Fonts
I thoroughly enjoyed the explanations, etc., of fonts in your last issue.
There was one font application you mentioned that I could not find anywhere online: Font Manager. The description was “What the Extensions Manager does for extensions, Fonts Manager does for fonts.”
Know where it can be found?
Many thanks,
Bob Gerard
Font Manager can be found at the HyperArchive, an MIT-run server with Macintosh software. You can find it
here. —DC
• • •
Millennium Madness
I just read in your page on “Desktop Pictures” the following gem: “As the millennium comes to an end and winter approaches quickly,...”
Just a friendly reminder that the millennium does not end until the year 2000 is over. The year 2000 is the reason we refer to this century as the 20th century and not the 19th.
Everyone is jumping the gun—and precious few are stopping to ask if all the hoo-ha has any basis in fact. It would be appreciated by many of us readers and consumers of information if editors would exercise some editorial judgement and sense in this matter—and educate the (alas—woefully ignorant) public as to the error of this mindless obsession with wrong arithmetic.
Thanks for an otherwise great Web site.
D. N. Glenn, Ph. D.
You are correct that the millennium does not end until the year 2000 is over and suspect that most of the confusion stems from the publicity the Y2K bug has received. We hope this mistake didn’t interfere with your enjoyment of the Bahamas Desktop Pictures. :-)
• • •
Apple Warranties
I have been a Mac fan since the day I started to use computers. I do want to warn my fellow users however that Apple is not always good at honoring their warranties.
I bought a G3 laptop in December of 1998 in the United States and brought it with me to Turkey where I am presently residing. Understanding that I had a full one year world wide warranty with my computer, I took it to the Turkish distributor, Bilcom, to have it fixed when I started having problems. They said that they would not honor the warranty although they had honored them in the past. They “had a change in policy.” Basically, they are just not honoring the warranty and making money off of it.
Since having the broken keyboard then, I have had a floppy drive break, a hard disk die, and a broken power cable. All in all, I have spent an additional $700 on my laptop just in the first year of having it. Now, what good is a portable product if you can’t travel with it? Half the time I’ve had it, it’s been in the shop. In addition, I have written Apple repeatedly through their Web site and not received a single response.
So, just know that if you buy a Mac and bring it overseas, you are really on your own. Not only was their computer faulty, they don’t even care! The local distributor is no help either. Now, I’ve got a broken Mac that I’ve spent over $2700 on in the last year, and I’ve got to go to a local smoke-filled Internet cafe to keep in touch with the outside world. Perhaps I should ask Santa to bring me a PC for Christmas.
Sakae Ishikawa
• • •
WriteNow
I read your article Whither Competition. Good article. Do you know if WriteNow for Macs will be revived or if there is another compatible program.
Thank you in advance
Dick Rigby
As far as I know, WriteNow will not be revived. Just about all the other Mac word processors can read WriteNow format, however. AppleWorks and Nisus Writer probably come the closest to WriteNow’s philosophy. Corel’s free Word Perfect 3.5e is also nice. —MT
• • •
iMovie Question
You guys may be my last chance at getting an answer to this question. I’ve called everyone at Apple I can think of (Apple Store, Customer Service, Sales, Support, etc.), and they all act like I’m asking them to explain wave/particle duality. I think it’s a relatively simple question, but they won’t give me an answer.
My question is this:
I plan to purchase a G4, but I’m intrigued by the iMovie software they’re shipping only with the new iMacs. Will I be able to purchase iMovie separately at some point, to run on my G4? If not, why not? Certainly I shouldn’t be penalized for buying their top-of-the-line model, instead of an iMac. Why wouldn’t they want to sell me the software to run on my G4?
I’m hoping you might have some insight into this—or maybe you can suggest someone else I might be able to contact for an answer. I’d really like to go ahead and order my new computer, and I don’t think my question is an unreasonable one to ask before I spend that kind of money. This is the only frustrating experience I’ve ever had with Apple (aside from them cancelling my previous 500 MHz G4 order earlier this month).
Thanks,
Adam J. Zaner
At this time, Apple has remained relatively tight-lipped regarding iMovie. The most they have said is that at this time, they will not be selling iMovie separately, and as for now, the only way to get it is on an iMac DV.
It seems that they are pushing the Final Cut Pro solution to folks such as yourself, who are purchasing or contemplating the purchase of a G4, despite the fact that Final Cut Pro may be overkill for your video needs.
All we can tell you is that for now, you cannot get iMovie except on an iMac DV. Perhaps after the Christmas buying season is over and the new year begins, Apple may reverse this position. Many of us on the ATPM staff were disappointed by this as well, since some of us are eyeing G4s, but do not need Final Cut Pro when iMovie will suffice. I am personally in the same position you are: were I to purchase a G4 and do video editing, I certainly don’t need the power of Final Cut Pro for my home videos of family Christmas and anniversaries.
I’m sorry that we can’t provide you with any more information at this time. Apple has become rather tight-lipped under the Jobs’ regime, and we all just have to wait until they’re ready to tell us.
Good luck with your G4 purchase, and I hope your iMovie question is answered by Apple sooner than later. —CT
• • •
We’d love to hear your thoughts about our publication. We always welcome your comments, criticisms, suggestions, and praise at editor@atpm.com. Or, if you have an opinion or announcement about the Macintosh platform in general, that’s ok too.
Send your e-mail to
editor@atpm.com. All mail becomes the property of ATPM.
Reader Comments (0)
Add A Comment