bat Microspot USA, Inc. (408) 253-2000 Se habla espaol Demo copies available - www.microspot.com Come and see us in Booth #100 at MacWorld Boston, Bayside Circle 3 on reader service card 18 September 1997 MACWORLD LETTERS * The PowerBook 2400c CPU is not soldered on the motherboard. It resides on a daughterboard, making upgrades practical (“New Apple Subnotebook Fills Gap,” News, July 1997). © Adobe will not bundle its tracing pro- gram, Streamline, with Ilustrator 7 (“Ilustrator’s New Face,” June 1997). | machines out there. Give credit where it’s due and stop crying “The sky is falling.” Apple should be congratulated for its recent executive decisions, and now it’s time to get behind the company. History shows that misplaced and wrongly direct- ed criticisms can lead to disastrous results, and leave us all worse off. Spare us from having to live in a Windows-only world. Rosin J. WiLLCourT Reno, Nevada Apple is now taking orders for the Twentieth- Anniversary Macintosh, priced at $7500. While still not a bargain, that’s better than the $9000 price tag originally expected. Plus, ordering one of these machines is the only way you can get toll-free tech support from Apple—three years’ worth is included with the package—Ed. The Latest, but Not the Greatest LTHOUGH YOUR “THE BEST PER- sonal Printers” article is thorough and editorially well considered, a couple of the conclusions do not appear to cor- relate (June 1997). You “can’t recommend the LaserJet 6MP,” yet you would “rec ommend a third printer instead: HP's LaserJet SMP, a solid, four-star printer.” Unless there are differences other than print processing speed (the 6MP's 8 pages per minute and Printer Command Lan- guage 6 versus the SMP’s 6 ppm and PCLS) that have come to light since the 6MP has developed a history in the mar- ketplace, I don’t understand the relative ranking. Is PCL6 not the enhancement of PCLS one would expect? Is the indus- trial-design spec for the 6MP a cheapened version of the SMP? What exactly are the merits of the SMP not found in the 6MP? J. H. Keen Toronto, Ontario, Canada The HP LaserJet 6MP is a solid, three-star product—dan't get me wrong. It’s just that despite the speed bump and PCL6, the LaserJet MP isn't the standout among the competition that the LaserJet SMP was in our September 1996 “Personal Laser Printers” article. If you can still find a SMP for sale—new or used in good condition—it could be a very attractive printer indeed. If were in the market for an inexpensive personal laser and didn't need PCL6, I'd definitely go for a SMP-—Ed, No RSI? Be Thankful OUR READER KEN BECK WROTE Veet the possible hype potential of the repetitive strain injury (RSI) and carpal-tunnel disorder cases in this coun- try and how it would be easy to assume it was created for profit (Letters, June 1997). I thought the same idea five years ago, until I was diagnosed with RSI in late 1993. I still have not recovered from its crippling effects. I was a Mac expert for a large telecom company here in Southern California and lost my career. I cannot type for more than 30 minutes a day. Idid not think it would happen to me because RSIs only happened to those on the front line: the copywriters, secretaries, and customer-service representatives who were out to collect workers’ compensa- tion or get a couple of days off. Now I realize that there are more frontline workers injured with RSI than even the statistics show, because many fear losing their jobs if they report the problem. My heart goes out to them. Since I reported my injuries my life changed 180 degrees. Mr. Beck is one of the lucky ones. James Bruce Laguna Beach, California Luckily, it is possible to use your Mac without nyping a single word. Check out The Desktop Critic in the August 1995 issue of Macworld, Mast of the products mentioned in the article have been updated, but the information is still valid —Ed, Up to Speed with Macworld Lab W HEN WILL YOUR POWER MAC SYS- tem-performance comparisons use a Power Mac such as the 7500/100 as the comparison system rather than the Centris 650? Curis SANTANA Andover, Massachusetts continues GRAPHICS (CANVAS 5 Complete liustration, Photo Editing and Page Design If you already own a graphics application, trade up to Canvas 5 for just $149.95, See your favorite reseller, or visit us at www.deneba.com for complete product information and secure online ordering. For a Canvas 5 dealer near you, or to order by phone, call 1-800-6 CANVAS or 305-596-5644. SEA AL é CUE LEIS SE we should put asbestos gloves in every box! o top toying with feeble graphics programs that sap your creative . energy. Canvas 5 puts everything you need to realize your artistic vision into one integrated program that’s ready to rock the second inspiration hits. * Say goodbye to concentration-zapping “launch and quit” cycles. With Canvas 5, absolutely stunning illustration, photo editing, and page design tools are always right at your fingertips. + In addition, Canvas 5 works with any file (from Photoshop™ to CorelDraw” to GIF, TIFF, and JPEG) and any Photoshop-compatible plug-in. You also get over 20,000 clip art images and 2,000 premium URW” fonts. + Simple, flexible, and relentlessly versatile, Canvas 5 is an industrial-strength graphics tool. So what are you waiting for? Put the awesome power of Canvas 5 under your creative control today. See Us At The Macworld Expo Booth# 5111 G a Circle 57 on reader service card = Super-Fast, Extremely Vast PERSONAL HARD DRIVE. “How | fit 5 Fortune 500 companies, a warehouse full of big ideas, and the entire kingdom of Valhalla into a A INCH SQUARE.” IGB jomega. LETTERS Good timing. We've just introduced our new benchmark methodology, called SpeedMark, which uses the Power Mac 7100/80 instead of the Centris. See Mac Superguide, in this issue Ed. Closing the Door on OpenDoc re OF THE THINGS THAT MAKE ( Apple unique is its capacity to think, create, and develop innovative technolo- . That's the reason Apple should not kill OpenDoc (“Apple Moves Compo- nents to Java,” News, June 1997). OpenDoc is a wonderful technology, an innovative and efficient approach to personal computing. The chance of work- ing on documents and objects indepen- dent of applications, and the interopera- bility between the documents and the services supplied by the system, make it an advanced technology and, above all, a true Macintosh technology. It’s a perfect sys- tem for manipulating ideas and informa- tion. OpenDoc should live! Davipe VIGNATI via Macworld Online, Italy OpenDoc is a closed issue. Apple has no plans to revive it at this time. But don’t despair. While it’s true that OpenDoc’s hard-core docu- ment-centric interface metaphor will not sur- vive, a good bit of OpenDoc’s spirit will live on in Rhapsody, Apple’s next-generation OS. The Yellow Box, the part of Rhapsody that’s based on Next’s OpenStep APIs, will also sup- port some embedding of applications, although the details aren't clear: The Yellow Box: is also completely object-ori- ented, making it easy for developers to create applications by assembling code objects. Also, many services (such as Internet access) will be available globally as part of the system software, and the Yellow Box's extensibility will make it easier to add more global services.