Year: 2001

Dan Wood has released a new version of his innovative Mac OS X utility, Watson 1.02. Just as Apple’s Sherlock lets users easily search the Internet from the desktop, Watson lets users access a wealth of Internet services—such as stock quotes, telephone numbers, recipe indexes and movie listings—from an intuitive Aqua interface. Version 1.02 adds support for 800×600 iBook and iMac screens, more “respect” to the Dock, authenticated HTTP proxy support, improved support for international character sets, and improvements to several tools.

Fifty to 60 high school students in Henrico County, VA have been caught with hardcore pornography on their Apple iBooks, according to the Associated Press. In an announced deal that brought pride to both Superintendent Mark A. Edwards and Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the revelation that some students are using the computers as a sexual distraction comes as a shock to some parents within the school district.

A recent report from WebSideStory shows that the alternative Opera Web browser is gaining marketshare, although the market is still dominated by Microsoft and Netscape. Opera’s global marketshare as of Nov. 29, 2001 stood at 0.67 percent—more than double what it held at the start of the year—although the browser is proving to be more popular in some European countries.

Forbes.com is the latest media outlet to chime in with a glowing review of Apple’s iPod. “When it first comes out the box, one might be forgiven for being afraid to touch Apple Computer’s iPod digital music player for fear of getting it dirty. It looks that good,” begins the article.

A proposal submitted by the nine states remaining in the antitrust case against Microsoft to a federal judge today calls for—among a number of things—a requirement that Microsoft continue to develop its Office software for the Mac, as well as adding support for Linux. A five-year agreement that Apple and Microsoft reached, which included Microsoft’s commitment to Mac software development, will expire in the fall of 2002, although regardless of the states’ proposal, Apple doesn’t forsee any changes to its business relationship with Microsoft.