Category: Columns
Technology News and Views Since 1983May 2020 The Spy is a little latewith his meanderings and prognostications this month. The two weeks of year end meetings and activities lacked an actual graduation ceremony–a great disappointment for students to be sure, who have to wait till November or later for their walk across the stage and handshake–but were replete with lengthy meetings around “how did we do this term?” and “What are we going to do next?” The consensus on the…
The 523rd episode of the RetroMacCast has been released. In this latest episode, James and John discuss their eBay finds: PowerBook 1400 cover inserts, Apple settop box and NIB SE/30. They chat with Rocky Bergen about his extraordinary papercraft retro computers, and news includes Dana Sibera and Macs powered by Apple. To listen to the latest episode or past episodes of the RetroMacMast, check out their website at: http://retromaccast.ning.com/forum/topics/episode-523-rocky-s-papercraft
The RetroMacCast episode number 522 has been released. In this episode, James and John discuss eBay finds: Quadra 800, MacEffects Clear Mac SE, and Corvette mouse cover. They play some classic Lode Runner, and news includes iPhone SE, Apple Music, HyperCard P.T. and Apple II. To see all of the show notes and join the RetroMacCast website where you will find the episodes as well as the RMC discussion forums. Also, be sure to join the RetroMacCast Facebook page and visit RMC at RetroMacCast.
The RetroMacCast Episode 222 has been released by James Savage and John Leake. In this episode, James and John discuss eBay finds: Color Classic II, Apple Centre Ad, and Apple sign. John saves an Apple //e, and news includes Apple-Google COVID-19 project and Wombat update. To listen to the latest edition of the RetroMacCast, go to:http://retromaccast.libsyn.com/rmc-episode-222-apple-pickers
Mac Folklore Radio, the website which gives voice to old retro computing articles, has once again picked a wonderful start to April. The Douglas Adams penned article, “Under-The-Desktop Publishing” from the November issue 1991(PP213-215) is now available in spoken form from Derek Warren. In a recent brief Q&A session with A.P.P.L.E. Derek talked about what inspired his trip down memory lane with the Mac articles and his life in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A.P.P.L.E.: First, tell us about your name?Derek:…
James Savage and John Leake have released the 519th episode of their RetroMacCast podcast. In this episode, James and John discuss eBay finds: Apple Portrait Display, Quadra 605 with Apple 2 Card, Apple 2 HD prototype case, and clear case 512k. They look back at March 2000 in MacAddict, and news includes new MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and a Mac clone. For more information about the RetroMacCast, check out their webpage at: http://retromaccast.ning.com/
Technology News and Views Since 1983 April 2020 Alas the Spy with this column breaks a many years’ long tradition, for there will be no levity (or levitation for that matter) this foolish month. There are more serious matters of the techie and wider world to ponder. Velocity, as the Spy’s regular geeky reader surely well knows, is defined as a measure of change per unit of time. Directionality matters (it is a vector) and we usually use it for…
The 518th episode of the the RetroMacCast has been released. In this episode, James and John discuss eBay finds: Picasso Mac poster, external floppy drive, and recapping service. They look back at Ambrosia Software, and news includes Apple store closures, WWDC 2020, and RR Auction results. RMC Website To listen to the latest episode of the RetroMacCast, check out their website at: http://retromaccast.ning.com/
James and John have released the 517th episode of their popular Mac Podcast, The RetroMacCast. In this episode, James and John discuss eBay finds: 100 Apple decals, NIB Mac Plus, and unused Mac box. Mark from MacEffects talks about his latest Kickstarter: Clear Case for Apple IIe and IIgs. News includes the auction of Jerry Manock Apple items. RetroMacCast Website To listen to the latest RetroMacCast or to see the show notes, visit the RetroMacCast website at RetroMacCast. You can also…
Technology News and Views Since 1983 March 2020 Our long time reader will recall the Spy’s having many moons ago differed sharply from the majority view that the “global village” created by what we today call the Internet that many of us saw coming in the heady early 80s when this column was first started, would promote world peace and understanding and usher in a new era of understanding and co-operation. The Spy was rather criticized for his emphatic “not”,…