—Ed. Reading Microsoft's Tea Leaves RAVO TO DAVID POGUE FOR HIS column “Why Windows Is Doomed” (The Desktop Critic, Jane 1997). For too long the news media, in all their forms, have misrepresented Apple Computer to the general population. Story after story has described Apple’s slow demise, and yet here it is, not the powerhouse we all would hope for, but alive and kicking. ‘The simple fact is that the media can do far more damage to Apple through mis- representation than Apple can do to itself. Without exception, Windows has enjoyed high praise from the news media. No matter how bad a Microsoft program may be, or even if it fails altogether, it will receive glorious reviews. It is just another example of how biased media can change public perception. ‘The great irony is that many newspa- per and magazine companies in fact use Macs to do layout, Where would these companies be if it weren’t for the Mac to help them? Perhaps in the future the Mac will receive some actual praise from the news media. However, until then, loyal Macin- tosh users must simply hunker down under the storm of bad publicity. Mark Lukes Oxgden, Utab T’S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE TURNED Athe tables on the Windows-centric critics who proclaim the Mac to be dead. I thought I was the only one who realized that Microsoft will continue to splinter its market share with each new OS release. I predict this scenario: The Memphis release of Windows will slip to next sum- mer. Apple’s newly focused marketing finally will get customers’ attention. Apple will come to a fair agreement with the clone makers. The first CHRP boxes will start rolling out of the factories, and the number of boxes using the Mac OS will increase dramatically. STEVE Cors LLO Essex, Connecticut I hope you're right, Steve—but even then, you know what the popular business press will say, don't you? “Microsoft Aims for Perfection, Delays Windows”... “New Apple Marketing Suckers Helpless Users and “Mac OS Sales Rise Dramatically, Delaying Apple's Inevitable Demise”!—David Pogue Letters should be sent to Letters, Macworld, 501 Sec- 10, CA 94107; via fax, 415/442 ally to CompuServe (70370,702), MCI Mail (294-8078), America Online (keyword Macworld), AppleLink (Macworldl), or via the Inter- net (leters@macworld.com). Include return address and daytime phone number. Due to the high volume of mail re ved, we can’t respond personally to each letter. We reserve the right to edit al letters. All pub- lished letters become the property of Macworld. www.macworld.com September 1997 24 4-inch, 1 gig Jaz cartridges for as low as $89.95." HIGH-PERFORMANCE BACKUP * Back up one gig in as little as 10 minutes * Free 1-Step™ backup software backs up as. much as 2 gigs (compressed) + Run your entire system straight from your dJaz® drive to instantly recover from hard disk crashes HIGH CAPACITY MEETS INSTANT ACCESS = Run applications and files straight from disk * Access time: 15.5ms read/17.5ms write * Average seek time: 10ms read/12ms write * Sustained transfer rate: $.62MB/sec. max * MTBF: 250,000 hrs. HUGE FILES TO GO + Aegigabyte 4-inch disks fit in your pocket * Portable external drives fit easily in your briefcase—internal drives also available * Traveller and Jaz Cards make laptop use easy PC AND MAC COMPATIBLE * Windows 95, NT, and 3.X, Mac, DOS, 0S/2 * IRIX and Solaris also available from Rorke Data HOW TO CONNECT: * Jaz Jet™ SCSI PCI $99 * Jaz Jet SCSI ISA $89 * Jaz Traveller (Parallel Port) $49 = Jaz Card (PCMCIA) $125 VISIT WWW.IOMEGA.COM or see your reseller. $399 EXTE! @ “When purchased in to-pacs. Prices Usted are estimated street prices, Actual prices may vary. 1-Step and det are trademarks of Iomega Corperation, Windows 95 and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Macis a trademark of Apple Computes, Inc Al other ade marks ae property of their respective holders. An operating system so come from Apple. - Mac OS8 * ry) advanced it could on Or did it? Get ready for a close encounter of the eighth kind. Mac* OS 8 is here. And with it comes a whole new way of working with your Mac OS computer. Mac OS 8's purpose on this planet is to help you work more productively, and remove the barriers between you and your full potential, And it does this with performance that's out of this world. Thanks to the Mac OS 8 improved multi-tasking Finder™ software, you can accomplish several tasks at once, like opening and copying files without any waiting around. But all this power is nothing, without organization, That's why its new unparalleled customization features let you adapt your system to match your individual work style. Spring-open olders, contextual menus and pop-up windows help get you around faster, and are part of a new 3-dimensional look that’s even easier to work with. And Mac OS 8 has integrated x Internet capabilities. Netscape Mac OS _ Navigator’ the PointCast Network, Internet Explorer and a new Internet Setup Assistant are built right in, making it easier than ever to get on the Net, to email, surf or browse the cosmos? All this lets you work the way you think, so you can be more efficient. It even includes QuickTime” multimedia technology, And to show that Mac OS 8 comes in peace, it can read Windows files, whether you have the original application or not. It’s also compatible with your existing Mac applications. Mac OS 8 is designed for 68040 and PowerPC" based systems, and features reliability improvements that'll have you glad you went with the power of 8, Intelligent life is out there. And Mac OS 8 is proof, For your own close encounter with Mac OS 8, visit http://software.apple.com/macos8upgrade for a list of local software resellers or a free demo, Or give us a ring at e 1-800-482-6376 ext 1558, A (©1997 Clans Corporation. All Rights Reserve. Apple, he Apple ls and Mac are restere! trademarks and Pinder ba trademark of Apple Computer, lnc, Netscape Navigator ‘raesnark of Netscape Communists Corporation, wer ia trademark of Inter ‘ompany names may be trademarks Tasness Machines Corporation, use unde een ther om, Other po an respecte omer, ISP requ What a difference 8 makes. For more than a decade, professionals seeking an out-of-box CAD solution have d- winning MiniCAD, selected the aw: This stand-alone program lets you create everything from precise working draw- ings to sophisticated client presentations to extensive rials lists and cost estimates. As always, MiniCAD 7 offers the same core atures that have made it the program of choice for design professionals Windows/Macintosh- é The Easiest, Most Cost-Effective Way to Design in more than 80 coun- tries—multi-decimal accuracy for precise drafting, a built-in database/spreadsheet to track costs and materials, extensive library of industry- specific symbols, cross-platform compatibility (Mac and ming language for automating complex and routine tasks. Windows), and a macro program- Circle 46 on reader service card Now this total CAD solution speeds your with design pro these new features: * True 3D Boolean Solid Modeling * DWG and DXF Import/Export * Dual-Unit Dimensioning * Auto Wall Framing * QuickDraw 3D Rendering * Associative Hatching * Automatic Wall Joining * Next-Generation SmartCursor * Precise Sun Positioning * Expression Evaluation Inside Textboxes * Automated Databases/ Spreadsheet * Multi-Decimal Dimensioning * Rotatable Grid and Customizable Coordinate System * Plus Dozens