The Mac interface has been lauded for its accessibility – unless you’re disabled, in which case Macs can be completely inaccessible. Joe Clark examines the sad state of adaptive technology for the Macintosh. Also this week, Jeff Carlson shoehorns a second hard drive into his PowerBook; and we cover PowerMail 3.0.8, Conflict Catcher 8.0.8, Storyspace 2, and Google buying the Deja.com Usenet archive, plus, we ask how you want to receive TidBITS.
Poll Preview: How Do You Want to Read TidBITS in Email? We're considering new ways of publishing TidBITS, and we need your help. We published our first 99 issues via email in HyperCard, then in 1992 switched to the text-only setext format you see in email now
Conflict Catcher Updated to 8.0.8 -- Casady & Greene has released Conflict Catcher 8.0.8, adding support for Mac OS 9.1. Specifically, the new version adds Mac OS 9.1 All and Base sets, and updates the Clean Install System Merge for Mac OS 9.1
Eastgate Systems Releases Storyspace 2 -- Eastgate Systems, long-time publishers of hypertext tools and hypertext writings, has released Storyspace 2, a total rewrite of the company's innovative hypertext editor (see TidBITS-095, an entire issue devoted to the program)
PowerMail 3.0.8 Adds HTML & Authentication -- CTM Development has released PowerMail 3.0.8, a notable update to their internationally savvy email client (see "Migrating to New Climes with PowerMail" in TidBITS-530.)
Google Acquires Deja.com Usenet Archive -- The popular Google search engine and Web catalog, currently our favorite search site, has acquired Deja.com's Usenet Discussion Service, the archive of every Usenet posting since 1995
Best Book Bytes -- We're lousy at blowing our own horns, but we thought we'd mention several books written by TidBITS staff members garnered prizes in MyMac.com's third annual Book Bytes Awards
Late last year, I pulled the original 4.5 GB hard drive from my PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard) and replaced it with an inexpensive 12 GB drive. Not only did this give me more room for my data, it enabled me to store more than a gigabyte of MP3 files from my music collection
By now, Mac users are mature enough to admit that the Macintosh isn't better than Windows in every respect. I go back 20 years in accessibility and disability issues, and I consider myself nothing less than a Macintosh separatist, so it pains me to say that pretty much any computer user with a relevant disability ought to be using Windows, not a Mac.
Ponder that for a moment