Apple recently celebrated the first year anniversary of eWorld with
a week long fiesta of online activities, ranging from the musical to the
technical to the literary. In conjunction with the birthday celebration,
a new version of the eWorld software was unveiled Monday, June 26.
eWorld 1.1 features expanded Internet access, new multimedia features
and a host of email management options. Full World Wide Web access
is expected late in July. eWorld 1.1 is available to eWorld subscribers from the Town Square's Info Booth, and will ship preinstalled on most Apple Macintosh computers. The new client software is also available free to US customers by calling (800) 775-4556. A Windows client for eWorld is expected to be available late in 1995.
 
Apple announced June 12 that it was immediately reducing prices on two configura- tions of its PowerPC-based Power Macintosh desktop computers, and four configura- tions of its color PowerBook computers. The price reductions range from 5-18%
Pricing changes and configurations are as follows (All figures are US ApplePrices):
 
 
 
People with fast computers need fast networks. Concurrent with
the release of Apple’s new Power Macintosh 9500, the company
has released a PCI EtherNet 100BaseTX Card. The new card fits into
a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) local bus slot and has a built-in industry-standard RJ-45 network port. When used in conjunction with an IEEE
100BaseTX–compatible hub, it allows you to create a separate Fast Ethernet network or integrate such a network with an existing 10Base-T Ethernet network quickly and easily—and affordably. The new card is designed to work with Apple’s Open Transport network architecture, due later this year. The card requires category 5 unshielded twisted-pair cable (a three meter cable comes with the card.). Maximum distance between node and hub is 100 meters and the maximum network distance (with two-hub limit before bridging or routing) is 205 meters.
  
Version 1.0 of Apple’s Open Transport is now a component of the Mac
OS version 7.5.2, and is shipping with Apple's new Power Macintosh
9500. Open Transport is the new Mac OS networking and communica-
tions scheme that promises to bring a new level of networking con-
nectivity, control and compatibility to Macintosh customers. Version 1.0 of Open Transport offers backward compatibility with existing networking client applications and significantly upgrades the feature set and performance of TCP/IP on the Mac OS. Apple plans to make Open Transport available for other Macintosh computers, including the installed base of 680x0-based and earlier Power Macintosh systems later this year. This next release, planned as Open Transport Version 1.1, is expected to include support for Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), AppleTalk and TCP/IP remote networking, and will offer tuning to optimize performance of high speed data links. Apple plans to ship Version 1.1 of Open Transport to customers by the end of 1995 (pricing and other details will be announced prior to product availability). Apple plans to include support for Open Transport in the following products (as well as many unannounced products): QuickTime Conferencing, Apple Remote Access, AppleShare, PowerTalk, PowerShare, MacX and the Copland release of the Mac OS.
(As MacSense was going to press, Apple issued a software patch for Open Transport. The Open Tranport 1.0.1 update fixes a problem where the software would truncate data when sending. This occured with the Open Transport TCP backward-compatible (MacTCP) interface, sometimes causing the connection to be closed before all of the data was transferred. The patch also fixes various crashes with InterPPP, MacPPP and MacSLIP. The patch is available at Apple’s usual online sites.)
  
Apple has updated its PlainTalk software to version 1.4. As part of the
update, the Text-To Speech component becomes English Text To Speech.
(A Spanish version shipped at the same time). The software incorpo-
rates a variety of improvements and ships with MacinTalk versions
2.0, 3.0 and MacinTalk Pro, complete with a plethora of voices. The software is available from the usual on-line services as a set of five 800K disks. The Speech Recognition software also gets the name change, becoming English Speech Recognition 1.4. It is expected to be available in July from various online sites.
  
Apple has recently withdrawn several software products from
electronic distribution. The products include PC Control 1.06,
PC Net Exchange 1.0 and English Speech Recognition 1.4. PC
Control 1.06 (a control panel for DOS card users) apparently
had problems only discovered after shipping and Apple was forced
to re-upload versions 1.05 and 1.03 for users. PC Net Exchange, software
to help PC-based AppleShare clients, was also withdrawn after problems were discovered (Ed’s note: PC Net Exchange 1.01 is now available). And finally, English Speech Recognition 1.4, Apple’s replacement for Plain Talk 1.0-1.3, was withdrawn from electronic circulation after Apple found that the Read Me file inadequately addressed a variety of customer questions. A re-release of the same version number is expected in July.
  