Technology News and Views Since 1983 First Impressions of the Spy’s brand new MacBookPro sixteen inch machine from a strictly hardware point of view are mixed but generally positive as it stacks up very well in comparison to his older 2015 portable–the one he is now wary about taking into any airport in case the employees are too lazy or uninformed to verify that its batteries have indeed been changed. He will keep that machine for some purposes, as explained…
The latest episode of the John Leake and James Savage produced RetroMacCast has been released. Episode number 511, Mac Muzzle, includes the following items: Mac Portable mug, TAM in box, and Mac Sales Training Guide. They look back to January 1990 via Macworld, and news includes Mac Mini, iPhone-20SC hack, BeOS, Powerbook-Mini, and Dubai Mac collection RetroMacCast Website You can listen to this episode as well as older episodes of the RetroMacCast at:http://retromaccast.ning.com/
Our reader has enjoyed the appearance of many predictions and forecasts in this space. Many were laughed at. Of those, some (rise of Apple from the ashes, fall of the Berlin Wall) came true, and others (demise of MS) have not (in its case, forestalled by a change of management and direction). Others (various automation forecasts and social changes) are still pending. Punditry is easy and widely practiced, because few people are likely remember the predictions that go wrong, whereas…
Mojave’s new “Use Stacks” command lets you organize the items on your desktop with a single menu selection (choose View–>Use Stacks) or keyboard shortcut (press Command + Control + 0). They say a picture is worth a thousand words; here’s how it works: It’s that simple. If your Desktop is a mess, burn that keyboard shortcut — Command + Control + 0 — into your muscle memory and start using it to turn your Desktop clutter into neatly organized stacks. One last thing:…
This short video (under 5 minutes) details why the Mac Clipboard still sucks, and explains how to make it suck a lot less (for free). Enjoy!
In spite of its salacious, click-bait title, and apparently being written by fictitious baseball player Sidd Finch*, I read an article called How to Not Write Like an Asshole a while ago. In it, the author proposes that the way to become a great writer is to copy great writers. “When I say you should copy great writers, I mean you should literally copy their best work, word-for-word, and preferably by hand. This process is called copywork and it’s mind-numbingly simple. You…
I read an article on Fortune (dot) com a while back about multitasking and why it may not be good for you). Here’s a brief excerpt (click the headline to read the rest): Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Multitask, According to an MIT Neuroscientist by Earl Miller “Start by blocking out a period of time to focus. Eliminate as many distractions as possible: Put away your phone, turn off extra computer screens, shut down your email if you have to….
The Spy went out on a limb in October concerning the MacBook Pro 16″ model that had been the subject of so many rumours. How did his predictions and preferences do? – He implied it. would be out by the end of October. Missed it by a few weeks. Chinese trade war and Trump tariffs? – Comes with Catalina installed (pretty much certain). Done. no bezel for the screen (likely) There is very little bezel, and the size of the…
The crew at RetroMacCast have announced the release of their 507th episode of the RMC Podcast. This episode includes: James and John discussing the latest eBay finds including a NIB Macintosh II video card, lot of Macs, and Picasso Mac dust cover. John also gets into SimCity, and some of the latest news includes a 16″ MBP and a Twiggy Mac that are currently up for auction. RetroMacCast website You can listen to the latest episode of the RetroMacCast by going…
Why is Hallowe’en like Christmas? Because both have become commercialized to the point of morphing into insanely materialistic binges fueled by greed maintained by non-stop advertising? Because both, having lost all meaning as holy times, have become holidays with no more true significance than a ski weekend? Because 25 (Dec) = 31 (Oct)? Or, to morph from the trivialized to the philosophical, is this the real end game of empiricism–a Solomonesque pursuit of meaningless pleasure with no thought for the…
