MacEdition Logo
 

MacEdition ProNews, April 6, 2001

by MacEdition Staff (feedback)

Inspiration is the sincerest form of flattery

We don't need shameless self-promotion when our readers will do it for us. CodeBitch's February 19th column about her desire for a bigger box of crayons certainly hit the spot for Kirk Franklin, owner of the moreCrayons Web site.

MoreCrayons has been set up as a resource for Web developers who want to know what the 4096-colour "Web smart" palette proposed by CodeBitch looks like. Every one of these colours is there, so check it out. If you like the possibilities this palette allows for the Web, let people know. Contact the W3C (they do welcome suggestions), the Web Standards Project, your favourite browser developer and your favourite HTML-editor vendor.

You could probably safely draw the line at your local senator, but who knows? Sometimes good ideas need a little impetus to get the ball rolling.

Some user-serviceable parts inside?

Are you a proud owner of a perfectly functional but sadly "obsolescent" pre-G3 Mac? Feeling a slight case of OS X envy watching your coworkers basking in that Aqua glow? Fret not, for you too may soon have the chance to challenge your productivity with somewhat pokey window redraws with an OS X-compatible upgrade card.

PowerLogix's iForce upgrades for Rev A-C iMacs are Mac OS X-compatible as are their range of BlueChip upgrades for the Wallstreet and Lombard laptops. PowerForce G3 and G4 ZIF cards will need a new version of their cache profiler extension that the company claims should be available within two weeks. As the press release is dated March 27th, that hopefully means only 3-4 days left to wait.

Sonnet has been talking about OS X compatibility since their June 22nd press release last year. They already promise full OS X compatibility with their Encore G3/G4 range and state they are working on drivers for the Crescendo/PCI range of cards. Sonnet also feels that OS X compatibility is "likely" for their Crescendo/L2 and Crescendo/PB range. At the time of print, Sonnet had not responded to our request to confirm a release date for these drivers.

Before breaking out the champagne, however, much of the testing seems to be in relation to Mac OS X Public Beta. The transition from the public beta to the final release is expected to be relatively straightforward. Regardless, it's a far cry from the "no G3 upgrades for you!" edict emanating from Cupertino. Just don't expect any sympathetic tech support from Apple.

Calling Bill Smith...

[No, you're not experiencing déjà vu. This piece ran for about an hour in a previous installment of ProNews. We had to pull it then, but it's back. - Ed.]

If you're looking for something Macintosh, and you know the category but not where to actually look, there's a place that might save you some time. Bill Smith, a member of the core MacEdition groupies, maintains a list of all sorts of Macintosh resources. If you want to do a targeted scan (as opposed to a Web search), this may be a handy resource. From DV resources to a list of forums for each major topic, Bill's contribution to the Mac community (as a whole as well as his own) is welcomed.

From the "Delayed but not forgotten" files...

Did you ever have one of those lives, you know, when you look back through your e-mail "In" box, and find all sorts of nuggets of information waiting for you? Then you wonder, "Where have I been to miss this?" Well, without further ado, let's get to one of those very e-mails, a press release from the fine folks at the Peninsula Group again. Read on about "Return For Filemaker":

Fed up of being bound by Filemakers enter key? Then you need "Return For Filemaker!"

Have you had enough of being bound by Filemakers enter key? Are you tired of hitting the return key by accident? Then "Return For Filemaker" is definitely for you! Peninsula's "Return For Filemaker" is a brand new revolutionary plug in which enables you to press the return key rather than the enter key when doing loops. It really is amazingly helpful because "Return For Filemaker" is something that has been longed for for a very long time.

It's extremely easy to use, all you do is install the plug in and away you go! Needing to save time? then this plug in is excellent because rather than wasting time accidently pressing the return key, you'll be able to press the return key at your leisure and save it! It's available for either Mac or PC, so whatever you've got - it isn't a problem. The best thing about this terrific plug in is that Peninsula are offering it for an amazing £10 pounds sterling ($14 USD), we're basically giving it away! It is also £20 pounds sterling for a site licence and £50 pounds sterling for a developer licence.

Peninsula back their products with free full technical support via E-mail. The company has over fifteen years experience of Barcoding software and are linked to large companies such as Black and Decker, Pedigree Pet Foods, and Cambridge University Press. To find out more information about Peninsula Group or the services they provide, contact sales@peninsula-group.com or see their website at www.peninsula-group.com or Tel +44 (01262) 673591.

Okay, we lied. Here's the shameless self-promotion

You've probably heard about the Web site Low End Mac. But have you heard about the survey they're running? And how you can use this to rank lots of different Mac-oriented Web sites, not specifically against each other but on the sites' own merits? We like the idea. We'd like it even more (here's the self-promotion part) if you'd go to the survey and let 'em know what you think of us. Even better, tell us, too, while you're at it (but that's not required).

Looking for old ProNews segments? Check out our index at http://old.macedition.com/news/. Do you have news releases or tidbits of interest to the Macintosh professional? Send them to pronewsnotes@macedition.com.

E-mail this story to a friend