By Gary Kirchherr
The Macintosh's long-awaited new operating system is out, and fortunately, the feedback I've seen to date has been positive. That's good, because OS 8 is crucial to Apple Computer right now, and the beleaguered company couldn't afford a screw-up now.
The casual observer may not realize these facts. After all, the media have not greeted OS 8's release with the same out-of-control orgy of shameless hype that took place when Windows 95 came out. Fortunately, I learned long ago that the mainstream media are a worthless source of computer-industry news, and thus I have to look for information elsewhere.
As always, to get the real scoop, I have to go to the online version of MacWEEK. And the reviews have been mixed, although even those who were underwhelmed -- i.e. Henry Norr, in his June 18 column -- acknowledge some advantages. (C'mon, Henry, OS 8 may not be the Windows-killer you were hoping for, but you can wait another year for Rhapsody.)
Norr does acknowledge OS 8's major improvement -- the Finder. The software guts of the Mac's file-management interface has several handy new features, including "pop-up windows"; drag a folder to the bottom of the screen and it disappears except for a tab; click the tab and the folder window reappears. I can't wait to get that feature on my Mac clone. Other goodies Norr mentions are file commands for moving files to the Trash and showing aliases' original files.
But the big Finder change everyone is talking about is the platinum, 3-D interface. From all reports, it will, as expected, give the look promised for the stillborn Copland OS and available till now in the much-ballyhooed (and grossly overrated) Aaron shareware package. I'm reserving judgment on this particular aspect of the new OS until I actually work with it.
In my previous column I cautioned against running out and buying the new OS, given that initial releases of systems 6 and 7 both were seriously flawed. But the pundits are insisting it's stable. I even heard from my DALnet acquaintance Duane Jardine, also known as "LeadDog," who asserts than even the beta version of OS 8 he tested is rock solid. Glad to hear it, but I'm waiting for OS 8.1 anyway.
It's just not the fear of undiscovered OS 8 bugs that's keeping me from upgrading immediately. Another fact of life of major system upgrades is that a lot of software you like won't work on OS 8. Count on it. In fact, MacWEEK's omnipresent Mr. Norr had an article on software that needs patches to fix compatibility problems of varying degree. And we're not talking about little-known geek software. We're talking about QuicKeys 3.5.2; Now Utilities 6.7; and parts of the StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 and venerable Norton Utilities for Macintosh 3.5 packages. I'd rather have everybody else figure out what the new incompatibilities are; I'll get the updated OS and other software then. Meanwhile, System 7.5.3 still works just fine.
I could write volumes more about OS 8, but why should I, since it's been done? If I haven't already told you more than you want to know, check out Macworld's special online section, "Mac OS in focus," and MacUser's OS 8 overview.
I have to give America Online credit. That company never ceases to amaze me.
AOL still is living down the well-deserved notoriety it earned late last year when it began offering unlimited access for a flat fee, and then was subsequently shocked -- shocked! -- when users couldn't get through omnipresent busy signals. Many already held AOL in disdain for its inept and questionable business policies -- the censorship, horrible software, slow access, worthless tech support, billings that didn't end with account cancellations -- but the highly publicized settlement with three-quarters of the states' attorneys general in this instance gave the company a black eye from which it has not yet recovered.
So you really have to wonder what the company's suits were thinking when they decided recently to amend the company's notorious "Terms of Service" in a way to generate a few extra bucks. AOL quietly changed the Terms of Service to allow it to sell members' phone numbers to telemarketers.
David Cassel, editor of The AOL List, spelled out the gory details in the newsletter's July 16 edition:
[U]sers will get unsolicited ads "through pop-ups, e-mail, phone calls or direct mail" and "we may also match Member lists against publicly available third-party data." Later disclosure about advertising says AOL may even provide the phone numbers to other companies "with which AOL, Inc. has contractual marketing and online relationships for the purpose of permitting such companies to offer products and services over the telephone." ... And that's not the only source of unsolicited marketing. AOL's Terms of Service has always conceded that "when you voluntarily disclose personal information (such as your screen name) in public areas (e.g., the Member Directory, chat rooms, message boards, Internet newsgroups), others may collect and use your information."
Did the geniuses at AOL believe that nobody would notice? Or that nobody would care? Well, they miscalculated big-time. The money-making scheme made headlines from CNet's News.Com to The Wall Street Journal, and AOL members were not amused. On July 24, the company announced it will not sell members' names to telemarketers after all.
But I'm afraid that's not the end of it. As Cassel pointed out in his July 24 newsletter, AOL head honcho Steve Case admits in an online announcement, "We rent addresses of members." (Yeah, that's right, "rent.") And although AOL members won't get calls from other companies, they'll still get calls from AOL itself.
Y'know, a year ago, I could understand why someone would join AOL; after all, the company's way of doing business wasn't widely known. Today I am mystified that people would spend their money on a "service" that not only provides grossly inferior Internet access, but treats its customers like sheep ready for fleecing. Perhaps because that's what they are.
Duane "LeadDog" Jardine, the same guy who vouched for the stability of OS 8 earlier in this column, pointed out that I erred in my previous column when I said that OT/PPP 1.0 allows users to program only one ISP configuration. This is incorrect; Duane informed me that multiple configurations can be set in OT/PPP's "Configurations..." setting under the File menu. Thanks, Duane! An updated version of this Internet-access software, version 1.2, is included with OS 8.
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