of Performance and Interface Enhancements To learn more about MiniCAD’s extensive feature set and why the program has been called “the easiest, most cost-effective way to sit our Web design,” site (www.diehlgrap soft.com) or call AINICAD. AD 7, which retails for a suggested comes with 18 mignchi of FREE Tech Support and a 30-Day Money- Back Guarantee! WS EXTRA Uncertainty on Management, Profitability by Galen Gruman and Tova Fliegel pple Computer took yet another abrupt turn in its quest for financial stability as Gil Amelio was oust- ed July 9 from his post as chairman and CEO, after nearly a year and a half of try- ing to revitalize the troubled Macintosh maker. ‘The resignation came as Apple’s board decided Ame- lio’s performance was inade- quate, and a week before Apple planned to announce its third fiscal quarter’s finan- cial results. Those results were expected to be worse than originally planned be- cause of supply problems that prevented Apple from ‘ship- ping many of its new Power Macintoshes. Until a new CEO is named, Fred Anderson, exec- utive vice president and chief financial officer, additional responsibi day-to-day operations. Ellen Hancock, Apple’s executive vice president of technology, also resigned. In January, she had said she would remain at Apple as long as Amelio did, Her responsi- bilities go to Avie Tevanian, senior vice president of soft- ware engineering, and Jon Rubinstein, senior vice presi- dent of hardware engineering. assumes ties for Steve Jobs also assumes an expanded role as adviser to the board on product strategy, marketing and sales, and busi- ness partnerships. However, he will have no role in Apple’s negotiations with Mac OS licensees, who have accused Apple of using the release of Mac OS 8 to force a new and more costly licensing deal (see “Possible Hope in Licensing Fracas,” News, in this issue). Forced Exit Although Apple’s public announcement billed the departure as a joint decision, Anderson said in a press conference that the “board of Apple is not happy with Apple’s financial perfor- mance.” He credited Amelio for reducing Apple’s break- even point and improving product quality, but said, “The fact is that we're not yet on a growth path and we haven’t returned the comp: to sustainable profitability. Apple’s board wants to get Apple back on a sustainable growth path.” Anderson said Apple is honoring Amelio’s employ- ment contract, which likely includes a hefty severance package. According to a Secu- rities and Exchange Commis- sion document detailing terms of his contract, Amelio will be paid $8 million to $12 million after the board of directors expressed dissatisfaction with the company’s financial performance. if he is fired “without cause” or resigns “for good reason.” Within Apple, employees complained increasingly in recent months that Amelio was out of touch and unin- volved. Many said they were unsurprised at his departure, which had been rumored for several days before the July 9 announcement. However, the lack of con- nection appeared to go both ys. For much of his tenure, many of Amelio’s attempts to change Apple’s contentious culture seemed to go unheed- ed by midlevel managers, re- sulting in a schism over how Apple could end years of failed product initiatives, poor fore- casting, and insular thinking. Pieter Hartsook, a long- time industry analyst, said it was unlikely that Amelio stepped down voluntarily. “A good time for Gil [to leave] would have been at the release of Rhapsody Pre- miere,” the first version of the new Mac OS, due in early 1998, Hartsook said. “Then he could say that he’d accom- plished what he set out to do and that Apple was in pretty good shape. But the fact that he’s exiting now means that he’s failed in completing the restructuring. . . . That's why I don’t think this is mutual.” Hartsook also noted that now may not be the best time for Apple to lose its CEO, since a new CEO will likely want to initiate yet another restructuring. “The last thing Apple needs is a disruption that takes Apple’s focus off getting products out the door,” he said, “Think about Amelio’s first hundred days: basically nothing got done.” Profits on Hold But Hartsook pointed out that Wall Street analysts, the board of directors, and Apple employees have expressed a lack of confidence in Amelio in recent months as reflected by the plunge in Apple’s stock price, which hit an 11-year low in early July. continues www.macworld.com September 1997 25 NEW EXTRA Apple had been predict- ing a financial turnaround by the end of its fiscal year, which closes September 30. But at the July 9 press confer- ence, Anderson said, “We are out of the business of predict- ing when the company will return to profitability Losses Expected Dur- ing the week of July 7, First Call, which collects comp ite estimates from indus anal reported that it ex- ed Apple to show a $70 million loss in its third-quar- ter results, which were to be announced on July 16. Some analysts predicted losses as high $400 million, and Macworld estimated a loss of about $150 million to $200 million. s follows a $708 million second-quarter loss. (See Macworld Daily at w -macworld.com/daily/ for up- dated coverage of Apple’s financial results and manage- ment changes.) Anderson refused to spec- ulate on potential replace- ments for Amelio and would not say whether Jobs had been offered the position. Anderson and Jobs are arch team charged with finding a new CEO for Apple. Also involved in the search are Apple board member C. Markkula, Jr., and Edgar S. Woolard, Jr. Markkula is an Apple founder who h s been instrumental in picking every Apple CEO. jard is chairman of the board of the chemical compa- ny E. 1. du Pont de Nemours. Rescue Plan? Anderson said that there were no plans to put Apple up for sale, But Macworld has learned that at least one major computer manufacturer is considering a contingency plan to partner with one or more other com- panies to purchase a majority of Apple’s stock. They would then fire the current board of directors, which has been criticized as being out of touch and lacking experience in the personal computer business, and hire a new board and CEO. Under this scenario, the Mac OS group would proba- bly become an independent subsidiary on the model of Apple's Claris subsidia Apple would focus on deliv ing a strong Mac OS and stop trying to limit the efforts of Mac OS licensees to innovate and expand the market. Apple’s. computer business would be secondary, compet ing on an equal footing with other Mac makers. By having an experienced PC executive at the helm, Apple Computer, in this sce- yould be more com- in its product offer- ings and more responsive to market and customer de- mands. And even if Apple failed as a hardware company, the Mac OS would continue, supported by licensing fees from a broad set of Macintosh manufacturers who would capture Apple's existing cus- tomers and possibly expand into new markets. Sales Changes Amelio’s resignation came at a time when Apple seemed poised for major changes in its busi- ness, In addition to a possible truce with Mac OS licensees and this summer's final ship- ment of the Mac OS for the Common Hardware Refer- ence Platform, industry sources say that Apple will soon begin selling systems directly in areas where it pre- viously relied on resellers. For example, Education Access, once Apple’s largest reseller of Macs to schools, switched to selling Power Computing and IBM com- puters after learning that Apple intended to offer sys- tems to schools directly. m 26 September 1997 AYIA 7 Groups frequently used files together for optimum speed? i Optimizes the busiest of AppleShare™ and File Share™ servers without interrupting productivity or taking the server offline? @AlsoftInc.com Makes your Mac faster than new by monitoring actual file usage? Allows you to schedule or immediately perform a complete optimization of all disks without having to restart your Mac? Verifies accuracy of read and write activity to ensure data safety during optimization? Also Circle 140 on reader service card MACWORLD EVOUR DidK OP EEL Without optimization, your disk performar Basic optimization may restore some of your disk’s original performance. Only DiskExpress Pro can double your disk speed by providing faster access to the files you actually use! nce slows to a crawl. Meares Norton Prov.0 Speed Disk 3.2 FI 800-ALSOFT1 to own NEW New Fractal Design Painter? 