<title>THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Harvest at Macworld</title>
<b>Mac fans flocked to the Macworld Expo in New York to watch Apple Compute=
r trot out new hardware, software and even a Web services plan--but it migh=
t be a challenge getting people to pay for the offerings.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs kicked off the trade show by <a href=3D"http://clickth=
iPod digital-audio players and a new flat-panel iMac.
The new iPod players include models built specifically for computers that u=
se Microsoft's Windows operating system. Apple lowered the price of the exi=
sting 5GB iPod and a redesigned 10GB model, which is thinner and comes with=
a new case and remote control. Jobs also introduced a beefier 20GB iPod fo=
r $499. The iPod stable now includes three models for Mac users and three m=
odels for Windows users with MusicMatch software.
As expected, Jobs introduced a new iMac model with a 17-inch flat-panel mon=
itor. The model offers a widescreen display with 1,440-by-900-pixel resolut=
ion versus 1,024-by-768-pixel resolution for the 15-inch iMac.
Jobs also previewed the next version of Mac OS X, version 10.2, which will =
be on store shelves Aug. 24 for $129. OS X 10.2 includes a new Finder with =
improved search features, spring-loaded folders and the ability to change t=
he background photo as often as every 5 seconds.
But fans who rushed to OS X last year learned there's no such thing as a ch=
eap upgrade when the company announced it will <a href=3D"http://clickthru.=
online.com/Click?q=3D29-Sg_rIjM3xjSzf59NyGEI9rCM8vcR" >not offer</a> a disc=
ounted upgrade version of Mac OS X version 10.2, code-named Jaguar, to curr=
ent users of the operating system. To get Jaguar, current OS X users will h=
ave to buy a new Macintosh or an entirely new version of the operating syst=
Apple's decision not to sell a less-expensive upgrade version lay in the qu=
alitative difference between version 10.1 and 10.2. Although the versions s=
hare the same core technology, Jaguar includes several new features and ser=
vices, such as search tool Sherlock 3 and Internet address finder Rendezvou=
s, which arguably classify it as an entirely new piece of software.
Apple also raised eyebrows by <a href=3D"http://clickthru.online.com/Click?=
q=3D3e-F51nIizcfoh9HOq_7DQESNPe-iRR" >transitioning</a> its iTools Web serv=
ices from a free program to a paid program called .Mac. The company plans t=
o charge about $100 per year for the program. The collection of Web service=
s was launched about three years ago, and now includes online storage via a=
service called iDisk, online greeting cards through iCards and other featu=
Despite iTool's popularity, the company <a href=3D"http://clickthru.online.=
com/Click?q=3D53-n86dINniBiqIX-sjHpx8lOheMnlR" >may face a tough sell</a> w=
ith the .Mac program. The history of paid services, is not a pretty picture=
. Customers have bristled when companies try to slap charges on previously =
free services. Some have succeeded but many have struggled, especially when=
free alternatives lurked elsewhere. In the early 1990s, Apple's efforts to=
form online communities and popularize search engines failed magnificently=
To its advantage, Apple has presented a fairly coherent and tangible set of=
services with .Mac. And although its software division is far more organiz=
ed than it once was, it's unclear how overwhelming demand will be. However,=
sK-FdLP4R" >online petition</a> protesting the new charges doesn't bode wel=
Not one to be caught in anyone's shadow, Microsoft plans to <a href=3D"http=
rebate</a> for its Office suite for Mac OS X to those who buy the software=
bundle when they pick up a new Mac. The promotion entails a $50 mail-in re=
bate for people buying a new Mac and upgrading to Office v. X, and $100 for=
those buying a Mac and the full version of the software.
The offers come after Microsoft revealed that sales of the software have no=
t met its expectations. The software potentate had expected to sell 750,000=
copies of Office v. X by now, but instead has sold only 300,000 since the =
Microsoft is also putting the <a href=3D"http://clickthru.online.com/Click?=
q=3D93-V4PmQSdrF0o9nH2cTYjvQ8Rgn5FR" >finishing touches</a> on the third co=
llection of Windows 2000 bug fixes, which is nearly ready for release after=
a protracted period of testing. The update, Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, c=
ontains vital security updates and hundreds of fixes to bugs plaguing the o=
perating system that Microsoft released in February 2000. Service Pack 3 co=
uld be important for many businesses, as not all of the included security f=
ixes are available as separate downloads.
Not everything will be available as a download, however. Weeks before Micro=
soft plans to reinstate Java in Windows XP, it has <a href=3D"http://clickt=
hru.online.com/Click?q=3Da8-02XZQQZDjZijEBtDtZs6swzdON9R" >shut down</a> a =
site that would automatically send its Java software to Windows XP users. T=
he company closed the install-on-demand feature 30 days after it told Java =
inventor Sun Microsystems it would reinstate Java in Windows XP through the=
forthcoming Service Pack 1 but remove it altogether in 2004.
You better watch what you write in Yahoo's free e-mail service--because Yah=
oo is. To protect users from malicious code, Yahoo uses an automated filter=
gnfqGsJuR" >swap out</a> a handful of words such as "mocha" and "eval" that=
pertain to Web code known as JavaScript.
The reason is that e-mail sent in a form known as "Web enhanced" can contai=
n JavaScript instructions able to run programs on the recipient's PC. JavaS=
cript is a Web language that can issue commands such as telling the browser=
to open up other windows or to prompt a service to change a password, for =
"Mocha" is one of those special commands that can be run from Web-enhanced =
e-mail. Typing "mocha:" into the location bar of the Netscape browser will =
open a screen with a display area and a text box underneath, in which comma=
nds can be entered. A malicious hacker could, for example, use the command =
line to run a program that changes a person's password without that person'=
On the heels of plans for new powers to patrol people's Web use, the U.S. g=
overnment is again turning to technology to <a href=3D"http://clickthru.onl=
vity</a> in the name of fighting terrorism. The government has unveiled mor=
e details of its Terrorist Information and Prevention System (TIPS), a plan=
to recruit volunteers across the country who will keep tabs on dubious or =
"The program will involve the millions of American workers who, in the dail=
y course of their work, are in a unique position to see potentially unusual=
or suspicious activity in public places," according to the TIPS Web site. =
But the American Civil Liberties Union, one of several critics of the plan,=
fears the proposal will encourage racial profiling and vigilantism, possib=
ly leading to searches of private homes without a warrant.
A handful of entrepreneurial technology companies are <a href=3D"http://cli=
hniques</a> once used haphazardly by record companies and Napster-haters, i=
n ways that may be far more destructive to the credibility of file-swapping=
networks than were previous efforts...Apple <a href=3D"http://clickthru.on=
version of its QuickTime 6 digital media software, marking a stand-down in=
a dispute over licensing fees...The Federal Trade Commission is <a href=3D=
anning</a> to take a deeper look at whether some state laws illegally restr=
ict Internet commerce...In one of the toughest sentences for online auction=
fraud, a Virginia man was <a href=3D"http://clickthru.online.com/Click?q=
=3D26-KqPVIiMxelrEsJeBBBkqU8niQ7RR" >sentenced</a> to 12 years in prison fo=
r defrauding hundreds of shoppers on eBay and Yahoo auction sites...The Hou=
se of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow for <=
NHdR" >life prison sentences</a> for malicious computer hackers...MPEG LA, =
a group of patent holders governing MPEG-4, <a href=3D"http://clickthru.onl=
ms</a> for the media delivery standard, bowing to market pressure for manag=
eable royalty rates...Several tech and telecommunications giants are <a hre=
>considering a joint venture</a> to pepper the United States with wireless=
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