Macworld Expo news here! We have our informal awards, focussing on products like Retrospect 2.0, StuffIt Deluxe, The Journeyman Project, and Envisio’s SmartStack. We look more closely at Apple’s Adjustable Keyboard and MAXA’s Alert, which promises to fix all your problems automatically. Also check out a new Trojan report and a note from the author of Gatekeeper along with Mel Martinez’s clever method of integrating Nisus and Expressionist with QuicKeys.
Phew, what a week! Macworld Expo is always a trip, figuratively and literally, and this year was no exception. We'll have news from the show for the next few issues, but first, I have to clear up a few things from last week.
Lotus Number -- Leon Campbell writes, "I called the 800 number for the $49 upgrade to Lotus 1-2-3 mentioned in TidBITS-157 and the operator said she only knew about the $119 upgrade price
Nisus Drag & Drop -- Thomas Robb writes, "SoloWriter 1.3, the 'Japanized' version of Nisus, has drag & drop already! I'm not sure if Ian Shortreed, the 'Japanizer,' wrote the code on his own or if Nisus gave it to him, but it's there, according to the 1.3 literature."
Information from:
Thomas N
Compatibility Checker Comments -- Peter Galko writes, "I found that the Compatibility Checker reported parts of the 7.1 stuff Apple sent me as a beta tester of 7.1 were supposedly incompatible with 7.1! It also reported that there is a newer version of Adobe Illustrator (later than the latest)
There is a version of "CPro 1.41.sea" [masquerading as an update to Compact Pro -Adam] that is really a Trojan. It will attempt to erase your startup volume and any floppy in disk drive one
Users of Gatekeeper 1.2.6 will soon receive a warning stating that 1.2.6 is out of date and should be replaced with a more recent version. This warning appears automatically when modern versions of Gatekeeper exceed six months in age and is intended to prevent people from unwittingly depending on obsolete versions of the program which may no longer offer effective or safe protection from viruses
Oops, I blew this one big time, writing last issue that Expressionist was from Macreations and not Prescience, the company that actually makes Expressionist
Although I don't think Macworld Expo had any stunning surprises this year, it did feature more promising new products and solid upgrades than I recall from previous years
Given that I don't specialize in any particular area, I don't get excited about advances in printer or modem or whatever technology. However, one thing other than the Apple Adjustable Keyboard (more on that in a bit) did catch my attention
This award goes to the intensely designed Pinnacle Micro booth, which had fully enclosed walls and ceiling and a funky green neon waterfall. The walls seemed to be a brushed aluminum with a three dimensional design etched into them in such a way that I kept looking into the wall trying to make sense of the pattern
NewTek carries this award with their Video Toaster demo videotape, which is about ten minutes of snazzy effects and animations, all done with the Video Toaster
Due to my current status as email junkie, I give the best buttons award to Peachpit Press for their set of three yellow smiley buttons, a normal smiley, a wink, and a kiss
A truly silly award to author Robin Williams, who has the third edition of the Little Mac Book out (it's getting a bit bigger, though), and pre-release copies of a new little book called "Tabs and Indents." I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine the topic of that book
The best deal of the show goes to Aladdin Systems for their guerilla pricing on StuffIt Deluxe and SpaceSaver (which is included with the complete StuffIt Deluxe package)
Presto Studios is finally shipping The Journeyman Project. I haven't played it yet, not having received my AppleCD 300 yet, but from the demos and from talking with the creators of The Journeyman Project, it's an impressive accomplishment and a ground-breaking game