5 is the ultimate way to create sizzling original artwork—combining comprehensive image-editing features with Fractal Design's patented Natural-Media® technologies. ¢ Expandable plug-in brushes let you paint with fire and neon, retouch in a snap, and transform images into hand-rendered paintings you can scale, twist, skew, and mirror—the possibilities are endless. And an extensible architecture means that as more brushes become available, you can add them to your existing software. % Dynamic plug-in floaters perform special effects like burning and tearing edges, Liquid Metal, Glass Distortion, Bevel World, Impasto and more—all available only in Painter. You get the flexibility of a Photoshop-style Adjustment Layer, with virtually unbounded imaging functions. rs) Powerful Internet publishing tools help you create red-hot Web sites using seamless background patterns, instant 3-D buttons, and multi-frame GIF animation. & Industry-standard masking means you don't have to burn up time learning how to do it. And Painter 5 reads and writes files in Photoshop's native format, so moving between programs is easy. ry Terrific tear-off tools. Spark your creativity by working the way you want to—just tear off brushes, art materials, and menu items and place them on custom palettes that fit your needs precisely. With scorching features like these, why waste another minute. Get the world’s most creative design tool now. Painter 5. It’s hot. It’s cool. For sales and product information, call 888-871-7387 Visit our Web Site at http://www.fractal.com ts 2 mu PY S See Us At The Macworld Expo Booth# 5403 WTC FRACTAL DESIGN CORPORATION Circle 5 on reader service card Recommended Resolution | 1,024 x 768 @ 87Hz | 1,280 x 1,024 @ 88Hz SuperClear It’s the latest advancement in screen performance and, not surprisingly, it comes from ViewSonic®, the biggest company in display technology and the leader in the 17" (various viewable) market. The focus is on clarity. ‘The .26mm dot pitch G773 17" (16.0" viewable) monitor sets new standards for image clarity. The reason is our SuperClearscreen—ViewSonic’s latest engi- neering breakthrough that combines the exceptional focus found in high contrast conventional CRTs with the bright, vivid colors associated with : aperture grille CRT monitors. The result: Absolutely the clearest, brightest images and most vivid colors available on a 17" (various viewable) monitor. At any price. Period. More specs, more selections, more solutions. ‘The G773, with 1,024 x 768 resolution at 87Hz, is perfect for general business, home and the intemet. If your work requires even higher resolutions, we're also introducing the P775 17" (16.0" viewable) monitor for CAD/CAM, document imaging and prepress applications. This new monitor offers an eye-popping 1,280 x 1,024 resolution at an amazing 88Hz refresh rate. Keeping an eye on the environment. And, in keeping with ViewSonic’s commitment to environmental concerns, both the G773 and P775 meet strict @ TCO "95 standards which reduce heat emissions, lower power consumption and mandate the use of recyclable parts. Compliance to TCO certification ensures that our monitors are environmentally and ecologically friendly. ‘To fully appreciate the clear advantages of the G773 and P75 though, you really need to see them in per- son. For the dealer nearest you, call ViewSonic at (800) 888-8583 ask for agent 5867, or visit our website at: www.viewsonic.com ViewSonic on, al rights reserve : paasaie: See the Difference! Circle 59 on reader service card Software included with APS MsPower Systems * Claris Works * Claris Organizer * Claris Home Page * Macintosh System 7.6 or later # Nisus’ Writer 4.1 * PowerMerge LE * Diskeit Direct * QuickMail Express *# Web Arranger 30-day trial * QuicKeys 30-day trial * AOL” Software * Bare Bones Software Goodies YOUR Me POWER? | ae LO A D.E. D ? Plain Base Systems MePOWER 603e200 Includes: Floppy Drive Bundled Software ($1,000 Value) 2.Year Limited Warranty ee 4 AS Desktop Case internal Bays ” One-inch High Internal Bays Three PCI Expansion Slots 145 Watt Power Supply MePOWER 604e200 f Includes: Floppy Drive Bundled Software ($1,000 Value) AS 2-Year Limited Warranty LOW AS fower Case Internal Bays Four 3.5" One-inch High Internal Bays Five PCI Expansion Slots 300 Watt Power Supply ¢4@MacWEEK 6040200 eowez00 . Fully Loaded customization Options DRIVE OPTIONS 3GB SCS! Quantum 64MB DRAM Xclaim VR 3D Card Removable Drives* cB sc} WO IMB VRAM (EDO) ——miroMOTION DC20 Card 16X Cl AGB | Quantum 2MB VRAM (EDO) 16X CI 6GB SCSI Quantum 4MB VRAM(SGRAM) — MONITORS* ‘ So 82X6 SCSI 3B ScSIQuantum —cacEe Phlips!Magnavox 15° ip scsi je Quantum CACHE. Phips/Magnavox 17" jazscsiw/one cart PAWS 368 saoomm ghee Sony 1008X 15" HyperDAT 4GB/8GB7200;pm ACCESSORIES Sony 200sn 17 HyperDAT Pro 9GB/8GB 7200rpm peeautel Mouse oy Ba Hat ee stOuantum MEMORY OPTIONS — quip iMs TwinTurbo Card 2.5GBIDE Quantum RAM, 8MB IMS TwinTurbo Card. *Partial isting 38 IDE Quantum aeNe BRM 8MB MGA Millennium Point your browser to http: //www.apstech.com/aps-byob.hitml for a complete listing of configuration options with APS’ Online BYOB Configurator APS has the most internal drive options Hard Drive RAID CD-ROM Tape Backup Removable Media System* Options Options Options Options Options Options |APS MePower 604¢200 24 3 3 3 3 PowerTower Pro 200 4 2 1 0 0 2 PowerMac 8600/200 1 0 1 0 0 1 Super Mac $900/200 1 0 1 0 0 0 *Comparison data forthe 604e, 200\Hz systems listed above taken from the manufacturer's Web sites on 6/23/97 Technologies GREAT PRICES, “PRICELESS SUPPORT! Call this special number 800-92 6-0693 pages 186-187 in this issue for more information about M*PowER Systems and APS peripherals. APS Technologies * 6131 Derarus * Kansas City, MO 64120-0087 Circle 61 on reader service card SEPTEMBER [systems] 1997 Inside the Next-Generation Macs PREVIEW OF CHRP MOTHERBOARDS SHOWS KEY ADVANTAGES by Galen Gruman P romised for nearly three years, the Com- mon Hardware Ref- erence Platform (CHRP) is now close to reality, with systems poised for release over the next few months—perhaps as early as September—from Motorola Computer Group (800/759- 1107, www.mot.com/starmax/), Power Computing (512/388- 6868, www.pow om), ‘Tatung RISC Systems