Based on Apple’s 540c, the PowerBook 550c sets a new standard for
high-performance notebook computing and provides the latest note-
book features, including a brilliant 10.4 inch active-matrix color
display. The new all-black model now includes an integrated FPU
(math coprocessor) within its 33/66 MHz 68040 CPU. The new 10.4-inch (dia- gonal) active-matrix color LCD offers a larger screen, but its adoption has forced smaller stereo speakers and a repositioning of the screen brightness and contrast switches. The new machine also ships with a 750 Megabyte hard drive. (PowerPC upgrades via daughter board replacement should be available later this year for the complete PowerBook 500 product line). The unit is not expected to be available in the American or Canadian markets, though Apple has revealed that the 550c commands an equivalent of $5,000 US.
  
Apple has launched a series of Family Computing Workshops designed
to introduce parents to the latest personal computers and to demon-
strate the many ways in which it can enhance children's learning.
These workshops are being provided free to educators at 1,000 schools in the United States. Several workshops have already taken place at schools around the country, with hundreds more scheduled throughout the Summer and Fall. Each school parti- cipating in the program receives a Workshop kit that includes a planning guide, video, presentation script and visuals, CD-ROM demonstrations, promotional materials and free giveaways for 100 participants. In order to host a workshop, schools must have the following equipment: a Macintosh with a CD-ROM drive, a VCR and a large-screen projection device. Educators who are interested in registering for the Workshop program should call (800) 365-7080, ext. 200.
 
Apple and Lotus have announced that customers purchasing Power Macintosh compu- ters are entitled to receive, at no additional cost, Lotus’ cross-platform collaboration software, Notes Express Release 3.31 for Mac OS. In addition to the standard Notes Express client, the offer includes two additional Notes Express applications and four Macintosh-specific Notes reference databases. The four reference databases have been developed especially for this offer. The Lotus Notes Business Partners catalog is also included. The Notes applications include: Reference Document Library; News Databases; Shared Discussion Databases; Company Phone Book; Customer Tracking Database; Service Request Tracking. The four Notes reference databases are: AppleFacts 4.95; How to Reach Apple; Apple Solution Professionals Network; and, the Macintosh Consultants Network. The Lotus Business Partners Catalog is a worldwide directory listing the more than 9,000 Lotus Business Partners available to provide users with value-add products, application development and customization, systems integration, and training and support. Notes Express Release 3.31 for Mac OS works with all Notes Release 3.x servers, although at least one server must be Release 3.3 or later. The offer is valid in the United States only and covers all Power Macintosh models in the 6100, 7100, 8100 and 9500 product lines.
  
On June 7, Apple Canada announced the shipment of its one millionth com-
puter in Canada. (Apple Canada was established in 1980 as Apple’s first
subsidiary outside the United States.) The “one millionth” computer, a
Power Macintosh 6100, was shipped to the Colchester East Hants District
School Board in Truro, Nova Scotia. “Canada is internationally recognized
as a technologically advanced society, and our computer purchasers are more high-tech savvy than in other markets. As a country, we’ve always been at the fore- front of developments in computing and communications—from Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone to Northern Telecom being a world force in telecommunica- tions,” said Peter Jones, president of Apple Canada.
 
Expected to begin late this summer, selected Apple Developer University courses will be offered through Simon/Ross Associates at multiple locations in the Eastern United States and Canada. The company's curriculum is being designed to meet the software development training needs of both corporate in-house developers and independent software vendors. For additional information, interested parties may contact Apple Developer University directly by telephone in the United States at (408) 974-4897 or Simon/Ross + Associates Developer University Extension in Canada at (800) 714-5714 or (416) 960-5647. (Simon/Ross + Associates Inc., based in Toronto, is a world leader in Macintosh computer training).
