This week we examine two fixtures in the technology landscape: modems and databases. Kevin Savetz contributes a look at V.92, the next modem standard for those who can’t get broadband connections, and Jonathan Rentzsch starts a look at relational databases for Mac OS X by explaining what a relational database actually is. In the news, Apple releases Mac OS X 10.0.3, Casady & Greene discontinues SoundJam, Macromedia ships FreeHand 10, and we note the passing of author Douglas Adams.
So Long, and Thanks For All the Laughs -- Don't panic! Noted British humorist and Macintosh proponent Douglas Adams died unexpectedly from a heart attack at a gym near his California home last Friday
SoundJam Fades Out 01-Jun-01 -- The future of Casady & Greene's SoundJam MP has been in question since SoundJam's programmers went to Apple, where they based the free iTunes on their SoundJam code (see "SoundJam Keeps On Jammin'" in TidBITS-535 for a review)
FreeHand 10 Goes Mac OS X Native, Adds Features -- Macromedia is now shipping FreeHand 10, improving the vector graphics program's integration with Flash 5 and running natively under Mac OS X
Mac OS X 10.0.3 Released -- Just days after the release of Mac OS X 10.0.2 (see "TenBITS/07-May-01" in TidBITS-579), Apple has offered an update to version 10.0.3
A new breed of modems - referred to by the decidedly forgettable moniker of V.92 - is appearing on computer store shelves. They promise to add convenient features and squeeze every last ounce of speed from analog telephone lines
Love it or hate it, Mac OS X ships with Unix under its hood. As a user, I worry the Mac experience could degrade into editing brittle text configuration files and typing obscure and unforgiving commands