Inter- national (www.tatung.com.tw), Umax Computer (510/226- 6886, www.supermac.com), and others. ‘Tatung plans to ship systems only in the Far East, Germany, and perhaps other northern European countries; the other companies will ship their systems in the United States, Canada, and perhaps other countries. CHRP will allow faster system-bus speeds, which will boost system performance. But CHRP is about more than just speed. It’s about less- expensive, more-capable Macs. 32 September 1997 Tt achieves this through an architecture that takes the approach of a PC—common, inexpensive parts available from multiple suppliers using a standard basic design that everyone knows—and adds to it the Mac-specific technolo- gies that Mac owners expect MACWORLD and exploit in their current systems. CHRP enables the first truly open Macs. As Cheap as PCs With the use of standard components and designs, Tatung officials say they can create and sell Macs at the same prices as PCs—a first. Other Mac mak- ers expect similarly dramatic savings. For example, CHRP motherboards fit into a stan- dard case size called ATX, and thus in standard PC cases. Although the Mac OS license is much more expen- sive than Microsoft’s Win- dows 95 license (two to four i times as much, according to sources), IBM Microelectron- ics and Motorola Semicon- ductor have kept the prices of PowerPC CPUs significantly below those of Pentiums. According to several Mac makers, this means the overall cost is roughly a wash, even when you factor in the extra circuitry required on Macs for SCSI (an option on most PCs) and ADB. Adding PC Technologies Motorola Computer Group and Umax Computer provid- ed Macworld with two proto- type CHRP motherboards that show the technologies in place—and the flexibility of fered by an open architecture. Both companies’ prototypes have extended traditional Mac features with PC capabilities, as seen in the sidebar “Up Close: What Two Open Mac Designs Offer.” For example, the Motoro- la system includes a parallel port that accommodates stan- dard PC printers, while the Umax system has an ISA slot that lets you use a standard internal PC modem rather than a box hanging off the back of your Macintosh. Note that these are prototype sys tems, and what the companies actually ship to customers may differ. continues on page 46 MACWORLD EXPO COMES TO BOSTON AUGUST 5 THROUGH 8, AND MACWORLD WILL BE THERE TO COVER THE HOTTEST NEW HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR THE MACINTOSH. GET THE LATEST NEWS—AND OUR BEST OF SHOW PRODUCT PICKS—FROM MACWORLD DAILY AT WWW MACWORLD.COM/DAILY/ nosent reany Sharp's VE-LC1 digital camera features a rotating lens and 2.5-inch LCD. [graphics] New Digital Cameras Join the Crowd TOSHIBA AND SHARP AMONG ENTRANTS by Andrea Dudrow MM igital cameras are ap- |B pearing faster than ] baby rabbits. Toshiba | (714/583-3000, www .toshiba.com), Pana- sonic (201/348-7000, :panasonic.com), Yashica (908/ 560-0060, www.contaxcameras com), Sharp (201/529-8200, www.sharp-usa.com), and Sony (201/930-1000, wzzw.sony.com) are the latest vendors to offer entries in this increasingly crowded market. New from Toshiba ‘Toshi- ba’s $499 PDR-2 offers 640- by-480-pixel resolution and is one of the first digital cameras to use CMOS (complemen- tary metal-oxide semiconduc- tor) image sensors, a less cost- ly alternative to CCDs. It stores images on match- book-size Solid State Floppy Disk Cards (SSFDCs); a 2MB SSFDC included in the pack- age can hold up to 24 high-quality or 48. standard- quality images. You can trans- fer images to your Mac if you own a PC Card reader. For users without PC Card readers, Toshiba plans to offer an adapter that allows use of SSFDC media in a standard floppy drive. The PDR-2 ships with Sierra Imaging’s ImageExpert and Live Picture’ Live- Pix, but unlike many cameras does not include an LCD preview Yashica's KC 600 Yashica has announced the $599 KC 600, which includ preview and 2MB Flash PC Card. You can store 8 high-quality or 21 normal- quality images at 640-by-480- pixel resolution, or 80 econo- my-mode images at 320-by- 240-pixel resolution, A_ burs! mode lets you take 4 pictures in 1 second. The camera transfers images to the Mac via a serial connection or PC Card slot and includes a cable that lets you view your images on a TV. The KC 600 ships with MGI PhotoSuite SE software. ‘Two from Panasonic sonic’ entries are the KXL- 600A and the LCD-equipped KXL-601A. The with a 2MB CompactF storage card, which holds 24 high-quality images at 640- by-480-pixel resolution or 96 standard-quality images at 320 by 240 pixels. The $458 KXL- 600A and $658 KXL-601A both include a Mac interface kit with a serial cable. To save battery power, the cameras go into sleep mode after 30 sec- onds of nonuse and power down aftera minute. They ship with Panasonics own image- editing software. Sharp's Rotating Lens Sharp’s $750 VE-LCI features 640-by-480-pixel resolution, a relatively large 2.5-inch LCD panel, and a rotating lens that lets you take pictures of your- self. An IrDA port permits Pana- wireless image transfer to IrDA-equipped Macs, such as the PowerBook 3400. Other- wise you can use an included serial cable. The package also includes a 4MB CompactFlash PC Card that stores 60 nor- mal-mode or 120 economy- mode images. The 7.4-ounce camera ships with EasyPhoto image-transfer software. Back to the Floppy Sony's new $599 MVD-FDS and $799 MVD-FD7 store up to continues Macworld Takes Top Award for Copland Coverage Macworld magazine has received the Computer Press Award for best individual news story or series, for our print and online coverage of Ap- ple’s decision last summer to cancel development of the Copland operat- ing system. The awards, presented June 17 in New York, are sponsored by the Computer Press Association, a national organization of journal- The awards represent the high honors in computer publishing. {t's just the latest in a series of recent awards for Macworld’s edito- rial coverage. Earlier this year, Mac- world Online received the: presti H. Neal Editorial jevement Award from the Amer- gious Aci ican Society of Business Press Edi- tors (ASBPE) for best use of new media. The Western Publications Association honored the September 1996 Macworld with a Maggi Award for best magazine in the computers and telecommunica- tions/consumer category. And Mac- world’s July 1996 issue took third place for best news section, over 400,000 circulation, in the national American Society of Business Press Awards sponsored by the ASBPE West and Midwest chapters, The same issue won first place for best news section in regional ASBPE awards sponsored by the group's West and Midwest chapter 40 images at 640-by-480-pixel resolution on a standard 3.5- inch floppy disk. Powered by a rechargeable lithium ion bat- tery, both can capture up to 500 images between charges. They also include a 2.5-inch LCD and ship with ArcSoft PhotoStudio. The MVD-FD7 features a 10x zoom lens. multimedia QTVR Gets Ready for Prime Time NEW AUTHORING TOOLS INTRODUCED by Stephen Beale pple’s (408/996-1010, www.apple.com) QuickTime VR (QTVR) technology, until recently the province of a few pioneering multimedia developers, is stepping into the limelight. PictureWorks (510/855-2001, www.pictureworks.com), Live Picture (408/438-9610, www Jivepicture.com), and