SMUG - May Upgrade : News From the SMUG Bureaucracy



Author: Joe Duroux

Date: May, 1994

Keywords: meeting minutes

Text:
The auction that starts our meetings is getting very popular. Members
are donating a wide variety of products, some of them quite valuable.
The April auction was no exception. And the products for review
included some biggies, notably, PhotoShop.
     For the main event, member Ralph Robie of Capital Business
Machines displayed some of the new Apple products. He showed the Power
Mac 6100 and 8100 with the latest audio/video monitors, the color
StyleWriter, and the QuickTake 100 electronic camera. He gave us a lot
of useful information about the new products, including their
limitations. For example, the Power Macs will run in the slower
emulation mode if any software not written for the PowerPC native mode
is loaded. That includes applications that are open but not active and
system enhancements like INITs, extensions and control panels.
Hopefully, before long, nearly all applications and third party
enhancements will be upgraded to run in native mode. But meanwhile, for
a Power Mac to run at full throttle, all old applications must be
closed and all old enhancements deactivated at startup. Another
limitation is that the first generation of Power Macs will not handle
peripherals any faster than the old ones. In fact, they won't do quite
as well as the high end Quadras. But they do internal compu-tations
with blazing speed in the native mode, and their prices are
competitive.
     Apple plans to encourage sales of Quadras through 1994. Their
prices have been reduced, and they can be upgraded to Power Macs later.
For some users, they may be the best option. Ralph also mentioned that
soon Apple will be introducing a new PowerBook that uses the 68040
processor. Then, near the end of 94 or early 95, PowerBooks with the
PowerPC 603 processor will be introduced. They will have very clear
screens, twice the battery life, and newly designed keyboards with the
track ball replaced by a new kind of pointing device.
     The color StyleWriter was not actually demonstrated, but Ralph
mentioned that it has the same resolution (360 dpi) as the monochrome
version and that its speed is about 2 pages per minute in monochrome
and 2 minutes per page in color. The camera (see picture) has a fixed
focal length, equivalent to 50mm on a 35mm camera, and stores either 32
''standard-resolution'' (320x240 pixel) or 8 high-resolution (640x480
pixel) images in 24-bit color. One disadvantage is that it has no
removable storage medium. The pictures can be transferred only by
connecting the camera directly to a computer, either a Mac or one
running Windows.
     Our America Online (AOL) ambassa-dors, Ben Nord & Scott Sattler,
have been busy providing us with information about AOL and downloading
useful files for us. Check out the "AOL on SMUGgler's" conference on
the BBS.
     Special Interest Group Activities
     The DTP SIG is planning activities, but nothing is scheduled at
this time. - Contact David Reynolds or use the DTP Conference (in Local
Conferences) on the BBS.
     The Multimedia SIG now meets on the first Wednesday of every
month. It is working on projects that will be useful to SMUG in various
ways. - Contact Larry Kuhn or use the DTP Conference on the BBS.
     Several SMUGgler's have banded together to create a Programming
SIG. This Special Interest Group is open to any member interested in
programming the Macintosh in any language. Experienced programmers will
be able to bounce ideas off of one another and share advanced
programming techniques, while beginners will be able to glean the
basics. SIG members will be able to show off their latest projects,
find beta testers, ask others how to deal with their latest nasty bug
and so on. - Contact Kevin Savetz or use the Code Talkers Conference
(in Local Conferences) on the BBS.
     Product Review Program
     Products Available for Review in May:
     *     Heaven & Earth - From Buena Vista Software. Four dazzling
games that go beyond any card game, puzzle, or toy.
     *     Grolier's New Multimedia Encyclopedia CD-ROM - From Grolier
Electronic Publishing. 1994 Edition. TWO copies of the Groiler's
Encyclopedia will be up for review, one Mac, and one Windows; both
reviews will be merged into one for KU publication.
     *     The 7th Guest CD-ROM - From Virgin Games. A brain teasing
game of horror and intrigue that takes place in a realistic 3-D haunted
mansion. Must be at least 17 to play... Ooooooo!
     *     Now Ultilites 4.0.2 - From Now Software. A collection of
seven utilities to enhance System 7.
     *     Myst CD-ROM - From Broderbund Software. A surrealistic
adventure game and the winner of MacUser's Editor's Choice Award for
the Best Game of 1993.
     *     The Treehouse - From Broderbund Software. Learning for ages
5 to 8 from the designers of The Playroom.
     Products Available for Review in June (to be given away at the
June meeting):
     *     SimCity 2000... plus SimCity Scenarios Vol. 1: Great
Disasters - From Maxis Software. The ultimate city simulator plus 10
additional scenarios.
     *     MacTut with ProGlyphs - From Dubl-Click Software. Egyptian
clipart and hieroglyphic fonts for both hobbyists and professionals.
     *     Glider 4.0 - From Casady & Greene, Inc. Fly your paper
airplane through an eerie mansion... a unique & entertaining game : )
     *     ZOA The Zone of Avoidance - From Casady & Greene, Inc. 3-D
space-flight simulation game.
     *     Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia CD-ROM - From Compton's
New Media. Videos, animations, narrated slide presentations, and over
33,000 articles.
     *     The Amazon Rain Forest CD-ROM - From Take 2 Interactive
Software. A Sierra Club Interactive Guide.
     *     The Great Barrier Reef CD-ROM - From Take 2 Interactive
Software. A Serria Club Interactive Guide.
     

Copyright © may, 1994 by Joe Duroux