Panima- tion (407/599-9697, www .panimation.com) have intro- duced inexpensive software packages that make it easier to create QTVR panoramas. Be Here (408/399-1905, www sbebere.com) has reduced the original asking price of its Portal $1 panoramic camera, albeit to a still-costly $9995. And thanks to a new applica- tion programming interface (API) in QTVR 2.0, develop- ers of graphics software can add QTVR authoring capa- bilities with minimal hassle. Still, Apple can’t rest on its QTYVR laurels because sever- al competing technologies have emerged. A QTVR panorama gives you the illusion of being in the 34 September 1997 center of a virtual environment; scroll- ing with the mouse or cursor keys offers a 360-degree view of the scene. To create the panoramas, you shoot a series of pho- tographs from the center of the envi- ronment you want to replicate; you can also create panora- mas consisting en- tirely of computer- generated images. Fither way, you need a QTVR authoring tool to stitch the individual images into the full panorama and save it in QTVR format. Panoramas can also include object movies that let you view objects from different sides. New Software Apple of- fers free software that converts panoramic PICT images cre- ated in other programs into QTVR movies. However, cre- ating the panoramas them- selves is a time-consuming task. The new authoring pro- grams—PictureWorks’ $100 Spin Panorama, Live Picture’s $100 PhotoVista, and Pani- mation’s $169 Nodester— make it much easier to stitch the images into QTVR movies or panoramic stills saved in PICT or JPEG for- mats. With their simple inter- faces and low price tags, they promise to bring QTVR authoring capabilities to a much broader market. They are especially useful in con- junction with digital cameras. With each product, you begin by taking a series of photographs, rotating the camera clockwise so that each shot slightly overlaps the pre- vious one. You then import these images in sequence to create the panorama. Spin provides tools that simplify the stitching process: after you identify common reference points in adjacent images, the program causes these points MACWORLD Be Here's Portal $1 can capture a complete QTVR panorama in one shot. to overlap, binding the right side of one image to the left side of the next. PhotoVista and Nodester automate this process, aligning and stitching the images with a single com- mand. You also have the option of manually fine-tun- ing the stitch. All three pro- grams include blending func- tions that minimize lighting differences between adjacent photos. However, none can produce an object movie. Nodester includes a sim- ple built-in image editor, allowing you to perform ba- sic image enhani working on an enhanced ver- sion of PhotoVista, to be introduced later this year, that will allow designers to add a variety of media elements to the panoramas, including FlashPix images. Competing Formats Real- VR is one of several technolo- gies that have emerged to compete with QTVR. Its major advantage is file size: a RealVR panorama generally consumes much less data than the equivalent QTVR movie. The format consists of a JPEG image packaged within a VRML file; to view the panoramas you need to down- load a VRML extension from the Live Picture Web site. Other QTVR competi- tors include SurroundVideo from Black Diamond (603/ 430-7777, www.bdiamond.com), SmoothMove from Infinite Pictures (503/221-2449, w -smoothmove.com), Ipix from Interactive Pictures (423/690- 5600, www.ipix.com), and Tor- nado from NetVR (206/702- 5 netvy.com). Smooth- PC-only technology. SurroundVideo is PC-only on continues ments without using a separate program. A rapid-fire mode lets you capture a series of images using a digital cam- era tethered to the computer; the soft- ware then automati- cally composes the images into a com- plete panorama. Spin and Node- ster support QTVR only. PhotoVista supports QTVR plus Live Picture’s own RealVR format, which was developed by Eric Chen, a member of the origi- nal QTVR program- ming team. Live Pic- ture is currently Panimation’s Nodester (top) and Live Picture's PhotoVista (bottom) make it easier to create QuickTime VR panoramas. Project Schedulin Made Easy. Page 1 of 1 Shows/Tasks f= Trade Show #1. 323 {Trade Show #2. ” [Trade Show #3 a bs fectings as Travel Arrangements Complete Show Docs. 88 Marketing Materials... 88 Press Release Publicity $6 Presentation Rebearsals $20 ‘Booth Modifications 0 Pack Materials oe StipBoothterare 22 sot Setup sat aa =. se sao pes Stow Dates a 0000 fe 4 Ee rade Show #4... 676 ea Taned Sina pa oy ta Tas waite iva rod Spending per Weck____—$724608 ssn see smi sies301 rsa Created by- Jim Martin Fuonome: shows ts 123 Main Street Trade Sbowe Production Mer. Lost Updated: §/20 reine Washington, DC 20111 cc: KF, JM, BY, NW, SF It's easy to use. FastTrack Schedule is intuitive and flexible, meeting all your project, scheduling needs. It works how you do, letting you schedule projects quickly, easily, but with the control your projects require. You don't have to be an expert in project management to as a C. keep your projects organized; you just need the right tool to get it done. It’s that simple. It's easy to learn. Can you afford to waste time learning software over and over again? Now you S Cg hi (A di u l e don't have to. With online help systems, tool tips, and bubble help, you'll have quick solutions at your fingertips. And with FREE and UNLIMITED technical support, you'll always stay on track. Simple Scheduling. It's easy to buy. We give you a free demo to try the software. If you lke it, call us and we'll Impressive Power. activate your demo on the fly. Plus FastTrack Schedule is 1/3 of the cost of most project management software, so it wil fit your budget as well. Call today for a free demo or download it from our web site! ‘Projet Seedling Made Ea Here are just some of the new features you'll find in Version 5.0: Get on track! <sioreds Legend Ble Rok Ew Sareea * Column Summaries Call to order, for more information + Export directly to HTML, GIF, JPEG =) * Copy: Copy Schedule or download a (73133 SiN today! so uaitecunice Celie (800) 450-1982 Coser http://www.aecsoft.com Res OS Upgrade to Version 5.0 Today! ‘AEC Sotwar, nc, 2611-13 Marky Cl, String, VA 20166, USA «Phone 702) 4501860 + FAX (708) 40-9785 hp:taaesotom (©1997 AEC Sofware, Ic. lights reserved. Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT ar epistred rademart or rademars of Micosof Corporeon Macntsh registered vadema', and Power Macintosh a rademark of Apple Compute, Circle 203 on reader service card the authoring side, but you can view the panoramas using a Mac-based ActiveX control for Microsoft Internet Explor- er or Netscape Navigator. Interactive Pictures (for- merly OmniView) offers Mac-based authoring and viewing software, including a Macromedia Director Xtra, but instead of paying for a standard software license, you pay $25 to $100 for each completed movie, depending on the quantity you produce. You can capture a complete panorama with two shots from a camera equipped with a fish-eye lens. In addition, images are mapped to the inside of a virtual sphere— rather than QTVR’s virtual cylinder—meaning that you can look all the way up and down in addition to left and right. NetVR’s Tornado is based on Java, so you don’t need special plug-ins to view the content. Currently, Tornado generates in-line 3-D ob- jects—equivalent to QTVR's object movies—but the com- pany is also developing a pan- oramic movie component. The pricing is similar to Interactive Pictures’—you pay a sliding fee for each object you create. Panoramic Camera Be Here, which introduced its Portal $1 Panoramic Capture System at the 1997 Macworld Expo in San Francisco, has reduced its original $15,000 asking price to $9995. How- ever, it’s another metered sys- tem: the base price buys you the right to make 100 images; after that, you pay $4 to $5 per saved image depending on volume. The advantage of the Portal S1 is that it can capture an entire 360-degree panorama in a single shot. This lets you create scenes with people and other mov- ing elements that would be impossible to produce with other cameras. 36 September 1997 | News Some Day My Mac Will Come MAC SYSTEM VENDORS DELIVER FASTER IN 1997 by Cameron Crotty ack in the Great Mac Drought of 1996, buying a Macintosh was difficult, and cer- tain high-end models couldn't be had for love or money. But according to an online survey conducted by Macworld, users are seeing improved system availability and dramatic reductions in delivery delays. We asked visitors to Mac- world Online’s Web site how long it took them to receive their systems after placing the order. Respondents over- whelmingly verified the anec- dotal reports of Mac short- ages in fall 1996. The worst month, September, required patience of biblical propor~ tions, as customers waited an average of 40 days and 40 nights for their systems to be delivered. But later that year, new systems vendors joined the market and existing ven- dors ramped up production. By December, in the midst of the busy holiday season, the average wait was down to 11 days. By March 1997, con- sumers were waiting an aver- age of only three days for a new system, Readers should note that results in surveys like these tend to be negatively skewed, as individuals with complaints are more likely to respond than are satisfied users. Nev- ertheless, generally it’s easi- er than ever to buy a Mac OS system. Still, not all is rosy, Apple's latest high-end Macs are still very hard to find, with the Power Mac 8600/200 and 9600/233, announced in Feb- ruary, just becoming available in volume as this was written. Also, systems based on the 250MHz PowerPC 604e chip remain extremely scarce. 1996 50 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun_Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar| 1997 ‘Average Delay in Days @ Apple @ Power Computing @ Motorola Market Average This graph shows the average time (in days) elapsed between ordering and receiving a Mac OS system, as reported by our online survey. Only Apple, Motorola, and Power Computing generated enough responses to be broken out individually. MACWORLD Java for Portable Documents JSTREAM OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE TO PDF by Cameron Crotty dobe’s Portable Doc- ument Format (PDF) is great for high- quality, precisely for- matted documents. But PDF's huge file sizes can be a high price to pay, espe- cially when sending the files over the Internet, JStream (360/891-0649, www.jstream.com) believes it has the answer in its JPress Document Format (JPD), a proprietary compression tech- nology based on the compa- ny’s text-handling libraries, which are written in Java, Built-in Viewer JStream’s WiredWrite publishing ap- plication, scheduled to ship this fall, translates documents into the JPD format—which compresses them significant- ly—and attaches a small (70K), Java-based viewer. The resulting files retain all for- matting, are rapidly search- able, and can be read on any computer running a Java vir- tual machine. Also, you can reformat text as you read it; continues your — creativity. $900DP/250 SPECIFICATIONS: MODEL NAME Proceso Type 604e/250MH2 RAM. - 64M8 vp to 168 Intleaved Memory Yes ‘Access Memory = 2Be bit Level? Cache 512K ROM Speed TIKSSE 468 Ur CSR ord Drive 7 sar F 2 with The SuperMac $900 line provides reliable and expandable architecture, so you always have the best creative tools at hand. You've got great ideas, and you deserve a machine to match. The SuperMac $900 family offers a range of models that combine superior engineering and performance with convenient upgradeability— all for a very competitive price. Plus the S900 architecture makes it easy to upgrade to a dual processor. So there's no need to worry about your machine becoming obsolete. All this from UMAX, a company dedicated to the Mac OS system and rated #1 in both service and purchase satisfaction in a June 1997 Macworld poll. The SuperMac S900 from UMAX. Finally, there’s a machine that can meet your creative demands. Extra) Fran, PowerPC The SuperMac $900 line has received numerous awards, including: hci ad MacOS For more information on where to purchase the $900, call 1-888-625-UMAX or visit us at http://www.supermac.com UMAX Computer Corporation (© 1997 Al rights reserved. SuperMac is a registered trademark licensed to UMAX Computer Corporation. CacheDoubler is a trademark of UMAX Computer Corporation. Mac and the MacOS logo are trademarks of Apple Compute, inc. used under license. PowerPC and the PowerPC logo are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. + CacheDoubler upgrade will work on al existing $900 machines, avaiable in Fall‘9. Circle 99 on reader service card 38 Internet WATCH Buddying Up on the Net — unti recently, real-time Internet communications meant logging on to the chat channels, or setting up a voice connection with one of several telephony products. But now, America Online (703/448-8700, www.aol.com) and Excite (415/568- 6000, www.excite.com) have announced products that alert you when colleagues access the Internet, and then provide a vehicle for exchanging text messages with them. To use America Online's Instant Messenger or Excite’s PAL, you must download client software and reg- ister with the AOL or Excite server. The client software informs the server that you are online and lets you exchange messages. Currently, the software is freely accessible from the Excite and AOL Web sites. Excite’s PAL is completed, while AOL's was still in beta testing at press time. AOL expects to have the final version available this fall. High-Style E-Mail text-based e-mail is beginning to look paltry when stacked up against bright- ly colored Web pages with dancing graphics. But sending multimedia messages is still a nightmare of enclosures, coding, and uncertainty about whether the recipient has the required viewer applications. Novita Communications (408/745-5990, www .novitacom.com) dodges this problem with NovitaMail, a new HTML-based e-mail client that lets you build for- matted messages combining text with graphics, anima- tions, and even embedded Java applets. NovitaMail then packages, compresses, and mails the message along with an extractor written in Java; since the message is in HTML, any Web browser can read it. A public beta pro- gram for the Mac version is set to begin by the time you read this; the product should ship this fall for $39. Industrial-Strength Web Design Handcrafting a Web site page by page in an HTML edi- tor might work for a small site, but not for a large corpo- rate site with lots of pages and constantly changing data. Pictorius (902/492-2880, www.pictorius.com) is offering an alternative in the form of Pictorius Inet Devel- oper, Based on the company’s Prograph object-oriented development environment, the software lets you develop and store content in a database, from which you gener- ate HTML pages on the fly. You can easily edit and fearrange content without the drudgery of rebuilding pages by hand. Inet Developer should be available by the time you read this. For $1495 you get the site and page editor, the application server, the integrated development environment, and a Web server. September 1997 MACWORLD [ News if you resize the window, a JPD document reflows to re- flect the change. Java Limitations JStream has far to go before JPD will be widely accepted, largely because Java’s printing and typography features are em- bryonic at best. Also, while many current applications can directly output PDF files, users must filter documents through WiredWrite to pro- duce JPD files. And PDE, given its roots in PostScript and growing acceptance in the print world, will likely be the electronic document format of choice for high- quality output. But JPD may offer a viable alternative when PDF is too much and HTML is not enough. No More Free Tech Support APPLE ADOPTS 90-DAY PHONE SUPPORT POLICY; AFTER THAT, YOU PAY by Cameron Crotty ree tech support, long a standard in the Mac- intosh market, is be- coming the exception rather than the rule. Apple recently announced that it will no longer provide lifetime toll-free tech support for its Macintosh systems. Some Mac makers are stick ing to their free support poli- cies, but others, such as Apple, are finding that the cost is too much to bear. If you bought your Mac between April 1, 1993, and April 1, 1996, Apple will con- tinue to provide free tech sup- port. But if you purchased a Mac after April 1, 1996, you get only 90 days free. After that, hand-holding over the telephone will cost you a min- imum of $69.95. That's the annual cost of a Level I Apple Support Line contract, which covers ten service incidents per year. If you have more incidents, you'll have to pay for another contract, which covers you for another year or ten incidents, whichever comes first. Feeling the Pinch In today’s PC market, few ven- dors offer unlimited free tele- phone support. Even a large company like Apple feels the pinch when support represen- tatives must process 20,000 calls per day, In addition to salary and equipment costs, each support rep must be extensively trained. “Free telephone tech sup- port forever is a nice thought, bur it’s not sustainable,” says Pete Gladstein, senior director of Apple Assist for the Americas. Nevertheless, Mac ven- dors tend to have more liberal support policies than their PC counterparts. Power Comput- ing and Umax Computer, for example, both provide unlim- ited toll-free tech support. Umax believes it’: an impor- tant way to create a positive image in customers’ minds. “IF customers feel that they’ve been treated well [during a support call], maybe they'll pick up another Umax product,” says Jim O’Rourke, director of quality and ser- vices at Umax. But even Umax is feeling the pressure, given Apple's recent flurry of system soft- ware upgrades. O’Rourke says that Umax strongly encour- continues “sionals. “As for image quality, our jury panel judged the ScanMaker II's images best in show among the 17 scanners we reviewed.” — —PC Magazine, March 4, 1997 ‘March 4, 1997 Microtek ScanMaker Il! “The ScanMaker Ill is the best I've seen. It gets the sharpest scans, and the dynamic range and capabilities are incredible. The descreen filter is absolutely phenomenal — I wouldn't know what to do without it!” —Jon Lucenius, Rupple Productions Inc, Baltimore, MD “My Microtek ScanMaker III pays for itself everytime 1 use it.” —C. David Pitta, designer oof main titles for the Academy Awards Tony Awards® Grammy Awards® and Emmy Awards® telecasts “The image quality is awesome! It’s even better than the drum scans I was paying for every week. I especially enjoy being able to capture images at the full 36-bit range without any mapping down.” — Warren Patterson, photographer Warren Patterson Photography & Imaging, Welles MA 1996 Finalist] Publ ish na iy) t i ral Pa! PCComputing eal AWARDS'04 TheMizotek ScanMakerllfeatures: « Free Transparent Media Adapter *Tue36- = bit output to Adobe Photoshop (in “bilions of colors” setting) « Incredibly fast single-pass scan- ring * 600 X 1200 dpi optical resolution « 4800 dpi enhanced resolution « Up to 3.4 dynamic range highest nits dass # Up to 687 billion colors /4096 shades of gray ® Full-version of Adobe Pho' 4.0 © Xerox TextBriclge Pro OCR software (Macintosh models) + Microtek’s DCR Color Calibrator with IT-8 targets * ScanWizard scanner controller software with full-screen / resizable preview, descreening, high-resolution zoom, batch ‘scanning, sharpen, blur, tint & emboss filters, adjustable & storeable gamma curves, "before & “after” preview of each effect and much more! Those who have come to expect excellence in desktop imaging have consistently tured to the worlds leading desktop scanner maker. They know what distinguishes Microtek scanners from their competitors — superb image quality, accurate color, speed, and ease of use. And nowhere are these attributes more exemplified than in Microtek’ award- winning, high resolution ScanMaker® Il The ScanMaker III was the first true 36-bit, color flatbed scanner that captured and delivered full 36-bit image data to Adobe Photoshop Find out why the ScanMaker III is the choice of discriminating professionals in graphic design, advertising, photography, software and multimedia development and prepress For the location of the Microtek reseller nearest you, contact Microtek Sales at 1-800-654-4160. For additional information, point your Web browser to: www.nicrotekusa.com. ScaiiMakerilh MICROTEK Better Images Through Innovation. Usage of C Magazine lito Choe ogo and quotatonisby permission ofthe publication andin no way constttes an endorsement of his product Altrademarks or registered tademarks are the property oftheir respective holders Price mentioned is United State of America suggested stret price. Prices specfcatins and software bundles are subjecto change without noice. SMSSS7 Circle 105 on reader service card ages callers to provide a serial number to get support. “But we don’t just turn them off if they don’t have one,” he says. “We try to help them a little bit.” A Power Comput- ing spokesman also hinted that, long-term, the company would work to wean users off toll-free phone support as sts increase. Going Online Nearly all Mac systems vendors have augmented their support departments with online re- sources, from FAQs on Web pages to e-mail support. But the Internet is not a magic bullet for tech support. “On- line support is not ‘throt- tleable,’” says APS Technolo- gies’ president, Paul Mandel. When telephone lines are sat- urated, a company can “turn | News on the busy signal” and refuse more incoming calls, but there is no similar mechanism to keep from drowning in e-mail, Some vendors have tried sys- tems that automatically send messages telling you how many queries are queued up ahead of yours, but these have proved to be dismal failures, “People would just send more e-mail, and call, a